Music and All That Jazz at This Year’s Noir City Film Festival
In Small-Town Healdsburg, Residents Welcome a Brand New Movie Theater
With Ghost Fest, the Historic — and Haunted? — Balboa Theater Gets a Spooky Film Festival
A Celebration of Asian Pacific Film in Sunnyvale
Your Fall Guide to Movies and Film Festivals
In Oakland, a ‘Worst Film Festival’ Redefines Filmmaking Failures
Mikio Naruse’s Women, and a World That Betrays Them, at BAMPFA
An Oakland Rapper-Turned-Screenwriter Returns to the Bay Area
The Immortal Christopher Lee
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"content": "\u003cp>Treachery and deceit swirl all around us. Every awards season, it seems, there’s an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oscars\">Oscar\u003c/a> given to the right person, but for the wrong film. Sometimes it’s an actor (Al Pacino for \u003cem>Scent of a Woman\u003c/em>), sometimes it’s a director (Martin Scorcese for \u003cem>The Departed\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sometimes it’s a singer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you see any movie at this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Noir City\u003c/a> festival, running Jan. 16–25 at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/grand-lake-theatre\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a>, make it \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em>, starring Frank Sinatra. At the time a skinny crooner who’d just won Best Supporting Actor for \u003cem>From Here to Eternity\u003c/em>, Ol’ Blue Eyes turns in his actual greatest-ever acting performance as a jazz drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmqTc07linY\">desperately trying\u003c/a> — with girlfriend Kim Novak — to kick his debilitating heroin addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985493\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985493\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak in ‘The Man With the Golden Arm,’ directed by Otto Preminger in 1955. \u003ccite>(United Artists)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Screening in a double feature at Noir City with \u003cem>The Sweet Smell of Success\u003c/em> (from the bygone age of 1957, when critics actually held power over performing artists’ fortunes), \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em>, with its pulsing, blaring jazz music by Elmer Bernstein, marked a sea change in film scores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eddie Muller knows the cliché all too well of a black-and-white noir movie from the 1940s, with its “a lonesome wailing saxophone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except that brass instruments were hardly used at all in 1940s scores, Muller explains in a recent interview. “In the 1940s, Hollywood had their studio orchestras, and were still beholden to that classic European orchestral score approach,” he says. “But in the ’50s, that really changed, and \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em> had a lot to do with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove-768x561.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ida Lupino as a lounge singer in ‘The Man I Love,’ directed by Raoul Walsh in 1947. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of deep knowledge I anticipated from a conversation with Muller, who since 2003 has hosted Noir City, a celebration of all things double-crossing and murderous on the silver screen. Each year, the hugely popular festival follows a theme; the first year I attended and realized I’d found my people, it was newspapers. This year’s is music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes films like \u003cem>Gilda\u003c/em>, with Rita Hayworth’s famous glove-removing nightclub performance of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hllEi7bJ4os\">Put the Blame on Me\u003c/a>,” and \u003cem>A Man Called Adam\u003c/em>, starring Sammy Davis Jr. as an alcoholic, self-sabotaging singer and cornet player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also includes some films that, Muller admits, stretch the definition of film noir, including not one but two Doris Day movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn-768x561.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doris Day and Kirk Douglas in ‘Young Man With a Horn,’ based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke and directed by Michael Curtiz in 1950. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When people see \u003cem>Love Me or Leave Me\u003c/em>, they assume ‘Oh, that’s a Doris Day musical,’” Muller says, adding that people have asked him: How can you possibly pass that off as noir?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And you know, the answer is that Ruth Etting had a very, very noir life,” he explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etting, a singer and actress who endured threats, a messy divorce and a murder attempt, is portrayed in \u003cem>Love Me Or Leave Me\u003c/em> not in gritty black and white, but full MGM Technicolor. Likewise, \u003cem>Pete Kelly’s Blues\u003c/em>, with Jack Webb and Janet Leigh, is also in color. But its story is grimy, and its stellar performances by Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee fit the festival’s theme too well to be overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13980003']Speaking of jazz performances, Muller’s lined up a schedule of them to precede each screening, with pianists, guitarists, tap dancers and singer Elizabeth Bougerol (she’s the one on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">festival poster\u003c/a> this year, spattered in blood). And he’s more than ready to get on stage and make converts of any noir-naysayers, like the woman behind me at the December festival preview at the Grand Lake, who saw the Elvis Presley film \u003cem>King Creole\u003c/em> flash on screen and remarked “Elvis?! Really?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muller’s response to that is straightforward: “Watch the movie! It’s gangsters, it’s everything. It’s a typical noir story except the guy is a rock singer.” While other Elvis movies were certified fluff for teenagers, he says, “this one has a serious crime element, it’s in black and white … Like, that’s \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Elvis noir movie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985490\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dexter Gordon in ‘Round Midnight,’ directed by Bertrand Tavernier in 1986. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year also marks the festival’s fourth year at the Grand Lake after leaving its longtime home at the Castro Theatre, which reopens next month to host more concerts than films in a renovated auditorium without its original theater-style seating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does Muller ever miss the Castro? “I don’t think about it, honestly,” he says. “What I regret is that San Francisco has no opulent single-screen movie palaces anymore. Like, how is that even possible?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Muller’s happy at the Grand Lake, a glorious 1926 movie palace with a curtain, a Wurlitzer and a community of film lovers who huddle together in the dark each year for a few hours of treachery and deceit on screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Noir City 23: Face the Music!\u003c/a> runs Jan. 16–25, 2026 at the Grand Lake Theatre (3200 Grand Ave., Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Treachery and deceit swirl all around us. Every awards season, it seems, there’s an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/oscars\">Oscar\u003c/a> given to the right person, but for the wrong film. Sometimes it’s an actor (Al Pacino for \u003cem>Scent of a Woman\u003c/em>), sometimes it’s a director (Martin Scorcese for \u003cem>The Departed\u003c/em>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And sometimes it’s a singer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you see any movie at this year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Noir City\u003c/a> festival, running Jan. 16–25 at Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/grand-lake-theatre\">Grand Lake Theatre\u003c/a>, make it \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em>, starring Frank Sinatra. At the time a skinny crooner who’d just won Best Supporting Actor for \u003cem>From Here to Eternity\u003c/em>, Ol’ Blue Eyes turns in his actual greatest-ever acting performance as a jazz drummer \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmqTc07linY\">desperately trying\u003c/a> — with girlfriend Kim Novak — to kick his debilitating heroin addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985493\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985493\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.ManWithGoldenArm-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak in ‘The Man With the Golden Arm,’ directed by Otto Preminger in 1955. \u003ccite>(United Artists)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Screening in a double feature at Noir City with \u003cem>The Sweet Smell of Success\u003c/em> (from the bygone age of 1957, when critics actually held power over performing artists’ fortunes), \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em>, with its pulsing, blaring jazz music by Elmer Bernstein, marked a sea change in film scores.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eddie Muller knows the cliché all too well of a black-and-white noir movie from the 1940s, with its “a lonesome wailing saxophone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except that brass instruments were hardly used at all in 1940s scores, Muller explains in a recent interview. “In the 1940s, Hollywood had their studio orchestras, and were still beholden to that classic European orchestral score approach,” he says. “But in the ’50s, that really changed, and \u003cem>The Man With the Golden Arm\u003c/em> had a lot to do with that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985492\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.TheManILove-768x561.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ida Lupino as a lounge singer in ‘The Man I Love,’ directed by Raoul Walsh in 1947. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s the kind of deep knowledge I anticipated from a conversation with Muller, who since 2003 has hosted Noir City, a celebration of all things double-crossing and murderous on the silver screen. Each year, the hugely popular festival follows a theme; the first year I attended and realized I’d found my people, it was newspapers. This year’s is music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes films like \u003cem>Gilda\u003c/em>, with Rita Hayworth’s famous glove-removing nightclub performance of “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hllEi7bJ4os\">Put the Blame on Me\u003c/a>,” and \u003cem>A Man Called Adam\u003c/em>, starring Sammy Davis Jr. as an alcoholic, self-sabotaging singer and cornet player.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also includes some films that, Muller admits, stretch the definition of film noir, including not one but two Doris Day movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985491\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985491\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.YoungManWithaHorn-768x561.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Doris Day and Kirk Douglas in ‘Young Man With a Horn,’ based on the life of Bix Beiderbecke and directed by Michael Curtiz in 1950. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When people see \u003cem>Love Me or Leave Me\u003c/em>, they assume ‘Oh, that’s a Doris Day musical,’” Muller says, adding that people have asked him: How can you possibly pass that off as noir?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And you know, the answer is that Ruth Etting had a very, very noir life,” he explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Etting, a singer and actress who endured threats, a messy divorce and a murder attempt, is portrayed in \u003cem>Love Me Or Leave Me\u003c/em> not in gritty black and white, but full MGM Technicolor. Likewise, \u003cem>Pete Kelly’s Blues\u003c/em>, with Jack Webb and Janet Leigh, is also in color. But its story is grimy, and its stellar performances by Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee fit the festival’s theme too well to be overlooked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Speaking of jazz performances, Muller’s lined up a schedule of them to precede each screening, with pianists, guitarists, tap dancers and singer Elizabeth Bougerol (she’s the one on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">festival poster\u003c/a> this year, spattered in blood). And he’s more than ready to get on stage and make converts of any noir-naysayers, like the woman behind me at the December festival preview at the Grand Lake, who saw the Elvis Presley film \u003cem>King Creole\u003c/em> flash on screen and remarked “Elvis?! Really?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Muller’s response to that is straightforward: “Watch the movie! It’s gangsters, it’s everything. It’s a typical noir story except the guy is a rock singer.” While other Elvis movies were certified fluff for teenagers, he says, “this one has a serious crime element, it’s in black and white … Like, that’s \u003cem>the\u003c/em> Elvis noir movie.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13985490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13985490\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"531\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/Noir.RoundMidnight-768x510.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dexter Gordon in ‘Round Midnight,’ directed by Bertrand Tavernier in 1986. \u003ccite>(Warner Bros.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year also marks the festival’s fourth year at the Grand Lake after leaving its longtime home at the Castro Theatre, which reopens next month to host more concerts than films in a renovated auditorium without its original theater-style seating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does Muller ever miss the Castro? “I don’t think about it, honestly,” he says. “What I regret is that San Francisco has no opulent single-screen movie palaces anymore. Like, how is that even possible?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Muller’s happy at the Grand Lake, a glorious 1926 movie palace with a curtain, a Wurlitzer and a community of film lovers who huddle together in the dark each year for a few hours of treachery and deceit on screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Noir City 23: Face the Music!\u003c/a> runs Jan. 16–25, 2026 at the Grand Lake Theatre (3200 Grand Ave., Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.noircity.com/\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "healdsburg-new-movie-theater-true-west-film-center",
"title": "In Small-Town Healdsburg, Residents Welcome a Brand New Movie Theater",
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"content": "\u003cp>Kathryn Philip stood outside the True West Film Center in Healdsburg last Friday, looking up at the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/movie-theaters\">movie theater\u003c/a> that, for five years, had only existed in her head. As customers exited the very first film screening, one word came to mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s all about hope. This, to me, is millions of dollars of hope,” Philip said. “This is the community saying, not only do we want it, we \u003cem>hope\u003c/em> that people are gonna relearn it. We \u003cem>hope\u003c/em> that people are gonna give this to themselves again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What the public has to relearn, obviously, is the act of going to the movies. Ever since the pandemic changed people’s viewing habits — only 16% of Americans go to the movie theater at least once a month, according to \u003ca href=\"https://apnorc.org/projects/more-people-are-enjoying-movies-from-the-comfort-of-home/\">a recent poll by the Associated Press\u003c/a> — dozens of theaters have closed permanently across the greater Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982677\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982677\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The breezeway leading to the True West Film Center in Healdsburg, seen during a preview on Sept. 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The True West Film Center is banking on those people coming back. With its central location in downtown Healdsburg, plus state-of-the-art projection, sound and seating, it just might work. The city is historically supportive of the arts, boasting a cluster of downtown art galleries and an annual jazz festival. As for donations and memberships, the median home value hovers around $1 million, and one-third of the population are retirees, with spare time to go to the movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Philip was choosing a town for the theater, all the ingredients seemed to intersect in Healdsburg, known primarily these days for wine tourism. “You have more foot traffic, you have discretionary income, you have a world stage which is drawing people here out of interest and curiosity,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13974460'] Notably, True West is not a commercial enterprise, but a mission-based nonprofit. John Cooper, the former director of the Sundance Film Festival and now True West’s artistic director, said that in the current landscape for moviegoing, the nonprofit model for small theaters is imperative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every town wants to have a library and a museum. Why not a cinema? It’s just as important,” Cooper said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tricky part is getting community buy-in, Cooper added. But with a capital campaign that’s raised $4.5 million of a $5.6 million goal, the people seem to have spoken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982678\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982678\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors try the seats at True West Film Center in Healdsburg during a preview event on Sept. 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another thing going for True West is its size. Two of its auditoriums seat just 21 and 27 people, and a third, larger one seats 54.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Realistically, in-person movies are a niche activity in the year 2025; one reason the theater operators didn’t take over the 12,000 square-foot Raven Film Center, the town’s 24-year-old multiplex which closed in 2020, is that the auditoriums were too large. As True West board member and local resident Renn Rhodes explained, “We’d go there and there’d be six people in the whole theater.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At True West’s soft opening Friday, a few kinks were still being worked out. One movie trailer played sound, but no picture. Extra salt still needed to be ordered for the popcorn. But excited customers, including 14 of them who arrived for the very first film, Luca Guadagnino’s \u003cem>After the Hunt\u003c/em>, weren’t quibbling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13968201']Laura Vallejo, who’s lived in Healdsburg for 35 years, said after the film let out that she’s had to drive to Santa Rosa or Sebastopol to see movies, and “it’s a bit of a trek out there for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vallejo praised True West for its community outreach and involvement in schools before opening, as well as its senior ticket prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I happen to know a lot of people who are excited about it, and are saying ‘I want to come back,’” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local moviegoers like Vallejo who aren’t fans of Hollywood’s emphasis on action and superhero franchises have already pitched Cooper on the kinds of movies they’d like to see. At a preview event in September, supporters shouted out older films like \u003cem>2001: A Space Odyssey\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Apocalypse Now\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Sting\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194.jpg\" alt=\"A man in glasses and a greyish puffed vest looks into the camera, smiling, against a backdrop of trees\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Cooper, pictured in Sebastopol, was previously the director of the Sundance Film Festival. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Needless to say, Cooper, who grew up in Sonoma County and now lives in Healdsburg after stepping down from Sundance, won’t be programming a \u003cem>Fast & Furious\u003c/em> marathon anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Mondays and Tuesdays, he plans “Icon Screenings” for repertory movies, such as \u003cem>To Kill a Mockingbird\u003c/em>, dedicated to famous actors. Regular “Film 101” series will focus on one director or genre. Sundays will be reserved for what he calls “Film Church,” a series of weekly documentaries (“and not about an issue that’s so bad, you leave really depressed,” Cooper quipped).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13917362']Outdoor screenings and Spanish-language events are in the works, along with a film festival, which began life as the Alexander Valley Film Festival. Many of the same organizers of that long-running film festival, including executive director Philip, moved their energies to True West; next year’s festival will take on the theater’s name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more people arrived for the second-ever round of screenings at the theater, on opening day, Philip said she felt relieved and excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Watching the people trickle in has been such a joy, and I feel ready to share it,” she said. “I’m ready to give it back now to the community, and let them make it their own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The True West Film Center (371 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) hosts a free \u003ca href=\"https://truewestfilmcenter.org/show/grand-opening-block-party/\">grand opening block party\u003c/a> on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. \u003ca href=\"https://truewestfilmcenter.org/show/grand-opening-block-party/\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Kathryn Philip stood outside the True West Film Center in Healdsburg last Friday, looking up at the brand new \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/movie-theaters\">movie theater\u003c/a> that, for five years, had only existed in her head. As customers exited the very first film screening, one word came to mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s all about hope. This, to me, is millions of dollars of hope,” Philip said. “This is the community saying, not only do we want it, we \u003cem>hope\u003c/em> that people are gonna relearn it. We \u003cem>hope\u003c/em> that people are gonna give this to themselves again.