Critic’s Corner – An Animated “Magnificent Life”

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The new feature film A Magnificent Life is an animated biography of the great French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol. His first successes on film were “The Marseille Trilogy” composed of Marius, Fanny, and César. He continued making movies, adapting some for stage and writing numerous books that have also been adapted to screen by others such as the popular Manon of the Springs, Jean de Florette, My Father’s Glory, and My Mother’s Castle.starring many of the best actors in French cinema.

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Silents Please! and Listen

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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 →

Making the Cut at Pixar

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(August 7, 2023)

Join industry insiders Bill Kinder and Bobbie O’Steen as they guide readers on a journey through every stage of production on an animated film, from storyboards to virtual cameras and final animation in their recently published Making the Cut at Pixar: The Art of Editing Animation. We offer an excerpt from the book.

And meet them in person at the Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive as they introduce a series of contemporary animated features from Pixar, Hayao Miyazaki, Marjane Satrapi, Wes Anderson, and others throughout August. There will also be free outdoor screenings as part of “The Art of Animation: Storytelling in the Digital Age.” 

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ANIMATION EXPLORES NEW DIMENSIONS IN 2022

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By Robert Bloomberg

In 1928, inspired by the talkie that changed the world, “The Jazz Singer,” Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created “Steamboat Willie,” the first cartoon with fully synchronized music and sound effects, demonstrating the potential power and delight of animation. 

The ten films in this year’s Animation Show of Shows perfectly illustrate the culmination of that potential. Most of the shorts, curated and presented by Acme Filmworks founder Ron Diamond, require no subtitles and rely solely on that marriage of image and sound.

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Who’s Afraid of the Big Red Panda?

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By Mihaela Mihailova

On paper, Pixar’s Turning Red, a film about a thirteen-year-old Chinese Canadian girl whose entry into puberty causes her to transform into a large red panda every time she feels a strong emotion, is not for (or about) me. I am not of Chinese descent. I did not grow up in Toronto (or in North America, for that matter). My parents are not immigrants (I am). I have yet to transform into a large beast, unless we count persistent pandemic weight gain. More importantly, I am not one of Oscar-winning director Domee Shi’s friends and immediate family members. 

TURNING RED

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The Inspiration for the Film “My Vote Registration Vanished in 2016” 

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By Ashia Solei

It’s true – in 2016, I went to vote at the same polling place where I’d voted for a decade and had received a postcard in the mail confirming I was registered.  This time when I went to vote, I was told my name wasn’t on the voter rolls and was asked if I wanted a provisional ballot.  Reluctantly,  I voted with a provisional ballot because I knew a dirty little secret about us voting: provisional ballots do not have to be counted.  Whether a provisional ballot is counted varies according to county practices, and some practices can be biased.

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JUJUTSU KAISEN 0: A High-Level Domain Expansion

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By Mihaela Mihailova

In popular culture, the phrase “cursed content” refers to something undesirable or repulsive. For fans of the popular shōnen anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, however, it is precisely what they came – and stayed – for. Fortunately for them, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, a feature-length prequel based on the supernatural manga by Gege Akutami, has arrived to fill the monsterless void left behind by season one’s conclusion in 2021.

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Shorts are BIG this year… All the 2021 Oscar™ Nominated Shorts Reviewed

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Just as reading a great short story can have an impact in a relatively few pages, short films also can entertain, inform and challenge us with limited running times. Most of our favorite filmmakers started their careers making short subjects. Which of this year’s Oscar™ nominated creators will be the makers of the next breakout independent film on their way to a studio blockbuster? You can watch and place your bets. And remember that this year the public has seen all nominated movies the same way most Academy members have been watching them for years—at home. 

 

The 2021 Academy Awards are on Sunday, April 25. The nominated short films have been collected into three programs, Animation, Live Action and Documentary, and are now playing in select theaters and on Virtual Cinema. Trailers and more information can found here. 

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