SFFS Screen presents: Yella September 5, 2008

“In this superb metaphysical thriller crafted by acclaimed writer/director Christian Petzold (The State I Am In, SFIFF 2001), a woman named Yella decides to leave behind a failed marriage and broken dreams in her small eastern German town for a new life on the other side of the Elbe. In Hanover, she meets Philipp, a young executive at an equity firm, who hires her as his assistant. Although she has no knowledge of the world of venture capital, Yella discovers she has a knack with ruthless businessmen and sees a potential future with Philipp. As she begins to worry that her new life could be too good to be true, strange voices and sounds suddenly start to plague her—truths from her past coming back to haunt her” writes the Mill Valley Film Festival. Nina Hoss, a regular in Petzold’s films, won the Berlin Film Festival's Silver Bear for best actress for her performance in the title role. As Chris Darke states in his Film Comment review, “Yella is a modest, haunting, highly economical work that rewards repeated viewings … It’s in the choice of narrative framework—something between a ghost story and a dying woman’s dream¬¬—that Petzold, a leading light of the current generation of young German filmmakers, succeeds in making the modern world strange again.” Yella is inspired by Herk Harvey’s cult classic Carnival of Souls (USA 1962).
Photographed by Hans Fromm. With Nina Hoss, Devid Striesow, Hinnerk Schoenemann. In German with English subtitles. (89 min) Distributed by Cinema Guild.

At the Sundance Kabuki all seats are reserved and an amenities fee is in effect for most shows. Tickets will be available through the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas box office, at kiosks in the lobby and online at www.sundancecinemas.com with print-at-home capability. San Francisco Film Society members will receive discounted admission to SFFS Screen programs at the box office only (not online or at the lobby kiosks).

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org