Oct 6, 2016
Artist Development, SFFILM
San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Film Society has announced the lineup of programs for the second annual Doc Stories festival, November 3–6 at the Vogue Theatre (3290 Sacramento Street), the Castro Theatre (429 Castro Street) and the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (3200 California Street). Doc Stories gives the Bay Area a voice in the end-of-year awards season conversation by celebrating the year’s most important long- and short-form documentaries. The lineup features brand-new films yet to be released, alongside in-depth conversations with the makers of the documentaries that have electrified the festival circuit throughout the past year. Nearly every screening will include filmmakers and/or special guests to illuminate the subjects of the films and the processes behind their creation. Doc Stories is presented with major support from Catapult Film Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures, CNN VR, and New York Times Op-Docs.
“We’re very excited by the strength of this year’s Doc Stories program, and we can’t wait to dive into this amazing weekend of documentaries,” said SF Film Society Executive Director Noah Cowan. “We’ve expanded on the model we started with last fall, in response to the Bay Area’s powerful enthusiasm for high quality nonfiction filmmaking. Between the premieres of new work from some of the most influential doc makers out there, the deep explorations of the films that have moved us throughout the year so far, and our expedition into the frontier of virtual reality storytelling, there’s no better place to be to get your doc fix in November.”
Showcasing bold new documentaries as well as conversations with leaders in the field, Doc Stories explores new trends in filmmaking and celebrates the year’s most important nonfiction work. With filmmaker guests in person, often in conversation with local thought leaders, audiences will have a chance to engage in in-depth discussions around many of the films that will come to define the upcoming awards season. In its second year, Doc Stories includes everything from moving personal portraits to explorations of our most pressing social issues. More information about special programming will be announced in the weeks to come; visit sffs.org for up-to-date information.
Alongside the feature film selections, Doc Stories will also include a number of programs of short films and multiplatform work, exploring the importance of those forms to contemporary journalism and the realities of online content consumption. Field of Vision, the program of New York Times Op-Docs, Vanishing Worlds: Documentary Shorts and VR Day @ Doc Stories will all look closely at different approaches to nonfiction storytelling in a new media context.
For complete program information, visit sffs.org/Exhibition. Guest information subject to change.
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 3
7:00 pm Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds OPENING NIGHT [Castro]
Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens (USA, 95 min.) Codirectors and subject Debbie Reynolds expected in person
The complexities of one of the most wonderfully eccentric mother-daughter relationships in Hollywood are lovingly illuminated in Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens’ charming dual portrait. Still performing a Las Vegas act at 83, Debbie Reynolds lives next door to her daughter, Carrie Fisher, who does her best to manage her personal anxiety over the toll her mother’s dedication is taking on her health in ways that are both poignant and hilarious.
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4
4:00 pm A Conversation with Ezra Edelman [Vogue]
O.J.: Made in America has been hailed by critics and viewers as a “masterwork of scholarship, journalism, and cinematic art.” Explore this epic documentary and its examination of race, celebrity, media, and the justice system in America with its Peabody and Emmy Award-winning director, Ezra Edelman. This intimate conversation will be an opportunity to learn more about Edelman’s approach to the material and the formal challenges of telling an immensely complex story.
6:30 pm New York Times Op-Docs [Vogue]
(TRT 80 min.) Filmmakers in person
Explore the latest offerings from one of the most exciting producers of short-form nonfiction work. Op-Docs is the New York Times editorial department’s award-winning section for short, opinionated documentaries, produced with wide creative latitude and a range of artistic styles, covering current affairs, contemporary life, and historical subjects. Several of this year’s offerings provide intimate and unique personal perspectives on pressing current issues, including the international refugee crisis and women’s health care rights.
8:30 pm 13TH [Vogue]
Ava DuVernay (USA, 100 min.)
Ava DuVernay’s widely researched and potent film draws a connection between the constitutional amendment that abolished slavery and the subsequent methods used by the power structure to criminalize African Americans. With an astonishing depth of interviews—from Angela Davis to Newt Gingrich—and compelling archival footage, DuVernay creates a morally compelling and powerfully emotional indictment of false mythologies of Black lawlessness in America.
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5
11:00 am–8:00 pm VR Day @ Doc Stories [JCCSF]
An exceptional showcase of nonfiction work, VR Day @ Doc Stories is an exciting exploration of virtual reality filmmaking. With a focus on short-form documentary, the program will bring together leading VR creators and inventive new films that dive into social and cultural issues. Experience these cutting-edge stories on Samsung Gear and Google Cardboard, and join VR filmmakers for an in-depth conversation investigating the future of the medium.
