Mar 14, 2018
Festival
San Francisco, CA — SFFILM today announced that the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival will begin with a special Opening Night screening of SFFILM grantee and acclaimed independent filmmaker Silas Howard’s drama A Kid Like Jake at the Castro Theatre, on Wednesday, April 4, at 7:00 pm, followed by the Opening Night Party at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. Howard is scheduled to attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A. Additional guests to be announced.
“Director Silas Howard and producer Jim Parsons have created something quite extraordinary: a highly topical film that deals with a controversial social issue but does so with an empathetic heart, the gracefulness of fine storytelling and unexpected humor,” said SFFILM Executive Director Noah Cowan. “The clear high quality of the script has inspired universally outstanding performances from some of the world’s most exceptional actors, from leads to cameos. We talk a lot about Bay Area values of freedom, compassion and the validation of creative exploration; A Kid Like Jake is a poster boy for these ideas.”
A Kid Like Jake, directed by Silas Howard and adapted from Daniel Pearle’s lauded Off-Broadway play, is the most exceptional and timely of social dramas, exploring issues at the heart of multiple national debates with great intensity and sly humor. Pregnant Alex (Claire Danes) and her psychiatrist husband Greg (Jim Parsons) are anxiously navigating the minefield of New York’s exclusive private schools. Their young son Jake’s intelligence and imagination have helped him win impressive test scores, but he is also expressing a preference for what Judy (Octavia Spencer), the proprietor of his preschool, delicately describes as “gender-variant play,” ranging from imaginative cross-dressing to a slavish devotion to all things “princess.” While at first encouraged to play up their son’s possible transgender leanings so he might be considered a “diverse” candidate for a progressive school, the parents begin a round of self-questioning once Jake begins acting out when confronted with bullies and teachers looking for more normative behavior. A Kid Like Jake will be released theatrically this summer by IFC Films.
Born in Vermont, Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant recipient Silas Howard found his voice in the San Francisco scene as the guitarist of the infamous “queercore” punk band Tribe 8. While touring for the better part of a decade, he stayed firmly rooted in San Francisco, opening Mission touchstone Red Dora’s Bearded Lady Café with the artist Harry Dodge, with whom he co-wrote, co-directed, and co-starred his first feature, By Hook or By Crook (2001). Despite its modest budget and outsider approach, the film premiered at Sundance in 2001 and captured hearts, minds, and awards at festivals including LA’s Outfest and SXSW, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature in 2002.
Howard received his MFA in Film Directing from UCLA in 2008, and since has tireless pursued numerous directing projects including Sunset Stories (2012), the documentary More Than T (2017) and multiple episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series Transparent, becoming the show’s first trans director. In 2016, Howard was awarded an SFFILM/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant in support of upcoming project The Lusty, written by Antonia Crane and based on the true story of the first exotic dancers’ union, formed in San Francisco at a club called The Lusty Lady.
The screening will be followed by a rousing Opening Night Party at 9:00 pm at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria, kicking the 2018 SFFILM Festival program with a bash featuring live entertainment, dancing, and treats from some of San Francisco’s finest food and beverage purveyors. Opening Night Party is sponsored by Bulleit Bourbon.
Tickets to Opening Night: A Kid Like Jake:
Film & Party: $60 / $70
VIP Film & Party (includes reserved seats at the screening and VIP party access): $125 / $150
Film Only: $25 / $30
Box office is now open online at sffilm.org for SFFILM members and opens March 16 for the general public.
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival
To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival Press Office representative.
For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press
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2018 San Francisco International Film Festival
The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. The 61st edition runs April 4-17 at venues across the Bay Area and features nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with close to $40,000 in cash prizes, and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.
SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization with a mission to champion the world’s finest films and filmmakers through programs anchored in and inspired by the spirit and values of the San Francisco Bay Area. Presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, SFFILM is a year-round organization delivering screenings and events to more than 75,000 film lovers and media education programs to more than 10,000 students and teachers annually. In addition to its public programs, SFFILM supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services.
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