Mar 31, 2015
Festival
San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Film Society today announced that director, writer, inventor, engineer and visual effects master Douglas Trumbull will deliver the highly anticipated State of Cinema address at the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23–May 7) at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas on Sunday May 3, 6:30 pm. Trumbull, who has long blazed new trails in visual technology, will bring decades of experience and a unique perspective to this cornerstone live address.
Douglas Trumbull first stunned film audiences in the late sixties with the development of cutting-edge visual effects for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, including the epic “Stargate” sequence. He was the visual effects supervisor on many works that pushed the limits of film fantasy such as Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Blade Runner and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He also directed science-fiction classics Silent Running and Brainstorm and was a visual effects consultant for Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life. Never content to remain static, he continues to work as an inventor and engineer, is a sought-after consultant, and holds numerous technology patents. His ingenious suggestion for capping the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill went viral. Currently, Trumbull is rethinking the immersive cinematic experience to include ultra high frame rates, high resolution, high brightness, high dynamic range, and ultra wide hemispherical screen projection. He recently wrote and directed an experimental short film UFOTOG made to fully demonstrate the new experience.
“Doug Trumbull may be cinema’s greatest artist-engineer of the sound era. His technical innovations and command of futuristic imagery have set the pace of change in the medium for almost fifty years – and now he has some mind-blowing predictions about what will come next,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “This talk is a not-to-be-missed moment where science, tech and the history of cinema will come together in an amazing evening in San Francisco.”
Douglas Trumbull won an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement in 1992 for his work with the CP-65 Showscan Camera System for 65mm motion picture photography. He was awarded the International Monitor Award and American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions in the field of filmmaking. In 2011 he received the coveted Gordon E Sawyer Academy Award.
He was nominated three times for an Academy Award in the category of Best Visual Effects for Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Blade Runner. Trumbull is currently involved in the evolution of movie production using virtual digital sets and electronic cinematography, while also proposing substantial change to the exhibition industry.
Over the years SFIFF has invited many visionary thinkers to deliver their views on the current state and evolution of filmmaking. Trumbull will be the first to present at the event since Steven Soderbergh’s sensational 2013 address. Soderbergh’s irreverent speech skewered the business of modern movie making and outlined his belief in the system’s irreversible damage. The address was an unprecedented media sensation. Video of the highly critical—and brilliant—portrait of cinema’s current state immediately went viral via the New York Times, Wired, The Hollywood Reporter and hundreds of other media outlets.
Previous State of Cinema speakers have been author Jonathan Lethem, film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich and longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif Michel Ciment.
Tickets to the State of Cinema Address are $25 for SFFS members, $30 for the general public. Box office opens March 31 for SFFS members, April 3 for the general public, online at sffs.org.
For general information visit festival.sffs.org.
To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival publicist.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
58th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 58th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 23-May 7 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Castro Theatre, Landmark’s Clay Theatre and the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, SFIFF is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with nearly $40,000 in cash prizes and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.