Fifth Annual San Francisco International Animation Festival November 11, 2010

The San Francisco Film Society presents the fifth annual San Francisco International Animation Festival (SFIAF), a four-day celebration of the Bay Area’s preeminence as a hub for one of the most creative forms in cinema, November 11–14 at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema. This year’s International Animation Festival ranges from FX-based features to family-friendly cartoons and includes Hayao Miyazaki protégé Sunao Katabuchi’s Mai Mai Miracle, the Decemberists-inspired Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized, six wildly diverse shorts programs and a live animation and musical performance by artist duo Semiconductor.

Thursday, November 11, 9:00–11:00 pm
La Mar Cebichería Peruana, Pier 1½, Embarcadero
Celebrate Opening Night!
Following the screening of Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized, a limited number of tickets are available for a fabulous party of Peruvian hors d’oeuvres and gorgeous waterfront views.

Thursday, November 11, 7:30 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized
Peter Sluszka, Julia Pott, Guilherme Marcondes, Santa Maria (USA/England 2009)
This four-part, conceptual series provides a stunningly animated montage of the Decemberists’ acclaimed album The Hazards of Love while exploring themes of beauty, angst and foreboding.

Thursday, November 11, 9:30 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Jackboots on Whitehall
Edward McHenry, Rory McHenry (England 2010)
Jackboots on Whitehall is a witty and richly-crafted puppet farce that poses a central question: What if the Nazis had invaded England and occupied Buckingham Palace?

Friday, November 12, 7:00 pm & Sunday, November 14, 12:45 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
The Best of Annecy
SFIAF is pleased to offer an engaging selection of the best shorts to have appeared this year at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Friday, November 12, 9:00 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Johnny Ray and Skye: Channel Drift
This truly fun and eclectic shorts program explores the myriad interests of two of San Francisco’s most creative figures–Johnny Ray Huston and Skye Thorstenson.

Saturday, November 13, 12:00 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Mai Mai Miracle
Sunao Katabuchi (Mai Mai Shinko to sennen no maho, Japan 2009)
A whimsical tale about two young girls and their imaginary companion, Mai Mai Miracle delicately captures the strange wonder that accompanies one’s transition into adolescence.

Saturday, November 13, 2:30 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
What You Want and What You Need
This enticing series is comprised of 11 shorts that center around one of human nature’s most fundamental elements: desire.

Saturday, November 13, 4:30 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Good Night and Good Luck
These shorts are real and imagined journeys—inward, outward, some funny, some painful, all animated. Go your own way. In fact, you must.

Saturday, November 13, 7:20 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Semiconductor: Forward Looking Back
Join us for a thrilling retrospective of Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt’s nearly 15-year collaboration, featuring both live animation and musical performance.

Saturday, November 13, 9:45 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Play It By Eye
This year’s diverse series of animated music videos—centered around a secret but omnipresent natural phenomenon so confusing we decided to keep it secret—will not fail to perplex and inspire.

Sunday, November 14, 11:00 am
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Near and Far... and Animals
This shorts program, which will appeal to children and adults alike, examines the juxtaposition of distance and closeness . . . and there are animals too!

Sunday, November 14, 2:30 pm
Landmark's Embarcadero Center Cinema
Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then
Brent Green (USA 2009)
Brent Green’s staggering emotional achievement replicates one man’s quest to save the love of his life by building a house tall enough to reach God.

For more information please visit: http://www.sffs.org/Screenings-and-Events/Fall-Season/SF-Intl-Animation-Festival.aspx

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/Screenings-and-Events/Fall-Season/SF-Intl-Animation-Festival.aspx