SFFILM: San Francisco Film FEstival 2022

[Chris Knipp]

TRIBUTES: SPECIAL EVENINGS


WYATT OLEFF IN STAY AWAKE

BIG NIGHTS

Opening Night: Stay Awake
Jamie Sisley (USA 2022, 94 min)
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE - Thu, Apr 21 7:30 PM CASTRO
Rarely conveyed in the headlines decrying the opioid epidemic are the personal struggles of addicts’ daily fight for sobriety and the hopeful resilience of their families. For teenagers Derek (Fin Argus) and Ethan (Wyatt Oleff), the situation is all too familiar as they pace the streets searching for their painkiller-dependent mother, Michelle. This Is Us star Chrissy Metz delivers a nuanced portrayal of guilt and shame that fearlessly digs into the trauma of recovery, while newcomers Argus and Oleff infuse the film with vulnerability and unexpected humor. First-time feature director Jamie Sisley masterfully builds a relatable world full of characters that vibrate with authenticity in this powerful, SFFILM-supported drama that will stick with you long after you exit the theater.

Centerpiece: 892
Abi Damaris Corbin (USA 2022, 103 min) Wed, Apr 27 7:30 PM CASTRO
When a routine transaction turns into a bank heist, two employees find themselves at the whim of a man pushed to the limit. John Boyega delivers a riveting performance as former Marine Brian Brown-Easley who holds up a Wells Fargo in feverish desperation after his monthly disability check fails to arrive. At turns verbose and volatile, Brian just wants to be heard in hopes Veteran Affairs will issue his payment. Abi Damaris Corbin directs with clinical precision, packing every scene with emotional complexity and each frame with relentless tension, as 892 reveals the plight of a forgotten veteran crushed under the wheels of bureaucracy. Featuring the final performance of the late Michael K. Williams, this true story will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Closing Night: Cha Cha Real Smooth
Cooper Raiff (USA 2022, 107 min) Sat, Apr 30 7:00 PM CASTRO
Andrew is a sweet, talkative, and deeply ambivalent 22-year-old. Fresh out of college and living with his mother (Leslie Mann), Andrew finds his reckless charm makes him the ideal go-to party starter for the bar and bat mitzvahs in his Long Island hometown. Andrew soon befriends single mother, Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter Lola, and their lives become deeply entwined during the endless revelry of coming-of-age parties. As Andrew falls for a home life that has no room for him, he is forced to face his desires and motives. Cooper Raiff writes, directs, produces, and stars in this hilarious, unexpected, and buoyant story about the people we love and the loves that define us.

MUSIC + FILM

32 Sounds
Sam Green (USA 2022, 95 min) Sun, Apr 24 7:30 PM CASTRO
Festival favorite Sam Green returns with this immersive documentary, a poem in audio and images that explores the effect of sound on our lives, narrated by the filmmaker with a live score by JD Samson.

Land of Gold
Jon Else (USA 2021, 82 min) Thu, Apr 28 7:30 PM CASTRO
Soprano Julia Bullock mesmerizes in this entrancing documentary that brings to vivid life John Adams’ and Peter Sellars' opera Girls of the Golden West and the Gold Rush era that inspired it. SFFILM’s free screening of Land of Gold is presented in partnership with SF Opera and the Castro Theatre, both celebrating their centenary anniversaries. The film will be preceded by a performance from members of the Opera’s Adler Fellows program, a multi-year residency for opera’s most promising young artists. This is a Community Screening with free admission. RSVP required at [sffilm.org].
AWARDS

Persistence of Vision Award: Trinh T. Minh-ha

Fri, Apr 29 7:00 PM BAMPFA
Filmmaker, writer, composer Trinh T. Minh-ha is a Distinguished Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley, whose work runs the gamut from feature films to multimedia installations to books. Her many awards include the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Caucus for Art; the 2006 Trailblazers Award at MIPDoc in Cannes, France; and the 1991 AFI National Independent Filmmaker Maya Deren Award. This year’s POV program will feature Trinh T. Minh-ha in conversation with Rizvana Bradley, Assistant Professor of Film and Media at UC Berkeley, followed by the North American premiere of Minh-ha’s latest film, What About China?

