Sunday, May 14th, Opening Night, 7:30 pm, at ATA:

"The West May Save Us Yet," curated by Nick Hallet
see press review here

From Olympia to Los Angeles, musicians and film artists up and down the Pacific coast are getting together to liberate the music video from its status-quo context as self-promotional tool and transform it into a new, confrontational art form, displacing major-label preen with honest, direct address and DIY visual kinesis Despite having next-to-nothing budgets, production values are way high, and you will be as well.

Assembled by musician and curator Nick Hallett, the reel is a follow-up to last fall's '23 Reasons to Spare New York,' a syllabus of the Big Apple's new psychedelic wave. This screening will likewise involve its fair share of the heavy, heady visuals (this is the west coast, man!) Just imagine what MTV would look like if it still broadcast subversive, anti-consumerist, revolution-invoking, and seizure-inducing films, soundtracked by bands that actually push the boundaries of sound.

• Deerhoof: Wrong Time Capsule, dir. Martha Colburn 3:00
• Black Mountain: Druganaut dir. Heather Trawick 4:00
• Ariel Pink: Life in LA, dir. Nicolas Amato :30
• BARR: Lights Out, dir. Donovan/Vim Crony 3:00
• Mae Shi: Chop 2, dir. David Park 1:00
• Numbers: Fuck You Garage, dir. Eric Landmark 3:00
• Dynasty Handbag: I Can't Wait, dir. Jibz Cameron, Sue Costibile and Indra
• Dunis 2:45
• Tussle: Entre Chien et Loup, dir. Alison Childs 2:00
• Crime in Choir: The Hoop, dir. Tim Miller 4:00
• Ariel Pink: Bloody Bagonias, dir. Nicolas Amato :30
• Eats Tapes: Pteryd, dir. Nate Boyce 3:00
• Sexy Midi: Wizards, dir. Kelly Sears 1:15
• Push {H}it (Abe's the S Stands for Suppa Glitch Out for all You Sukkas! Mix) from Universal Acid, dir. Marisa Olson and Abe Linkoln 1:30
• Phase Chancellor: exerpt from live performance, dir. Phase
• Chancellor 5:30
• Starter Set: In Can Can Descent, dir. Lindsay Beamish 4:00
• Matt Reilly: Punk House 6:30
• Ariel Pink: Loverboy, dir. Nicolas Amato :30
• White Rainbow: Full Spectrum Healing Center, dir. Adam Forkner 1:30
• Bonus: Tone Trad, dir. Jamie Potter 5:00
• Comets on Fire: Beneath the Ice Age, dir. Elise Irving 3:30
• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: The Subway Home, dir. David Enos, Paul Stephanin 3:45
• Bobby Birdman: Steal Yr Face, dir. Jona Bechtolt 3:30
• Ariel Pink: Beverly Kills, dir. Nicolas Amato 2:15
• The Gossip: Standing in the Way of Control, dir. Wyld File 4:30

Tuesday, May 16th, 7:30 pm, at ATA:

The Myth of Obo Martin

A lyrical documentary shot in colour and black and white by Chris Arnold and Isabel Fondevila in 2005 .The movie explores a question Michael Musika asks his third grade students " if being a creative person means to remain a child in an adult world ?" At the heart of the question, is Michael Musika and his friend Obo Martin and their adventures through San Francisco¹s music scene, playing shows in hallways , baroque bars, social séances, and lantern-lit forests. Musika translates the experience to the children as a spooky comic myth. Through fact, fiction, and fairy tale the movie questions the difference between artistic freedom and childhood. Do you have to sell your dreams to make a living?

This full length documentary features musical performances by San Francisco luminaries Sean Hayes, Jolie Holland, Michael Musika, Sleepy Todd and Ara Anderson.

Comic Book Show

Wednesday May 17th, 6pm at Queen’s Nails Annex gallery:

For the first time ever, the festival will celebrate the medium of comics and graphic novels with the Mission Creek Comic Book Art Show. Co-curated by Shannon O’Leary, this one-night-only show will be held at the Queen’s Nails Annex gallery on Wednesday evening, May 17, from 6:00 to 10:00 PM, followed by an after party at the 12 Galaxies with the musical stylings of Hey Willpower, Anna Oxygen, Flaming Fire, and Hello Fever. Featuring the work of some of the finest emerging and established comic book artists in the Bay Area and beyond (including Lauren Weinstein, Jeffrey Brown, Sam Henderson, Tom Hart, Keith Knight and many, many more) the show will celebrate the release of Girl Stories by Lauren Weinstein and Fortune’s Bitch by Eric Koepfle, among others. In addition to live music by Steeple Chase, there will be readings and lots of great original comic book art, comic books, and graphic novels for sale so bring your checkbook!

