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Growing
Festival Includes 8 World and 6 US Premiere Feature Films
and Opening Night Gala at the Castro Theatre
San Francisco,
CA - SF IndieFest grows even bigger in this fourth edition,
including an Opening Night Gala at the newly refurbished Castro
Theatre, eight World Premiere Features, six US Premiere Features,
a total of 99 independent films and videos from 12 countries,
and (of course) celebrity guests. The Festival runs January
31 to February 10 at four San Francisco venues and two East
Bay locations, and closes with the US Premiere of Toyoda Toshiak’s
BLUE SPRING, an acclaimed Japanese Indie first presented at
the Toronto and Rotterdam International Film Festivals.
SF IndieFest
kicks off January 31 at the Castro Theatre with a Gala local
premiere by San Francisco filmmakers Calum Grant and Joshua
Atesh Litle. The brilliantly conceived post-apocalyptic science
fiction epic EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED is set 12 years after
a viral plague reduces the population of the Bay Area to 186.
In the final scene, the survivors watch a documentary about
themselves at the Castro Theatre, which is sure to be a mind-bending
self-reflexive treat for the audience. The film starts at
7:15pm and awed moviegoers are invited to join the filmmakers
at the Festival’s Opening Night Party at SomArts (Brannan
at Ninth) following the film.
Opening
Day at the Castro Theatre also includes two additional programs.
At 5:00pm, SF IndieFest presents the SHORT FILM SAMPLER PLATTER,
a collection of award-winning and World Premiere short films
to cleanse the palate for the 11-day feast of film ahead.
At 9:30 the Festival presents the North American premiere
of PARTY 7, an ultra-hip hyper-kinetic black sex-comedy (and
homage to David Lynch) from the creator of the international
cult hit SHARK SKIN MAN AND PEACH HIP GIRL. PARTY 7 is preceded
by the World Premiere of NICE GUYS FINISH LAST, with Christopher
Masterson (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE) as a high school kid who
always keeps his hands to himself. Masterson is expected to
attend this screening.
The 4th
SF IndieFest presents 99 films and videos, including 8 World
Premiere Feature films, 6 US Premieres and 21 World Premieres
of short films, included in the 7 Shorts programs. More than
700 titles were considered, and this is the best of the best.
Bay Area filmmakers contributed 3 feature films and 14 short
films to the program. With such an astonishing array of films,
the program is divided into four general categories: Comedy
& Animation, Drama, Music & Truth and Post-Apocalypse
Now. The last category is a by-product of the shocking new
reality that our country - and our arts - now face. All of
the selected films were produced before the world changed
forever on September 11, but the films in this category now
have unintended, often startling, relevance.
Highlights
of the Comedy & Animation category include the World Premiere
of SHUT YER DIRTY LITTLE MOUTH, an outrageous slice of urban
Americana (set in the Haight). Directed by Robert Taicher,
the producer of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
and SANTA SANGRE, the film stars Glenn Shadix (BEETLEJUICE)
who will attend the Festival. Other highlights include the
World Premiere of IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU, a politically incorrect
comic nightmare vision from the bowels of Hollywood, MUTANT
ALIENS, renegade cult animator Bill Plympton’s third
hand drawn adult cartoon, TO PROTECT AND SERVE, Joseph Perez’s
mockumentary which follows two LAPD officers (which was an
official selection at the Melbourne International Film Festival)
and ANIMATION EXTRAVAGANZA, a short film program that includes
HUBERT’S BRAIN, the latest from the local company Wild
Brain, and featuring the voice talents of Bruce (EVIL DEAD)
Campbell and Peter Falk.
Dramatic
features include the World Premieres of THE JOURNEYMAN, a
post-modern spaghetti western with Barry Corbin (NORTHERN
EXPOSURE) and Willie Nelson and MARY/MARY, the feature debut
from award-winning filmmaker Joseph Biancaniello. The Festival
will also present the Oklahoman crime thriller 97 BROOKS,
and the US Premiere of LOVE ON THE RUN, a Quebecois "Nouvelle
Vague" styled mini-feature, as well as the Bay Area Premiere
of ALCATRAZ AVENUE, a tense psychological thriller set in
Berkeley from local filmmaker Tom Edgar.
The Music
& Truth program includes the North American Premiere of
SOUTH WEST 9, a critically acclaimed English drama from the
producers of HUMAN TRAFFIC, which has been described by the
British press as "PULP FICTION meets TRAINSPOTTING."
EINSTUERZENDE NEUBAUTEN: LISTEN WITH PAIN is a portrait of
the founding fathers of Industrial music. Blixa Bargeld, leader
of the band, and bass player for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
will attend the Festival. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I GOT is
a vibrant feminist documentary featuring Ani DiFranco. Penelope
Spheeris takes us on the road with Black Sabbath and OZZfest
in WE SOLD OUR SOULS FOR ROCK ‘N ROLL which includes
performances by System of a Down, Rob Zombie, Primus and more,
plus footage of Slayer playing tourist at Alcatraz. The program
CHOCK FULL OF NOTES includes the World Premieres of local
filmmaker Tom Borden’s THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES and
CHAMPION BLUES, a profile of powerhouse blues singer Mickey
Champion. Rounding out that program is THOTH, a fascinating
profile of a mixed-race street performer who used to live
and perform in San Francisco. THOTH is the latest work from
Sarah Kernochan, the Academy Award-winning director of MARJOE.