What About China?
Trinh T. Minh-ha (USA/China 2021, 135 min) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
UC Berkeley professor and experimental filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha fascinates with this video essay examining the mercurial nature of China nearly half a century after the Cultural Revolution.

Sloan Science on Screen Award: Linoleum

Tue, Apr 26 7:30 PM VICTORIA Linoleum is the SFFILM Festival recipient of the Sloan Science on Screen Award,. Presented through a partnership between SFFILM and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the prize is part of SFFILM’s Sloan Science in Cinema initiative, which enhances public understanding of science through the language of film. This program will feature a post-screening discussion with director Colin West, star Jim Gaffigan, and a noted scientist.

Linoleum
Colin West (USA 2022, 101 min)
When a satellite falls from the sky, Cameron (Jim Gaffigan) finds his life upended. This sweet, quirky film leads to unexpected places, as Cameron searches for meaning and adventure amongst the stars.

TRIBUTES

A Tribute to Jenny Slate

Fri, Apr 22 7:30 PM CASTRO
An actor, voice performer, and comedian, Jenny Slate spent a season on Saturday Night Live (2009-2010) before achieving viral success with Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2010), the first of three animated shorts. Over the last dozen years, Slate has successfully juggled roles in big-screen features, such as Obvious Child (Festival 2014), for which she received a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination; Landline (Festival 2017); and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) with parts in series like Parks and Recreation and The Great North and voice work in Big Mouth and Bob’s Burgers. Join us for a conversation with Jenny Slate and a screening of the big-screen feature of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022).

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Dean Fleischer-Camp (USA 2021, 90 min)
Poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, this feature expansion of the beloved web series features the titular mollusk (voiced by Jenny Slate) looking after his Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini) and ruminating on his home life and missing family. Recommended for ages 9 and up.

A Tribute to Michelle Yeoh: In Conversation with Sandra Oh

Fri, Apr 29 6:00 PM CASTRO
Michelle Yeoh is recognized as one of the greatest and most successful actresses. From martial arts goddess to Bond Girl, Yeoh has graced the screen in myriad Hollywood blockbusters and shattered convention.

Yeoh’s extensive filmography is a collection of iconic roles, from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Rob Marshall’s Memoirs of a Geisha, to Roger Spottiswoode’s Tomorrow Never Dies, Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, and John Chu's romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians, the highest-grossing romantic comedy in the U.S. in the past 10 years. Additionally, she recently joined the Marvel stratosphere when she starred in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, one of the highest grossing films of 2021.

The acclaimed actress is poised to have a remarkable 2022, as she will soon be seen in the highly-anticipated Daniels’ feature, Everything Everywhere All At Once for A24, premiering opening night at SXSW 2022. She will also reprise her role from James Cameron’s Avatar and will be seen in the forthcoming sequels as well as Paul Feig’s The School for Good and Evil and The Witcher Blood Origin for Netflix.

Rotten Tomatoes ranked Yeoh as the greatest action heroine of all time. She has been featured in People magazine’s annual "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue and the BBC featured her on their list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.

In 2016, Yeoh was appointed Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations and is actively involved in sustainability and environmental efforts.

SPECIAL SCREENING

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON

Mon, Apr 25 7:00 PM CASTRO
Veteran Hong Kong martial arts icons Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun-Fat face off against newcomer Ziyi Zhang over a stolen sword in Ang Lee’s electrifying epic. Set in the 19th century, during the last days of the Qing Dynasty, Lee’s breakthrough film is an exhilarating blend of lush visuals, awe-inspiring action, and romantic adventure. A cinematic phenomenon, the film boasts an exquisite cast; Peter Pau’s luminous, Oscar®-winning cinematography; Tom Yip’s costume and Oscar-winning production design; and Yuen Woo Ping’s breathtaking fight choreography with its spectacular, gravity-defying wirework. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards®, including Best Director and Best Picture, it won four, including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Score for Dun Tan’s vivid compositions. Twenty-two years after its release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, screening at the Festival in glorious 35 mm, retains its power to thrill.