Opening Night Film and Gala Reception: Wednesday, Novemeber 13:Brava Theater Center
$8 Film Arts Members/film only
$10 General/film only
$20 Film and Reception

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13th : BRAVA THEATER CENTER. OPENING NIGHT!

    7PM. A Dream in Hanoi by Tom Weidlinger
    91 min, 35mm, color, 2002 with Indiana Aria
    by Elizabeth Pollock, 24 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by: American Conservatory Theater (ACT)

    The Festival's Opening night film tells the story of another explosive opening night performance that almost doesn't happen. Documenting the groundbreaking effort of the Artists Repertory Theater of
    Portland and the Central Dramatic Company of Vietnam to stage A Midsummer Night's Dream,
    A DREAM IN HANOI shows the myriad ways that things can go wrong and the passion, commitment, trust and respect that ultimately make things work. Tensions rise quickly during rehearsal. Can the physically
    demonstrative American actors play opposite their more restrained Vietnamese counterparts?
    Will Doan Hoang Giang’s attempts to add Vietnamese elements to the staging fly with a dramaturg steeped in Shakespearean traditionalism? Tempers flare; cultural differences over work habits, schedules, and the complexities of navigating the Vietnamese censorship bureaucracy all add to the tremendous challenges. At the end of the struggle, an actor correctly notes,“We have earned the right to call each other friends.” Preceded by INDIANA ARIA, a passionate portrait of young conservatory singers and the tough road to a career at the Opera. – Patrick Wickham
    Opening night Gala Reception following screening! Vietnamese delicacies, full bar, DJ, filmmaker and actors in attendance!

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    SPONSORED BY:Bonterra Vineyards

     

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14th : BRAVA THEATER CENTER
$7/Film Arts Members $9/General

    6PM. Unlocking The Heart of Adoption Work in Progress (F)
    by Sheila Ganz, 56 min, BETASP, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by Post Adoption Center for Education & Research

    In 1968, twenty-year old Sheila Ganz was raped, became pregnant and unwillingly relinquished her newborn daughter for adoption. Twenty years later, she became an adoption reform advocate and began her first film, UNLOCKING THE HEART OF ADOPTION. The film chronicles the chilling, first person stories of adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents in same race and transracial adoptions. These stories run the emotional gamut, from Hollywood-style "happy endings" to heart breaking tragedy, with bittersweet personal stories and fascinating historical background in between. From the Orphan Trains to the sealing of adoption records, to the current civil rights reforms for adoptees now being sought, UNLOCKING THE HEART OF ADOPTION proffers a brave, activist agenda through a deeply personal lens.

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    8PM. Cul de Sac: A Suburban War Story (F)
    by Garrett Scott, 55 min, BETASP, color, 2001
    with Mixed Feelings by Phillip Rodriquez, 23 min, BETASP, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by San Francisco Urban Research and Planning Asociation (SPUR)

    In 1995, an unemployed plumber from outside San Diego stole a tank and ran amok through his
    suburban hometown of Claremont, California. CUL DE SAC: A SUBURBAN WAR STORY chronicles the
    extraordinary tank rampage while it examines the socio-economic demise of a suburban landscape.
    Using news footage and extensive interviews, the film investigates a dramatic act of isolated
    rage and reveals the complicated relationship of the irrational act of one man to the decay of
    American community. Preceded by MIXED FEELINGS, an unexpected and revealing portrayal of the
    architectural and cultural relationship between San Diego and its urban neighbor, Tijuana.

    Sponsored by: Landmark Theaters
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    9:30PM. New Storytellers
    Co-Presented by Theater Bay Area

    These new narrative shorts are inspired by classic, Hollywood-style filmmaking. While each film has it's own distinct story and visual template, they all offer a rich, character-driven drama, most with lush 35mm cinematography and each one, an authentic, directorial voice. Jonathon Olives Recital is the story of an embarrassed young boy who seeks solace in a bathroom stall; The Three-Cornered Hat by Tony Liano tells the tale of a wacky, postmodernist encounter between a man and a Spanish pirate he discovers digging a hole in his lawn; Aarion Tudisco and Stokes McIntyre teamed up to make Capri, a sumptuous rendering of classic film noir and the story of a strange and mysterious three-way tryst fraught with jealousy, betrayal and mistaken identity; Pushing the Envelope, by LA-based filmmaker Suny Behar, tells of the emotional journey of a lonely man who takes “"going postal"” in a completely new direction; Andre Sevigny's Easy Pickings is a spirited ensemble drama featuring a feisty, old Cajun woman and her card-playing posse of senior citizens tangling with an attempted robber who gets way more than he bargained for; and finally, in Beauteous, by Giovanna Chesler, a young woman reckons with the fervor of her adolescence as she discovers her sexual identity amidst a race for high school prom queen.

