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Admission is free. No advance reservations. Your seat will be assigned to you when you pick up your ticket at the box office. Seats are assigned on a first come, first served basis. The box office opens one hour before the event.
In the Red
U.S., 1979
In this lively, visceral collage film, filmmakers Liz Keim and Karen Merchant filmed what they knew and loved, the punk scene in San Francisco. Shot on whatever they had — still camera, Super 8mm, 16mm with live sound — a dynamic document is created, featuring moments with band members from Negative Trend, the Avengers, and more at the Mabuhay Gardens resulting in a crucial San Francisco punk document, proving that punk is personal.
Digital video, color, 21 min. Director: Liz Keim, Karen Merchant. Courtesy of USC HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive.
San Francisco’s First and Only Rock’n’Roll Movie: CRIME 1978
U.S., 2018
The Mabuhay Gardens in North Beach was the place to see punk and New Wave bands in San Francisco and frequent acts included the Avengers, The Nuns, Dead Kennedys and Crime. When Crime appeared on the scene in 1976 they brought with them personas, uniforms and a defiant attitude, and also made history as the first punk band on the West Coast to put out a punk single. Taking original footage of Crime from 1978, filmmaker Jon Bastian has made a unique historical document of the band, the place, and those who frequented the club. Less a documentary on “who was Crime” and more of a “Crime feels like” film, CRIME 1978 captures the essence, humor and feeling of what it was like to be there under their spell.
Digital video, color, 35 min. Director: Jon Bastian.
Fine French Phrases and Other Fables
U.S., 1976
Playing with doubles, looking at the Transamerica Pyramid, and a sense of humor. Toney Merritt’s film is an amusing piece of looking and language.
Digital video, color, 4 min. Director: Toney W. Merritt.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
U.S., 1978
Small pods with pink flowers start appearing all over San Francisco and when psychiatrist Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland) and SF Health Department employee Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) look into it, they begin to notice that people around them are starting to act differently and they must act quickly to save their friends and themselves. Philip Kaufman’s remake of the classic film retains the paranoia but is its own sci-fi thriller and unique document of San Francisco. With remarkable interior shots and even more remarkable practical effects — including body doubles and a smashing of a head that will be sure to make you grimace — the film is quintessentially San Francisco, from the locations, to the local director, to a small but notable role by Tom Luddy (a Bay Area film icon, co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival).
Digital video, color, 115 min. Director: Philip Kaufman. Screenwriter: W.D. Richter. With: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy.
