Calendar

May 23 - All May long, SFPL is having a Michael Moore-a-thon during Thursdays @ Noon!

Fahrenheit 911

(2004, 122 minutes)

Michael Moore's view on what happened to the US after September 11, 2001; and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The SFPL Library for the Blind and Print Disabled invites you to join us for an audio-described film, followed by a discussion.   The film selection for May is the 2010 version of a Western classic film, True Grit, which was nominated for 82 Awards, including 10 Oscars.

The following film description is taken from the Internet Movie Data Base:

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.

Why show Audio Described films?

A Blind or partially sighted person cannot enjoy a feature film without relying on someone to whisper the visual aspects of the movie in his or her ear.  Audio-described films allow visually impaired to enjoy movies independently because they include a second soundtrack that describes the sets, costumes and any visual cues that the director uses to establish place, create mood and foreshadow events.

Join us for a movie followed by a discussion about the film and the effectiveness of the audio-descriptions.

Sighted people are welcome.  If you find it distracting to listen to the descriptions while watching the movie, you might try closing your eyes. 

Please note that we must request noise be kept to a minimum during the film so people can hear the descriptions.

Unfortunately there currently is no option to include closed captioning for the Deaf and hard of hearing with audio description in most of these movies.

Ponyo is an animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.

Last Saturday of the Month Movies are for all ages.  The audience limit is 42.

The Typewriter (In The 21st Century) is a film about a machine and the people who use, love, and repair it.

The film features 30+ interviews in 10 U.S. states with Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning authors Robert Caro and David McCullough, collectors, repairmen, artists, musicians, inventors, and bloggers from The Typosphere - an online gathering place for typewriter enthusiasts.

The film was inspired by a May, 2010 article in Wired magazine called “Meet The Last Generation of Typewriter Repairman.” Director Christopher Lockett and Producer Gary Nicholson discussed the importance of the typewriter in 20th Century literature. The conclusion being that every great novel of the 20th Century was written on one, and if typewriters are in their final days, they deserved to be celebrated one last time.

It only took a few interviews to determine that the typewriter and its legion of fans is far from dead. By the time the “Last Typewriter Factory Closes Its Doors” article went viral in April of 2011, Lockett and Nicholson were not only already making the film, they were convinced they had a much bigger story on their hands. They did.

Funded largely through Kickstarter, the film eventually featured not only typewriter people – the aforementioned technicians, collectors, bloggers, users and fans – but famous typewriters as well. The film features machines once owned by Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, John Steinbeck, Jack London, Sylvia Plath, George Bernard Shaw, John Lennon, Joe DiMaggio, Helen Keller, The Unabomber, John Updike, Ray Bradbury and Ernie Pyle.

Find out more about the film at http://typewritermovie.com/the-film/

Saturday at the Movies will take place on the 4th Saturday of the month at 3:00. This month we'll show Born Yesterday (1950) Starring Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford and William Holden  

Uncouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn. Brock hires newspaperman Paul Verrall to see if he can make her more presentable in capital society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for as Billie absorbs Verall's lessons in U.S. history.

Black and White; 103 minutes.

Opera Guild preview lectures are scheduled in communities throughout the greater Bay Area by local Guild chapters. Each preview features a renowned musicologist who may use recordings and/or handouts to familiarize the audience with repertoire from the current season.

Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach

Speaker: Timothy Flynn

May 30 - All May long, SFPL is having a Michael Moore-a-thon during Thursdays @ Noon!

Sicko

(2007, 123 minutes)

A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories. As the Affordable Care Act has passed into law, this film still remains highly informative and relevant.

Misión Flamenca's performances aim to access the creative energies of it's members and create an open, collaborative space, in a venue accessible to all who want to participate --- to share flamenco with everybody, not only those who want to perform on stage, but those who come to share in that process as active spectators.

So come and experience this expresive dance form and kick off your Summer Reading Program in Spanish style!

Join us at the 3rd San Francisco Green Film Festival for this special free event!

