AIFF 2022 Feb 18th - 20th

Opening Night Film

Cafe Americano - USA [Comedy, 1hr 50min]

7:00pm

Directed by Alex Scheinman

Opening night film: A hysterical mockumentary that follows a delusional young director as he attempts to become the next great American filmmaker.

Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

“Fresh Takes” Shorts program (50 min + Q&A)

12:00pm

This program celebrates first time filmmakers and we are honored to be able to bring the first film from each of these artists to an audience.

In alphabetical order:

Altar+Cation by Virginia Saenz McCarthy, AutoCorrect by Priyanka Shetty & Anu Bhatt, Elucidate by Jack Tang, Tantalizing Tales of Terror by Anthony Francis. Please be sure to stick around after the screening for a Q&A with any filmmakers, cast, or crew in attendance.

Shorts Block #1 (60min + Q&A)

12:30pm

In alphabetical order:

Apocalypse Notes by Pierre Gaffié, Lists by Oscar Kryzanauskas, My Own Mecca by Alba Roland Mejia, The Tale of the Daughter by Savannah Sivert & Taylor Hinds, Weekend at Gus’ by Paul Overstrom. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

“From Literature to Screen” Workshop with Christopher Coppola (90min)

1:00pm

Featuring Coppola’s film Sammy & Quinn and a short film by his students Tale of Two Cities with a discussion about the process of adapting literature into a screenplay and then executing it for the screen. Professor Christopher Coppola, the director of Cinema Projects and Studies at the San Francisco Art Institute discusses his Cinema Syntax and Think It, Shoot It, Share It teaching methods as well as his new Project Great Literature to Art film courses. Sammy & Quinn was born out of Project Don Quixote. We are also screening "The Golden Thread" which was born out of Project Tale of Two Cities. Currently, he is teaching Project Coyote using Native American Coyote tales to make a film. Professor Coppola's current and former students will share what they have learned from their teacher and how they apply it to their own filmmaking.

Sammy & Quinn - USA (30min)

Directed by Christopher Coppola

Sammy, the little brother, searches the streets of San Francisco to find Quinn, the older brother, to bring him home for Thanksgiving. Quinn, who suffers from mental health issues, has been missing for 5 years. He's been on an imaginary quest to find his sublime Dulcinea melody. Sammy decides to help his older brother find his Dulcinea with the hope his love and dedication can somehow heal him and bring him back to the family.

"Sammy & Quinn" was born out of the study of Miguel de Cervantes' "Don Quixote." It was meant to be a feature film called "Oil on Water" to be shot in Spain at the actual locations Cervantes describes.  Due to Covid, the project changed and became a no-budget short film with the only two lead actors I had available to me that were willing to work for nothing, my sons. 

Sammy & Quinn is also a very personal film for me.  I am a mental health awareness activist. Those afflicted need more compassion and understanding, rather than stigma and judgment. We can learn from "Sammy & Quinn." There's a lot of truth in regard to mental health and unconditional love. More should be sensitive to that truth.

Shorts Block #2 (60min + Q&A)

1:45pm

In alphabetical order:

Lachesis by Gregory Foltynowicz, Oleander by Kate Hackett, Shanta by Amanda Bensel, The Accursed (Las Malditas) by Bruno Ojeda Molina & Beatriz Hohenleiter Márquez, The Speed of Time by William J. Stribling. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #3 (60min + Q&A)

2:15pm

In alphabetical order:

Bugaloo by Peter McCarthy & Ben Conway, Cold Pizza by Nicolas Collins, Feeling Through by Doug Roland, Namida by Renata Jesion, The Rock Collection by Mayer Adelberg, Turfin by Latiece Brown. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse - USA [Documentary, 1hr 36min]

3:00pm - Theater #3

Directed by Eleanor Coppola, Fax Bahr, & George Hickenlooper.

Starring Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, and Marlon Brando

Saturday Afternoon Feature Film: A documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.

Introduction by Christopher Coppola.

