Tiger Beat

On Vox: Two San Francisco documentaries Tuesday

Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill will air on many PBS stations tonight (check local listings) as part of Independent Lens. I first saw it during the 2004 San Francisco International Film Festival and when it was shown theatrically in San Francisco in 2005 (photos).  The documentary which is based on Mark Bittner's book is also available on DVD.

Independent Lens | The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill Trailer

Bittner and director Judy Irving were interviewed last year on Terra TV.  Sign up for the email list on the Wild Parrots site (scroll down to the bottom) to get updates on the parrots and their other projects.

Chris Tashima, Daniel Dae Kim, Jason Scott Lee, and Jeff Adachi

I wrote about San Franciso public defender Jeff Adachi's documentary,The Slanted Screen, last year when it was shown theatrically.  It has been airing on PBS stations this month and will be on KQED tonight at 10:30 pm.  It is also available on DVD.  Jeff Adachi was interviewed earlier this month on WBUR.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

On Vox: Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep

50th SF International Film Festival

For 30 years, Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep was only rarely shown.  Even after being named to the National Film Registry in 1990, it wasn't released theatrically or on video.  As David Kehr wrote in the New York Times, the reason was the film was made as Burnett's graduate film at UCLA, so the music rights were never cleared.

Charles Burnett at PFA in 2004

I was lucky enough to see it many years ago when I lived in New York.  I saw Burnett speak when Nightjohn (which is available on DVD) was shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1996 and at Pacific Film Archive during a retrospective in 2004.

It took six years and  $150,000 (half donated by Steven Soderbergh) was spent to get the music rights.  They still weren't able to get the rights to Unforgettable by Dinah Washington which played during the closing of the film (and is still listed in the closing credits - you can buy it on itunes for 99 cents and bring your ipod to the theater).

Killer of Sheep

Killer of Sheep is playing in theaters in some cities through the fall.  It is at the Castro and Rafael through Thursday.  It will continue through at least next week at the Shattuck in Berkeley.  It will be out on DVD along with My Brothers Wedding and some short films on November 13th, but see it in a theater if you can.  Hopefully, his 1990 film, To Sleep with Anger, will also soon be available again on DVD.

Interview with Burnett, another interview, interview with links at bottom (though some don't work)

Review and story from NPR.

Review by J. Hoberman

More reviews and articles.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

The Rape of Europa

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Rape of Europa during SFIFF50

            

           

   

Screenings of The Rape of Europa were sold out during the San Francisco International Film Festival, but it opens tonight in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Rafael.  Co-directors Richard Berge, Bonni Cohen and Nicole Newnham, and Bernard Taper (who is interviewed in the film) will answer questions after the 7:30  pm show on Friday, May 18th at the Embarcadero (sign up for the Landmark newsletter to see if they will be at any future shows).

                                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

The Rape of Europa trailer

            

           

   

The documentary, based on the book of the same name by Lynn Nicholas, focuses on the massive theft of art by the Nazis which continues to have an impact today.  It doesn't ignore the impact of the Allies telling the story of the military's Monuments Men (including Taper) who worked to protect the culture of the cities in the path of the war.

                                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

SF360 Movie Scene Europa interview

            

           

   

While Rape of Europa will be shown on PBS, it does make a difference to really be able to see the art in a theater (schedule).  And it tells important aspects of the story the weren't in The Architecture of Doom and exhibits and plays I'd seen on the Nazis and art.

                                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Robert Edsel, co-producer of The Rape of Europa

            

           

   

Michael Guillén interviewed Berge and Cohen.  Cohen, Nicholas, and Taper were also on Forum this morning.  Co-producer Robert Edsel has a blog on issues related to the film. There are more video clips from the film online.

Cohen was executive producer of Wonders are Many which also screened at SFIFF, and Newnham directed Sentenced Home which has been airing this week on Independent Lens on PBS. 

 

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

Frontline: When Kids Get Life on PBS

                                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

FRONTLINE "When Kids Get Life" at pbs.org/frontline

            

           

   

When Kids Get Life airs on most PBS stations on Tuesday as part of Frontline (it will also be online).

Ofra Bikel's latest documentary looks at five of the 45 prisoners in Colorado who are serving life without parole for  crimes they committed when they were juveniles. 

Bikel's has done a series of documentaries on the criminal justie system for Frontline.  Some of them have helped innocent people be freed from prison.

They include The Case for Innocence, Requiem for Frank Lee Smith, Snitch, An Ordinary Crime, The Burden of Innocence, and The Plea (the last two are online).

It becomes clear that some of the inmates in When Kids Get Life should never have gone to jail and others should not spend the rest of their lives in jail.