This year, attendees will learn about the threats of plastic pollution to animals and humans, and talk with experts in this area.

Film line-up:

-  Winners from the 2013 Breathe California student video contest (8 mins) - sponsored by SF Green Film Festival.

-  “Scars of Freedom” (6 mins) - A moving film about a whale’s struggle for survival off the coast of Chile’s Juan Fernandez Archipelago, from filmmaker Celine Cousteau.

-  “Coastguards” (4 mins) - A short film about humanity’s obsession and mixture of fear and fascination for sharks.

-  “Plastic Paradise” (57 mins) - Travel with filmmaker Angela Sun to Midway Atoll, a remote island in the Pacific, as she seeks to uncover the mystery behind the island of garbage that everyone has heard of but no one truly understands. What she discovers is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an island littered with plastics, causing great harm not only to our beaches, oceans, and sea life, but to ourselves. Midway sees 20 tons of plastic trash wash ashore each year and as we watch her sift through ordinary household items among the debris – reusable coffee mugs, flip flops, lighters, even a computer monitor – we find ourselves uncomfortably complicit. This film tackles a seriously daunting problem with high energy and humor, archival footage, and animation as it tracks down the who, what, where and why of this phenomena. Along the way Sun speaks to scientists, environmental activists, the plastic bag guy, marine researchers, plastics industry representatives, even Jack Johnson, to get a sense of how our obsession with plastic began, where it all went wrong and how we can fix it.   Discussion following films.

All are welcome to attend this free festival program. Further Information: http://sfgreenfilmfest.org  

 This is a Stegner Environmental Center, San Francisco Green Film Festival and Green Stacks Program.

On Location: the Golden Gate Bridge on the Silver Screen

The Golden Gate Bridge has starred in more movies than any other American architectural icon. From Dark Passage (1947) to The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) the iconic span appears in wide range of films including Superman, Star Trek, Time After Time, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Love Bug, A View to a Kill, Monsters vs. Aliens, Interview with a Vampire, X-Men. In honor of its 75th anniversary, Jim Van Buskirk, author of Celluloid San Francisco, (and former SFPL librarian) offers a clip-filled program of hilariously horrifying depictions of San Francisco’s beloved bridge.

For Love of the Game  (1999, 129 minutes)

Directed by Sam Raimi. On the heels of one of the most exciting seasons in baseball history, Kevin Costner ("DANCES WITH WOLVES") stars as Billy Chapel, an All-Star pitcher who comes face to face with hard personal choices as his career is winding down. Preparing for the final game of the season, Billy finds himself caught in the worst situation he's ever been in - not only is he about to be traded after 18 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the woman he's been with for several years is about to leave him. Against this backdrop, Billy begins pitching the greatest game of his long and glorious career against the New York Yankees, the most feared team in baseball. Kelly Preston ("JERRY MAGUIRE") gives an enchanting performance as Jane Aubrey, the love of Billy's life, in this romantic drama.

Teen DJ workshop with KMEL & Project Level

Program for Tweens and Teens, ages 11-18

Come learn how to spin and scratch records with KMEL and Project Level

No musical experience needed.

For more information please contact Eric Hannan

Musical fun for children and families.

For over twenty-five years, Bonnie has developed a dynamic repertoire which feeds Songs & Music Games.

Designed to maximize children's participation, her shows feature sing-along, clap along, move-along activities with folk songs from many countries and cultures.

In addition to a wealth of folk songs, Bonnie’s own original materials lend a distinctive vitality to her presentations.  She encourages children to sing, dance and fingerplay their way into the joys of music.  Kids and families cooperate and collaborate in singing games, call and response chants, story-songs, and on-the-spot rhythm bands.

Accompanying herself on guitar, keyboards, and percussion, Bonnie sings with irresistible enthusiasm.  With a repertoire rich in cultural diversity, she entertains while nurturing the seeds of children's self esteem.

Space is limited, please call for reservations.

