Local Boy Makes Good

Celebrate our rich local filmmaking scene with these four new films by or about Bay Area artists. A vast array of work is made here, but the Bay Area is especially rich in two areas of film: documentary and experimental. We combine both in this series and all artists will be present for discussion following the screenings.

Films
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The Singularity
Sep 12, 2013 7:00pm
Screening Room
Regular: $10 / YBCA Member, Student, Senior, Teacher: $8 / YBCA:You FREE
by Doug Wolens
Director in person

The “singularity” is defined as the point when computer intelligence exceeds human intelligence. While the notion of superhuman machines has long served as fodder for tales of science fiction, most scientific leaders argue that these changes are in fact inevitable, based on the great strides being made in fields such as nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, and molecular biology. These technological advancements no doubt imply a change in what it means to be human. But the question arises: what kind of humans do we want to become? This comprehensive documentary examines technology’s accelerating rate, and deftly addresses the resulting moral questions with leading futurists, computer scientists, artificial intelligence experts, and philosophers. (2012, 76 min, digital)


mother mortar, father pestle
Sep 19, 2013 7:30pm
Screening Room
Regular: $10 / YBCA Member, Student, Senior, Teacher: $8 / YBCA:You FREE
by Gibbs Chapman
Director in person

A government, in the habit of dismissing science, sees the world shift into a weather pattern of perpetual twilight that the officials have trouble explaining. Despite this, some individuals go about their business: The Theologian continues his crisis of faith, the Secularist continues to challenge the existence of god, the Landlord proceeds with his evictions, the Homeless man continues to collect electronics, and the Liaison continues to represent his suspicious clients, until their respective fates descend upon them, either absorbing or ignoring the lessons therein. mother mortar, father pestle is a film about the fallibility of perspective. (2012, 93 min, DCP)


way
Sep 26, 2013 6:30pm
Sep 26, 2013 8:00pm
Screening Room
Regular: $10 / YBCA Member, Student, Senior, Teacher: $8 / YBCA:You FREE
by Konrad Steiner
Director in person

Leslie Scalapino was an Oakland-based poet and experimental prose writer, often associated with the Language poets whose passing left a huge imprint on the international poetry scene. Konrad Steiner’s film is a visual response to Scalapino’s reading of her epic poem, way. The intention of the project is to create a musical space in cinema for the interplay of language and image. Through counterpoint, phrasing, tempo, and rhythm, the visual and the verbal are joined in time to form a duet, or a conversation. Presented in collaboration with The Poetry Center at SFSU. (2012, 68 min, 35mm)


Fred Lyon: Living Through the Lens
Sep 29, 2013 2:00pm
Screening Room
Regular: $10 / YBCA Member, Student, Senior, Teacher: $8 / YBCA:You FREE
by Michael House
Michael House and Fred Lyon in person

This world premiere is an intimate exposé of San Francisco photographer Fred Lyon, who is still going strong after seven decades behind the camera. Though Lyon is one of America's leading advertising, interior design, architectural, food, wine, and travel photographers, he is best known locally for his mood-soaked street photography of San Francisco in the ’40s and ’50s. Lyon photographed the transformation of his treasured hometown into a center for optimism, prosperity, and growth after World War II, a truly extraordinary documentation of the City in black-and-white. Fred Lyon: Living Through the Lens tells the story of this prolific, innovative artist. (2013, 52 min, digital)