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A Winter of Much Content at California Film Institute

December 6, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

Fall Into Upcoming Rafael Programs!

November 8, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

ALEX COX PRESENTS – Nov. 14 & 15 English filmmaker Alex Cox, legendary director of the independent hits Repo Man and Sid and Nancy, will visit the Rafael to present two programs: a screening of his latest, Tombstone Rashomon, and the recent archival restoration of Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie. COLDPLAY: A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS – […]

A Winter of Much Content at California Film Institute

December 6, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

Fall Into Upcoming Rafael Programs!

November 8, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

A Winter of Much Content at California Film Institute

December 6, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

MVFF41 wrapped in mid-October, and since then, the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center has been running full steam with successful theatrical bookings and a multitude of special events to appeal to all kinds of audience members. The popular documentary Free Solo, featured at MVFF, has been drawing in huge numbers of patrons since opening on Oct. 15 and still going strong well in to December. Other films featured at MVFF which have found favor with our Rafael audiences include Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Museo, Wildlife, Border, Shoplifters, and Maria By Callas, with additional MVFF titles Becoming Astrid, Bathtubs Over Broadway, Capernaum, and Cold War slated to open in the coming weeks. Additional theatrical runs have included Tea with the Dames, At Eternity’s Gate, and CFI Releasing’s Life and Nothing More, which opened nationwide to mass critical acclaim.

In addition to these popular runs, the CFI calendar has been crowded with a wealth of special event programs, produced by the Smith Rafael Film Center, CFI Education, CFI Membership Screenings, even the MVFF Mind The Gap Initiative!

Special events at the Rafael with filmmakers in attendance included Filmmakers Unite with Jay Rosenblatt and Ellen Bruno, Rodents of Unusual Size with Chris Metzler and Quinn Costello, special screenings of Aquí y Allá and Life and Nothing More with Antonio Méndez Esparza, two screenings of locally produced ’68 with Steven Kovacs, Dale Djerassi and Isabel Maxwell, The Prairie Trilogy with Rob Nilsson, An Evening with Katinka Faragó, script supervisor for Ingmar Bergman, as well as a screening of Wild Strawberries presented by Faragó, back to back screenings of Tombstone Rashomon and The Last Movie with cult director Alex Cox, and a screening of Harold Lloyd’s Speedy presented with live musical accompaniment from Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Additionally, the Rafael has presented a bevy of classical productions Live On Screen (The Merry Wives of Windsor, The King and I, Mayerling) and special one-off screenings of special interest films (Gilda, Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams, The Mercy, Welcome to the Men’s Group).

CFI Education has presented Education Screenings free to Bay Area students and Community Screenings free to the public of fascinating films that educate and inspire: Life After Life with film subject Noel Valdivia, Sr., Inventing Tomorrow with film subject Sahithi Pingali, From Baghdad to the Bay with director Erin Palmquist and film subject Ghazwan Alsharif, and a captivating and significant screening of I Am Maris, followed by a panel discussion with director Laura VanZee Taylor and film subjects Jenni Wendell and Sharon Degener and subject experts Caitlin Severin and Elizabeth Scott, part of CFI Education’s Teen Wellness series in partnership with Kaiser Permanente.

CFI Membership Screenings have brought in high wattage talent and acclaimed films appreciated by our fantastic CFI Members, including Capernaum with director Nadine Labacki, composer Khaled Mouzaner and star Zain Al Raffea, Leave No Trace with director Debra Granik, Black Panther with director Ryan Coogler presented by Film Comment Magazine and the Art House Convergence, First Man with director Damien Chazelle, as well as sneak preview screenings of highly anticipated films At Eternity’s Gate, Mary, Queen of Scots, and the upcoming On The Basis of Sex.

Most recently, CFI Membership and the Mind The Gap Initiative teamed up to present a screening of Nancy, with producer/star Andrea Riseborough and co-star J. Smith Cameron in attendance for a post-film onstage conversation and the presentation of the Mind The Gap award.

And that’s not all! Before the end of 2018, the Rafael will showcase The Royal Opera House’s Die Walküre, a wine-tasting/screening/panel event around the oenophile’s delight Somm 3, two screenings of the perennially popular series Deconstructing The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour and The Royal Ballet’s The Nutcracker. And the annual For Your Consideration program of Oscar© submissions from around the world has just been announced, featuring 14 international festival favorites screening Jan. 4 – 10, 2019! The California Film Institute truly is a home for the best in independent, international, educational, compelling, and inspirational cinema.

