I landed on a program of films with a decidedly political bent, which suited me just fine. The main feature was Reason to Fear, a documentary directed by San Francisco filmmaker Steve Patapoff. The film recounted Tony Serra's defense of Hooty Croy, a Native American who was convicted of killing a white police officer in northern California nearly 25 years ago. At the re-trial Serra used a "cultural defense" to argue that Croy fired in self-defense, citing the genocide practiced against Native Americans as the reason Croy feared for his life when faced with a white police officer with a gun. Patapoff allows Croy, Serra, and other major players in the tale to speak for themselves, and the result is an affecting portrait of race relations in this country.

Preceding Reason to Fear were two shorts, The Reverend and the Loft King and In the Mix. In the former, Berkeley filmmaker Kelly Whalen took a look at the relationship between a black West Oakland pastor and the white developer who is foaming at the mouth to build lofts in the neighborhood where most of the reverend's parishioners have spent their entire lives. It's a very familiar story here in the Bay Area, but it's rare you get to see someone like the developer be so completely oblivious about what a bastard he's coming off as on film. He wears horrible sweaters and honestly thinks he's doing a good deed by converting a gorgeous old railway station into live-work space. My only critique of the film is that the narration took away from the story and made it feel like a nightly news segment; the individuals being interviewed didn't need any help from a voiceover to make their voices heard. Overall, however, Whalen did an excellent job of portraying the many ironies and conflicts that arise in urban planning. Sarah Klein's brief and tasty In the Mix got the evening off to a delightful start with an ode to the pleasures of baking bread.

After the films I stopped in at Dark City, a party in the depths of Oakland that couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a goth club or a rave. I found a seat and listened to the music for a while, but the dance floor was just a little too empty for me to feel like I wanted to boogie. Meanwhile the goths and the ravers mingled uncomfortably. I saw a cat that apparently lived in the space make a mad dash to get out of there, and I decided to follow suit.

Thep Naaree
Film Arts Foundation
Fine Arts Cinema
Reason to Fear