Ma Vie en Rose by Alain Berliner

Ludovic is waiting for a miracle. With six-year-old certainty, he believes he was meant to be a little girl and that the mistake will soon be corrected. But where he expects the miraculous, Ludo finds only rejection, isolation and guilt--as the intense reactions of family, friends, and neighbors strip away every innocent lace and bauble. Winner of the 1998 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film. Produced in Belgium. (1997, 88 min. In French with English subtitles)

Perrin and Cluzaud clearly aim to discourage pollution and encourage conservation, but their movie mostly serves as a treat for the eyes and ears As narrator Pierce Brosnan states, "The Ocean is alive," and the crew spent four years crossing the globe to capture its most intriguing sights, from the salt-encrusted marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands to the silky fur seals of South Africa.

Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation.

Tough cop Detective Frazier matches wits with a clever bank robber Dalton in a tense hostage drama. Dalton is calling the shots in this dangerous cat and mouse game but a wild card emerges. Madeliene is a power broker with a hidden agenda who brings even more instability into an already volatile situation.

Directed by Spike Lee.  Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe.  Universal Pictures; Rated R; 129 mins.; 2006

A world of girders and cable, that's where Mack Hale works, supervising the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. In its shadow is a world of hopes and fears. That's where Lynn Palmer works, aiding travelers stranded in an unforgiving city during the depths of the Depression.  From 1935.  72 minutes.

San Francisco Public Library's theme for the summer is our own great City!

Don't forget to check out our June 5th presentation,  "The Golden Gate Bridge on the Silver Screen".  Jim Van Buskirk, author of Celluloid San Francisco, (and former SFPL librarian) offers a clip-filled program of hilariously horrifying depictions of San Francisco’s beloved bridge.  6-7:30pm.

Opera Guild preview lectures are scheduled in communities throughout the greater Bay Area by local Guild chapters. Each preview features a renowned musicologist who may use recordings and/or handouts to familiarize the audience with repertoire from the current season.

Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Mark Adamo

WORLD PREMIERE

Speaker: Lynne Morrow

The Bernal Jazz Quartet explores familiar standards and fresh new compositions, from bop to blues to ballads and more. An unusual front-line pairing of vibraphone (Jim Zimmerman) and sax (Michael Gold) combines with a creative supportive rhythm section of bass (Ken Lenga) and drums (Curt Moore).

Moneyball  (2012, 113 minutes)

The Oakland A's general manager defies conventional wisdom and outsmarts his competition when forced to reinvent his team with bargain players.  Starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

 Join music historian Richie Unterberger for  "The Golden Age of Soul Vol. 3"  The program will feature rare clips of  performers such as Mary Wells, Jackie Wilson, Major Lance, Jimmy Cliff, Little Eva, the Four Tops, and Les McCann & Eddie Harris.  Also featured will be performers spotlighted in the previous two programs, such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Sly Stone, and Stevie Wonder.

Come celebrate the 17th anniversary of the library's grand reopening and enjoy an afternoon of music with Gold Mountain Music Ensemble!  Light refreshments will be served.  There will be photo displays, digital scrapbook, and video documenting the branch’s long history including the 1996 reopening after major expansion and renovations, up to the present day.

The Golden Gate Bridge has starred in more movies than any other American architectural icon. From Dark Passage (1947) to The Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) the iconic span appears in wide range of films including Superman, Star Trek, Time After Time, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Love Bug, A View to a Kill, Monsters vs. Aliens, Interview with a Vampire, and X-Men.

In honor of its 75th anniversary, Jim Van Buskirk, author of Celluloid San Francisco, (and a former SFPL librarian) offers a clip-filled program of hilariously horrifying depictions of San Francisco’s beloved red bridge.

This film discusses how faith, love, marriage, homosexuality and the Episcopal Church collide in the first openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.  An audience discussion with Rev. Jim Mitulski of the Pacific School of Religion  follows the film.

De Lovely  (2004, 125 minutes)

Starring  Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, and Allan Corduner, De-Lovely is an original musical portrait of American composer Cole Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action onstage. Through elaborate production numbers and popular hits like "Anything Goes," "It's De-Lovely," and "Night and Day," Porter's elegant, excessive past comes to light - including his deeply complicated relationship with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter.