    Recital by Jonathan Olives, 3 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [W]
    The Three-Cornered Hat by Tony Liano, 8 min, 35mm, color, 2002 [WC]
    Pushing the Envelope by Suny Behar, 21 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [SF]
    Capri by Aaron Tudisco and Stokes McIntyre, 15 min, BETASP, b & w, 2002 [W]
    Easy Pickings, by Andre Sevigny, 22 min, 35mm, color, 2002 [W]
    BeauteauS by Giovanna Chesler, 23 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [W]

    Sponsored by: Forest Creatures Entertainment
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15th : BRAVA THEATER CENTER
$7/Film Arts Members $9/General

    6PM. Downside Up
    by Nancy Kelly, 56 min, BETASP, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

    DOWNSIDE UP tells the story of the impoverished, working-class community of North Adams,
    Massachusetts (hometown to filmmaker Nancy Kelly), where a group of outsiders move in and
    transform a shuttered factory on the wrong side of the tracks into this country’s largest
    museum of contemporary art. The Kelly family’s kitchen-table wisdom becomes the way to understand
    urban renewal, gentrification, community survival and the disappearance of the working
    class. DOWNSIDE UP is ultimately a story about how the power of art can transform lives and
    give hope to a town many had written off as hopeless. DOWNSIDE UP is a presentation of the
    Independent Television Service (ITVS).

    Sponsored by: HBO
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    7:30PM. America Re/Visioned
    Co-Presented by AK Press Agitators + Intigators

    America Re/Visioned is a political and visually explosive collection of short works that re-interpret and re-envision American culture. Filmmaker Jerold Howard’s beautifully animated film SEE THE TRUTH challenges the viewer to rethink “family values” concerning racial bias and tolerance; Angel Vasquez’ hypnotic experimental film CHANGE OF FAITH explores the emotional impact of America’s war on terrorism; DUBYA’S BIG DAY, a pointed satire by Paul Van De Carr, presents an “alternative” version of the presidential inauguration; Koto Ezawa’s animated film THE SIMPSON VERDICT re-interprets the final moments of OJ’s criminal trial while making a powerful statement about American justice; LIVE AT FIVE is an indictment of American television journalism – filmmaker Andy Schocken edited national news clips collected by fifty people across the country to formulate a treatise on the American media landscape; and Cassandra Herrman and Katy Shrout’s provocative film AMERICAN EXILE tells the story of former Black Panther Pete O’Neal and his twenty-year political exile in Tanzania. The program also includes new work by Mario Escobar and Alfeu Franca. In total, these films create a candid and unapologetic statement about
    life in America, the importance of political consciousness and the power of media culture.

    See The Truth by Jerold Howard, 8 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [WC]
    What To Believe by Mario Escobar, 3 min, DV, color, 2002
    Ota Benga by Alfeu Franca, 16 min, 16mm, b/w, 2002 [F]
    The Simpson Verdict by Koto Ezawa, 3 min, 35mm, color, 2002 [W] [F]
    Live at Five by Andy Schocken, 24 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [WC]
    A Change of Faith by Angel Vasquez, 3 min, 16mm, color, 2002
    Dubya’s Big Day by Paul Van De Carr, 3 min, DV, color, 2002 [W]
    American Exile by Cassandra Herrman and Katy Shrout, 26 min, 16mm, color, 2001

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    9:30PM. ManHandled
    Co-Presented by: Microcinema International

    Six films, six different expressions of masculinity. ManHandled presents films by men about the textured and complicated experience of manhood, from the poetic to the sexual, the nostalgic to the schizophrenic. In Bill Basquin’s LAST DAY OF NOVEMBER, male hunters convene around a carcass in a primal study of men’s bodies, rituals and gestures. PINNED is a bittersweet exploration of high school wrestling, the metaphor of competition, and filmmaker Dan McKinney’s personal struggle with his father’s cancer and the need to be a champion. CURVE BALL is a personal documentary about two brothers, one a schizophrenic, the other, the filmmaker. John Neely turns the camera on his brother, who began hearing voices at the age of 20. The film is a complicated, emotional story of a young man who desperately wants to be “normal.” John Killacky waxes romantic in TOP 40 LOVE, a two and a half-minute journey through a boy’s memories of sex, politics and pop music. In GUYS AND DOLLS, Rock K. Schroeter takes a wacky, offbeat look at men who collect dolls, and in the political documentary OUR BROTHERS, OUR SONS, videographer Jim Arnold explores a shocking generation gap in the gay male community and the young men who choose “bare backing” in spite of the risks of AIDS.

