SF Chronicle: "Movie Palace Owner Preserves Golden Age"

“The Grand Lake is one of a shrinking number of neighborhood theaters in the Bay Area, and one of the last that is independently owned,” writes Peter Hartlaub. “All have their charms, but few can match what the Oakland theater’s survival adds to its surroundings.” More at SFGate.

SF Chronicle: "Berkeley Art Museum Names Architect"

Seven months after returning to square one, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive have named red-hot architectural firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro to design a visual arts center in downtown Berkeley. More at SFGate.

Studio B Films, San Francisco Video Production Company, wins Two Telly Awards

Press release: “San Francisco based video production company Studio B Films, recognized for Excellence by 31st Annual Telly Awards for their video work for Adobe Systems and Izze Sparkling Juice. Studio B was awarded the Silver Telly Award for a video testimonial profile featuring Ben Grossmann the Creative Director of the Syndicate, a Santa Monica-based FX house. The goal of the video was to illustrate how Adobe’s suite of creative products has streamlined the Syndicate’s work flow allowing them to work better, smarter and most importantly, more creatively. Studio B Films spent two days filming with the syndicate, including shooting on the special effects set of Shutter Island….Studio B also received a Telly Award for their humorous web commercial “Pinkman on a Unicycle” for Izze Sparkling juice. The goal of the spot was to give the Izze brand a joyful and whimsical feel. “The video was a gas to produce,” said David Collier, owner of Studio B Films and “exceeded all of Izzie’s expectations.”

SF Chronicle: "Frameline film festival to showcase 219 films"

“Frameline 34, this year’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film festival, will open with The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, about a 19th century Englishwoman who kept a coded account of her love affairs, and conclude with Howl, an imaginative retelling of Allen Ginsberg’s early life,” writes Walter Addiego. More at SFGate.

IndieWIRE: Kiarostami's Letter at Cannes

Reports indieWIRE’s Brian Brooks, “Confusion is surrounding an announcement in Cannes that detained Iranian director Jafar Panahi would be freed today. The news was contrasted by word that Panahi’s incarceration may be extended and that the filmmaker would in fact begin a hunger strike.” Continued Brooks, “The dramatic and conflicting information gripped a press conference here today with fellow Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. The leading Iranian filmmaker spoke out in solidarity with Panahi this afternoon at the Cannes Film Festival, advocating on behalf of the freedom of filmmakers in Iran.” More at indieWIRE.

What follows is a letter by Abbas Kiarostami. The letter, Brooks writes, was published in the New York Times on March 9, and was provided by the filmmaker at the press conference in Cannes today. He asked that it be published in its entirety around the world.

Letter from Abbas Kiarostami:

“I don’t quite know to whom I am addressing this letter, but I do know why I’m writing it and I believe that under the circumstances it is both critical and inevitable because two Iranian filmmakers, both of whom are vital to the Iranian wave of independent cinema, have been incarcerated.

As a filmmaker of the same independent cinema, it has been years since I lost hope of ever screening my films in my country. By making my own low-budget and personal films, it has also been years since I lost all hope of receiving any kind of aid or assistance from the Ministry of Guidance and Islamic culture, the custodian of Iranian cinema.

In order to make a living, I have turned to photography and use that income to make short and low-budget films. I don’t even object to their illegal reproduction and distribution because that is my only means of communicating with my own people. For years now I have not even objected to this lack of attention from the ministry and cinema tic authorities .

Even if we choose to disregard the fact that for years now, the cinematic administrators of the country, who constitute the main cultural body of the government, have differentiated between their own filmmakers (insiders) and independent filmmakers (outsiders), I am still of the opinion that they are oblivious of Iranian independent cinema. Filmmaking is not a crime. It is our sole means of making a living and thus not a choice, but a vital necessity.

I have found my own solutions to the problem. Independent of the conventional and customary support granted to the cinematic community at large, I make my own short and independent films with hopes of gaining some credit for the people I love and a name for the country I come from. Sometimes the necessity to work calls for the making of films beyond the borders of my country, which is ultimately not out of personal choice or taste.

