1746 Post Street
San Francisco, California 94115

Adapted from his book of the same name, Mark Cousins’ epic exploration of film—its distant and recent past, and even its future—has something of interest for everyone from the mildly curious to the hardcore cineaste. Cousins’ film is designed to be a history of ideas and innovators rather than a charting of money and business, focusing on the development of cinematic language around the world. Comprehensive yet idiosyncratic, the series is packed with luscious film clips and judicious interviews with directors both beloved and underappreciated (many of them veterans of SFIFF) as well as lesser-known figures in the history of the medium. Aiming to redress what he considers racism by omission in many official cinema histories, Cousins illustrates the importance and innovation of filmmakers and films from Asia, Africa, India and the Middle East—without in any way dismissing the importance of mainstream commercial cinema. Guiding the journey with a lilting voice-over, whispering his version of cinema history in viewers’ ears, Cousins moves us through a travelogue of images of current locations and cities that have been important to the story of filmmaking. All together, it adds up to an ambitious, wide-ranging, provocative look at the evolution of the medium.

July 7: Part 6 “The Arrival of Multiplexes and Asian Mainstream” (1970s); “Fight the Power: Protest in Film” (1980s)

July 14: Part 7 “New Boundaries: World Cinema in Africa, Asia, Latin America”; “New American Independents & the Digital Revolution” (1990s)

July 21: Part 8 “Cinema Today and the Future” (2000s)

Official Website: http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=928,942&pageid=2946

Added by cinesoul on June 26, 2012

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