Oakland Originals documentary

What makes Oakland such a great city are the people who have called Oakland home over the years. My book, Legendary Locals of Oakland (due out December, 2015), will cover some of the people who have and are making Oakland what it is. But for a different look on some current Oaklanders, check out the "Oakland Originals" series of video documentaries:

They've made four amazing documentaries so far, recently just hit their Kickstarter goal for a fifth documentary and are hoping for funding for 3 more. These documentaries have great production values, but more importantly, feature some really interesting people from Oakland.

Watch the current documentaries here.
Check out their Kickstarter here.

film, food, and fun at The New Parkway

After too many delays to count, The New Parkway theater is finally open, and it's a blast. Whether you're a fan of the original, or just wondering what all the hubbub is about, you should definitely check it out.

J. Moses Ceasar tried very hard to open the theater in the original location on Park Boulevard, but the landlords were unwilling to do the work needed on the building. He tried for way longer than most people would have, but finally decided to look for an alternative location. He found that in a space in Uptown in the heart of the Art Murmur community.

Although it's in a new space in a new location, The New Parkway has done a great job keeping the best of the feel of the original Parkway. There are two theaters, each with a balcony, and both are loaded with comfy chairs, loveseats and tables. As with the original, they feature quirky, non-first run movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Big Lebowski, and Barbarella. On Sundays during the football season, they also show NFL games featuring the Raiders or the 49ers.

Like the original, it's not just movies, it's food and drinks, too. (As a Kickstarter reward, we got an extremely tasty pizza and a pitcher of beer.) After you order and pay, you're given a small key card which you insert into a machine at your seat. That allows the server to find you in the right theater. They've got an extensive menu, with starters like fries, quesadillas or soup; and pizzas, burgers (including a vegi option), or mac & cheese for more substantial options. The drinks range from Italian soda to hot cocoa to a nice selection of beers on tap. The pizza was very good, and I'm looking forward to trying some of the other choices. That the food is good is no surprise, as Ceasar spent some of the time waiting by having dining parties taste possible food options and help shape the menu. They source food locally, and don't serve anything with palm oil or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

The theaters are spartan but comfortable, and perfect for finding your own little spot, whether you want a comfy chair or loveseat, or you you want to sit at a hardback chair at a table. The lobby is nicely decorated, with living walls, custom art tables designed by folks at Creative Growth, old diner and theater seats, and other old film memorabilia. Besides the living walls, there are other green features, like waterless urinals in the men's room and a balcony railing made from repurposed wine barrel bands.

The night we were there we saw Beasts of the Southern Wild with a fair-sized crowd. As we left, a large crowd was gathering for a showing of Serenity and I saw tweets freom several people I know that were somewhere in the crowd. I also stopped in on Sunday to check out the Raiders game on the really big screen, and there was a good turnout. Whether you go for a quirky movie ($6) or to watch football ($5 worth of food/drink), it's a fun spot in Uptown with good food.

Note: The New Parkway will be open during tonight's Art Murmur, featuring a collection of short films from 6-9pm. After that they'll be showing their current movie features.

More pictures from The New Parkway:

Oakland Underground Film Festival

Last week was the 3rd annual Oakland Underground Film Festival. Other commitments kept me from seeing as much of it as I would have liked, but what I saw, I loved. The Oakland UFF is a showcase for independent film, with a special emphasis on social justice, urban life, and the environment.

Opening night was at the Grand Lake Theater, and featured Yelling to the Sky, and it packs a punch. The Oakland UFF site describes it with:

A graceful churning of sound, color, and chaotic emotion, Victoria Mahoney’s semi-autobiographical directorial and screenwriting debut has been called “the cinematic equivalent of Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew,” and it burns as it goes down, leaving you slightly dizzy, staring into the clouds. Starring the luminous Zöe Kravitz as Sweetness and Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) as her high school nemesis, Yelling to the Sky is a coming-of-age mash-up of raw emotion where the only answer to the brutal riddle of urban adolescence is to join in the fight for acceptance and survival.

The film doesn't vary from Sweetness' viewpoint, so you never get an answer to some questions, like why her dad changed the way he did. It had great cinematography (especially the dinner scene), all the more amazing for being done all in two takes or less. Victoria Mahoney was there for the showing, and had a Q&A session after. She explained the 'two takes or less' was purely a financial decision; they couldn't afford to shoot all the scenes she wanted if they did more takes. While that pressured the crew, it ended up bringing a live theater-like feeling to the production -- every body brought their best to every scene.

Mahoney described some of resistance she got to making the film, "Nobody's going to want that film", and complaints (from white, over-40 movie types) that it was "too slowed-paced for today's youth". She said she made the film she wanted to make, and kept going back to the responses of the under-20 crowd to make sure she was on track.

Two thumbs up for Yelling to the Sky. See the website for Yelling to the Sky for more info about future viewings.

The rest of the festival featured an eclectic mix of independent films. At the far end of the grittiness scale was an endearing collection of short films featuring the stop-motion heroine Komaneko:


Did you see any of the Oakland Underground Film Festival films? How'd you like them? How was the after party at NIMBY?