Site: http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=82364~a70858c6-cd47-4e92-968c-c94c12db6b1c& Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFsIksu6Rz4
- Castro Theatre - Tue, Jul 29 1:45 PM
- California Theatre - Wed, Aug 6 1:45 PM
For 20 years Doug Block (51 Birch Street, SFJFF 2006) has worked two jobs. The New York–based independent filmmaker is known primarily as an acclaimed director and producer of a handful of successful PBS documentaries. But Block’s unlikely second gig finds him practicing his craft as a part-time wedding videographer. Shooting in a loose verité style, Block recorded not only over a hundred ceremonies and receptions but also the wide-eyed expectation and jittery preparation leading up to the big event. Through his work the filmmaker often developed a fondness for the couples, but after delivering the edited footage he rarely heard from the newlyweds again. So after a couple of decades, Block decided to find a dozen couples whose nuptials he recorded and find out what has become of them. The results are surprising, revealing and occasionally heartbreaking. Block discovers a fascinating, funny and often frank mixture of wives and husbands who reflect on the complicated reality of “happily ever after.” One groom’s recollection of the manic episode that eventually brought about his train wreck of a divorce deserves a documentary all its own. Doug Block has created a memorable and telling film that explores the secret of what it takes to make a lasting partnership between two people.-Thomas Logoreci
Site: http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=82360~a70858c6-cd47-4e92-968c-c94c12db6b1c& Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4A07vLA-dI
- Castro Theatre - Sat, Jul 26 4:30 PM
- Cinearts at Palo Alto Square - Sun, Jul 27 4:25 PM
- California Theatre - Tue, Aug 5 6:15 PM
It has been estimated that there are nearly 100,000 Filipinos currently working in Israel, around 30,000 of whom are doing so without proper documentation. In 2009, the government instituted tough changes in the citizenship status of foreign workers. Any child under the age of five now faces deportation. From this situation, director Hannah Espia and screenwriter Giancarlo Abrahan have crafted a troubling and deeply moving story of Filipino workers in Tel Aviv who scrape by at odd jobs, constantly on the lookout for police and immigration officers. Janet (Irma Adlawan) is a weary single mother dreading a knock at the door that might bring questions about her half-Israeli daughter Yael (Jasmine Curtis) and her brother’s four-year-old son, Joshua. When Janet’s close friend Tina (Mercedes Cabral) gets pregnant complicating the already cramped situation, her brother Moises (Ping Medina) must take young Joshua into hiding. Espia’s multilayered depiction of life on the run captures the edgy plight of thousands of Filipinos, many of whom have known only Israel as home and whose children can speak only Hebrew. The film’s poignant finale, a wide-eyed Joshua chanting the Torah while surrounded by police, gives an eloquent voice to millions of displaced individuals who wonder where exactly they should call home. -Thomas Logoreci
Site: http://prod3.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=82405~a70858c6-cd47-4e92-968c-c94c12db6b1c& Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY2ipU9tYek
- Castro Theatre - Fri, Jul 25 9:00 PM
- Cinearts at Palo Alto Square - Tue, Jul 29 8:55 PM
- Grand Lake Theater - Sun, Aug 10 6:45 PM