Film Society explores Coastside ruins Friday

This month’s presentation opens with the short film Coastside Ruins  (10:10), a beautiful and haunting little documentary about abandoned structures in Half Moon Bay and the stories they tell. It will have you looking at familiar buildings in a new way and have you scanning for a few secret places you probably missed.   Kathryn Murdock, the local film maker behind this gem, will be on hand to serve as a tour guide to our own back yard.

The feature is The Burden Of Dreams  (94 minutes), a documentary by Les Blank, the legendary documentary film maker about the work of another film legend.  This extraordinary  documentary follows messianic German director Werner Herzog as he struggles against desperate odds in the Amazon basin to complete Fitzcarraldo, his epic feature film. The work has amazing behind-the-scenes footage for those who appreciate daring filmmaking. Question: Why did tribesmen approach Herzog and offer to kill brilliant actor Klaus Kinski?  Don’t assume you have to have seen the original feature to appreciate Burden of Dreams.  The documentary stands by itself and give you a chance to see what the version starring Mick Jagger would have looked like if he had not walked off near the end of the first shoot.

Bring your thoughts to discuss with film historian Warren Haack after the screening.

Friday, April 12, 2006 7:30pm
Community Methodist Sanctuary
777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay
Corner of Johnston & Miramontes
$6.00 donation per person For more information see: www.hmbfilm.org