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Cinema Soiree - San Francisco’s Wild History Groove with Mary Kerr plus Beat Era RaritiesPost an Event »
Oddball Films welcomes documentary producer/director Mary Kerr for our Cinema Soiree Series, a monthly soiree featuring visiting authors, filmmakers and curators presenting and sharing cinema insights. Kerr will be presenting her documentary San Francisco's Wild History Groove - a look into the untold stories of the Bay Area's Beat scene and unsung artists. The film is a “wild” history of the 50s underground art and poetry scene in California. These individuals produced unusual art as well as spirited poetry, unique to the West Coast. Their mantra was "don't sell out"--no compromising for money or recognition. They took risks, exploring new directions in their work and in the way they lived their lives. This documentary shows the viewer how and why it happened. It brings insight into what developed in San Francisco among these Beat Era rebels. To foreground this fascinating documentary, we'll be screening several 16mm Beat Era rarities from of the archive including the Oscar nominated absurd Beat rhapsody Help My Snowman is Burning Down! (1964) and The Interview (1960) - the hilarious animation from Ernie Pintoff and Lenny Bruce and featuring fictional horn-playing hep-cat Shorty Petterson as he gives a truly bizarre interview. Also screening are excerpts of the incredibly rare documentary USA Poetry: Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1969) with poetry readings filmed at City Lights Bookstore. Date: Thursday, October 6th, 2016 at 8:00pm Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street San Francisco Admission: $10.00 Limited Seating RSVP to RSVP@oddballfilms.com or (415) 558-8117 Web: http://oddballfilms.blogspot.com San Francisco's Wild History Groove (Color, 2011, video) “A fine documentary of San Francisco... how it felt when Bohemia was still alive.”— Peter Selz, Curator, Author, Professor of Art Emeritus, UC Berkeley Mavericks of the City by the Bay produced innovative art and spirited poetry---unique to the West Coast. In Northern California, new art and poetry was seen and heard in the coffee houses and bars in San Francisco’s North Beach. Occasionally, these avant-garde individuals opened cooperative galleries and staged their own events. Living and working in warehouses, storefronts or in old Victorians throughout the city, these spaces became another setting to show work, share ideas, socialize and produce art. “We started it (the 6 Gallery) because no place in the city would show our work. Now, it’s all gotten kind of myth-like. But it was a time, in my personal life and in my work, when I felt like I was in-control and out-of control simultaneously and it was a lot of fun—a hell of a lot of fun.”— Wally Hedrick