Colorado once had one of the most progressive juvenile justice systems.  Jeffrey Fagan is interviewed about it.  But, in the early 90s like many states, they changed the law to allow for juveniles to be tried as adults and sent to prison for life without parole.  And the choice was left to the prosecutor, not the judge.

In 2006, Colorado became the first state to change from life to being eligable for parole after 40 years.  But a compromise to pass the bill over the objections of district attorneys and the families of murder victims dropped a provision to make it retroactive.

The Pendulum Foundation was started by the parents of Eric Jenson who is in tonight's documentary. 

It is also clear that there was physical and/or sexual abuse in many of the cases.  There needs to be more resources put into child abuse prevention and treatment programs.

                                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Independent Lens | THE CATS OF MIRIKITANI | PBS

            

           

   

Also, tonight on Independent Lens on many PBS stations is The Cats of Mirikitani which was shown in March at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

Rob Nilsson films on Jaman through Thursday

 

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Graham Leggat - 50th San Francisco International Film Festival

            

           

   

When Graham Leggat said (Enric has some video) at the press conference announcing the lineup for the 50 San Francisco International Film Festival that some films would be available on Jaman for a limited number of downloads, I didn't realize how limited.                        

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Jaman & Jonathan Richman at the Castro

            

           

   

They had hoped to announce the films at the press conference, then 10 days before the festival began, but the names of the films weren't released until a few days into the fest.  The six films would be  available for a day for up to 100 downloads.

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Jaman

            

           

   

Unfortunately, that is understandable.  While technology has been changing rapidly, most theatrical distributors won't pick up a film which has been available online nor will most television channels.

           

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Robert Arnold & Malcolm Pullinger - the Key of G

            

           

   

The Key of G was available on Jaman only outside of the US and Canada because it will be on PBS in October. Sundance made some of the short films they showed available for free online and/or for $2 on itunes.  After he was on a panel at SFMOMA in February, I asked Jay Rosenblatt why he didn't include his Sundance short I Just Wanted to Be Somebody (which will also screen at Frameline in June).  He said his film was being considered by a cable channel which wouldn't have permitted it to be shown online.  Filmmakers may also only have festival rights to footage and music in their films before they are picked up for distribution or television.

And while Jaman is a great service (I've been beta testing it for a few months), it does require registration and downloading a player.  And the files are large, around a gig or more (though they download relatively quickly on a fast
internet connection).   Tribeca has also been offering free films for about a week each with no limit on downloads (one film is still available through the 9th and another through the 11th).  Still, one film was downloaded 128 times, one 106 times, and another 63 times according to Jaman's most downloaded page. 

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Les Blank talking about All in This Tea

            

           

   

 

The SFIFF50 film All in This Tea was downloaded almost 80 times in one day.  When I asked Les Blank last week why he participated, he said, "Why not?"  He said he was experimenting with online distribution including making his 1973 film, Dry Wood, available at the free streaming site,  Folkstreams.

More theatrical distributors and television outlets should have that attitude.  Seeing a film online may help build an audience in theaters and on television.  When Sundance asked the filmmakers of The Tribe to put it online as part of the 2006 festival, they were hesitant.  But being online actually helped their DVD sales (when they had to have Sundance take the film down during Tribeca last year, sales went down).

           

   

       

           

                                    

           

   

  Rob Nilsson's SAMT (which I saw when it screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival) is available today.  Security is available Wednesday, and Opening on Thursday.

             

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Agua

            

           

   

Aqua which is playing at SFIFF (including Wednesday at 8:45 pm at PFA) is part of Jaman's growing library of films.

Next year, I hope the festival will also make short films available (they are smaller downloads) and make the feature films available for a longer time.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

Centerpieces

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Isild Le Besco at SFIFF49

            

           

   

Last year's SFIFF Centerpiece film was Backstage (French site) which recently came out on DVD.  Isild Le Besco (French site) played a teenager obsessed with a Madonna-like singer who has the chance to meet her through an MTV style reality show.

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Delirious

            

           

   

This year's Centerpiece film, Delirious (French site even though it is not a French film), explores some similar themes. Steve Buscemi plays a photographer obsessed with getting the celebrity "shot heard 'round the world."  It was directed by Tom DiCillio who also made Living in Oblivion (amazingly, the 1995 website is still online). Delirious screens tonight at the Kabuki at 7 pm.  It is sold out, but there will be rush tickets if you get there early enough.  If you see it when it is released theatrically, make sure you stay until the end of the credits.

