OPENING NIGHT

Thursday, SEPTEMBER 10
7:00–9:00 pm

Bernal Library
500 Cortland Avenue

Master of Ceremonies: Ian Williams
Teacher, stand-up comic and neighbor.

7:00–7:45 pm Party & Music
José Najera and the Bernal Beat

THE authentic, neo-classic, post-modern, original San Francisco Mission District Latin Funk Band with José Najera on congas and sax; Eloy Najera on keyboard and Gail Muldruw, guitar and vocals. The Bernal Beat sound is born of Mission neighborhood block parties, with flavors steeped in the musical melting pot of the Bay Area.

7:45–8:15 pm Awards Presentation
“Best of Bernal” and “Spirit of Bernal” awards

8:15–9:00 pm Films

MISS FINKNAGLE SUCCUMBS TO CHAOS
Amy Harrison Narrative/Mystery 9 min
A high school librarian goes missing and four students try to piece together the mystery. In doing so, they realize that sometimes reinventing yourself can be as easy as flipping a coin.

EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW
Dan Goldes Documentary 3 min
Shot and edited June 26, 2015, following the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on marriage equality. The documentary combines President Barack Obama’s speech about the ruling with video of the reaction in San Francisco. Video was shot on a cell phone, uploaded to Dropbox, edited in iMovie, and combined with licensed music within hours of the ruling.

NOT JUST A TREE
Reyna Colt-Lacayo, Marwaun Brooks, Mauricio Romero, and Walden Smith Documentary 6 min
Friends of The Urban Forest (FUF) is a non profit based in San Francisco. FUF teaches teenagers how to plant and maintain trees in urban settings through their “Green Teens” program. They focus on spreading awareness about the environmental issues through hands on training. (BAVC -The Factory)

EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK
Victoire Bouquet Drama 6 min
Everything happens for a reason. Laure wakes up and a beautiful sunny day is waiting for her until everything goes wrong.

 

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FILM CRAWL ON CORTLAND

Friday, SEPTEMBER 11
7:00–10:00 pm

Bennington to Anderson Streets

Simultaneous film screenings at six locations on the avenue

PROGRESSIVE GROUNDS
400 Cortland Avenue

7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films

Co-presented with
Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) — The Factory

FILMS
DREAM
Julia Retzlaff and Marielle Boland Music Video 4 min
Day-Day raps about coming to terms with her demons and addiction.

GREEN/GRAY
Mauricio Romero and Walden Smith Documentary 7 min
The wastewater division of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission prepares to change a decades old sewage system in San Francisco to better prepare the city for the future and present climate changes. Part of the Summer 2015 Community Filmmaking Partnership.

FENCED IN
Lily Yu Documentary 3 min
A look at the environmental health concerns for people in West Oakland, who are fenced in on all sides by freeways.

FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
Gema Ceron, Isabela Reid, Julia Retzlaff and Nicole Rivera
Documentary 4:30 min
At the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, a once stable workforce is now in trouble when a large portion of its workers begins to retire.

WANNA KNOW
Elizabeth Hewlett and Walden Smith Experimental 3 min
An abstract representation of the tug of war between the bright and dark sides of a young girl’s mind as she roams through a beautiful yet haunting forest.

IT’S CLEAN, IT’S GREEN
Miguel Gomez, Esteban Noyola, and Jose Mendoza Documentary 7 min
A short documentary about San Francisco energy companies’ work to develop more clean energy for a sustainable future, while a Bay Area activist group protests the oil refineries that still dominate the energy industry.

MEANWHILE AT THE FARM Documentary 2:30 min
A brief look into how the drought effects a ranch in the Sierra Valley.

 

LOST LETTERS
Julia Retzlaff Music Video 4 min
An experimental music video about family and loss.

GARDEN FOR THE FUTURE
Marielle Boland, Reyna Colt-Lacayo, Sylvia Colt-Lacayo, and Lily Yu
Documentary 6 min
Despite California’s severe drought, a group of San Franciscans are working to garden using easy, yet water-conscious habits.

STOP.
Julia Retzlaff Narrative 5:30 min
Dramatization of the common experience of harrassment that young women and girls frequently face in the streets.

