The title of Nobuhiro Yamashita's A Gentle Breeze in the Village poignantly conveys the tone of this film. Witnessing the gentle coming of age of young Soyo (played by Kaho), the oldest of the students in her small, combined elementary and middle school, personifies for the viewer the lush yet gentle breeze that reverberates throughout the beautiful landscape shots of the Japanese countryside. Oh, to be young and going to the beach and playing with......

Due to the popularity of Portland's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, (and just in time for the national release of Girls Rock! The Movie this spring) girls' rock camps are now sprouting up all over the country, including one opening in the Bay Area this summer! The Bay Area Girls Rock Camp will serve 25–40 girls between the ages of 8 and 18 and will take place at Julia Morgan School for Girls in......

Bay Area filmmakers Arne Johnson and Shane King present Girls Rock! The Movie, a highly moving documentary about Portland's Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls, a place for girls ages eight to eighteen to learn an instrument, form their own bands, write songs, make friends, and then perform in front of 700 people -- all in a week's time. The film is opening in seven cities today -- San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland, New York,......

We just got word that Gustaf Van Sant needs more extras this Sunday for Milk. You know what that means, don't you? Time to throw on your hippest and tightest '70s duds revealing the most chest hair possible in order to help the poor Palme d'Or winner out. You will help him out this coming Sunday, won't you? Good. According to event organizers: WE ARE INVITING PEOPLE BACK TO BE IN THE MOVIE ONE......

Have you always wanted to appear on Spike TV? We have. We'd even be on Max-X, which is, aside from Intervention, the best show on TV. But there's a safer way to get on the testosterone -heavy network: the 2008 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge. This year's SWFMC winners will air on Spike TV, so hop to it. Your movies should be under five minutes, frighteningly original, and make viewers flood their pants with......

It's almost Academy Awards® time and whether or not the writers will still be on strike, it seems that each year the movies are less and less relevant to the show itself. Between the Valentino dresses, Armani suits and pregger rumors, we feel Oscar® (or at least media coverage) has lost its focus. Enter Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International and their Indie Movie-loving glory: they're teaming to showcase this year's Academy Award nominated short......

Seeing as how castroshopper's Ray F. has some choice shots of the Castro's conversion to 1978, we thought we'd thrill you with a few more recent images of the world's most flowery neighborhood. Also, it seems to have gone through a big transformation -- bigger than we thought, in fact -- but many of the stores that are there today seem faithful to the stores' genres of yesteryear, at least according to Van Sant's......

Jesus, have you seen those ads for this movie "Hancock"? Is it us, or is there something insaaaaaanely racist about them? Let's break it down: Will Smith plays an African-American superhero -- the first big-screen African-American superhero since, um, Robert Townsend in 1993's Meteor Man? Oh, that's right, there was that black sidekick in "The Incredibles." And Halle Berry as Storm. And Wesley Snipes as Blade ... so, okay, there've been four black superheroes in......

Undergoing a procedure to erase 30 years from its face, the Castro neighborhood is going retro, circa 1978, for the filming of Gus Van Sant's Harvey Milk biopic, Milk, which starts shooting this week. Already the Castro Theatre, right, and boutique shop Given, formerly Milk's camera store / campaign headquarters, are being renovated to get that '70s vibe. Rumor has it that Castro Street between 18th and 19th streets (i.e., the staphicenter) will be......

OMG! It's the Nicole Ritchie of laptops! (Ritchie before she got fat and pregnant, that is.) It seems that the new MacBook Air, just unveiled a few hours ago, features multi-touch ability on its oversized trackpad, similar to that of the iPhone; some sort of crazy wirelessness; recyclable aluminum case; a mercury and lead free display; and you can buy the thing in two weeks, starting at around $1799. Read more about it here.......

New York Times, in their weekly Critic's Choice: New CDs column, introduced us to four different musicians we have never heard of: Lupe Fiasco, Jaheim, Birdman and Steve Lehman. We think that it has nothing to do with the "critic's choice", but rather there is nothing significant to write about this week - seems like a repeat of last week. We're patiently waiting for the January releases of: Radiohead (the actual CD), Kate Nash, Sia,......

HBO bought the rights to Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal That Rocked Professional Sport, the infamous book penned by Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams. According to a sister over at Variety, in it Bonds is "painted in 'Game of Shadows' as a gifted player who made a Faustian bargain to increase his power." (Might we suggest Damn Giants as a working title, then?) Ron Shelton -- auteur......

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. Jerry Seinfeld was in town the other day, presumably to promote his upcoming film Bee Movie (why on a cable car, though? Is there an SF theme? You know we'll watch anything with an SF theme!) -- and our favorite photographer Drew Altizer was there on the scene. Thanks for passing the pictures along, Drew! We're hoping these end up in US Weekly's "Celebrities, they're......

According to the Chronicle, '90s comic brain behind the long-ago hit In Living Color and current Scary Movie franchise, Keenen Ivory Wayans, will not build a movie studio and shopping center (a shopping center and movie studio...why not?) on the old Oakland Army base as originally planned. Pacifica Capital Group and Mr. Wayans claim that the Port of Oakland land isn't workable since the port's expansion plans wouldn't mix with their own -- one......

arlyck, following-sean, pov, pbs...

