In the nearly nine years that it took to complete her first feature-length documentary, “How to Have an American Baby,” it was just Leslie Tai and her camera capturing all facets of the underground birth tourism industry. The director/producer/cinematographer/editor stayed with pregnant women from China, who were living in suburban Los Angeles maternity hotels.
W. Kamau Bell, 50, may have started out as a stand-up comedian in the 1990s, but he realized early on that he had to widen his vision of a career in show business. While living in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset District for 11 years, Palo Alto-born Bell honed his craft.
“The Creative High” will be screening at the San Francisco Main Public Library at 100 Larkin St. in the Koret Auditorium on May 24, from 6-7:30 p.m. There will be a Q&A session with filmmakers and artist subjects afterwards. FREE and open to the public.
Our short doc profiles Stephanie, the owner of San Francisco’s oldest independent bait and tackle shop. Stephanie is full of jokes and charisma. She embodies what it means to be a San Franciscan.
Matt E. Novak accidentally came upon iconic photographs of jazz greats Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk and others by William P. Gottlieb (1917-2006) when he was doing research on the Library of Congress website.
“Exit Music” is being screened Feb. 3 and 5 at SF Indiefest. It is an unsentimental look at a life of suffering, yet a life worth living.
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Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 