 

BERNAL STAR
410 CortlandAvenue

8:00 and 9:00 pm Films (NOTE: no screening at 7 pm)

DEJA VUE
Olive Costello Dance 3 min
Two women’s experiences are mirrored in movement. A study on “Momentum Structural” buildup and breakdowns and playing with the mind by what the eye sees.

ECO CENTER AT HERON’S HEAD PARK
Jane Huff, Rachel Lin, Isabela Reid Documentary 6 min
The EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park is about a small community on the coast of San Francisco that aims at teaching urban peoples about environmental awareness and sustainable systems. (BAVC -The Factory)

AS SEEN ON TV
Joe Sikoryak Narrative 10 min
Sometimes the treasure you seek is nothing compared to the treasure you find. Danny is a lonely, middle-aged toy collector, deeply unsatisfied with his life. A childhood memory triggers a search for a long-lost favorite toy, which he believes will bring him happiness.

PRESSURE
Ilena Ferrer and Michelle Prevost Sci-Fi/Animation 26 min
In an alternate future, a steam-powered San Francisco is controlled by corporate overlords enforcing strict compliance of its citizens. A father and daughter are torn apart as they take different paths against the oppression, but under mounting pressure of discovery, must work together to plan escape in their illegal airship.

 

KINGMOND YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHY
416 Cortland Avenue

7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films

Co-presented with

Cine+Mas, San Francisco Latino Film Festival

FILMS
CHANGE
Xavier Andre Galindo and Don Allen Stevenson III
Narrative 5 min
A San Francisco native struggles not to become a victim of gentrification and humanize his community of the Tenderloin. He walks through his neighborhood confronted by gentrification as he encounters a Techie that rubs him the wrong way. (Invited to Cannes Film Festival)

RESILIENCE UNDOCUMENTED
Kayla Mulholland Documentary 15 min
The focus is on Latino immigrant day laborers’ lived experience and the effects of poverty and discrimination on their well-being. The social, structural and environmental factors associated with the hardships of being undocumented are considered through a historical and political lens. Through the lives of the few men speaking we begin to see how the story of a few can tell a story of the many who struggle to find work in the US and take care of their families back home in a system where all odds are against them.

MY LIFE IN DANCE
Amir Jaffer Documentary 13 min
At ninety Miguel Santos continues to share his love of Flamenco on stage and in workshops in San Francisco. He joined Theatre Flamenco in 1968, which is one of the oldest running Dance company in the United States. In this short biopic, Miguel traces his artistic journey and shares events of his life that took him across the United States and to Spain, where he learned from the legends of Flamenco like Jose Greco and Antonia Morales. He lives with his partner of 55 years, and continues teaching Flamenco, and promises to dance until he can’t anymore.

 

BERNAL BRANCH LIBRARY
500 Cortland Avenue

7:00 and 8:00pm Films (NOTE: no screening at 9 pm)

Q&A with the filmmakers follows the screenings of these two works in progress. Both films will be shown at each screening.

INVIDENTE (Sightless)
Jose Garrotte Documentary (work in progress) 10 min
An intensely personal and vibrant story about a blind person and his determination to reach his goal as a writer and never surrender to the darkness he faces.

5 BLOCKS
Dan Goldes and Robert Cortlandt Documentary (work-in-progress) 9 min
Once known as “The Great White Way of San Francisco” Market Street has, over the last 40 years, become a blighted no-man’s land. Now, a grass-roots coalition, using the arts and technology, is attempting to bring economic development to the area while lifting up the poor and marginalized who already live and work there — given the stakes, the risk of failure is huge.

 

BERNAL HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER
515 Cortland Avenue

7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films

7:00 & 8:00 pm Films

HOMELESSNESS, A SPIRALING EPIDEMIC
John Bui Documentary 7 min
Putting a face on homelessness.

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
Amir Jaffer Documentary 14 min
The artistic journey of photographer extraordinaire Philip Rossetti. After selling his cameras in the late seventies and giving up on decades of film photography, he purchased a digital camera at the age of 62. His creative spirit reawakened, Rossetti stalks the grungy back alleys and wrong sides of the tracks to find striking images, reflecting his mantra: art is where one finds it. (Some strong language)

POINT OF PRIDE: THE PEOPLE’S VIEW OF
BAYVIEW HUNTERS POINT
Dimitri Moore Documentary 26 min
Combining archival footage from the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s with present-day viewpoints and reactions this video creates a compelling portrait of a community marked by struggle and fueled by hope. “Point of Pride” is the culmination of a year long grant, Remembering and Restoring the Multimedia History of Bayview Hunters Point. Community partners included the San Francisco Public Library, BAVC and San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive at San Francisco State University.

