Apr 2, 2013
Festival
The 56th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 25-May 9) presents a new slate of Conversations, designed to deepen and enhance the Festival experience, giving filmgoers the opportunity to go beyond the post-screening Q&A. Presented by the Film Society’s Education department, Master Classes offer an opportunity to engage with Festival filmmakers and get an insider’s look at their craft and process, while at Festival Salons, filmmakers and industry professionals will lead unique in-depth discussions about major issues and ideas related to cinema.
MASTER CLASSES
Lian Lunson: Making the Music Doc Rock
Thursday May 2, 4:00 pm, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
Australian actress turned award-winning documentary filmmaker Lian Lunson has dwelled in the realm of the music documentary for the last 15 years with her rousing films Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle (2012), Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (2005) and Willie Nelson: Down Home (1997). Using the music as the focal point, Lunson uses a concert-based approach to celebrate her subjects. Find out how she gained access to these iconic artists and her creative choices in telling their stories. Tickets are $15 SFFS members, $20 general.
Saschka Unseld: A Pixar Animation Workshop for Kids
Saturday May 4, 10:00 am, Walt Disney Family Museum, 104 Montgomery Street, The Presidio
After screening and discussing Saschka Unseld’s new Pixar animated short The Blue Umbrella, students will explore the Walt Disney Family Museum’s galleries to find artwork from the collection to inspire their own animation. Using basic stop-motion techniques, Unseld will teach participants how to bring everyday inanimate objects to life. Ages 10-15. Tickets are $20 SFFS members, $25 general.
Presented in partnership with the Walt Disney Family Museum.
William Friedkin: Fifty Years of Filmmaking
Wednesday May 8, 4:00 pm, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
Before winning an Academy Award for The French Connection (1971) and making an indelible mark on the horror genre with The Exorcist (1973), director William Friedkin received a Golden Gate Award for his first documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1962. Fifty years later he returns to San Francisco with his cult classic To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) and a new memoir (The Friedkin Connection), and is ready to reveal the secrets and stories of his maverick film career and his experience as one of the leading directors of the New Hollywood of the 1960s and ’70s. Tickets are $20 SFFS members, $25 general. A book signing will follow the class.
SALONS
All the World’s a Screen: Literacy in the Visual Age
Wednesday May 1, 5:30 pm , SFFS FilmHouse, 1426 Fillmore Street, Suite 300
What does it mean to be literate in a world of screens? How does visual media play on our brains? How does it impact our society, government, economy and educational system? Join Stephen Apkon, founder and executive director of the Jacob Burns Film Center in New York and author of the new book The Age of the Image: Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens, for an in-depth conversation about today’s screen culture and how we can effectively transform the way we teach, create, and communicate. Tickets are $13 SFFS members, $14 student/senior/disabled, $15 general. A book signing will follow the salon.
Interactive Impact: Making Change Through Audience Engagement
Sunday May 5, 5:30 pm, SFFS FilmHouse, 1426 Fillmore Street, Suite 300
From traditional docs to narrative hybrids, the opportunities for films to have social impact are constantly evolving. But understanding the terminology, tools and to-do lists is enough to make a filmmaker’s head spin. Join Shaady Salehi, executive director of Active Voice; Jen Gilomen, director of independent media at BAVC; Alex Campolo, research analyst at the Harmony Institute; and the directors of After Tiller, Tall as the Baobab Tree and A River Changes Course as they brave the bold landscape of “impact,” armed with demystified engagement strategies, planning and measurement tools, and a pocketful of actionable how-tos. Tickets are $13 SFFS members, $14 student/senior/disabled, $15 general.
Presented in partnership with the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) and Active Voice.
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.
56th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 56th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 25-May 9 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the 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 $70,000 in cash prizes, upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests and diverse and engaged audiences with more than 70,000 in attendance.