13th Annual Season
September 8 – 10 and 29, 2016
Four nights of free screenings and music,
showcasing the work of local filmmakers and musicians
in parks, playgrounds and smaller venues around
Bernal Heights, San Francisco
Opening credits reel produced by MisterWA
Magician: Jef Valentine
OPENING NIGHT
Thursday, SEPTEMBER 8
7:00–9:30 pm
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
2868 Mission Street
Master of Ceremonies: Ian Williams
Teacher, stand-up comic and neighbor.
7:00–8:00 pm Reception & Music
An electrifying trio, StringQuake pushes musical boundaries with dynamic arrangements and a unique electric harp, percussion and cello instrumentation. With roots in San Francisco and the East Bay, the trio has toured Mexico and performed extensively in the Bay Area, releasing their first album, “Take 15,” in 2013.
8:00–8:30 pm Awards Presentation
“Best of Bernal” and “Spirit of Bernal” awards
8:30 to 9:30 pm Films
JIMMY’S DREAM
Jason Joseffer Music Video 3:47
Jimmy’s Dream is a music video for a song of the same name on Seth Lael’s new album, Bird Strings. The video explores San Francisco’s harsh real estate and rental market.
STOP.
Julia Retzlaff Documentary 5:24
STOP. a view of street harassment as experienced by teenage females in the Bay Area. Made in collaboration with Hollaback!
THERE IS A PLACE
Tania Ku Documentary 17:00
THERE IS A PLACE follows musician Lior Tsarfaty as he shares his gift of music with Alzheimer’s care communities around the San Francisco Bay Area. As Lior passes out instruments and leads the circle of elders in singing and drumming, smiles quickly spread, as neither residents nor staff can help but join in with their own unique expressions of song and dance. Somehow, even in the face of memory loss, loneliness and the end of life, contributing to a collective sound and energy within a circle of fellow humans awakens presentness, playfulness and a sense of togetherness.
REMAINING ASHES
Ethan Bresnick Documentary 16:44
Remaining Ashes is a short documentary film about the stories of the 2010 San Bruno Pipeline Explosion. It includes interviews from resident Sue Bullis, who lost her family in the tragic event. State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, and a firefighter also appear in the 15-minute film that recounts when around 6 p.m. Sept. 9, 2010, a Pacific Gas and Electric natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured in a residential area in San Bruno, California. The film was created by Ethan Bresnick, a 15 year old filmmaker at the School of the Arts in San Francisco.
OLIVER’S OPERA
Dean Mermell Silent Film (Narrative) 7:13
Oliver W. Lowe, Esq. and his associates prepare to see the great tenor, Enrico Caruso, on the eve of disaster.
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FILM CRAWL ON CORTLAND
Friday, SEPTEMBER 9
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
SIFU
Walden Smith Documentary 5:55
Danny tells his story about how he found family and a home doing Kung Fu.
SENIOR YEAR
Kelly Lau Visual Essay 2:53
A montage of moments from a teenage girl’s senior year in high school
STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE
Janelle Kung and Walden Smith
Documentary 4:52
A look at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s process of bringing quality drinking water from the valleys of Hetch Hetchy to the homes of San Francisco’s residents, while also revealing the problems that arise from California’s drought. Done in Partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
THE SEATED SIREN
Sylvia ColtLacayo Narrative 5:35
A teenage girl struggles when she realizes society views her differently than she views herself because of her disability.
THE GAME
Janelle Kung Music Video 6:23
Fueled by obsession and jealousy, the animal people take children’s games too far by resorting to violence.
GROWING COMMUNITY
Kelly Lau and Sylvia ColtLacayo
Documentary 5:57
Green spaces in the urban environment are important for the physical and mental health of residents as well as for the health of the environment. College Hill Garden in Bernal Heights is working to help add more productive green spaces in San Francisco. Done in partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
FREE TO PEE
Judy Lee, Nicole Rivera, Diego Leong
Essay 2:07
Judy shares her views and experiences with nongender-specific bathrooms
CONCRETE CANVAS
Gema Ceron and Nicole Rivera
Documentary 5:21
Public art is integral to the empowerment of urban communities and is essential to democratic growth within communities. Concrete Canvas explores how urban agencies in San Francisco are facilitating the empowerment of communities through commissioned urban art projects. Done in Partnership with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
OUR JEWELS
Nicole Rivera Documentary 4:30
Sexuality and masturbation have been historically abused and desensitized by the male dominating view, but in this short documentary liberating diverse souls will step out of that perspective and share their personal experience.
MISSING PART OF ME
Elizabeth Hewlett Documentary 7:10
A personal documentary about a young woman discovering her Nicaraguan heritage.
