Mar 29, 2011
Artist Development
The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21-May 5) has announced its annual Late Show selection, a survey of the best in international thrills and chills. This year’s program offers the violent, visually stunning yakuza film Outrage, a real estate agent plagued by the paranormal in The Selling, postapocalypse survivors dealing with an outbreak of vampirism in Stake Land and Norwegian mythology come to life in The Troll Hunter.
“This year’s Late Shows, a thrilling quartet of films worth staying up for, are geared to the tastes of Festival audiences yearning for a roller-coaster-ride experience,” said Rod Armstrong, programmer for the San Francisco Film Society.
Outrage, Takeshi Kitano (Japan 2010)
Kitano’s long-awaited return to the gangster genre is a startling attack on the morally corrupt power structures and hypocritical honor system of the Japanese yakuza, where “loyalty” is just another word for betrayal. A powerful syndicate boss orders a low-level chief to “send a message,” and in the process triggers an all-out war.
The Selling, Emily Lou (USA 2010) World Premiere
For most people affected by the recent housing market crash, the impact was financial. Super nice real estate agent Richard Scarry has an additional burden: the paranormal. This startlingly funny debut feature takes many of the tropes of haunted house films and employs them to exciting, witty and original ends.
Stake Land, Jim Mickle (USA 2010)
Martin and Mister are two of the few remaining survivors of a global apocalypse caused by rampaging (and ravenous) vampire zombies. Pursued by crazed cultists and marauding monsters, they try to make their way to a rumored encampment of remaining humans in this visually gritty dystopian tale where human beings are even worse than the beasts running amok.
The Troll Hunter, André Ovredal (Norway 2010)
Equal parts Blair Witch Project and Jurassic Park, this is a “raw” CGI-filled romp through troll lore. Student journalists making a documentary on bear poaching in the Norwegian countryside stumble upon a secret war between government operatives and stony giants. Thrust into danger and intrigue, the students suddenly need to bone up on troll defense.
For more information visit fest11.sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
54th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 54th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21-May 5, 2011 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, the Castro Theatre, New People and SFMOMA in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring 15 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 75,000+ people.