BUS24: THE DIVERSITY BUS
Youth Media Open Mic
co-presented by salesforce.com/ foundation
Free to all

This exciting program includes a screening of BUS 24: THE DIVERSITY BUS, a film in which young filmmakers, ages 10 ­ 16, share their experiences as they journey on the MUNI bus 24 across diverse neighborhoods, from the rougher edges of Bayview Hunters Point to the affluent corners of Pacific Heights. After the film, students are invited to participate in a peer-run open mic to talk about the film and video projects they are creating in their own neighborhoods, fostering a dynamic dialogue and a city-wide community of young mediamakers. Admission is free!

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OPENING NIGHT FEATURE
Thursday, October 30
ROXIE CINEMA 7PM

SOULSVILLE
by Bob Sarles
53 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
part of the MOTHER JONES agitators & instigators series co-presented by KPOO
$8/Film Arts members; $10/General
$20 for film and reception

SOULSVILLE is an exuberant celebration of the soul, R&B, gospel, pop, rock, and funk music explosion that came barreling out of Memphis, TN, in the late '50s, '60s, and '70s. Standing in contrast to Motown's smooth cosmopolitan approach to melody, Stax Records epitomized the gritty, raw, stripped down sound experienced "the minute you crossed the Mason Dixon line." Stax's incredible roster of recording artists helped create and define "soul music." Such greats as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. and the MG's, The Staple Singers, Carla and Rufus Thomas, and Black Moses himself, Isaac Hayes, were all launched at the studio on College and McLemore in Memphis. Originally produced as a documentary film for the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, SOULSVILLE contains rarely seen performance footage and interviews, and explores the roots of American soul music while relating the volatile history of Stax records. This film will have you out of your seat grooving to every soul record you ever loved.
Joan Gibson

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WAITING TO INHALE
by Jed Riffe
56 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
part of the MOTHER JONES agitators & instigators series co-presented by San Francisco Medical Society
$8/Film Arts members; $10/General

This powerful film offers a searing critique of the politics and emotional backdrop of the struggle to legalize medical marijuana. At stake is the health of patients marginalized by legal issues, relief for the seriously ill, the future of the War on Drugs, and the ability of states to assert their constitutional rights. The film boldly frames the medical needs of desperately ill patients through the lens of passionate anti-drug crusaders who have lost loved ones to drug abuse. Dramatic footage of a police raid on the home of a paralyzed woman and demonstrations by parents groups fighting desperately for tougher drug laws paint a picture of a community divided. (a special work-in-progress screening!)

Eat, drink, meet filmmakers, cast and crew, and support the completion of WAITING TO INHALE at a SPECIAL BENEFIT FUNDRAISING PARTY after the film at the PORK STORE CAFÉ, 3122 16th Street@ Valencia, right across the street from the Roxie! Tickets are $25.

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My So-Called Life
Teen Movies
co-presented by Gen Art SF and LYRIC,
Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center
$8/Film Arts members; $10/General

My So-Called Life is a dramatic, angst-filled collection of short films about the emotional experiences of teenagers. Feelings of desire, loneliness, lust, awkwardness, and inadequacy fill a beautifully realized visual and emotional fantasy world. Beginning with Lucas Morrison's poetic film ACCIDENT, a range of characters come together in this program: the skateboarding outsider in LITTLE FAILURES, the goth high-schooler of ONE FINE MORNING and the headstrong girl who won't take any flack in Leilani Abad's TOUGH GIRL. Melissa Henry's lyrical BETWEEN YOU AND ME explores jealousy and trust between two high school friends, and, in DAYDREAMER, by 17-year old Berkeley high-school student Sam Fuller, a young man falls victim to lust, insanity, and his sweet-tooth.

