Berlin & Beyond in Focus - November 19-21, 2020

• Details and tickets at berlinbeyond.com
• Cost for each online screening: free
• Ticket registration window: Nov. 5-6 for San Francisco city and county; Nov. 7 at noon and forward to include the other Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Mateo.
  

SCHEDULED VIRTUAL CINEMA EVENTS

OPENING NIGHT FILM – Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7:30 PM

I Was, I Am, I Will Be (Es gilt das gesprochene Wort)
Followed by Q&A with Director Ilker Çatak
Directed by Ilker Çatak I (Germany, France, 2019, 122 min.)
Winner of the 2020 German Film Award Best Picture (Bronze)
Opposite worlds collide when Baran, a Turkish gigolo meets Marion, a German pilot, on the beaches of Marmaris. An examination of life’s unpredictability and progression from a troubled past, to a complicated present and the hopeful promise of the future.
In German, Turkish, and English; non-English portions with English subtitles
Cast: Anne Ratte-Polle, Oğulcan Arman Uslu, Godehard Giese, Jörg Schüttauf
Northern California Premiere
Trailer: vimeo.com/342013930

SWISS FILM & TALK – Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 1:00 PM
My Little Sister (Schwesterlein)
Followed by Q&A with Directors Stéphanie Chuat & Véronique Reymond
Directed by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond (Switzerland, 2020, 99 min.)
Switzerland’s Official Entry to the 2021 Academy Awards for Best International Film Consideration
Lisa gives up her ambitions as a playwright in Berlin and moves to Switzerland with her husband. When her twin brother, a famous actor, falls ill with cancer, Lisa returns to the German capital, risking everything for their desire to be creative, and feel alive again.
In German, French, and English; non-English portions with English subtitles
Cast: Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Jens Albinus, Marthe Keller
Northern California Premiere
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=49EPkmApHYU

CLOSING NIGHT FILM – Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 7:30 PM
Curveball – A True Story. Unfortunately.
Directed by Johannes Naber (Germany, 2020, 108 min.)
2020 Berlinale Special Gala Selection
This political satire tells the grotesque, at times even surreal, true story of how the Iraq war was started based on nothing but fake intelligence and the involvement of the German government and German secret service.
In German, English, and Arabic; non-English portions with English subtitles
Cast: Sebastian Blomberg, Dar Salim, Virginia Kull, Thorsten Merten, Michael Wittenborn
US West Coast Premiere
Trailer: vimeo.com/344756564

ON-DEMAND
The following films will be available to rent (for free) to watch during the festival period.

Automotive
Directed by Jonas Heldt (Germany, 2020, 80 minutes) Documentary Film
This documentary tells a story of a generation for which work as a basis of existence is neither safe nor identity shaping. A worker sorting car parts, and a headhunter in logistics automation, both work with the knowledge that eventually will be replaceable.
In German, English, Turkish, and Hungarian; non-English portions with English subtitles
North America Premiere


Cleo – If I Could Turn Back Time
Directed by Erik Schmitt (Germany, 2019, 99 min.)
Imaginative Cleo dreams of finding a magic clock that turns back time. When she meets Paul, they set off on a topsy-turvy journey through time and across the pulsating city of Berlin.
In German with English subtitles
Cast: Marleen Lohse, Jeremy Mockridge, Heiko Pinkowski, Max Mauff
California Premiere
youtube.com/watch?v=-Cr5RRtXw-E

Gipsy Queen
Directed by Hüseyin Tabak (Germany, Austria, 2019, 117 min.)
Best Leading Actress for Alina Serban at the 2020 German Screen Actors Awards
Ali, a courageous woman and single mother of two kids, struggles to provide for her family. While working in a rundown nightclub, she seizes at the chance to train as a boxer, for a chance of a better life.
In German and Romany with English subtitles
Cast: Alina Serban, Tobias Moretti, Irina Kurbanova
Special Encore | 24th Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Closing Night Film, February 2020
Trailer: vimeo.com/314261364
 
