SENSIBLE CINEMA

Coordinator: Melvin Starks & Larry Danos

Mission

To provide informative and provocative films that speak to issues of social justice, serving UUSF and the community.

Program

Every third Friday of each month from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Check our our weekly newsletter, The Flame for information about upcoming events.

DECEMBER

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket

Friday, December 20, 6:30 pm, On Zoom

An emotional portrait and a social critique, the film James Baldwin: The Price of a Ticket by director Karen Thorsen is an autobiographical portrait of writer-activist James Baldwin.

The film probes into Baldwin's personal life, writings, and perspectives on race in America. The film allows Baldwin to tell his story in his own words (minus narration), drawing extensively from Baldwin's own speeches and interviews. Many of the words were written from his various homes in France, Switzerland, Turkey, and Harlem.

With rarely seen archival footage from over a hundred sources and nine different countries, the film shows viewers the life, works, and beliefs of James Baldwin, who was a major twentieth-century American author, civil rights activist, and a prophetic voice calling on Americans, Black and White, to confront their shared racial adversity.

Questions? Melvin Starks (melvinstarks734@yahoo.com) or Larry Danos (415-722-6480)

Dial in at +1 669 900 6833 US; Meeting ID: 937 7354 7229; Passcode: 283947

ZOOM LINK

COMING SOON!

Small Is Beautiful

Small Is Beautiful by director/writer Carolyn M. Scot is a brief documentary on the all too familiar battle between massive urban development (developers) versus communities (citizens). This time the battle takes place in the Valley of the Moon region, a scenic rural area enveloping the towns of Eldridge and Glen Ellen in Sonoma County. The proposed development includes 930 homes, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, and a luxury resort hotel all to be built in a crucial wildlife corridor and a high fire danger zone, which has already experienced extreme fires.

The film examines other significant urban-scale developments planned for the Valley of the Moon and exposes the collusion between state mandates and profit-driven developers. It also sheds light on the driving forces behind such developments, including new laws and housing mandates that replace local zoning and environmental laws in the name of "affordable housing,which we discover is not affordable at all.

Following the screening will be a discussion with Carolyn M. Scott, director/writer, and Richard Davis, former Vice President of the San Francisco Planning Commission. (25 mins.)

Lunch will be available for a nominal cost.

After the screening there will be a discussion and Q and A.

For more information, please contact Melvin Starks (melvinstarks734@yahoo.com) or Larry Danos (415-722-6480).

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