Apr 26, 2007 9:16 pm US/Pacific
Rocchi Picks SF Intl. Film Fest Standouts
Commentary
By CBS 5 Film Critic James Rocchi
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ―
The San Francisco International Film Festival may be the oldest film festival in this hemisphere -- and celebrating its 50th year in 2007 -- but there's a great irony in how this year's festival nonetheless feels fresh and bold.
There's a special focus this year on celebrating not just the festival but also the Bay Area's rich history in film -- with awards for Robin Williams and George Lucas as part of the festivities, as well as the documentaries Fog City Mavericks (about San Francisco filmmakers like Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Phillip Kaufman) and Murch (about film editing titan Walter Murch, also an area resident).
The festival's selection of international and independent films this year is impressive as well. Standouts include Brand Upon the Brain!, a silent epic featuring an orchestra, narrator, singer and hand-crafted sound effects -- all live in the theater; The Devil Came on Horseback, a shattering documentary about an ex-Marine who wound up witnessing the Sudan's brutal genocide in Darfur and who crusades to change that bloody crisis; Rocket Science, a whimsical modern comedy about a shy high school student who finds his voice in competitive speaking; and Eagle vs. Shark, a quirky romance that's been called a New Zealand version of Napoleon Dynamite.
The 50th San Francisco International Film Festival runs until May 10.
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