    The Last Day of November by Bill Basquin, 4 min, 16mm, b/w, 2001 [SF]
    Pinned by Dan McKinney, 26 min, DV, color, 2002 [W]
    Curve Ball by John Neely, 6 min, 16mm, color, 2002 Top 40 Love
    by John Killacky, 3 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [SF]
    Guys and Dolls by Rock K. Schroeter, 13 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [WC]
    Our Brothers, Our Sons by Jim Arnold, 24 min, BETA SP, color, 2002

    Sponsored by: SFStation.com
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    11PM. Love Will Travel (WC)
    by Teddi Dean Bennet, 96 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [W]
    Co-Presented by S.F. Indiefest

    Don’t miss the Bay Area premiere of Teddi Dean Bennett’s narrative feature LOVE WILL TRAVEL.
    Six years in the making, financed through Teddi’s employment as a house painter and bartender at
    the local racetrack, LOVE WILL TRAVEL is a gorgeous Baghdad Café-style road movie, an urban
    fairy tale in a Nevada ghost town. It is the story of Lena, a young German woman, her American
    boyfriend Levon and her little sister Katrin. Lena and Katrin’s parents are killed in a car
    crash and the trio escape on a freighter headed to America to avoid relinquishing young Katrin
    to German authorities. Life is tough in urban L.A.-style America for
    this unconventional family and, as they flee city life, escaping
    an aggressive strip club owner/loan shark, they manage to gather a collection
    of misfit friends who help them survive in this strange, mystical and sometimes brutal
    territory. Sumptuous cinematography by Joplin Wu and original music by Jonathan Segal, a member of
    the band Camper Van Beethoven who also performs with Cracker, Sparklehorse and Eugene Chadbourne.

    Sponsored by: SAGIndie (Screen Actors Guild)
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16th : BRAVA THEATER CENTER
$5 all

    11AM. Kid's Animation Mini-Festival
    Co-Presented by Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco

    This vibrant and introspective selection of animated shorts is an entertaining and thought-provoking
    program for young audiences and their parents. Highlights include Silvia Uchida’s computer
    generated fantasy, BLUEGAROO, featuring a bright purple kangaroo who teaches friendship and
    sharing with his magical powers; Tina Banda’s THE MONEY PIG brings Victorian playhouse dolls to
    life in a quietly campy and ambitious tale of social order, snobbism and greed; Jesse Ford’s
    PHANTOM follows a loveable, high-energy dog around the ‘hood as he shakes his booty to a funky
    beat; while the remarkable Wallace and Gromit-style claymation SEE THE TRUTH by Jerold Howard
    is a clever and poignant morality tale about how we inherit intolerance and bias. Program also
    features a special Bay Area premiere episode of the independently-produced animated series
    PHANTOM INVESTIGATORS. Bring the whole family! – Marc Vincent

    Bluegaroo by Sylvia Uchida, 4 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [SF]
    The Money Pig by Tina Banda, 10 min, DV, color, 2002
    Phantom by Jesse Ford, 3 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    See The Truth by Jerold Howard, 8 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [WC]
    Phantom Investigators by Stephen Holman and Josephine Huang, 20 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [SF]

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    1PM. From Your Seat to the Street
    Agitators + Instigators
    FREE ADMISSION

    Join us Saturday afternoon at Brava Theater for this thoughtful panel discussion moderated by
    Jay Harris, Publisher of Mother Jones, and Frances Reid, Academy award-nominated filmmaker and
    cinematographer (LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY). From Your Seat to the Street asks how the presence of the camera affects events, people and our ability to change the world. Panelists will screen clips and all are invited to join in this dynamic conversation about how to translate cinema into social change.