Highlights
of the Post-Apocalypse Now category include the opener EVER
SINCE THE WORLD ENDED and Todd Hughes’ THE NEW WOMEN,
a sci-fi action-comedy melodrama mutation of George Cukor’s
1939 classic THE WOMEN and starring cult icon Mary Woronov
(EATING RAOUL, DEATH RACE 2000). Other films in this category
include: COOKERS, the notorious methamphetamine fuelled modern
horror masterpiece, a midnight screening of the Hong Kong
zombie splatterfest BIO-COPS, the World Premiere of TWO DAYS
TILL TOMORROW, best described as the CITIZEN KANE of high-school
productions, and the World Premiere of UNSPEAKABLE: THE LIFE
AND ART OF REVEREND STEVEN JOHNSON LEYBA. This last title
is a must see for those over 18. This is a no-holds-barred
portrait of the local Satanic Priest/Native American "Father
of Sexpressionism" who ensured his notoriety at political
consultant Jack Davisí 1997 birthday party when he
performed the now-infamous "Apache Whiskey Rite".
Famous,
talented people are notoriously fickle when it comes to personal
appearances at Film Festivals. However, these people have
expressed interest in attending IndieFest (barring other commitments):
Blixa
Bargeld: Leader of Einstuerzende Neubauten & member of
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Todd Hughes: Director of THE NEW WOMEN and the AFI Director
of New Media.
Christopher Masterson: (MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE) stars in NICE
GUYS FINISH LAST.
Sarah
Polley: Director of I SHOUT LOVE, and actor in THE SWEET HEREAFTER,
GO, THE WEIGHT OF WATER, eXistenZ, THE CLAIM, and others.
Glenn Shadix: (BEETLEJUICE, PLANET OF THE APES) stars in SHUT
YER DIRTY LITTLE MOUTH!
Penelope
Spheeris: Director of WE SOLD OUR SOULS FOR ROCK ‘N ROLL,
SUBURBIA, THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION, WAYNE’S
WORLD and many more.
# # #
The 4th
annual San Francisco Independent Film Festival Program Guides
are available in The SF Weekly on January 16, at all Bay Area
Tower Records Stores and Landmark Theatres, and at all the
Festival venues. The San Francisco venues are the Castro Theatre,
the Roxie Cinema, The New College of California Theater and
Studio Z (formerly the Transmission Theater), as well as the
Parkway Theater and the Expression Center for New Media in
the East Bay.
Visit
www.sfindie.com for advance tickets and passes (with no service
charge) or call 415.820.3907. Tickets go on sale Monday, January
14th. General tickets are $8, Matinees, all films before 4:00pm
are $6. Festival passes that provide substantial discounts
are also available. Advance tickets are also available through
TicketMaster (415.421.TIXS) at all Tower Records, and most
Bay Area Rite Aid stores. The Opening Night Gala Party at
SomArts (934 Brannan at 9th) begins at 10:00pm on January
31st and will feature music, art, food and drink for $20 (which
includes admission to EVER SINCE THE WORLD ENDED at the Castro).
Tickets for the 5:00pm and 9:30pm shows on that day can also
be upgraded to include the Party.
# # #
What
is the IndieFest?
The Bay
area is the home of the niche Film Festival and the IndieFest
niche is "entertaining and informative narrative, documentary,
music and alternative film." Our objective is to provide
an opportunity for independent filmmakers to dream in public,
eat, drink, schmooze, party, and dance all night, and for
our audience to meet interesting people from faraway places,
gamble on films they know nothing about, and have a really
good time. We love films that are smart, edgy, challenging
and fun, and we like to show them on a big screen in a room
that smells like popcorn. We are nostalgic for the time (not
so long ago) when all of these films would have had lengthy
engagements in North American theaters and drive-ins.
We also
believe that most Film Festivals have become too huge and
unwieldy - even the great Festivals paralyze dedicated cineastes
with too many choices. Since this is the largest event in
IndieFest history, we specifically designed the Festival to
be manageable and audience-friendly. For example, on Friday,
February 1st all screenings will begin at 5:00pm, to allow
our out-of-town delegates a day to see the City. Most important
of all, the film Programs are scheduled so that (if you are
a robot) it is possible to view every single film in the Festival
and still have time to make an appearance at all the parties.
Screener
tapes and 300 dpi graphic images are available for most films.
We can arrange broadcast quality (usually Beta SP) trailers
and Electronic Press Kits upon request. All filmmakers can
be contacted by phone, fax or e-mail.
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