Sunday, October 8th |
Avenue Montaigne
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As breezy as a stroll along the chic Parisian street where it unfolds, this engaging romantic comedy from writer-director Danièle Thompson offers an all-star cast in several intertwined tales of the upscale Champs-Elysées cultural scene. Fri. Oct 6, 6:45PM, Sequoia |
Babel
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Alejandro González Iñárritu's multilingual, multilayered masterpiece explores the paradox of humanity's interconnectedness despite our inability to truly communicate. Jumping from Morocco to Mexico to Japan, an American tourist is shot, and lives are instantly connected. Sun. Oct 8, 4:00PM, Rafael |
Beneath the Southern Cross
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Christmas comes in summer, and water drains in the other direction, but filmmakers on the south side of the equator are anything but backward. These eclectic shorts demonstrate keen attention to the human condition and the ways that others' choices can dramatically affect our lives. SHORTS IN PROGRAM: Blue Willow, Break, Elalini (Place of Rest), Fish Out of Water, Karma, Story of Hong Sun. Oct 8, 10:30AM, Rafael |
Black Gold
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For Ethiopian coffee farmers a delicious cup of Joe represents the corrupt side of the global economy. Black Gold exposes the political, economic and cultural consequences of the worldwide coffee business. Sun. Oct 8, 2:00PM, Throckmorton |
Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace
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Narrated by Debra Winger, Lilly Rivlin's passionate documentary focuses on Israeli and Palestinian women who insist on dialogue, inspiring hope that women may lead the way to peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. PRECEDED BY: Voices of Patriots: Why Are We In Iraq? Sat. Oct 7, 12:30PM, Throckmorton |
China Blue
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This potent documentary gets inside a Chinese sweatshop, revealing the lives of the mostly teenage girls who make the West's blue jeans. A humanized portrait, not a polemic, about this intersection of Chinese society and international commerce. Sat. Oct 7, 3:15PM, Sequoia |
Cine Manifest
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This poignant, hilarious and fascinating film charts the giddy highs and teeth-gnashing lows of a unique Marxist political film collective that rose from the utopian ideologies of the '60s and somehow survived the turmoil and tumult of the '70s. PRECEDED BY: McLaren's Negatives Sun. Oct 8, 6:00PM, Rafael |
Days of Glory
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Winning the prize for best male ensemble acting at Cannes, this stirring World War II epic addresses the plight of North African soldiers fighting under the French flag against the Nazis—and against the racism of their superior officers. Sun. Oct 8, 7:45PM, Rafael |
Dreaming of Space
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In a Russian border town in 1957, a carefree lad's admiration for a mysterious stranger leads him to discover a sense of purpose at a fleeting moment on the precipice of the space race. |
Grown Up
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Kids can be more grown up than adults at times, and these five different films from five different countries prove it. SHORTS IN PROGRAM: Ayla, the Tsunami Girl, Big Girl, Chicle, Heavy Metal Jr., I Swear I Saw It: Iara Sun. Oct 8, 11:30AM, Rafael |
I'm Seducible
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How does a rebellious Beijing artist juggle two cultures and two men as she makes a new life for herself in San Francisco? Follow Shi-Wei as she reclaims her own ambitions amid the sacrifice required by her newfound freedom. Fri. Oct 6, 6:45PM, Rafael |
Klunkerz
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Originating in MVFF's backyard–Mt. Tam, to be exact–as an outgrowth of Bay Area counterculture, the global phenomenon of mountain biking is celebrated in this fast-moving documentary that honors the sport's gonzo riders. PRECEDED BY: Russian Hill Roulette Sun. Oct 8, 6:30PM, Sequoia JUST ADDED! |
Lorange, Muffin and Dartanjang
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Dad, son and grandfather couldn't be happier, particularly at times when everyone else seems at their worst. This cartoon family makes the Simpsons look stiff. PRECEDED BY: A Fish with a Smile Sun. Oct 8, 10:00AM, Rafael |