    3PM. In the Flickerflash
    Co-Presented by San Francisco Cinematheque

    Traversing the trials and tribulations of experimental film is never easy but whoever said it
    should be? Experimental shorts that challenge narrative convention, IN THE FLICKERFLASH satisfies
    the thirst for formal innovation. Each film seeks to find just the right method of expression.
    The program aptly begins with Brett Simon’s seductive ode to narrative film/celluloid, THE FLICKERFLASH,
    and ends with Tom Gibbon’s masterful animation, THE HUNGER ARTIST, based on a Kafka
    story. Along the way we encounter Anjali Sundaram’s clever and humorous stop motion piece, BUCKLE
    MY SHOE; the stark, mysterious 1,020 NAUTICAL MILES by Marcy Saude; and Lynne Sach’s mesmerizing
    domestic still life, WINDOW WORK. The program also includes a group of poetic, enigmatic and
    elegiac films by Sangee Park, Waratap Payasadaj, Anita Chang and Drew Klausner. – Jay Rosenblatt
    The Flickerflash by Brett Simon, 4 min, DV, color, 2002
    The Hunger Artist by Tom Gibbons, 16 min, 16mm, color, 2002
    Buckle My Shoe by Anjali Sundaram, 3 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 1,020
    Nautical Miles by Marcy Saude, 5 min, DV, b/w, 2002 [W}
    Window Work by Lynne Sachs, 8 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [SF]
    Hands by Sanghee Park, 4 min, 16mm, color, 2002 [WC]
    Path by Waratap Pasayadaj, 4 min, 16mm, b/w, 2002 [W]
    An Elegy To our Small Selves by Anita Chang, 10 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [SF]
    Unknown by Drew Klausner, 3 min, 35mm, b/w, 2002 [F]

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    5PM. Trailer Park Blues by Alex Beckstead, 56 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    with Tzipa and Wolf by Dan Gamburg, 20 min, 16mm, color, 2001
    Co-Presented by AARP

    After they retired, Bill and Peggy Heiner hitched up their trailer and headed south in search of sunny skies. For the past several years, they have spent the winter in one particular trailer park near Phoenix, off I-17. A nearby sign reads, “Federal Prison, Do Not Stop For Hitchhikers.” Retirement is complicated for the Heiners. Grandpa drinks constantly, which gives him a feeble excuse for a short temper and wandering eye. He knows grandma tolerates him far more than he deserves. Amidst the tensions contained by the trailer and the alcoholism, filmmaker Alex Beckstead reveals the authentic and complicated love between his grandparents and the fabric of a marriage that has endured fifty years. Unlike the sensationalist dramas on “reality” television, TRAILER PARK BLUES’ intimate, verite-style truly captures the deep resonance of these
    (extra)ordinary people and reveals a captivating and uplifting story of an American couple who stay together in spite of it all. With TSIPA AND VOLF, Dan Gamburg’s illuminating cinematic portrait of his grandparent’s fifty-year arranged marriage. TRAILER PARK BLUES is a presentation of the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

    Sponsored by: Dolby Digital
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    7PM. Yank Tanks by David Schendel, 70 min, 35mm, color, 2002
    with Taxi Driver by Anders Osterballe, 6 min, 16mm, b & w, 2002
    and Thirteen by Yong Liu, 12 min, 16mm, b & w, 2002 [WC]

    YANK TANKS is a first look at the phenomenon of American classic cars in Cuba. Like an exotic,
    endangered species, these colorful vintage automobiles roam around the island trapped in a
    1950’s time warp, representing freedom and individuality. The film views the car owners as
    curators and the cars as a living, cultural museum. How the owners maintain the cars in spite
    of an American trade embargo is part of the political subtext of this stunning film. Schendel
    uses interviews with mechanics, parts inventors, racecar drivers and owners who toil day in
    and day out on problems that would condemn a car in America to scrap. Interviews are intercut
    with beautiful 35mm footage of the cars on the Cuban roadways, contemporary Cuban music, and
    never-before-seen footage from the Cuban Television Archive to create a provocative, modern
    anthropology of a vibrant, hidden culture. With TAXI DRIVER, by Anders Osterballe, about the
    poetry and karma of the taxi experience, and THIRTEEN, by Yong Liu, an experimental black
    comedy about a thirteenth road test.

