The biggest annual film event in Silicon Valley, Cinequest Film Festival, celebrates its 26th anniversary this year, March 1 to March 13, 2016, with more than 200 films and special events for two weeks in downtown San Jose.
Metro’s resident film critic, Richard von Busack is no stranger to the silver screen. He’s been reviewing films for the paper since its founding in 1985. Here are are some of the films he’s looking forward to seeing at the 26th annual Cinequest Film Festival.
Exclusive to VIP All Access pass holders. Enjoy delicious small bites and cocktails while exchanging ideas and inspirations at premier venues every evening from 5-7pm.
Open to all ticket and pass holders. After your screenings and events, meet, mingle and celebrate at the following favorites from 9:30pm-Midnight.
Opening night: Gavin Hood (of the South African drama Tsotsi) directs Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman. It’s a critique of drone warfare in which a terrorist needs to be run to earth, not blown to hell.
A demonstration of the three-screen Barco Technique (four screens, if you’re checking your cellphone): a story of a man whose invulnerability is a bug, not a feature.
Rita Moreno won all four legs of the EGOT, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She'll now need to find space on her mantle for a Cinequest Maverick award. Her new film, shot in the East Bay, concerns a grandmother who may not quite be ready for a seniors home.
Robert Hawk, involved with the indie film movement (as well as Cinequest) since the early days, tells his story in this documentary.
This 1986 film features a moonstruck Midwestern serial killer (Tom Noonan, lately the voice of most of the known world in Anomalisa), and on his trail is an FBI agent (William L. Petersen). In his hunt, the latter requires a little assistance from an expert in insanity. The expert’s name is Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Michael Mann directed this very first adventure of the mad, bad and dangerous-to-know doctor, played with sinister relish by Brian Cox. Hosting the screening is the cult film’s longtime champion, Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman.
(1924) Harold Lloyd as a stuttering twerp who has a secret writing project. At night, he works on his book, The Secret of Making Love, a memoir that could be described as “speculative fiction.” This comedy’s bracing finale is often excerpted in anthologies of silent humor. Racing to the altar to prevent a marriage, Lloyd steals every kind of vehicle to get to the church on time, including a hurtling, out-of-control streetcar. Dennis James at the California Theater’s Wurlitzer.
Simon Stone, a theater director rising in prestige, helmed this variation on Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck in Australia: a retired timber magnate (Geoffrey Rush) decides to take a young wife, thus infuriating his long absent son (Paul Schneider, of Parks and Rec).
Has Sally Field lost her mojo? Not according to the 35-year-old man (Max Greenfield) whom she attracts in this amiable comedy.
In Chile, two parents cope with the death of their daughter. The director is Matias Rize—an able director of stories of everyday life, as per his earlier The Life of Fish.
Many hotels are just a short walk away from California Theatre and other Cinequest venues. The Fairmont offers centrally located top-level quality across the street from Plaza de Cesar Chavez, while Hotel De Anza has historic charm near numerous dining and nightlife options at San Pedro Square. San Jose Marriott and the Hilton are also local favorites. Find more options with the SanJose.com Hotels Directory.
In 2015, Cinequest honored Richard von Busack for his work in film journalism. He has been a film reviewer for Metro Newspapers since the 1980s and co-hosts a podcast dedicated to the art of film, its history and influence on society. A Bay Area native, von Busack was born in Richmond and studied at UC Santa Cruz.
These San Jose restaurants make dining nearby the festivities easily accessible with a wide range of dining choices.
The old guard and the vanguard come together at the 26th annual film festival.
