Event Listing - Music, Movies, Media
Thu Apr 24 - Thu May 8

The San Francisco Film Society presents

51st San Francisco International Film Festival

The most anticipated two weeks of cinema in the Bay Area


Website
Tickets
Box Office: 925.866.9559

Location
Date and Time
Pacific Film Archive (PFA)
2575 Bancroft Way
Berkeley, CA 94720 map
cross street: Bowditch
district: Berkeley

Fri Apr 25 (6:30 p.m. One Hundred Nails; 8:30 p.m. Two Ladies)
Sat Apr 26 (12:30 p.m. Flow: For Love of Water; 3:00 p.m. Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts; 5:45 p.m. Solitary Fragments; 8:15 p.m. Calcutta My Love)
Sun Apr 27 (1:30 p.m. Forbidden Lie$; 3:45 p.m. Latent Argentina; 6:00 p.m. Leave Her to Heaven; 8:30 p.m. You, the Living)
Mon Apr 28 (6:30 p.m. Traveling with Pets; 9:00 p.m. Sleep Dealer)
Tue Apr 29 (6:30 p.m. The Romance of Astrea and Celadon; 8:45 p.m. In a Lonely Place: New Experimental Cinema)
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
1881 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
cross street: Fillmore
district: Japantown/Fillmore

Fri Apr 25 (12pm-10pm) - see website for showtimes: http://fest08.sffs.org
Sat Apr 26 (12pm-10pm) - see website for showtimes: http://fest08.sffs.org
Sun Apr 27 (12pm-10pm) - see website for showtimes: http://fest08.sffs.org
Mon Apr 28 (12pm-10pm) - see website for showtimes: http://fest08.sffs.org
Tue Apr 29 (12pm-10pm) - see website for showtimes: http://fest08.sffs.org
Castro Theatre
429 Castro Street
San Francisco, CA 94114 map
cross street: Market
district: Castro/Upper Market

Thu Apr 24 (7pm) - Opening Night: The Last Mistress
Thu May 8 (7pm) - Vanity Fair Reel Relief Screening & Benefit: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Description
From April 24 to May 8, 2008, the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF51) will bring the world to San Francisco by screening over 100 unique programs of the finest in international cinema. Hundreds of filmmakers, journalists, film industry professionals, and more than 80,000 film-lovers, will be on hand for the most anticipated two weeks of film in the Bay Area. The Festival will celebrate international cinema, spotlight local film culture, showcase advances in film technology, educate Bay Area youth and throw spectacular, star-studded events. In short, the Festival will be a complete blast.
For information visit www.sffs.org.

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HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS:

Online: www.sffs.org
Phone: 925.866.9559

In Person, Before the Festival~

Main Ticket Outlet
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
April 2-24
Wednesday-Sunday, 4:30-8:30pm

Embarcadero Ticket Outlet
One Embarcadero Center, Lobby Level
On Battery Street between Clay and Sacramento
April 3-24
Monday-Saturday, 12noon-7pm

In Person, During the Festival

For advance and day-of-show sales:
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
April 25-May 8
Sales begin one hour prior to the first screening of the day.

Tickets purchased on the day of screenings at the Clay, Castro and Pacific Film Archive theaters are cash only.

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OPENING NIGHT FILM & PARTY

The Festival will open on April 24 with The Last Mistress, the new film by the masterful Catherine Breillat, who is expected to be in attendance. The film continues Breillat's candid exploration of female sexuality in a smartly crafted period drama starring the alluringly vulpine Asia Argento. Arguably the most accessible film to date from Breillat, this sophisticated chamber piece adapted from Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly's controversial novel is erotic, funny, cruel and supremely intelligent.

After the film, the night continues with a lavish party at the new, stylish urban gateway of City View at Metreon. Enjoy the city's magnificent skyline, along with culinary delights from local restaurants, sophisticated cocktails and, of course, dancing.


For more information on The Last Mistress, and all Festival films, visit http://fest08.sffs.org/films

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VANITY FAIR REEL RELIEF SCREENING & BENEFIT

The Festival will close on Thursday, May 8 with the Vanity Fair Reel Relief screening of Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson with all proceeds benefiting the Natural Resources Defense Council. Director Alex Gibney (fresh off his Oscar for Taxi to the Dark Side) and other special guests are expected to attend the screening.

The film is the most complete version to date of a man who at one time was the most popular writer in America. Gibney’s profile of the outrageous journalist focuses on the 1965-75 highlights, when his hilarious, untethered reportage on Hells Angels, Las Vegas and political campaigns (in Rolling Stone and other publications) earned a new word in the dictionary: gonzo. The screening is at 7 pm at the Castro Theatre, and the parties begin at 9:30 pm.

VIP film and party tickets are $225 and include reserved seating at the Castro, and entrance to the VIP Vanity Fair Reel Party at Temple Night Club and Prana Restaurant. You'll mingle with special guests from the film, local glitterati and Vanity Fair. There will be complimentary cocktails, passed hors d'oeuvres, complimentary valet parking, special entertainment and more.

General film and party tickets are $100 for members ($125 general) and include the screening as well as entry to the Vanity Fair Reel Relief Wrap Party at Club 525. The party includes complimentary beer and wine, a sampling from local restaurants, live entertainment and, of course, dancing.

For more information on Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, visit http://fest08.sffs.org/films