1:00 pm Marathon: The Patriot’s Day Bombing [Vogue]
Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg (USA, 112 min.) Codirectors in person
This moving study examines the emotional toll of the April 2013 Boston bombings by focusing on the experiences of those who were gravely injured by the blasts at the marathon finish line. Following events of that day and over the next two years, the film uses surveillance footage, news clips, home movies, and exclusive interviews with survivors, their families, first responders, investigators, and reporters to create a vivid portrait of a dark moment in our recent past.
4:00 pm Filmmakers in Conversation: The Filmmaker-Subject Relationship [Vogue]
The relationship between documentary filmmakers and their subjects is one of ongoing interest. Filmmakers, who have obligations to both viewers and subjects, face a number of pressures and ethical challenges, alongside many positive opportunities. Join the documentarians behind a number of powerful 2016 films—including Audrie & Daisy (Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk), The Return (Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway), and Trapped (Dawn Porter)—to explore the complexities and potentials involved in navigating this essential element of nonfiction filmmaking.
6:00 pm Fire at Sea [Vogue]
Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/France, 108 min.) Director in person
Samuele, an anxious young boy and slingshot aficionado with a lazy eye, is among the memorable locals who take a turn in the spotlight alongside migrants in Gianfranco Rosi’s beautiful and moving neorealist documentary. Brilliantly juxtaposing the side-by-side relationship of a small Sicilian island’s residents with the desperate people trying to reach her shores, Fire at Sea won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
8:30 pm Field of Vision [Vogue]
(TRT 80 min.) Filmmakers in person
Launched in the fall of 2015 with the aim of commissioning short-form documentary work that could respond quickly to global events, the visual journalism film unit Field of Vision commissioned 22 short films, four episodic series, and two feature-length films in its first year. Highlighting current and upcoming work from this vibrant nonfiction platform, this year’s selection will once again focus on compelling and dynamic stories from at home and abroad.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6
1:00 pm Vanishing Worlds: Documentary Shorts [Vogue]
(TRT 80 min.) Filmmakers in person
Three exquisite short pieces examine the role of art and tradition in a changing world. Taking the viewer from San Francisco’s Chinatown to northern Montana to New York City, these three films—Bisonhead, Joe’s Violin, and Forever, Chinatown—explore issues of memory, community, and the preservation of tradition in our modern times through personal stories of change, loss, and hope.
3:00 pm I Am Not Your Negro [Vogue]
Raoul Peck (USA/France/Belgium/Switzerland, 93 min.) Director in person
In the summer of 1979, James Baldwin was preparing to write about the murders of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, but only set down 30 pages of notes and never completed the book. Taking these writings as a focal point and using a mighty range of archival footage from the Civil Rights era to the present, director Raoul Peck has made a profound and unforgettable work about the Black experience in America.
5:30 pm All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I.F. Stone [Vogue]
Fred Peabody (Canada, 92 min.) Director in person
Fred Peabody’s informative and impassioned film examines the work and legacy of investigative journalist I.F. Stone, who is posited as the spiritual predecessor of present-day independent outlets concerned with corporate and governmental accountability, such as The Intercept and Democracy Now! In the film, several instances of brave and timely reportage are presented alongside a pointed critique of mainstream media outlets that avoid difficult stories and sometimes get their facts wrong.
8:30 pm Into the Inferno CLOSING NIGHT [Castro]
Werner Herzog (England/Austria, 104 min.) Director in person Werner
Herzog continues to engage his fascination with the power of nature in this wide-ranging documentary. Taking volcanoes as his focus, Herzog and his co-director, volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer, explore both the science and mythology behind the explosive formations. With magnificent images, a cast of charismatic humans, and Herzog’s unique commentary, Into the Inferno takes us on a memorably idiosyncratic journey from the South Pacific Ocean nation of Vanuatu to North Korea.
TICKETS
Films: $13 for SFFS members, $15 general
Conversations: $10 for SFFS members, $12 general
VR Day @ Doc Stories: $15 for SFFS members, $20 general (includes up to 40 minutes of curated VR content and access to the VR filmmaker conversation)
CineVoucher 10-Packs: $120 for SFFS members, $140 general (valid for one year from purchase)
Box office opens October 6 for members and October 7 for the general public online at sffs.org.
To request screeners, interviews, and press materials, contact bproctor@sffs.org.