SFUFF 2020 Program Guide
Place and the Populist Revolt
February 2, 2020
If you ever wondered how the great public ambitions of postwar America collapsed into Reagan era parsimony and the permanent tax revolt, look no farther than Howard Jarvis, whose 1978 ballot initiative, Proposition 13, changed everything in California and beyond. The First Angry Man unpacks the dramatic campaign, its quirky characters, and its enduring consequences. Join SFUFF and SF IndieFest for a post-screening panel discussion with the filmmakers as well as public policy experts who will discuss the current impacts of Prop 13 on homeowners, cities, and the state as a whole, and how a proposed changes to the 1970s era law could fund a stronger California economy going forward.
Co-Presented by SF Indie Fest
February 3, 2020
Be Water: Civil Disobedience and the Fight for Democracy in Hong Kong
A curatorial collaboration with Alex Yong Kang Chow, former Hong Kong student activist sentenced to prison for seven months for his political participation in the 2014 Umbrella Movement and current UC Berkeley Geography PhD student, this program brings together films, performance, and discussion that prioritize the lived experience of protesters. Stuck between its British colonial past and a future ruled by communist China, Hong Kong’s young people are taking to the streets to fight for the autonomy and democracy they were promised. Attitudes to resistance, protest strategy, and tactics differ between generations and the leaderless demonstrators themselves. How do they manage the nuances of building a democratic movement? How are they using creative strategies in the arts, technology, and in the streets, as crucial communication tactics?
Co-Presented by Hong Kong Community Cinema and the Bauhinia Project
February 4, 2020
Can One Person Make A Difference in A City of Millions?
A Barcelona-based activist named Ada Colau founded the Mortgage Victims Platform as the U.S. financial crisis had ricochet worldwide hitting Spain hard spiraling the country into deep recession and causing a mortgage crisis that put people out of their homes. 6 years later she was sworn in as Mayor of Barcelona winning on a platform of housing as human dignity. In his film “Ada for Mayor”, documentary filmmaker Pau Faus follows Ada during the campaign with intimate glimpses of her questioning her own motives. A panel discussion following the film screening will explore the question of where does social change in cities come from? Are bottoms-up grass-roots movements, or governmental policies more effective in creating equitable cities? If you think you know the answer, consider why a radical thinker like Ada Colau would campaign to become Mayor.
February 5, 2020
In early 2019, Amazon’s plans for a second headquarters were thwarted by the same grassroots coalition that put Alexandria Ocasio Cortez into Congress. It was a huge blow to the huge corporation after year long beauty pageant in which 238 cities vied for its business. Join SPUR’s own celebrity New York Times columnist Allison Arieff in examining how cities have courted and some say contorted, or in the case of Queens thwarted, big tech as they try to influence and capitalize on cities.
Urban Manufacturing: Nostalgia or Necessity?
The de-industrialization of cities has been devastating to cities like Detroit but also to San Francisco as the loss of manufacturing and maritime jobs has resulted in the hollowing out of the working class. In recent years, a maker movement of artisans and entrepreneurs has attempted to innovate the production sector to serve a new generation of city dwellers. Can these new businesses recreate the heyday of urban manufacturing?
Co-Presented by Maker City Project
February 6, 2020
Diaspora: Identity and the Pathos of Global Labor
Tidal forces of capitalist economy, war, and colonialism result in many dimensions of displacement. Cultures clash and merge, political economies reformulate into webs of interdependence stretching around the globe, and human beings are flung far from their places or origin. This program will explore diaspora through the lens of personal identity, within the context of a global labor market.
Co-Presented by FaCine
February 7, 2020
Culture of Resistance Versus Culture Vultures
SF Urban Film Fest and SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District present film shorts and a panel to spark discussion on how different grass-roots organizations, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, have used arts and culture to promote community preservation and self-determination. We will also explore the potential risks of this strategy including issues of the commodification of people’s culture and the attraction of speculative investment leading to displacement of communities.
Co-Presented by SOMA Filipinas
February 8, 2020
let me tell you what home looks like
As cities gentrify, what tactics are black artists and communities using to fight back against displacement and the narrative that their neighborhoods are broken until “saved” by white gentrification? How do artists and activists reaffirm, reclaim, and rewrite the narrative of the city and make spaces that serve their own needs. These films and the panel discussion work to shift the perspective of gaze, make space for voices often unheard, and pay tribute to those who used to live in these spaces, and the resilience of those who carry on.
February 9, 2020
Level 1 Storytelling Workshop: How to Use Storytelling in Transportation Planning
Transportation agencies worldwide are using storytelling as a tool for transportation planning. In this intense and accelerated workshop, you will learn how to be an effective storyteller using the SAMS framework (SAMS stands for Story, Audience, Message and Style), and test your knowledge by analyzing a few short transportation-focused videos. You will be surprised at how easy it is to become a storyteller and use the method in your verbal and written communication to galvanize communities and government leaders around any transportation project.
When you’re stuck in traffic trying to get on the Bay Bridge, do you ever wonder, ‘Can’t something be done about all this congestion?’” Lucky you asked! Come to our storytelling workshop to learn about the congestion pricing policy the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) is considering and how the agency plans to engage the public through the use of video. You’ll get a chance to assist the SFCTA make a “bad” rough cut video on congestion pricing better. You’ll break up into small groups led by professional filmmakers and generate storyboards to improve the “bad” video’s story and message to better connect with the audience. This workshop will not focus on the technical aspects of video production although we will point you to resources. Taking the Level 1 Storytelling Workshop is advised but not required.
“Build! Build! Build!” is a common refrain all over America. Join us as we examine through film and discussion how attacks on workers rights, undocumented labor, and the shut down of legal paths to immigration play out for both the construction industry and the workers on the front lines of the real estate boom.