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What the public has to relearn, obviously, is the act of going to the movies. Ever since the pandemic changed people’s viewing habits — only 16% of Americans go to the movie theater at least once a month, according to \u003ca href=\"https://apnorc.org/projects/more-people-are-enjoying-movies-from-the-comfort-of-home/\">a recent poll by the Associated Press\u003c/a> — dozens of theaters have closed permanently across the greater Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982677\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982677\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8098-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The breezeway leading to the True West Film Center in Healdsburg, seen during a preview on Sept. 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The True West Film Center is banking on those people coming back. With its central location in downtown Healdsburg, plus state-of-the-art projection, sound and seating, it just might work. The city is historically supportive of the arts, boasting a cluster of downtown art galleries and an annual jazz festival. As for donations and memberships, the median home value hovers around $1 million, and one-third of the population are retirees, with spare time to go to the movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Philip was choosing a town for the theater, all the ingredients seemed to intersect in Healdsburg, known primarily these days for wine tourism. “You have more foot traffic, you have discretionary income, you have a world stage which is drawing people here out of interest and curiosity,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Notably, True West is not a commercial enterprise, but a mission-based nonprofit. John Cooper, the former director of the Sundance Film Festival and now True West’s artistic director, said that in the current landscape for moviegoing, the nonprofit model for small theaters is imperative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every town wants to have a library and a museum. Why not a cinema? It’s just as important,” Cooper said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tricky part is getting community buy-in, Cooper added. But with a capital campaign that’s raised $4.5 million of a $5.6 million goal, the people seem to have spoken.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982678\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982678\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/img_8107-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors try the seats at True West Film Center in Healdsburg during a preview event on Sept. 25, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another thing going for True West is its size. Two of its auditoriums seat just 21 and 27 people, and a third, larger one seats 54.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Realistically, in-person movies are a niche activity in the year 2025; one reason the theater operators didn’t take over the 12,000 square-foot Raven Film Center, the town’s 24-year-old multiplex which closed in 2020, is that the auditoriums were too large. As True West board member and local resident Renn Rhodes explained, “We’d go there and there’d be six people in the whole theater.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At True West’s soft opening Friday, a few kinks were still being worked out. One movie trailer played sound, but no picture. Extra salt still needed to be ordered for the popcorn. But excited customers, including 14 of them who arrived for the very first film, Luca Guadagnino’s \u003cem>After the Hunt\u003c/em>, weren’t quibbling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Laura Vallejo, who’s lived in Healdsburg for 35 years, said after the film let out that she’s had to drive to Santa Rosa or Sebastopol to see movies, and “it’s a bit of a trek out there for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Vallejo praised True West for its community outreach and involvement in schools before opening, as well as its senior ticket prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I happen to know a lot of people who are excited about it, and are saying ‘I want to come back,’” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local moviegoers like Vallejo who aren’t fans of Hollywood’s emphasis on action and superhero franchises have already pitched Cooper on the kinds of movies they’d like to see. At a preview event in September, supporters shouted out older films like \u003cem>2001: A Space Odyssey\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Apocalypse Now\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Sting\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13973504\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13973504\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194.jpg\" alt=\"A man in glasses and a greyish puffed vest looks into the camera, smiling, against a backdrop of trees\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/IMG_3194-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Cooper, pictured in Sebastopol, was previously the director of the Sundance Film Festival. \u003ccite>(Gabe Meline/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Needless to say, Cooper, who grew up in Sonoma County and now lives in Healdsburg after stepping down from Sundance, won’t be programming a \u003cem>Fast & Furious\u003c/em> marathon anytime soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Mondays and Tuesdays, he plans “Icon Screenings” for repertory movies, such as \u003cem>To Kill a Mockingbird\u003c/em>, dedicated to famous actors. Regular “Film 101” series will focus on one director or genre. Sundays will be reserved for what he calls “Film Church,” a series of weekly documentaries (“and not about an issue that’s so bad, you leave really depressed,” Cooper quipped).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Outdoor screenings and Spanish-language events are in the works, along with a film festival, which began life as the Alexander Valley Film Festival. Many of the same organizers of that long-running film festival, including executive director Philip, moved their energies to True West; next year’s festival will take on the theater’s name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more people arrived for the second-ever round of screenings at the theater, on opening day, Philip said she felt relieved and excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Watching the people trickle in has been such a joy, and I feel ready to share it,” she said. “I’m ready to give it back now to the community, and let them make it their own.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The True West Film Center (371 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg) hosts a free \u003ca href=\"https://truewestfilmcenter.org/show/grand-opening-block-party/\">grand opening block party\u003c/a> on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2 p.m. \u003ca href=\"https://truewestfilmcenter.org/show/grand-opening-block-party/\">Details here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>“I have to figure out how I’m going to get a ghost to come down on a line … without getting stuck on something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a dark, chilly October night, as the fog curls in from Ocean Beach around its luminous neon frontage, the Balboa Theater feels like the movie theater at the end of the earth — or a portal to another era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And through its doors, Kai Wada Roath is looking up at the ceiling of its main auditorium, plotting how to give theatergoers a good fright this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath is the curator of \u003ca href=\"https://www.balboamovies.com/calendar-of-events/ghost-fest-2025\">Ghost Fest, a two-day film festival\u003c/a> at the Balboa, running Oct. 18 and 19 with immersive screenings of ghostly classics spanning over 70 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really want to show the classics that the ghost hunters and investigators really enjoy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a hat wearing red poses with a fake skeleton in front of a movie theater marquee\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1382\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-1536x1061.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kai Wada Roath, the curator of Ghost Fest, in front of the Balboa Theater. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, that means screenings of \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em>, \u003cem>13 Ghosts\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Haunting\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Legend of Hell House\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> and \u003cem>House\u003c/em>. On Sunday, attendees will see \u003cem>The Changeling\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Carnival of Souls\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Innocents and The Amityville Horror\u003c/em> — as well as the decidedly non-scary \u003cem>The Ghost and Mrs. Muir\u003c/em>, “a classic romance with a ghost,” said Wada Roath.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, festivalgoers can also watch a short film documenting the San Francisco Ghost Society’s 2016 visit to the Balboa Theater. Because this historic building, which turns 100 years old in 2026, is itself rumored to be very, very haunted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With his lifelong fascination in the supernatural, and several ghostly encounters of his own, Wada Roath has no doubt the Balboa harbors spectral visitors. He said he encountered one ghost, in a large empty room behind the movie screen, who “wanted us to get out of there,” he noted. “That was probably a manager ghost, or someone who had worked here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the other ghosts are just sitting in seats, watching the movies,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982472\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a red hat points to a screening room in a movie theater\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kai Wada Roath points to Theater 1, said to be haunted, at the Balboa Theater. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A legacy of scares\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It was over a decade ago that Wada Roath began his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/supershangrilashow/?hl=en\">Super Shangri-La Show\u003c/a> residency at the Balboa — named to evoke a magical, hidden place and with the express purpose of showing the strangest movies he could find on a monthly basis — as well as yearly film festivals like Ghost Fest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These screenings, he said, are a “getaway from life … I try to transport someone into a different world that they’ve never seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at Ghost Fest, Wada Roath plans to follow in a grand tradition of providing audiences with chills on and off the screen. “Obviously I’m going to put some ghosts up in this place, you know?” he laughed. “Gotta do it, right?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a movie theater program showing the month of October at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The program for October at the Balboa Theater concession booth. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The festival program features two classics from director William Castle — \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em> and \u003cem>13 Ghosts\u003c/em> — who was himself a notorious purveyor of publicity stunts, gimmicks and in-theater tricks during screenings of his movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In straight-faced, Alfred Hitchcock-style appearances in his own movie trailers, Castle warned audiences of the frights they could expect. “For the first time in motion picture history, members of the audience — including you — will actually play a part in the picture,” he told viewers in the trailer for 1959’s \u003cem>The Tingler\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/5NvfUFHJk_M?si=54nMK1yJn42DBi1r\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castle delivered on his promise: he’d bought powerful vibrating motors reportedly used by the military to de-ice airplane wings, and set them to go off during screenings of \u003cem>The Tingler\u003c/em> under certain seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For screenings of \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em>, Castle rigged up skeletons with glowing red eyes to float over the seats above the audience, to be released at the pivotal appearance of a walking skeleton onscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castle and his ilk were pure showmen, said Wada Roath. “They wanted to have an extra bonus for the viewer, whether it was something buzzing them from under their seat or someone running down the aisle dressed as a monster,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/09w7isSx650?si=8-2ivxs2mnOy0pdR\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while he might not go quite as far as Castle, Wada Roath warns Ghost Fest attendees to expect a few ghoulish extras in the theater this weekend. Something he will reveal: His plan to follow directly in Castle’s footsteps by handing out special “ghost viewers” for 13 Ghosts — constructed in his own home from “100 pairs of 3D glasses” with the help of his daughters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is this seat taken?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ghost Fest will be Wada Roath’s eighth film festival, following his previous engagements of joyful weirdness that include Bigfoot Bonanza, the Sorceress Sabbath Witchcraft Film Festival and the Space Visitors Film Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when he’s not concocting Super Shangri-La show lineups for the Balboa, he acts as the official ambassador for \u003ca href=\"https://www.confusionhill.com/\">Confusion Hill\u003c/a> in Mendocino County, and writes books and pamphlets about haunted spots including Humboldt’s Benbow Historic Inn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"the entrance to a movie theater\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to the Balboa Theater. Wada Roath aims to give Ghost Fest attendees an experience they can’t get streaming spooky movies at home. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath’s goal with Ghost Fest is to create the kind of communal experience that audiences just can’t get by streaming spooky movies at home, he said. “The more people are stuck in their house, the more they’re ordering their groceries to get delivered, the less opportunities they’re having to have interactions with people they don’t know,” he said. “And that’s what the world’s about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath is particularly drawn to the idea that the Balboa’s own ghosts can be found sitting in the theater’s seats, just like their living counterparts, watching the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would imagine they go to places that are their favorites, right?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were ghosts, where would we go? We go to our favorite places.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ghost Fest takes place Saturday, Oct. 18 and Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Balboa Theater (3630 Balboa St., San Francisco). Full day passes are $25 but tickets for individual screenings also available. \u003ca href=\"https://www.balboamovies.com/calendar-of-events/ghost-fest-2025\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“I have to figure out how I’m going to get a ghost to come down on a line … without getting stuck on something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a dark, chilly October night, as the fog curls in from Ocean Beach around its luminous neon frontage, the Balboa Theater feels like the movie theater at the end of the earth — or a portal to another era.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And through its doors, Kai Wada Roath is looking up at the ceiling of its main auditorium, plotting how to give theatergoers a good fright this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath is the curator of \u003ca href=\"https://www.balboamovies.com/calendar-of-events/ghost-fest-2025\">Ghost Fest, a two-day film festival\u003c/a> at the Balboa, running Oct. 18 and 19 with immersive screenings of ghostly classics spanning over 70 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I really want to show the classics that the ghost hunters and investigators really enjoy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982475\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a hat wearing red poses with a fake skeleton in front of a movie theater marquee\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1382\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-768x531.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-15-KQED-1-1536x1061.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kai Wada Roath, the curator of Ghost Fest, in front of the Balboa Theater. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, that means screenings of \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em>, \u003cem>13 Ghosts\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Haunting\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Legend of Hell House\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Ghostbusters\u003c/em> and \u003cem>House\u003c/em>. On Sunday, attendees will see \u003cem>The Changeling\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Carnival of Souls\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Innocents and The Amityville Horror\u003c/em> — as well as the decidedly non-scary \u003cem>The Ghost and Mrs. Muir\u003c/em>, “a classic romance with a ghost,” said Wada Roath.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, festivalgoers can also watch a short film documenting the San Francisco Ghost Society’s 2016 visit to the Balboa Theater. Because this historic building, which turns 100 years old in 2026, is itself rumored to be very, very haunted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With his lifelong fascination in the supernatural, and several ghostly encounters of his own, Wada Roath has no doubt the Balboa harbors spectral visitors. He said he encountered one ghost, in a large empty room behind the movie screen, who “wanted us to get out of there,” he noted. “That was probably a manager ghost, or someone who had worked here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the other ghosts are just sitting in seats, watching the movies,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982472\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a man in a red hat points to a screening room in a movie theater\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-3-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kai Wada Roath points to Theater 1, said to be haunted, at the Balboa Theater. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch3>A legacy of scares\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It was over a decade ago that Wada Roath began his \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/supershangrilashow/?hl=en\">Super Shangri-La Show\u003c/a> residency at the Balboa — named to evoke a magical, hidden place and with the express purpose of showing the strangest movies he could find on a monthly basis — as well as yearly film festivals like Ghost Fest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These screenings, he said, are a “getaway from life … I try to transport someone into a different world that they’ve never seen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at Ghost Fest, Wada Roath plans to follow in a grand tradition of providing audiences with chills on and off the screen. “Obviously I’m going to put some ghosts up in this place, you know?” he laughed. “Gotta do it, right?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982473\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982473\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"a movie theater program showing the month of October at the Balboa Theater in San Francisco\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-6-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The program for October at the Balboa Theater concession booth. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The festival program features two classics from director William Castle — \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em> and \u003cem>13 Ghosts\u003c/em> — who was himself a notorious purveyor of publicity stunts, gimmicks and in-theater tricks during screenings of his movies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In straight-faced, Alfred Hitchcock-style appearances in his own movie trailers, Castle warned audiences of the frights they could expect. “For the first time in motion picture history, members of the audience — including you — will actually play a part in the picture,” he told viewers in the trailer for 1959’s \u003cem>The Tingler\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/5NvfUFHJk_M'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/5NvfUFHJk_M'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castle delivered on his promise: he’d bought powerful vibrating motors reportedly used by the military to de-ice airplane wings, and set them to go off during screenings of \u003cem>The Tingler\u003c/em> under certain seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For screenings of \u003cem>House on Haunted Hill\u003c/em>, Castle rigged up skeletons with glowing red eyes to float over the seats above the audience, to be released at the pivotal appearance of a walking skeleton onscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castle and his ilk were pure showmen, said Wada Roath. “They wanted to have an extra bonus for the viewer, whether it was something buzzing them from under their seat or someone running down the aisle dressed as a monster,” he said.