Blog

HOWZE on SCOTT WILLIAMS + KPR + WILEY +

The first of three Focus-on-Locus shows in fact addresses our own situation here in the Bay Area, with a special section devoted to dear departed Scott Williams, long-time denizen of 20^th St. in the Inner Mission. One of the greatest stencil artists of our times, Scott passed away in June, leaving behind a true Mission School legacy of obsessively worked paintings–in books, on buildings, in frames, and on the streets. Russell (Stencil Nation) Howze situates Scott‘s oeuvre within the energized NorCal art-scene of the last half-century, sharing clips from Nick Gorski‘s Spray Paint and Carla Leshne‘s Carmanic Convergence. ALSO Arlin Golden is in the house with his hilarious Backyard, to anchor a set of short docs on our Fair City: the Fillingers‘ Interchange, Attell‘s Fun House, and Oakland‘s Down to Earth, on sustainable collective living. AND speaking of utopian projects in the East Bay, tonight’s real revelation is a 10-min. prime cut from a larger W-i-P by consummate film artist Ken Paul Rosenthal. PLUS Emeryville MudFlats, William Wiley‘s billboard art, and free postcards! $12

PHIL HOFFMAN’s FILM FARM 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Rightfully praised as the granddaddy of hand-processing workshops, Hoffman has always stood as a lightning-rod of hope and creative agency through the 30 years of his summer retreats in Ontario, Canada. He finally blesses the Bay Area with three visits this week, with this OC program offering the best opportunity to revel in the most extraordinary 16mm exemplars from his three decades of enlightened instruction on photochemical experimentation. AND along with Phil himself, we have five of his graduates here in the flesh, each with their respective work: Alfonso Alvarez (Down on the Farm), Brett Kashmere (Ghosts of Empire), Deirdre Logue (Scratches), Rob Butterworth (Chicken Farm), and Annapurna Kumar (Something to Treasure)–a veritable 30-year reunion right here in San Fran! ALSO screening are Helen Hills’ Your New Pig Is Down the Road, David Gatten’s Hardwood Process, Jennifer Reeves’ We Are Going Home, Nazli Dincel’s How to Make a Film, Clint Enns’ A Day in the Shint, Maia Cybelle Carpenter’s The Shape of the Gaze, Karel Doing’s Dandelion, Chris Chong’s Minus, Janet Cole’s Gathering, Francisca Duran’s It Matters What, and Adrian Kahgee’s Everything Is Right Here. PLUS Gilbert with Shapeshifters beverage! $14

HUGHES on DISNEY + STARK/ROURKE + STAINS +

Our Fall Season opener promises an explosion of creative energy akin to the moment when two atomic halves come together to achieve critical mass!—We ram together a pair of 45-min. sets—one animated and one musical— to properly inaugurate OC’s autumn programming. Featured is the world premiere of Salise Hughes’ marvelous rendition of Mickey Mouse’s inside story—following two tunes from Bernal Heights’ Scott Stark, the second being a duet with Jeremy Rourke! Jeremy’s presence invokes the friendly ghost of Helen Hill, which leads to Peter Lichter, Sharon Liu, Gretchen Hogue, Laura Harrison, and the latest (The Lost Season) from Boulder genius Kelly Sears. The musical “half” leans in a festive, even comical direction, with some half-dozen anomalies from the margins of mid-century popular culture—Josie and the Pussycats, Sesame Street, two kinds of ventriloquism, and the premiere revival of Sam Green and Sarah Jacobsons’ Fabulous Stains. Come early for our reception with Korla Pandit, Barney Google, Kraftwerk, free toast-and-jam, and Russ Forster scratching vinyl on the sidewalk! $12