“Francofonia” at BAMPFA

May 6 – May 18, 2016

The Russian master Alexander Sokurov (Russian Ark, Alexandra, Faust) returns with another literal museum piece, a portrait of the Louvre that extends into a transcendent investigation of art, life, and cultural and political power. Combining documentary and philosophical musings with fictional re-enactments, Sokurov poses a simple, yet profound query: “What is more important, culture or life?”

Karim Miské in the Bay Area

May 2 – May 5, 2016

French Author Karim Miské grew up in Paris before leaving to study journalism in Dakar. He has since returned to France, and is making documentary films on a wide range of subjects including the common roots between the Jewish and Islamic religions.

Pierre Bonnard: Arcadia

Feb. 6 – May 15, 2016

The exhibition celebrates Bonnard (French, 1867–1947) as one of the defining figures of modernism in the transitional period between Impressionism and abstraction. Several themes from Bonnard’s career will emerge, including the artist’s great decorative commissions where the natural world merges with the bright colors and light of the South of France.

Clémentine Célarié

April 22, 2016

“CRÊPE TOSS” is a madness potpourri of hysterical humor and various recommendations to create happiness, and to be beautiful, handsome, happier, and more alive. It is presented as a kind of scientific and philosophical lecture on the challenging project of changing the world, starting from scratch: change oneself in order to reveal our most simple, human, and best self…

SF Green Film Festival

April 14 – April 20, 2016

The Roxie Theater
The San Francisco Green Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to screening compelling environmental films; connecting you to filmmakers & experts; and sparking green ideas & actions.
As the leading movement for films and conversations about people and the planet, our mission is to educate and connect communities through forward-thinking programs of environmental films, dialogue, and action opportunities.

Jean Epstein Retrospective

March 4 – April 10, 2016

Jean Epstein, more than any other filmmaker in the interwar period, contributed to the complex debates on the nature and influence of cinema in his time. The films in this series represent the full range of his investment in revolutionary forms of cinema, equally employing narrative, documentary, and experimental elements to elaborate his ideas.

Floaters at The Lab April 8 - 9, 2016

Floaters is a kinetic laboratory of choreography, video and sound. Christine Bonansea developed Floaters over the course of two years, experimenting and performing variations of the piece in various countries. Improvisation became integral to adapting the piece to different performance contexts. In every context, the audience is contained in the center of an environment made unstable by sound, projected light, and surrounded by the bodies of performers.

My Golden YearsApril 8, 2016

Adolescent love in all its ardor is the ostensible subject of Arnaud Desplechin’s “My Golden Days,” but its real subject is moviemaking itself. The film is an arty grab bag of lifts and homages drawn from French films, most pointedly director François Truffaut’s. It’s the kind of movie that probably appeals best to film critics, who can congratulate each other for spotting all the “in” references