ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Another Hole in the Head Film Festival is a two week cinematic excursion into the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Taking its cue from such other legendary festivals as Cannes, Sundance, and Crazy Steve’s Bootleg Basement Extravaganza, Another Hole in the Head culls together a diverse collection of films of all varieties and budgetary considerations. From your buddy Keith’s skateboarding footage in an enchanted forest to Burt Reynolds in Space, Another Hole in the Head provides a unique vehicle for independent cinema.
This year’s festival will occur from December 1st - December 15th at the New People’s Cinema in San Francisco’s Japantown. While 2019 marks the 16th anniversary of the Hole in the Head Film Festival, its roots can be traced somewhat further into the region’s illustrious past.
During the late 1980’s, amidst the burgeoning microchip scene permeating the auxiliary regions of greater San Francisco, several computer engineers huddled around a coworker’s cubicle for a viewing of the 8- bit classic Technotician 5000, a binary program that both astounded and terrified with visions of strange pixelated passive aggressive restaurant reviews and a dystopian society of lifeless monoliths and human beings under the control of tiny machines forged to their hips. Some decades earlier during the halcyon days of experimental film and cinéma vérité, amidst a haze of thai sticks and orange sunshine at a local commune, there was a screening of Virgo’s Kaleidoscope, a film of such magnitude and import that several audience members recalled it as “A two hour transcending microcosm of like, life…. or something” and “Wow….. dig.” (Recent evidence, however, suggests the film projector did not contain any actual film). Even back to the city’s incipient formation in the early 1850’s, one can trace this festival’s genesis to the first screening of a zoetrope entitled Zeke Done Jumped My Claim, a Gothic horror story by grizzled prospector and renowned coot Horatio Black, which led to three days of riots and whiskey drinking. And if the past 15 years of the Another Hole in the Head Film Fest is any indication, 2019 should continue this storied tradition.
Our "theatrical home" is New People Cinema in San Francisco's Japantown. A 143-seat underground venue located in the New People Building, the Cinema is equipped with cutting-edge HD digital projection, 35mm film projection and a THX®-certified sound system. New People Cinema hosts many local film festivals including the San Francisco International Film Festival, CAAMFest, Green Film Festival, and the Japan Film Festival of San Francisco.