BERNAL STAR
410 CortlandAvenue
8:00 and 9:00 pm Films (NOTE: no screening at 7 pm)
ODDBALL FILMS
Joshua Moore Documentary 5:00
Step inside the world of Oddball Films, the largest private film archive in Northern California and also the most unusual- focusing on the odd and the extraordinary.
N.A.P.N
Dan Dion Comedy 5:51
A young boy visits his grandparents in Northern California.
JOANI: QUEEN OF THE PARADIDDLE
Tina Gordon Documentary 31:00
In 1935, at eight years old, Joani Hannan picked up a pair of drumsticks and beat her path into entertainment history. Joani was a pioneering female jazz drummer who traveled the world with the USO and played alongside Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot.” Despite the challenges and constraints of the 50s and 60’s for women and queers, Joani transcended stereotypes exemplifying to all who she met the strength, self love and courage to be true to oneself no matter what. A trailblazer, Joani inspired everyone she met and in her own words recollects her life and adventures.
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
DIABLO
Paula Sozzi Saslow Narrative 21:00
Somewhere in Northern California, a construction worker finds a large sum of money while excavating a job site but when he learns that it is “blood money” from a drug lord, he decides to take justice into his own hands with unexpected consequences.
LIBERTAD
Brenda Avila-Hanna Documentary 10:00
The story of Alejandra Santiago, an indigenous transwoman from Oaxaca whose life journey transcends multiple borders. Edited by Claire Weissbluth
STAY
Andrés Gallegos Narrative 5:00
Driven to reconstitute his past, an aging man searches for his most precious memory.
BERNAL BRANCH LIBRARY
500 Cortland Avenue
7:00 and 8:00pm Films (NOTE: no screening at 9 pm)
Co-presented with
CHUM (HJÓNABANDSSÆLA)
Jörundur Ragnarsson (Iceland)
Narrative 15:00
Uggi and Kiddi are bachelors pushing seventy whose routine small-town life together resembles a marriage. Every day they do exercises, soak in the hot tub, then work side by side scaling fish. One mornng their friendship is thrown into peril. In Icelandic, with English subtitles.
THE PRESENCE PROJECT
Lisa Fierstein Documentary 5:00
A recent art school graduate working at a senior living community forms a special bond with residents suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, hearing their stories, and painting their portraits, honoring who they were and who they are now. Student filmmaker Lisa Fierstein will be present.
PREVIEW OF 6TH LEGACY FILM FESTIVAL ON AGING
Sheila Malkind, Exec. Director
Presentation of trailers, descriptions, and explanations of the upcoming film festival, September 16–18, 2016.
BERNAL HEIGHTS NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER
515 Cortland Avenue
7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films
WHAT A WOMAN’S SUPPOSE TO LOOK LIKE
Janelle Kung Documentary 1:08
A personal look at the stress felt about body image.
JOEL HUNT
Valerie Soe Documentary 10:00
A short portrait of Iraq War veteran and bicyclist and competitive skier Joel Hunt (Team USA, 2014 Sochi Paralympic Winter Games) , who suffers from traumatic brain injury stemming from injuries during his tour of duty in Iraq. The film outlines the ways in which Hunt’s TBI has impacted his life and how his athletic activities help him to cope with his injuries.
LOWRIDER LAWYERS: PUTTING A CITY ON TRIAL
Benjamin Bac Sierra Drama 33:40
In Lowrider Lawyers: Putting a City on Trial, the barrio community rises with creativity and amor for Alex Nieto. When the Homies discover that Alex, who had never even been arrested in his entire life, has been unjustly executed, they request that the heavy hitters handle the case. Caravanning with other fine rides, the Lowrider Lawyers lowride in a wine-colored 1966 Chevy Impala Convertible to the colonial courthouse, where indigenous danzantes drum out and stomp over evil spirits, and summon the truth into the justice system. A jury of peers, cholo homeboys and homegirls, listen intently to the evidence presented.
INCLUSIONS GALLERY
627 Cortland Avenue
7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 pm Films
7:00 & 8:00 pm Films
EarthBodyHOME
Eric Koziol Experimental 6:05
This triptych video is an homage to the art, life, and spirit of feminist artist Ana Mendieta. The work combines natural imagery photographed in Oaxaca Mexico and Santa Cruz California with performance by dancer Zoe Klein and textural animation, both 2D & 3D. This video was originally created as part of a gallery installation at ODC in San Francisco to accompany the live performance of EarthBodyHOME directed by Amara Tabor Smith.