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    9PM. Security
    by Brien Burroughs, 87 min, BETASP, color, 2002 [WP]
    Co-Presented by Bay Area Theatersports

    A smuggling operation and a murder is a ripe set-up for Brien Burroughs’ unwitting (and sometimes
    unscripted) security guards. In the exciting and dangerous world of private industry security,
    two graveyard shift patrolmen stand ready on the watch at a candy company. When news surfaces
    about a series of secret candy prototypes gone missing, the two patrolmen begin an investigation
    which leads them through the darkest hallways of the criminal mind and the human psyche. The case
    tests their professional resolve and reveals a world of corporate espionage, deceit and murder.
    Ultimately, their winged escapade tests the “code of the badge,” the depth of their friendship,
    and the steadfastness of their, uh, ambition. Filmmaker in Person.

    Sponsored by: SF Film
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    11PM. Scumrock by Jon Moritsugu, 80 min, video, color, 2002
    with Bring Me the Head of Sockets the Clown by Derek Vowles, 5 min, DV, color, 2002 [WC]
    Co-Presented by NAATA

    “I’m saying ‘fuck you’ to the digital revolution, digital is just
    another way for The Man to keep the brothers and sisters down.” - Jon Moritsugu

    Don’t miss local fave Jon Moritsugu’s new, award-winning, low-tech feature film. Moritsugu
    exploits video for what it is: an electronic signal rather than a photographic image. This lo-fi
    satire features Miles Morgan, a pretentious, twenty-something wannabe filmmaker freaking out
    about his age, and rocker chick Roxxy, real name Amy, who lives at home with her mom and busily
    rehearses her band The Puerto Ricans for a comeback show. Miles is nervous about his first film
    shoot. His producer, Jelly Davis, an unhappy student at SF State, can’t find the pussy willows
    he desperately needs. And Miles’ housemate Drew falls in love with a girl with no intestines.
    Lots of drama in unexpected places: Miles has a major nervous breakdown while his grandmother
    loses her mind, the film project crumbles, and Roxxy’s rock and roll dreams are shattered. Back
    in town after a break, Miles bumps into Jelly all over again and it’s another cold, gray San
    Francisco coffeehouse morning. Check out the cameos from Bay Area superstars Danny Plotnick,
    Valerie Soe and Craig Baldwin. With BRING ME THE HEAD OF SOCKETS THE CLOWN, an equally
    irreverent, animated film featuring an alcoholic clown and aliens who want his skull.

    Sponsored by: Bay Area Guardian
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16th : BRAVA THEATER CENTER STUDIO THEATER
    1-10PM. DIRECTOR'S CHOICE MARATHON!

    Join us in Brava’s upstairs theater for a wild and woolly marathon of films by Bay Area filmmakers. Over two hundred and fifty new projects were submitted for festival consideration this year. This is your chance to see some of the work we were not able to squeeze into the Festival. Participating directors will be on hand, so stop in between 1pm and 10pm to see this surprising collection of new films by Bay Area makers. You can drop by anytime; a listing of Director’s Choice films will be available at the door.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16th : WHEELER AUDITORIUM, UC BERKELEY
    6PM. Livermore
    by Rachel Raney and David Murray, 60 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    with Edmund's Island
    by Mark Freeman, 12 min, DV, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by the City of Livermore and Mayor Marshall Kamena

    In a feverish search for Livermore, California’s lost time capsule, this seemingly quiet, suburban town digs up its past: a totem pole with a Chippewa curse, a scandalous book of Bill Owen’s startling photographs, a supernatural light bulb, and the ominous Lawrence Livermore nuclear lab. This mesmerizing documentary re-defines offbeat. The locals are eccentric and they carry with them a totally surprising, otherworldly wisdom. Filmmakers Rachel Raney and David Murray let their subjects speak their own truth with only a subtle Errol Morris-like intervention, creating a moving document that is ultimately about the powerful collective memories of suburban life, and a comic, yet reverent notion of “hometown.” With EDMUND’S ISLAND, a portrait of a homeless freeway island newspaper hawker in Encinitas and the community that ebbs and
    flows around him.

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    8PM. Radical Harmonies
    by Dee Mosbacher, 92 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Agitators + Instigators

    This award-winning documentary by Dee Mosbacher chronicles the history and fervor of the Women’s
    Music movement, feminism and lesbian rights activism in 20th century America. Profiling the birth
    and development of Olivia Records, the film reviews the enmeshed musical and political careers of
    music greats Holly Near, Meg Christian, Cris Williamson, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Linda Tillery,
    Ronnie Gilbert and many others. RADICAL HARMONIES deftly traces the history of women’s music festivals
    and the crucial relationship between the world of women’s music and the fight for lesbian
    rights amidst persistent discrimination and homophobia. Surprise musical guests!

