Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, directed by Alison Klayman
At his Beijing studio, internationally heralded conceptual artist and dissident Ai Weiwei oversees an expert staff busily executing his ideas ahead of an upcoming show at the Tate Modern, a colony of cats freely roams the grounds (one, marvels Ai, can even open doors) and a bulky surveillance camera squats conspicuously atop a nearby pole—impatient to remind the tenants the state is watching. The battle between the Chinese government and Ai, a savvy devotee of Twitter and online activism, acquires many forms and shades. Alison Klayman’s camera captures an impressive range of them in this persuasive firsthand portrait, which doubles as a rousing snapshot of the New China.
San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Monday, April 23rd @ 6:00 (Kabuki)
Wednesday, Apr 25th @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
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The Invisible War, by filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering
Oscar- and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering deliver a hard-hitting, emotionally powerful investigative documentary exposing the epidemic of rape within the United States military. Incredibly, twenty percent of all service women have been assaulted. A female soldier in Afghanistan is more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire. The number of assaults in the last decade alone is believed to be in the hundreds of thousands, and it’s not just women who are victimized. What emerges from the personal stories of multiple rape victims, many of whom are telling their stories for the first time, is a horrifying picture of the rights Americans give up when they choose to serve their country. Interviews with high-ranking officials and members of Congress describe the perfect storm of conditions that make rape in the military so prevalent and contribute to its long-hidden history—an eye-opening depiction that culminates in a forceful call for much-needed change. Winner of the Audience Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The Invisible War urgently confronts the enemy within.
San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Saturday, April 21th @ 4:00 (Kabuki)
Monday, April 23rd @ 3:30 (Kabuki)
Tueday, May 1st @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
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Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon and produced by Natalie Difford
Punctuated by retro gospel tracks and vividly evoking a sense of time and place, filmmaker Adam Leon’s first feature is a sharply observed, wryly funny story of friendship, urban community, burgeoning sexuality and artistic aspiration. Young New York graffiti artists Sofia and Malcolm (newcomers Tashiana Washington and Ty Hickson) resolve to one-up a rival gang by tagging the iconic Home Run Apple during a Mets game, an audacious and risky prank attempted by others but never accomplished.
A problem quickly emerges, however, when their source will only give them access to the stadium for $500, well beyond the means for the broke duo. Undeterred, Sofia and Malcolm set off to raise the funds by any means necessary, whether through borrowing, bartering, calling in favors, selling pot or even committing robbery. But as the pair find their moneymaking schemes foiled at every turn, it becomes clear that Gimme the Loot is less invested in heist-like hijinks than in observing the memorable and unexpected people, places and situations Sophia and Malcolm encounter during two sweltering New York City summer days.
San Francisco International Film Festival Screenings:
Friday, April 20th @ 9:15 (Kabuki)
Saturday, April 21th @ 9:30 (FSC)
Tuesday, April 24th @ 6:30 (Kabuki)
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
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THE MOTHER WIT HUMAN RIGHTS FUND is dedicated to supporting women filmmakers and courageous human rights activists — be they men, women or youth — who together from both sides of the camera take on critical human rights struggles in the U.S. and around the globe. These films are meant to inspire, enrage and catalyze the collective belief and will needed to insure civil rights, reproductive health rights, environmental, racial and economic justice, education and literacy for all — and especially for women and girls. The films must lead with a story and help expand and extend the definition of human rights to mean all the basic rights needed to THRIVE — live, work, play, eat, learn and love — in peace.
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