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.
By Noma Faingold (August 13, 2025)
Diane Ross will be appearing at San Francisco’s Stern Grove on Sunday, August 17, 2025 in a free afternoon concert. While sold out, 1000 tickets will be given away Friday at 5pm. See bottom of this article for details.
The family hi-fi set-up, anchored by two giant hidden speakers, was located in the dining room. We never ate there unless we had company. No one who came to the house knew where the speakers were because the beige tweed fabric covering them matched the adjacent drapes.
The first Diana Ross album I bought was simply titled, “Diana Ross.” The 1970 release was her debut solo record. I was in second grade and my musical taste was already firmly established. I gravitated to the slick soul of Motown – artists like The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder and especially Ross, as opposed to popular hardcore rock bands of the time, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
The 10th edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival’s annual documentary celebration offers eleven programs of new films plus a Documentary Filmmaking & Activism Workshop for Teens and two free panel discussions.
By Noma Faingold
(October 14, 2024)
Most people have never seen Janis Joplin live. Those who have could feel her lifeforce, her pain, her palpable need to be loved, her raw bluesy delivery and her desire to be unforgettable. She died of a heroin overdose in 1970, becoming a member of the rock and roll 27 Club, along with her contemporaries Jimi Hendrix, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Jim Morrison.
Maybe the next best thing in experiencing the essence of Joplin and learning about all aspects of her life is by watching the 2015 documentary, “Janis: Little Girl Blue,” directed by Amy Berg, being shown during the 10th Anniversary of SFFILM’s Doc Stories (October 17-20). The free community screening will be at 4 p.m. on October 17, at San Francisco’s Vogue Theatre, with Berg as a special guest.
An interview with Film Director Bess Kargman
By Noma Faingold
(July 18, 2024)
Director Bess Kargman knew going in that prolific songwriter Diane Warren, the subject of her latest documentary, doesn’t fully trust anybody. “It’s not in her nature,” Kargman said. “The biggest challenge was earning her trust. I had to navigate when to push her. She would get really anxious sitting in a chair too long and being away from her work.”
Diane Warren: Relentless screens on August 3, at 3:30 p.m., at the Piedmont Theatre, (4186 Piedmont Ave., Oakland) during the 44th Annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, July 18-August 4. Complete Festival Information and tickets.
By C.J. Hirschfield
(November 2, 2023)
At a recent San Francisco gathering Bobi Wine (Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) said he would like you to know that the United States gives $1 billion a year to support Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni’s 30+ year ruthless and dictatorial rule.
Ugandan opposition leader, former member of parliament, activist, and national megastar musician Wine would very much like for you to “stop paying for our oppression.”
A Review by Gaetano Kazuo Maida
July 1, 2022
They had me at “Leonard Cohen.”
Ever since Judy Collins introduced his song “Suzanne” on her great 1968 album, In My Life, his name on a project—book, album, song, film—had special meaning, somehow within and yet beyond pop culture. Here, it’s perhaps his best-known, and certainly most covered song, “Hallelujah” that takes the lead, and offers a lens through which to survey his life, the music business, and the cultural era he inhabited and inspired.
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