Accident
by Lucas Morrison
3 min, 16mm, b&w
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Daydreamer
by Sam Fuller
5 min, dv, color
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Tough Girl
by Leilani Abad
13 min, 16mm, color
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Between You and Me
by Melissa Henry
14 min, Beta SP, color
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Little Failures
by John Dilley
10 min, 16mm. color
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Local Colorful:
Bay Area Characters
co-presented by Gen Art SF
$8/Film Arts members; $10/General

Local Colorful presents short films and videos about local "characters" who don't need costumes to go out on Halloween. Aron Ranen's DEATH ROW ART STAR profiles a 70-year-old erotic portrait photographer in the Mission who distributes the jailhouse artwork of a San Quentin death row inmate; PRETZEL, by Elizabeth Pearson, features a San Francisco yoga instructor describing her many lives as she folds herself up into a series of tantric yogic knots; Ivan Jaigirdar's HATE MAN looks at the legendary social rebel/street "prophet" who regularly preaches a hate diatribe to an attentive audience of Berkeley students, faculty, and street denizens; and Cecil Feeder's OUR LADY OF TAMALE, a local, music-filled biopic of the famous Tamale Lady, who cleans houses by day and sells her handmade tamales by night to hungry South-of-Market bar crowds.

Sponsored by:

Our Lady of Tamale
by Cecil Feeder
30 min, dv, color
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Death Row Art Star
by Aron Ranen,
9 min, dv, color
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Pretzel
by Elizabeth Pearson,
10 min, dv, color
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THUNDERCRACK!
By Curt McDowell
127 min 16mm color 1975
$8/Film Arts members $10/General
co-presented by San Francisco Cinematheque and the Werepad

"If you're at all familiar with underground cinema, than you've probably heard tales about this flick for years. But actually seeing the thing is a different matter entirely. Crass, sick and hilarious, this no-budget b&w feature is filled with the essence of pure, undiluted cinematic derangement. Like the earliest works of John Waters, it revels in taboo-shattering shocks and an undying love for Hollywood kitsch. Glorious overwritten by George Kuchar, and directed by the late Curt McDowell (who was one of Kuchar's first students), it's a torrent of comically-lit cliches, heated to the point of lurid parody. The time: A dark and stormy night. The setting: An old, secluded mansion--the home of the terrifically obscene Mrs. Gert Hammond (Marion Eaton), who staggers about the place with heavy, mismatched eyebrows and a vomit-caked wig. And as the night progresses, more and more visitors arrive at her doorstep, stranded by the inclement weather. One guy has a fear of ladies' girdles, another is the Christian wife of a country-western singer, a few more were in a car wreck, and George Kuchar himself shows up (and steals the show) while transporting circus animals. The characters then proceed to fight, [screw] and spout pages and pages of dialogue, while Marion plays voyeur through secret peepholes -- watching the males play with vacuum-powered penis enlargers as she masturbates with a huge cucumber. Without question, THUNDERCRACK! is one of the great underground sleaze epics, and a touchstone for all independent filmmakers to come!" Not for the faint of heart - don't say we didn't warn you! - Steven Puchalski, SHOCKCIN

Women On the Verge
Co-presented by the San Francisco Ballet and Women's Cancer Resource Center
$8/Film Arts members $10/General

LET'S FACE IT gets up close and personal with seven midlife women, ages 45 to 63, as they turn the camera on themselves to face the physical and emotional anxiety of aging. Wendy Oser, Joan Levinson, and Beverley Spencer joined forces to make this brutally honest film that looks beyond the lines and wrinkles to an authentic experience of real women aging in a "nip and tuck" world. In RETURNING HOME, award-winning local filmmaker Andy Abrahams Wilson crafts a breathtaking, lyrical film about 80-year-old post-modern dance pioneer Anna Halprin. The film explores the mesmerizing body of Halprin during revelatory dances that connect the physical body to the natural world. In the poignant shadow of Halprin's recent struggle with cancer, RETURNING HOME is a mythic and poetic celebration of the aging body.

Let's Face It
by Joan Levinson, Wendy Oser, Beverly Spencer
26 min, Beta SP, color
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Spirit of Gravity:
Films that Dance
Co-presented by the San Francisco Ballet
$7/Film Arts members $9/General

Spirit of Gravity explodes on screen with a dynamic collection of films that really move. Beginning with two inventive animated films, Shirley Smith's LOST SOCK and Victor Bellomo's THE SPIRIT OF GRAVITY, the program continues with Brandon Arnold and Phoebe Tooke's newsreel-inspired mock documentary FLUGTAG, about unique human-powered flying machines. Movement continues with Kia Smith's underwater dance/music video THE DIVE, followed by Daniel Conrad's stunning 35mm modern dance suite, 6 POSSIBILITIES. Conrad manipulates the exquisite images of the dancers, layering them in-camera like voices in a fugue. After STUTTER, a video by Marijke Jorritsma, which features the street rhythms of the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club "Top-Knotch Steppers," the Film Arts Festival presents the premiere of WHEN I DANCE, Sandra Bagnall's debut film about a dance teacher and a ballet program in Lafayette that continues to motivate and inspire generations of women.