9:00 pm Films

ONE HORSE AT A TIME…
Ivan Moore Documentary 4 min
The link between horses and humans is timeless. Through the “veterans horse day: at the Presidio Riding Club, veterans are discovering the gentle healing power of equine therapy for man and beast.

FLASH MOB
Kendra Gilpatrick Doc/Dance Video 12 min
The making of a Flashmob

 

HOME IS A HOTEL
Rowan Brooks Documentary 11 min
Huan Di and her daughter Jessica live in an 8ft x 10ft room with no kitchen or bathroom. Recent immigrants from China, they navigate a new language and culture while living in a Chinatown SRO Hotel.

I HATE THE COLOR RED
Jazmin Jamias Narrative-Comedy 19 min
A comedy about a sister and a brother who inherit a video store but because of “redboxes” and “red envelopes” they realize that their store will soon become obsolete. They both deal with the demise of the store in their own unique way.

 

INCLUSIONS GALLERY
627 Cortland Avenue

7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films

7:00 & 8:00 pm Films

A HARMONIOUS CACOPHONY
Isabela Reid and Marielle Boland Documentary 6 min
A short documentary featuring Isaiah Zagar, a Philadelphia-based artist, as he teaches San Luís Potosí locals the art of mosaic. Locals learn each step in creating a mural that will enhance the city and park. The mosaic process is compared to the mosaic itself: a bit messy, but beautiful nonetheless — a harmonious cacophony. (BAVC -The Factory)

GRANDMAMA TLZEDECZKANU COMES TO AMERICA
Tony Jonick Mocumentary 8min
Before she passed away, my Great-Grandmama recorded a cassette tape of a story she said must be told. It is tales of her childhood, and her journey from Shemshask to America. I found the tape in my Mother’s garage, and using photos from our family archives assembled it into this movie. Some of the photos are from current family, but others are original. People who know my clan might notice some family resemblances.

KIRK
Ashley James Documentary 30 min
Art in motion is celebrated in this film portrait of the renowned SF Bay Area kinetic sculptor, Jerome Kirk.

9:00 pm Films ***ADULTS, ONLY***

HOUND
Noah Gavrich Animation 2 min
A day, a dog, a dream.

 

A PERIOD DRAMA
Kristine Gerolaga Narrative-Comedy 19 min
A comedic short about the rough relationship between a woman and her personified menstrual cycle. Shot in the San Francisco Bay Area and featuring many actors from the Beverly Hills Playhouse – San Francisco.

HEKLINA
Brian Favorite Documentary 15 min
Profiles Heklina, the founder and hostess of “Trannyshack,”currently San Francisco’s longest-running drag show. Performing since1996, she appears in local theater (including parodies of the popular television shows: Sex in the City, Golden Girls, and Roseanne). She also produces and hosts Daytime Realness and gay pride activities. From her early days growing up in Iceland, a discharge from the Navy, overcoming drugs and alcohol, Heklina has emerged as one of the premiere performers in the alternative drag scene in San Francisco and beyond. Heklina takes you into the world of alternative drag through the perspective of one of its key players.

TIME QUEST
John Dilley Sci-Fi 7 min
A man named Benjamin travels back in time with a very particular goal in mind. (Winner Golden Gate Award, 2015 SFIFF)

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UNDER THE STARS

Saturday, SEPTEMBER 12
6:30–10:00 pm

PRECITA PARK
Precita Avenue at Folsom Street

Master of Ceremonies: Ian Williams
Teacher, stand-up comic and neighbor

6:30–7:30 pm Music
Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco

Music Director, John Calloway, Managing Director, Arturo Riera,
Co-Director, Sylvia Ramirez
The Latin Jazz Youth Ensemble of San Francisco, or LJYE, is a performing group of talented musicians ages 10 to 18. They play Latin jazz classics and original compositions at a level that has landed them gigs at the San Jose Jazz Festival, the KCSM Jazz Festival, KGO Radio, Yerba Buena Gardens, SF Museum of Modern Art, Paramount’s Great America and the world-renowned jazz club, Yoshi’s. Their mission is to preserve the traditions of Latin jazz and Afro-Cuban music by teaching it to youth and to create role models for aspiring student musicians. The group has won numerous performance awards and is honored to be Youth Artists-in-Residence at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens Festival since 2005.