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/09w7isSx650'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/09w7isSx650'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while he might not go quite as far as Castle, Wada Roath warns Ghost Fest attendees to expect a few ghoulish extras in the theater this weekend. Something he will reveal: His plan to follow directly in Castle’s footsteps by handing out special “ghost viewers” for 13 Ghosts — constructed in his own home from “100 pairs of 3D glasses” with the help of his daughters.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is this seat taken?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Ghost Fest will be Wada Roath’s eighth film festival, following his previous engagements of joyful weirdness that include Bigfoot Bonanza, the Sorceress Sabbath Witchcraft Film Festival and the Space Visitors Film Festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And when he’s not concocting Super Shangri-La show lineups for the Balboa, he acts as the official ambassador for \u003ca href=\"https://www.confusionhill.com/\">Confusion Hill\u003c/a> in Mendocino County, and writes books and pamphlets about haunted spots including Humboldt’s Benbow Historic Inn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982474\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982474\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg\" alt=\"the entrance to a movie theater\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/20251008_BALBOAGHOSTFILMFEST_GC-11-KQED-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The entrance to the Balboa Theater. Wada Roath aims to give Ghost Fest attendees an experience they can’t get streaming spooky movies at home. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath’s goal with Ghost Fest is to create the kind of communal experience that audiences just can’t get by streaming spooky movies at home, he said. “The more people are stuck in their house, the more they’re ordering their groceries to get delivered, the less opportunities they’re having to have interactions with people they don’t know,” he said. “And that’s what the world’s about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wada Roath is particularly drawn to the idea that the Balboa’s own ghosts can be found sitting in the theater’s seats, just like their living counterparts, watching the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would imagine they go to places that are their favorites, right?” he asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we were ghosts, where would we go? We go to our favorite places.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Ghost Fest takes place Saturday, Oct. 18 and Sunday, Oct. 19 at the Balboa Theater (3630 Balboa St., San Francisco). Full day passes are $25 but tickets for individual screenings also available. \u003ca href=\"https://www.balboamovies.com/calendar-of-events/ghost-fest-2025\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Celebration of Asian Pacific Film in Sunnyvale",
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"content": "\u003cp>Equipped with a small camcorder and her Littlest Pet Shop figurines, Annika Magbanua began making stop-motion films when she was just six years old. 20 years later, what began as an innocent hobby has turned into a passion for animation and design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Looking back, it kind of makes sense that I ended up here,” Magbanua says. “When I was getting ready to go to college, I had an epiphany: There are people — artists — behind these animated films that I love so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Magbanua’s short 2D-animation \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i> is one of dozens included in the 11th annual \u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Fest\u003c/a>. Taking place in Sunnyvale from Oct. 17–19 and online from Oct. 20–26, the festival both depicts and celebrates the Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09%E2%80%AFPM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-768x381.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-1536x763.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘Lukso ng Dugo,’ a short film by Annika Magbanua. \u003ccite>(Annika Magbanua)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Lukso ng Dugo” is a Filipino idiom that directly translates to “jumping blood,” and describes the sensation of immediate kinship with a stranger. This concept is demonstrated through \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i>’s storyline about Mae, a Filipino girl who finds the courage to break the cycle of abuse in her family. During a tense dinner, a creature appears, helping Mae and her mother confront their fears and take the first steps toward healing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inspired greatly by the Filipino aswang folklore that Magbanua heard growing up, in combination with her love for the horror genre, \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i> came to fruition as her senior capstone project at San Jose State University. Magbanua graduated this past May with a degree in animation and illustration, having worked on the film alongside a team of dozens of people for about a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made this in an academic space,” Magbanua says. “To have it be screened and experienced in a space surrounded by professionals and people who are established, seasoned and esteemed, it’s really surreal, because we were just making this in a classroom a couple months ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14%E2%80%AFPM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘BFF Diary,’ a short film by Keya Thota. \u003ccite>(Keya Thota)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Current SJSU animation and illustration student Keya Thota will also have work showcased at the festival. Like \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i>, Thota’s film \u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> began as a class assignment, inspired by her personal experiences and culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remembered my professors always talk about how the best stories are the ones that come from within you,” Thota says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13981726']At one point, while ruminating on this advice, a purple diary from Thota’s childhood caught her eye, becoming the muse for her film. Following two inseparable elementary school best friends who exchange a diary that documents their upbringing in the suburbs of Bangalore, India, \u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> shows how their friendship adapts as one of them moves away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> ended up being an ode to childhood, friendship and big life changes,” Thota explains. “I really wanted to explore personal and iconic locations from my childhood spent in Bangalore, India, and I try to use a lot of warm lighting, saturated colors, and familiar imagery to really invite viewers to reflect on their own friendships and the bonds that last through their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 895px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"895\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_.png 895w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_-160x97.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_-768x468.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 895px) 100vw, 895px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The audience at the 2024 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival. \u003ccite>(Courtesy SVAPFF)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both filmmakers began with stories close to home, as well as memories, myths and the small acts of imagination that first drew them to art. Now, as their work reaches wider audiences, their films echo something shared: that storytelling at its heart is both a return and a beginning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while production logistics and audience expectations can sometimes get in the way, both Magbanua and Thota know that filmmaking is at its core about having a vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That little version of Annika, playing with my Littlest Pet Shop toys and my little camcorder,” Magbanua reflects, “I keep her with me all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">\u003ci>Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> takes place Oct. 17–19 at the AMC Dine-In Theater in Sunnyvale and online from Oct. 20–26. ‘Lukso ng Dugo’ and ‘BFF Diary’ screen at the festival on Sunday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">\u003ci>here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Equipped with a small camcorder and her Littlest Pet Shop figurines, Annika Magbanua began making stop-motion films when she was just six years old. 20 years later, what began as an innocent hobby has turned into a passion for animation and design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Looking back, it kind of makes sense that I ended up here,” Magbanua says. “When I was getting ready to go to college, I had an epiphany: There are people — artists — behind these animated films that I love so much.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Magbanua’s short 2D-animation \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i> is one of dozens included in the 11th annual \u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Fest\u003c/a>. Taking place in Sunnyvale from Oct. 17–19 and online from Oct. 20–26, the festival both depicts and celebrates the Asian American, Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian experience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09%E2%80%AFPM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"993\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-768x381.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.15.09 PM-1536x763.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘Lukso ng Dugo,’ a short film by Annika Magbanua. \u003ccite>(Annika Magbanua)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Lukso ng Dugo” is a Filipino idiom that directly translates to “jumping blood,” and describes the sensation of immediate kinship with a stranger. This concept is demonstrated through \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i>’s storyline about Mae, a Filipino girl who finds the courage to break the cycle of abuse in her family. During a tense dinner, a creature appears, helping Mae and her mother confront their fears and take the first steps toward healing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inspired greatly by the Filipino aswang folklore that Magbanua heard growing up, in combination with her love for the horror genre, \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i> came to fruition as her senior capstone project at San Jose State University. Magbanua graduated this past May with a degree in animation and illustration, having worked on the film alongside a team of dozens of people for about a year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We made this in an academic space,” Magbanua says. “To have it be screened and experienced in a space surrounded by professionals and people who are established, seasoned and esteemed, it’s really surreal, because we were just making this in a classroom a couple months ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14%E2%80%AFPM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"834\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-160x67.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-768x320.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-14-at-3.16.14 PM-1536x641.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘BFF Diary,’ a short film by Keya Thota. \u003ccite>(Keya Thota)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Current SJSU animation and illustration student Keya Thota will also have work showcased at the festival. Like \u003ci>Lukso ng Dugo\u003c/i>, Thota’s film \u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> began as a class assignment, inspired by her personal experiences and culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remembered my professors always talk about how the best stories are the ones that come from within you,” Thota says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At one point, while ruminating on this advice, a purple diary from Thota’s childhood caught her eye, becoming the muse for her film. Following two inseparable elementary school best friends who exchange a diary that documents their upbringing in the suburbs of Bangalore, India, \u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> shows how their friendship adapts as one of them moves away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“\u003ci>BFF Diary\u003c/i> ended up being an ode to childhood, friendship and big life changes,” Thota explains. “I really wanted to explore personal and iconic locations from my childhood spent in Bangalore, India, and I try to use a lot of warm lighting, saturated colors, and familiar imagery to really invite viewers to reflect on their own friendships and the bonds that last through their lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13982436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 895px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13982436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"895\" height=\"545\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_.png 895w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_-160x97.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/2024-SVAPFF.-Darren.Jlam_-768x468.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 895px) 100vw, 895px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The audience at the 2024 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival. \u003ccite>(Courtesy SVAPFF)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both filmmakers began with stories close to home, as well as memories, myths and the small acts of imagination that first drew them to art. Now, as their work reaches wider audiences, their films echo something shared: that storytelling at its heart is both a return and a beginning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And while production logistics and audience expectations can sometimes get in the way, both Magbanua and Thota know that filmmaking is at its core about having a vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That little version of Annika, playing with my Littlest Pet Shop toys and my little camcorder,” Magbanua reflects, “I keep her with me all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">\u003ci>Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> takes place Oct. 17–19 at the AMC Dine-In Theater in Sunnyvale and online from Oct. 20–26. ‘Lukso ng Dugo’ and ‘BFF Diary’ screen at the festival on Sunday, Oct. 19, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Tickets and more information can be found \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://svapfilmfest.org/\">\u003ci>here\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>. \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2025\">2025 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With respect for differing tastes, I sincerely hope the final chapter of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/tag/downton-abbey\">Downton Abbey\u003c/a>\u003c/em> isn’t the movie you’re most looking forward to as the calendar flips from Summer to Serious. I feel the same way about \u003cem>Spinal Tap II: The End Continues\u003c/em> (both resurrections open Sept. 12), though I understand the need for comedy now. (Paging Jordan Peele with my pitch for \u003cem>Downton Abbey: This Old House\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seriously, entertainment is all well and good up to the point where escape becomes evasion. Fall — and perhaps this is a remnant of back-to-school days — is the time to challenge ourselves, to grapple with unfamiliar perspectives and foreign ideas and uncomfortable histories. Streaming (which is to say television) can make us forget that film is an especially effective medium for opening the mind. Hide the remote and pick a theater, a festival, a film and go!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980184\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980184\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-%E2%80%94-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2.jpeg\" alt=\"small key in person's mouth, on tongue\" width=\"1333\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2.jpeg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from Antoinette Zwirchmayr’s ‘In the stranglehold of ivy,’ 2024, screening at Crossroads on Aug. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SF Cinematheque)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfcinematheque.org/crossroads/crossroads-2025/\">Crossroads 2025\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 29–31, 2025\u003cbr>\nGray Area, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where does the avant-garde survive in our TikTok-blasted, ad-infested, moving-image maelstrom? Shapeshifters Cinema (Oakland), BAMPFA (Berkeley), Artists’ Television Access (San Francisco) and San Francisco Cinematheque, whose energy is increasingly focused on its annual compendium of artist-made films and videos from around the globe. The 47 evocative works that curator Steve Polta has carefully sequenced into eight programs include Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu’s \u003cem>I Carry the Universe With Me\u003c/em> and Malena Szlam’s \u003cem>Archipelago of Earthen Bones—To Bunya\u003c/em>. Shake off the cobwebs at Crossroads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSDHjkuwaic\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The Lost Bus’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Sept. 19, 2025\u003cbr>\nDebuts Oct. 3, 2025 on Apple TV+\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hyperkinetic English director Paul Greengrass (\u003cem>United 93\u003c/em>, a fistful of Jason Bourne movies) steers school bus driver Matthew McConaughey, teacher America Ferrera and 22 children through the Camp Fire that claimed 85 lives and torched Paradise in 2018. Think Henri-Georges Clouzot’s \u003cem>The Wages of Fear\u003c/em> with less testosterone and a cargo of kids instead of nitroglycerin. Climate change may have dampened our desire for real-life disaster flicks, but feats of individual heroism will always have a home on the silver/flat screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000.jpg\" alt=\"older white woman poses with ferris wheel behind her, head at center\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">June Squibb in ‘Eleanor the Great.’ \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Classics)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Eleanor the Great’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Sept. 26, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scarlet Johansson makes her narrative feature directing debut with this sentimental contribution to the undervalued genre of actors directing actors in actors’ showcases. Nonagenarian June Squibb (\u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em>) plays a Jewish widow who returns to New York from Florida after the death of her old friend and roommate, a Holocaust survivor whose story Eleanor adopts in a pinch as her own. Complications ensue but hard truths are largely avoided, leaving Squibb’s performance as the film’s raison d’être.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mvff.com/\">Mill Valley Film Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 2–12, 2025\u003cbr>\nVarious locations\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[aside postID=arts_13980987 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/conjuring-last-rites.png']In its 48th year, Marin County’s little festival that could balances the inviting bonhomie of a small-town event with the star power of an L.A. dinner party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cinema — film as art and films with purpose — remains front and center, even as the woodsy surroundings and short-sleeve vestiges of our late-start summer engage the senses. Along with the world premieres of a few local documentaries, the lineup always includes several arthouse tempters with potential Oscar nominees. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Possible selections include \u003cem>After the Hunt\u003c/em> (Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield), \u003cem>Blue Moon\u003c/em> (Ethan Hawke, Andrew Scott), \u003cem>Bugonia\u003c/em> (Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons) and \u003cem>Hamnet\u003c/em> (Paul Mescal, Jesse Buckley).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1541px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight.jpg\" alt=\"mound covered in painted slogans and crosses\" width=\"1541\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight.jpg 1541w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-768x538.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-1536x1076.