A still from The Dam Keeper, which was made by Tonko House in Berkeley. Photo: courtesy Tonko House On a recent morning before dawn, two former Pixar animators, Dice Tsutsumi and Robert Kondo, met up at their Berkeley studio to watch live as the nominees were announced for the 2015 Academy Awards. It was worth the 5 a.m. start, […]
Academy Awards
Posted inEvents
When the stars come out: A Night in Berkeleywood
An image from Riding My Way Back, one of the films supported by the Berkeley Film Foundation. Photo: Riding My Way Back It’s 342 miles between Berkeley and Hollywood, but on Oscar night, Sunday, Feb. 22, that distance will be shortened for those who flock to the live Academy Awards telecast at A Night in […]
Posted inArts
Big Screen Berkeley: Academy Award nominated shorts
White Earth, a look at North Dakota’s oil boom and how it’s affected local children, nominated for an Oscar in the short documentary category It’s time once again for me to thoroughly embarrass myself by incorrectly handicapping this year’s short subject Academy Awards, which open this Friday, Jan. 30 at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas. I think […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: ‘Omar:’ A powerful Palestinian drama
Omar, a powerful Palestinian drama about life in the Occupied Territories, opens at Landmark’s Shattuck Cinemas on Friday, Feb. 21 We’re just a couple of weeks away from this year’s Academy Awards, but one of the Best Foreign Language Film nominees is only now going on general release (to be eligible, films must screen publicly […]
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Oscar-nominated Berkeley film tells tale of forgiveness
Matthew Boger (left) and Tim Zaal in a still from Facing Fear. Photo courtesy of Jason Cohen Productions. At age 13, Matthew Boger was banished from his mother’s Northern California home for being gay. To stay alive, the teenager prostituted himself on the streets of Hollywood, where, one night in 1980, he was brutally beaten […]
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Big Screen Berkeley: Oscar-nominated short subjects
A frame from Minkyu Lee’s Adam and Dog, John Seal’s animated favorite for the Oscars, John Seal’s animated favorite for the Oscars This time last year, I handicapped the Oscars. Not, of course, the ones that everyone actually cares about – no, I was concerned with the ones only a mother (or a film obsessive, […]
Posted inArts
Berkeley documentary film shortlisted for an Oscar
If you’re stocking up on snacks in preparation for Oscars night on Sunday, make a note to watch out for a nominated film with a Berkeley connection. The Barber of Birmingham is an Academy Award nominee for best documentary short subject this year. The film, which explores the impact of the then potential nominee Barack Obama as […]
