Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Day 3 of the San Diego Black Film Festival's Big 8

(Day 3 of the San Diego Black Film Festival is tomorrow, Saturday, January 28, of course, but we're posting this today because we know you check The Big Screen only when you're at work, and damned if you come in to work on a Saturday, and we wouldn't want you to miss out. The Big 8, of course, are those films which the organizers "believe will be the 8 biggest films of the festival in terms of strength and subject matter. Essentially, if a film makes this list, you can rest assured of its powerful subject matter, film quality, and blockbuster feel.")

Ever read Videogum's "Hunt for the Worst Movie of All Time" feature? It's wonderful stuff, full of thoughtful bile and a deep hatred for crappy art. It's funny, too. Anyway, when Videogum took on Margot at the Wedding, it started with the following (longish, but worth it) screed:

"Oh, white people. Will we ever tire of complaining about the aches and pains of our petty bourgeois existence? Boo hoo hoo, the line at the iPhone store was too long. Boo hoo hoo, the barista got the ratio of espresso to ice in my iced Americano wrong. Boo hoo hoo, the cuff-links I ordered on-line weren’t shipped overnight, and then they went to my apartment when I meant to have them delivered to the office, and I don’t have a doorman at my apartment, so I had to call UPS and give them an alternate address and they said they couldn’t redeliver until tomorrow morning. This is worse than apartheid!

Makes me sick to my stomach (which is full of foie gras and root beer floats and money).

Obviously, pain is subjective, and the pain suffered by the chronically self-indulgent is real. They actually feel this way! But pain is also relative, and the pain that they feel when their mimosa doesn’t have enough champagne in it is fundamentally less than the pain of someone having, say, their house torn down in the middle of the night. Does this mean that their stories don’t deserve to be told? It absolutely doesn’t mean that. It has been told, and The Royal Tenenbaums was a great movie. The end. But if you are going to tell their story (tell it again, because we already have The Royal Tenenbaums, so it’s kind of well-worn territory) then at least acknowledge that all suffering is not equal, and also maybe don’t make your audience suffer in the watching."

That screed stuck with me, and it came to mind again when I saw this trailer for Salay, one of tonight's Big 8 features. (Showtime at 6 p.m.; tickets for all shows available here.) A poor girl in Sierra Leone tries to navigate her way to life on her own terms, because life where she is now is terrible, and promises to become more terrible still (Aunty!) School is the way out, but school costs money. And hey looky, along comes rich uncle, who offers to pay! Except, of course, rich uncle is wearing pimp shoes...

http://vimeo.com/34469801

The trailer left me full of dread. It also left me grateful that this sort of film is getting made.

A little bit earlier in the evening, at 5:30 p.m., the Festival is showing The Therapist. "Three relationships. One therapist. Can she help them? When you're the one who has all the answers, who has yours?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnIkpu1aP4M

Just 30 minutes before that, at 5 p.m., you get Lesson Before Love, which actually seems to involve suffering rather more like that in Margot at the Wedding. You know: relationships, personal fulfillment, that sort of thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0iY_UctpWo

And two hours before that, at 3 p.m.? That's when things get exciting. In The Custom Mary, "two preachers and a scientist obtain a relic of Christ's blood in efforts to make a clone for the second coming of Jesus Christ." Step aside, Kevin Smith's Dogma, there's a new theological circus in town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-b7D3QUVh8

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Top Websites To Buy Instagram Likes + Bonus Tip!

Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema

(Day 3 of the San Diego Black Film Festival is tomorrow, Saturday, January 28, of course, but we're posting this today because we know you check The Big Screen only when you're at work, and damned if you come in to work on a Saturday, and we wouldn't want you to miss out. The Big 8, of course, are those films which the organizers "believe will be the 8 biggest films of the festival in terms of strength and subject matter. Essentially, if a film makes this list, you can rest assured of its powerful subject matter, film quality, and blockbuster feel.")

Ever read Videogum's "Hunt for the Worst Movie of All Time" feature? It's wonderful stuff, full of thoughtful bile and a deep hatred for crappy art. It's funny, too. Anyway, when Videogum took on Margot at the Wedding, it started with the following (longish, but worth it) screed:

"Oh, white people. Will we ever tire of complaining about the aches and pains of our petty bourgeois existence? Boo hoo hoo, the line at the iPhone store was too long. Boo hoo hoo, the barista got the ratio of espresso to ice in my iced Americano wrong. Boo hoo hoo, the cuff-links I ordered on-line weren’t shipped overnight, and then they went to my apartment when I meant to have them delivered to the office, and I don’t have a doorman at my apartment, so I had to call UPS and give them an alternate address and they said they couldn’t redeliver until tomorrow morning. This is worse than apartheid!

Makes me sick to my stomach (which is full of foie gras and root beer floats and money).

Obviously, pain is subjective, and the pain suffered by the chronically self-indulgent is real. They actually feel this way! But pain is also relative, and the pain that they feel when their mimosa doesn’t have enough champagne in it is fundamentally less than the pain of someone having, say, their house torn down in the middle of the night. Does this mean that their stories don’t deserve to be told? It absolutely doesn’t mean that. It has been told, and The Royal Tenenbaums was a great movie. The end. But if you are going to tell their story (tell it again, because we already have The Royal Tenenbaums, so it’s kind of well-worn territory) then at least acknowledge that all suffering is not equal, and also maybe don’t make your audience suffer in the watching."

That screed stuck with me, and it came to mind again when I saw this trailer for Salay, one of tonight's Big 8 features. (Showtime at 6 p.m.; tickets for all shows available here.) A poor girl in Sierra Leone tries to navigate her way to life on her own terms, because life where she is now is terrible, and promises to become more terrible still (Aunty!) School is the way out, but school costs money. And hey looky, along comes rich uncle, who offers to pay! Except, of course, rich uncle is wearing pimp shoes...

http://vimeo.com/34469801

The trailer left me full of dread. It also left me grateful that this sort of film is getting made.

A little bit earlier in the evening, at 5:30 p.m., the Festival is showing The Therapist. "Three relationships. One therapist. Can she help them? When you're the one who has all the answers, who has yours?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnIkpu1aP4M

Just 30 minutes before that, at 5 p.m., you get Lesson Before Love, which actually seems to involve suffering rather more like that in Margot at the Wedding. You know: relationships, personal fulfillment, that sort of thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0iY_UctpWo

And two hours before that, at 3 p.m.? That's when things get exciting. In The Custom Mary, "two preachers and a scientist obtain a relic of Christ's blood in efforts to make a clone for the second coming of Jesus Christ." Step aside, Kevin Smith's Dogma, there's a new theological circus in town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-b7D3QUVh8

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

The Reader's Eye on Television

Next Article

Thank you, Johnny Depp

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.