Aug 27, 2012
Artist Development
The San Francisco Film Society has announced that American independent filmmaker Anna Boden will be in San Francisco for the Film Society’s fourth Artist in Residence program, September 25-October 9. Boden’s schedule will include programs in each of the Film Society’s core areas-education, exhibition and filmmaker services-including visits to Bay Area high school and college classrooms, a screening of her feature film Sugar (October 4), an artist talk and various networking events with the local film community. Boden’s residency is funded by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
“Anna’s extensive and varied experience as a writer, director, producer and editor made her a clear choice for our next Artist in Residence,” said SFFS Director of Education Joanne Parsont. “We are particularly excited to be welcoming a female filmmaker to the program. I’m certain she’ll be a great inspiration for all of the young women and girls we work with in our high school and college programs, as well as to fellow women filmmakers in the Bay Area. We look forward to connecting her with the San Francisco community during her two weeks with us and to giving greater exposure to her films.”
For complete Artist in Residence information visit sffs.org/Education/Artist-in-Residence.
Anna Boden has made three feature films in collaboration with her filmmaking partner Ryan Fleck. Their first feature, Half Nelson, which Boden co-wrote and produced, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. Half Nelson lead actors Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps both earned Independent Spirit Awards for their portrayals, and Ryan Gosling also received Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations. Half Nelson was honored with Gotham Awards for Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor (for Shareeka Epps), and Best Film.
Boden went on to co-write and direct her next two features with Fleck. Sugar, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, received a Gotham Award nomination for Best Ensemble Cast, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Screenplay and an American Film Institute (AFI) Award as one of the year’s ten most outstanding achievements in film. Their most recent project, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, based on the young adult novel by Ned Vizzini, was released by Focus Features in 2010.
Sugar (USA 2008), Boden’s heartfelt examination of a Dominican baseball player’s journey to the big leagues, will be screened Thursday, October 4 at 6:30 pm at New People Cinema (1746 Post Street). The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director and a special guest moderator.
Miguel Santos, a.k.a. Sugar, is a Dominican baseball player from San Pedro De Macorís struggling to make it to the major leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. He gets his big break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system and travels to a small town in Iowa to train and hopefully move up the ranks as a pitcher. Sugar’s talent on the mound is apparent, but when his performance begins to falter, he is forced to re-examine the world around him and his place within it. What starts out as a classic rags-to-riches sports story turns into a candid and complex examination of what it means for young athletes to chase their dreams. From the Dominican Republic to rural Iowa to New York City, Sugar’s bumpy journey offers a much different take on America’s pastime than the average baseball movie. Written by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Photographed by Andrij Parekh. With Algenis Perez Soto, Rayniel Rufino, Andre Holland. 114 min. In English and Spanish with subtitles. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
Visiting artists are selected based on their filmmaking experience, compelling body of work and desire to share their knowledge with emerging filmmakers and film students. Under the auspices of the Film Society’s Education department, Boden is scheduled to visit several middle school, high school and college classes during her residency. In collaboration with Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services program, Boden will also have the opportunity to meet and network with Bay Area filmmakers. More details will be announced in the coming weeks; check sffs.org/Education/Artist-in-Residence for up-to-date information.
Prior Artists in Residence have been Federico Veiroj of Uruguay, Ido Haar of Israel and Oday Rasheed of Iraq.
To request interviews or screeners contact bproctor@sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/pressdownloads.
Tickets for Oct 4 screening of Sugar: $11 for SFFS members, $13 general, $12 senior/student/disabled. Box office now open online at sffs.org.
The Fall 2012 Artist in Residence is funded by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.