Film Society screens three humorous polical documentaries, Friday

Want to understand California politics?  The three locally produced films that the Film Society will be screening this Friday may not cast much light on our current budget impasse.  They will, however, throw some light on our disfunctional political system—and provide a few laughs along the way.

The feature is an investigation of why it has taken almost two decades to repair a problem everyone agrees needs to be fixed immediately. This film is simultaneously hilarious and disturbing, which is probably why it won two Emmys. One of the shorts is even more amazing -  a tale of a problem that had to be fixed quickly—and was! The other short asks 108 voters for their opinion on a single subject. Of course this results in 108 different answers.

Film makers behind all three films will be at the screening.  Please come and give all three films the audience they deserve. 

Three films about the California experience.
Friday, Sept.19 at 8:00 pm
Coastside Film Night is open to the public of all ages.
Methodist Sanctuary,  777 Miramontes, Half Moon Bay (Corner of Johnston & Miramontes)
$6.00 per person

Short: Textilis108 (15 mins)  Filmmaker Jander Lacerda asked 108 people in San Francisco’s Mission District to explain why America is the "land of opportunity". Lacerda will be at the screening to help explain why a filmmaker from Brazil came to make a film about American possibilities.
Short: Amazing: The Rebuilding of the MacArthur Maze (30 mins)  David L. Brown presents the remarkable story of the fiery collapse and rebuilding of a key connector in the Bay Area. 

The MacArthur Maze is that stretch of highway where three major freeways meet just east of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  We have all driven it, and those forced to navigate its path everyday had to be amazed and grateful when it was replaced in just 26 days.

How was this Herculean feat accomplished so quickly? Brown tells the story in the words of all of the main players in the drama: the legendary contractor C.C. Myers; Caltrans Director Will Kempton and the engineers working for him; the Arizona steel fabricator whose company built the steel girders; the fire fighters who responded to the accident; and the reporters who covered the story.

Feature: The Bridge So Far—A Suspense Story   (1 hour) Everybody agrees that the Eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge is in danger of falling into the Bay. Why has it taken almost two decades to replace?  In this humorous Emmy Award winning documentary film maker David L. Brown explores the subject through interviews with engineers, bridge builders, architects, lawyers, seismologists, comedians, and a couple of California’s better-known politicians. 

"A documentary that is very funny. And as a bonus, you’ll find yourself learning something - almost against your will." Sacramento Bee

"That producer-director David L. Brown was able to create a snarky and compelling documentary - leaning more toward Michael Moore filmmaking territory than Ken Burns - is surprising in itself. See, Brown’s project was sponsored by the Professional Engineers in California Government, an organization that represents Caltrans workers."  Sacramento Bee

Brown won an Emmy Award for his work on this documentary (Outstanding Achievement in Documentary). So did animator Charlie Canfield (Outstanding Graphics and Animation in a Program).  Both will be at the screening. 

For more info see: www.HMBFilm.org