Two major Bay Area festivals this month aim to entice film fans to put down their devices and head to theaters. The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival runs April 9-16 in Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista and the 68th International San Francisco Film Festival swoops into San Francisco and Berkeley April 17-27.
We’ll start with a few SFFILM Festival recommendations.
“The Chaplain and the Doctor”: Director-physician Jessica Zitter’s documentary illustrates how treating individuals’ bodies and spirits results in beneficial outcomes for patients and the health care system in general. Zitter is the doctor to Betty Clark’s chaplain in the palliative care unit at Oakland’s Highland Hospital; together, over time, they learned the intrinsic value of working as a team when caring for the needs of their patients and for each other, as colleagues and friends. The film follows them on their rounds and shows their lives after working hours. These inspiring, compassionate caregivers also discuss how they grew to respect each other and understand each other’s backgrounds and viewpoints. Their experience also offers an example and suggestion on how to improve America’s ailing health care system overall. The film premieres at 6 p.m. April 21 at the Marina Theatre and screens at 4:30 p.m. April 23 at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.
“Outerlands”: Director Elena Oxman takes full advantage of San Francisco as a setting of this relatable, engrossing character-driven drama about connection, disconnection and loneliness in urban landscapes. Cass (Asia Kate Dillon) often shrugs off invites from coworkers at a swanky San Francisco restaurant to get together outside of “the office.” One time, Cass–who spends many nights downing beers at home and identifies as nonbinary–can’t resist and parties and has sex with the enigmatic and flighty Kalli (Louisa Krause). It’s a date that leads to Cass becoming an overextended de-facto parent for Kalli’s 11-year-old worldly daughter Ari (Ridley Asha Bateman). The performances are first-rate in “Outerlands,” the festival’s closing feature at 5 p.m. April 27 at Premier Theater at 1 Letterman Drive and 6 p.m. April 27 at the Marina Theatre. In addition, at 4 p.m. April 25, Oxman, producer Marc Smolowitz and members of the film team discuss the opportunities and challenges of filming in San Francisco.
“The Tallest Dwarf”: Oakland filmmaker Julie Forrest Wyman’s enlightening documentary interweaves her candid conversations with her family about her childhood and teen years and her pursuit to pinpoint her type of dwarfism (there are hundreds). Wyman’s journey leads her to revisit painful memories (being called an Oompa-Loompa) but also puts her on a path of meeting other dwarfs and gaining insight and perspectives about their challenges and triumphs. The University of California, Davis associate professor and director of “A Boy Named Sue” also looks at how media depictions of little people have been and are offensive. The film screens at noon April 26 at the Premier Theater and noon April 27 at BAMPFA.
“A Tribute to Chris Columbus”: SFFILM honors the San Francisco filmmaker of crowd-pleasing hits “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Home Alone.” Columbus appears in conversation at 6 p.m. April 26 at the Premier Theater at an event including a screening of 2005’s “Rent,” his film adaptation of the Broadway hit with Anthony Rapp, Idina Menzel and Tony Award-winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia. Also, the San Francisco-set “Nine Months” with Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore screens at 5:30 p.m. April 24, also at Premier Theater. (Note: One of my favorites by Columbus, 1987’s “Adventures in Babysitting” with Elisabeth Shue, is worth rewatching.)
Mel Novikoff Award: Roxie Theater with “Rashomon” screening: The devoted team behind San Francisco’s beloved independent movie house gets the SFFILM honor in a celebration at 7 p.m. April 23 at the Roxie. Filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes leads a conversation with executive director Lex Sloan and director of programming Isabel Fondevila. As a bonus, Akira Kurosawa’s influential masterwork “Rashomon” screens.
For a full lineup and to order tickets, visit https://sffilm.org/
The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival is flush with shorts, docs and narrative films from around the globe. Entries are from 38 countries.
Here are three full-length screenings not to miss:
“Boundary Waters”: Director/co-screenwriter Tessa Blake’s film adaptation of the novel “Closed Doors” begins like a cliched coming-of-age drama, complete with bike rides, secret crushes and dustups between friends. But it evolves into something more layered and challenging and is all the better for doing so. Blake shifts the story from Scotland to a quaint, small community hugging a lake in Northern Minnesota. Told through the eyes of 12-year-old Michael (an exceptional Etienne Kellici), Blake’s gorgeously photographed feature directorial debut addresses how damaging small-town gossip and judgmental assumptions can be. Kellici conveys adolescent angst with ease; his nuanced performance is one among many. Allison Miller as Michael’s brittle mom who’s shouldering a horrible secret, and Bill Heck as Michael’s depressed and out-of-work dad, navigate tricky material with sensitivity and realism. The great Carol Kane costars as Michael’s grandma, a closeted smoker who loves everyone in the family. It screens at 3 p.m. April 12 at the Granada Theater in Hollister.
“Lone Star Three”: This essential, timeless documentary by Karen Stirgwolt is about three brave University of Texas women who refused to be intimidated or daunted by obstacles thrown in their path as they sought reproductive rights in 1969. It screens at 1 p.m. April 11 at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse.
“The Paper Bag Plan”: Oakland native Anthony Lucero’s follow-up to his beloved “East Side Sushi” (just rent it!) was a breakout hit in the San Francisco Independent Film Festival this year. Here’s another chance to catch the lovely drama about a cancer-stricken father (Lance Kinsey) ensuring that his son (Cole Massie), who is in a wheelchair, can live independently of him. Expect tears to flow. It screens at 5 p.m. April 16 at the Granada Theater.
Additional highlights include a “México y Tú Day” on April 14, featuring 24 Latino films and honoring theater and film icon Luis Valdez and San Juan Bautista’s El Teatro Campesino, which he founded. The fest also is slated to honor Ignacio Gomez, the influential artist and sculptor, on April 14. Another Icon Award will be presented to Ed Begley Jr. on April 13 in Morgan Hill for his influential role in films and TV.
For a full lineup and to purchase tickets, visit https://pjiff.org/.
The post Pass the Remote: Poppy Jasper, SF International film fests light up April appeared first on Local News Matters.