7:45 pm Films (GENERAL AUDIENCE)

CHICKEN LITTLE
Mark West and Barbara Bayne, AnimaCrackers Animated Nursery Rhyme
5 min
This modern re-telling of the classic tale shows how gullible young poultry can be easily tricked by crafty foxes into believing nonsensical rumors, then brainlessly spreading them about. A good lesson: Consider the source. Oh, and use your head.

DREAM
Julia Retzlaff and Marielle Boland Music Video 4 min
Day-Day raps about coming to terms with her demons and addiction.

WILDERNESS ACT, 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Mark Decena and Sara Cortese Documentary 8 min
The story behind this historic piece of legislation and its lasting importance today. Created with the idea that everyone should be able to experience the beauty of the American wilderness, the act continues to touch lives throughout the country, proving their priceless value not only to nature, but human nature. (Kontent Films)

TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE
Chihiro Wimbush Documentary 8 min
The story of the empowerment of a Dalit, Untouchable, community in Tamil Nadu, India. Long shunned inside India’s rigid caste system and denied basic human rights and amenities, the new generation of Dalits are taking matters in their own hands and creating a community where clean water, food, education, sanitation and health are accessible to all.

VELO VISIONARIES: CHRIS CARLSSON
Kristin Tieche Documentary 6 min
Meet Chris Carlsson, one of the co-founders of San Francisco’s Critical Mass and of Shaping San Francisco, a participatory community history project documenting and archiving overlooked stories and memories of San Francisco.

OUR “SHAKE IT OFF” REMAKE
Ashley Saks and The Arc Music Video 5 min
This video was made by students from AccessSFUSD: The Arc’s Dance Video Class. This group involves a collaboration between Transition students and clients of The Arc San Francisco. We are so excited to share out latest Dance Video Project with you!

INTERMISSION

8:45 pm Films (YOUTH AND ADULTS)

REALITY TAKES PLACE
Ana Arcioni Animation- Narrative 5 min
Blue receives a phone call and learns his friend Burgundy was in an accident. That leads Blue to remember all the precious moments they’ve spent together. This simple-drawn animation makes us think about the different perspectives we can adopt in apparently the same situations.

SYNESTHESIA
Ramsey Abouremeleh Experimental 5 min
A mesmerizing blend of light, sound and images draw the viewer in. One’s interpretation of what one sees is entirley personal.

AND YEAH…THIS IS A LOVE POEM
Zoe Salnave Poem 6 min
A short film created in Oakland, California — the birthplace of the #BlackLivesMatter — in honor of Nikki Giovanni’s “And Yeah… This Is A Love Poem.” Written in 1995, Giovanni’s poem takes on new engagement in this film through the voices of three young women of color as they embody the words of the poem and breathe new life into the meaning.

FATHER AND SON ARTISTS
Jeanne Marie Hallacy Documentary 9 min
The story of Ronnie Goodman, Junior and Senior, a father and son who shared an artistic vision; the tragedy of losing Ronnie Goodman, Jr at age 20, and what this meant for Ronnie Goodman, Sr, and the community.

BLOCKADE THE BOMB TRAINS!
Peter Menchini Documentary/Actuality 6 min
Bakken crude oil is and highly explosive — a simple derailment caused an explosion that killed 47 people in Quebec. Trains full of the fracked oil run up and down the western edge of the East Bay, putting numerous families at risk. So activists decided to break into the Kinder Morgan rail yard in Richmond, CA.

HOTEL 22
Elizabeth Lo Documentary 8 min
Hotel 22 takes place over one dramatic night on a bus in Silicon Valley. Line 22 is the only 24-hour bus route in Palo Alto. During the day, it is a regular city bus. But by night, it transforms into an unofficial shelter for the homeless.

