Oddball Films and Guest Curator Soumyaa Kapil Behrens present, The San Francisco Experiment: A Grand Disaster. This new monthly series takes a look at the cinematic and pedagogical history of this great
city. Part visual archeology and part experiment this program sheds lights on our fair city's darkest corners and it's most sophisticated
triumphs. Featuring, the classic 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Film (ca. 1930) with awesome
footage from the turn-of-the-century quake aftermath and The Ageless Cable
Cars of San Francisco (1955) documenting the urban growth along the relic
laden journey of the still famed cable car. Excerpts from Hell On Frisco Bay (1955) with Noir
darling Edward G. Robinson and The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), one of the
most important historical films ever made on SF-- and an Academy Award
winner. Rare footage from over the years including the first broadcast ever made on TV in
SF, colorful hippies and sassy low riders. Vietnam Epilogue (1973) made by the Hearst
Corporation’s newsreel division also takes a look at the politics and horror
that surrounded America’s war efforts in Vietnam, Nixon, LBJ, and nationwide
protests all play a role in this short film that walks the line in diplomacy
and dissent. Plus! Other newsreel gems
round out the night of disaster, intrigue and drama that steered San Francisco
to what it is today.
Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 - Limited Seating RSVP to programming@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117
Featuring:
San Francisco’s
Ageless Cable Cars (1955, color)
Traverse the classic
haunts of San Fran through the eyes of the cable car. Andrew Hallide brought the cable car system to America after
witnessing a terrible accident of horses and a carriage trying to make their
way down a steep SF hill in the late 1800’s. Today, it is still the most appropriate form of
transportation over and about San Francisco’s steep hills and valleys. This doc takes the viewer through the
routes of the cars and illuminates its many characters and uses along the way.
Epilogue Vietnam: End
of the Tunnel (1973, color)
Part of the Hearst
Corporation, the Hearst Metrotone Newsreel produced a series of historical
films documenting wars and other social movements. This short follows Vietnam from the battle at Dienbienphu in
1954 to the treaty signing in 1973.
Less conservative than most of their documentaries, this epilogue
contains moving footage from our nation’s presidents and enormous protests that
still rock the world’s stage.
Hell On Frisco Bay (1955, color - excerpt)
No show about San
Francisco is complete without a noir featuring the famed Edward G. Robinson,
Alan Ladd and Joannne Dru. A man
seeks vengeance after being falsely imprisoned set-up by an unknown enemy. Set in the city by the bay and
featuring every motif known to noir, the opening of this film is sure to revive
your sense of intrigue that defines what it is to be literally so close to your
dreams yet still fathoms away.
The Life and Times
of Harvey Milk (1984, color - excerpt)
Rob
Epstein’s Academy Award winning film recounts the man who was bigger than
life-Harvey Milk, SF’s first gay supervisor and victim of murder at City
Hall. This is a stunning film that
never once allows the viewer to forget that Harvey is no longer with us. The movie is a must-see for anyone who
cares to know anything about San Francisco history.
Short Various (1930’3-1980’s) color/bw
This collection of
footage, short films and newsreels covers SF from a slicked up and glittering
town to the nitty gritty of the people who fill it. Includes the first TV broadcast in San Francisco, footage
from the 1906 quake aftermath, hippies and low-riders. Also includes wild silent outtakes of
Harvey Milk, Dan White, and other SF crime oddities.
Curator Biography
Soumyaa Kapil Behrens is a
filmmaker based in San Francisco.
Behrens is currently directing “MY GARBAGE, MY NEIGHBORHOOD”, a documentary film on the legal battle against eviction for one of the
oldest recycling centers in San Francisco located in Golden Gate Park. Behrens also produces film and video in
the Bay Area for other artists and nonprofits. She sits on the Board of Directors for BAWIFM (Bay Area
Women In Film/Media) and has taught classes at a variety of local
institutions. She also holds an
MFA in Cinema Production from San Francisco State University.