The 26th United Nations Association Film Festival brings 60 topical documentaries to screens in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Stanford University and bestows a high honor to two-time Oscar-winner Michael Douglas.
The 11-day fest which starts Oct. 19 has “Solutions” as its programming theme, a fitting beacon in this time of upheaval and turmoil and timed to the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This week, Pass the Remote also highlights three standout films in the 3rd i’s South Asian Film Festival running Oct. 20-22 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco.
But first, let’s take a plunge into the UNAFF program.
Douglas, 79, a UN Messenger of Peace and advocate for gun control, ending nuclear weaponry and aiding children in war zones, will receive the UNAFF Visionary Award as well as appear at the 6:10 p.m. Oct. 29 closing event featuring “Downwind.” Directed by Mark Samuel Shapiro and Douglas Brian Miller and narrated by Martin Sheen, “Downwind” probes after-effects of the use and testing of nuclear bombs on people on whom radioactive fallout landed. It screens at 6:50 p.m. at Palo Alto’s Mitchell Park Community Center, preceded by the 30-minute documentary “By My Side.” Directed by San Francisco filmmaker Vicki Topaz and featuring San Jose resident Emilio Gallegos, the film shows how service dogs help veterans cope as they return to civilian life.
The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. Oct. 19 at Mitchell Park Community Center with remarks from Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou at an opening reception.
Opening night includes screenings of director Atanur Nabiyeva’s timely six-minute short “Celebrating 15” about the tragic missile attack during a birthday party for 15-year-old Nigar Akerov in Ganja, Azerbaijan; Isaac Halasima’s “Waterman” (narrated by Jason Momoa) on late Hawaiian surfing legend and Olympic medalist Duke Paoa Kahanamoku and how he elevated a sport and a culture; and Camille Hardman and Gary Lane’s much-lauded overview of gender disparities in the workplace, “Still Working 9 to 5.”
Here are a few more standouts, some with Bay Area ties.
Oakland’s Rick Goldsmith’s “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism at the Crossroads” takes a clear-eyed look at intrepid Denver Post journalists as they stand up for legit, vetted newsgathering in the face of the faceless Alden Global Capital that’s seeking to strip the reputable newsroom to bare bones. Award-winning filmmaker Goldsmith’s revealing doc screens at 4:20 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Mitchell Park Community Center.
Award-winning Berkeley filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer’s “Baseball Behind Barbed Wire” tells a mostly unknown true story about how Japanese Americans incarcerated in World War II camps turned to a favorite pastime to help them get through a difficult time. It screens at 1 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Mitchell Park center.
San Franciscan Stephen Talbot’s “The Movement and ‘The Madman’” focuses on the pivotal role that anti-war protesters played in getting President Richard Nixon to change course and nix his plan to double down on the Vietnam War. It screens at 1:40 p.m. Oct. 29 at Mitchell Park.
San Francisco filmmaker William Farley brings the premiere of his thoughtful, poignant documentary “I Wanted to Be a Man With a Gun: Three American Soldiers in World War II” to the fest at 9:10 p.m. Oct. 27 at Mitchell Park. His eloquent film finds veterans reflecting on their service, weaving in archival imagery and an original score.
Festival favorite “The Secret Song” from San Francisco filmmaker Samantha Campbell tells the inspiring story of unconventional San Francisco music teacher Doug Goodkin who successfully pivoted, just before his retirement, away from his beloved in-person, interactive style of teaching due to COVID-19 restrictions. It screens at 8:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the Roxie in San Francisco.
On Oct. 28, there’s the incisive 155-minute “Evangelicals From Faith to Power.” The three-part series from Thomas Johnson and Philippe Gonzalez (which features some Bay Area residents) offers perspective on how Evangelical Christianity has wielded its influence in the U.S. and around the globe, from the pulpit to the presidency. It screens at 3:20 p.m. in Palo Alto, followed by a free panel at 6 p.m. on the potent topic, “Religion and State.”
While Nisha Pahuja’s “To Kill a Tiger” does not have regional connections, it should be put high on your list of musts. Riveting, it takes viewers on the disturbing journey of a farmer in Jharkhand, India, who, seeking justice after his 13-year-old daughter is raped, faces backlash. It screens at 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Mitchell Community Center.
UNAFF tickets cost $15 per session; $60 for opening and closing events and $220 for general passes. Passes for seniors 62 and older are $60. For the full lineup, visit http://www.unaff.org/2023/schedule.html.
You can count on 3rd i’s annual San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival for a diverse slate of films, and this year’s, its 21st event, lives up to that claim. All films screen at the Roxie.
Here are just three that pique our interest:
The award-winning opening night feature “While We Watched” provides a timely portrait of popular Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar, who refuses to back off from getting at the truth in a time when misinformation and questionable “news” spread like the common cold. Director Vinay Shukla will be on hand at the 7:15 p.m. and the 9:30 p.m. Oct. 20 screenings.
If you’re looking for provocative fare, try director Kanu Behl’s eyebrow-raiser “Agra,” a hailed drama centered around sexually repressed Guru (Mohit Agarwal) who lives in very tight quarters with his family (he shares a room with his mom) in India, and is starting to unravel. It screens at 8 p.m. Oct. 21.
The program concludes at 6 p.m. Oct. 22 with a real gem, director Saim Sadiq’s Pakistan-set “Joyland.” It’s a multiple award-winner about the secret wants and desires of Haider (Ali Junejo) who’s in an arranged marriage and lives with his traditional family, but falls for an entertainer, who is trans, at the club where he performs as a dancer.
Tickets cost $15 online and $15 cash only at the door. For more information, visit https://www.thirdi.org/.