2012 San Francisco International Film Festival Preview
San Francisco International Film Festival
April 19 to May 3, 2012
Film screenings will be held in San Francisco and Berkeley from April 19 to May 3, 2012.
www.sffs.org
San Francisco is the proud host of the country's oldest film festival. Held every year since 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) features a variety of narrative and documentary films from around the world. This year's festival will be held from April 19 to May 3 with over 200 films and live events. Over 70,000 attendees are expected during the 15-day festival, which will screen films at the Kabuki Cinemas, the Castro Theatre, the San Francisco Film Society Cinema and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, all in San Francisco, and the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley.
The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
151 Third St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.sffs.org
Date: Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Hours: 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Price: Tickets $25 or $20 for San Francisco Film Society or SFMOMA members, available online at or at the SFFS Ticket Office, 1746 Post Street, San Francisco
The world premiere of the new documentary film, "The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller," will be held during the festival. On May 1, Academy Award-winning director Sam Green will be presenting his new film at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Green will be providing live narration and live music will be presented by the musical group Yo La Tengo, who wrote the score for the film.
The film premiere is part of an exhibition at SFMOMA, beginning March 31, on Buckminster Fuller and his influence on the San Francisco Bay Area. Buckminster Fuller was an architect, futurist and iconoclastic thinker. His geodesic domes and other designs influenced 20th century post-war architecture and design. Tickets for the world premiere of "The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller" will include access to the SFMOMA exhibition and a reception.
The Golden Gate Awards have been awarded at the SFIFF since 1957. Awards were given in 14 categories during the 2011 festival, featuring Bay Area local filmmakers and a youth filmmaker award, as well as awards for filmmakers from across the world. The Golden Gate Awards, and one-fourth of the festival's programming, are decided by a collection of Bay Area filmmakers, critics, curators and others in professional media. Three juries will view the nominees during the 2012 festival and vote on the winners.
Buster Keaton shorts and live music from Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs
Castro Theatre
429 Castro St.
San Francisco, CA 94114
www.castrotheatre.com
Date: Monday, April 23, 2012 at 8 p.m.
Price: Tickets $25 or $20 for San Francisco Film Society members, available online at www.sffs.org or at the SFFS Ticket Office, 1746 Post Street, San Francisco
SFIFF prides itself on providing unique live events during the festival. On April 23, a selection of Buster Keaton silent films will be presented at the Castro Theatre, with live accompaniment by experimental musical group tUnE-yArDs and its leader, Merrill Garbus. Garbus and tUnE-yArDs create a mosaic of sound by recording live music and layering those loops with a live band. Like tUnE-yArDs, Buster Keaton was an improviser as well as a comic actor noted for his physical comedy. His films during the silent movie era and the early days of "talkies" are considered some of the best in the history of filmmaking.
For more on the festival, its day-by-day schedule, and to purchase tickets, visit the San Francisco Film Society website at www.sffs.org.