MELANCHOLY PALACE OF FINE ARTS
Samati Boonchitsitsak Experimental 7:00
Rainy ambiance over Palace of Fine Arts creates gloomy and melancholy feeling, especially for the weeping maidens atop the colonnades who mourn for life without arts. This poetic experimental film commemorates 100 years of San Francisco’s Panama-Pacific International Exhibition of 1915.
CELLISTA
Brian Favorite Documentary fairy tale hybrid 6:04
The relationship between artist and audience is a precarious affair. This modern day fairy tale explores a cellist confronting her fear that the work she shares with her audience can never be quite…good…enough.
FIRE AND SPIRIT
Audrey Daniel Documentary 14:29
Through five sculptures we explore the artist, Jack Kamesar’s philosophy of life and art. Previously inspired by his memories of growing up in Israel and his deep connection to classical art, haunting, abstract figurative works were his primary focus. Then a river rafting trip down the Grand Canyon inspired him, at the age of 79, to create a new body of work — an interpretation of the walls of the Grand Canyon capturing “Frozen Time.” The innovative, experimental music of cellist Joan Jeanrenaud matches the visual impact of the film’s story.
LONG AGO AND FAR AWAY
Mark Brecke Narrative – Music 11:30
Taught to play the trumpet by his father who abandoned him, a man struggles with his resentment to allow a meeting between his father and his daughter. This struggle is wrapped up in a musical journey as he makes a decision to forgive.
9:00 pm Films ***ADULTS, ONLY***
GONE GREEN
Jacob Krummel Drama 5:10
A combat veteran struggles to cope with life after the military while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder by using copious amounts of medical marijuana.
SOFT TARGETS
Charlie Blecker, Ben Vu and Luca Foggini
Comedy, Thriller, Animation 8:35
When William Veidt, a renowned critique of death, gives a dead man a brutal review, he finds his own life suddenly exposed when the dead man comes back to life.
WHEN YOU AWAKE
Jay Rosenblatt Comedy 11:00
“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” –Sigmund Freud
An unscientific and comedic study of what happens when two people are hypnotized leading into an exhilarating journey into the unconscious mind (the repository for fears, desires, aggressions, dreams) where all the images, sounds and music are from found footage.
FREQUENCY
Geoffrey Haack Narrative/SciFi 12:00
A lone traveller enters an uncharted world in search of life.
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UNDER THE STARS
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 10
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
The Latin HEAT Jazz quintet performs dynamic music with soaring melodies and fiery Latin rhythms using authentic Latin percussion inspired by the exciting music from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Latin America and New York.
7:45 pm Films (GENERAL AUDIENCE)
KINDA BLUE
Anabella Mortenson Narrative Short 2:00
A young girl wants to go swimming but her mother is busy. Boredom sets in and imagination takes over as she takes matters into her own hands.
EARN THE DAY
Daniel Lichtenberg Documentary 6:00
In September of 2014, Bay Area non-profit Earn the Day took twenty kids from San Francisco’s Mission District surfing for the first time. This short documentary captures the adventure as it happens. Starring the Boys & Girls Club of Columbia Park club members
OUR “WATCH ME” REMAKE
Ashley Lauren Saks Music Video 5:00
OUR “WATCH ME” REMAKE was produced by Dance Video Students at AccessSFUSD:The Arc, taught by educators/artists Ashley Saks and Radka Pulliam. The team involved members of the community and shot in different locations around San Francisco. They were inspired by the super fun song “Watch Me” by the young talented artist Silentó and hope you enjoy their version of it!
CHIEF
Amir Jaffer Documentary 17:15
After immigrating to the U.S. in 1999, Sonja Ohldag was diagnosed with a Seizure Disorder. She relies on the help of Service dogs so she can live her life to the fullest. Unable to afford a service animal from an organization, she trains them herself. With her previous Service Dog retired, Sonja takes her chance with Chief: a Cairn Terrier mix that is not a stereotypical Service Dog.
“BEAT THE F.O.M.O.”
Sean M. Perl Comedy 4:00
A comparison between a girl who suffers from F.O.M.O.(Fear of Missing Out) and a girl who does not.
IT’S CLEAN, IT’S GREEN
Miguel Gomez, Esteban Noyola, and Jose Mendoza
Documentary 6:53
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.
BLOWFISH
Mark West & Barbara Bayne, AnimaCrackers
Animation 1:53
An irreverent homage to classic Japanese monster movies. Radioactive sludge. Innocent little sea creature. What could go wrong? See our animated storybooks in the iTunes book store, and visit the AnimaCrackers Channel on YouTube.
