The Librarians: On the Front Line for Freedom

Posted on by

By C.J. Hirschfield

I know that I live in a bubble—my liberal community’s libraries don’t ban books, and even offer drag queen story time. But outside of this bubble exists a very real and growing threat to the flow of ideas that none of us can afford to ignore.

Be very afraid when a compelling new documentary often quotes from the dystopian novel Farenheit 451, and shows Nazis burning books as often as it does in an attempt to reflect current events. The parallels are both appropriate and chilling.

Continue reading →

The Tale of Silyan

Posted on by

By C.J. Hirschfield

As the former CEO of Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, I appreciate a good folktale. As an aspiring  birder, I am fascinated by their remarkable species. And as someone who follows politics, I value learning about how governmental actions can have profound effects on the lives of working people.

National Geographic Film’s new documentary The Tale of Silyan checks all of these boxes for me—and is stunningly beautiful as well. Director/producer Tamara Kotevska, who also directed the 2019 Oscar-nominated Honeyland, weaves a tale about a down-on-his luck Macedonian farmer who creates a special bond with a wounded white stork—a story that very much parallels a beloved regional folk tale, in which a boy named Silyan is transformed into this regal bird. Continue reading →

A Key Stop for Awards Season

Posted on by

Jessie Fairbanks Talks About Starting Planning for the SFFILM Awards Night Months in Advance

By Noma Faingold                                                                                                                                                        (December 1, 2025)

Hollywood’s award season, culminating with the 98th Academy Awards next March, has begun. SFFILM’s 2025 Awards Night (in its 68th year) on December 8 is an early stop and proven momentum builder during the circuit. Director of Programming at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Jessie Fairbanks, starts her preparation to secure the four recipients in June by reaching out to studios and the teams behind the talent.

Continue reading →

Gerald Peary, A RELUCTANT FILM CRITIC

Posted on by

A sharp, funny, and deeply engaging memoir, A Reluctant Film Critic traces Gerald Peary’s unlikely journey from a bookish, movie-obsessed boy in small-town America to one of the country’s most distinctive critical voices. Told in vivid, fast-moving vignettes, it’s a story of curiosity, rebellion, and discovery—of a life spent both inside and outside the darkened cinema.  EatDrinkFilms is proud to present an excerpt from the fascinating interview by Bill Marx that concludes the book. Continue reading →

Silents Please! and Listen

Posted on by

The 2025 Iteration of SF’s Famed Silent Film Festival Unspools in an Art Deco Gem in Orinda

by Meredith Brody  (November 10, 2025)

I bow to no one in my appreciation, nay, adulation, of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (aka SFSFF).  It’s not only one of the jewels in the crown of local film festivals, but now has achieved international acclaim, drawing attendees not only from the US but the world. Continue reading →

‘Lands End’ Is Just the Beginning for Filmmaker Steve Peletz

Posted on by

By Noma Faingold

Steve Peletz, 65, underplays his high-risk activities. He’s been scuba diving for more than 40 years. He joins marine biologists on expeditions in remote, exotic waters off the coast of Costa Rica, Columbia, Mexico and the Galápagos Islands. As a volunteer “citizen scientist“ his task is usually to tag different types of sharks so they can be tracked.

In 2019, he took up swimming in the ocean, specifically with a group at China Beach on the West Side of San Francisco. Peletz brought his GoPro camera on virtually all of more than 1,000 swims. He combined his lifelong love of photography and the ocean into his first film, “Lands End,” a nine-minute short getting its world premiere at the Green Film Festival of San Francisco (October 24-30), at the 4-Star Theater. “Lands End” will be screened along with “The Last Dive” on October 26 at 3:30 p.m. Continue reading →

Messages for the Future

Posted on by

The United Nations Association Film Festival returns to the Bay Area with another urgent, globally expansive lineup. Running from October 16–26, the 28th edition of UNAFF brings 60 documentary films to venues across Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Stanford University. More than just a film festival, UNAFF is a civic forum—a space for dialogue, reflection, and action.

Continue reading →

The Fairyland Journey

Posted on by

By Noma Faingold. (updated October 10, 2025)

Andrew Durham had been reliably wearing several film industry production hats, but he had never much thought about directing a feature film until good friend Sofia Coppola presented the 2013 book, “Fairyland, a Memoir of My Father,” by Alysia Abbott to him.

Award-winning screenwriter/director Coppola had optioned the property and was a committed producer. She knew the unconventional father/daughter coming-of-age story, set in San Francisco, from the 1970s to the early 1990s, would resonate with Durham’s background, having grown up in the Bay Area during those tumultuous decades. Continue reading →