45th SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PRESENTS
AMBITIOUS SLATE OF LATIN AMERICAN FILMS
 
19 Films from 14 Countries Encompass Many Diverse Subjects
 
The 45th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 18 — May 2) presents a particularly strong selection of Latin American films that explore important aesthetic, social and cultural issues of Latin America. Associate Director of Programming Linda Blackaby says, “This year’s presentation confirms that Latin American cinema is as vital and ambitious as ever.”
 
The cornerstone for the Festival’s Latin American cinema slate will be TIRE DIÉ (1960) and LOS INUNDADOS (1961) by Argentinean Fernando Birri, who is considered the father of New Latin American Cinema and will be the recipient of this year’s Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award. Some of the legacy of Birri’s influence as a filmmaker, theorist and educator can be seen through the other 17 short and feature-length films and documentaries from Latin America in the Festival.
 
The themes portrayed in these films are as diverse as the 14 countries where they were produced. Politics, class struggle and social issue themes are referenced not only in Birri’s films but also in BASTARDS IN PARADISE (Luis R. Vera, Chile); NIGHTS OF CONSTANTINOPLE (Orlando Rojas, Cuba); TAXI FOR THREE (Orlando Lübbert, Chile); THE TRESPASSER (Beto Brant, Argentina) and THE PINOCHET CASE (by Chilean exile Patricio Guzmán). Themes of drugs and corruption are prevalent in GOLDEN GATE (Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, Brazil); NEWS FROM A PERSONAL WAR (João Moreira Salles and Katia Lund, Brazil) and STREETERS (Gerardo Tort, Mexico).  The music of Latin America is celebrated in VAN VAN, LET’S PARTY (Liliana Mazure and Aaron Vega, Argentina/Cuba); MY BUDDY, ZE KETTI (Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Brazil) and the European-produced SOUND OF BRAZIL (Mika Kaurismäki, Finland/Germany/France/Brazil).  Other exciting films in the series include: 25 WATTS (Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Uruguay); A HOUSE WITH A VIEW OF THE SEA (Alberto Alvero, Venezuela/Canada/Spain); PALINDROME (Philippe Barcinksi, Brazil); THE RUINATION OF MEN (Arturo Ripstein, Mexico/Spain); SMOKERS ONLY (Veronica Chen, Argentina) and TO THE LEFT OF THE FATHER (Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazil).
               
               
The 45th San Francisco International Film Festival is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, a nonprofit arts organization whose goal is to lead in expanding the knowledge and appreciation of international film art and its artists by showcasing the most compelling, thought-provoking international films, special tributes and major restorations, and today’s brightest stars.
 
The 45th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 18–May 2, 2002 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Castro Theatre, the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley and Landmark’s Park Theatre in Menlo Park. Advance ticket packages and Festival passes go on sale beginning March 6. Individual tickets for San Francisco Film Society members will be available beginning March 27, with individual tickets for the general public available starting April 2. To purchase tickets and for ticket information call 925.275.9490 or log on to www.sffs.org. The Main Box Office, located in the atrium of the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres at 1881 Post Street will open for Film Society members on March 27 and for the general public on April 2. There will also be a Festival Satellite Box Office at Crocker Galleria, 50 Post Street, second floor, opening on April 2. For up-to-date Festival information, call 415.931.FILM.