There are plenty of high-profile movies at the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) this weekend, including the surefire audience-pleaser Miss Sharon Jones! and an appearance by Monsoon Wedding’s Mira Nair. But some other gems are screening under the radar. Here are my picks:
- The brilliant Greek comedy Chevalier is this weekend’s Must See and a contender for the festival’s funniest film. Obviously a keen observer of male behavior, from director Athina Rachel Tsangari delivers a sly and pointed exploration of male competitiveness, with the moments of drollness and absurdity that we expect in the best of contemporary Greek cinema. Chevalier screens at 8 PM on Saturday night at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission ,and director Tsangari is expected to attend.
- Dead Slow Ahead – a visually stunning and an often hypnotic film, shot on a massive freighter on its voyage across vast ocean expanses with its all-Filipino crew. Dead Slow Ahead plays the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission.on Saturday night at 9 PM.
- Leaf Blower – a gentle Mexican slice-of-life comedy, with three young guys drifting though rudderless adolescence, doing what teenage males do – busting each others balls, wasting time, and achieving new heights of social awkwardness and sexual frustration. Leaf Blower screens on Sunday night at 9:45 at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission and director Alejandro Iglesias Mendizábal is expected to attend.
Throughout San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), I’ll be linking more festival coverage to my SFFIF 2016 page, including both features and movie recommendations. Follow me on Twitter for the very latest coverage.
