Read two critical perspectives on Norte: The End of History (2013, Lav Diaz) , from Richard Bolisay and Francis “Oggs” Cruz. Norte opens in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts as a special sidebar engagement in conjunction with YBCA’s New Filipino Cinema series. Continue reading
Forging a new direction in vegan cooking, rising star chef, food justice activist, and author Bryant Terry draws inspiration from the Caribbean, North and South America, and the entire African continent in his new book Afro‐Vegan. Continue reading
by Gary Meyer
Last weekend the San Francisco Silent Film Festival filled the Castro Theatre with many programs of dramas, adventures and comedies. The comedies—featuring Buster Keaton, Max Linder, Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin—had the audiences laughing long and loud. 
Continue reading
by Michael Guillén
If you don’t live in San Francisco, or for some reason can’t make it to the third annual “New Filipino Cinema” series at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, you can still celebrate the advent of Filipino Cinema in your own home by streaming Benito Bautista’s Boundary (2011) at Vimeo On Demand. For a mere $2.99, that’s world cinema at your fingertips! Continue reading
by Michael Guillén
He’s been on the road straining his thumb and has written a memoir about his experiences, Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), one of New York Magazine‘s 6 Books to Read This Summer and one of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Summer Books of 2014 and probably the only audio book I will ever listen to. Hopefully, he can catch a ride to his upcoming appearances promoting the book. Continue reading
The Moveable Feast is a unique walking tour visiting three model sustainable restaurants located within blocks of each other for an intimate and informative progressive dinner in the heart of several local foodie districts. This pioneering tour in downtown Berkeley, in a city some consider the epicenter for the US food movement, visits Gather Restaurant, Revival Bar + Kitchen, and Five Restaurant. Continue reading
by Paul F. Etcheverry
Can anyone question the value of humor in the early days of the seventh art? In its 19th edition, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival (May 29–June 1) offers up belly laughs and bemusements amidst its diverse programming in the historic Castro Theatre. The festival includes 17 wonderful silent-era features in preserved and restored prints, one program of extraordinary silent shorts and rarities, and the ever-popular “Amazing Tales From the Archives” program. 19 programs in all, and you won’t want to miss one! Not to mention that all films are accompanied by live music! Here’s a rundown of some of silent cinema’s most comic, culinary moments. Continue reading
by Brian Darr
If there’s a filmmaker who more exemplifies the cliché of “living and breathing cinema” than Craig Baldwin, it’s hard to imagine who it might be. The Oakland-born cineaste’s conspiratorial works like Tribulation 99 and Mock Up On Mu are radically collaborative both with the image-makers of the past (infused as they are by clips from industrial films, science-fiction touchstones, and all manner of other reclaimed reels), and with current kindred filmmakers like Bill Daniel and Sylvia Schedelbauer, who have played large roles in their creation. Continue reading
by Daniel Barnes and Darcey Barnes
7% ABV
This Bay Area sour ale from Almanac Beer Company is inspired by the agricultural history of the Santa Clara Valley. Long before it became Silicon Valley, it was known as the Valley of The Heart’s Delight, a fertile basin overflowing with fruit orchards. Continue reading
by Michael Guillén
With San Francisco’s neighborhood theaters biting the dust like Amerindian buffalo, it’s gratifying to know there are still alternate screening venues like Oddball Film + Video, a stock footage company based in San Francisco whose main business is licensing unusual stock footage to producers of feature films, documentaries, commercials, broadcast television, music videos, as well as web and new media productions. Continue reading
by Meredith Brody
I look forward to the San Francisco Silent Film Festival all year long. It’s an intense event, but encompassable: this year’s iteration crams 19 events into a long weekend—with one movie on Thursday night, May 29, and the rest spread thickly across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Festival’s brief—to show silent movies, both well-known and obscure, with live musical accompaniment—suits me right down to the ground. But I also cherish the opportunity to descend into a sort of childish gourmandise, built up over the years in a combination of experimentation and ritual. Continue reading