However, others, like Jafar Panahi, have for years tried to summon official government support, exploring the same frustrating path, only to be confronted with the same closed doors. He too has for years held hopes of obtaining public screenings for his films and receiving official aid and assistance from the relevant governmental bodies. He still believes that based on the merits of his films and the acclaim they have brought the country, he can seek legal solutions to the problem. The Ministry of Guidance and Islamic culture is directly responsible for what is happening to Jafar Panahi and his like. Any wrongdoing on his part, if there is any at all, is a direct result of the mismanagement of officials at the cinematic department of the Ministry of Guidance and it’s inadequate policies which in no way leave any choice for the filmmaker other than to resort to means that jeopardize his situation as a filmmaker. He too makes a living through cinema.

For him too, filmmaking is a vital necessity. He needs to make himself heard and has the right to expect cinematic officials to facilitate the process, rather than become the major obstacles themselves. Perhaps the officials at the ministry can not at present be of help in solving Jafar Panahi’s dilemma, but they need to know that they are and have been responsible all these years, for the dreadful consequences and unpleasant and anti-cultural reflections of such policies in the world media.

I may not be an advocate of Jafar Panahi’s radical and sensational methods but I do know that the cause for his plight is not a result of choice but an inevitable [compulsion].

He is paying for the conduct of officials who have for years closed all doors on him, leaving open small passages and dead end paths.

Jafar Panahi’s problem will eventually be solved but there are numerous young people who have chosen the art of cinema as their means of expression and careers.

This is where the duty of the government and the Ministry of Guidance and Islamic Culture, as the government’s main cultural body, becomes even more critical, for they face a large group of Iranian youth who aim to work independently and away from complicated official procedures and existing prejudices.

Jafar Panahi and Mahmoud Rasoulof are two filmmakers of the Iranian independent cinema, a cinema that for the past quarter of a century has served as an essential cultural element in expanding the name of this country across the globe. They belong to an expanded world culture, and are a part of international cinematic culture. I wish for their immediate release from prison knowing that the impossible is possible. My heartfelt wish is that artists no longer be imprisoned in this country because of their art and that the independent and young Iranian cinema no longer faces obstacles, lack of support, attention and prejudice.

This is your responsibility and the ultimate definition of your existence.”

Moyers/Winship: "Chevron's 'Crude' Attempt to Suppress Free Speech"

"Even as headlines and broadcast news are dominated by BP’s fire-ravaged, sunken offshore rig and the ruptured well gushing a reported 210,000 gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico, there’s another important story involving Big Oil and pollution—one that shatters not only the environment but the essential First Amendment right of journalists to tell truth and shame the devil," write Bill Moyers and Michael Winship. "In New York last Thursday, Federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan ordered documentary producer and director Joe Berlinger to turn over to Chevron more than 600 hours of raw footage used to create a film titled Crude: The Real Price of Oil." More at Truthout.

New York Times: "A Filmmaker’s Quest for Journalistic Protection"

"A case about pollution, big business and the movies has reopened longstanding debates about who is a journalist and how far parties to a lawsuit can reach when seeking ammunition for their side," write John Schwartz and Dave Itzkoff. "The case involves a documentary, Crude, that tells the story of a long-running legal battle in which Ecuadorean plaintiffs are suing Chevron over the pollution of the Amazon rain forest. As part of its defense, Chevron demanded 600 hours of outtake footage from Crude, saying it could help the company show corruption and misconduct by the plaintiffs." More at the New York Times.

SF Chronicle: "S.F. Film Festival Bestows Prizes"

"The 53rd San Francisco International Film Festival just ended, but for many filmmakers the future is ahead of them as almost $300,000 was given out Wednesday night for awards and grants, including the Golden Gate Awards, honoring some of the best at this year’s festival," writes the Chronicle. "Among the documentary winners were investigative feature to Last Train Home from Canada/China, documentary feature to Pianomania from Austria and Germany, and a previously announced Bay Area documentary feature to Presumed Guilty. The new directors Award went to Pedro González-Rubio of Mexico for the movie "Alamar." The international film critics award (FIPRESCI Prize) went to Babak Jalali’s Frontier Blues." More at SFGate.

SFIFF53 Video Scoop: 'Happythankyoumoreplease,' Roger Ebert, 'All About Evil'

SFIFF53 Video Scoop: Schamus, Film Society Awards Night