Lovemobil
Directed by Elke Lehrenkrauss (Germany, 2019, 103 min.) Documentary Film
Alongside the dark country roads of rural Germany, prostitutes from foreign countries work in old caravans. ln this uncanny world, the murder of one of the women takes place.
In German, English, and Bulgarian; non-English portions with English subtitles
Northern California Premiere
 
Stars Above Us (Sterne über uns)
Directed by Christina Ebelt (Germany, 2019, 102 min.)
Forced into homelessness, Melli, a single mother, takes her son Ben to a forest, while she continues to fight her way out of their desperate situation. For the good of her child, she has to make the most difficult decision of her life.
In German with English subtitles
Cast: Franziska Hartmann, Claudio Magno, Kai Ivo Baulitz, Nicole Johannhanwahr
North America Premiere

Undine
Directed by Christian Petzold (Germany, France, 2020, 90 min.)
Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize and the Silver Berlin Bear Best Actress for Paula Beer at the 2020 Berlinale
San Francisco Premiere
Undine works as a historian lecturing on Berlin’s urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the ancient myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water.
In German with English subtitles
Cast: Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski, Maryam Zaree, Jacob Matschenz
San Francisco Premiere
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=El4-2zrNppA

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler das rosa Kaninchen stahl)
Directed by Caroline Link  (Germany, Switzerland, 2019, 119 min.)
Best Children's Film at the 2020 German Film Awards
In 1933, Anna is not sure who Hitler is, but that man on the posters is changing her family’s lives. They must flee Germany, leaving everything behind. Based on Judith Kerr’s bestselling semi-autobiographical novel.
In German and Swiss German with English subtitles
Cast: Riva Krymalowski, Carla Juri, Oliver Masucci
Northern California Premiere
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=9J03rMFyFzA

The gorgeous Rotunda with its landmark stained glass dome announced its tentative closure in late September, four months after the famed Neiman Marcus department store was forced to file for bankruptcy for Chapter 11 protection, another victim of the economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gone are the popular afternoon tea with floor-to-ceiling windows.  Well-known for its extravagant 80-foot-tall Christmas tree -- and all the hoopla that sight brings --
the restaurant had hoped to reopen at some indefinite future time, according to a a few restaurant employees furloughed in March.

This story was reported in the

• The visual elements of the Rounda Cafe were maintained from the original City of Paris building, a department store that at one time was San Francisco's oldest, first making its appearance in 1851 at the Sutter and Kearny intersection, and eventually settling at the Geary and Stockton location in Union Square in 1896.

 

• The City of Paris building was remodeled by architects Arthur Brown, John Bakewell, and Louis Bourgeois who also designed San Francisco City Hall, the War Memorial House, and the Veterans Building. Amazingly, the City of Paris department store survived the 1906 Earthquake, though the resulting fire badly damaged the store interior.

 

• The City of Paris building was demolished by Neiman Marcus, which bought the building in 1974 with plans to build a brand new Neiman Marcus department store, with the promise to preserve the iconic stained-glass rotunda. The upheaval to one of San Francisco's treasured downtown buildings was all the more met with scorn when the new Neiman Marcus building opened as a glitzy, modern, out-of-place structure when it opened in 1983.
  

Read the history of the famed City of Paris building, here.

Read more on this story at SF Gate

• This year’s theme THE POWER OF EMPATHY continues the celebration more than two decades long of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing our readiness to care about other people’s emotional experiences and exploring possible paths emanating from it into the future.

 

• UNAFF 2020 will present 60 documentaries spotlighting current events from across the globe, including through its very popular programs UNAFF AND KIDS and UNAFF IN SCHOOLS. UNAFF is committed not only to presenting films, but also creating spaces where audience members can engage in ongoing dialogue about the subjects at hand. FREE online daily discussions “Meet the Filmmakers, Subjects of the Films and Experts” will take place during the eleven days of the Festival covering broad, timely, and thought-provoking topics.

