Artists' Television Access. Periwinkle Cinema: Gaymous: Film night featuring the "latest and greatest" queer music videos, plus a few (still great) blasts from the past. Wed., Aug. 20, 8 p.m. $7. facebook.com/PeriwinkleCinema. Sistah Sinema: Reaching for the Moon: The queer women of color cinema series hosts a repeat screening of Bruno Barreto's 2013 drama about the lesbian love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Thu., Aug. 21, 8 p.m. $7-$12. sistahsinema.com. 992 Valencia, San Francisco, 824-3890, atasite.org.
The Castro Theatre. Carax Meets Linklater: For three consecutive Thursdays, the Castro pairs two distinctively unique filmmakers — France's Leos Carax and the United States' Richard Linklater — in double feature screenings of their respective theme trilogies: Carax's "Alex" films with Denis Lavant (Boy Meets Girl, Mauvais Sang, and The Lovers on the Bridge) and Linklater's "Before" films with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight). Thursdays. Continues through Aug. 28. $8.50-$11. Showgirls: The only way to make Joe Eszterhas' cinematic trashfest about topless Vegas dancers even sleazier is to let Peaches Christ host a weekend screening, which includes a pre-film trivia contest, free lap dances with the purchase of every large popcorn, and plenty of over-the-top drag madness. Sat., Aug. 23, 8 p.m. $25-$55. peacheschrist.com. 429 Castro, San Francisco, 621-6120, castrotheatre.com.
Clay Theatre. Magic in the Moonlight: Woody Allen's latest romantic comedy stars Colin Firth as a 1920s magician who tries to expose psychic medium Emma Stone as a phony, but she may have a few tricks of her own up her sleeve. Daily. Cannibal Holocaust: The most notorious "found footage" film of all time flings a bloody fistful of gore across Pacific Heights — well, across the Clay Theatre screen, at least — at two midnight showings. Aug. 22-23, 11:59 p.m. $10. 2261 Fillmore, San Francisco, 267-4893, landmarktheatres.com.
Dark Room Theater. Bad Movie Night: Conquest of the Planet of the Apes: Hosts Jim Fourniadis, Mikl-Em, and Rose Lacy watch the film that was essentially remade as Rise of the Planet of the Apes in 2011 (and probably ponder the socio-philosophical ramifications of eternal recurrence vis-à-vis sentient ape movies). Sun., Aug. 24, 8 p.m. $6.99. 2263 Mission, San Francisco, 401-7987, darkroomsf.com.
Embarcadero Center Cinema. Second Annual Turkish Film Festival: The small — but totally free — Türk Filmleri Festivali offers four movies in three nights, including Uur Yücel's Miracle Worker-esque My World (Aug. 19 at 7:30 p.m.), Maryna Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadir Er's comedy-drama Love Me (Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.), Kemal Uzun's comic adventure Oh Brother (Aug. 20 at 9 p.m.), and Hakan Yonat's love story Only You (Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.). Through Aug. 21. Free. turkishfilmfestivals-usa.com. Boyhood: Richard Linklater spent 12 years filming this universally acclaimed coming-of-age tale in which the actors grow up right before your eyes during the film's 165-minute running time. Daily. A Most Wanted Man: Anton Corbijn (Control) adapts John le Carré's espionage novel into a slow-fuse spy thriller, with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman leading a cast that also features Willem Dafoe, Rachel McAdams, and Robin Wright. Daily. Finding Fela: After a string of dire (but required) sociopolitical documentaries, filmmaker Alex Gibney now turns to a more inspirational subject: Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, through Aug. 21. Frank: Michael Fassbender is totally unrecognizable as the title character as he wears a fake plastic head the whole time he's on the screen — in Lenny Abrahamson's oddball comedy about an absurdist art-rock band. Starting Aug. 22. Daily. 1 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, 267-4893, landmarktheatres.com.
