March 29, 2005

48th San Francisco International Film Festival to Present Ambitious Slate of Latin American Films; Films from Six Latin American Countries Encompass Many Diverse Subjects

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5) will present a Latin American selection that includes a variety of narrative and documentary features from six countries. A strong Argentinean lineup includes: KEPT AND DREAMLESS (Vera Fogwill and Martin Desalvo) in which a drug-addicted mom and her nine-year-old daughter—independent, unbowed, slightly off-kilter and united against all challenges—struggle in the midst of Argentina's economic crisis in this winning tribute to postmodern motherhood; WHISKY ROMEO ZULU (Enrique Piñeyro), a gripping whistleblower drama about the crash of an Argentinean 737, is a frightening indictment of airline deregulation and the corporate drive to put safety last; Lucrecia Martel's (LA CIÉNAGA) new film, THE HOLY GIRL, a hallucinatory look at Lolita obsessions and Catholic repressions in small-town Argentina; PIN BOY (Ana Poliak), a poetically melancholy film, about a young provincial boy who gets a job setting up pins at the last manual bowling alley in Buenos Aires; LITTLE SKY (María Victoria Menis) in which Félix, a transient teenager in rural Argentina, assumes a paternal role for a year-old boy and heads to the big city with him; RONDA NOCTURNA (Edgardo Cozarinsky) follows a young man on a dark journey through the sex-and-death-drenched streets of Buenos Aires; LOS MUERTOS (Lisandro Alonso) presents an elegantly austere investigation of an ex-con's flight from civilization; internationally acclaimed director Fernando Solanas's A SOCIAL GENOCIDE chronicles how years of corrupt political leadership and disastrous policies led to Argentina's economic and social ruin, eventually spurring a mass demonstration in December 2001 calling for the government's immediate resignation; and ROLLING FAMILY (Pablo Trapero), where a cross-country trip with her Buenos Aires working-class clan takes 84-year-old Emilia through bumpy emotional terrain. A rickety camper somehow carries them all to their destination—almost.

This year's Festival will also showcase three films from Brazil including: NELSON FREIRE (João Moreira Salles), a documentary about the Brazilian classical pianist Nelson Freire; ALMOST BROTHERS (Lúcia Murat) which probes 50 years of Brazilian history with unwavering courage; and UP AGAINST THEM ALL (Roberto Moreira), a chilling examination of hypocrisy and corruption set in the barren outskirts of São Paulo, produced by CITY OF GOD director Fernando Meirelles.

Other films include: DUCK SEASON (Fernando Eimbcke, Mexico)—adolescence has rarely been shown as truthfully on screen as in this charmingly low-key film about a day in the life of two 14-year-old best friends; CRÓNICAS (Sebastián Cordero, Ecuador), where a TV journalist (John Leguizamo) struggles with dark moral and ethical questions while on the trail of a serial killer in Ecuador in this crackling good suspense thriller produced by Alfonso Cuarón (Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN); THREE TIMES TWO (Pavel Giroud, Lester Hamlet, Esteban Insausti, Cuba), a trio of tales that feature the best and brightest of Cuba's new generation and moves from Hitchcock-inspired thriller to politically tinged musical to steamy erotica; and DÍAS DE SANTIAGO (Josué Méndez, Peru), a gripping first feature that follows the difficult reintegration of a young veteran (a star-making performance by Pietro Sibille) into "civil" society.

Also of Latin American interest, BOXERS AND BALLERINAS (USA), is a lively documentary by twentysomethings Mike Cahill and Brit Marling who spend some quality time with four Cuban athletes and dancers, two in Miami and two in Havana, struggling to perfect their craft while weighing obligations to their families, their homeland and themselves.

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21—May 5, 2005 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Home of the Festival, the Castro Theatre, the Palace of Fine Arts, Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center and the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco; the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley; and Landmark's Aquarius Theatre in Palo Alto. Tickets for San Francisco Film Society members will be available on March 29 and for the general public on April 5. To purchase tickets and for ticket information log on to www.sffs.org, call 925.866.9559 or visit the Main Ticket Outlet, located in the atrium of the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street or the Satellite Ticket Outlet at the Virgin Megastore, 2 Stockton Street. For up-to-date Festival information log on to www.sffs.org or call 415.561.5000.

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5, 2005) is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, a nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image.