Lost Sock
by Shirley Smith,
3 min, 16mm, color
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The Spirit of Gravity
by Victor Bellomo & David Pace
5 min, Beta SP, color
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Flugtag
by Brandon Arnold & Phoebe Tooke,
7 min, dv, b&w
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The Dive
by Kia Smith,
4 min, Beta SP, color
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Saturday, November 1
ROXIE CINEMA 7PM

Memory Sightings:
cinema of seeing bodies
Co-presented by San Francisco Cinematheque
$7/Film Arts members $9/General

The films and videos in Memory Sightings explore memory in a dizzying cascade of color, light and sound. These filmmakers boldly use found footage, black-and-white still photography, antique music, and multiple narration to give life to stories once unheard, characters on the brink, and dreams with no end. Highlights include Michael Wilson's FLORA'S FILM, a true story of love and revenge inspired by the life of Eadward Muybridge's wife; ON MY KNEES, Kim Wood's film based on the turn-of-the-century diaries of servant and fetishist Hannah Culwick; Christopher Marino's FINDING FEDRICK, a haunting film in which the futile search for the body of a missing boy scout takes on new dimensions; Nefertiti Kelley Farias' collage film ANOTHER, a visual tribute to the missing women of Juarez; and Jay Rosenblatt's masterful and unsettling FRIEND GOOD, a Frankenstein-inspired exploration of the journey from good to evil and back again. Also included are I MY BIKE by Ken Paul Rosenthal, Waratap Pasayadaj's RECALL, SALT by Aaron Hawks, and Dominic Angerame's mesmerizing and ecstatic film, CONSUME.
Daniela Province

Sponsored by:

I My Bike
Ken Paul Rosenthal,
5 min, 16mm, b&w
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Flora's Film
Michael Wilson,
15 min, 16mm, color
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Friend Good
Jay Rosenblatt,
5 min, dv, b&w

On My Knees
Kim Wood
13 min, Beta SP, color
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Saturday, November 1
ROXIE CINEMA 9PM

New Storytellers
Co-presented by Theatre Bay Area
$8/Film Arts members $10/General

New Storytellers showcases four short narrative films -- rich, character-driven dramas with an authentic, directorial voice. These are Hollywood "calling card" films that help put new directors on the map. HOME, by Nancy Deren, tells the story of ten-year old Dorrie, whose life with grandma gets a jolt when her prodigal mother comes home determined to turn over a new leaf. HOME stars Traci Lords as Dorrie's
itinerant mother. Next up is Mateen Kemet's SILENCE, a powerful, gritty, surreal investigation of urban family violence, seen through the eyes of a 16-year-old survivor. Kevin Shaw, a Film Arts member from Tennessee, is the director of JEREMIAH STRONG, an acclaimed film about a homeless drifter searching for a new life on his own terms. The final offering is David Munro's COMPULSORY BREATHING, a Grottofilms production about a man distracted from suicide by a woman who wants to borrow his gun. Four different stories, four diverse directors, four exciting new voices.

Sponsored by:

Home
Nancy Deren,
30 min, 35mm, color
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Jeremiah Strong
Kevin Shaw,
22 min, 35mm, color
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Silence
Mateen Kemet,
22 min, Beta SP, color
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Compulsory Breathing
David Munro,
23 min, Beta SP, color
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Saturday, November 1
LITTLE ROXIE CINEMA 11:00 AM

Join local filmmakers for a free late-night screening of new short films, with $2 beer!