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1541px) 100vw, 1541px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Harrod Blank’s ‘Salvation Mountain – Leonard Knight,’ 2025, screening as part of the Drunken Film Festival Oakland. \u003ccite>(Drunken Film Festival Oakland)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.drunkenfilmfest.com/oakland\">Drunken Film Festival Oakland\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4–10, 2025\u003cbr>\nVarious locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popcorn is still the favorite movie-theater nosh (with a nostalgic nod to the Jujubes of my youth), though I get the full-service appeal of Alamo Drafthouse’s in-seat dining. But it’s hard to beat watching a movie with a cold pint. Ringleader Arlin Golden’s eighth mashup of independent shorts and welcoming pubs includes original stalwarts Stay Gold Deli (Oct. 6), Beeryland (Oct. 7) and Eli’s Mile High Club (Oct. 9). All shows are free except for the opening night kickoff at Craig Baldwin’s venerable Other Cinema at Artists’ Television Access in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeQ5zIc381I\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Mistress Dispeller’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Oct. 29, 2025 at the Roxie Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A graduate of Stanford’s vaunted master’s program in documentary, Elizabeth Lo scored with her debut, \u003cem>Stray\u003c/em> (2020) a street-level portrait of Istanbul dogs. Her intimate follow-up, \u003cem>Mistress Dispeller\u003c/em>, screened at dozens of festivals around the world (including SFFILM’s Doc Stories and CAAMFest) since its premiere at Venice a year ago. With astonishing access to all parties, Lo follows the professional “dispeller” whom a Chinese wife hires to subvert and end the relationship between her husband and his lover. (Divorce isn’t the best option in every culture and situation.) An excellent choice to get the conversation started on a first date, or any date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQXdM3J33No\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Oct. 24, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em>, the bleak lo-fi home recording that the Boss released between \u003cem>The River\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Born in the U.S.A.\u003c/em>, is a rarity: A hit album (it peaked at #3) that most buyers never tossed on their turntable again after the first, depressing listen. While Springsteen’s breakthrough \u003cem>Born to Run\u003c/em> was populated by aspirational alley cats and freeway rebels yearning to breathe free, \u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em> was strewn with killer loners howling along a desolate prairie highway. Scott Cooper (\u003cem>Crazy Heart\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Pale Blue Eye\u003c/em>) adapts Warren Zanes’ nonfiction book about the making of \u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em> with Brooklyn-born Jeremy Allen White (\u003ci>The Bear\u003c/i>, \u003ci>Shameless\u003c/i>) playing the Bard of Asbury Park in his blue period.[aside postID=arts_13981015 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/baltimorons.png']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/\">Doc Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 6–9, 2025\u003cbr>\nVogue Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFFILM’s annual buffet of biting reality covers a ton of ground in a compressed amount of time. The lineup, announced later in the fall, includes gutsy immersions in global trouble zones, unfettered portraits of creative giants, and pithy short works commissioned by online magazines and newspapers. Doc Stories is well-attended by local documentary makers, needless to say, along with anyone else who recognizes the urgent necessity of independent journalists at the present moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyRdazbYKgY\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Train Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Nov. 7, 2025\u003cbr>\nDebuts Nov. 21, 2025 on Netflix\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella provides the source material for Clint Bentley’s episodic, gorgeous and profound saga of a working man’s life in the Pacific Northwest in the 1900s. Richly allusive, the film depicts the journey of railroad man and logger Joel Edgerton (a likely Oscar nominee, I’ll venture a guess), whose encounters with Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon and various unnamed strangers illuminate, among other things, our relationship with nature, capital’s attitude toward labor and America’s obsession with progress at all costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1385px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980186\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics.jpg\" alt=\"men in uniforms face each other in tight space\" width=\"1385\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics.jpg 1385w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics-768x333.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1385px) 100vw, 1385px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Crowe and Rami Malek in ‘Nuremberg,’ 2025. \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Classics)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Nuremberg’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Nov. 7, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps you’ve been thinking recently about human rights abuses, concentration camps and genocide. And which “special qualities” the perpetrators possess. The U.S. Army psychiatrist assigned to the highest-ranking defendants at Nuremberg had the same question 80 years ago. Screenwriter (\u003cem>Zodiac\u003c/em>) and producer James Vanderbilt adapts Jack El-Hai’s 2013 book \u003cem>The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII\u003c/em> for his directorial debut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rami Malek faces off against Russell Crowe with Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant providing backup. A parallel foray into the heart of darkness, \u003cem>Riefenstahl\u003c/em> (playing Sept. 14–25 at the Smith Rafael Film Center, with German director Andres Veiel on hand opening day) probes the mental and artistic machinations of ruthless ambition by mining the estate of Hitler’s favorite filmmaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980187\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000.jpg\" alt=\"three men in military garb lean against rocks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1554\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-768x597.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-1536x1193.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Herbert Brenon’s ‘Beau Geste,’ 1926. \u003ccite>(SF Silent Film Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://silentfilm.org/\">San Francisco Silent Film Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 12–16, 2025\u003cbr>\nOrinda Theatre\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Give thanks, East Bay, that the ongoing “improvements” to the Castro Theatre push the Silent Film Festival temporarily across the Bay Bridge. Every program is a spirit-raising marriage of pristine prints and inspired (live) musicians; don’t miss the centennial celebrations of Charlie Chaplin’s \u003cem>The Gold Rush\u003c/em> (opening night) and Buster Keaton’s \u003cem>Go West\u003c/em> (closing night). Glistening restorations of Herbert Brenon’s action frolic \u003cem>Beau Geste\u003c/em> (starring heartthrob Ronald Colman) and Joe May’s Weimar melodrama \u003cem>Asphalt\u003c/em> (featuring the luminous Else Heller) are guaranteed to quicken the heart. There’s more: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s rarely screened \u003cem>Master of the House\u003c/em> emerges from the vault on its 100th anniversary to accompany the presentation of the SFSFF Award to Thomas Christiansen of the Danish Film Institute. Just go, already!\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cb>Be sure to check out our full \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/fall-guide-2025\">2025 Fall Arts Guide\u003c/a> to live music, movies, art, theater, festivals and more in the Bay Area.\u003c/b>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With respect for differing tastes, I sincerely hope the final chapter of \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/tag/downton-abbey\">Downton Abbey\u003c/a>\u003c/em> isn’t the movie you’re most looking forward to as the calendar flips from Summer to Serious. I feel the same way about \u003cem>Spinal Tap II: The End Continues\u003c/em> (both resurrections open Sept. 12), though I understand the need for comedy now. (Paging Jordan Peele with my pitch for \u003cem>Downton Abbey: This Old House\u003c/em>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seriously, entertainment is all well and good up to the point where escape becomes evasion. Fall — and perhaps this is a remnant of back-to-school days — is the time to challenge ourselves, to grapple with unfamiliar perspectives and foreign ideas and uncomfortable histories. Streaming (which is to say television) can make us forget that film is an especially effective medium for opening the mind. Hide the remote and pick a theater, a festival, a film and go!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980184\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1333px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980184\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-%E2%80%94-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2.jpeg\" alt=\"small key in person's mouth, on tongue\" width=\"1333\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2.jpeg 1333w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2-160x120.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/P1-—-Zwirchmayr-Antoinette-In-the-stranglehold-of-ivy-2024-still2-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1333px) 100vw, 1333px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Still from Antoinette Zwirchmayr’s ‘In the stranglehold of ivy,’ 2024, screening at Crossroads on Aug. 29, 2025. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of SF Cinematheque)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfcinematheque.org/crossroads/crossroads-2025/\">Crossroads 2025\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 29–31, 2025\u003cbr>\nGray Area, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where does the avant-garde survive in our TikTok-blasted, ad-infested, moving-image maelstrom? Shapeshifters Cinema (Oakland), BAMPFA (Berkeley), Artists’ Television Access (San Francisco) and San Francisco Cinematheque, whose energy is increasingly focused on its annual compendium of artist-made films and videos from around the globe. The 47 evocative works that curator Steve Polta has carefully sequenced into eight programs include Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu’s \u003cem>I Carry the Universe With Me\u003c/em> and Malena Szlam’s \u003cem>Archipelago of Earthen Bones—To Bunya\u003c/em>. Shake off the cobwebs at Crossroads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/XSDHjkuwaic'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/XSDHjkuwaic'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>‘The Lost Bus’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Sept. 19, 2025\u003cbr>\nDebuts Oct. 3, 2025 on Apple TV+\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hyperkinetic English director Paul Greengrass (\u003cem>United 93\u003c/em>, a fistful of Jason Bourne movies) steers school bus driver Matthew McConaughey, teacher America Ferrera and 22 children through the Camp Fire that claimed 85 lives and torched Paradise in 2018. Think Henri-Georges Clouzot’s \u003cem>The Wages of Fear\u003c/em> with less testosterone and a cargo of kids instead of nitroglycerin. Climate change may have dampened our desire for real-life disaster flicks, but feats of individual heroism will always have a home on the silver/flat screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000.jpg\" alt=\"older white woman poses with ferris wheel behind her, head at center\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/EleanorTheGreat_2000-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">June Squibb in ‘Eleanor the Great.’ \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Classics)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Eleanor the Great’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Sept. 26, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scarlet Johansson makes her narrative feature directing debut with this sentimental contribution to the undervalued genre of actors directing actors in actors’ showcases. Nonagenarian June Squibb (\u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em>) plays a Jewish widow who returns to New York from Florida after the death of her old friend and roommate, a Holocaust survivor whose story Eleanor adopts in a pinch as her own. Complications ensue but hard truths are largely avoided, leaving Squibb’s performance as the film’s raison d’être.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mvff.com/\">Mill Valley Film Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 2–12, 2025\u003cbr>\nVarious locations\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In its 48th year, Marin County’s little festival that could balances the inviting bonhomie of a small-town event with the star power of an L.A. dinner party.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cinema — film as art and films with purpose — remains front and center, even as the woodsy surroundings and short-sleeve vestiges of our late-start summer engage the senses. Along with the world premieres of a few local documentaries, the lineup always includes several arthouse tempters with potential Oscar nominees. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Possible selections include \u003cem>After the Hunt\u003c/em> (Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield), \u003cem>Blue Moon\u003c/em> (Ethan Hawke, Andrew Scott), \u003cem>Bugonia\u003c/em> (Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons) and \u003cem>Hamnet\u003c/em> (Paul Mescal, Jesse Buckley).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980189\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1541px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980189\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight.jpg\" alt=\"mound covered in painted slogans and crosses\" width=\"1541\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight.jpg 1541w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-768x538.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Salvation-Mountin-Leonard-Knight-1536x1076.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1541px) 100vw, 1541px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Harrod Blank’s ‘Salvation Mountain – Leonard Knight,’ 2025, screening as part of the Drunken Film Festival Oakland. \u003ccite>(Drunken Film Festival Oakland)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://www.drunkenfilmfest.com/oakland\">Drunken Film Festival Oakland\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Oct. 4–10, 2025\u003cbr>\nVarious locations\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popcorn is still the favorite movie-theater nosh (with a nostalgic nod to the Jujubes of my youth), though I get the full-service appeal of Alamo Drafthouse’s in-seat dining. But it’s hard to beat watching a movie with a cold pint. Ringleader Arlin Golden’s eighth mashup of independent shorts and welcoming pubs includes original stalwarts Stay Gold Deli (Oct. 6), Beeryland (Oct. 7) and Eli’s Mile High Club (Oct. 9). All shows are free except for the opening night kickoff at Craig Baldwin’s venerable Other Cinema at Artists’ Television Access in San Francisco.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/KeQ5zIc381I'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/KeQ5zIc381I'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>‘Mistress Dispeller’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Oct. 29, 2025 at the Roxie Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A graduate of Stanford’s vaunted master’s program in documentary, Elizabeth Lo scored with her debut, \u003cem>Stray\u003c/em> (2020) a street-level portrait of Istanbul dogs. Her intimate follow-up, \u003cem>Mistress Dispeller\u003c/em>, screened at dozens of festivals around the world (including SFFILM’s Doc Stories and CAAMFest) since its premiere at Venice a year ago. With astonishing access to all parties, Lo follows the professional “dispeller” whom a Chinese wife hires to subvert and end the relationship between her husband and his lover. (Divorce isn’t the best option in every culture and situation.) An excellent choice to get the conversation started on a first date, or any date.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/oQXdM3J33No'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/oQXdM3J33No'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Oct. 24, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em>, the bleak lo-fi home recording that the Boss released between \u003cem>The River\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Born in the U.S.A.\u003c/em>, is a rarity: A hit album (it peaked at #3) that most buyers never tossed on their turntable again after the first, depressing listen. While Springsteen’s breakthrough \u003cem>Born to Run\u003c/em> was populated by aspirational alley cats and freeway rebels yearning to breathe free, \u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em> was strewn with killer loners howling along a desolate prairie highway. Scott Cooper (\u003cem>Crazy Heart\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Pale Blue Eye\u003c/em>) adapts Warren Zanes’ nonfiction book about the making of \u003cem>Nebraska\u003c/em> with Brooklyn-born Jeremy Allen White (\u003ci>The Bear\u003c/i>, \u003ci>Shameless\u003c/i>) playing the Bard of Asbury Park in his blue period.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://sffilm.org/\">Doc Stories\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 6–9, 2025\u003cbr>\nVogue Theater, San Francisco\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFFILM’s annual buffet of biting reality covers a ton of ground in a compressed amount of time. The lineup, announced later in the fall, includes gutsy immersions in global trouble zones, unfettered portraits of creative giants, and pithy short works commissioned by online magazines and newspapers. Doc Stories is well-attended by local documentary makers, needless to say, along with anyone else who recognizes the urgent necessity of independent journalists at the present moment.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/HyRdazbYKgY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/HyRdazbYKgY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>‘Train Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Nov. 7, 2025\u003cbr>\nDebuts Nov. 21, 2025 on Netflix\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Denis Johnson’s 2011 novella provides the source material for Clint Bentley’s episodic, gorgeous and profound saga of a working man’s life in the Pacific Northwest in the 1900s. Richly allusive, the film depicts the journey of railroad man and logger Joel Edgerton (a likely Oscar nominee, I’ll venture a guess), whose encounters with Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon and various unnamed strangers illuminate, among other things, our relationship with nature, capital’s attitude toward labor and America’s obsession with progress at all costs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980186\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1385px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980186\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics.jpg\" alt=\"men in uniforms face each other in tight space\" width=\"1385\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics.jpg 1385w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics-160x69.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Russell-Crowe-and-Rami-Malek-in-NUREMBERG-2025-courtesy-Sony-Pictures-Classics-768x333.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1385px) 100vw, 1385px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Crowe and Rami Malek in ‘Nuremberg,’ 2025. \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Classics)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Nuremberg’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Opens Nov. 7, 2025\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Perhaps you’ve been thinking recently about human rights abuses, concentration camps and genocide. And which “special qualities” the perpetrators possess. The U.S. Army psychiatrist assigned to the highest-ranking defendants at Nuremberg had the same question 80 years ago. Screenwriter (\u003cem>Zodiac\u003c/em>) and producer James Vanderbilt adapts Jack El-Hai’s 2013 book \u003cem>The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley, and a Fatal Meeting of Minds at the End of WWII\u003c/em> for his directorial debut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rami Malek faces off against Russell Crowe with Michael Shannon and Richard E. Grant providing backup. A parallel foray into the heart of darkness, \u003cem>Riefenstahl\u003c/em> (playing Sept. 14–25 at the Smith Rafael Film Center, with German director Andres Veiel on hand opening day) probes the mental and artistic machinations of ruthless ambition by mining the estate of Hitler’s favorite filmmaker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13980187\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13980187\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000.jpg\" alt=\"three men in military garb lean against rocks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1554\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-160x124.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-768x597.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Beau-Geste.3_2000-1536x1193.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Herbert Brenon’s ‘Beau Geste,’ 1926. \u003ccite>(SF Silent Film Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca href=\"https://silentfilm.org/\">San Francisco Silent Film Festival\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Nov. 12–16, 2025\u003cbr>\nOrinda Theatre\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Give thanks, East Bay, that the ongoing “improvements” to the Castro Theatre push the Silent Film Festival temporarily across the Bay Bridge. Every program is a spirit-raising marriage of pristine prints and inspired (live) musicians; don’t miss the centennial celebrations of Charlie Chaplin’s \u003cem>The Gold Rush\u003c/em> (opening night) and Buster Keaton’s \u003cem>Go West\u003c/em> (closing night). Glistening restorations of Herbert Brenon’s action frolic \u003cem>Beau Geste\u003c/em> (starring heartthrob Ronald Colman) and Joe May’s Weimar melodrama \u003cem>Asphalt\u003c/em> (featuring the luminous Else Heller) are guaranteed to quicken the heart. There’s more: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s rarely screened \u003cem>Master of the House\u003c/em> emerges from the vault on its 100th anniversary to accompany the presentation of the SFSFF Award to Thomas Christiansen of the Danish Film Institute. Just go, already!\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "In Oakland, a ‘Worst Film Festival’ Redefines Filmmaking Failures",
