59th San Francisco International Film Festival unites cinema across genres, nations
The San Francisco International Film Festival, or SFIFF, now in its 59th year, remains one of the longest running, preeminent film festivals in the United States. While Sundance and Telluride may be very American-centric, SFIFF focuses on world, documentary and avant-garde cinema — finding new, burgeoning voices across the globe as well as right here in our own Bay Area. With more than 150 films spread out over 40 countries, the festival has a plethora of gems waiting to be found, and luckily, with the right distribution models for these films, all should have a chance to be shown again in either San Francisco or Berkeley.
‘Sixty Six’ (dir. Lewis Klahr)
Completely unwatchable but surprisingly admirable, Lewis Klahr’s “Sixty Six” epitomizes the avant-garde experience. Klahr takes stark 2-D visuals, composed of comic book cutouts evocative of Roy Lichtenstein’s work, and constructs an unsettling, spatial depth by placing magazine cutouts of Los Angeles modern architecture in the background. In enhancing the images’ reality through this sense of space, Klahr enacts his message, actually unveiling a notion of artifice — one that stands opposed to popular culture and mass reproduction as these replicated characters and objects occupy a different, more ominous realm when compared to the contrasting surroundings. The very nature of avant-garde cinema abstracts his commentary, but Klahr delivers compositions of obsessive consumerism with such verve, jarringly objectifying these figures until we realize again that they’re only drawings, that it’s hard not to come away haunted — especially with an eclectic, but never unfit soundtrack. The nature of avant-garde cinema, with its lack of narrative, also punches the standard viewing experience in the jugular, making it a feat of its own to get past the first 10 minutes.
— Kyle Kizu
‘A Young Patriot’ (dir. Du Haibin)
Directed by Du Haibin, “A Young Patriot” follows Shanxi resident Changtong Zhao during his transition from high school to university. The documentary throws us into the front line, immersing us within Zhao’s fervent patriotism and the country’s stringent juxtaposition of academics and nationalism. The film’s rapid pace and claustrophobic interviews intensify these qualities until we drown in them. As Zhao ventures into university, however — expanding his involvement in photography and exposing himself to life outside of his hometown — he slowly, and then suddenly, falls out of love with a strictly nationalist way of life. The documentary not only expertly captures the subtle transformation of how Zhao’s wishes change but also alters its style to fit that change, slowing down and lingering as the moments become more intimate, focusing on Zhao in action rather than on interviews. The film ends as Zhao, tears streaming down his face, uses his camera to record the government’s demolition of his childhood home. “A Young Patriot” opens up our perspective and proves to be a stirring, almost necessary documentary on the country.
— Kyle Kizu
‘The Event’ (dir. Sergei Loznitsa)
Sergei Loznitsa’s “The Event” is a worthy companion piece to his last film, the critically acclaimed “Maidan.” Each film essentially follows the same basic structure, in that Loznitsa turns his camera onto the people in two politically charged climates: Ukraine and its Maidan Square protest for “Maidan” in 2013 and the coup d’etat attempt on Mikhail Gorbachev in Leningrad during 1991 for “The Event.” Yet “The Event” differs because of Loznitsa’s reliance entirely on archival footage to illustrate the situation documented in the film. Thanks to crisp editing, enhanced sound designs and beautifully composed black-and-white cinematography, Loznitsa builds the film as if it’s happening in realtime — as if the audience is part of the confused collective that is being told differing stories of what’s taking place within their government. While the film lacks contextualization for the coup d’etat, which can be challenging for audiences without background information on the demise of the Soviet Union, the decision to focus on the anxiety felt by the Russian people during this time makes the film universally powerful and relevant.
— Levi Hill
‘The Bandit’ (dir. Jesse Moss)
“The Bandit” is, for all intents and purposes, a love story. Directed by Bay Area resident Jesse Moss, SFIFF’s closing-night film revolves around the production of “Smokey and the Bandit,” but more focuses on the relationship between star Burt Reynolds and the late stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham. The film uses interviews with actors, crews, stuntmen and Burt Reynolds to paint a full picture of who Hal Needham was and the way his and Reynolds’ brotherly bond formed.
Like all love stories though, Moss examines the ways in which Needham always wanted the popularity that followed his counterpart. Reynolds may have been a blockbuster star pre-“Smokey,” but Needham — and even Reynolds — seems to know that the undying popularity of “Smokey” was due to the commitment of both of them and their crew, rather than the efforts of one person. This jealousy and longing forever followed Needham, despite his own commercial success as a director. While the film may seem fast, furious and simply fun — like the film it’s documenting — when “The Bandit” revs down the jokes and amps up the questions, Moss shows there is always something beneath the hood of a film and a relationship.
— Levi Hill
Levi Hill covers film. Contact him at lhill@dailycal.org.
Contact Kyle Kizu at kkizu@dailycal.org.