Mar 19, 2019
Festival
Warpaint: Live Score + Films by Maya Deren, An Evening with Kahlil Joseph, Echo in the Canyon, and Boots Riley: State of Cinema Address Make for Unique Live Experiences with Music and Conversation
San Francisco, CA — SFFILM today announced four immersive programs in the popular Live & Onstage section of the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival: Warpaint: Live Score + Films by Maya Deren presents a selection of films by Maya Deren, one of cinema’s most important experimental filmmakers, joined by a live score by members if indie dream pop band Warpaint. Short films, videos, and art by Kahlil Joseph will be joined with a conversation with the artist, at An Evening with Kahlil Joseph, examining his work that celebrates Black culture. The music documentary Echo In the Canyon celebrates the period and music created in the 1960s in LA’s Laurel Canyon, and joining the film will be Jakob Dylan and his band performing live. A favorite local artist and activist returns to the Festival in Boots Riley: State of Cinema Address, where the Oakland native will discuss his thoughts on film and society at large.
“When the high-wire excitement of a live event is combined with the power of cinema, the results can be unexpected and thrilling,” said SFFILM Director of Programming Rachel Rosen. “The programs in Live & Onstage program are always Festival highlights and this year’s will undoubtedly be unique and memorable experiences since the artists featured are some of the most innovative and thoughtful practitioners of their crafts.”
Warpaint: Live Score + Films by Maya Deren
Friday, April 19, at 8:00 pm at the Castro Theatre
Warpaint’s unique brand of intricate guitar lines, hypnotic vocals, and driving post-punk rhythms combine to create a gorgeous, enveloping sound. Both on record and on stage, Warpaint sounds like they’re channeling something truly otherworldly and mystical. Their debut album The Fool (2010) was named one of the 50 Best Albums of the Decade by NME; their eponymous sophomore album (2014) debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Alternative Album Chart as well as the UK Album Chart, and was named one of the albums of the year in several publications. Their most recent album Heads Up was released in 2016 and enjoyed a Top 40 debut on the Billboard Current Albums Chart.
For this evening’s live score, Warpaint co-founder Theresa Wayman joins Stella Mozgawa, the band’s drummer since 2009, for a performance to a selection of films by Maya Deren, one of cinema’s most important experimental filmmakers.
A central figure in avant-garde filmmaking, Maya Deren was a master of expressionistic works full of dramatic angles, bodies in motion, and creative visual elements. This program will feature four of her films: At Land (14 min, 1944), a dream-like narrative about a woman who washes up on a beach; Meshes of the Afternoon (14 min, 1943), one of experimental cinema’s most important works; Ritual in Transfigured Time (14 min, 1946), which uses modern dance to explore the process of change; and The Very Eye of Night (15 min, 1958), her last completed film.
An Evening with Kahlil Joseph
Monday, April 15, at 8:00 pm at the Victoria Theatre
Join us for a presentation of short films and videos, art, and conversation with Kahlil Joseph. A recent Artist in Residence at Headlands Center for the Arts (2018) and visiting artist at Stanford University, Joseph continues to move between the worlds of film, video, and art with an ease that is rarely seen. Co-director of Beyonce’s Lemonade (2016), winner of a Sundance directing award, participant in the upcoming Venice Biennale, Joseph has been carving out a place for himself as an auteur whose eclectic artistic modes – music video, installation, narrative, and nonfiction film – always lovingly celebrate Black culture while simultaneously addressing Black people’s precarious and complicated status in society at-large. This program will present a series of short works, including two new projects, interspersed with an onstage conversation, moderated by novelist Rachel Kushner, that will delve into Joseph’s process, concerns, and trajectory. Presented in collaboration with Headlands Center for the Arts.
Black Mary (2017, 6 min)
Commissioned by Tate Modern, Black Mary beautifully fuses Joseph’s documentary, performance, fiction, and music videos in a single, breathtaking presentation of the singer Alice Smith.
Fly Paper (2017, 23 min)
Perhaps your only chance to see this in San Francisco, the theater’s sound system will be specially configured for the presentation. Conceived as an art installation, Fly Paper features Ben Vereen, Storyboard P, and Lauryn Hill, among others. Inspired by Harlem Renaissance photographer Roy DeCarava, the film is a tribute to Joseph’s late father, Keven Davis.
Until the Quiet Comes (2012, 4 min)
Set to a track from Flying Lotus’s album and shot primarily in Nickerson Gardens, this short features the astonishingly beautiful dancing of Storyboard P. Winner of Sundance’s Special Jury Award for short film.
Wild Cat (2013, 7 min)
Filmed in Grayson, Oklahoma, Wild Cat meditatively combines documentation of a Black rodeo subculture with an abstract portrait of Joseph’s aunt who helped found the event.
Echo In the Canyon
Saturday, April 20, at 8:30 pm at the Castro Theatre
The songs that reverberated from Laurel Canyon in the ’60s remain some of the greatest achievements in rock history. Celebrating 50 years since musicians migrated to the West Coast spot, musician Jakob Dylan takes to the stage, presenting new renditions of classic songs. With performances by Fiona Apple, Beck, and Regina Spektor, accompanied by interviews with Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, David Crosby, Michelle Phillips, and Tom Petty, the film offers a first-hand account of the scene and the talent that continues to inspire musicians today.
Following the screening and Q&A, Jakob Dylan and his band will take to the Castro stage and perform a set of songs from the Laurel Canyon era.
Boots Riley: State of Cinema Address
Saturday, April 13, at 2:00 pm at the Victoria Theatre
Each year, SFFILM invites a visionary thinker to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema and visual arts, culture and society, images and ideas. We are thrilled to welcome local artist and activist Boots Riley back to the Festival for this special program.
An Oakland native who studied at San Francisco State University, Riley had been known as an activist and front man of the musical group The Coup until his feature film debut Sorry to Bother You (Festival 2018) burst upon the scene. After a year presenting the film at festivals, acquiring a distributor, opening the film in theaters nationally, and bringing home a Spirit Award for Best First Feature in January, Riley has a unique perspective on the current film landscape. In his talk, Riley will discuss the ways in which film is currently answering the call of a variety of social movements and, thus, pushing the boundaries of creativity to reflect the ways these movements are changing the world, including influencing the evolution of a vibrant filmmaking scene in the Bay Area.
Tickets to Warpaint: Live Score + Films by Maya Deren are $25 for SFFILM Members and $30 for the general public.
Tickets to An Evening with Kahlil Joseph are $16 for SFFILM Members and $13 for the general public.
Echo In the Canyon are $25 for SFFILM Members and $30 for the general public.
Boots Riley: State of Cinema Address are $13 for SFFILM Members and $16 for the general public.
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival.
For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press.
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2019 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 62nd edition runs April 10–23 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 12,000 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.
For more information visit sffilm.org.
This press release is available online at sffilm.org/press/releases.
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