San Francisco Art & Film for Teens

Art&Film

Free cultural programs for teens, including Friday night film screenings, Saturdays art walks and free seats to cultural events. Open to all Bay Area students, middle school through college. Established 1993. 

OCTOBER


Friday 7

Cine Club @ SF Art Institute
Federico Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA (1960, Italy)

This social epic by a brilliant director is filled with mesmerizing visions of the sins and follies of man. A handsome young journalist works his way through 1960’s Rome, from holy temples to tawdry nightclubs. This film truly stands alone and it one of most important we’re showing this year!

Why we show this film:
It’s hard to imagine the excitement for new films that existed at the end of the 50's, when the “art” house cinema had sprung up in most urban cities, and a steady flow of films streamed in from Europe. One of the most successful was La Dolce Vita. It will be a new experience for many of you; a sprawling social epic that covers the state of Rome during the late 50’s, when it was emerging as a film capital of the world.

The film is about the loss of faith, and the plot follows a newspaper reporter as he covers many of the social phenomena of that time—the arrival of a film actress from Hollywood, the report of a sighting of the Virgin Mary, etc. mixed with his own crisis and those 0f the crowd he runs with. This film is episodic, full of wild entertainment with Fellini as the ultimate carnival ringleader.

About the director:
Federico Fellini is one of a handful of directors who define 20th Century film in. He began his career as an artist and during the early 40’s wrote a number of radio and film scripts while assisting an actor friend's traveling theater company.  At the end of the war, they opened the Funny Face Shop, an arcade for American soldiers that specialized in quick portraits, photos and voice recordings for the folks back home. 

One day a visit from director Roberto Rosselini brought Felliniin on collaboration for the script for Open City, and he followed this with work on Paisan, both sterling film classics. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts on his own, Fellini directed Il Vitelloni (the Loafers) which brought him great success. He followed this with one triumph after another, all in a post neo-realist style. These include La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, and La Dolce Vita. Out of his work emerged a new style which announced itself with 8 ½—a theme driven, plot-less film filled with atmosphere, color and astounding characters and flights of fantasy.  From this the adjective “felliniesque” has entered our vocabulary. 

Those are our Three Reasons. What are yours? Out now on Blu-ray/DVD: http://www.criterion.com/films/28619-la-dolce-vita


Saturday 8

Art Saturday @ Potrero Hill Art Galleries

11 am Meet at Coffee Bar (Mariposa Street and Florida)

11:15 Walking tour of Potrero Hill art galleries (Jack Fisher, Brian Gross, Catherine Clarke, etc.)

1 pm Picnic lunch at Franklin Square (17th Street and Hampshire)


Friday 14

Cine Club @ Harvey Milk Rec Center (50 Scott Street)
Christophe Honoré's LOVE SONGS (2007, France)

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A delightful look at four young Parisians tangled up in love who try to sing their way out. This is a musical done right, full of charm and fun, but at its core shockingly insightful about love and loss. Come for a unique and playful romp through Paris.

Warning: nudity and violence.

Why we show this film:
Frankly, there is no better film that captures the magic, enchanting feeling of being in young and in love in Paris, full of youthful romance and free-wheeling joi de vivre. Love Songs is is a musical, but not your typical kind. This is music based on the French chanson, often complex and brooding, but elegantly poetic. They integrate perfectly with the characters feelings. It's charming, but the film's subject matter—love, romance, sex and death—leads to the characters to face real important life questions.

About the director:
Honoré developed a lot of buzz for his more controversial films like Ma Mere, but followed that with two popular films, Dans Paris and Love Songs. He writes his own scripts, many of which concern characters wrestling with complex issues about love and sexuality. He is sometimes described as the new French New Wave because of his independent thinking, and spontaneous feeling films. He is also a successful novelist in France.

 


Friday 21

Cine Club @ Harvey Milk Rec Center (50 Scott Street)
Robert Altman's NASHVILLE (1975, USA)

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Yes, the sixties were really like this!  Altman’s masterpiece weaves the lives of twenty characters into a tapestry about music, love, religion, and country in a time of great social and political change.  Packed with powerful performances and great songs, this film is as relevant today as it ever was.

Warning: nudity and violence.

Why we show this film:
Certainly it’s one of the most original political films ever made, framing national politics through the currents of country music. Here is one of Altman’s most complex films, featuring a 23 character ensemble and all of his signature elements such as multi-track sound recording allowing for overlapping dialogue, creating an entire cosmos of social interactions. This is America at a decisive point in its history: high stakes political maneuvering and social upheaval. Surely you can relate!

About the director:
Altman was a hard working director who got little attention during his early years in film. He toiled making industrial films, an independent feature, and churned out dramas for Alfred Hitchcock's TV series, but he used this time to develop his interests and ideas about style. His major breakthrough came with a film about the Korean War called MASH, which won the Palme d'Or (top prize) at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival and launched one of the longest-running and most beloved television series.    

He followed this up with McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and other films that were critically acclaimed, moderate commercial successes including Nashville, A Wedding and The Long Goodbye. He continued with many misses until he bounced back in the 1990s with The Player, a satire on Hollywood. By then he was renowned for his unique style and continued to make fine films until his death, including Short Cuts and Gosford Park.


Saturday 8

Art Saturday @ Minnesota Street Project

11 am Meet at Philz Coffee opposite Minnesota Street Project (1275 Minnesota).

11:15 Tour Minnesota Street Project galleries.

1 pm Picnic lunch at Esprit Park (19th and Minnesota)


Friday 28

Cine Club @ SF Art Institute
Robert Eggers' THE WITCH (2015, USA)

A thoughtful and frightening tale of a puritan family thrown out of their village and forced to rebuild at the edge of a forest. Strange things begin to happen, sending the family into a spiral of religious paranoia and madness. You’ll be on tenterhooks from beginning to end!

Why we show this film:
Some of the prevailing myths about the beginnings of our country give us the impression our forefathers were filled with religious tolerance. This notion is quickly dispelled in the beginning of this scary film set in 17th century puritan New England. Few of the conventions of horror films are present here, instead we get daunting realism, which is far more frightening as it reflects a world where absolute Calvinist beliefs hold reign: any human is sinful nearly beyond redemption; any misfortune reflects inadequate belief in god; the devil lurks everywhere, staring from the eyes of animals and sometimes taking over people. The family in this film aren’t fanatics, in fact, they are thrown out of their community because they aren’t sufficiently devout.

About the director:
This is Eggars' first film.