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Opera Plaza Cinemas. Citizenfour: The centerpiece of Laura Poitras' new documentary about Edward Snowden is Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald interviewing Snowden in June of 2013, where Snowden explains just how thoroughly our government violates the world's privacy. Though he disappears for much of the second half to go into exile, his presence remains — and if the film ends abruptly, that's only because the real-life story is still far from over. Daily. Mr. Turner: Mike Leigh directs Timothy Spall as the prolific 19th-century English painter J.M.W. Turner, whose work became a sublime segue from Romantic landscapes to Modernist abstractions, and whose personal life — as robustly inhabited by Spall — apparently contained multitudes of gropes and grunts. 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. Human Capital: Paolo Virzì's drama follows a group of interconnected upper-class individuals during the events of a particularly joyless Christmastime, and when a server is accidentally killed after a fancy-pants event, nobody gets away clean — though having money sure helps, especially if you know how much a human life is worth. 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. Starting Feb. 6. Daily. 601 Van Ness, San Francisco, 777-3456, landmarktheatres.com.
Roxie Theater. Song One: Unabashedly fond of romantic rooftop hangouts in front of Manhattan skyline bokeh backdrops, Kate Barker-Froyland's tender drama stars doe-eyed Anne Hathaway as an anthropology student who, by dint of her brother falling into a coma, hooks up with a gently broody troubadour played by Johnny Flynn. Sweet downbeat indie folk ensues (mostly written by Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice), which you'd better like if you want to get through this. Through Feb. 5. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night: There's nothing not to get excited about in this feature-length debut by Ana Lily Amirpour. Not only is it shot in glorious black and white, it's also an Iranian (!) vampire (!!) western (!!!), complete with Ennio Morricone-style music. If that doesn't turn you on, you may already be dead. Through Feb. 5. The Duke of Burgundy: Coming across like a film Peter Greenaway never got around to making, Peter Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy explores a master-slave relationship between Evelyn (Chiara D'Anna) and the slightly older Cynthia (Sidse Babett Knudsen), two entomologists who engage in carefully scripted sadomasochistic rituals when they're not studying or lecturing about butterflies and larvae. Through Feb. 5. 3117 16th St., San Francisco, 863-1087, roxie.com.
Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Timbuktu: In filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako's documentary, the eponymous Malian city is a place increasingly in thrall to Islamic fundamentalism, a place of men with guns instead of minds, with a Sharia mandate to ban anything fun under threat of barbaric punishment. We begin to understand what makes Malian blues bands so soulful and mesmerizingly good: In a place like this, they get 40 lashes for playing music at all, and 40 more just for being together in a room. Daily. Song of the Sea: Folklore is life in Tomm Moore's animated masterpiece, a stunning visual tapestry and a simple story about how any family's grief for a lost loved one can be as deep and vast as a national mythology. It demonstrates, as maybe only a great animated film can, how ordinary life teems with wonder. Daily. 1881 Post, San Francisco, 346-3243, sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html.
Temescal Arts Center. Shapeshifters Cinema: Free monthly film series featuring experimental image manipulators and ambient sound shamans. Second Sunday of every month, 8 p.m. Free. shapeshifterscinema.com. 511 48th St., Oakland, 510-923-1074, temescalartscenter.org.
Vogue Theatre. The Hot Stove Movie & Music Festival: If you simply can't wait for MLB's opening day in April, this baseball-themed film fest includes screenings of classics like Bull Durham and Bang the Drum Slowly, as well as two local documentaries focusing on the game's impact on youth in Cuba (as well as the Bay Area), Ghost Town to Havana and Havana Curveball. In addition to the films, there are two Saturday concerts: former Giants third base coach Tim Flannery performs at 4 p.m., while Chuck Prophet and Dan Bern play at 8. Feb. 6-8. 3290 Sacramento, San Francisco, 346-2288, voguesf.com.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Altmanesque: New Documentary & Rarities: Here's how the late American movie maverick Robert Altman liked to describe his relationship with Hollywood: "I make gloves, and they sell shoes." So we see in "Altmanesque," a selection of three features and assorted shorts — including Ron Mann's 2014 documentary Altman (Feb. 5 & 8), 1955's early screenplay effort Corn's-A-Poppin' (Feb. 21), and 1982's nostalgic ode to Americana, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Feb. 28) — which are worth trying on, whatever they are. Thu., Feb. 5, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 8, 2 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 21, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. $8-$10. 701 Mission, San Francisco, 978-2787, ybca.org.
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