Apr 1, 2014
Festival
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24-May 8) will present the 2014 Mel Novikoff Award to legendary film historian David Thomson for his lifelong commitment to international cinema and expanding the film-going public’s appreciation of it. Following the award presentation, Sunday May 4, 3:00 pm at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, there will be an onstage conversation between Thomson and author Geoff Dyer and a screening of The Lady Eve (USA 1941). The Preston Sturges-directed classic was personally selected by Thomson as a film which encapsulates the humor and joy that cinema is able to bring to an audience.
“David Thomson is a unique voice in film writing and exemplifies the values and spirit of the Mel Novikoff Award,” said Rachel Rosen, San Francisco Film Society’s director of programming. “His provocative ideas are sure to make for a lively in-person discussion.”
David Thomson has been called “the greatest living film critic and historian” and “the greatest living writer on the movies.” His most renowned work, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, was named by Sight & Sound‘s 2010 poll of international critics and writers as the best film book of all time. He has additionally written more than 20 works of both fiction and nonfiction, including Moments that Made the Movies, Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles and The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies. He has contributed regularly to the Independent, the London Guardian, Film Comment and the New Republic and wrote and delivered the BBC radio series Life at 24 Frames a Second.
About The Lady Eve:
A handsome but dim-witted heir and a delectable con artist enjoy a shipboard romance until he learns of her true identity as a grifter. When she reappears in his hometown under another guise, the stage is set for a comic confrontation. The legendary Preston Sturges elicits hilarious performances from a cast headed by Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in this screwball classic.
The award, named for the pioneering San Francisco art and repertory film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922-1987), acknowledges an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema.
Previous recipients of the Mel Novikoff Award are Peter von Bagh (2013), Pierre Rissient (2012), Serge Bromberg (2011), Roger Ebert (2010), Bruce Goldstein (2009), Jim Hoberman (2008), Kevin Brownlow (2007), Anita Monga (2005), Paolo Cherchi Usai (2004), Manny Farber (2003), David Francis (2002), Cahiers du Cinéma (2001), San Francisco Cinematheque (2001), Donald Krim (2000), David Shepard (2000), Enno Patalas (1999), Adrienne Mancia (1998), Judy Stone (1997), Film Arts Foundation (1997), David Robinson (1996), Institut Lumière (1995), Naum Kleiman (1994), Andrew Sarris (1993), Jonas Mekas (1992), Pauline Kael (1991), Donald Richie (1990), USSR Filmmakers Association (1989) and Dan Talbot (1988).
The Mel Novikoff Award Committee members are Francis J. Rigney (chairman), Rachel Rosen (ex officio), Helena R. Foster, Maurice Kanbar, Philip Kaufman, Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer, Anita Monga, Janis Plotkin and Peter Scarlet.
Tickets – Novikoff Award: David Thomson: The Lady Eve $13 SFFS members, $14 senior, student, disabled, $15 general public; Box office opens online April 1 for SFFS members and April 4 for the general public.
For tickets and information visit festival.sffs.org.
To request screeners or interviews contact your SFIFF publicist.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
57th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 24-May 8 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre and New People Cinema in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards and nearly $40,000 in cash prizes, upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests and diverse and engaged audiences with more than 65,000 in attendance.