Film festivals celebrate Latino and Hong Kong cinema as well as the world of dance this week.
The 18th San Francisco Latino Film Festival opens Thursday, presenting 11 days of movies from Latin America, the United States, and Spain. Venues, all in San Francisco, include the Roxie Theater, Artists’ Television Access, New People Cinema, Apple Cinemas, KQED Headquarters, the San Francisco Public Main Library, and SPARK Social SF. Sixteen feature films and three blocks of short films are on the lineup.
“Street Smart: Lessons from a TV Icon,”opens the festival. Ernie Bustamante’s documentary profiles Sonia Manzano, who played Maria on “Sesame Street” for more than four decades and is the first Latina to have a recurring role on a national network television program. Another highlight is “TheyDream,” a creatively made, deeply personal documentary in which filmmaker William D. Caballero shares the story of his Puerto Rican family using animation, miniature sets, and home video.
In “Bird of Four Hundred Voices: A Mexican American Memoir of Music and Belonging,” director James Hall presents the four-decade journey of musician-educator Eugene Rodriguez and his nonprofit youth group called “Los Cenzontles.” “Libertad,” directed by Brenda Avila-Hanna, follows an indigenous transgender woman from Oaxaca, Mexico, and her quest to reconcile with the people and home she had to leave long ago.“Writer,” directed by Paula de Luque, is a noirish political thriller set against a backdrop of dark Argentine history.
The festival is presented by Cine+Mas SF. Visit cinemassf.org for more information.
The 17th annual San Francisco Dance Film Festival opens Friday, with more than 80 films about dance and dance makers set to screen. Presented by Dance Film SF, the event takes place theatrically from Oct. 23 though Nov. 8, and online Nov. 9-30. In-person venues are Lucasfilm Premier Theater, Brava Theater, Delancey Street Screening Room, and Catharine Clark Gallery, all in San Francisco.
The fest begins with the U.S. premiere of “Nureyev,” a live performance capture of the ballet of the same name inspired by the life, art, and defiance of Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov (San Francisco Ballet choreographer in residence). Another highlight is “The People’s Palace,” featuring an aerial dance performance staged by Zaccho Dance Theatre inside San Francisco City Hall. Zaccho Artistic Director Joanna Haigood and Oakland-based filmmaker Bryan Gibel directed the film. “These Violent Delights” reworks Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” into a journey of queer self-discovery, produced by the Scottish Ballet and directed by Oscar Sansom and Christopher Hampson. “Otter Lake” follows contemporary choreographer Emma Portner as she creates three new works. “My Benjamin” follows Benjamin Pech through his final year as a danseur etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet. “Barefoot Boy” profiles modern-dance innovator and LGBTQ+ pioneer Bill Evans. Short-film programs, masterclasses, Q&A sessions, live performances, and community gatherings complete the slate.
Visit sfdancefilmfest.org for more information.
“Hong Kong Cinema: Rarities and Restorations,” a series featuring significant artists and movements from five decades of Hong Kong filmmaking, opens Friday at Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Continuing through Nov. 28, the series consists of nine films, some of them restored and some little-known.
A few represent the Hong Kong New Wave movement, in which filmmakers were breaking away from conventional studio formulas. The films range from sword-fighting adventures to romantic dramas to a murder mystery and a ghost story. “The Arch” (1968) opens the series at 7 p.m. Oct. 23. A beloved Ming dynasty widow is tempted by a visiting soldier in this drama directed by T’ang Shushuen. Up next is “Colorful Youth” (1966), at 4 p.m. Oct. 25. Teen idols Connie Chan Po-chu and Josephine Siao Fong-fong star in this comic musical tale directed by Chan Wan. The series continues with “Our Sister Hedy” (1957) at 7 p.m. Oct. 28; “The Valiant Ones” (1975) at 4 p.m. Nov. 1; “The Secret” (1979) at 7 p.m. Nov. 5; “The Sword” (1980) at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7; “Just Like Weather” (1986) at 6 p.m. Nov. 15; “Rouge” (1987) at 6 p.m. Nov 22; and “Center Stage” (1991) at 3 p.m. Nov. 28.
Visit bampfa.org for more information.
A Syrian girl named Israa and her family experience war, cultural conflict, and new freedoms in “One in a Million,” a Sundance-honored documentary that follows their journey for more than a decade from Syria to Germany and back again. The film screens at 11 a.m. Oct. 24 at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley; 3:40 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco; and 4:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. A Q&A with codirector Jack MacInnes and protagonist Israa follows each screening.
Porchlight, the Bay Area storytelling series featuring writers and comedians, presents “Lights, Camera, Action: Porchlight Storytelling on the Big Screen,” a movie-themed session at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Vogue Theatre in San Francisco. The storytellers are Jack Boulware, Mukethe Kawinzi, Thao Nguyen, Pia Hinckle, TK Moyer, and Sam Sax. Porchlight cofounders Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick host the evening, which is part of the Litquake Festival. Find tickets from $23.18 at eventbrite.com.
Correction: Last week’s column stated that the United Nations Association Film Festival is presented by the United Nations Association, a Stanford-based organization. UNAFF is, in fact, organized under the nonprofit organization of the same name, United Nations Association Film Festival, and is based in Palo Alto.
The festival’s 29th edition continues through Oct. 25 in Stanford, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, and San Francisco. Visit unaff.org for more information.
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