Blab Entertainment
BAMPFA, Balboa, and Bay Area Screen Scene Highlight Retrospectives, Horror Classics, and New Releases
BAMPFA’s current slate is a cinematic tour de force, drawing audiences from Parisian documentaries to Italian crime dramas. Over the next two weeks, the museum will showcase a retrospective of French filmmaker Alice Diop, which began Thursday and will run through September 18. The program features Diop’s documentaries—including 2011’s Danton’s Death, 2016’s On Call, and her 2022 narrative feature Saint Omer, a story about a Senegalese immigrant on trial for infanticide. Diop will join the audience for a conversation at most of the screenings.
The same weekend, BAMPFA opened a ten‑month retrospective of Martin Scorsese. The series spans 11 of the director’s works, starting with the 1973 crime drama Mean Streets on Saturday. Other titles include Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), The Last Waltz (1978), Raging Bull (1980), After Hours (1985), and GoodFellas (1990). The retrospective continues BAMPFA’s mission to present influential directors in a comprehensive context.
In the Outer Richmond, the Balboa Theater is offering two special horror presentations. Friday at 8 p.m. the venue will screen Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954), directed by Jack Arnold, in 3‑D on 35‑mm film stock. Saturday at 8 p.m. a live‑score screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) will feature the San Francisco rock band Sleepbomb.
Meanwhile, the Ocean Beach Surf Film Festival is running Thursday through Sunday at the 4‑Star Theater. The festival’s program includes surfing‑related films, music, and special guests. Tickets and additional information are available through the festival’s website.
New releases in Bay Area theaters this week include Alexander Ullom’s existential thriller It Ends. The low‑budget film follows four college‑age friends—James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson), Tyler (Mitchell Cole), and Fisher (Noah Toth)—who, during a road‑trip, find themselves trapped in a surreal, endless highway. The film explores themes of adulthood and identity, and Ullom’s direction has been noted for its suspenseful pacing and realistic portrayal of the characters’ interactions.
Another current offering is A Sad and Beautiful World, shown at the Opera Plaza Cinema. The romantic drama, directed by Cyril Aris, follows protagonists Nino (Hasan Akil) and Yasmina (Mounia Akl) over three decades in war‑torn Beirut. The narrative begins with the couple’s first meeting in a hospital amid bombing and continues through their reunion, marriage, and the challenges posed by Lebanon’s political instability.
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is hosting a free outdoor screening of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther on the Great Lawn. The pre‑show will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the film starting at sunset around 7:30 p.m. The event is part of the festival’s ongoing commitment to community‑focused film experiences.
These events illustrate the diversity of programming available in the Bay Area, from retrospectives of influential directors to genre classics and contemporary independent films. BAMPFA’s focus on both French documentary cinema and American auteur work provides audiences with rare opportunities to engage with a wide range of cinematic voices. The Balboa Theater’s horror specials and the Surf Film Festival’s niche programming further broaden the region’s cultural offerings.
As the week progresses, BAMPFA will continue to screen Diop’s work and host Scorsese’s retrospective. The Balboa Theater will conclude its horror series with the scheduled screenings, and the Ocean Beach Surf Film Festival will finish on Sunday. Bay Area audiences can look forward to the remaining days of It Ends and A Sad and Beautiful World, as well as the final screenings of Black Panther at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.
The Bay Area’s film community remains active, with multiple venues offering curated film experiences that span historical retrospectives, genre classics, and new independent releases. These programming choices reflect a sustained interest in diverse storytelling and the continued relevance of cinema as a cultural touchstone.
The same weekend, BAMPFA opened a ten‑month retrospective of Martin Scorsese. The series spans 11 of the director’s works, starting with the 1973 crime drama Mean Streets on Saturday. Other titles include Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), The Last Waltz (1978), Raging Bull (1980), After Hours (1985), and GoodFellas (1990). The retrospective continues BAMPFA’s mission to present influential directors in a comprehensive context.
In the Outer Richmond, the Balboa Theater is offering two special horror presentations. Friday at 8 p.m. the venue will screen Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954), directed by Jack Arnold, in 3‑D on 35‑mm film stock. Saturday at 8 p.m. a live‑score screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) will feature the San Francisco rock band Sleepbomb.
Meanwhile, the Ocean Beach Surf Film Festival is running Thursday through Sunday at the 4‑Star Theater. The festival’s program includes surfing‑related films, music, and special guests. Tickets and additional information are available through the festival’s website.
New releases in Bay Area theaters this week include Alexander Ullom’s existential thriller It Ends. The low‑budget film follows four college‑age friends—James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson), Tyler (Mitchell Cole), and Fisher (Noah Toth)—who, during a road‑trip, find themselves trapped in a surreal, endless highway. The film explores themes of adulthood and identity, and Ullom’s direction has been noted for its suspenseful pacing and realistic portrayal of the characters’ interactions.
Another current offering is A Sad and Beautiful World, shown at the Opera Plaza Cinema. The romantic drama, directed by Cyril Aris, follows protagonists Nino (Hasan Akil) and Yasmina (Mounia Akl) over three decades in war‑torn Beirut. The narrative begins with the couple’s first meeting in a hospital amid bombing and continues through their reunion, marriage, and the challenges posed by Lebanon’s political instability.
The Yerba Buena Gardens Festival is hosting a free outdoor screening of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther on the Great Lawn. The pre‑show will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the film starting at sunset around 7:30 p.m. The event is part of the festival’s ongoing commitment to community‑focused film experiences.
These events illustrate the diversity of programming available in the Bay Area, from retrospectives of influential directors to genre classics and contemporary independent films. BAMPFA’s focus on both French documentary cinema and American auteur work provides audiences with rare opportunities to engage with a wide range of cinematic voices. The Balboa Theater’s horror specials and the Surf Film Festival’s niche programming further broaden the region’s cultural offerings.
As the week progresses, BAMPFA will continue to screen Diop’s work and host Scorsese’s retrospective. The Balboa Theater will conclude its horror series with the scheduled screenings, and the Ocean Beach Surf Film Festival will finish on Sunday. Bay Area audiences can look forward to the remaining days of It Ends and A Sad and Beautiful World, as well as the final screenings of Black Panther at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival.
The Bay Area’s film community remains active, with multiple venues offering curated film experiences that span historical retrospectives, genre classics, and new independent releases. These programming choices reflect a sustained interest in diverse storytelling and the continued relevance of cinema as a cultural touchstone.