 

• Learn more: read the UNAFF Mission here.​​

UNAFF 2020 Schedule

About The Films

Click on the film title to learn more about the film.

Tickets 

Note from the 2020 SF Greek Film Festival:

• The 2020 San Francisco Greek Film Festival (SFGFF) will take place October 3-10, with a Festival highlight of an in-person drive-in screening of Topkapi, the wonderful caper film that created the "light heist flick" genre that is copied to this day. Celebrating the Year of Melina Mercouri - Μελίνα Μερκούρη, Topkapi will show on October 4, 2020, at Par 3 at Poplar Creek in San Mateo, with tickets (tickets are $0)*

​

• With the exception of the drive-in event, all other screenings will be online and available free of charge. ​In this time of need, the SFGFF gives back to the community that has supported it for the past 17 years, with this year’s free, virtual Festival. Tickets and details for the online screenings are online at grfilm.com and the virtual platform sfgff2020.eventive.org. ​

 

• “During this difficult time in our world, our team felt strongly it was important to continue to celebrate the Greek and Cypriot films produced this year,” says SFGFF Director Maria Nicolacakis. “We may not be able to come together in person at the film festival, but we will bring the films to your homes.The week-long online streaming of the films, which is a first for us, will be provided free of charge as an expression of gratitude to our community that has supported us for the past 17 years.  We hope that this along with the drive-in experience, another first, will be enjoyed by all.”​

​* The Greek Culture Ministry has declared 2020 the “Year of Melina Mercouri” in commemoration of what would have been the 100th birthday of the internationally-acclaimed actress politician and culture champion. The SFGFF presents this event in honor of Melina Mercouri.

Note: the drive-in event is a ticketed event with food options for purchase.

Happy New Year greetings from the Jewish Film Institute in this unprecedented time when family, friends, and community are very much needed for a sweet and special new year. Here are two highly recommended films for low cost rental or live streaming.

• Regina, documentary filmmaker Diana Groo reconstructs the life of the world’s first female rabbi.
• Rabbi Wolff: A Gentleman Before God, a documentary about Rabbi Willy Wolff, now in his late 80s, who leads two small communities in Germany, Schwerin and Rostock, commuting back and forth from his home in England. 

​​Both films available to rent online and live streaming: Vimeo (Regina) and Amazon, Prime (Rabbi Wolff) 

AUDIENCES ACROSS THE COUNTRY URGED TO GET INTO GOOD TROUBLE

  NATIONWIDE WATCH OF DOCUMENTARY ABOUT JOHN LEWIS, PLUS VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH NATIONAL CIVIC LEADERS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Luther Burbank Center for the Arts invites its patrons to join in a nationwide watch, in collaboration with over 60 of the nation’s arts and cultural institutions, of the riveting new documentary, John Lewis: Good Trouble, which looks at the impact of Lewis’s life and work. Luther Burbank Center for the Arts audiences will be able to rent the film directly from Magnolia Pictures, then take part in a live virtual conversation about John Lewis’s remarkable legacy.The free virtual conversation takes place at 4 p.m.on Monday, September 21 on Zoom.

• Registration is available here.

The online conversation and coordinated effort among the country’s performing arts centers is produced by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) of Newark, NJ. This event is part of NJPAC’s ongoing initiatives designed to offer both a greater understanding of current racial disparities and a forum for learning about the actions all citizens can take to advance the cause of equality.

