SF Int’l Film Festival-Wild On The Latin Side & More

The 59th SF International Film Festival offers a spectrum of film as they moved their headquarters to the Mission this year to the Alamo Drafthouse formerly the New Mission Theatre and other venues such as the Victoria Theater and the Roxie. The Latin films programmed for the festival are varied, esoteric, sensual, strange and poignant. The Brazilian erotic drama “Neon Bull”, the dark, gritty Venezuelan drama “From Afar”, the delightful Mexican coming-of-age film “Leaf Blower” that focuses on 3 teenagers, the Bolivian/USA documentary “Salero” which comments on a fading way of life for salt farmers uprooted by a technological discovery on their land and the canny, erotically charged Spanish/French/Uruguayian film “The Apostate”. The Festival will also feature the live music/film screening of the 1932 horror classic “Vampyr” with the group Mercury Rev with Simon Raymonde of the Cocteau Twins. The festival kicked off their opening night at the Castro Theatre with the comic Jane Austin period film “Love And Friendship” starring Kate Beckinsale as a beautiful, amoral social climber. For more information on the entire festival which runs until May 5th, visit the web site: festival.sffs.org.