The Filmmakers & Their Films:

• That Which I Could and Could Not Shoot: Michelle Dizon, 12 min, Super-8
• The Hidden Gift: Donis Georgiou & Michael Fried, 5 min, DV
• OK Computer: Sebastian Diego Feldman, 3 min, DV
• Queen Zhivago: Diane Karagienakos, 3 min, DV
• Bruised: Ralph Ackerman, 10 min, DV
• Adieu: Marcella Sanchez, 4 min, DV
• Memorie: Vala Cliffton, 5 min, DV
• OMD: Pepe Urquijo & Sean Frechette, 10 min, DV
• The Judgement: Charley Rice, 8 min, VHS
• Loops: A Portrait of Caddie Life: M.R. Dhar, 6 min, DV

Saturday, November 1
LITTLE ROXIE CINEMA 1:30 - 4:30PM

THE LITTLE ROXIE DOCS series
$5 for each program/$12 all programs

This strong and sassy collection of films screens at the brand spanking new Little Roxie, two doors down from the big Roxie. Little Roxie Docs is a provocative program of short films by local makers plus a work-in-progress screening of Caveh Zahedi's much anticipated I AM A SEX ADDICT, along with Mouncey Ferguson's hilarious STRAIGHT SEX. This eclectic, intimate series highlights the truly creative range of local film and video artists. Watch just a few movies, or stay all afternoon!

LITTLE ROXIE 1:30
This diverse program explores nature and culture. CHANGO is an inventive, newsreel-inspired film presenting a mysterious gorilla that appears in Mexico City as a symbol of revolt against the oppressive messages of mass media; UPROOT ROOT DOWN tells the story of a grassroots political campaign to outlaw for-profit evictions in Oakland and, MY NARMADA TRAVELS focuses on the plight of indigenous peoples in India being displaced by rising waters and an aggressive government deaf to their plight.

Chango
Richard Clark,
7 min, dv/Super 8, b&w
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Cheerleader
Kimberlee Bassford,
23 min, Beta SP, color
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Los Ausentes
Mindy Gross and Justin Dubois,
19 min, dv, color
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PIKI & POKO
by David Cutler and Mark Ewert
45 min, dv, color, 2003
co-presented by Frameline and ASIFA SF, the Bay Area's Animation Association
$5/all tickets

A breakout hit on the Internet and a sensation at the SF Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, PIKI & POKO will appeal to a broad audience -- from pre-schoolers to ravers and from soccer moms to drag queens. A fresh take on grrl power, PIKI & POKO sparkles with anime action, Japanglish dialogue, and a rave-inspired soundtrack. Starland was once a harmonious, astrologically-aligned paradise, where the twelve Zodiac DJ's spun a Celestial Dance Mix to which everyone grooved. But now, this Eden is in trouble. The villainous Shaper and the diabolical Homemaker (who bears more than a passing resemblance to Martha Stewart) are stamping out StarLand's diverse fabulousity! Enter Piki and Poko, the prophesied Eternal Martial Arts Astrology Warriors From Another World! Trapped in a confusing new world with only a mute space-squid as their guide, Piki and Poko must navigate StarLand and save the universe while learning to access their own awesome powers. For the Film Arts Festival of Independent Cinema, Piki and Poko are back with brand new episodes!!

Joan Larsen

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Sponsored by:

A GREAT WONDER
by Kim Shelton
61 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
part of the MOTHER JONES agitators & instigators series co-presented by Mosaic Multicultural Foundation and Pathways to Peace
$8/Film Arts members $10/General

This award-winning documentary traces the extraordinary journey of Martha, Abraham, and Santino, three orphans whose families were massacred in war-torn Sudan. After fleeing their burned villages and devastating conditions in refugee camps, many young Sudanese were resettled across the United States and have come to be known as the "Lost Boys." A GREAT WONDER follows three of these young people, including one "Lost Girl," for 18 months as they struggle to assimilate into American culture and cope with brutal memories of war. Using first-person video diaries, live-action sequences, archival news footage and intimate interviews, A GREAT WONDER is an intensely personal and searing political account of a group of unforgettable Sudanese youth searching for community and identity in Seattle. Winner "Best Documentary" at the 2003 Seattle International Film Festival

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THE KIDNAPPING OF INGRID BETANCOURT
By Karin Hayes and Victoria Bruce
75 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
part of the MOTHER JONES agitators & instigators series co-presented by the Center for Investigative Reporting, Cine Accion, Latino Film Festival
$8/Film Arts members $10/General

Kidnapped by members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) three months before the Colombian presidential elections in 2002, senator and Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt continues to be held by rebel guerilla forces. Her family and supporters carry on a desperate quest to free her and keep her campaign for a new Colombia alive. In a country controlled by drug cartels and corrupt government officials, Ingrid Betancourt has been an outspoken advocate for reform in her embattled nation. At this time, she remains a prisoner in the Colombian jungle and has not been heard from for more than a year. THE KIDNAPPING OF INGRID BETANCOURT is a must-see documentary about the abduction of an extraordinary woman of vision, and the global efforts to free her from captivity.

