Our Art Saturday programs run every 1st and 3rd Saturday from September 18th through May 7th. No need to RSVP. Students tour downtown galleries and museums to take in the very latest in contemporary art before they are treated to a picnic lunch. After lunch we go see a new release film. Unless noted otherwise, we meet on the balcony outside Metreon overlooking Yerba Buena Park between 10:30 and 11am. Come join us.

Cine/Club is held on Friday nights. These events are free to students, their guests, mentors, parents and friends of Art & Film. No need to RSVP. Screenings are held at the Randall Museum (199 Museum Way) and at Dolby Labs (100 Potrero Avenue). Refreshments are served at 6:30 and the film begins at 7pm unless otherwise noted.

Discussions are held after each film with moderators Heather Woodward of School of the Arts, and Ronald Chase, director of Art & Film.



Friday 4: Cine/Club: Dolby Labs

Andrei Tarkovsky's ANDREI RUBLEV (1966, Russia)

Here is the most vivid recreation of the Middle Ages on film. Andrei Rublev is a masterwork that was banned by the Soviets because they suspected it was subversive (though they couldn’t explain exactly why). The plot is built on episodes from the life of a great icon painter, each filled with spectacle and great film making. A legendary director at his very finest.

 
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:

There is probably no other film that leaves such a big impact on our students, both negative and positive. It is more complex and breathtaking, more frustrating and beautiful than anything else we show, and this is why we love introducing it to you. The film is divided into sections, each covering an important step in an artist's life: leaving one’s mentor and striking out in the world, struggling to find one’s one style, struggling with ethical decisions, battling rejection and failure, loss of faith in oneself, and finally, the reaffirming of one’s faith. The last section of the film, a breath taking evocation of the casting of a cathedral bell, uses some of the most dazzling camera techniques in the history of film. It’s a film that makes you work hard as a viewer but rewards you every step of the way.
   
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Certain filmmakers become legends in their own time, and Tarkovsky was one. Some of it had to do with the scope and philosophical bent of his films. He is the most radical and unorthadox of all Russian filmmakers at the time. How could he get away with this? As his films became more obtuse, difficult, strange and haunting his reputation rose and his films made a deep divide in the new, developing legions of film fans.
   
Tarkovsky became the symbol as the filmmaker as artist: intense vision and no compromises. He didn’t make many films, Ivan's Childhood, Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker, Nostalgia and The Sacrifice are the main ones. He was the son of a well-known Russian poet, and his father’s poetry is often used as voice over in his films. But Andrei Rublev stands apart as a violently realistic depiction of life in the Middle Ages in Russia. Banned by the Soviets (they knew, somehow, it must be dangerous) from 1966 through 1971. When in made its debut at Cannes and caused a sensation, the film became an icon in of itself. Tarkovsky fled Russia and finished his last three films in Europe. He is considered among the handful of important directors of the late 20th century.

Saturday 5: Art Saturday

10:30 Meet on the balcony outside Metron overlooking Yerba Buena Park (on Mission between 3rd & 4th)
11:00 We'll go see galleries, followed by a picnic lunch and see a film in the afternoon.
Friday 11: Cine/Club: Randall Museum

Alfonso Cuarón's Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (2001, Mexico)

Two teenage boys on summer break manage to tear themselves away from their daily routine of smoking pot and masturbating to take a woman trying to escape her cares on a search for the perfect beach. This film is the jewel of the new Mexican cinema, and is filled with joy, laughter, surprises and transformation.

PARENTAL WARNING: Nudity, drug use and suggested sex scenes.

 
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:

Dare we suggest everyone will have a ball at this marvelous film? Talk about natural acting! These two lead actors, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, were raised together from childhood and the vibe between them, the jokes, the friendship, the rivalry has seldom been equaled in film. The candidness of the banter, and the complex characters they create would be quite enough for any film. But the film is also a marvelous road film. The journey it takes is through a Mexico that gives you a real and brilliant sample of a complex country filled with a multitude of human variation.

Come to laugh, but you’re also guaranteed to have an experience that will help you understand real life. That’s because the film is honest and true.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Cauron has emerged as a major director who has put the Mexican film industry on the map (along with his friends, Iñárittu and del Torro). He was expelled from film school in Mexico but almost immediately began working in television. His first feature was a sex comedy he wrote, directed and edited, after which he was asked to direct films in Hollywood, which included The Little Princess and a remake of Great Expectations. He returned to Mexico for his first international hit with Y Tu Mama Tambien. This success led to his directing Harry Potter and the Prince of Azkaban, and the very exceptional City of Men.
Friday 18: Cine/Club: Randall Museum

Mike Leigh's SECRETS & LIES (1995, UK)

Here is the story of a sucessful black woman who seeks out her birth mother only to discover that she's a working-class white woman. It's tenacious, funny and deeply moving. You'll never forget its perfectly etched performances and characters that are all too human. It's not a short film, but its got a tremendous pay-off.

 
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:

This film explores the many levels of relationships and lives that we thought it would be a revelation for you to see how deep. How does one make peace with a troubled past? What does family mean to people who don’t have any, and what does it mean to people caught in a dysfunctional one? Are there any real lines between black and white, and how can we erase them? Secrets & Lies covers a lot of emotional ground and is blessed with some of the deepest and most beautiful performances you’ll ever see.

 
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Mike Leigh is a prolific film maker, but with the exception of this film and his more recent Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky, his work has never been terribly mainstream; his films are too probing and often deal with unorthodox subject matter. Leigh made a number of films for the BBC, developing his own unusual techniques for working with actors. He works without a script, developing scenes with themes or ideas through a series of improvisations. This process can take months, until the actors have thoroughly entered their character’s persona. While filming, actors only receive the script a scene at a time, which produces a spontaneity and authenticity most films don’t have.

Saturday 19: Art Saturday

10:30 Meet on the balcony outside Metron overlooking Yerba Buena Park (on Mission between 3rd & 4th)
11:00 We'll go see galleries, followed by a picnic lunch and see a film in the afternoon.
Friday 25: Cine/Club: Dolby Labs

Peter Weir's DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989, USA)

A moving tale of a English professor who inspires his students to a love of poetry and a passion for life, but remains helpless when the realities of life interfere.
   
WHY WE CHOSE THIS FILM:

Some films with real value fall through the cracks—it’s hard to pin-point why. Certainly this popular movie doesn’t deserve to be ignored. This story about an English class at an elite boys boarding school doesn’t exactly fit in with the edgy necessities of modern teen films. Instead of fashion, drugs and relationship drama, it takes poetry as its main subject, and it certainly has its say.
   
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:

Peter Weir began his career in Australia with an independent mystery film, Picnic at Hanging Rock, which brought him his international reputation. He followed that by The Last Wave, and then Gallipoli—Mel Gibson's first major leading film role. He was then invited to Hollywood and has made a constant stream of thoughtful yet popular and accessible films including, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, The Truman Show and his latest, Master and Commander.