Pam Grady May 5, 2021Updated: May 5, 2021, 9:48 am
Salena Qureshi in “Americanish,” screening virtually Sunday, May 23, at CAAMFest. Photo: CAAMFest
CAAMFest Festival and Exhibitions Director Masashi Niwano admits to mixed feelings as he counts down to the annual event that celebrates Asian American and world cinema that launches on Thursday, May 13. Hopes for an in-person festival were dashed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, a virtual event along with three nights at the Fort Mason Flix Drive-in will have to do for the film festival’s 39th edition.
“It’s been a unique year for all of us. But we’re happy we can at least pull this festival off,” he says. “Ultimately having the filmmakers’ voices heard is the most important thing.”
Adrian Spinelli April 29, 2021Updated: April 29, 2021, 6:51 pm
Oakland musician Fantastic Negrito and his band pose before performing the score during the screening of “Lost Landscapes: Oakland” at Fort Mason Flix during the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival. Photo: Pamela Gentile / SFFilm
This week’s Chronicle’s guide covers new music by notable Bay Area artists.
Zion I and Fantastic Negrito, “Try & Try” (Mind Over Matter)
Two pillars of the Oakland music scene have teamed up for this latest release amid the pandemic. As he has done for decades, Zion I’s Baba Zumbi opens with a dizzying, socially conscious flow, spitting, “Not concerned with celebrity/ I’d rather have liberty and justice in the city/ it’s a pity, they don’t trust us.” Three-time Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito adds a funky blues hook that highlights their take on community when we need it most.
G. Allen Johnson April 28, 2021Updated: April 28, 2021, 4:42 pm
Children watch “Toy Story 2” at the Balboa Theater, where guests are treated on the weekends to a jazz show and movie at their parklet. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, the sounds of live jazz wafted up and down Balboa Street in the Outer Richmond District as a small crowd sipped beer, munched on popcorn and moved with the rhythm.
During the final set from Danny Brown and the Noise All-Stars in front of the closed entrance to the Balboa Theater, Emily Bridwell and her two young children arrived. As the musicians packed up their instruments, workers wheeled a big-screen TV out to the theater’s parklet, where Bridwell’s children plopped down to watch a free showing of “Toy Story 2.”
G. Allen Johnson April 23, 2021Updated: April 23, 2021, 11:25 am
SFFilm Executive Director Anne Lai (left) and Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks at Fort Mason Flix, where the festival could continue drive-in screenings. Photo: Pamela Gentile, SFFilm
Organizers of the San Francisco International Film Festival are excited at the prospect of being able to once again pack the Castro Theatre and other local venues for its 2022 festival. But after this month’s successful online and drive-in events, they realize that what started as a pandemic stopgap might become a permanent feature of SFFilm.
“We are going to continue to look at how we can enhance that model of a hybrid of both being virtual and being in person,” said Jessie Fairbanks, SFFilm’s new director of programming. “My dream is that we are able to offer virtual presentations. It allows for greater accessibility and inclusivity at the festival.
CAAMFest 2021 lineup begins with Lowell High documentary and ends with a dance party sfchronicle.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfchronicle.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.