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SUNDAY, November 2
CASTRO THEATRE 4PM

AMERICAN DANCER
by Adam Ballachey
75 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
co-presented by the San Francisco Sex Worker Film and Video Festival and Grottofilms
$8/Film Arts members $10/General

Things definitely heat up with the Bay Area premiere of Adam Ballachey's provocative AMERICAN DANCER. In his first feature documentary, Ballachey turns the camera on the Suncoast Calendar Men, four heterosexual male strippers from Tampa, Florida. It is a darkly comedic vérité-style documentary that goes backstage to a nightly "suburban man-circus" and reveals a world where drugs, broken homes, cash-for-sex, and jealous husbands haunt the men as they chase the dream of celebrity. Charged by intimate and telling observations, AMERICAN DANCER recounts the dark story of four compelling antiheroes whose lives are caught in a riptide of screaming women and shattered dreams. Produced by Mark Consuelos, from ABC TV'S All My Children. Special surprise guests!

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Sposored by:

GREENDALE
by Neil Young (& Bernard Shakey)
90 min, 35mm, color, 2003
a benefit for Film Arts Foundation
and the Bridge School
$12/Film Arts members and Bridge School families $15/General

Fresh from its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, we are proud to present the Bay Area premiere of music legend Neil Young's new film project GREENDALE. The story centers around a Northern California family torn apart by murder, political corruption, and media exploitation. Dubbed a "musical novel," this movie breaks all boundaries of rock opera, music video, and concert film. Young has written a narrative song-cycle -- actors re-enact the story, lip-synch to the music, and fully inhabit the cast of extraordinary characters. Young is supported on the soundtrack by Crazy Horse bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina. The original film was shot in Super-8 on Young's ranch in Woodside, and the grainy feel and saturated color is the perfect visual palette for the story and the songs. If you're into Neil Young, this movie will rock your world. If you don't think you're into Neil Young, GREENDALE will bring you into the fold.

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DOUBLE DARE
by Amanda Micheli
75 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
part of the MOTHER JONES agitators & instigators series co-presented by the San Francisco Ballet, Bay Area Stunt Exchange
$10/Film Only $30/Film and Gala

The Film Arts Festival proudly presents the super-sneak preview of Amanda Micheli's DOUBLE DARE,
a double-barreled, action-packed documentary about the lives of two Hollywood stuntwomen,
Jeannie Epper and Zoe Bell. Epper, who refuses to retire at the age of sixty-two, doubled for Wonder
Woman in the '70s, and Bell landed the coveted job of doubling for Xena at the age of 18. DOUBLE DARE includes rollicking, live-action stunt sequences, star-studded interviews with Lynda Carter, Lucy Lawless, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino (and location footage from his new film, KILL BILL), along with a candid look at two strong, dedicated women who pursue tough careers in male-dominated Tinseltown. Live stunts, surprise guests, and the Gala Closing Night party make this a not-to-be-missed Festival event.

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SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT
by Joslyn Rose Lyons
59 min, Beta SP, color, 2003
co-presented by the Hip-Hop Film Festival,
Youth Speaks
$7/Film Arts members $9/General

Don't miss a beat when the fresh new director's cut of SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT hits the screen. SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT is a film that re-tools the reputation of hip hop; it's not just gangsta rap, odes to violence, sex and fast cars. SOUNDZ OF SPIRIT gives voice to a community of "conscious" rappers, revealing and celebrating the creative process, activist politics, and deep spiritual roots of an array of artists from the West Coast underground scene, including Andre 3000 (Outkast), KRS-One, Talib Kweli, and Spearhead's Michael Franti, among many others. SOUNDZ of SPIRIT captures the artists at the moment of inspiration in the place where the words and music begins. The power of this creative journey represents a community searching for its authentic voice. With live spoken-word and rap performances by Zioni!

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