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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th : CASTRO THEATER
$7/Film Arts Members $9/General
    11AM. A Place Named Destiny. San Francisco Premiere!
    by Paul Ginocchio, 68 min, BETA, color, 2002
    Co-Presented by LYRIC (Lavender Youth Recreation and Infomation Center), Colman Advocates for Children and Youth and San Francisco Art and Film for Teenagers

    Oakland-based filmmaker Paul Ginocchio left his job at KRON-TV to make A PLACE NAMED DESTINY,
    a passionate documentary profiling the Destiny Youth Arts Performance Company. Destiny provides
    inner-city teenagers with a unique outlet to channel their energy into exuberant creative performance.
    A PLACE NAMED DESTINY opens with a grim statistic: eighty-five percent of California
    public schools in low-income areas don’t have access to arts education. Ginnochio’s camera gets
    personal with the students; we hear young Alice Taylor tell how her out-of-control temper landed
    her in juvenile hall and her rage often leads her to violent eruptions and blackouts. Yet, when
    she dances, she is transformed, and when she teaches young children to dance, we understand the
    powerful impact art can have on young people. In A PLACE NAMED DESTINY, the process of making art
    empowers disenfranchised youth to overcome the racism, violence, homophobia and poverty they face
    every day of their lives. Destiny Youth Arts Performance Company performs after the screening!

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    1PM. Dylan's Run. World Premiere!
    by Steven Johnson and David Rosenthal 94 min, BETA SP, color, 2002 [WP]
    Co-Presented by The San Francisco Black Film Festival and The League of Women Voters of San Francisco Agitators + Instigators

    What drives a young African-American man to become a member of the Republican Party and to run
    for the United States Congress in a white district of racist South Georgia? DYLAN’S RUN chronicles
    the experiences of Dylan Glenn, the great-grandson of emancipated slaves, as he seeks to
    become the first black Republican from the Deep South elected to Congress since Reconstruction.
    The New York Times recently published a Frank Rich column highlighting Dylan’s race for Congress
    and maintaining that George W. Bush and the Republican Party will “need someone like Dylan Glenn
    to make good on his promise to lift up both black and white Americans in a patch of the country
    as ripe for change as this.” Closely following two campaigns and an historic primary race, this
    engaging film provides a gritty, inside look into American politics in the New South.

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    SUNDAY, NOVERMBER 17:CASTRO THEATRE
    SPECIAL BENEFIT FOR SURFRIDER FOUNDATION
    TICKETS $10/ALL

    3PM. Heart of the Sea : Kapolioka'ehukai. San Francisco Premiere!
    by Charlotte LaGarde and Lisa Denker. 56 min, 16mm, color, 2002

    “Every two years, the cancer would come back with a vengeance and you realize that the life that was once yours, the life you lived, is no longer yours. It belongs to the pain in your back, or your chest, or in your throat, or in your lung, or the medications that make you feel ill. It’s not yours anymore, and you just go, ‘NO’. But then, when you can get up in the morning and have enough energy to get in the water and catch a wave, you own your life again.” - Rell Sun

    Rell Sun captured the heart of Hawaii and the world during a fourteen-year battle with breast cancer. She was a champion in international surfing, one of the first five women inducted intothe International Surfing Museum’s Walk of Fame, one of the founders of the first women’s professional surfing tour and an inspiring teacher to hundreds of young people. HEART OF THE SEA, a visionary biopic of Rell Sun, deftly illustrates the poetry and exhilaration of her sport and the tremendous, lasting impact of her life. She helped make surfing safe for women and inspired hundreds of young people to follow their own hearts and fearlessly ride the waves. Preceded by SUBWAYS: 5 VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY RILKE, a dazzling and hypnotic modern dance film set in subway cars and escalators.This special Castro screening is a benefit for Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots, non-profit environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches. Founded in 1984, Surfrider's most important work is carried out by its 60 chapters located along the East, West, Gulf, Puerto Rican, and Hawaiian coasts. For more information on Surfrider Foundation, please check out www.surfrider.org. HEART OF THE SEA is a presentation of the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