**This film is rated R**

Shorts Block #4 (60min + Q&A)

3:30pm

In alphabetical order:

Ghosted by Tracie Laymon, Iron Head by Cameron Thuman, Let’s Talk About Farts by Greg Runnels, Red Shoes (Il figlio del Boss) by Isabella Weiss di Valbranca, The Phoenix by Regina Pigsley, Working It Out: A Jazzercise Fantasy by Marian McColm. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Animated Shorts Program (45min + Q&A)

4:00pm

In alphabetical order:

A Change of Song by Gordon David lePage, Deep Fears by Ryan Chu, Everybody Goes to the Hospital by Tiffany Kimmel, Liv & Bell’s Long Thin Friend by Natsuki Kida, Misfit by Steve Segal, The Secret of Mr. Nostoc by Patrice Seiler & Maxime Marion. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #5 (60min +Q&A)

5:15pm

In alphabetical order:

Avocado by Casey de Fremery, Lead Change by Michael Crocker, MAR by Milorad Milatović, My Lovely Man by Francisco Roel, Pattern Recognition by Andrew Eaton, Tough Guys Forget by Rob Riutta. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Mad God - USA (Animation, 83min + Q&A)

7:00pm

Directed by Phil Tippett

Saturday Night Feature Film: Come see the Bay Area premiere of stop motion and special effects legend Phil Tippett’s wild and visionary film 30 years in the making! “A corroded diving bell descends amidst a ruined city and the Assassin emerges from it to explore a labyrinth of bizarre landscapes inhabited by freakish denizens.”

**This film is rated R**

Audience warning: this film contains sound and images that some may find disturbing, including violence, blood, and gore.

Interview before screening with Oscar winners Richard Beggs (sound design) and Phil Tippett (director).

Shorts Block #5 (60min + Q&A)

11:30am

In alphabetical order:

Avocado by Casey de Fremery, Lead Change by Michael Crocker, MAR by Milorad Milatović, My Lovely Man by Francisco Roel, Pattern Recognition by Andrew Eaton, Tough Guys Forget by Rob Riutta. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Animated Shorts Program (60min + Q&A)

12:00pm

In alphabetical order:

A Change of Song by Gordon David lePage, Deep Fears by Ryan Chu, Everybody Goes to the Hospital by Tiffany Kimmel, Liv & Bell’s Long Thin Friend by Natsuki Kida, Misfit by Steve Segal, The Secret of Mr. Nostoc by Patrice Seiler & Maxime Marion. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #2 (60min Q&A)

1:15pm

In alphabetical order:

Lachesis by Gregory Foltynowicz, Oleander by Kate Hackett, Shanta by Amanda Bensel, The Accursed (Las Malditas) by Bruno Ojeda Molina & Beatriz Hohenleiter Márquez, The Speed of Time by William J. Stribling. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #1 (60min Q+A)

1:30pm

In alphabetical order:

Apocalypse Notes by Pierre Gaffié, Lists by Oscar Kryzanauskas, My Own Mecca by Alba Roland Mejia, The Tale of the Daughter by Savannah Sivert & Taylor Hinds, Weekend at Gus’ by Paul Overstrom. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #3 (60min Q+A)

3:00pm

In alphabetical order:

Bugaloo by Peter McCarthy & Ben Conway, Cold Pizza by Nicolas Collins, Feeling Through by Doug Roland, Namida by Renata Jesion, The Rock Collection by Mayer Adelberg, Turfin by Latiece Brown. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!

Shorts Block #4 (60min Q&A)

3:15pm

In alphabetical order:

Ghosted by Tracie Laymon, Iron Head by Cameron Thuman, Let’s Talk About Farts by Greg Runnels, Red Shoes (Il figlio del Boss) by Isabella Weiss di Valbranca, The Phoenix by Regina Pigsley, Working It Out: A Jazzercise Fantasy by Marian McColm. Please stick around for a Q&A with the filmmakers!