Time and Again
David Turner Narrative 18 min
It’s about love. And death. And an angel. And the mysteries of the afterlife. But mostly it’s about love.TIME AND AGAIN is a short film that will leave you asking: is one lifetime really enough?

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BEST OF BERNAL

Tuesday, OCTOBER 27
7:00–9:30 pm

MISSION CULTURAL CENTER FOR LATINO ARTS
2868 Mission Street

7:00 to 9:30 pm

Master of Ceremonies: Ian Williams
Teacher, stand-up comic and neighbor

7:00 pm FILMS and Q&A with the Filmmakers

Encore presentation of the three award-winning films of the 2015 season, the Best of Bernal, Spirit of Bernal and Good Life Audience Awards. Join with filmmakers and fellow film lovers in a Q&A and reception following the screening.

Best of Bernal Award

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED by Amir Jaffer 12 mins

Amir Jaffer began exploring the world of filmmaking with his father’s video camera at the age of thirteen. He realized his childhood dream when he began working as an independent producer, cinematographer and editor in San Francisco in 2005. Influenced by filmmakers Rainer Ferner Fasbinder, Pedro Almodovar and Deepa Mehta, Amir focused on social issues that intrigued him and which ranged from gender identity to domestic violence to sexuality. After watching Orson Welles’ classic CITIZEN KANE, Amir was inspired to play with images using camera angles, lighting techniques and shadows. Amir’s artistic vision continues to evolve, as he incorporates the aesthetics of the mainstream and merges it with elements of New Wave Cinema.

The artistic journey of photographer extraordinaire Philip Rossetti is documented in this beautiful film that exemplifies Rossetti’s mantra, “art is where one finds it.” ALL THINGS CONSIDERED offers a slice of Rossetti’s talent, his humor and his passion as he stalks the grungy back alleys and wrong sides of the track to find striking images of things abandoned and decayed. Rossetti lingers in the back corners of trashy dollar stores and dingy Chinese markets to capture consumerist scenes abounding with cheap plastics and stinking fish — diurnal images made stunning through his lens.

Spirit of Bernal Award

TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE by Chihiro Wimbush
and Meena Srinivasan 8 mins

Chihiro Wimbush is an Oakland-based Filmmaker, most recently he edited the documentary Changing Seasonabout the Masumoto peach farming family. Meena Srinivasan is a thought leader in the field of Social Emotional Learning. Her first book, Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom, was recently featured on Edutopia. Bringing together their passion for education, media, mindfulness and social justice, Meena and Chihiro started A Lens Inside in 2013, a non-profit program that develops multimedia and films to create curriculum and educational programs promoting social emotional learning, peace, and understanding through the exploration of social issues. Learn more at alensinside.org

TOUCHING THE UNTOUCHABLE is the story of the empowerment of a Dalit, Untouchable, community in Tamil Nadu, India. Long shunned inside India’s rigid caste system and denied basic human rights and amenities, the new generation of Dalits are taking matters in their own hands and creating a community where clean water, food, education, sanitation and health are accessible to all. Their leader, Dalit activist Gauthama Prabhu, reaches out to a kindred soul: Venerable Pannavati, an African-American Buddhist who understands the plight of the disenfranchised. Together, they work to empower and uplift the Untouchables.

Good Life Audience Award

I HATE THE COLOR RED by Jazmin Jamias 19 mins

Jazmin Jamias recently graduated from SFSU with a degree in Cinema with an emphasis in fictional filmmaking. Her short documentary THE ALTERED LIVES OF LAVONNE SALLEE won the Good Life Audience Award in 2013. She is currently writing her next short film which is about a female ticket scalper.

 

 

A comedy about a sister and a brother who having inherited a video store from their parents, struggle to keep it a viable business. However thanks to “red boxes” and “red envelopes,” they realize that their store will soon become obsolete. How they reconcile themselves to this realization, or don’t, will leave you chuckling and charmed.

8:30 pm RECEPTION

Enjoy music by 6Roses as you mingle with filmmakers and film lovers in the upstairs Gallery.

6Roses Jazz Duo

6Roses — Michael Cavaseno (guitar, electronics) and David Boyce (tenor/soprano sax, electronics) play jazz, blues, tangos, son cubanos, RnB/Soul ballads, experimental audio horizons and pop songs with a conception that is firmly rooted in the past but exists in the now, looking forward to the future.