    Sponsored by: Green Cine
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    5:30PM. First Person Female
    Co-Presented by Madcat Women's International Film Festival

    This spirited and insightful collection of short movies reveals the complex and diverse lives
    of women from the outside in. An African-American woman recites powerful poetry to inspire
    survivors of domestic abuse in Rachel Libert and Barbara Parker’s KOOL BREEZE; in Erica Peng’s
    ORANGE JUICE AND KNITTING NEEDLES, a young woman finds comfort in the everyday activities of her
    Chinese immigrant grandparents; in Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdottir and Tina Naccache’s WHO HANGS THE
    LAUNDRY, a woman washing clothes in postwar Beirut formulates a striking essay on feminism and
    servitude; BFD by Holly Mahan gives fat girls equal time in a skinny world; in David Chalker’s
    HYPOCRITE, a street-wise feminist turns violent on the camera; Giovanna Chesler examines her
    body as it catches fire in BEAUTEOUS: GIOVANNA; and a young Chinese-American girl discovers her
    friend attempting suicide in a school bathroom, revealing the surreal and fantastical world of
    family obligation in Georgia Lee’s lush 35mm film EDUCATED. Filmmakers in Person!

    Kool Breezeby Rachel Libert and Barbara Parker, 6 min, 35mm, color, 2002
    Hypocrite by David Chalker, 14 min, 35mm, b/w, 2002 [F]
    Orange Juice and Knitting Needles by Erica Peng, 11 min, 16mm, b/w, 2002 [F]
    BFD by Holly Mahan, 11 min, DV, color, 2002 [W] [F]
    BeauteouS: Giovanna by Giovanna Chesler, 4 min, 16mm, b/w, 2002 [WP] [F]
    Who Hangs the Laundry? by Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdottir and Tina Naccache, 20 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    Educated by Georgia Lee, 11 min, 35mm, color, 2002 [WC]and fantastical world of family obligation in Georgia Lee's lush 35mm film Educated. Filmmakers in Person

    Sponsored by: Monaco
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    7:30PM. The Weather Underground. Special Sneak Preview!
    by Sam Green 92 min, BETA SP, color, 2002
    with Sing Along San Francisco
    by Scott Noble, 5 min, 35mm, color, 2002

    Award-winning filmmakers Sam Green & Bill Siegel previews their groundbreaking documentary about the Weathermen — the infamous, rebel group of white, upper middle-class youth in the 1960’s and 70’s who subordinated their own lives in pursuit of racial justice and an end to the Vietnam War. Green deftly interweaves found footage, archival news clips and never before-seen interviews with former group members. THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND is an extraordinary document of one of the most passionate and violent times in American political history. THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND is a presentation of the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

    After the screening, please join us at Atelier Gallery, 2354 Market Street, for a fabulous
    Closing Night Gala Reception to benefit Film Arts Foundation. Delicious food and drink from some
    of San Francisco’s top restaurants, local DJ’s. Shmooze with festival filmmakers and VIP guests,
    and celebrate San Francisco’s extraordinary cinematic spirit!

    Tickets/$10 Film; $40/Film and CLOSING NIGHT GALA RECEPTION
    ORDER TICKETS NOW

     

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23: SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE
    THE PHELAN AWARDS
    ROBERT NELSON: THE MYTH, THE MAN, THE LEGEND

    Sponsored by The San Francisco Foundation
    2002 James D. Phelan Art Awards in Film and Video
    Presented by Film Arts Foundation and Bay Area Video Coalition with the San Francisco Art Institute.

    Robert Nelson, one of avant-garde cinema's infamous legends, defined what is known as West Coast-style filmmaking when he busted onto the scene in 1965 with his bold film O DEM WATERMELONS. His provocative film THE GREAT BLONDINO (1967), a collaboration with good friend William T. Wiley, is part of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art and earned him a Guggenheim Fellowship. Robert Nelson is also the founder of the San Francisco Art Institute Film Department and a founding member of the experimental distribution company Canyon Cinema, Inc. The San Francisco Foundation will present Mr. Nelson with this year's Phelan Art Award in Film on Saturday, November 23rd at the San Francisco Art Institute.
    Torsten Burns and Douglas Rosenberg will be presented with the Phelan Art Awards in Video. The program and screening will begin at 6:30pm followed by a special reception. The event is free and open to the public.

    For more information: www.filmarts.org