-- The Cribs, Sean Na Na, and the Hugs: popscene presents a surprisingly not-so-greasy group of Britrockers, the Cribs, performing along with Sean Na Na and the Hugs. (Aw.) Show starts at 8 p.m. at Slim's, 333 11th St.; admission is $13. -- Improv Slam Music Jam: All-singing show presented by local improv troupe tries to delight you with their off-the-cuffness. Audience participation is rumored to happen, so you’ve been warned. Show starts at......

Isn't it awesome to live in this city? It's a beautiful summer, all our political news is extremely entertaining, and we have tons of amazing film festivals all the freaking time! So many, in fact, that you've got not one but TWO to pick from this weekend! At the Castro this weekend, the organists are warming up -- it's time for the Silent Movie Festival. This year's lineup features a series of Hal Roach comedies,......

It's that time of the year again for San Francisco magazine's Best of the Bay party. The annual bash features lots of eats, drinks and chances to win prizes. Be prepared to fork over nearly a bill for your ticket here -- but as an added bonus it will also get you into the afterparty at Slide. San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center, 635 8th St. Come watch contenders for the Air Guitar championship title......

It's the end of the week -- and it's our last Frameline LGBT film fest ticket giveaway. The last one's a blowout, though -- it's passes for you and a friend to the sold-out closing night movie and party Sunday night! Whoooo! Frameline goes out in style, starting out with Sunday night's 7:30 p.m. Castro screening of Itty Bitty Titty Committee at the Castro, an exuberantly-idealistic radical feminist punk rocker romantic comedy by the......

SF Improv Fest kicks off tonight with Emo Phillips, performing with Bassprov and 3 For All, at the Buriel Clay Theatre. Get tickets in advance here. Show starts at 8pm, 762 Fulton St, SF. Movie night in Dolores Park! Show up early to participate in a clap-off to determine whether Hitchcock's M for Murder or Vincent Price's House of Wax will be shown. 8pm, Dolores Park (20th and Dolores). Gama-go, a SF-based design company......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

This week's Big Movie: Ocean's Thirteen! It’s a real surprise how divided the critics are about this one! Sure it’s franchising, sure it’s full of top shelf men in designer clothes and high-end accoutrement, but we thought it was all kicks and giggles. Groucho Reviews's Peter Cavanese however, says, “the plot of Thirteen is old, old news.” Many, like Roger Ebert, expressed their exhaustion with this trope -- Scott Floundas of the Village Voice......

There's only one thing better than absorbing nerdy cultural texts, and that's becoming a nerdy cultural text of your own. Voting on the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge launched today; over the next month, a ton of fan-made Star Wars films will duel to the death to attract the attention of our local birthday-beardo, George Lucas. Winners are announced May 27 on Spike TV (corporate sibling of Atom Films). We adore Chad Vader, of......

It's Bad Movie Night at the Dark Room SF! Every Sunday night, they screen some terrible-sounding movie with some wisecracking hosts and free popcorn. May is Razzies Month, where they'll screen the 2006 worst-movie nominees, and tonight's featured movie is Little Man, where Shawn Wayans plays a midget criminal pretending to be a baby. That looks awful. 2263 Mission (x 18th), 8 p.m., $5. Other events: --Belly dancers, including local troupe Fat Chance Belly Dance,......

Jonathan Richman is the most adorable San Franciscan ever -- he sings! he dances! he votes Green! Look at that sweet face! WE LOVE YOU JONATHAN RICHMAN!!!! So -- how lucky are you, valued readers?? SFist has two tickets to give away to one lucky winner, for a screening of The Phantom Carriage, a spooky silent movie showing at the Castro for the SF Int'l Film Festival -- with none other than Mr. J. Richman......

Theatrical Releases April 13th, 2007 We haven’t seen everything on the roster for this week but we have seen Hot Fuzz and we strongly suggest it. Hot Fuzz does for cop/buddy action films what Pegg, Wright and Frost’s Shaun of the Dead did for zombie films. Fuzz is every bit as researched and diligent as was Shaun. Afterwards you can hit the pub and discuss which you think is funnier. ...

This is a little late to be posted- but we did just want to give a nod to the youth short films screening as part of the SF Women's Film Festival on Saturday afternoon in the Audre Lorde Room at the Women’s Building. The whole viewing lasted about an hour or so, but it managed to showcase a whole lot of youth talent in a brief time period. Yes, we’ll admit we went to the......

We did a confused circle around the first floor of the Women's Building Saturday night, until we noticed the sign which you see at your right, telling us to go upstairs for the SF Women's Film Festival documentary shorts screening, featuring movies all directed by women. We got to a classroom-sized room and settled into a folding chair just as people were starting to trickle in and, more importantly, right as the Trader Joe's snacks......

Here's a list of things to do tonight...

Here's a listing for tonight's events...