Cinequest Brands MavericksThroughout Cinequest 16, Executive Director and Co-founder Halfdan Hussey retold the tale of the maverick. The term originated in the mid-1800s, when any unbranded cow roaming the open range near San Antonio, Texas, was thought to belong to rancher Samuel A. Maverick. Hussey didn’t mention that the cattle had been neglected—hence never branded—and any strays were referred to as “one of Maverick’s” in a pejorative tone. Over the last 12 days, Cinequest rounde...
Cinequest Turns Sweet 16 in San Jose (March 1-March 12)“This will be the most electrifying Cinequest Film Festival yet—until next year,” announced Halfdan Hussey, Cinequest Co-founder and Executive Director, as he faced an audience that filled the historic 1,100-seat California Theatre in downtown San Jose. Who knows what next year will bring? But without a doubt, the March 1st opening night was the best in Cinequest history. Strolling into the California Theatre is like entering a cathedr...
48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21-May 5) Widen your focus. That’s the tagline of the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival, whose curtains opened at the Castro Theatre on Thursday night, April 21. North America’s oldest film festival is “dedicated to forging a relationship between cultures and countries,” stated Roxanne Messina Captor, San Francisco Film Society Executive Director and recent recipient of France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des L...
Cinequest 15 Starts Up in San Jose (March 2-March 13)The Cinequest San Jose Film Festival launched on Wednesday, March 2, with a rollicking opening night at the opulently restored California Theatre, a 1927 movie palace in downtown San Jose. Festival goers clapped along to “California Here I Come” as Bill Taylor played the Mighty Wurlitzer organ until it disappeared beneath the stage of the historic 1,100-seat house. “Now this is cool, absolutely cool,” said Halfdan Hussey, Cinequest Co-...
47th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 15-29) April 15th is tax day. But all the stress of income tax preparations and
payments evaporated when the rousing theme song from San Francisco,
the 1936 movie starring Jeannette MacDonald and Clark Gable, blasted from
the pipes of the Castro Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer organ. Everyone in the
1400-seat movie palace clapped along. As Wu-Tang Clan producer and Kill
Bill composer RZA proclaimed about the 1922 historic landmark: ...
