Word on the street about Africans
Matatu Film Festival: The third annual event in Oakland aims to give you not the official word on several issues concerning ethnic Africans around the world, but the word on the street. Matatus, after all, are minibuses common in East African nations; colorfully painted, often with music, they have a communal atmosphere, and not surprisingly, they’re good places to exchange gossip and stories with your fellow passengers. So, too, these films in the event that runs through Saturday, Sept. 26. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, a co-director of the recent mountain-climbing film “Meru,” looks at Senegal’s youth movement against President Abdoulaye Wade’s attempt to retain power by changing the country’s Constitution in “Incorruptible” (7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Flight Deck, 1540 Broadway, Oakland, (510) 8587383). Much closer to home is Jason Zeldes’ documentary “Romeo Is Bleeding” (7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at the Starline Social Club, 645 W. Grand Ave., Oakland, (510) 593-2109), examining Richmond’s gang war through the eyes and writings of poet Donté Clark. Irresistible for me: Rachel Samuels’ “Asni: Courage, Passion & Glamor in Ethiopia” (8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at the Starline Social Club) about Asnaketch Worku, the Edith Piaf (or, if you will, the Billie Holiday) of Ethiopia in the 1950s and ’60s. Take a look at the rest of the program at www.matatufestival.org. “Sorcerer”: Haven’t seen William Friedkin’s neglected masterpiece? You have seen it, but only on home video? This is big-screen stuff, and this recent restoration is eye-popping. A box office bomb upon its release in 1977, Friedkin’s remake of H.G. Clouzot’s “The Wages of Fear” has slowly built a reputation as a neglected masterpiece. It’s Friedkin’s other 1970s masterpiece, to go with “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist.” The plot: Roy Scheider leads a team of desperate men driving trucks of nitroglycerin across a rugged South American jungle. Some fantastic stunts and moody existentialism make this an irresistible nail-biter. On a double feature with, appropriately, John Huston’s 1948 Humphrey Bogart scenery-chewer filmed in a black-and-white Mexico, “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” Sunday, Sept. 27 (“Sorcerer” at 4:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.; “Sierra Madre” at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.) at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., S.F. (415) 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com.
“Mission to Lars”: A British-made documentary by William Spicer and James Moore follows severely autistic Tom Spicer, whose bucket list contains one item: Meet Lars Ulrich, the drummer with Metallica. He enlists the help of bro William (the co-director) and sis Kate. Starts Friday, Sept. 25, at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F. (415) 863-1087. www.roxie.com.