GIANT ANTS INVADE THE PRESIDIO!
THEM! TO SCREEN AT FIFTH ANNUAL FILM IN THE FOG

Free Outdoor Screening of 1954 Sci-Fi Classic on Saturday, September 30

August 9, 2006

The Presidio of San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco Film Society and the Presidio Trust kick off the run-up to the landmark 50th San Francisco International Film Festival with the fifth annual Film in the Fog at 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 30, on the lawn of the Main Post Theatre, 99 Moraga Avenue at Montgomery Street in the Presidio. The free, family-friendly picnic, concert and film screening will feature the ’50s monster movie classic Them!, live bands and free popcorn.

Gordon Douglas's eerie spectacle taps into the nuclear panic of the era to provide unforgettable thrills as giant ants invade the storm drains under Los Angeles and threaten to conquer the world. Them! was nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects and was responsible for unleashing a wave of movies featuring gargantuan animals. The film program will begin at 7:00 pm with a vintage newsreel featuring the Presidio of San Francisco and Chuck Jones’s tour-de-force Looney Tunes cartoon, What’s Opera, Doc? This sidesplitting lampoon of classic opera starring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd was released in 1957, the year of the first San Francisco International Film Festival, and was the first cartoon selected for the National Film Registry.

“It is our great pleasure to work once again with the Presidio Trust and present Film in the Fog for the fifth year,” said Rod Armstrong,  SFFS programming associate.  “The event, which attracts all ages, is always awaited with great ‘ant’-icipation and we will have all hands on deck to prevent possible attacks by giant mutant creatures of any type.”

In April 2007, the SF International Film Festival will mark its place in history as the first film festival in the Americas to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Over half a century, SFIFF has presented the best in world cinema. SFIFF 50 will honor that tradition while energetically embracing new works, new platforms and new audiences.

The spacious lawn of the Main Post Theatre has plenty of room for low lawn chairs and blankets, and the public is encouraged to arrive early to select a picnic spot. The SuperSonic Saxes and Brass Wings from the Air National Guard Band of the West Coast will play a program of American music standards beginning at 5:00 pm. Also at 5:00 pm the historic Main Post Theatre will open for public tours. Food and beverages from Dish Café and Acre Café will be available for purchase.

For additional information go to www.sffs.org or www.presidio.gov or call 415.561.5500.

Film in the Fog is a copresentation of the San Francisco Film Society, a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image, which also presents the 50th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 26 -May 10, 2007).