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Exploratorium. Saturday Cinema: The Animated Life of A.R. Wallace: Award-winning Sweet Fern Productions employed glorious paper puppets to create this animated 8-minute introduction to Alfred Russel Wallace, the British naturalist whose theories of natural selection actually predated Darwin's. Also included in the program are the experimental short Aesthetic Species Map and the snacktastic Zea. Sat., Feb. 28, 1, 2 & 3 p.m. Free with museum admission. Pier 15, San Francisco, 528-4444, exploratorium.edu.
Fort Mason, Cowell Theater. San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival: It's an old sailor's expression: Water, water everywhere, so let's make a film festival about it — and the 12th annual installment of the SFIOFF heeds the siren song of the sea with a flotilla of short and feature-length films. Feb. 27-March 1. $10-$15 per program (or $225 for festival pass). oceanfilmfest.org. Marina, San Francisco, 345-7575, fortmason.org.
New Parkway Theater. ArtGasm: She Is a Sex Junkie: Femina Potens' Madison Young presents a sexy new movie night dedicated to that erogenous zone "where artistic vision and erotic media meet in cinematic climax." Tonight's premiere event compiles short films by Lola Clavo, Maria Llopis, Julia Osterlag, Helena Torres, and Tejal Shah and Anuj Vaidya. Fri., Feb. 27, 10:30 p.m. $10. brownpapertickets.com/event/1165942. 474 24th St., Oakland.
Oddball Films. Sonic Cinema Soirée: Filmmaker David Michalak discusses and screens some his works, with live soundtracks performed by Reel Change. Thu., Feb. 26, 8 p.m. $10. 275 Capp, San Francisco, 558-8112, oddballfilms.blogspot.com.
Opera Plaza Cinemas. Two Days, One Night: This latest from Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the directing duo known for no-frills social realism of refreshing truthfulness, stars Marion Cotillard as an emotionally unstable woman who runs a gauntlet asking former workmates to buy back her job by forgoing their bonuses. It not only works as a dissertation on the trickling consequences of economic downturn, but what's more important is that it works, bracingly, as a drama. Daily. She's Beautiful When She's Angry: Documentaries about social justice history often get to benefit from a kind of positive culture shock, in that the viewer can take some comfort in how much better things are now. And while there's been some measure of improvement since the time covered in Mary Dore's fascinating documentary about the feminist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, She's Beautiful When She's Angry demonstrates that things may be better than they were, but they still need to be better than they are. Daily. A Most Violent Year: A 1981 NYC period piece with the word "violent" right there in its title, writer-director J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year might disappoint some viewers by stoking unfair expectations. Instead of an over-cranked opera, it's really just a subtle character study about a would-be heating oil tycoon, and a reiteration of the perceptive question Chandor has been asking for three films now: With his self-made world maybe inevitably coming apart, what's a man to do? Daily. Oscar Nominated Shorts: Animation: Animated shorts, when made well, have a beautiful way of boiling down everything that ever was and ever will be great about movie storytelling. In general, the only shortness that's a problem here is the shortsightedness of the Academy: There's just so much more original and award-worthy animation being made in any given year than this somewhat puny batch of nominees ever can contain. Still, they've picked some good ones. Daily. Oscar Nominated Short Films 2015: Live Action: Forever flying far enough under the radar to avoid Oscar controversy are the short films, a genre which tends to be unheard of until a given film is nominated for the little gold statue. This is especially true of the live-action short films, and it's a shame, because there always a few works that deserve special attention. Daily. 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, 777-3456, landmarktheatres.com.
Roxie Theater. Da Sweet Blood of Jesus: In Spike Lee's loving adaptation of Bill Gunn's 1973 Ganja & Hess, well-to-do Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) develops a strong taste for blood after being stabbed with an ancient African dagger by art curator Lafayette Hightower (Elvis Nolasco), an addiction which he eventually shares with Lafayette's newly widowed wife Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams). Through Feb. 26. HUMP! Film Festival: The Best of HUMP!: Curated by Seattle sex columnist Dan Savage, this festival of amateur erotic short films has been keeping it real — like, really real — for the past decade by showcasing wholesome, homemade smut reflecting all aspects of human sexuality. Through Feb. 28. humptour.strangertickets.com. All the Wilderness: After wandering through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in The Road, young Kodi Smit-McPhee now gets to wander through the altogether quirkier territories of Portlandia in this impressionistically moody coming-of-age indie drama from director Michael Johnson. Feb. 27-March 5. Synesthesia Film Festival: This monthly gathering is less a proper "festival" than it is a chance to commingle with indie filmmakers and fans and view new discoveries together, including short films, student works, web shows, music videos, and more. First Wednesday of every month, 7 p.m. $10. synesthesiafilmfestival.com. 3117 16th St., San Francisco, 863-1087, roxie.com.
Second Act Marketplace & Events. Wagner & Me: Salon97 presents a free screening of the BBC documentary that follows Stephen Fry — a charming and intelligent fellow of Jewish ancestry — as he tries to unpack the mystery of his love for the music of Richard Wagner, the monumental German composer who unfortunately also happened to be a nasty anti-Semite. Thu., Feb. 26, 6:30 p.m. Free. salon97.org. Stop & Go: Made from Scratch: A selection of stop-motion animated films — many inspired by and/or made with food — are paired with actual food samples for a night of delicious cinematic synaesthesia. Sat., Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. $25 (includes food). stopandgoshow.com. 1727 Haight, San Francisco, 668-3994, secondactsf.com.
SOMArts Cultural Center. The News: SOMArts' monthly queer performance series turns down the lights and turns up the volume for a night of short movies with live soundtracks presented by Periwinkle Cinema. Participating artists include Annah Anti-Palindrome, Aja Archuleta, Beast Nest, Lisa Ganser, Peter Max Lawrence with Chainsaw Jane, Sofia Moreno, and Julie Thi Underhill. Tue., March 3, 7:30 p.m. $5. facebook.com/PeriwinkleCinema. 934 Brannan, San Francisco, 863-1414, somarts.org.
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