SFIFF52: Next Frame Picks for 5/2
[All events are at the Kabuki unless otherwise noted.]
The biggest event of Saturday, May 2nd is definitely the afternoon with James Toback at the Kabuki at 4:00. Toback has been honored by the festival with the Kanbar Award for Excellence in Screenwriting, and on this afternoon he’s going to “discuss and show clips from his work in the course of an onstage interview.” Toback has written and directed ten feature films, including Fingers, Love and Money & The Big Bang.
And now that work includes Tyson, which is definitely the best documentary I’ve seen this year (though Every Little Step comes awfully close to tying with it). It’s a film that I’ll be writing about at length here early next week (including a long Q&A with Toback for those who are interested) because it’s opening widely next Friday. But in the meantime I’ll just say that this film has plenty to say to you, even if you don’t know anything about boxing or Mike Tyson; I certainly didn’t know anything about either, when I walked into the screening room. It’s the story of Tyson’s epic life and his spiritual quest through extreme violence to non-violence, as told by Tyson himself, and what you see will move you in unexpected ways. Check out the festival capsule here.
Also showing is Speaking In Tongues, the informative and fascinating documentary about the immersion language schools in the SF Unified School District, with screenings at 11:45 and 3:30. There’s one additional screening on May 7th at 2:30. As of this writing, all of these are already at Rush status, but if you’re considering enrolling your kids in one of these programs, the film is a must-see. It’s also a great watch for people like me, without kids but with an abiding interest in how language acquisition broadens people’s minds and makes them smarter.
Not to claim that it has made me smarter, but since I both love docs and can boast of tolerable fluency in French, I’ve seen more than my fair share of obscure French docs. So I’m going to recommend another one to you: Modern Life, which has its West Coast premiere at 3:45. It’s an appealing portrait of dairy farmers in the Ardeche by none other than Raymond Depardon. Depending on your sensibilities, it may or may not inspire in you a craving for piquant cheese afterwards, so be forewarned. Additional screenings are at the Clay on Monday May 4th (4:00) and Wednesday May 6 (3:45).
In the evening there will be final screenings of Everything Strange and New at 6:30 (this is the one Beth Lisick stars in) and at 9:00, Nomad’s Land.
posted: 09 May 1
under: The Next Frame