A portion of the proceeds from the Mission Creek Comic Book Art Show will go to benefit 826 Valencia's cartooning workshops and other comics-related programming for Bay Area youth. 826 Valencia is a non-profit organization based in San Francisco dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their writing skills and to strengthening each student's power to express ideas effectively, creatively, confidently, and in his or her individual voice.

Wednesday May 17th, 7:30 at The Lab:

Vertigo: San Francisco perspective on the Music Video, hosted by Mike Palmieri

Michael Palmieri will host a round table discussion about the music video with an eclectic panel of San Franciscans. Palmieri will present the first public screening of his latest Strokes video in its uncensored, pre-MTV entirety. Each panel member will present several of their favorite music videos, talk about the state of the music video today, and will open a discussion with members of the audience. Featuring the first ever public screening of the pre-MTV-censored new Strokes video by Mike Palmieri.

Panelists:

• Heklina
• Kota Ezawa
• Kevin Killian
• Scott Hewicker
• Arno Salters

Thursday May 18th, 8:00 pm at Artists Television Access: Danny Plotinick's Show

From The Dawn of Time Until The Day After Tomorrow: Music Films and Videos Curated by Danny Plotnick

For the third year in a row local filmmaker Danny Plotnick is curating music-based films and videos from around the planet. Time traveling from the ‘60’s to the ‘80’s and boldly venturing into the ‘00’s, this program is an inspired sonic and visual smorgasbord that travels across both time and space.

The show will include a Birdman Records sampler platter featuring animated attacks from the Modey Lemon, the classic stylings of Foetus, the Wonder Showzen-inspired PFFR, and the serene style of local chanteuse Paula Frazier. Also on the bill will be horror show offerings from Buckethead created by film maestros Syd Garon and Rodney Ascher, the urban spaces shakedown of England’s Semiconductor, creepy depression-era flashbacks from Vanessa Renwick, Bryan Boyce’s ode to Valencia Gardens, Sue C’s garage door fetishism, a double dose of the billion beats per second, scorched retinal policy of the TV Sheriff, non pornographic fare from porn impresario Eon Mackai, the sexy rap damage of Gold Chains, the blink or lose your eyesight offerings of Nate Boyce, the cut-and-paste collage of Martha Colburn, sights and sounds of local heroes Deerhoof and more. Setting the time machine to wayback will allow us to take in super 8 views of Berlin circa 1980 courtesy of Malaria, as well as 16mm views of the East Village circa the mid-60’s courtesy of the one of the all time great primitive rock acts whose name cannot be mentioned here!

Friday May 19th, 7:30 pm at ATA: The Mission Creek Music Video Awards Show with Celebrity Judges Michael Palmieri (Video Maker), Maria Shriver (Mrs. Governator), Cindy Emch (Atom Films), and Cliff Hengst

Celebrity Judges will give trophies to the best music videos submitted to by a host of bands and film makers. Already in the line up, new videos by Film School/Boyskout, Anne McGuire, Margaret Tedesco, Dynasty Handbag and many other contestants. Hosted by Karla Milosevich, Craig Goodman, and Heather Snider

Sunday, May 21st, 7:30 pm, at ATA A Leonard Cohen Tribute with live performance by The Conspiracy of Beards

Screening of the 1965 B&W documentary LADIES AND GENTLEMEN... MR. LEONARD COHEN plus a number of shorts inspired by Leonard Cohen. The Conspiracy of Beards, a 30-member a capella male choir, performs uplifting renditions of Leonard Cohen songs.

Monday, May 22nd, Closing Night, 7:30 pm, at ATA Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land

Mission Creek, The Hub of the JCCSF, and The Contemporary Jewish Museum present a special screening of Jericho's Echo: Punk Rock in the Holy Land, a documentary about hope and rebellion in Israel, a place where it's still punk to be a punk rocker. Director/producer Liz Nord will be present for Q & A following the film.

Co-presented by the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Tickets available through JCCSF Box Office 415.292.1233
JCCSF & CJM Members $10 / General $12