Film related articles, particularly related to foreign, Independent and documentaries. I will try to make it connect to the local Bay Area events, and news.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Mr. SNAFU meets Betty Boop
Keeping in the film theme of my blog, I mixed and mashed some old footage from Internet archive to make my own movie. I incorporated footage that might be seen at the drive-in, because I have unfortunately never been to one. I also included an cartoon staring, Mr. Snafu.
Mr. Snafu(Situation Normal, All Fouled Up) , was created by Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) and Phil Eastman, during the Second World War. The character was used US Army Signal Corps to educate and boost the morale the troops.
In the mash-up he encounters Booby Traps and the lovely-legendary Miss. Betty Boop.
This Thursday is the launch of the 25Th annual San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, March 15-25. The website is great, with a lot of information, definitely worth checking out. It has information about the films to be shown, tips on how to best enjoy the festival, it also offers essays in regards to the films and Asian Cinema
One of the interesting things that I noticed is SFIAAFF's, incorporation of local high schools in its events. It has specially set up screenings and discussions to encourage the participation of the youth. They offer discounts to students ($9) to encourage students and educators to partake in the festival.
At the festival three competitions will be held and awards for Best Narrative, Best Documentary and the Comcast Audience Awards will be announced. The festival will also be the stage for the World Premiere of seven films.
(below is the trailer for the upcoming festival)
Another organization that I learned about is the Center for Asian American Media. CAAM organizes SFIAAFF every year along with other events in the Bay Area. CAAM "is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting stories that convey the richness and diversity of Asian American experiences to the broadest audience possible. We do this by funding, producing, distributing and exhibiting works in film, television and digital media." According to their website they are currently seeking interns in the Web/Graphic, Education/Distribution, and Media Funds department.
I hope that you not only consider BUT make a good effort in attending at least one (or two) screenings!
It was a four-day event with screenings of award winning documentaries and renowned filmmakers, critics, and writers. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the highly anticipated compilation from the new seven-part documentary series introduced by Ken Burns, himself at the Castro Theatre. The second evening of the event featured part one of THE WAR, his newest documentary about the Second World War. The series is scheduled to air in September on PBS.
Although I didn't attend the first two nights, I did attend the FREE screenings of the other war documentaries held at the de Young Museum. On Saturday I watched the tribute to Humphrey Jennings a highly regarded British filmmaker. His films Listen to Britain, and A Diary for Timothy were both short documentaries filmed during the Second World War. I actually kinda dozed off during both films, but I got the idea of the films. Listen to Britain didn't have dialogue, the musical soundtrack, and radio edited into the film are the narrative of the film. It is filled with strong images of British soldiers, training, and preparing for battle. A Diary for Timothy, was more interesting because its narrative takes the form of a father keeping a diary for his son, during the last days of the war. As the narrator is describing the events of the last six months of the war, which happen to be the first six months of the Timothy's life, he includes satirical comments about life after war. The letter is somewhat of a warning to Timothy and viewers that perhaps the most fearful things are yet to come after the war.
The third film I watched, Iraq in Fragments was also the closing film for the event. It is James Longley's 2006 Sundance Film Festival documentary winner for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. It also won the 2006 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival-Grand Jury Prize, but lost the Academy Award to Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Mark Danner, an American journalist, who specializes in U.S. foreign affairs, gave a great introduction to the film. He gave high praises to the films ability to show the daily lives of Iraqis during the war. Danner mentioned that he has never viewed a film that eloquently portrayed the lives of civilians in a war zone. The film as indicated by the title is in three fragments. The first follows an 11-year-old boy who works for an auto-mechanic in Baghdad. We witness the boy struggle to learn to read and write, as well as maintain the part-time job that helps his family survive. The second part of the film is more political as follows it, Sadr's followers in opposition of the American Occupation. The group want to rule Iraq according to very strict Islamic customs. There is an intense scene in which men are kidnap and beaten because Sadr's followers believed they were selling alcohol at the market. The final part of the film takes place in the rural part of Iraq where the Kurds own farmlands. Longley films the election for the province's councilman.
I feel that this is a powerful documentary because it gives an in depth first hand account of the lives of Iraqis not shown on the news. The characters that Longley follows represent the three different groups of people currently living in Iraq, the Shia, Sunni, and Kurds. One of the most surprising things I learned was that the conflict among the people was created and fueled by the Saddam and continues to be by the American government. I liked that Longley did not use a narrator but let the characters in his story talk. I also thought it was creative and fresh that he didn't film (or at least edit in) any interviews of the subjects into the documentary.
It's exciting to hear that the DOC Film Institute is a part of San Francisco States and hope that I will be able to take part again in another of there events.