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger games. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers in her younger sister's place and must rely upon her sharp instincts when she's pitted against highly trained Tributes who have prepared their entire lives. She must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Rated PG-13, 142 minutes.  2012.  Ages 13-18.  Snacks provided.

Tomboy by Celine Sciamma

Laure is 10 years old and a tomboy. On arrival in a new neighborhood, she lets Lisa and her crowd believe that she is a boy. Summer becomes a big playground and Laure pretends to be Mikael, a boy like the others, different enough to get the attention of Lisa, who falls in love with him. Laure takes advantage of her new identity as if the end of the summer would never reveal her unsettling secret. Audience Award, Best Feature, SF International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (2012, 84 min. French with English subtitles)

Join us for a lively morning of music from around the world, including new and traditional songs. Clap, dance, and sing to the music!

Groups, please call for reservations.

When filmy spores fall from space and take root in San Francisco, the city is beautifully transformed by spectacular and exotic flowers. But these lovely extraterrestrial blossoms have gruesome plans for their earthly admirers. These blossoms are going to slowly clone human bodies and then dispose of the originals.  From 1978.  117 minutes.

San Francisco Public Library's theme for the summer is our own great City!

Don't forget to check out our June 5th presentation,  "The Golden Gate Bridge on the Silver Screen".  Jim Van Buskirk, author of Celluloid San Francisco, (and former SFPL librarian) offers a clip-filled program of hilariously horrifying depictions of San Francisco’s beloved bridge.  6-7:30pm.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated feature and one of the top ten all-time money makers. It is still considered by many critics one of the 40 greatest American films, animated or not.  Come watch Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy, Grumpy, and Dopey sing "Whistle While You Work" and vanquish the evil queen on our big screen!

New York- based duo Barbara Siesel and Keith Torgan will introduce children to the magic of classical music through a lighthearted, comical embellishment of the traditional Rapunzel. For ages 5 and up. Space is limited, please call for a reservation.

Take an auditory and visual journey down San Francisco´s Market Street -- one that reveals the perspectives of everyday users alongside those of designers and planners. The film, shot in 2012, intends to create a dialogue about the future of Market Street and preserve, on film, an experience of the corridor before its transformation. Join us afterwards for a discussion with designers, planners, the filmmaker and everyday users about the future of San Francisco´s greatest street. Presented by Walk San Francisco.

Saved  (2004, 92 minutes)

Mandy Moore, Jena Malone, Macaulay Culkin star in film about a young girl at a conservative Southern Baptist high school who becomes pregnant while trying to “save” her gay boyfriend, and finds herself the victim of persecution as all of her friends ostracize her.

The SFPL Library for the Blind and Print Disabled invites you to join us for an audio-described film, followed by a discussion.  The  selection for June, Dogs and More Dogs, was produced by the award-winning science filmakers at NOVA for PBS. 

Film Description from the Nova Website:

Where do dogs in all their amazing diversity come from? Tradition says that thousands of years ago someone tamed a wolf pup, thus creating the first of our best friends.  But many scientists disagree. On "Dogs and More Dogs," NOVA goes to the dogs—and to leading researchers—to find out the truth.

Narrated by John Lithgow, the program ranges from a wolf research facility in rural Indiana to the Westminster Dog Show in New York's Madison Square Garden. NOVA makes a fascinating detour to the city dump in Tijuana, Mexico, where viewers get surprising insight into the origin and evolutionary strategy of our canine companions.

Why show Audio Described films?

A Blind or partially sighted person cannot enjoy a feature film without relying on someone to whisper the visual aspects of the movie in his or her ear.  Audio-described films allow visually impaired to enjoy movies independently because they include a second soundtrack that describes the sets, costumes and any visual cues that the director uses to establish place, create mood and foreshadow events.

Join us for a movie followed by a discussion about the film and the effectiveness of the audio-descriptions.

