Cloud Eye Control and Anna Oxygen at 51st San Francisco International Film Festival

San Francisco Premiere of Live Performance by Miwa Matreyek, Chi-wang Yang and Anna Oxygen

Vanity Fair is the Platinum Sponsor of SFIFF51

February 15, 2008

San Francisco, CA – The 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24–May 8) will present the San Francisco premiere of three multimedia performances by Cloud Eye Control and Anna Oxygen, followed by a special interactive aerobics set with Oxygen, in Kanbar Hall at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, at 8:00 pm on Thursday, May 1.

Cloud Eye Control is a multidisciplinary performance collective that fuses animation, experimental theater, pop music and puppetry. In other words, they are like nothing you have ever seen. The collective has originated a deceptively simple use of video to produce interactive virtual theater sets, which are then integrated with moving screens and the haunting voice of Anna Oxygen. Their approach highlights the lo-fi, industrial qualities of their work, deliciously baring their illusory devices, while maintaining a playful sense of wonder and trickery. Be warned, this is NOT a bookish meditation on technology. Cloud Eye Control’s performances are smart and fun. They will perform three narratives. Final Space explores the impact of a dream-sucking machine gone haywire. Dream of Lucid Living showcases the work of animator Miwa Matreyek. Matreyek steps into her animations, which illustrate her daily routine, creativity and relationship to the city. Subterranean Heart allegorically poses Anna Oxygen’s body as a gem mine, as animations ingeniously take us on a “fantastic journey” to her heart. Following the performances, Anna Oxygen, who has garnered a cult following for her live shows, will lead the audience in an interactive aerobics workout.

Cloud Eye Control is Chi-wang Yang, a theater director and digital artist; Miwa Matreyek, an animator and multimedia artist; and Anna Oxygen, a multimedia artist and musician.

“Cloud Eye Control tug at the boundaries of what’s possible with film and video,” said Sean Uyehara, programmer of the Festival’s KinoTek spotlight.  “And they do it with interactive aerobics to boot.”

Tickets for Cloud Eye Control and Anna Oxygen are $20 for the general public and $15 for San Francisco Film Society members.

Cloud Eye Control and Anna Oxygen is supported by Esurance, sponsor of the animation programs at the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival.

Vanity Fair is the Platinum Sponsor of SFIFF51.

Founded in 1957, the vanguard San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for 15 days, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring 25 juried awards, 200 films and live events with upwards of 100 participating filmmakers and diverse audiences of 80,000+ people.

The 51st International runs April 24–May 8, 2008 at the Sundance Cinemas Kabuki, the Castro Theatre and Landmark’s Clay Theatre in San Francisco; and the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley.

For tickets and information go to www.sffs.org, call 925.866.9559 or visit the SFIFF51 Satellite Ticket Outlet at One Embarcadero Center, lobby level. 

San Francisco Film Society is a nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to celebrating the world of film and media. The Film Society’s year-round programs and events are concentrated in four core areas: Internationalism and Cross-Cultural Exchange; Educating and Inspiring Bay Area Youth; Showcasing Bay Area Film Culture; and Exploring New Digital Media. The Film Society’s acclaimed Education Program introduces international cinema and media literacy to thousands of teachers and students (ages 8–18) annually.

SF360, the Film Society’s broad-spectrum series of programs designed to showcase the extraordinary vitality and variety of the Bay Area film and media scene includes www.SF360.org, SF360 San Francisco Movie Night, SF360 Film+Club and SF360 Movie Scene.

The Society will present the Third San Francisco International Animation Festival and 12th New Italian Cinema in November 2008.