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"content": "\u003cp>Picture yourself in front of a classroom, sharing your homework, and explaining how you got all of the answers \u003cem>wrong\u003c/em>. Imagine being vulnerable enough to admit failure and own your shortcomings; not for the sake of embarrassment, but for the enlightenment of your fellow students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now imagine that you’re not talking about math or science — you’re discussing cinema. And instead of a classroom, it’s a film festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the idea behind \u003ca href=\"https://www.theworstfilmfest.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Worst Film Fest\u003c/a>, a celebration of indie flops at West Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.mamadogstudios.com/\">Mama Dog Studios\u003c/a> on Thursday, Aug. 28.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The festival’s trio of founders, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cherylisaacson.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadP5woDH6YWt1kK6lSCJIqr8jOsEGOcwbRYd0HsAaMxSP8yf3tT1ZCwo9oe8w_aem_TulkmgnylHlGWfzLOrRFZQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cheryl Isaacson\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kerensouthall.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keren Southall\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5910066/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Danielle Cheifetz\u003c/a>, are collectively (and affectionately) referred to as “The Worst Board of Directors.” During last year’s inaugural event, it didn’t take long before they realized they were on to something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979704 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2000x1333.jpg\" alt=\"People sitting on a panel in front of a captive audience. Behind the panel are the letters TWFF on a screen, an acronym for The Worst Film Fest.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Panelists dissect their filmmaking failures at The Worst Film Fest in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Maurice Ramirez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Everybody has some project that they learned from, that didn’t meet their expectations for one reason or another,” says Cheifetz, event co-founder and film producer, during a video call. She explains that the festival gives filmmakers a unique opportunity to showcase their blunders in order to grow together. “It makes us all better,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just about every aspect of the event flips the traditional festival format on its head. Those whose submissions get selected receive a notice that reads “we happily regret to inform you” their work has been chosen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the event there’s examination of the language of failure, as well as reimagining what a supportive creative community looks like for professional filmmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13977398']On the night of the festival, attendees view short film clips, none of them longer than four minutes. Between the blocks of films, directors, producers and actors dissect aspects of moviemaking gone awry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audience also gets insight from recognized storytellers. Last year’s guest of honor was Boots Riley, director of the film \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em> and the series \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three awards are given out during the event, including one voted on by audience members that includes a portion of the event’s proceeds for filmmakers who have a convincing work in progress. It’s called the “Has Potential Award.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is filmmaker-forward,” says Isaacson, noting that the goal of the event isn’t to make anyone’s work the butt of a joke. It’s also far from a parody show like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Raspberry_Awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Golden Raspberry Awards\u003c/a>. Isaacson, a film director herself, makes it clear: “This is by filmmakers, and for filmmakers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once people hear the story of how it started, she says, they understand that it’s about community and vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979722 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2000x1333.jpg\" alt=\"A dark room full of audience members focus on one person standing on stage with a microphone.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland’s Keren Southall stands on stage at the inaugural gathering for The Worst Film Fest in 2024. \u003ccite>(Maurice Ramirez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Isaacson refers back to a 2024 meeting between the founding trio, where one of them asked the others, “Want to see the worst thing I’ve ever done?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three started sharing film clips they’d promised would never see the light of day. “Turns out the three of us have some pretty embarrassing stuff,” Isaacson says, adding that “we just couldn’t stop laughing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As they gave feedback to each other and reflected on their experiences, a miniature rendition of the festival began taking place. “We kind of looked at each other jokingly,” says Isaacson, “and said: ‘Oh, this actually is the festival we need.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southall, an actor and producer, wondered if it was possible to create “this little vulnerable pocket” for other filmmakers in a short period of time. Collectively working as volunteers, they started planning in April of 2024 and held a successful event four months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13978142']“Filmmakers actually showed us their worst work,” Southall remarks, still slightly surprised. “There was really truly something magical that happened that first time around,” she says. “Filmmakers totally understood the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a world where artists are usually buttoned-up and primed to put their best foot forward, Cheifetz says doing the inverse oddly makes sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My worst project is one of the projects that I had the most fun working on,” she says, reflecting on the longstanding connections she’s made over the course of failed productions. “Just because it’s your worst and isn’t something you initially might want to show other professionals, it’s still something that, as filmmakers, brings out our passions,” she says. “And we still love to do it even when it is our worst.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the festival, the term “worst” is a self-determined status. Some filmmakers have completely botched scenes, while others have struggled to land distribution deals. There’s levels to “failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With that in mind, Southall notes the importance of establishing a tone of respect during the event. Last year, the team did that by boldly displaying their own movie mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13979158']“We actually had an LED wall, which we will have again at this year’s fest, showcasing our first three projects,” says Southall. “When filmmakers come in, they can see a display of our worst work on the side,” she says. “That way we can be just as vulnerable as they are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s event welcomed indie filmmakers and representatives from collectives like \u003ca href=\"https://www.makeitbay.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#MakeItBay\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cinemama\u003c/a> and other organizations. Cheifetz noticed that by reframing the idea of “failure,” it aided the process of not only filmmaking, but community building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes a little bit of the networking and socialization pressure off when you don’t have that fear just hanging over you,” she says. “And when all of that weight is lifted, then it’s just a breath of fresh air and a chance to just be real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now with support from \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ef2jC0R94PI4kN7LCwfAi9VVQW?domain=mamadogstudios.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mama Dog Studios,\u003c/a> as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.littlegiantlighting.com/\">The Little Giant Lighting & Grip Co.\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandunitedbeerworks.com/\">Oakland United Beerworks\u003c/a> and the longstanding Northern Californian production services supply company \u003ca href=\"https://www.ranahan.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ranahan\u003c/a>, this year the team is looking for more of the magic they experienced last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A safe classroom, where students get critical yet careful feedback, and “failure” is used as a teaching tool; a place where highlighting an individual’s “worst” is a part of making the larger collective better. Imagine if all schools were like that?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Worst Film Fest takes place Thursday, Aug. 28, at Mama Dog Studios (700 26th Street, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.theworstfilmfest.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Picture yourself in front of a classroom, sharing your homework, and explaining how you got all of the answers \u003cem>wrong\u003c/em>. Imagine being vulnerable enough to admit failure and own your shortcomings; not for the sake of embarrassment, but for the enlightenment of your fellow students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now imagine that you’re not talking about math or science — you’re discussing cinema. And instead of a classroom, it’s a film festival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s the idea behind \u003ca href=\"https://www.theworstfilmfest.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Worst Film Fest\u003c/a>, a celebration of indie flops at West Oakland’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.mamadogstudios.com/\">Mama Dog Studios\u003c/a> on Thursday, Aug. 28.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The festival’s trio of founders, \u003ca href=\"https://www.cherylisaacson.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadP5woDH6YWt1kK6lSCJIqr8jOsEGOcwbRYd0HsAaMxSP8yf3tT1ZCwo9oe8w_aem_TulkmgnylHlGWfzLOrRFZQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cheryl Isaacson\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kerensouthall.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keren Southall\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5910066/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Danielle Cheifetz\u003c/a>, are collectively (and affectionately) referred to as “The Worst Board of Directors.” During last year’s inaugural event, it didn’t take long before they realized they were on to something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979704\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979704 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2000x1333.jpg\" alt=\"People sitting on a panel in front of a captive audience. Behind the panel are the letters TWFF on a screen, an acronym for The Worst Film Fest.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-177-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Panelists dissect their filmmaking failures at The Worst Film Fest in Oakland. \u003ccite>(Maurice Ramirez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Everybody has some project that they learned from, that didn’t meet their expectations for one reason or another,” says Cheifetz, event co-founder and film producer, during a video call. She explains that the festival gives filmmakers a unique opportunity to showcase their blunders in order to grow together. “It makes us all better,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just about every aspect of the event flips the traditional festival format on its head. Those whose submissions get selected receive a notice that reads “we happily regret to inform you” their work has been chosen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the event there’s examination of the language of failure, as well as reimagining what a supportive creative community looks like for professional filmmakers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>On the night of the festival, attendees view short film clips, none of them longer than four minutes. Between the blocks of films, directors, producers and actors dissect aspects of moviemaking gone awry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The audience also gets insight from recognized storytellers. Last year’s guest of honor was Boots Riley, director of the film \u003cem>Sorry To Bother You\u003c/em> and the series \u003cem>I’m A Virgo\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three awards are given out during the event, including one voted on by audience members that includes a portion of the event’s proceeds for filmmakers who have a convincing work in progress. It’s called the “Has Potential Award.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is filmmaker-forward,” says Isaacson, noting that the goal of the event isn’t to make anyone’s work the butt of a joke. It’s also far from a parody show like the \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Raspberry_Awards\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Golden Raspberry Awards\u003c/a>. Isaacson, a film director herself, makes it clear: “This is by filmmakers, and for filmmakers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once people hear the story of how it started, she says, they understand that it’s about community and vulnerability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13979722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13979722 size-medium\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2000x1333.jpg\" alt=\"A dark room full of audience members focus on one person standing on stage with a microphone.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/08/Copy-of-20240829-TheWorstFilmFestival-mrz-104-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland’s Keren Southall stands on stage at the inaugural gathering for The Worst Film Fest in 2024. \u003ccite>(Maurice Ramirez)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Isaacson refers back to a 2024 meeting between the founding trio, where one of them asked the others, “Want to see the worst thing I’ve ever done?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The three started sharing film clips they’d promised would never see the light of day. “Turns out the three of us have some pretty embarrassing stuff,” Isaacson says, adding that “we just couldn’t stop laughing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As they gave feedback to each other and reflected on their experiences, a miniature rendition of the festival began taking place. “We kind of looked at each other jokingly,” says Isaacson, “and said: ‘Oh, this actually is the festival we need.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southall, an actor and producer, wondered if it was possible to create “this little vulnerable pocket” for other filmmakers in a short period of time. Collectively working as volunteers, they started planning in April of 2024 and held a successful event four months later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Filmmakers actually showed us their worst work,” Southall remarks, still slightly surprised. “There was really truly something magical that happened that first time around,” she says. “Filmmakers totally understood the process.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a world where artists are usually buttoned-up and primed to put their best foot forward, Cheifetz says doing the inverse oddly makes sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My worst project is one of the projects that I had the most fun working on,” she says, reflecting on the longstanding connections she’s made over the course of failed productions. “Just because it’s your worst and isn’t something you initially might want to show other professionals, it’s still something that, as filmmakers, brings out our passions,” she says. “And we still love to do it even when it is our worst.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the festival, the term “worst” is a self-determined status. Some filmmakers have completely botched scenes, while others have struggled to land distribution deals. There’s levels to “failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With that in mind, Southall notes the importance of establishing a tone of respect during the event. Last year, the team did that by boldly displaying their own movie mistakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“We actually had an LED wall, which we will have again at this year’s fest, showcasing our first three projects,” says Southall. “When filmmakers come in, they can see a display of our worst work on the side,” she says. “That way we can be just as vulnerable as they are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s event welcomed indie filmmakers and representatives from collectives like \u003ca href=\"https://www.makeitbay.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#MakeItBay\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://cinemamafilm.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cinemama\u003c/a> and other organizations. Cheifetz noticed that by reframing the idea of “failure,” it aided the process of not only filmmaking, but community building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It takes a little bit of the networking and socialization pressure off when you don’t have that fear just hanging over you,” she says. “And when all of that weight is lifted, then it’s just a breath of fresh air and a chance to just be real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now with support from \u003ca href=\"https://url.us.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/ef2jC0R94PI4kN7LCwfAi9VVQW?domain=mamadogstudios.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mama Dog Studios,\u003c/a> as well as \u003ca href=\"https://www.littlegiantlighting.com/\">The Little Giant Lighting & Grip Co.\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandunitedbeerworks.com/\">Oakland United Beerworks\u003c/a> and the longstanding Northern Californian production services supply company \u003ca href=\"https://www.ranahan.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ranahan\u003c/a>, this year the team is looking for more of the magic they experienced last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A safe classroom, where students get critical yet careful feedback, and “failure” is used as a teaching tool; a place where highlighting an individual’s “worst” is a part of making the larger collective better. Imagine if all schools were like that?\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Worst Film Fest takes place Thursday, Aug. 28, at Mama Dog Studios (700 26th Street, Oakland). \u003ca href=\"https://www.theworstfilmfest.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tickets and more information here\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The title of the stunning \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">BAMPFA\u003c/a> retrospective \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/mikio-naruse-auteur-salaryman\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cem>Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, continuing through Dec. 21, neatly captures the artistic and pragmatic duality of the great 20th century Japanese director. In a career that spanned four decades and 89 films, Naruse refined his unflinching perspective on the plight of women while meeting the bottom-line demands of his studio bosses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s fascinating to revisit Naruse’s films, especially the haunting landmarks \u003cem>Floating Clouds\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em>, from a post-post-feminist perspective. The director mostly worked in the shomin-geki genre — set among the lower middle classes — where women, in particular, struggled with limited economic opportunities (if they weren’t “fortunate” enough to marry a well-off man). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fatalist by nature, Naruse (1905-69) didn’t soft-soap his female characters’ endless sacrifices and thwarted dreams with dime-store hope and sentimentality. And yet while his movies depict the ritualistic inflexibility of pre-war Japanese society, and the postwar cracks and corruption that unmoored the system (with the loss of a generation of young men complicating women’s plans and prospects), Naruse’s women are persistently proactive in the face of every obstacle and constraint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978501\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1424\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978501\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-768x547.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-1536x1094.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘When a Woman Ascends the Stairs’ (1960). