Jason goes to SFFILM--Opening Night

SFFILM started up again last night. I am completely unprepared, just gonna have to wing it, and with my busy day job, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do (I'm definitely limited to nights and weekends, and not necessarily every night.) But I'll make the most of it, as best as I can

After the obligatory introductions and thank-yous to the sponsors, we got our opening film.

A KID LIKE JAKE is a smart story about a little boy who doesn't follow traditional gender norms. I believe the term is "gender expansive." He likes fairy tales, especially about Disney princesses. And he likes playing dress-up, especially as Disney princesses. But he's also a brilliant little boy, scoring in the 96th percentile (as much as you can really test toddler intelligence.

And it's about his parents (played Claire Danes and Jim Parsons) who are liberal New Yorkers but still crack under various pressures. Especially the pressure to get into a good private or magnet school. At first, his gender expansiveness is actually seen as a positive trait. His preschool teacher (the fantastic Octavia Spencer) points out that schools want diversity, and with his intelligence he'd be a good diversity addition. But kids are kids, and they will pick on him. And he doesn't want to change, no matter who pressures him. So comments like "stubborn" and "acting out" start showing up on his evaluations. And the way all the adults kind of dance around the issue doesn't make it easier (nor does facing it directly, actually.) It's definitely a thought-provoking and conversation-starting film (although this being San Francisco, everyone is pretty much on the same page in the conversation.) 

Then off to the after party, where I had a few beers and caught up with some of my SF film friends. And back home for an early-ish night (got home just after midnight, which is early for me during a festival.)

Here's looking forward to a great two weeks of film, as much as I can fit in my schedule!

Running Time: 92 minutes
My Total Minutes: 474,987