Film Close-ups on KALX 90.7 FM

12/31/2024

The City of Berkeley granted a CEQA exemption to the developer, but Save the UA Berkeley is intending to appeal this decision before the Jan 13 due date. You can help support this effort via their GoFundMe below.

Greetings friends of Save the UA Berkeley, The United A… Rose A. Ellis needs your support for Save Berkeley's Finest Masterpiece from the Wrecking Ball

11/21/2024

This weekend, we'll be hosting Briana Loewinsohn, comics artist who've been making a spectacular series of stories recently about all the East Bay Movie Theatres That Are Slipping Into The Void. This will be a conversation you won't want to miss. (And, it has to be said, this is hands-down the best flyer we've ever had.)

Here's where you can see them: https://www.kqed.org/author/bloewinsohn

Also worth investigating are her stories about the local cafes that have gone away.

https://www.berkeleyside.org/2023/07/31/briana-loewinsohn-caffe-med-au-coquelet-gaylords

10/16/2024

SFFILM's Doc Stories presentation runs Oct 17 - 20 at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco. One to watch is Raoul Peck's new documentary about South African photographer Ernest Cole. "Ernest Cole: Lost and Found" screens this Saturday morning at 11 am.

Created in 2015, Doc Stories was designed to celebrate non-fiction film. The annual event provides essential opportunities for collaboration, distills key industry trends, and showcases bold new films. Over the last decade, Doc Stories has become an essential festival for established and emerging fi...

10/11/2024

We're excited to welcome filmmaker Payal Kapadia, one of the recipients of the Mind the Gap Award at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival, on tomorrow night's Film Close-ups. You might recall me talking incessantly about her previous film "A Night of Knowing Nothing", which won the prestigious Cannes Golden Eye award, during our Best of show a couple of years ago. Her new film "All We Imagine as Light", which won the Cannes Grand Prix award this year, screens tonight at the Christopher B Smith Rafael Film Center and tomorrow night at the BAMPFA.

07/22/2024

Reminisce about the days of downtown Berkeley movie theaters and learn more about the multitude of filmmakers who did or do call Berkeley home at the Berkeley Historical Society.

Berkeley was home to the first U.S. film journal, the Pacific Film Archive and over 30 movie venues. A new exhibit celebrates its legacy.

01/13/2024

We’ve got back to back interviews on Saturday’s show!
First up, we welcome LGBTQ film historian Jenni Olson to discuss the film series “Masc” she has guest curated for Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, which begins on Jan 19.
In the second half of the show we will be talking with Judy Irving and Mark Bittner about the 20th anniversary re-release of “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill” which screens at the Roxie Theater and the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center this weekend.

The true story of a bohemian North Beach Saint Francis, and how he made a colorful flock of friends.

THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL, newly restored in all its glory, starts this weekend, with special guests in person Friday and Saturday: https://bit.ly/ParrotsHill

10/28/2023

We will be talking Doc Stories on a special extra-long edition of Film Closeups starting at 5 pm today on KALX 90.7 FM, Berkeley.

Doc Stories returns with a joyous bang, presenting Matthew Heineman’s American Symphony, a profound and nuanced film about Grammy-winning musician, singer, and songwriter Jon Batiste. The documentary showcase is anchored by the Centerpiece presentation of Copa 71, a stunning archival excavation of...

10/20/2023

Tune in to KALX 90.7 FM tomorrow at 5:30 pm to hear an interview with Benoit Charest, composer of the film score for The Triplets of Bellville, playing as part of CalPerformances' 2023-2024 season. Live cine-concerts are happening Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus!

Posted on October 16, 2023 Event Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023 - 5:30pmOn Saturday, October 21st @ 5:30PM, Film Close Ups hosts, Gregory Scharpen & Chris Michel speak with Canadian composer, Benoît Charest, ahead of the Cal Performances Cine-Concert of The Triplets of Belleville on October 21st...