• Rent the documentary film, here

Feature Films in the 2020 San Francisco Greek Film Festival [partial list]

• The films are online and can be viewed anywhere, details coming soon​

Entwined - Greece, 2019, 88min, Directed by Minos Nikolakakis
City doctor Panos relocates to a remote village in order to offer his services to the community. It’s love at first sight when he sets eyes on Danae, who lives in isolation, with a mysterious skin condition. Determined to cure her, Panos will soon discover Danae is not the helpless princess he thought she was and time is of the essence for both of them.
*Toronto International Film Festival: World Premiere

My Name is Eftihia - Greece, 2019, 122min, Directed by Angelos Frantzis
Inspired by the life of the most prolific Greek female poet and lyricist, Eftihia Papagianopoulou, an extraordinary woman and artist who has created a massive volume of timeless and popular songs. 
She got married when she was too young and she quickly became a mother of two little girls. She travelled from Smyrna to Greece, with only one little pillow clutched between her arms. 
On board the ship that took her away from her home for ever, she decided she would never let life pass her by. She vowed to live on her own terms. Her name means Happiness but destiny made sure she knew very little of it. She challenged death every day of her life, hoping to ward off its cold, ruthless grip.
*Hellenic Academy Award Winner for Best Feature Film, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Make-Up

• Trailer for, My Name is Eftihia

Siege on Liperti Street - Greece, Cyprus, 2019, 88min, Directed by Stavros Pamballis
Austerity took everything but the roof over their heads, and today it will come for that too. But this time, they will finally fight back, like a family with nothing left to lose… Set beside the UN Buffer Zone that divides the city of Nicosia, SIEGE ON LIPERTI STREET tells the story of one bankrupt family's struggle to hold on to their home, no matter the price.
* Thessaloniki International Film Festival: Winner of the FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Award, Greek Federation of Film Critics Award, Audience Award (Greek Section) and ERT (National Broadcaster) award.

When Tomatoes Met Wagner - Greece, 2019, 72min, Directed by Marianna Economou
Do tomatoes taste better when they listen to the music of Richard Wagner? 
Elias, a small farming village in central Greece, is dying out. But two cousins team up with the village grannies to cultivate tomatoes. With a little help from Wagner’s music, the villagers export their little jars with organic tomato recipes across the world. The film follows the protagonists of this unlikely story, as they struggle to make their dream come true. Humorous and bittersweet, this surreal story speaks to us about the importance of reinventing oneself in times of crisis and the power of human relationships. 
*Berlinale: World Premiere
*Hellenic Film Academy Award for Best Documentary 

Window to the Sea - Spain, Greece, 2019, 105min, Directed by Miguel Ángel Jiménez 
Faced with life changing news, Maria, a fifty-five year old Spanish woman from Bilbao, chooses to take a trip to Greece with her closest girlfriends against the advice of her son and doctors. A spontaneous decision leads her to the island of Nisyros, a tiny haven of peace and calm that immediately feels like home. While exploring the beautiful island and soaking in its hidden treasures, she meets Stefanos and finds herself falling in love against all odds. What seemed like a brief escape from reality soon turns into an unexpected chance at happiness, in a luminous story of a woman, who takes a leap of faith and dares to live for the moment on her own terms.
*San Sebastian International Film Festival: World Premiere

Short Films in 2020 San Francisco Greek Film Festival [partial list]

A Jar of Nuts - Cyprus, 2019, 17min, Directed by Savvas Stavrou
Isolated in his apartment, the lonely forty-year old Giorgos meticulously devises an intricate plan to take his life after his beloved mother chokes to death on a pistachio. 
As the day progresses, Giorgos allows excuses, obstacles and people to hinder his final deadly leap from the balcony, completely oblivious to the true reason behind all his stalling.
*Tirana Film Festival: Best Balkan Film Award

Electric Swan - Argentina, France, Greece, 2019, 40min, Directed by Konstantina Kotzamani
Buildings are not supposed to move. But on Avenida Libertador 2050 , a building moves and the ceiling shivers, causing a strange nausea that devours its residents. Those who live on the top are afraid they'll fall - the ones who live beneath are afraid they'll drown.
*La Biennale di Venezia: World Premiere
*Hellenic Film Academy Award for Best Short Film

In the Room - Greece, 2019, 14min, Directed by Yeorgia M. Sotirchou
When God is absent, someone has to take his place. In a modern day urban environment, three characters come together: an old ill man, the young woman who looks after him and his unemployed middle-aged daughter, all face the fine line that separates ethics and freewill.
*Drama International Short Film Festival: World Premiere

Last Stop - Cyprus, 2019, 6min, Directed by Christos Zeniou
Trying to find his way back to where he belongs, the stimulus for the outside world is a bus stop.