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Late in his career, which wrapped in 1967, Naruse said of his characters, “If they move even a little, they quickly hit the wall. From the youngest age, I have thought that the world we live in betrays us; this thought still remains with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melodrama often entails tragedy, but Nakuse-style shomin-geki is worlds away from, say, the nihilistic doom of film noir. His female protagonists are generally moral, sincere and direct, not to mention valiant. Determined to gain a small measure of happiness, they don’t give up. The stakes are great; respect must be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A contemporary of pantheon directors Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, Naruse used every filmmaking technique in the book when he finally got his shot at the director’s chair in 1930 after a decade as a prop man and set assistant. He gradually abandoned his experimentalism as the Silent Era gave way to the talkies and the ’30s became the ’40s, opting for a classical visual language that situated his characters in their domestic settings and highlighted their emotional lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1420\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978498\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-768x545.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘Floating Clouds’ (1955). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Naruse’s essential 1955 film \u003cem>Floating Clouds\u003c/em> (screening July 16 and Sept. 14) employs enough exterior shots to convey the destruction and shock of Japan’s defeat in WWII, and to create a dismal contrast with the sun-dappled Indochina woods where Forestry Service newbie Yukiko (frequent Naruse star Hideko Takamine) had a wartime affair with her married older boss Kengo (Masayuki Mori). As Yukiko seeks to create a postwar life amid the ruins with her manipulative, self-pitying flame, the timelessly profound drama unfolds mostly indoors, in various homes, bars and inns that, paradoxically, provide no refuge for the erstwhile lovers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later, Takamine played a slightly less desperate character in the mesmerizing women-in-the-workplace saga \u003cem>Flowing\u003c/em> (July 19 and Sept. 12). The office space, ahem, is a waning geisha house; cash-strapped proprietor Otsuta (Isuzu Yamada) is holding on amid changing times while daughter Katsuyo (Takamine) tries to plot a future involving neither the family business nor a husband. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Takamine is a sublime actress, able to communicate to the audience with her face and the smallest movement the opposite of whatever her character has just said. Naruse’s 1964 masterpiece \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em> (Aug. 15 and Sept. 21) centers her as Reiko, the hardworking, late-30s proprietor of a family grocery store. Reiko was married to the family’s oldest son for all of six months before he was killed in the war, and she has remained a widow all these years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978499\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1320\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-1536x1014.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘Yearning’ (1964). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her status in the family, her sweat equity in the store and her identity are all jeopardized by the supermarkets that have invaded her Tokyo suburb. The other factor upsetting the longstanding status quo is her ne’er-do-well brother-in-law, Koji (Yuzo Kayama, doing a credible Montgomery Clift), who was a young boy when Reiko came into his world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filmed in glorious widescreen black-and-white, \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em> is fantastic from start to finish. Reiko has mastered the art of self-sacrifice, up to a specific point: she bends but does not break. That’s a necessary quality when even those who love you, and want to help, don’t come through in a pinch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the women in Mikio Naruse’s world, even the limited opportunities come with strings attached. This is a distressing view of the world, but Naruse doesn’t leave the viewer hopeless. His judgment-free outlook and unfailing empathy provide the outline for a kinder society. He stands with the other great humanists of the cinema, Jean Renoir and especially Satyajit Ray, as a chronicler of our grace and dignity as well as our cruelty and selfishness.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman’ runs through Dec. 21 at BAMPFA in Berkeley. \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/mikio-naruse-auteur-salaryman\" target=\"_blank\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The title of the stunning \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/bampfa\">BAMPFA\u003c/a> retrospective \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/mikio-naruse-auteur-salaryman\" target=\"_blank\">\u003cem>Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, continuing through Dec. 21, neatly captures the artistic and pragmatic duality of the great 20th century Japanese director. In a career that spanned four decades and 89 films, Naruse refined his unflinching perspective on the plight of women while meeting the bottom-line demands of his studio bosses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s fascinating to revisit Naruse’s films, especially the haunting landmarks \u003cem>Floating Clouds\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em>, from a post-post-feminist perspective. The director mostly worked in the shomin-geki genre — set among the lower middle classes — where women, in particular, struggled with limited economic opportunities (if they weren’t “fortunate” enough to marry a well-off man). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A fatalist by nature, Naruse (1905-69) didn’t soft-soap his female characters’ endless sacrifices and thwarted dreams with dime-store hope and sentimentality. And yet while his movies depict the ritualistic inflexibility of pre-war Japanese society, and the postwar cracks and corruption that unmoored the system (with the loss of a generation of young men complicating women’s plans and prospects), Naruse’s women are persistently proactive in the face of every obstacle and constraint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978501\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1424\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978501\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-768x547.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_When-a-Woman-Ascends-the-Stairs_005-1536x1094.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘When a Woman Ascends the Stairs’ (1960). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Late in his career, which wrapped in 1967, Naruse said of his characters, “If they move even a little, they quickly hit the wall. From the youngest age, I have thought that the world we live in betrays us; this thought still remains with me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melodrama often entails tragedy, but Nakuse-style shomin-geki is worlds away from, say, the nihilistic doom of film noir. His female protagonists are generally moral, sincere and direct, not to mention valiant. Determined to gain a small measure of happiness, they don’t give up. The stakes are great; respect must be paid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A contemporary of pantheon directors Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujirō Ozu, Naruse used every filmmaking technique in the book when he finally got his shot at the director’s chair in 1930 after a decade as a prop man and set assistant. He gradually abandoned his experimentalism as the Silent Era gave way to the talkies and the ’30s became the ’40s, opting for a classical visual language that situated his characters in their domestic settings and highlighted their emotional lives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978498\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1420\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978498\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-160x114.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-768x545.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Floating-Clouds_001-1536x1091.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘Floating Clouds’ (1955). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Naruse’s essential 1955 film \u003cem>Floating Clouds\u003c/em> (screening July 16 and Sept. 14) employs enough exterior shots to convey the destruction and shock of Japan’s defeat in WWII, and to create a dismal contrast with the sun-dappled Indochina woods where Forestry Service newbie Yukiko (frequent Naruse star Hideko Takamine) had a wartime affair with her married older boss Kengo (Masayuki Mori). As Yukiko seeks to create a postwar life amid the ruins with her manipulative, self-pitying flame, the timelessly profound drama unfolds mostly indoors, in various homes, bars and inns that, paradoxically, provide no refuge for the erstwhile lovers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A year later, Takamine played a slightly less desperate character in the mesmerizing women-in-the-workplace saga \u003cem>Flowing\u003c/em> (July 19 and Sept. 12). The office space, ahem, is a waning geisha house; cash-strapped proprietor Otsuta (Isuzu Yamada) is holding on amid changing times while daughter Katsuyo (Takamine) tries to plot a future involving neither the family business nor a husband. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Takamine is a sublime actress, able to communicate to the audience with her face and the smallest movement the opposite of whatever her character has just said. Naruse’s 1964 masterpiece \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em> (Aug. 15 and Sept. 21) centers her as Reiko, the hardworking, late-30s proprietor of a family grocery store. Reiko was married to the family’s oldest son for all of six months before he was killed in the war, and she has remained a widow all these years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978499\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1320\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13978499\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/Naruse_Yearning_003-1536x1014.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Mikio Naruse’s ‘Yearning’ (1964). \u003ccite>(Toho / Courtesy BAMPFA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Her status in the family, her sweat equity in the store and her identity are all jeopardized by the supermarkets that have invaded her Tokyo suburb. The other factor upsetting the longstanding status quo is her ne’er-do-well brother-in-law, Koji (Yuzo Kayama, doing a credible Montgomery Clift), who was a young boy when Reiko came into his world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Filmed in glorious widescreen black-and-white, \u003cem>Yearning\u003c/em> is fantastic from start to finish. Reiko has mastered the art of self-sacrifice, up to a specific point: she bends but does not break. That’s a necessary quality when even those who love you, and want to help, don’t come through in a pinch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the women in Mikio Naruse’s world, even the limited opportunities come with strings attached. This is a distressing view of the world, but Naruse doesn’t leave the viewer hopeless. His judgment-free outlook and unfailing empathy provide the outline for a kinder society. He stands with the other great humanists of the cinema, Jean Renoir and especially Satyajit Ray, as a chronicler of our grace and dignity as well as our cruelty and selfishness.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Mikio Naruse: The Auteur as Salaryman’ runs through Dec. 21 at BAMPFA in Berkeley. \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/mikio-naruse-auteur-salaryman\" target=\"_blank\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "An Oakland Rapper-Turned-Screenwriter Returns to the Bay Area",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Saeed Crumpler comes to the Bay Area this weekend for the \u003ca href=\"https://bravemaker.com/film-fest/\">BraveMaker \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/film-festivals\">Film Festival\u003c/a>, he’ll be returning to the soil that launched an unlikely journey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 20 years, the Oakland-raised Crumpler rapped under the stage name \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/balance510/\">Balance\u003c/a>, making music with \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/1uWkVUZVqH5142GmIZvWWM#:~:text=Fa%20Sho%20(feat.,%2C%20Jay%20Rock%2C%20Freeway%20%7C%20Spotify\">Kendrick Lamar\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/4pU8UwbehBafBSAu4zFEeq?si=0e7f32df5d1e41a4\">Traxamillion\u003c/a> before flipping the script in 2021 to become a full-time television and film writer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, Crumpler appears alongside podcast host \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hilliardguess/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hilliard Guess\u003c/a> at the film festival’s \u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule/6836717aa36cd38e4e27ab56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screenwriters’ Rant Room “Live” Roundtable\u003c/a> to discuss his unconventional path to Hollywood and unique approach to the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13978193']Running July 10–13 in Redwood City, the BraveMaker Film Festival includes more than 90 film screenings, a dozen workshops and multiple panel discussions ranging from lighting techniques to character development. Founded by Redwood City’s own Tony Gapastione, the festival brings together Bay Area writers, filmmakers and actors to showcase their talents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gapastione says such platforms are important, particularly now, as Hollywood makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1200770450/writers-strike-ends\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post-writers strike adjustments\u003c/a> and simultaneously recovers from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020765/thousands-flee-los-angeles-area-as-wildfires-burn-out-of-control-destroying-homes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this year’s massive fires\u003c/a>. Those challenges have been echoed by Governor Newsom, who last week \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/02/governor-newsom-marks-historic-expansion-of-californias-film-and-television-tax-credit-program-announces-16-new-projects-to-film-in-the-golden-state/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed a bill\u003c/a> more than doubling the annual funding of California’s film and television tax credit program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">schedule\u003c/a> for this year’s BraveMaker Film Festival includes a variety of films, including a handful from East Bay screenwriters, like Kristina Thomas (\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule/6836709e05fd0071757f4141\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Saving All My Love\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), Nijla Mu’min (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/films/683ccd4cbd8a37df3a5502a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Noor\u003c/a>)\u003c/em> and D’Angelo “D’Lo” Louis (\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/films/683ccd4cbd8a37df3a5502c5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Shoebox\u003c/em>\u003c/a>). Social events include a Saturday afternoon mixer hosted by Bay Area actor \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/latino-creatorsactorsfilmmakers-mixer-bravemaker-film-fest-tickets-1406816739739?msockid=170b5be2715564360361492870d165a9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Belgica Rodriguez\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978430\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13978430 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saaed Crumpler, TV and film writer. \u003ccite>(Jerry Jerome)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prior to his rap career, Crumpler studied film at San Francisco State, and a decade ago he took a screenwriting class. But he sincerely champions the fellowship route, which led to him working on the Starz series \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and MTV’s \u003cem>Hip Hop Family Christmas\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, while still rapping, Crumpler got accepted to the \u003ca href=\"https://writers.coverfly.com/competitions/view/nickelodeon-writing-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nickelodeon Writing Program\u003c/a>. He shadowed writers and worked across Paramount Pictures’ many subsidiaries. Once his foot was in the door, Crumpler went right in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wrote an episode of a Nickelodeon show called \u003cem>Blaze and the Monster Machines\u003c/em>, which my nephew, he’s three, loves,” Crumpler says. Simultaneously, he wrote \u003cem>Flatbush Misdemeanors\u003c/em>, “an R-rated comedy that takes place in Flatbush, New York.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13978142']Within a year, Crumpler signed a first-look deal with \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2022/09/saeed-crumpler-overall-deal-sony-pictures-television-1235112994/\">Sony Pictures Television,\u003c/a> where he’s currently at work on several projects. “I’ve got an animated show, got a comedy, and we’ve got like two dramas,” says Crumpler. “All of them take place pretty much in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of Bay Area representation in TV and film pushed Crumpler to focus on hometown stories, he says, noting that he’s also written a number of unreleased movies, including a biopic on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mac-dre\">Mac Dre\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Saturday’s conversation, Crumpler, who lives in Los Angeles, offered some advice to storytellers looking to get into the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hollywood is indeed in flux, he says. It’s not as easy to film in Southern California as it once was, but the industry hub is still there. And while he’s a proponent of the fellowship route, he sees potential for indie television and filmmakers. It’s not exactly the same as the independent rap game in the Bay Area — where artists both make and distribute their art — but there are some parallels, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13976029']“Instead of trying to make a movie for five thousand dollars,” Crumpler suggests, “try to make a three-minute trailer for the movie,” adding that filmmakers can take that as proof of concept to investors; it’s all about making a small iteration of an idea in order to show it to the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As an independent creator, your benefit is, you don’t have anybody trying to change your ideas,” he says. “Being an independent creative, you can just create and put it out without a filter. And sometimes those things take off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend, Redwood City will be full of creatives looking to launch their ideas into the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The BraveMaker Film Festival takes place July 10–13 at various venues in downtown Redwood City. \u003ca href=\"https://bravemaker.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Saeed Crumpler comes to the Bay Area this weekend for the \u003ca href=\"https://bravemaker.com/film-fest/\">BraveMaker \u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/film-festivals\">Film Festival\u003c/a>, he’ll be returning to the soil that launched an unlikely journey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 20 years, the Oakland-raised Crumpler rapped under the stage name \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/balance510/\">Balance\u003c/a>, making music with \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/1uWkVUZVqH5142GmIZvWWM#:~:text=Fa%20Sho%20(feat.,%2C%20Jay%20Rock%2C%20Freeway%20%7C%20Spotify\">Kendrick Lamar\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://open.spotify.com/track/4pU8UwbehBafBSAu4zFEeq?si=0e7f32df5d1e41a4\">Traxamillion\u003c/a> before flipping the script in 2021 to become a full-time television and film writer. