Hey, cineastes! And all of you who say, "what I really want to do is direct"! Local independent film resource the Film Arts Foundation passes along word of their San Francisco Independent Filmmakers Conference next month at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The conference features panels about the ins and outs of Bay Area filmmaking, how to get financing and funding in the area for your projects, getting distribution for documentaries, as well......

It's more than just Heart and Soul: the Berkeley Arts Festival presents an evening of four-hand piano pieces, composed by beloved local minimalist Terry Riley, and performed by Joseph Kubera and Berkeley radio host/pianist Sarah Cahill. 8 p.m., $10-20 sliding scale, at the temporary Berkeley Arts Festival location, which is the Fidelity Bank Building at 2323 Shattuck (x Bancroft). Other events: --A talk at the SF Main Public Library on "How to Listen to......

SFist Sara S. on this weekend's movie offerings. She tells us "There is nothing good coming out in mainstream movies this weekend," so it's all the little microcinemas around town this week! C'mon, what about Sandra Bullock in "Premonition"? Okay, Sara, point taken. At the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Wednesday the 21st, the Film Arts Foundation is presenting a documentary on twenty years of the SF Graffiti scene, called Piece by Piece.......

We don't know about you, but we are a bit drained from the excitement of last night's election and constantly "refreshing results" while our better half patiently indulged us. It is this sort of compulsive behavior that led us to swear off ebay. But we digress. We're feeling like some instant gratification tonight, and this event should fit the bill. YLEM presents “How Techies Have Fun," a show and tell featuring moving light sculptures,......

Hey you kids: get off Wednesday's lawn! Tonight: Nothing says fun like a documentary about a bipolar girl trying to deal with life after her failed suicide attempt! The Film Arts Foundation is screening Learning to Swallow as part of their True Stories: Sneak Previews of New Documentaries series. 7:30 p.m. at the Yerba Buena Center Screening Room, $8. Thursday: The Surround>Sound series wraps up its San Francisco aural experience at the Luggage Store Gallery......

Wednesday killed a man -- with a trident! Tonight: As part of their series previewing new documentaries, the Film Arts Foundation is screening David L. Brown's "The Bridge So Far," about the shenanigans surrounding the reconstruction of the Bay Bridge, at the Screening Room in the Yerba Buena Center. $7, 7:30 p.m. Thursday: Options on both sides of the bay tonight (as if nothing happens in either SF or Oakland on any other day of......

This is a hott and sexxy weekend for mainstream movies. We've been eagerly anticipating Syriana (which confused Ruthe Stein, so good sign there), and The Chronicles of Narnia (our hearts sink as we read bizarro world critic LaSalle's glowing review). Other folks are all hot and bothered (in the good way) about gay cowboys and hot and bothered (in the bad way) about English speaking Chinese actresses playing geishas. But we've already had to......

We told you about the Hammer auditions at Film Arts last week, but it wasn't until today, when friend of SFist Katie tipped us off, that we knew the true insanity of the situation. She sent us to this craigslist entry, which contains identical verbiage to the one we posted earlier, except that it lists an additional audition venue: Monday November 21st between 7 -9 Round Table pizza res't, 3567 Geary St., SF, 94118......

Jason Schultz found an exciting job opportunity posted at a cafe -- Mr. Fancypants himself, Hammer (nee MC), needs dancers for a music video:Tuesday, November 22nd between 7pm - 9 pm Film Arts Foundation 145 Ninth Street #102 San Francisco, CA We are holding an audition for two Hammer music videos, which will have national distribution. The videos will be show November 29 and 30th. We are looking for 3 featured actresses age, 18-30,......

Well, the Film Arts Festival may be at its end, but that doesn't mean we're done giving away passes quite yet! Enter by midnight tonight to get passes for you and your guest to see One Bright Shining Moment tomorrow night at 7 p.m., at the Rafael Film Center. That's right, you can be one of the first folks to see this documentary on the George McGovern presidential campaign, which "illustrates how that moment......

KQED listeners and Howard Deaniacs patiently lined up in the on-again off-again drizzly evening outside the Roxie, reading complimentary copies of Mother Jones and blocking the entrance to Dalva, as a sodden and trodden election flyer featuring Matt Gonzalez endorsing Calvin Louie for treasurer looked forlornly up from the sidewalk. Before Howard Dean vowed to take back the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, there was Paul Wellstone. The voluble and ebullient Carleton political science professor was advocating against both Iraq wars before it was cool, and fought tirelessly for universal health care and energy reform in the 12 years he spent as the senior senator from Minnesota, and is reputed to be one of the inspirations for the West Wing's President Bartlet (down to their diagnoses of multiple sclerosis). Tragically, Wellstone, his wife and daughter, three other campaign staffers, and two pilots were killed in a plane crash 11 days before the 2002 election, right as the Democrats were pulling ahead of Republican (and now Senator) Norm Coleman. We all know how the rest of that election turned out. Now, Wellstone supporters have put together Wellstone!, a documentary about Wellstone's life and the power of idealism to make a positive change, which showed as part of the Mother Jones Agitators and Instigators series of the 21st Film Arts Film Fest Saturday night at the Roxie....

There are a lot of film festivals underway this weekend -- and we're going to most of them! So, stay tuned all next week for SFist reports from the trenches, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be out there seeing some of these movies for yourself. Before we get to our picks from these fests, here's some news (remember: you heard it first on SFist) from our pals at IndieFest: IndieFest is opening a......

Thanks to all of you who entered yesterday's contest for passes to see Come Fly With Me Nude, and congratulations to the lucky winners! As we told you yesterday, The Film Arts Foundation and Larsen Associates are offering free passes to several of the Film Arts Festival screenings to SFist readers, how cool it that? Today's contest is for passes to see Scared New World Tuesday, November 8 at Oakland's lovely Parkway Theater at......

We here at SFist are looking forward to the The 21st Film Arts Festival of Independent Cinema, which runs from Nov 3-9 at the Kanbar Hall and the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco, at the Parkway in Oakland, and at the Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. Film Arts and Larsen Associates are offering free passes to several of the Fest screenings to SFist readers, starting with today's giveaway of passes for you and......