Cinema
Upcoming Programs & Events
Amar Lal — Practicing Joy Book Release Party
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
7:30-9:30pm
$10 suggested donation at the door, NOTAFLOF
Join Amar Lal in celebrating the release of an art book of his "graphic scores". We will be projecting a selection of his scores, interpreted live by a stellar cast of musicians - Matt Robidoux, Zekarias Thompson, Geoff Saba and Judith Horn. Attendees will get a chance to draw their own graphic score on a transparency, projected for the musicians to play. The book, currently available (and will be available at the release party), was made in collaboration with Rachel Mendelsohn of Bad Language and features 78 full-color 9x12 pages of Lal's artwork and writings about art and creative process. Limited to 125 hand-numbered and signed copies.
Spaces of Exception Documentary Film by Matt Peterson & Malek Rasamny
Friday, April 19, 2024
8pm
Admission: $15
Spaces of Exception is a 90-minute documentary film that investigates and juxtaposes the struggles, communities, and spaces of the American Indian reservation and the Palestinian refugee camp. The film was shot from 2014 to 2017 in Arizona, New Mexico, New York, and South Dakota, as well as in Lebanon and the West Bank. Directed by Matt Peterson and Malek Rasamny, it is an attempt to understand the significance of the land—its memory and divisions—and the conditions for life, community, and sovereignty.
Shapeshifters Spring Happening
Saturday, May 4, 2024
11am-6pm
Free admission!
SAVE THE DATE! On Saturday, May 4th, we are excited to host this one-day happening with food, drink, music, vendors and more happening all day long at Shapeshifters.
We will be serving brunch in our café, from 11am-3pm featuring house-made pastries, seasonal toasts, breakfast burritos, coffee & espresso drinks, house-blended teas and more.
From 1-6pm we will continue the fun in our cinema space with tamales, house-made beer on tap and a steady stream of audio gems chosen from our collection of pop, punk, lounge and dollar bin vinyl records. Some of our favorite local artists and organizations will join us, including San Francisco Cinematheque, owllamode, The Catman of West Oakland, Bright Moments, Driveway Follies (who will be bringing their collection of handmade puppets to show off), Ms. Lori's Unique Boutique and more offering up a spectrum of eclectic and one-of-a-kind wares. Join us!
Los Guardianes del Maíz (The Keepers of Corn) - by Gustavo Vazquez
Friday, May 24, 2024
8pm
Admission: $10
Los Guardianes del Maíz is a 60-minute documentary film by Bay Area filmmaker Gustavo Vasquez that tells the story of native corn from the perspectives of indigenous farmers, artisans and cooks in Mexico whose ancestors shepherded the ever-evolving seeds from the dawn of agriculture into the 21st Century. It's a story of collective labor spanning more than 350 generations. These voices are joined by community leaders, scientists, chefs, and others whose knowledge and activism stand not only in defense of food sovereignty and the genetic integrity, diversity, and community ownership of native seeds, but in defense of a durable cultural legacy and a way of life.
Navigators by Noah Teichner
Sunday, June 2, 2024
6-8pm
Admission: $10
Navigators by Paris-based filmmaker Noah Teichner is a feature-length experimental essay film about the 1919 deportation of 249 anarchists and radicals from the United States to Russia on the Buford (nicknamed the "Soviet Ark"), the same ship that would later be used as the set of Buster Keaton's slapstick comedy The Navigator. Using archival film footage and text from the journals of the exiles (including Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman) as well as scenes from Keaton's film, Teichner teases out the many threads entangled in this multi-layered comedy of errors to weave together a new story made from the unlikely concurrence of these two narratives.
STUDIO 8 Film Festival - Opening Night Shorts Program
Organized by the SF Artists Alumni Association
Friday, June 14, 2024
7pm
Admission: $20
The STUDIO 8 Film Festival is a 3-day event organized by the SF Artists Alumni Association to showcase the work of filmmakers who honed their craft while students at the legendary (and now-closed) San Francisco Art Institute. The opening night program features short films by Jibz Cameron aka Dynasty Handbag, Deborah Fort, Dean Snider, Minoosh Zomorodinia, Dimitra Skandali, Liz Miller Kovacs, Lynne Sachs, Mark Street, Yin-Ju Chen, Dicky Bahto, Tommy Becker, Anne Maguire and Malic Amalya.
The festival also includes screenings of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon + a Juneteenth-themed shorts program at the Balboa Theatre on Saturday, 6/15 and a Kuchar Brothers bonanza screening w/Mike Kuchar and V.Vale in person at Roxie Theatre on Sunday, 6/16. For more information about the event, visit: https://www.sfartistsalumni.org/studio8filmfestival
Gravitational Lensing is a new series dedicated to exploring the visions, voices, concerns and lineage of women, non-binary, genderqueer and trans filmmakers through public film screenings, workshops, conversations and presentations. Programming will begin in April. Stay tuned!
About Our Cinema
Our intimate, 40-seat cinema is able to host a range of presentations by contemporary artists working in film, video, sound, music, multimedia and performance. Our focus is primarily on experimental and artist-made.
Tickets
Tickets for all events are available on-line pre-show as well as at the door (unless otherwise noted). Information and links are posted under each program event listing. Please note: we only honor tickets purchased directly from Shapeshifters.
Venue Specs
Find out more about our venue.
