Genre madness, a restored marquee, a ferocious bride, and some valiant librarians are coming to theaters this busy week.
A feast for genre fans and others drawn to weird, wacky and bloodcurdling fare, the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival is back with its 22nd edition of indie horror, sci-fi and fantasy cinema. In-person screenings, at San Francisco’s Balboa Theater, begin Friday and continue through Dec. 18. Online viewing is available throughout December. Dozens of feature films and hundreds of short films starring vampires, witches and serial killers screen at the festival, delivering everything from cheap scares and creative escapism to disturbing dark material. The Balboa slate launches with “Beyond the Drumlins,” a folk-horror and sci-fi thriller about an archaeology dig that turns terrifying. “Bad Haircut,” a horror comedy about a guy with hair issues who visits a “miracle worker” barber who turns out to be a madman, shares the Dec. 5 bill. Special presentations of classic genre pictures, too, are noteworthy. James Whale’s “Frankenstein” (1931) is being shown on original 16mm film. Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” (1927) screens in a re-scored, artificial intellience-colorized form described as a “bold experiment in cinematic restoration.” Other featured oldies include “The Jar” (1984) and “The Amityville Horror” (1979). Additional selections include “The Driftless,” featuring Midwestern horror tales; “Weekend at the End of the World,” a cabin-in-the-woods comedy; “Dorothea,” inspired by the true story of 1980s grandmother and serial killer Dorothea Puente; “Kombucha,” an office-horror comedy; and short films. The Another Hole in the Head Film Festival is a project of SF IndieFest. Tickets are $17 for most programs. Visit ahith.com for more details.
The Vogue Theater, operating in San Francisco since 1912 in Presidio Heights, hosts a lighting ceremony to celebrate its restored neon marquee at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Mayor Daniel Lurie will cut the ribbon and light the marquee, followed by a free screening of the 1936 Hollywood classic “San Francisco.” Jim Rizzo and the crew at Neon Works performed the restoration work, replacing transformers and neon tubes while retaining the 1940s color scheme. Funding came from a grant from Robert Mailer Anderson/Nicola Miner Family Foundation. The theater is operated by the nonprofit organization CinemaSFBay.
In honor of World AIDS Day, Frameline hosts a screening of Marlon T. Riggs’ short film “Affirmations” (1990) and Stephen Winter’s feature film “Chocolate Babies” (1996) at 7 p.m. today at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland. A conversation with representatives from Frameline, the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center and others follows. An RSVP is required. Visit frameline.org.
The Roxie in San Francisco has notable releases this week. “The Librarians,” Kim Snyder’s documentary about school librarians’ efforts to protect access to information while book bans (often targeting LGBTQ+ and race-based stories) are occurring at an unprecedented rate across the country, screens Thursday and Dec. 9.
“Cutting Through Rocks” profiles Sara Shahverdi, a divorced former midwife who challenges patriarchal attitudes in her conservative Iranian village. Filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni follow Shahverdi as she teaches teenage girls to ride motorcycles, stops child marriages, and becomes the first woman to get elected to the local council, prompting substantial backlash. The film opens Friday; the filmmakers appear in Q&As after 3:15 and 5:50 p.m. screenings on Sunday.
“Belen,” a fact-based Argentinian drama about a young woman accused of infanticide and the lawyer who takes on the precedent-setting case, and Argentina’s Oscar submission in the Best International Feature Film category, screens at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Writer-director Sofia Coppola, author Vendela Vida and NPR producer Davia Nelson appear in a City Arts & Lectures evening of readings and conversation honoring late filmmaker and conceptual artist Eleanor Coppola (1936-2024) at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Francisco at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The event, celebrating the publication of Eleanor’s final memoir, “Two of Me: Notes on Loving and Leaving,” includes an exhibit of Eleanor’s artwork. Tickets are $49-$59 at cityarts.net.
“Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair,” Quentin Tarantino’s revenge opus with “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” (2003) and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2” (2004) is being released theatrically on Friday. Influenced by 1970s exploitation films while bearing Tarantino’s pulpy stamp, both volumes feature Uma Thurman as The Bride, who seeks vengeance on her former boss and lover after he shoots her and steals her unborn child. The 275-minute presentation includes a new anime sequence and a 15-minute intermission.
The award-winning short documentary “Judging Juries” airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday on KQED TV. Directed by East Bay filmmaker Abby Ginzberg, the film explores how California’s low juror compensation rate of $15 a day affects the ability of working-class and low-income individuals to serve on juries in Alameda County. Details are at judgingjuriesfilm.com.
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