Rouge - Greece, 2019, 18min, Directed by Kostis Theodosopoulos
A sexist violent incident fires tension in Danai's friendship with Ilona and Toufa. Torn between theory and practice, the three friends realize that patriarchy won't die with bottles (only), and they now have marks to prove it. 
*Drama International Short Film Festival: National Premiere; Best Newcomer Director, Best Screenplay, Best Make-Up
*International Film Festival Rotterdam: International Premiere

The Distance Between Us and the Sky - Greece, France, 2019, 9min, Directed by Vasilis Kekatos
Night, national road. Two strangers meet for the first time at an old gas station. One has stopped to gas up his bike, while the other is just stranded. Lacking the 22.50€ he needs to get home, he will try to sell him the distance that separates them from the sky.
*Cannes: World Premiere; Short Film Palme d’Or and Short Film Queer Palm

The Dude - Greece, 2019, 17min, Directed by Alexandros Kakaniaris
Stratis, a 12 year old boy, is the greatest dude in his 'hood. He is such a great dude, that everybody calls him The Dude. Almost everybody, that is. All he has to do is prove himself. To those who don't believe him. Almost everybody, that is.
*Drama International Short Film Festival: World Premiere

As additional SFGFF programming and details are confirmed, they will be announced on the organization’s website, and Facebook page.

The 17th Annual San Francisco Greek Film Festival (SFGFF) announces its 2020 event, taking place October 3-10 online with one in-person drive-in event, and all virtual screenings available free of charge.

Last year’s exciting, successful San Francisco Greek Film Festival was highlighted by a screening at the Castro Theatre for the first time, for the opening night program including Olympia, the documentary feature on Olympia Dukakis that is now in virtual cinemas.

In preparing for this year's SFGFF, festival organizers maintain the spirit that “the show must go on,” and are thrilled to present this year’s 17th annual San Francisco Greek Film Festival.

A.C.T. introduces its new all-digital Anywhere Pass, More popular Outdoor Dining Streets closed to traffic, and Happy 147th Birthday Cable Car! + more.

• A.C.T. introduces its new all-digital Anywhere Pass:  With the Anywhere Pass, you gain access to all of A.C.T.’s InterACT at Home performances and events, such as In Love and Warcraft, A Christmas Carol On Air, and more. Don't leave the house! Enjoy virtual theater from the comfort of your home through June 2021 for just $165. purchase pass here.

• Hayes Valley and Castro: SF's new Outdoor Dining Streets, the newest closed "shared spaces" are 18th and Castro plus Hayes and Octavia Streets, newly closed to traffic and dedicated for outdoor dining on Sundays.
  

• Happy 147th Birthday SF Cable Car! The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to become the template for other cable car transit systems. San Francisco’s cable cars are one of two National Historic Streetcar Landmarks in operation (New Orleans’ St. Charles streetcar line is the other), and both the continued operation and minimum level of service of our cable cars are locked into San Francisco’s City Charter.

1. Read more about Cable Car History at SFMTA
2. Take a 360° Virtual Reality Ride with Tony Cece

• SF Library launches new "Curbside Pickup" service in Castro/Marina/Mission Bay: 

SFPL To Go is Front Door Pick-up Service that safely delivers requested library materials to patrons at select library locations. It’s San Francisco Public Library’s version of “curbside pickup” providing a contact-free front door type service where patrons can queue up outside their buildings to pick up their requested books at the library entrance.

Check Which Libraries are Participating and How it Works here. and here for new expanded services.