San francisco int’l film festival
The 69th annual San Francisco International Film Festival is upon us. Buckle up for eleven days of well-curated films. The SFFILM program includes premieres, retrospectives, and red carpet appearances. Enjoy Q&A with the famous, parties, and camaraderie with your fellow cinephiles.
This year includes films from 40 countries. Clear your calendar April 24 – May 4.
Opening Night:
THE INVITE, directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, features Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, and Seth Rogen. What a cast!
A simple dinner party? Not even close. One couple has their boundaries tested past their limits. Let’s call it a relationship/ situationship comedy. Olivia Wilde is expected for Q&A after the screening.
LATE FAME is an entertaining think piece on ambition and second chances. Once a promising poet, Ed Saxberger, (Willem Dafoe), gave up long ago. We follow him sleepwalking through life. A boring post office job pays the rent.
Ed’s prospects change when a pretentious group of young posers discover his poems. “The Enthusiasm Society” drowns him in flattery and promise of newfound fame. Take-away? Life is short, find your happy place.
Willem Dafoe is slated for post-screening Q&A.
Centerpiece:
I LOVE BOOSTERS is bound to be a fashionista favorite. An ambitious group of friends steal high-end fashion and resell for a steep discount. The Robin Hoods move across Oakland. Boosting is both survival and a protest against the snooty world of high-end clothing.
They eventually draw unwanted social media attention. Enter mogul Christine Smith ( Demi Moore). Now this is personal. And hilarious. The Boosters plan to go out with a bang. One final heist. Hold on to your designer hat, you’re about to be hit with supernatural adventures.
Yes, this film is crazy fun. But the subtext is a rage against the fashion industrial complex. Director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) advances his rant against Capitalism. San Francisco Bay Area’s own, he will sit for Q&A after the screening.
Documentary:
ONE IN A MILLION humanizes the refugee experience. Directors Itab Axxam and Jacob Macinnes follow a Syrian family they meet in Turkey. The directors are allowed intimate access to their highs and lows. We follow the family along a terrifying dinghy ride to Greece. Somehow the family eventually makes it to Germany. We watch them adjust, and not adjust, to an entirely different culture.
Filmed over a decade, we watch Israa grow into a rebellious teen. Her father Tarek struggles with Europe’s permissiveness. Israa’s mother Nisreen finds liberation.
Closing Night:
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Bonus appearance by Anthony Daniels (C-3PO).
Info: https://sffilm.org
Tickets: https://sffilm.org/tickets/
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