• DJ Shindog presents both the best known, and rare tracks, from Bowie & Elvis, with special sets curated by DJs Cammy, Andy T, and Moonshine, and from the Bash co-creator Spig.

• Watch video performances of their songs, and visuals chronicling their careers and lives. From Modern Love to a hunka hunka Burning Love, from Flaming Star to Ziggy Stardust, from Good Rockin’ Tonight to Rock ‘n Roll Suicide, the Bowie & Elvis Birthday Bash has it all, this year available to a global audience!

NEW! While you listen to the show on Twitch, you and other friends and fans can join a room on zoom - turn your camera on if you like to dance and see each other. Best results are if all are muted and listening to the music on Twitch.

Single click to join here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82970913980?pwd=czZWdUU1UE9ZRkJOcEFWa0MzNG9aZz09


Register (not required): https://elvisbowiebash2021.eventbrite.com
Details and background at: https://www.elvisbowiebash.com

Self-Imposed Lockdown Starting Sunday Dec 6 at 10pm (unless otherwise noted)

• San Francisco
• Marin County – Noon Tuesday, December 8.
• Alameda County
• City of Berkeley – 12:01am Monday, December 7
• Contra Costa County
• Santa Clara County

Not Yet – Waiting for State mandate (expected Mid-December)
As of December 3, 2020 the Bay Area has an ICU capacity of 25.3% – Check for updates. If 15% is reached, then the region has 24 hours to institute lockdown

• San Mateo County
• Sonoma County
• Napa County
• Solano County
• Santa Cruz County
• Monterey County

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