Exploratorium. Imagine Science Film Festival: The only film festival run by scientists, New York's Imagine Science Films presents "Experiments on Film," which promises to reveal the invisible force of magnets (pay attention, Juggalos!), the artistry of bacteria, the superlative filmmaking efforts of apes, and the plastic nature of memory. Fri., Aug. 22, 7 p.m. $5-$10. imaginesciencefilms.org. Saturday Cinema: Weekly thematic film screenings presented in the Kanbar Forum by the Exploratorium's Cinema Arts program. Saturdays. Free with museum admission. Pier 15, San Francisco, 528-4444, exploratorium.edu.
Main Library, Koret Auditorium. Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning: Directed by Lange's granddaughter, award-winning cinematographer Dyanna Taylor, this documentary about the hugely insightful and iconic photographer is a long-overdue and candid labor of love for PBS' American Masters series that reveals the fascinating woman behind the lens. Tue., Aug. 26, 6 p.m. free. 100 Larkin, San Francisco, 557-4595, sfpl.org.
Oddball Films. Czech Please!: Showcase of vintage stop-motion animation from Czechoslovakia, including work by Jan Švankmajer, Jiri Trnka, Bretislav Pojar, Borivoj and Karel Zeman, Hermína Týrlová, and Zdenek Miler. Thu., Aug. 21, 8 p.m. $10. 275 Capp, San Francisco, 558-8112, oddballfilms.com.
Opera Plaza Cinemas. Obvious Child: Writer-director Gillian Robespierre makes a winning debut with this fresh and unfiltered abortion comedy (no, seriously) starring Jenny Slate. Daily. Le Chef: French cuisine and comedy share the menu in Daniel Cohen's film starring Michaël Youn and Jean Reno. Daily. A Five Star Life: Sumptuous resort settings serve as the backdrop for this Italian dramedy about a middle-aged woman (Margherita Buy) whose job as a jetsetting hotel critic ensures that her life is luxurious but lonely. Daily. 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, 777-3456, landmarktheatres.com.
Pacific Film Archive. Over the Top and Into the Wire: WWI on Film: BAM/PFA presents a survey of cinematic portrayals of the (Not-So-)Great War, including films by Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, Jean Renoir, Gregory La Cava, Alexander Dovzhenko, Stanley Kubrick, and Lewis Milestone Fri., Aug. 22, 7 p.m.; Wed., Aug. 27, 7 p.m. 2575 Bancroft (at Bowditch), Berkeley, 510-642-1124, bampfa.berkeley.edu.
Roxie Theater. Kink: James Franco produced and Christina Voros directed this documentary peek inside the BDSM boudoirs of Kink.com and its S.F. Armory studios. Through Aug. 21. Here & Far: Sarah Marie Flores curates a selection of local short films by Tracy Brown, Ariel Dovas, Natalie Eakin, Kenneth Vaughn, Noel Von Joo, and Zack Von Joo. Wed., Aug. 20, 7 p.m. $10. Reel San Francisco Stories: Author Christopher Pollock illustrates how films such as American Graffiti and Vertigo have helped preserve the memory of now-vanished city locations in this cinema-centric lecture presented by S.F. Heritage. Thu., Aug. 21, 6 p.m. $10-$15. sfheritage.org. Akira: Screening of the landmark 1988 sci-fi anime presented as part of Nippon Nights, the Roxie's Japanese cinema series. Thu., Aug. 21, 8 p.m. $7.50-$10. Rich Hill: Following the lives of three struggling high-school boys in Missouri, this chronicle of American poverty won the Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Aug. 22-28. $7.50-$10. richhillfilm.com. Me and You (Io e Te): 73-year-old Bernardo Bertolucci returns to the Italian language for the first time in over a quarter-century for this intimate, almost claustrophobic coming-of-age drama. Aug. 22-28. $7.50-$10. 3117 16th St., San Francisco, 863-1087, roxie.com.
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