Aug 3, 2018
SFFILM
San Francisco, CA – SFFILM has announced the lineup of new features premiering on the SFFILM Screening Room, the curated film streaming service available exclusively to SFFILM members through an easy-to-use web platform and mobile app. Six new films—five of which were popular hits at recent SFFILM Festivals—have joined the already strong roster of titles on the service, and are now available to stream. There are currently 25 films to choose from on the service, with additional features being added each month.
The SFFILM Screening Room service is available to SFFILM members on the web at sffilm.org/watch. Members can also access films and supplemental content by downloading the SFFILM app and logging into their membership accounts. The SFFILM app is available for iOS, Apple TV, and Android devices as a free download on iTunes or Google Play. The web platform and app have been created with the generous support of Margaret and Will Hearst.
FEATURE FILMS ADDED AUGUST 1
The Last Season
Sara Dosa (USA, 2014, 78 min)
Every September, over 200 seasonal workers, most of them Cambodian, Lao, Hmong, Mien and Thai, descend upon the tiny town of Chemult, Oregon, to search the woods for the rare Matsutake, a fungus highly prized in Japan. This documentary examines the bond between two of these hunters, an elderly Vietnam vet and a survivor of the Khmer Rouge, during one unusually hard season. Winner of the Golden Gate Award for Best Bay Area Documentary Feature at the 2014 SFFILM Festival.
The Ornithologist
João Pedro Rodrigues (Portugal/France/Brazil, 2016, 118 min)
When a strapping young ornithologist becomes stranded in the wilderness, his increasingly bizarre ordeals are by turns comic, sexy, surreal, mystic, and mystifying. This metaphysical (but also very physical) adventure by Portugal’s most idiosyncratic auteur twists Catholic iconography into a playfully modern pretzel shape.
Quest
Jonathan Olshefski (USA, 2017, 105 min)
Filmed with vérité intimacy for nearly a decade, Quest is the moving portrait of the Rainey family living in North Philadelphia. Beginning at the dawn of the Obama presidency, Christopher “Quest” Rainey, and his wife, Christine’a “Ma Quest” raise a family while nurturing a community of hip hop artists in their basement home music studio. It’s a safe space where all are welcome, but this creative sanctuary can’t always shield them from the strife that grips their neighborhood.
The Stopover
Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin (France/Greece, 2016, 102 min)
A planeful of French soldiers finishing a tour in Afghanistan are flown to the island of Cyprus for a three-day recuperative stint of “sport, relaxation, and collective debriefing.” For longtime friends Aurore and Marine and their cohorts, this exercise in compulsory decompression—complete with “therapeutic” virtual reality—has mixed results, as a frightening undercurrent of resentment and hostility bubbles up among the more volatile soldiers in the unit.
The Transfiguration
Michael O’Shea (USA, 2016, 97 min)
Combining gritty urban realism with vampire movie name checks galore, The Transfiguration (selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard) tells the story of a teenage loner with a problem—he has a thirst for blood—and the slightly older girl who befriends him. Atmospheric and rich in character, the film references vampire classics like Martin (1978) and Let the Right One In (2008) while presenting an emotionally rich story of two youngsters trying to help one another with their respective demons.
The Untamed
Amat Escalante (Mexico/Denmark/France/Germany/Norway/Switzerland, 2016, 100 min)
Ángel exerts grim control over his wife, while conducting an affair with her brother—until a mysterious stranger reveals an otherworldly being that changes their lives forever. This meditation on pleasure and destruction is a sensual, erotic, and often bizarre adventure not soon forgotten.
For general information visit sffilm.org
To request interviews or screeners, contact lmolinari@sffilm.org
SFFILM Presents
SFFILM produces a robust slate of public programs throughout the year, including red carpet premiere events, advance member screenings, and in-depth film series. With diverse offerings and a commitment to excellence in world cinema, SFFILM is the home of great film in the Bay Area all year long. For more information visit sffilm.org/presents.
SFFILM
SFFILM champions 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 (April 4-17, 2018), SFFILM is a year-round nonprofit organization delivering screenings and events to nearly 100,000 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. For more information visit sffilm.org.
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