The 65th SFFilm Festival will take place April 21 – May 1, 2022, with screenings at various venues around the Bay Area. This year, the festival program features over 130 film from 56 countries, so there are plenty of options for everyone.
We’ll bring you spotlight coverage of many of the films leading up to and during the Festival. Here’s a look at five features and a short to get things started — get your tickets before they sell out!
1.) THE EXILES
(USA, Taiwan, France, China, 2021. 96 min)
A fascinating documentary that spotlights legendary Chinese documentarian Christine Choy (Who Killed Vincent Chin?) as an avenue into revisiting the massacre at Tiananmen Square and three high profile exiled dissidents. Produced by Steven Soderbergh and winner of this year’s Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize, The Exiles takes an honest look at the active erasure of history, and exemplifies the power of documentary filmmaking to preserve memories, events, and movements.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 23rd, 3:00pm at the Victoria Theatre
– Sun., April 24th, 2:00pm at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive
2.) SONNE
(Austria, 2022. 88 min)
In many ways a coming-of-age tale, and in equal parts playing against the genre’s tropes, Sonne is an immersive exploration of the cultural and religious hurdles of youth culture. In this case, the theme is examined thanks to a homemade music video of R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’ going viral. Lighthearted, but also severe and honest, the film puts the melting pot of teenage progressivism under a microscope, allowing the audience to experience the highs and lows–and the confusion–of a young Muslim woman.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 30th, 5:00pm at the Roxie Theater
3.) ÎNTREGALDE
(Romania, 2021. 104 min)
Rarely does a movie come along as complex and nuanced in its suspense (and humor) than Întregalde. On the surface, it’s a simple story of three Romanian humanitarian workers getting their SUV stuck in a wooded backroad while delivering aid to villagers in remote Transylvania. Beneath the surface, however, it’s a story about inherent biases, and what happens when necessity becomes desperation.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Wed., April 27th, 8:45pm at the Victoria Theare
– Sat., April 30th, 7:45pm at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive
4.) FIRE ON THE PLAIN
(China, 2021. 113 min)
Fire on the Plain is an impressive directorial debut that embraces classic noir pastiches. The film balances its traditional genre plot twists with shocking violence and a daring social commentary about the have and have-nots. Don’t be fooled by the melodrama at the heart of the story; this film contains multitudes.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sun., April 24th, 8:45pm at the Vogue Theatre
– Thurs., April 28th, 8:00pm at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive
5.) THE DEVIL’S DRIVERS
(Qatar, France, Lebanon, Germany, 2021. 93 min)
An incredible feat of “how did they get away with this footage” documentary filmmaking, The Devil’s Drivers follows two cousins who drive back and forth smuggling Palestinian workers across the border into Israel. The film contains sequences more suspenseful than any Hollywood blockbuster, since real lives are at stake and the chances of getting caught are unfolding in real time. We’re mere passengers along for the ride.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Mon., April 25th, 8:30pm at the Roxie Theater
6.) BABYBANGZ
(USA/UK, 2021. 11 min)
In mid-city, New Orleans, Anastasia Ebel has been operating Babybangz, a natural hair salon for years. With her salon, Anastasia cultivates a safe space for discourse, from hair to culture to politics, and especially discussions around the ever-changing nature of her New Orleans home. The film is beautiful and succinct, letting Anastasia and her customers (more community than clientele) dictate the film’s tone: observational and concerned, but also hopeful.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Shorts 3 program — Sunday, April 24th, 2:00pm at the Roxie Theater