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, Crumpler appears alongside podcast host \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/hilliardguess/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hilliard Guess\u003c/a> at the film festival’s \u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule/6836717aa36cd38e4e27ab56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Screenwriters’ Rant Room “Live” Roundtable\u003c/a> to discuss his unconventional path to Hollywood and unique approach to the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Running July 10–13 in Redwood City, the BraveMaker Film Festival includes more than 90 film screenings, a dozen workshops and multiple panel discussions ranging from lighting techniques to character development. Founded by Redwood City’s own Tony Gapastione, the festival brings together Bay Area writers, filmmakers and actors to showcase their talents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gapastione says such platforms are important, particularly now, as Hollywood makes \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/09/24/1200770450/writers-strike-ends\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post-writers strike adjustments\u003c/a> and simultaneously recovers from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12020765/thousands-flee-los-angeles-area-as-wildfires-burn-out-of-control-destroying-homes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this year’s massive fires\u003c/a>. Those challenges have been echoed by Governor Newsom, who last week \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/07/02/governor-newsom-marks-historic-expansion-of-californias-film-and-television-tax-credit-program-announces-16-new-projects-to-film-in-the-golden-state/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">signed a bill\u003c/a> more than doubling the annual funding of California’s film and television tax credit program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">schedule\u003c/a> for this year’s BraveMaker Film Festival includes a variety of films, including a handful from East Bay screenwriters, like Kristina Thomas (\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/schedule/6836709e05fd0071757f4141\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Saving All My Love\u003c/em>\u003c/a>), Nijla Mu’min (\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/films/683ccd4cbd8a37df3a5502a8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Noor\u003c/a>)\u003c/em> and D’Angelo “D’Lo” Louis (\u003ca href=\"https://bravemakerfilmfest2025.eventive.org/films/683ccd4cbd8a37df3a5502c5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u003cem>Shoebox\u003c/em>\u003c/a>). Social events include a Saturday afternoon mixer hosted by Bay Area actor \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/latino-creatorsactorsfilmmakers-mixer-bravemaker-film-fest-tickets-1406816739739?msockid=170b5be2715564360361492870d165a9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Belgica Rodriguez\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13978430\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 853px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13978430 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"853\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1.jpg 853w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/07/download-1-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Saaed Crumpler, TV and film writer. \u003ccite>(Jerry Jerome)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prior to his rap career, Crumpler studied film at San Francisco State, and a decade ago he took a screenwriting class. But he sincerely champions the fellowship route, which led to him working on the Starz series \u003cem>Blindspotting\u003c/em> and MTV’s \u003cem>Hip Hop Family Christmas\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2021, while still rapping, Crumpler got accepted to the \u003ca href=\"https://writers.coverfly.com/competitions/view/nickelodeon-writing-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nickelodeon Writing Program\u003c/a>. He shadowed writers and worked across Paramount Pictures’ many subsidiaries. Once his foot was in the door, Crumpler went right in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wrote an episode of a Nickelodeon show called \u003cem>Blaze and the Monster Machines\u003c/em>, which my nephew, he’s three, loves,” Crumpler says. Simultaneously, he wrote \u003cem>Flatbush Misdemeanors\u003c/em>, “an R-rated comedy that takes place in Flatbush, New York.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Within a year, Crumpler signed a first-look deal with \u003ca href=\"https://deadline.com/2022/09/saeed-crumpler-overall-deal-sony-pictures-television-1235112994/\">Sony Pictures Television,\u003c/a> where he’s currently at work on several projects. “I’ve got an animated show, got a comedy, and we’ve got like two dramas,” says Crumpler. “All of them take place pretty much in the Bay Area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of Bay Area representation in TV and film pushed Crumpler to focus on hometown stories, he says, noting that he’s also written a number of unreleased movies, including a biopic on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/mac-dre\">Mac Dre\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Saturday’s conversation, Crumpler, who lives in Los Angeles, offered some advice to storytellers looking to get into the industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hollywood is indeed in flux, he says. It’s not as easy to film in Southern California as it once was, but the industry hub is still there. And while he’s a proponent of the fellowship route, he sees potential for indie television and filmmakers. It’s not exactly the same as the independent rap game in the Bay Area — where artists both make and distribute their art — but there are some parallels, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Instead of trying to make a movie for five thousand dollars,” Crumpler suggests, “try to make a three-minute trailer for the movie,” adding that filmmakers can take that as proof of concept to investors; it’s all about making a small iteration of an idea in order to show it to the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As an independent creator, your benefit is, you don’t have anybody trying to change your ideas,” he says. “Being an independent creative, you can just create and put it out without a filter. And sometimes those things take off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend, Redwood City will be full of creatives looking to launch their ideas into the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The BraveMaker Film Festival takes place July 10–13 at various venues in downtown Redwood City. \u003ca href=\"https://bravemaker.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Details here\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "christopher-lee-san-francisco-transgender-film-festival-filmmaker",
"title": "The Immortal Christopher Lee",
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"headTitle": "The Immortal Christopher Lee | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Editor’s note:\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cem> This story is part of ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/transhistory\">Trans Bay: A History of San Francisco’s Gender-Diverse Community\u003c/a>.’ From June 9–19, we’re publishing stories about transgender artists and activists who shaped culture from the 1890s to today.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2002, when Christopher Lee and \u003ca href=\"https://shawnavirago.com/\">Shawna Virago\u003c/a> were the first trans grand marshals of San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/pride\">Pride\u003c/a>, they were asked how old they were. Virago’s answer, she remembers, was “between 35 and death.” Lee’s was “immortal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was right. In a very real sense, even though Lee died in 2012 at the age of 48, he is immortal. His influence lives on in the art he created as a filmmaker, in the annual film festival he co-founded and in the landmark California bill that his death inspired, passed in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alongside all this, Lee was an activist and an organizer, simultaneously a participant in and a documentarian of the queer communities that surrounded him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee made history at seemingly every turn (he and Virago cruised down the parade route in a cherry red convertible, Mötley Cruë blasting) by transcending gender binaries in his own life and work, and by welcoming any and all into spaces where more complicated and authentic narratives could be told.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977541\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000.jpg\" alt=\"black-and-white image of person in glasses and suit, another person in a dress holding a clapper\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival Collection: Christopher Lee and Machiko Saito, whose film ‘Premenstrual Spotting’ played at the inaugural festival in 1997. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Let’s all be in the same room’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Back in the ’90s when we first met, the transgender community was invisible,” \u003ca href=\"https://transgenderlawcenter.org/remembering-christopher-lee-as-respect-after-death-act-takes-effect/\">wrote Chino Scott-Chung\u003c/a> in 2015. “Christopher came into the Asian Pacific Islander lesbian community sporting LOVE-HATE tattoos on his hands, one letter for each finger, and insisted we call him ‘he.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott-Chung, a member of Lee’s chosen family, described Lee as a role model. “Christopher helped me embrace who I am because he was fully himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That self wasn’t shy about putting on a bit of a show. Born in San Diego in 1964 to Polish and Chinese parents, Lee moved to San Francisco in the early ’90s. In 1993, he was \u003ca href=\"https://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/catherine-opie/selected-works?view=slider#8\">photographed in military garb\u003c/a>, hat under arm and sabre in hand, by then-emerging photographer Catherine Opie, who was traveling back and forth between San Francisco and Los Angeles documenting friends and artists in her queer and leather communities. (Works from the series would later be included in the 1995 Whitney Biennial.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next year, Lee was captured in another artistic rendering of a specific time and place: dancing atop a New York City bus stop during the Stonewall 25 celebrations in cartoonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910024/alison-bechdel-parodies-her-fame-in-comic-novel-spent\">Alison Bechdel\u003c/a>’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://dykestowatchoutfor.com/\">Dykes to Watch Out For\u003c/a>\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee’s presence in Opie and Bechdel’s work is a testament to his own stature within artistic and activist circles. Shawna Virago remembers their first real meeting as a two-hour conversation on the back stairs of a party in 1998. “I think we had both gotten a certain amount of community attention in our small world,” she remembers. Virago had been playing music as an out trans person since the early ’90s, and was doing prominent police accountability work. Compared to the rest of the partygoers, she says, “We were just on a different path already.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lee was showing up in other artist’s work, he was also doing his own documenting. For the ambitious project \u003ci>Asian Lesbian & Bisexual Movement 1994–1995\u003c/i>, Lee videotaped meetings, parades, interviews, talks and performances with members of the movement. He’s visible in small snatches across the collection: a reflection in a dressing-room mirror; a voice behind the camera, asking activist Urvashi Vaid to recount her first kiss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976884\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1260px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976884\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1.jpeg\" alt=\"person applying shaving cream in bathroom\" width=\"1260\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-800x447.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-1020x570.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-160x89.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-768x429.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christopher Lee in a scene from ‘Christopher’s Chronicles,’ 1996, co-directed with Elise Hurwitz. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee recorded his own transition in the 30-minute short \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline21/christophers-chronicles\">Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, co-directed with Elise Hurwitz. It was among the very first films made by or about a transgender man of color. The film premiered at the 1997 Frameline Festival, screened at other LGBTQ+ festivals nationally, and was recently digitized by the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was \u003ci>Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/i> that introduced Alex Austin to Lee. Austin had pivoted to law after President Ronald Reagan attempted to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts. (“I wanted to fight censorship and protect artists of all stripes,” Austin says. “I wanted to keep the arts in the hands of the artist.”) In August of 1997, Austin was programming \u003ci>Alternative Vision: Diverse Images in Lesbian and Gay Cinema\u003c/i> at Oakland’s Parkway Theater. Looking to include trans content, they screened \u003ci>Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fell in love with that little film,” Austin says. “He and I got to talking and we just sort of fell in friend love immediately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Parkway screening, Austin says, Lee reached out again. “He’s like, ‘Do you think there’s enough content to do an entire film festival just about trans issues?’ I looked at him and I think all I said was, ‘Let’s find out.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within an astonishing three months, with the help of a small team of volunteers, Austin and Lee organized a full-fledged one-day film festival at the Roxie, with a week of programming leading up to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000.jpg\" alt=\"print ad with images and event details\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-768x538.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-1536x1075.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An ad for the inaugural festival in a 1997 issue of ‘Anything That Moves,’ subtitled “the magazine for the serious bisexual… no, really.” \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Internet Archive)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tranny Fest, now the \u003ca href=\"https://sftff.org/\">San Francisco Transgender Film Festival\u003c/a>, advertised itself as a “finger-snapping, groin-bumping, tear-jerking, heartwarming, gut-busting mix of experimental, documentary, drama and pornographic films!” The city of San Francisco declared Nov. 22, 1997 “Transgender & Transgenre Cinema Day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across six eclectic programs (and a video lounge), that first festival screened a diverse range of narrative, documentary and experimental offerings. They included \u003ci>Two-Spirited People\u003c/i>, a 1991 documentary on Native American culture; Tina Valentín Aguirre’s homage to San Francisco activist and ranchera singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977374/proyecto-contrasida-san-francisco-hiv-aids-atredivas-teresita-la-campesina\">Teresita La Campesina\u003c/a>; and \u003ci>Kings of New York\u003c/i>, a 1996 documentary about “the secret world of breast-binding, pants-stuffing drag kings.” [aside postid='arts_13977374']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee and Hurwitz’s second collaboration, the 1997 film \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline21/trappings-of-transhood\">Trappings of Transhood\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, also played at the inaugural festival. In it, Lee interviews a multiracial group of transgender people about their experiences, presenting their own stories in their own words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there were definite divides between different queer communities at the time (Austin points out they never would have met Lee on a barstool at the Lexington), the Transgender Film Festival sought to create a rare meeting space for all-comers. “Tranny Fest was, I think, a huge proponent of let’s all be in the same room. Let’s all talk about it,” Austin says. “We can enjoy movies. We can enjoy music. We can enjoy dance, poetry, art. Art fucking saves lives. That is the mantra.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black person in plaid shirt in front of closet\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-768x561.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-1536x1122.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee and Elise Hurwitz’s ‘Trappings of Transhood,’ 1997. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Virago, who took over from Austin and Lee as director after the 2002 festival, remembers a welcoming scene. “It was — I don’t know if the word’s thrilling — but it felt safe,” she says. “Any time we could gather together, I think, it was a feeling of being able to relax and not have to be afraid all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Big sinners and proud of it’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In handwritten notes on the back of planning documents from the first festival, someone, maybe Lee, wrote, “Straight people get to talk about their sex and it’s time we can talk about our sex.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From its very first incarnation, the Transgender Film Festival committed itself to showing adult films. In a preview of the 1997 festival written for the \u003ci>San Francisco Bay Times\u003c/i>, Susan Stryker wrote that “explicit visual pornography” is where most cis people first encounter images of transgender people. “The twist,” she wrote, “is that the work included here is by gender queers themselves, rather than by those whose chief aim is to exploit our differences for a fast buck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976883\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2.jpeg\" alt=\"extreme close-up of bearded person's face, eyes closed, with another person behind\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee’s ‘Alley of the Trannyboys.’ \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee’s next two films were decidedly pornographic. \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline48/alley-of-the-tranny-boys\">Alley of the Trannyboys\u003c/a>\u003c/i> (1998) is described by Frameline as “a deeply subversive landmark of erotica” and by the International Transgender Film & Video Festival program as “a hardcore hand-job of a movie that puts a few extra X’s in ‘explicit.’” The 50-minute film retains its subversive power; it was shown as recently as the 2024 Frameline festival, in an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline48/erotic-city-shorts\">Erotic City Shorts\u003c/a>” program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The feature-length \u003ci>Sex Flesh in Blood\u003c/i> (1999) has a more gothic bent, with dark spirits speaking Mandarin, vampires, cadavers, an industrial darkwave and punk soundtrack, and, according to Frameline’s write-up, a sexual smorgasbord drenched in plenty of “blood, blood, blood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Both \u003ci>Alley of the Trannyboys\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Sex Flesh in Blood\u003c/i> are now available to rent from the indie adult film site \u003ca href=\"http://PinkLabel.tv\">PinkLabel.tv\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood.jpg\" alt=\"black-and-white image of three people in goth attire\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee’s ‘Sex Flesh in Blood,’ 1999. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, queer identities were shifting and expanding. And Lee refused to be pinned down to any fixed definition. In a 2001 interview with \u003ci>Asianweek\u003c/i>, Lee described himself as “a gender hybrid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13975497']“I see myself as really futuristic and not wanting to put myself in too much of a gender or species category,” he said. “I’ve been able to evolve through science and technology … I believe the possibilities will be endless to evolve into something else in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee’s trickster energy and gothy self-presentation were vastly removed from mainstream queer culture at the time. Which is what made his nomination for SF Pride’s grand marshal in 2002 all the more exciting — for some.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were really outliers,” Virago explains. “I remember the \u003ci>Bay Area Reporter\u003c/i> had a little article about the people who were nominated … And they said something like ‘this will be a wild ride,’ because of us and our reputation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee and Virago ran as “America’s Little Darlings,” hosting a “Kissing Hands and Shaking Babies” meetup at the Lexington at the start of their campaign. When the ballots were tallied, they had gathered the most votes in the recent history of grand marshal elections. “We are both forces to be reckoned with,” Lee told the \u003ci>Bay Area Reporter\u003c/i>. “We are both big sinners and proud of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Christopher was really gung-ho to be a grand marshal,” Virago says. “It was endearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals.jpg\" alt=\"two people pose in red and blue feather boas; people ride a red convertible in a parade\" width=\"2000\" height=\"982\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-768x377.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-1536x754.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christopher Lee and Shawna Virago riding down the SF Pride parade route as grand marshals. Lee holds a sign that says ‘Make porn. Not war.’ \u003ccite>(Photos by Alex Austin; Courtesy of Shawna Virago)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>An incredible legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Traces of Lee’s participation in public events fall away in the years following his grand marshal appearance. Virago says she was part of a film Lee was working on in 2004, but she’s never seen the footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee struggled with his mental health. Austin remembers trying to help Lee try to fill a prescription one day near the Castro Theater. “[The medical field] really failed him,” they say. “And that is just heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 22, 2012, Lee died by suicide. When the Alameda County Coroner’s office misgendered Lee on his death certificate, friends and chosen family, led by Maya and Chino Scott-Chung, rallied to right the wrong. Two years later, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/06/30/418770266/making-the-law-respect-gender-identity-after-death\">Respect After Death Act\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins and sponsored by the Transgender Law Center and Equality California, passed the state legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill requires coroners and funeral directors to record a person’s gender identity rather than anatomical sex on their death certificate. And if there’s a dispute with the next-of-kin, who the deceased might be estranged from, a driver’s license or passport can trump family opinion. (Lee’s driver’s license identified him as male.