Nov 7, 2011
SFFILM
San Francisco Film Society presents An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt featuring his newest animated film It’s Such a Beautiful Day and an onstage interview, December 8 at San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema (1746 Post Street).
Cult animator, Academy Award nominee and 2010 Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award recipient Don Hertzfeldt returns to San Francisco for a special evening featuring his newest animated film It’s Such a Beautiful Day. This new work completes his trilogy of shorts begun with Everything Will Be OK and I Am So Proud of You, about a mysterious man named Bill. Nearly two years in the making, It’s Such a Beautiful Day blends traditional animation, experimental optical effects, trick photography and new digital hybrids printed out one frame at a time-all photographed on an antique 35mm animation stand, one of the last remaining cameras of its kind in America. The result is a passionate brand of filmmaking that veers without warning from vaudevillian pratfall humor to powerful ruminations on the vagaries of life, love and death. It’s not unusual for Hertzfeldt to single-handedly write, direct, produce, animate, photograph, perform voices, record and mix sound and/or compose music for one of his films, at times requiring years to complete a single short. The animation alone for one of his films often requires tens of thousands of drawings. This special screening of the entire trilogy and other favorites will be followed by an onstage interview. Also playing: Wisdom Teeth and Intermission in the Third Dimension. Total running time 71 min.
For more about Don Hertzfeldt visit fest10.sffs.org/awards/don_hertzfeldt.
Showtimes 7:00, 9:15 pm.
Tickets $11 for SFFS members, $13 general, $12 senior/student/disabled. Box office opens November 7 for SFFS members and November 14 for the general public: online at sffs.org and in person at San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema.
To request screeners contact hilary@sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit: sffs.org/pressdownloads.
At San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema, the supremely stylish state-of-the art theater located in the ultra-contemporary New People building at 1746 Post Street (Webster/Buchanan) in Japantown, the San Francisco Film Society offers its acclaimed exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs and events on a daily year-round basis. For complete up-to-date information on all SFFS | NPC programming, including buying tickets, visit sffs.org.
Upcoming San Francisco Film Society programs
November 7-9: Octubre With moments of light comedy, Octubre is a rich character portrait of a brusque and graceless man who comes to care about something other than money.
November 10-13: San Francisco International Animation Festival A four-day celebration of the Bay Area’s preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative forms in cinema.
November 13-20: New Italian Cinema Fifteenth edition of popular festival includes work by prominent Italian directors, a tribute to Daniele Luchetti and eight features by up-and-coming directors.
November 15: Artist in Residence Federico Veiroj: A Useful Life A man who has spent his entire adult life working in a film archive faces a new beginning with the threatened closure of the institution.
November 17: California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown An intimate documentary on the life and work of Governor Edmund G. (Pat) Brown directed and produced by his granddaughters.
Opening November 18: Curling Combining creepy atmosphere and stark landscapes with moments of odd humor and tenderness, Curling shows the dangers of overly hermetic lives and gently proposes a way out for its compelling protagonists.
Opening November 25: The Swell Season After starring in the indie hit Once and winning an Oscar for Best Original Song, folk rock musicians Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova go on tour in this mesmerizing black-and-white documentary.
December 2-3, 9-11: The Dardy Family Home Movies by Stephen Sondheim by Erin Markey The newest KinoTek program is the world premiere of a live performance with video projection by fearless actress/playwright Erin Markey.
December 5: SFFS Film Arts Forum: Pitch Perfect Panel discussion focusing on tried and true strategies for pitching a film project to industry decision makers.
December 6: The City Dark Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, historians and lighting designers, The City Dark is a cautionary tale of light pollution and the disappearance of the night sky.