Isild Le Besco gives an even better performance in a film at this year's festival, A Parting Shot, which screens tonight at 7 pm at the Clay, and at the Kabuki on Monday at 1:30 pm, Tuesday at 6:30 pm, and Thursday at 4:30 pm. 

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

All in This Tea on Jaman through Friday

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

David Hoffman, Gina Leibrecht & Les Blanks talking about All in This Tea

            

           

   

I'll write more about the  free rental of a few of the films at the San Francisco International Film Festival on Jaman,
but I wanted to let people know that All in This Tea by Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht is available as a free rental on Jaman until sometime Friday or 100 copies have been downloaded (as of 4 pm on Thursday, it has been downloaded 32 times).

It will be released on DVD when they've raised about $20,000 (half of that for music rights).  Donations can be made online (scroll down to the Tea Project).

Blank's 1973 film Dry Wood, "a glimpse into the life, food, and Mardi Gras celebrations of black Creoles in French Louisiana, featuring the stories and music of 'Bois Sec' Ardoin and Canray Fontenot," is available for free streaming online at Folkstreams.

Blank will receive the 2007 Edward MacDowell Medal.    Past winners have included  Thornton Wilder, Robert Frost, Alexander Calder, Edward Hopper, Eudora Welty, Georgia O'Keeffe, Stan Brakhage, Joan Didion, Chuck Jones, Merce Cunningham, and Steve Reich.

Update: AITT is no longer available.  There were about 80 downloads.  Thanks to Scott Beale for writing about it (based on an update to twitter before I even wrote this post).  But more films will be available starting on Sunday.  There are also several Tribeca films available.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

Persistence of Vision Award: Heddy Honigmann

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Heddy Honigmann & John Anderson

            

           

   

Last night, Heddy Honigmann (site is in Dutch) received the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award (more photos).  She was interviewed by John Anderson (who wrote an essay about her for the festival catalog).  She said for her, interviews with subjects are conversations, that too many filmmakers have an agenda with their questions and don't really listen to  what people are saying.  Anderson said that empathy is a term which is often used when talking about her films.

She talked about the difficulty she was having raising funding for her next film on the history of the last 30 years of Peru told through the stories of  waiters, bartenders, and small shop owners.  When she said it was much worse for documentaries in Europe now, Anderson said it is still much better than in the US.

Forever, her film on the Père-Lachaise Cemetery is in Paris where Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust, Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein and many others are buried, was screened. Max Goldberg wrote about the documentary for the Bay Guardian. It will be shown again at 7 pm on Wednesday, May 2nd at PFA (which had a retrospective of her films in 2003).

It will be released in September by First Run Films which has distributed several of her films.  She said a DVD box set of her films will be out next year.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com

The Conversation continues...

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Invasion of the Bodysnatchers & the Conversation

            

           

   

People associate the San Francisco International Film Festival with cinema venues like the Castro (where a double feature of by some of the filmmakers who were in Sunday's Fog City Mavericks is playing tonight), the Kabuki, and PFA, but last year the festival started showing films at satellite venues.   

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Fabricating Tom Zé

            

           

   

The satellite screenings continue this year with Fabricating Tom Zé at El Rio tonight (tickets are only $5).  Tom Zé says at the beginning of the documentary that concerts are boring.  His performances and this documentary on him are anything but boring.  Zé is part of the Tropicália movement in Brazil (Carlos Basuldo talked about Tropicália at the SF Art Institute in January - scroll down on their podcast page to listen to it).  NPR profiled Zé last year.  There won't Ze's traditional five encores tonight, but you can get some of his music which is available from David Byrne's Luka Bop label.

Although El Rio is mostly a music venue, they do show films including the Hub Collective's free Televising the Revolution Radical Film Series which takes play on the fourth Tuesday of every month (the next is on May 22nd at 8 pm).

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Rob Nilsson at the Fog City Mavericks screening

            

           

   

Also, tonight through Thursday, May 3rd, films from Rob Nilsson's Nine@Night series will be shown in Justin Herman Plaza starting at 7 pm.  Four of his films will be available for a limited time on Jaman starting on May 7th (I'll write more about the SFIFF Jaman films soon).

                       

   

       

                

                                            

            

               

Jon Else and Peter Sellars - Wonders are Many: the Making of  Doctor Atomic

            

           

   

There also are two screenings of Jon Else's Wonders are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic at 7 pm and 9:30 pm on Sunday, May 6th at Intersection for the Arts (tickets are $5 at the door).  Some photos from Sunday's Castro screening.  Stanley Nelson's Jonestown: the Life and Death of People's Temple which was shown at Intersection last year was on PBS last month and is now out on DVD.

Originally posted on tigerbeat.vox.com