San Francisco International Film Festival offers an eclectic selection

The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) will take place April 10-23, 2019. The longest running Film Festival in the United States, this is the 62nd edition of their annual celebration of films from all over the world.

SFFILM 2019 will showcase 163 works of various forms, from narrative features to documentaries, shorts to family-friendly animations, including 12 world premieres and 5 North American premieres. 52 countries are represented in 36 languages. Among SFFILM 2019 selections are 72 works directed or co-directed by women. This year’s Special Tribute will honor Laura Dern, Laura Linney, Claire Denis, and John C. Reilly.

The Special Interests Categories range from arts, design and architecture to social, legal, and environmental issues, to food, philosophy, crime, and science … just to name a few. Click Here to view their various Sections and Spotlights.

Here are two features I have previewed and highly recommend:

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders (Marquee Presentations)

Toni-Morrison-2
Toni Morrison, subject of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’s TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM, playing at the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 10-23, 2019. Courtesy of SFFILM.

An inspiring biopic piecing together a multi-faceted life brimming with fearless convictions. At 87, Toni Morrison’s voice is intimate, her words far-reaching. Photos and footages tell not just the life story of a writer but that of America. She writes for all, transcending racial barriers, impacting readers globally. Angela Davis, Hilton Als, Fran Lebowitz, Oprah Winfrey and others lend their voices to present a portrait of the Nobel laureate with a gentle, personal touch.

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Ramen Shop directed by Eric Khoo (Global Visions Program)

 

Ramen-Shop-Still 1
A scene from Eric Khoo’s RAMEN SHOP, playing at the 2019 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 10-23, 2019. Courtesy of SFFILM.

 

Acclaimed Singaporean director Eric Khoo’s latest feature is not your ordinary foodie flick. A young Japanese ramen chef goes on a root-searching journey to Singapore to find his mother’s family and seek reconciliation with his grandmother who has long estranged him. Painful WWII memory lodged indelibly in the older generation for Grandfather died in Japanese hands. A fusion of Japanese ramen and Singapore’s signature pork rib soup is the melting agent in Khoo’s moving concoction.

 

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Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am will be screened April 14th and 20th, Ramen Shop April 12th and 14th. For details of SFFILM 2019 programs, CLICK HERE .

Published by

Arti

If she’s not birding by the Pond, Arti’s likely watching a movie, reading, or writing a review. Creator of Ripple Effects, bylines in Asian American Press, Vague Visages, Curator Magazine.

2 thoughts on “San Francisco International Film Festival offers an eclectic selection”

    1. All my past Film Festival coverage had been on Asian American Press, now I’m expanding their exposure to Ripples. Glad to be an outlet to cover quality films from around the world. If you’re not from the SF area, watch out for these two titles at your local theatres in the future.

      Like

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