The San Francisco International Animation Festival kicks off tonight
with its nerdy but sorta funny but sorta cool five-day festival.
Tonight at the Mezzanine, avant-garde legend, Lawrence Jordan will improvise live on stage the rhythm of his animated work, A Dream of Lovers, which is inspired and will be accompanied by the San Francisco gothic-Americana duo, Pale Hoarse. Also performing are Jacob Ciocci who’s an artist of many cool geeky things, and David Wightman,
composer. Together with animation and film, they will shred the eye and
ear with 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed, a performance in which I can only explain as “Um, What?”, and not in a
bad way. I have no idea what this experience will entail, but sounds
enthralling to say the least.
Thursday has a more mainstream appeal with a screening and party for the Bay Area premiere of Wes Anderson’s new film, Fantastic Mr. Fox.
I myself a fan of Anderson, albeit mid-way through his films I always
need a break from his claustrophobic world, am quite fascinated with
his switch into pure animation, having seen a glimpse in The Life Aquatic. So add appetizers + wine = fun night.
This weekend are the regular screenings of shorts and
feature-lengths. I’ll give my picks in Friday’s Weekend Watch, but
there’s something for everyone: depressing apocalyptic futures, cute
shorts, famous bands and their animated music videos, stop-motion, and
even anime. To check out the a full schedule of events and film times,
visit their site.
Kickoff Celebration: A Dream of Lovers and 2 Blessed 2 Be Stressed
When: Wednesday, November 11, 8pm
Where: Mezzanine (444 Jessie Street) 21+
Cost: $12.00 for SFFS Members, $15.00 General
When: Thursday, November 12th, Screenings at 7 & 9:30, Party at 8
Where: Embarcadero Cinema (One Embarcadero Center)
Cost: $15.00 for SFFS Members, $20.00 General
