Films return to Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre with the Doc5 Festival

Films are coming back to the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park. The former movie theater that was recently renovated into an intimate music venue will soon have a big screen and extra seats set up on the dance floor for guests attending the Doc5 Film Festival, a series of five documentaries showing Wednesday, Sept. 7, through Friday, Sept. 9.

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‘I don’t feel like I need to prove myself to anyone’: New film shares Foster City woman’s experience as a queer Asian American skateboarder 

Foster City resident Kat Sy's experiences as a queer Asian Amerian female skateboarder are being highlighted in a short film being shown at the Center for Asian American Media’s 40th CAAMFest now through May 22. “Crashing Wheels on Concrete” follows the ups and downs of Sy’s life through her love of skateboarding as she graduates from college and takes on the challenges of adulthood. 

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Homegrown Hollywood: Meet Silicon Valley’s spirited filmmakers

They learned cinematography on YouTube, “borrowed” equipment from UC Santa Cruz and now they’re bringing movie magic to the Peninsula. Tony Gapastione, far left, chats with his actors while filming a proof of concept trailer to raise funds for his feature The Thorns We Live With. (Image via Evan Ajuria) A dysfunctional family is having a fight during dinner. Nothing new there. But if you take a step back, you’ll find a boom ...

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Peninsula talent shines bright on the international stage at this year’s United Nations Association Film Festival

Annual documentary festival goes all-virtual for 2020, featuring local and international stories by Peter Canavese “Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani” profiles the late Stanford University mathematician. (Image via UNAFF) Even in a global pandemic, the nonprofit United Nations Association Film Festival endures, presenting entirely online this year (its 23rd) a program of 60 documentaries over 11 days, beginning Oct. 15. UNAFF Founder and Executive Director Jasmina Bojic continues to think ...

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The secrets of Bruce Lee’s heritage are in….San Bruno?

The Bay Area’s most famous native son provides a case study for what can be unearthed from your family’s official records. By Charles Russo Cheeks of Fury: A four month-old Bruce Lee pictured with his mother in family immigration files. (Document Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration in San Bruno, CA) Don’t let the chubby cheeks and dopey expression fool you, that kid is in fact the most badass martial artist to ever walk ...

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