Love for Share
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Three Indonesian women from different backgrounds react differently when they learn of other women in their men's lives. Nifty plot twists link the stories together into a portrait of polygamous lifestyles in contemporary Jakarta. Sun. Oct 8, 1:15PM, Sequoia |
Men at Work
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In this absurdist comedy-meets-Sufi parable, four 50-something buddies returning from a ski trip in an SUV try to push over a huge stone on the side of a mountain road. Fri. Oct 6, 7:15PM, Rafael |
Move Your World
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Music, music, music in two great films about the African experience: one where fhree talented teens go to Tanzania, the other in Mali where a griot sings the beautiful tale of a boy searching for the knowledge of life. PRECEDED BY: Knowledge for Life Sun. Oct 8, 11:00AM, Throckmorton |
Mysterious Creatures
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Bill and Wendy Ainscow can no longer cope with their adult daughter Lisa's autism, so when the British mental health service deems Lisa well enough to live at home, the couple resort to extreme measures. Sun. Oct 8, 6:00PM, Sequoia |
The Nightly Song of the Travellers
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Like fellow countryman Abbas Kiarostami's cinema of poetic ruralism, filmmaker Chapour Haghighat's debut feature about a tailor looking for his lost village finds beauty in the small moments. Sun. Oct 8, 1:30PM, Rafael |
The Observer
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Badrul, a young Malaysian man, embarks on an extraordinary journey away from his regular pursuits (like making a skateboarding video) and trains to be an election observer in Afghanistan. Sun. Oct 8, 12:45PM, Rafael Please be aware that this time has changed
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One Winter Story
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Surfer Sarah Gerhardt gained celebrity status as the first woman to conquer Northern California's legendary Maverick's. Her dramatic personal journey, from poverty and despair to accomplishment and peace, takes center stage in this beautifully layered and artful film. PRECEDED BY: Talking to My Mom Sun. Oct 8, 4:15PM, Sequoia |
Pan
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An unlikely friendship between a homeless man and a middle-class child forces both to re-examine their lives and places in society. Tenderloin Y Group, a company of homeless actors, performs this alternately euphoric and heart-rending drama. Sun. Oct 8, 8:00PM, Rafael |
The Porcelain Doll
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In an adaptation of three Ervin Lázár short stories brimming with Eastern European magical realism, director Péter Gárdos concocts a perfect blend of pathos, psychological dread and po-faced absurdism. Sun. Oct 8, 11:30AM, Sequoia |
So Long Are You Young: Samuel Ullman's Poem and Passion
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An engaging documentary that traces the remarkable path of Jewish immigrant Samuel Ullman's poem, “Youth,” from its 1917 inception to its influence over a generation of Japanese war survivors to its ongoing inspiration around the world. Sun. Oct 8, 11:00AM, Sequoia |
Toon In, Turn On, Drop Dead
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Happy endings are not what you should expect from this year's animated shorts selections as death can lurk within each one. Not intended for the very young. SHORTS IN PROGRAM: Animal, Dash, Din, Dragon, The Little Matchgirl, Message from the Boss, The Mexican Cloud Swing Disaster, One Rat Short, Ujbaz Izbeneki Has Lost His Soul, The Wallet Sat. Oct 7, 5:45PM, Rafael |
The Treatment
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A tightly edited, fast-paced romantic drama in which emotionally damaged Manhattan prep-school teacher (Chris Eigeman) tries to extract the therapist from hell (Ian Holm) from his psyche, while entering newfound romance with a sexy widow (Famke Janssen). Sun. Oct 8, 8:15PM, Sequoia |
Walking to Werner
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Would you walk 1,200 miles for Werner Herzog? Linas Phillips did, and in true Herzog fashion, his film is a diary of folly, beauty and fierce determination. Sun. Oct 8, 9:00PM, Sequoia |
