Oct. 7, 2016

PROXY Fall Film Festival 2016

The PROXY Fall Film Festival returns on October 7, with five FREE Friday night movies that will move, inspire and delight. It all happens outdoors at the PROXY Walk-in Theater.

Come early for our pre-screening happy hour with Biergarten and Vive la Tarte starting at 5:30 PM. Movies begin at 7:30 PM.

Check out our updated FAQ for tips for enjoying movies outdoors together. Feel free to contact us with any other questions at info@proxysf.local.

Friday, October 7
Morris From America
Directed by Chad Hartigan, 2016 [R]
Sundance 2016 Awards for Screenwriting and Acting

Morris is 13, chubby, and loves the Notorious B.I.G. His single dad (Craig Robinson) just uprooted him from Brooklyn to move to Heidelberg, Germany. As an African-American teenager who likes to spit rhymes and freestyle, he’s a fish-out-of-water, adrift in a very white, very foreign new home. When he meets a beautiful and rebellious girl named Katrin, he instantly falls in love and she challenges him to come out of his shell. As Morris rides a roller-coaster of emotions, the film captures a heartwarming and disarmingly honest look at adolescence, acceptance, and father-son relationships — and the film achieves the rare feat of being both poignant and hilariously entertaining.

Featuring a breakout appearance by Markees Christmas, and an incredibly touching and nuanced performance by Craig Robinson, who has been receiving tremendous praise for his first dramatic role. View trailer.

Friday, October 14
The Fits
Directed by Anna Rose Holmer, 2016
“Cinema poetry in motion” — Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Toni is a young tomboy in a black Cincinnati neighborhood who trains as a boxer with her brother at a local community center. She becomes fascinated with an elite after-school dance team that also practices there. Enamored with their strength and confidence, Toni joins the dance group — eagerly learning routines, mastering drills, and even piercing her ears to fit in. When a mysterious outbreak of fainting and swooning spells, they call “the fits”, are embraced by the team as a peculiar rite of passage, Toni must decide how far she will go to fit in. View trailer.

Friday, October 21
Tickled
Directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve, 2016
“Terrifically entertaining” — Manohla Dargis, New York Times

After stumbling upon a mysterious tickling competition video online, journalist David Farrier reaches out to request an interview for a light, puff piece for New Zealand TV. But the response he receives is not what he expected — he is answered with virulent insults about his sexual orientation and threats of extreme legal action should he dig any deeper. Shocked but intrigued, David ignores these threats and starts investigating — a journey that takes him around the world, and leads him to uncover a bizarre and vast empire of harassment and abuse. The further he goes, the stranger, darker, and outlandishly-entertaining this detective story becomes. “Tickled” is a wild and fascinating ride through a secret wormhole into a hidden world of wealth, power, and anonymity. View trailer.

Friday, October 28
Short-Lived! — A Halloween-ish selection of films about life & death

To celebrate everyone’s favorite phantasmagorical weekend, come experience a night of short films that will haunt your mind, possess your imagination, and spook your soul. The program will feature some of the best, strangest, and most ingenious shorts from recent film festivals and beyond!

Friday, November 4  CLOSING NIGHT
Captain Fantastic
Directed by Matt Ross, 2016 [R]
Best Director, Cannes Film Festival 2016 

Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, isolated from society, a devoted father (Viggo Mortensen) dedicates his life to transforming his six young children into extraordinary adults. But when a tragedy strikes the family, they are forced to leave this self-created paradise and begin a journey into the outside world that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent and brings into question everything he’s taught them.

Viggo Mortensen shines in a fearless and emotionally raw performance, and writer/director Matt Ross (who plays Gavin Belson in “Silicon Valley” and who lives in Berkeley) delivers a heartfelt lesson about humanity in this fiercely-original and visually-stunning film. View trailer.