INTERMISSION
8:45 pm Films (YOUTH AND ADULTS)
ABLEISM
Sylvia Colt-Lacayo, Gema Ceron and Kideok Kwon
Documentary 1:33
Sylvia shares her personal experience of ableism.
STATE OF DROUGHT
Reid Davenport Documentary 3:00
With no end in sight for the already historic drought gripping California, a water witch uses his tools to locate underground relief for some of the state’s desperate farmers.
LOST LETTERS
Julia Retzlaff Music Video 3:57
An experimental music video about family and loss.
SHOW MORE STORIES
Reyna Colt-Lacayo Documentary 2:00
A personal look at Asian representation in the media.
VELO VISIONARIES – MORGAN FITZGIBBONS
Kristin Tieche Documentary 7:45
Velo Visionaries presents a series of interviews with great thinkers of today’s global bicycle culture from the point of view of the person behind the handlebars. In Episode 2 of Velo Visionaries, we talk/ride with Morgan Fitzgibbons, the co-founder the Wigg Party, [freespace], the Urban Eating League and the NOW! Festival. He is also an adjunct professor of Environmental Studies at the University of San Francisco and he holds a Masters degree in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies.
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Tan Wei Keong Experimental Animation 6:00
Two men and their olive tree.
PRICELESS
Laura J. Lukitsch Documentary 7:00
Wendell (aka #FunGuyFinds) is a self-proclaimed bike scavenger who sells t-shirts for a living. His business is more than an economic imperative caused by a recent job loss, it is a philosophy that reflects our unstable economic and environmental times.
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BEST OF BERNAL NIGHT
Thursday, September 29
7:00 to 9:00 pm
Bernal Branch Library
500 Cortland Avenue
7:00 to 9:00 pm
Master of Ceremonies: Caroline Blair
Professor of Film, CCSF and neighbor
7:00–8:00 pm Films & Awards (See below)
Encore screening of the three award-winning films
Best of Bernal, Spirit of Bernal & Audience awards. Join with filmmakers and fellow film lovers in a Q&A and reception following the screening.
8:00–9:00 pm Reception & Music
Sandy Cressman/Homenagem Brasileira
Sandy Cressman lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, but her heart is in Rio. Homenagem Brasileira is a musical journey through the rich world of Brazilian jazz. Sandy Cressman pays tribute to the great composers Ivan Lins, Dori Caymmi, Tom Jobim, Vinicius De Moraes, Djavan, Filó, Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, and others.
FILMS
Best of Bernal Award
JOANI: QUEEN OF THE PARADIDDLE
Tina Gordon Documentary 31:00
In 1935, at eight years old, Joani Hannan picked up a pair of drumsticks and beat her path into entertainment history. Joani was a pioneering female jazz drummer who traveled the world with the USO and played alongside Marilyn Monroe in “Some Like It Hot.” Despite the challenges and constraints of the 50s and 60’s for women and queers, Joani transcended stereotypes exemplifying to all who she met the strength, self love and courage to be true to oneself no matter what. A trailblazer, Joani inspired everyone she met and in her own words recollects her life and adventures.
Tina Gordon, Writer, Director, Producer
This native San Franciscan and Mission District resident is a musician, artist and filmmaker. Projects include drummer the bands AC/DShe and Lost Goat and produce of The Rambler (a one-day mobile stage showcasing 40 bands/musicians around San Francisco.
Spirit of Bernal Award
THERE IS A PLACE
Tania Ku Documentary 17:00
THERE IS A PLACE follows musician Lior Tsarfaty as he shares his gift of music with Alzheimer’s care communities around the San Francisco Bay Area. As Lior passes out instruments and leads the circle of elders in singing and drumming, smiles quickly spread, as neither residents nor staff can help but join in with their own unique expressions of song and dance. Somehow, even in the face of memory loss, loneliness and the end of life, contributing to a collective sound and energy within a circle of fellow humans awakens presentness, playfulness and a sense of togetherness.
Tania Ku, Director
An artist and storyteller living in San Francisco, Tania is founder of Infinity Pictures, a production company whose mission is to craft experiences that challenge limiting beliefs and instill a sense of our interconnectedness and shared responsibility to create the world we want to live in together.
Good Life Audience Award
OLIVER’S OPERA
Dean Mermell Silent Film 7:13
Oliver W. Lowe, Esq. and his associates prepare to see the great tenor, Enrico Caruso, on the eve of disaster.
Dean Mermell, Writer, Director, Editor, Music
A Bernal Height’s resident and filmmaker for 20 years, Dean’s silent films have been screened and won awards at the San Francisco International, Mill Valley, California Independent and Moondance film festivals, among others. His current project is a documentary about the Sunset Piano project, Twelve Pianos.