Opening weekend of the San Francisco International Film Festival featured a wide range of documentaries, from the delightful and impressive Iris to the educational if somewhat disappointing Best of Enemies. Here’s a look at these two films. Iris **** Master documentarian Albert Maysle’s final film is an introduction to the lively, fashionable, and fabulous 93-year-old New York […]
Weekend 1 at SFIFF: Mr. Holmes, Entertainment, and Sand Dollars
Set in the Dominican Republic, Sand Dollars follows a local twenty-something Noeli (Yanet Mojica) who makes her living by sleeping with the rich European tourists.
Maxime Giroux on his wonderful Hasidic Jew romance Felix and Meira
Maxime Giroux discusses his new film about a Hasidic Jewish woman in Montreal who is thinking about leaving her community. It won Best Canadian Film at TIFF 2014.
Women shine behind the camera at SFIFF58
One of the great pleasures of attending the San Francisco International Film Festival is the ability to binge on films by female auteurs, which are much harder to come by throughout the year. This year, you can catch Helen Hunt’s sophomore feature, Ride, a follow-up to her wonderful debut “Then She Found Me.” It’s also […]
Ex Machina is yet another film about boys and their toys
Ex Machina isn’t just misogynistic; it gets the science wrong, too.
Terrific production of ‘Stupid F##king Bird’ proves SF Playhouse has arrived
With its wonderful and often hilarious new production, “Stupid F##king Bird,” Aaron Posner’s modernization of Chekhov’s “The Seagull” directed by Susi Damilano, the San Francisco Playhouse has earned its place as one of the best, major theater companies in the Bay Area. What started as a company that put on amazing productions — with terrific […]