Program Guide - San Francisco International Film Festival - San ...

tributes
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aN EVENiNg With fraNCis forD CoPPola & friENDs
Francis Ford Coppola has opened an exciting new
chapter in an already encyclopedic career, signaled by
a return to more personal independent films. Beginning
with Youth Without Youth (2007) and the highly
anticipated Tetro, which opens in mid-June, Coppola is
recapturing a youthful flair and curiosity in both subject
and style. “In a funny way I became an important studio
director when I was very young,” he recalled in a 1992
interview, “but I always wondered what happened to the
director I wanted to be.” Now, about to turn 70 and as
vigorous and questioning as ever, he’s giving himself the
chance to find out.
The Founder’s Directing Award is presented each year
to one of the “masters of world cinema” and is given
in memory of Irving M. Levin, who founded the Festival
in 1957. It was first bestowed in 1986 upon iconic
filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, and for many years was given
in his name. The award has over the years brought many
of the world’s most visionary directors to San Francisco,
from A-list American directors such as Clint Eastwood
and Spike Lee to well-respected international talents
such as Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-Taek, English
director Mike Leigh and Germany’s Werner Herzog.
The recipient will be presented with the award at the
Film Society Awards Night on April 30 at the Westin St.
Francis Hotel.
FridAY, mAY 1
7:30 Pm CAstro tHeAtre
429 CAstro street (neAr mArket)
Join us for a special evening at the Castro Theatre
honoring the brilliant career of one of the seminal
figures in American film, director and producer Francis
Ford Coppola. In a variation on the Festival’s standard
interview format, Coppola will be joined onstage by
a number of his esteemed friends and collaborators,
who, in a moderated discussion, will cover all manner of
subjects, cinematic and otherwise. Film clips, including
the new Tetro trailer, and extended audience Q&A will
round out this remarkable evening.
A complete article with biographical information on
Francis Ford Coppola, this year’s Founder’s Directing
Award recipient, can be found on page 36.
Fri mAY 1 7:30 CAstro AwAr01C