Photos:
Ryan Coogler and Damien Chazelle © Steve Disenhof
Katinka Faragó and Richard Peterson © Kirke Wrench
Antonio Méndez Esparza © Chris Markisz
Ghazwan Alsharif and Erin Palmquist © Chris Markisz
Khaled Mouzaner, Nadine Labacki, and Zain Al Rafeea © Niki Scioli
J. Smith Cameron, Andrea Riseborough, and Zoë Elton © Kirke Wrench

Fall Into Upcoming Rafael Programs!

November 8, 2018/in News/by 1_cafilm@org-94901

ALEX COX PRESENTS – Nov. 14 & 15

English filmmaker Alex Cox, legendary director of the independent hits Repo Man and Sid and Nancy, will visit the Rafael to present two programs: a screening of his latest, Tombstone Rashomon, and the recent archival restoration of Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie.

COLDPLAY: A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS – Nov. 14

One of the world’s biggest bands share their story, in their own words, for the first time. Charting Coldplay’s incredible journey from humble origins to stadium-filling superstardom, it is the definitive Coldplay film.

’68 ENCORE SCREENING WITH STEVEN KOVACS – Nov. 25

2018 marks the 50^thanniversary of one of our country’s most iconic years, and Bay Area filmmaker Steven Kovacs will present a special 35mm screening of his dramatic feature film set in that turbulent era.

TEEN WELLNESS SERIES: I AM MARIS – Nov. 27

After a childhood of mounting anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, Maris is hospitalized to confront her illnesses. Struggling to cope once released, she finds solace in the healing powers of therapy, art, and yoga, becoming an instructor at just 16 and using her blog to promote self-acceptance. Panel discussion will follow the film.

THE KING AND I – Nov. 29 & Dec. 4

Recorded live this year at London’s Palladium, the 2015 Tony Award-winning Lincoln Center Theater revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s iconic musical bursts afresh on the big screen. Reprising her Tony-winning performance, Kelli O’Hara stars as Anna, alongside Tony-nominee Ken Watanabe as the King.

MONT ALTO MOTION PICTURE ORCHESTRA presents SPEEDY – Dec. 2

We’re excited to welcome back the talented musicians of the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra to accompany the classic Harold Lloyd comedy Speedy. In his final silent movie (and one of his best), extensively filmed in New York City, Lloyd plays Speedy, a Yankees fan who comes to the aid of his girlfriend’s (Ann Christy) grandfather, the owner and operator of the city’s last horse-drawn streetcar. With a notable appearance by Babe Ruth as himself, this terrific comedy features the acrobatics and chase scenes that helped make Lloyd one of the best comedy performers in the movies.

THE ROYAL BALLET presents MAYERLING – Dec. 2

Based on a tragic historical love story, Mayerling is itself a classic of the Royal Ballet repertory, with its emotional depth, haunting imagery and one of the most demanding roles ever created for a male dancer. The glamour of the Austro-Hungarian court contrasts with undercurrents of sexual and political intrigue that drive the story to its dramatic climax.

WELCOME TO THE MEN’S GROUP – Dec. 6

Filmmaker Joseph Culp will present and discuss a special screening of his provocative comedy-drama that takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride through the bumpy terrain of the male psyche. Culp co-stars with Timothy Bottoms, Stephen Tobolowsky and Mackenzie Astin as part of an all-male support group that meets one Sunday a month, when members refrain from beer and football to discuss personal issues. Panel discussion to follow film.

THE ROYAL OPERA presents DIE WALKÜRE – Dec. 9

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas in Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle, an epic of gods, monsters and humanity on a superhuman scale. Antonio Pappano, music director of The Royal Opera, conducts Keith Warner’s production. The opera features some of the most glorious music ever written, including the sparkling “Magic Fire Music” and, of course, “The Ride of the Valkyries.”

DECONSTRUCTING THE BEATLES: MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR – Dec. 16 & 20

In 1967, The Beatles embarked on an ambitious project, writing and directing a one-hour film, Magical Mystery Tour. The music written for the film is some of The Beatles’ psychedelic best. In Deconstructing The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, Scott Freiman delves into the creative process behind “The Fool On The Hill,” “Blue Jay Way,” “I Am The Walrus,” and other selections from Magical Mystery Tour.

THE NUTCRACKER – Dec. 23

One of the most delightful ways to discover the enchantment of ballet, this seasonal treat matches Tchaikovsky’s much-loved music to a magical adventure on Christmas Eve for Clara and her Nutcracker doll. Their journey to the Land of Sweets creates some of the most familiar ballet moments, such as the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and the “Waltz of the Flowers.”