My thanks to Sonia Rosario, Vice President of Marketing at Maya Releasing, for her permission to leap over the “hold review” on Sleep Dealer, allowing SF360 to publish my interview with director Alex Rivera.  Like myself, she agrees that keeping the public discourse going on the film is important.

Photo courtesy of Pat Mazzera.  Cross-published on The Evening Class.

Graham Leggat introduced Graydon Carter, one of the producers of the closing night film Gonzo: The Life and Work Of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and the editor of Vanity Fair magazine since 1992.  Not only was this the West Coast premiere of Gonzo, but the Vanity Fair Reel Relief benefit, which Carter proudly announced had raised $100,000 for the Natural Resources Defense Council.  He, in turn, introduced Alex Gibney.

Gibney credited Carter as being the individual responsible for phoning him with the idea of doing a film on Hunter Thompson, some of whose writing Vanity Fair had published.  Gibney further acknowledged two other producers in the audience: Alison Ellwood and Eva Orner.  He stressed the importance of showing Gonzo to a San Franciscan audience since the city was so much a part of Thompson’s life.  To preface the film, he offered a quote by Thompson on show business: “Show business is a cruel and shallow money trench; a long, plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs.  But there’s also a negative side.” Gibney added that Thompson also had a saying: “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” “You bought the ticket,” Gibney shouted out to his cheering audience, “take the ride!”

And what a ride!  Equally hortatory and hagiographic, Gonzo frames a larger-than-life personality, the likes of which is nowhere to be found elsewhere even if crucially needed in such desperate times.

Continue Reading "SFIFF51: GONZO—Q&A With Director Alex Gibney"...

Alex Rivera’s debut feature Sleep Dealer was developed at the 2000 and 2001 Sundance Institute Feature Film Program labs, and won the 2002 Sundance/NHK award and a 2004 Annenberg Feature Film Fellowship.

It then moved on to win two major awards at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.  Rivera and David Riker won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for outstanding achievement for their screenplay and Sleep Dealer was also the recipient of this year’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize.  The Prize, which carries a $20,000 cash award to the filmmaker provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.

Sleep Dealer was selected “for its visionary and humane tale of a young man grappling with a technological future in which neural implants, telerobotics and ubiquitous computing serve a global economy rife with fundamental challenges and opportunities, and for its powerful and original storytelling and direction.”

The critical response has been qualified but almost without exception Rivera has been praised for his ambition and ingenious maximization of a meager budget to achieve his vision.  What strikes me as the true challenge with this film is whether audiences spoonfed multi-million dollar special effects will be willing to shift suspension of disbelief or be able to overcome their addiction to blockbuster visuals to accommodate Sleep Dealer‘s unique angle on the near-future?  Certainly the ideas are noteworthy enough and the film features a solid doe-eyed performance from one of Mexico’s rising stars.  Luis Fernando Peña—the lead actor of Sleep Dealer—is likewise starring in Desierto Adentro, Rodrigo Plá’s critically-acclaimed follow-up to La Zona (featured in this year’s festival lineup).  I encourage debate on whether audiences can be expected to shift their expectations of what a sci fi film should be to recognize the promise in Rivera’s flawed yet impressive debut feature.

PlumTV’s video interviews with Rivera, actress Leonor Varela and co-actor Jacob Vargas, include some clips from the film.  Hollywood.com’s Sundance interview with Rivera is up on YouTube.  And as of today, via The Hollywood Reporter, Maya Entertainment has picked up the U.S. Rights for Sleep Dealer.

Cross-published on The Evening Class.

Frail, yet radiantly self-amused, Catherine Breillat admitted to being moved by Graham Leggat’s introductory remarks and expressed her pleasure to be back in San Francisco. By way of her own introduction to SFIFF51’s opening night presentation of The Last Mistress at the Castro Theatre, Breillat stated that it was true when she made the film that she wasn’t sure if it was legitimate for her to present a costume drama after the kinds of films she’s more customarily known for; but, it involved a subject that’s intrigued her for some time.

Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, the author of Une vieille maîtresse upon which Breillat has based her film, was a great romantic and a dandy, subject to censorship and attacked by the authorities. Naturally, Breillat identifies with him. The Last Mistress presents the last hurrah of the 18th Century French aristocracy just before the advent of the 19th Century bourgeoisie. This is a period Breillat feels keenly attached to. As the Marquise de Flers proclaims in the film, “I am furiously aristocratic”, Breillat herself feels furiously 18th century.

Hoping her audience will derive as much pleasure from watching the film as she derived making it, Breillat likewise hoped that—after seeing the film—the audience would retain Leggat’s complimentary remarks. Though many rushed off to attend the opening night party at the Metreon, those who remained were charmed and attentive.

Continue Reading "SFIFF51: THE LAST MISTRESS—Opening Night Q&A With Catherine Breillat"...

Ready, get set, go!  The wait is over and the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival is fixed to begin.  Over the past few weeks I’ve had the chance to preview a handful of festival titles on screener (plus one press screening), and herein offer some thoughts on what I’ve seen.

Out of the bunch, the two films with the biggest pre-festival profiles are undoubtedly Catherine Breillat’s festival opener The Last Mistress (Une vieille maîtresse) and Jia Zheng-ke’s Still Life (Sanxia haoren).  Reams have been written about both since their premieres at Cannes 2007 and Venice 2006 respectively.  So rather than add to the din, I’ll simply say that both are as excellent as anything else to be found in their directors’ esteemed filmographies.  Asia Argento’s feral, spellbinding performance as an obsessed 19th century Spanish courtesan has to be seen to be believed.  And Yu Lik-wai’s HD cinematography of the area to be flooded by China’s Three Gorges Dam is as crisp and sumptuous as digital filmmaking gets.

Continue Reading "SFIFF51—Michael Hawley At the Starting Gun!"...

I’ve been meaning to comment for weeks now on the crisp new design of SF360.  They’ve done away with the graded green-to-orange color scheme (thank you!) and are now bylining their features.  Congratulations to Susan Gerhard and her SF360 team for the fresh new look!

This is as good a time as any to tip the hat because it’s also when SF360 really shines with its coverage of the San Francisco International.  Along with her initial report from the SFIFF51 press conference, Susie has organized her writers to focus first on Bay Area filmmakers and their contributions to SFIFF51.  These include:

Chuy Varela on Cachao: Uno Mas.

Michael Fox’s interview with Johnny Symons, director of Ask Not.

Michael Fox’s interview with Renee Tajima-Peña, director of Calavera Highway.

Susan Gerhard’s interview with Dawn Logsdon, director of Faubourg Tremé.

Susan Gerhard’s interview with Logan and Noah Miller, co-directors of Touching Home.

Michael Fox’s interview with Craig Baldwin, director of Mock Up On Mu.

Cross-published on The Evening Class.