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law took effect in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an incredible legacy, atop an already impressive list of things Lee achieved in his lifetime. Four films, hours of documentary footage. A celebratory, welcoming event for filmmakers and audiences alike. Over its 28 years, the festival Lee co-founded, like him, has inspired countless people to be fully themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Transgender Film Festival is North America’s longest-running trans film festival. It’s not the place for high-profile premieres or even high-polish productions, but it remains a place where authentic stories get told with style and panache. “We’re not beholden to the best production values,” Virago says. “We’re looking for ideas more than anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trying to describe the festival’s ethos, as passed down by Austin and Lee, she reaches for a metaphor: “Netflix is the auto-tune experience, right? We are — you can hear our voices and our real concerns in the movies we screen.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Editor’s note:\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003cem> This story is part of ‘\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/transhistory\">Trans Bay: A History of San Francisco’s Gender-Diverse Community\u003c/a>.’ From June 9–19, we’re publishing stories about transgender artists and activists who shaped culture from the 1890s to today.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2002, when Christopher Lee and \u003ca href=\"https://shawnavirago.com/\">Shawna Virago\u003c/a> were the first trans grand marshals of San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/pride\">Pride\u003c/a>, they were asked how old they were. Virago’s answer, she remembers, was “between 35 and death.” Lee’s was “immortal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He was right. In a very real sense, even though Lee died in 2012 at the age of 48, he is immortal. His influence lives on in the art he created as a filmmaker, in the annual film festival he co-founded and in the landmark California bill that his death inspired, passed in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alongside all this, Lee was an activist and an organizer, simultaneously a participant in and a documentarian of the queer communities that surrounded him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee made history at seemingly every turn (he and Virago cruised down the parade route in a cherry red convertible, Mötley Cruë blasting) by transcending gender binaries in his own life and work, and by welcoming any and all into spaces where more complicated and authentic narratives could be told.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977541\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977541\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000.jpg\" alt=\"black-and-white image of person in glasses and suit, another person in a dress holding a clapper\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1326\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-768x509.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/glbths_2006-26_Carton2_Folder9_1998October27TrannyfestTrailer_2000-1536x1018.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">From the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival Collection: Christopher Lee and Machiko Saito, whose film ‘Premenstrual Spotting’ played at the inaugural festival in 1997. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘Let’s all be in the same room’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“Back in the ’90s when we first met, the transgender community was invisible,” \u003ca href=\"https://transgenderlawcenter.org/remembering-christopher-lee-as-respect-after-death-act-takes-effect/\">wrote Chino Scott-Chung\u003c/a> in 2015. “Christopher came into the Asian Pacific Islander lesbian community sporting LOVE-HATE tattoos on his hands, one letter for each finger, and insisted we call him ‘he.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott-Chung, a member of Lee’s chosen family, described Lee as a role model. “Christopher helped me embrace who I am because he was fully himself.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That self wasn’t shy about putting on a bit of a show. Born in San Diego in 1964 to Polish and Chinese parents, Lee moved to San Francisco in the early ’90s. In 1993, he was \u003ca href=\"https://www.regenprojects.com/exhibitions/catherine-opie/selected-works?view=slider#8\">photographed in military garb\u003c/a>, hat under arm and sabre in hand, by then-emerging photographer Catherine Opie, who was traveling back and forth between San Francisco and Los Angeles documenting friends and artists in her queer and leather communities. (Works from the series would later be included in the 1995 Whitney Biennial.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next year, Lee was captured in another artistic rendering of a specific time and place: dancing atop a New York City bus stop during the Stonewall 25 celebrations in cartoonist \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910024/alison-bechdel-parodies-her-fame-in-comic-novel-spent\">Alison Bechdel\u003c/a>’s \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://dykestowatchoutfor.com/\">Dykes to Watch Out For\u003c/a>\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee’s presence in Opie and Bechdel’s work is a testament to his own stature within artistic and activist circles. Shawna Virago remembers their first real meeting as a two-hour conversation on the back stairs of a party in 1998. “I think we had both gotten a certain amount of community attention in our small world,” she remembers. Virago had been playing music as an out trans person since the early ’90s, and was doing prominent police accountability work. Compared to the rest of the partygoers, she says, “We were just on a different path already.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lee was showing up in other artist’s work, he was also doing his own documenting. For the ambitious project \u003ci>Asian Lesbian & Bisexual Movement 1994–1995\u003c/i>, Lee videotaped meetings, parades, interviews, talks and performances with members of the movement. He’s visible in small snatches across the collection: a reflection in a dressing-room mirror; a voice behind the camera, asking activist Urvashi Vaid to recount her first kiss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976884\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1260px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976884\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1.jpeg\" alt=\"person applying shaving cream in bathroom\" width=\"1260\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1.jpeg 1260w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-800x447.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-1020x570.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-160x89.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Christopher-Chronicles_1-768x429.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1260px) 100vw, 1260px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christopher Lee in a scene from ‘Christopher’s Chronicles,’ 1996, co-directed with Elise Hurwitz. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee recorded his own transition in the 30-minute short \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline21/christophers-chronicles\">Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, co-directed with Elise Hurwitz. It was among the very first films made by or about a transgender man of color. The film premiered at the 1997 Frameline Festival, screened at other LGBTQ+ festivals nationally, and was recently digitized by the San Francisco Public Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was \u003ci>Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/i> that introduced Alex Austin to Lee. Austin had pivoted to law after President Ronald Reagan attempted to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts. (“I wanted to fight censorship and protect artists of all stripes,” Austin says. “I wanted to keep the arts in the hands of the artist.”) In August of 1997, Austin was programming \u003ci>Alternative Vision: Diverse Images in Lesbian and Gay Cinema\u003c/i> at Oakland’s Parkway Theater. Looking to include trans content, they screened \u003ci>Christopher’s Chronicles\u003c/i>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I fell in love with that little film,” Austin says. “He and I got to talking and we just sort of fell in friend love immediately.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the Parkway screening, Austin says, Lee reached out again. “He’s like, ‘Do you think there’s enough content to do an entire film festival just about trans issues?’ I looked at him and I think all I said was, ‘Let’s find out.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within an astonishing three months, with the help of a small team of volunteers, Austin and Lee organized a full-fledged one-day film festival at the Roxie, with a week of programming leading up to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977544\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977544\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000.jpg\" alt=\"print ad with images and event details\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1400\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-768x538.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Issue-15-1997_0048_2000-1536x1075.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An ad for the inaugural festival in a 1997 issue of ‘Anything That Moves,’ subtitled “the magazine for the serious bisexual… no, really.” \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Internet Archive)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tranny Fest, now the \u003ca href=\"https://sftff.org/\">San Francisco Transgender Film Festival\u003c/a>, advertised itself as a “finger-snapping, groin-bumping, tear-jerking, heartwarming, gut-busting mix of experimental, documentary, drama and pornographic films!” The city of San Francisco declared Nov. 22, 1997 “Transgender & Transgenre Cinema Day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across six eclectic programs (and a video lounge), that first festival screened a diverse range of narrative, documentary and experimental offerings. They included \u003ci>Two-Spirited People\u003c/i>, a 1991 documentary on Native American culture; Tina Valentín Aguirre’s homage to San Francisco activist and ranchera singer \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13977374/proyecto-contrasida-san-francisco-hiv-aids-atredivas-teresita-la-campesina\">Teresita La Campesina\u003c/a>; and \u003ci>Kings of New York\u003c/i>, a 1996 documentary about “the secret world of breast-binding, pants-stuffing drag kings.” \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee and Hurwitz’s second collaboration, the 1997 film \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline21/trappings-of-transhood\">Trappings of Transhood\u003c/a>\u003c/i>, also played at the inaugural festival. In it, Lee interviews a multiracial group of transgender people about their experiences, presenting their own stories in their own words.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While there were definite divides between different queer communities at the time (Austin points out they never would have met Lee on a barstool at the Lexington), the Transgender Film Festival sought to create a rare meeting space for all-comers. “Tranny Fest was, I think, a huge proponent of let’s all be in the same room. Let’s all talk about it,” Austin says. “We can enjoy movies. We can enjoy music. We can enjoy dance, poetry, art. Art fucking saves lives. That is the mantra.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977551\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977551\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000.jpg\" alt=\"Black person in plaid shirt in front of closet\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1461\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-768x561.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Trappings-of-Transhood_1_2000-1536x1122.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee and Elise Hurwitz’s ‘Trappings of Transhood,’ 1997. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Virago, who took over from Austin and Lee as director after the 2002 festival, remembers a welcoming scene. “It was — I don’t know if the word’s thrilling — but it felt safe,” she says. “Any time we could gather together, I think, it was a feeling of being able to relax and not have to be afraid all the time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Big sinners and proud of it’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In handwritten notes on the back of planning documents from the first festival, someone, maybe Lee, wrote, “Straight people get to talk about their sex and it’s time we can talk about our sex.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From its very first incarnation, the Transgender Film Festival committed itself to showing adult films. In a preview of the 1997 festival written for the \u003ci>San Francisco Bay Times\u003c/i>, Susan Stryker wrote that “explicit visual pornography” is where most cis people first encounter images of transgender people. “The twist,” she wrote, “is that the work included here is by gender queers themselves, rather than by those whose chief aim is to exploit our differences for a fast buck.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13976883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13976883\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2.jpeg\" alt=\"extreme close-up of bearded person's face, eyes closed, with another person behind\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2.jpeg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-800x450.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-1020x574.jpeg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/Alley-of-the-Tranny-Boys_2-1536x864.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee’s ‘Alley of the Trannyboys.’ \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Lee’s next two films were decidedly pornographic. \u003ci>\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline48/alley-of-the-tranny-boys\">Alley of the Trannyboys\u003c/a>\u003c/i> (1998) is described by Frameline as “a deeply subversive landmark of erotica” and by the International Transgender Film & Video Festival program as “a hardcore hand-job of a movie that puts a few extra X’s in ‘explicit.’” The 50-minute film retains its subversive power; it was shown as recently as the 2024 Frameline festival, in an “\u003ca href=\"https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline48/erotic-city-shorts\">Erotic City Shorts\u003c/a>” program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The feature-length \u003ci>Sex Flesh in Blood\u003c/i> (1999) has a more gothic bent, with dark spirits speaking Mandarin, vampires, cadavers, an industrial darkwave and punk soundtrack, and, according to Frameline’s write-up, a sexual smorgasbord drenched in plenty of “blood, blood, blood.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Both \u003ci>Alley of the Trannyboys\u003c/i> and \u003ci>Sex Flesh in Blood\u003c/i> are now available to rent from the indie adult film site \u003ca href=\"http://PinkLabel.tv\">PinkLabel.tv\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977556\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977556\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood.jpg\" alt=\"black-and-white image of three people in goth attire\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Sex-Flesh-in-Blood-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from Christopher Lee’s ‘Sex Flesh in Blood,’ 1999. \u003ccite>(Frameline)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, queer identities were shifting and expanding. And Lee refused to be pinned down to any fixed definition. In a 2001 interview with \u003ci>Asianweek\u003c/i>, Lee described himself as “a gender hybrid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I see myself as really futuristic and not wanting to put myself in too much of a gender or species category,” he said. “I’ve been able to evolve through science and technology … I believe the possibilities will be endless to evolve into something else in the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee’s trickster energy and gothy self-presentation were vastly removed from mainstream queer culture at the time. Which is what made his nomination for SF Pride’s grand marshal in 2002 all the more exciting — for some.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were really outliers,” Virago explains. “I remember the \u003ci>Bay Area Reporter\u003c/i> had a little article about the people who were nominated … And they said something like ‘this will be a wild ride,’ because of us and our reputation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee and Virago ran as “America’s Little Darlings,” hosting a “Kissing Hands and Shaking Babies” meetup at the Lexington at the start of their campaign. When the ballots were tallied, they had gathered the most votes in the recent history of grand marshal elections. “We are both forces to be reckoned with,” Lee told the \u003ci>Bay Area Reporter\u003c/i>. “We are both big sinners and proud of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Christopher was really gung-ho to be a grand marshal,” Virago says. “It was endearing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13977549\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13977549\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals.jpg\" alt=\"two people pose in red and blue feather boas; people ride a red convertible in a parade\" width=\"2000\" height=\"982\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-768x377.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/06/Chirstopher_Shawna_car_marshals-1536x754.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Christopher Lee and Shawna Virago riding down the SF Pride parade route as grand marshals. Lee holds a sign that says ‘Make porn. Not war.’ \u003ccite>(Photos by Alex Austin; Courtesy of Shawna Virago)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>An incredible legacy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Traces of Lee’s participation in public events fall away in the years following his grand marshal appearance. Virago says she was part of a film Lee was working on in 2004, but she’s never seen the footage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee struggled with his mental health. Austin remembers trying to help Lee try to fill a prescription one day near the Castro Theater. “[The medical field] really failed him,” they say. “And that is just heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Dec. 22, 2012, Lee died by suicide. When the Alameda County Coroner’s office misgendered Lee on his death certificate, friends and chosen family, led by Maya and Chino Scott-Chung, rallied to right the wrong. Two years later, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/06/30/418770266/making-the-law-respect-gender-identity-after-death\">Respect After Death Act\u003c/a>, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins and sponsored by the Transgender Law Center and Equality California, passed the state legislature.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill requires coroners and funeral directors to record a person’s gender identity rather than anatomical sex on their death certificate. And if there’s a dispute with the next-of-kin, who the deceased might be estranged from, a driver’s license or passport can trump family opinion. (Lee’s driver’s license identified him as male.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law took effect in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s an incredible legacy, atop an already impressive list of things Lee achieved in his lifetime. Four films, hours of documentary footage. A celebratory, welcoming event for filmmakers and audiences alike. Over its 28 years, the festival Lee co-founded, like him, has inspired countless people to be fully themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Transgender Film Festival is North America’s longest-running trans film festival. It’s not the place for high-profile premieres or even high-polish productions, but it remains a place where authentic stories get told with style and panache. “We’re not beholden to the best production values,” Virago says. “We’re looking for ideas more than anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Trying to describe the festival’s ethos, as passed down by Austin and Lee, she reaches for a metaphor: “Netflix is the auto-tune experience, right? We are — you can hear our voices and our real concerns in the movies we screen.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
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"order": 19
},
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
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},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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}
},
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
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},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1MDAyODE4NTgz",
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},
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"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
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"meta": {
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},
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"order": 15
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}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 18
},
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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