Sighted people are welcome.  If you find it distracting to listen to the descriptions while watching the movie, you might try closing your eyes. 

Please note that we must request noise be kept to a minimum during the film so people can hear the descriptions.

Unfortunately there currently is no option to include closed captioning for the Deaf and hard of hearing with audio description in most of these movies.

The Bernal Jazz Quartet explores familiar standards and fresh new compositions, from bop to blues to ballads and more. An unusual front-line pairing of vibraphone (Jim Zimmerman) and sax (Michael Gold) combines with a creative supportive rhythm section of bass (Ken Lenga) and drums (Curt Moore).

American Graffiti (1973, 110 minutes)

This film from director George Lucas was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest 100 movies ever made. Four California teenagers who are unsure of their futures spend one last night cruising their small town before leaving for college. A nostalgic look at life in the early 60’s.

Foul Play (1978, 116 minutes)

“Beware of the Dwarf," is the strange warning to a San Francisco librarian played by Goldie Hawn. Suddenly she is propelled into a world of wild chases, bizarre attempts on her life, and deadly encounters with an assortment of underworld characters known as the Albino, Scarface, Stiltskin, and the Turk. Hawn is joined by Chevy Chase who plays a federal agent trying to unravel the clues.

Join us for a film screening of The Social Network (PG-13).  This film tells the story of the founders of the social-networking website, Facebook. Adapted from Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal. You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies!

Escape from Alcatraz  (1979, 112 minutes)

A fascinating account based on the true events of the one and only successful escape from the maximum security prison at Alcatraz in 1962. Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood) and a couple of fellow prisoners break out of Alcatraz. They are never heard from again.

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The Insect Discovery Lab provides youth with an opportunity to handle and explore the fantastic lives of millipedes, walking sticks, whip scorpions and more while learning about the extraordinarily diverse world in which they live and their key role in the web of life.

 Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation. Limit to first 25 participants

The Bernal Jazz Quartet explores familiar standards and fresh new compositions, from bop to blues to ballads and more. An unusual front-line pairing of vibraphone (Jim Zimmerman) and sax (Michael Gold) combines with a creative supportive rhythm section of bass (Ken Lenga) and drums (Curt Moore).

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The Bernal Jazz Quartet explores familiar standards and fresh new compositions, from bop to blues to ballads and more. An unusual front-line pairing of vibraphone (Jim Zimmerman) and sax (Michael Gold) combines with a creative supportive rhythm section of bass (Ken Lenga) and drums (Curt Moore).

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Perrin and Cluzaud clearly aim to discourage pollution and encourage conservation, but their movie mostly serves as a treat for the eyes and ears As narrator Pierce Brosnan states, "The Ocean is alive," and the crew spent four years crossing the globe to capture its most intriguing sights, from the salt-encrusted marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands to the silky fur seals of South Africa.

Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation.

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Perrin and Cluzaud clearly aim to discourage pollution and encourage conservation, but their movie mostly serves as a treat for the eyes and ears As narrator Pierce Brosnan states, "The Ocean is alive," and the crew spent four years crossing the globe to capture its most intriguing sights, from the salt-encrusted marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands to the silky fur seals of South Africa.

Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation.

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Perrin and Cluzaud clearly aim to discourage pollution and encourage conservation, but their movie mostly serves as a treat for the eyes and ears As narrator Pierce Brosnan states, "The Ocean is alive," and the crew spent four years crossing the globe to capture its most intriguing sights, from the salt-encrusted marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands to the silky fur seals of South Africa.

Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation.

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Perrin and Cluzaud clearly aim to discourage pollution and encourage conservation, but their movie mostly serves as a treat for the eyes and ears As narrator Pierce Brosnan states, "The Ocean is alive," and the crew spent four years crossing the globe to capture its most intriguing sights, from the salt-encrusted marine iguanas of the Galápagos Islands to the silky fur seals of South Africa.

Green Saturdays@ Bernal takes place the second Saturday of every month. The program features hands-on activities and useful information for sustainable living.  This program is for all ages and we encourage family participation.

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