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Opera Plaza Cinemas. What We Do in the Shadows: In this mockumentary written and directed by two Flight of the Conchords guys, Vladislav, Viago, Deacon, and Nick are vampires of varying antiquity who cohabitate in a grungy flat in New Zealand. Followed by a documentary crew, they go on about the business of both being undead (if foppish) ghouls who feed on the blood of humans to survive, as well as being a bunch of straight men living together, which means the dishes and other basic chores tend to go undone. Daily. Tangerines: Essentially a chamber-drama allegory, writer-director Zaza Urushadze's Tangerines takes its title from its setting — a war-defiled grove of citrus trees in Georgia — and is powered by casually great, lived-in acting, particularly from Lembit Ulfsak as the old man under whose roof a gruff Chechen mercenary (Giorgi Nakashidze) and his sensitive young Georgian foe (Mikheil Meskhi) find themselves facing off. Being a heart-on-sleeve humanist, Urushadze doesn't get into the particulars of the civil war in question, as if not to dignify them. Being also an Eastern European, he very helpfully doesn't dignify sentimentalism either. Daily. Dior and I: Frédéric Tcheng's latest contribution to ever-burgeoning field of fashion documentaries follows newbie Christian Dior artistic director Raf Simons, erstwhile fashion "minimalist," through the expedited creation and delivery of his first haute couture collection, seeming like the movie equivalent of one of those glossy multi-page ad spreads that thicken up your favorite perfume-scented magazines. Or, at best, like an extended and extremely haute episode of Project Runway. Daily. Félix and Meira: Ever since the first full-length talking picture, Alan Crosland's 1927 The Jazz Singer, the struggle between Orthodox Judaism and the secular world has been a recurring theme. In Maxime Giroux's Félix and Meira, the latter (Hadas Yaron) is a young Hasidic wife and mother living the sheltered life her culture demands, when a chance encounter with the kind yet secular Félix (Martin Dubrueil) inspires Meira to consider the possibility of living life on her own terms, rather than those dictated by her religion and her strict husband Shulem (Luzer Twersky). Daily. Dark Star: H.R. Giger's World: As the overture of Belinda Sallin's film recounts it, approaching the late H.R. Giger's woods-ensconced Zurich home felt a little like going upriver in Apocalypse Now, on account of the jungly enclosure, and the many skulls, and the general aura of derangement. But of course the main Giger movie association will always be Alien. Talking-head consensus seems to be that Giger's work tapped into the otherwise unremembered trauma of the perinatal journey; all he really knew was that in general he put his exquisitely creepy visions on canvas to keep them from freaking him out. Starting May 15. Daily. 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, 777-3456, landmarktheatres.com.
Park Branch Library. Asian Rock Films: In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Richie Unterberger screens performance clips of musicians from Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, including songs by Shonen Knife, Dengue Fever, Cibo Matto, and many more. Wed., May 20, 6:30 p.m. Free. 1833 Page, San Francisco, 355-5656, sfpl.org.
Presidio Officers' Club. Rising from the Ashes: Robert Byrne discusses the restoration of Siegmund Lubin's 1913 film When the Earth Trembled, an early epic (at least according to the standards of the time) that re-created the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 — and the restored version of which will make its premiere May 29 at the Castro Theatre as part of this year's San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Thu., May 14, 7 p.m. Free with RSVP. silentfilm.org. 50 Moraga, San Francisco, 561-4000, presidioofficersclub.com.
Roxie Theater. Heaven Adores You: The tricky thing about being a successful artist is actually dealing with that success. Some weather it well, while others — like Elliott Smith, the subject of Nickolas Dylan Rossi's loving tribute Heaven Adores You — not so much. Smith's Oscar-nominated song "Miss Misery" found him in the global spotlight, whether he liked it or not, and though his death by double stab wounds to the chest at age 34 is left unexamined, Heaven Adores You means to celebrate Smith's life, not his death. Through May 21. Impossible Light: Learn the story behind the shining success of Leo Villareal's popular Bay Lights art project, which lit up the Bay Bridge with towering strands of silvery LED lights despite immense logistical difficulties. Thu., May 14, 7 p.m. $10-$25. impossiblelightfilm.com. Is It Really So Strange? The Smiths Music Video Sing A Long Show: SF IndieFest invites you to poof up your pompadour for a night of musical miserablism featuring Smiths and Morrissey videos, a Moz costume contest, and special guests Konrad Knutsen from This Charming Band and Steve "DJ Shindog" Indig from New Wave City. Fri., May 15, 9:30 p.m. $12. sfindie.com. Finding the Gold Within: Nearly four years in the making, this documentary follows a half-dozen young black males — all participants in Ohio's Alchemy, Inc., youth storytelling and community support program — as they make the difficult transition to adulthood. This week director Karina Epperlein and protagonists Brandyn Costa and Darius Simpson make a series of Bay Area appearances to talk about their experiences, including stops at the Roxie Theater (7 p.m. Sunday, May 17), David Brower Center (7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19), and Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center (7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20). Sun., May 17, 7 p.m. $10. goldthefilm.com. American Vagabond: Despite its reputation as a homosexual mecca, San Francisco's harsh financial realities become all too painfully apparent to two gay runaways in this 2013 documentary by Finnish filmmaker Susanna Helke, who makes a personal appearance tonight to discuss the movie with Tom Sika of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. Mon., May 18, 7 p.m. $7.50-$10. 3117 16th St., San Francisco, 863-1087, roxie.com.
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared: When the 100-year-old man in question — the simpleminded Allan (Robert Gustafsson) — gets revenge on the fox that killed his cat by blowing the fox up, he's exiled to a nursing home. Allan's subsequent escape leads to a cross-country chase involving the police, a motorcycle gang, and an elephant while Allan flashes back to key moments from his century. Comparisons to Forrest Gump are inevitable, but unlike that film's unpleasantly conservative morality, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is gleefully amoral, while also ruminating on how families are formed. Starting May 15. Daily. The 55th Film Finals: Jury-selected showcase of the year's best films by students from the SFSU Cinema Department. Tue., May 19, 7 p.m. Free. sffilmfinals.com. 1881 Post, San Francisco, 346-3243, sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html.
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