oblations

Monday, September 21, 2026

annie dillard

JP Allen Retrospective in San Francisco | Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

HE’S MADE 11 FILMS SET IN S.F. — AND IS ONE OF THE CITY’S BEST UNKNOWN DIRECTORS

S.F. filmmaker JP Allen gets rare big-screen showcase in the Bay Area

By Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Sep 21, 2026

San Francisco filmmaker JP Allen

It’s long past time for JP Allen to be acknowledged as one of the city’s very best filmmakers.

Over the course of 11 films — most of them shot in San Francisco — Allen has produced a body of work that is understated yet passionate, focused on human relationships at their most intense. Imagine Ingmar Bergman’s movies, but as skewed through a West Coast sense of humor and sensibility.

These films don’t just deserve to be known. They deserve to be lauded, argued over and, someday, studied. This fall, three different venues are stepping up to celebrate Allen on the 25th anniversary of his first film, “Coffee and Language.”

The Roxie Theater in San Francisco plans to screen Allen’s latest, “Memorizing Alison” (2025), about a man recovering from the hit-and-run death of his girlfriend on Sept. 28. The next day, the Rafael Film Center in Marin will be showing “The Filmmaker” (2018), in which a man meets a troubled young woman who might be his daughter.

JP Allen is the unidentified man in “Centaur.”

The series concludes Oct. 5, with “Coffee and Language” at the Rialto Elmwood Theater in Berkeley. The filmmaker is slated to appear at each event for post-screening Q&As with the audience.

Born in 1960, Allen was raised in the country in North Texas and moved to Los Angeles for film school in 1982. Five years later, he traveled up to San Francisco and fell in love with the city’s cultural and visual beauty. “I felt that I’d found my home as well as the landscape of my imagination,” he said.

For those unfamiliar with Allen’s work, here are six things to know — and notice — in order to fully appreciate his work:

1. Feelings vs. rationality. The notion that life must be felt is a recurring idea in Allen’s work, including in “Memorizing Alison.” Curiously, Allen, who often appears in his own films, usually plays the guy trying to think his way out of feeling something.

2. He faces uncomfortable truths. As with Bergman’s characters, Allen’s can be surprisingly cruel to each other. He has an artist’s willingness to face the ugly truth about people and relationships.

3. Nothing can be taken back. As Allen has gotten older, his films have expressed a deepening sense of the irrevocable. “The Filmmaker,” one of my favorites of his movies, is especially profound in this regard. It has an Olympian vision of life as something grand, and yet it also leaves you with a feeling of loss, of opportunities that can never be regained.

4. Restraint is his strength. When Allen makes an emotional point, he moves on. That’s partly why most of his films are under 90 minutes. Whether it’s a feeling, a plot point or a character revelation, Allen shows what he has to show, and he gets out.

5. He has a gift for story. Alas, most independent filmmakers don’t have the knack for storytelling. They create characters and situations, but they can’t find a compelling narrative. Allen is one of the rare art film directors whose movies make you think, “I wonder what’s going to happen next.”

JP Allen wrote, directed and stars in "Centaur,"

about a man making a videotape about his planned revenge murder

against the drunk driver who killed his girlfriend

6. An eye for San Francisco. Allen isn’t interested in postcard views. He finds the city where actual people live. He likes Golden Gate Park, where much of his 2021 film “The Girl in Golden Gate Park” takes place, but in another movie he shows us the city as seen from the top of the Stockton Tunnel. In another, he shows us the outside of the Pinecrest Diner on Geary Street on a rainy day. Whatever love he has for San Francisco isn’t grounded in wishful thinking. Still, Allen’s gaze lends the city a faint air of enchantment.

The three screenings of Allen’s films are rare chances to see his movies on the big screen with an audience. But for those who can’t make it to those screenings or just want to see more, you should know that nine of his films are available to stream on Prime Video.

Of the films I have not yet mentioned, the ones I’d see first are “Gambling” (2004), “Sex and Imagining” (2009) and “Centaur” (2011). But if you take up this journey, I expect you’ll find that every film JP Allen is worth watching.

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Friday, September 18, 2026

NUMBERING OUR DAYS: TIME AT THE MOVIES

from Smoke (1995, Wayne Wang)

Since 2004 I've been keeping track of calendar dates that show up in movies. In 2013 I started making montages of those film clips, culminating in the 2023 Richmond Cultural Centre premiere of a six-hour montage of movie scenes representing the six months of November through April. Now the complete twelve-hour Date Movie project is complete, playing Monday through Saturday until October 3 at the Dal Schindell Gallery (second floor, Regent College, on the UBC campus; enter Regent from the corner of Wesbrook Mall and Western Parkway). You'll find detailed information at the gallery website.

There are also seven other movie montages featured in the installation. TimePiece, which debuted a year ago at the Annex of the Richmond Cultural Centre. In sixty minutes it moves around the clock showing clips featuring the time of day - a tribute to Christian Marclay's work The Clock. Marquee tracks the history of the movies through a progression of movie theatre marquees; another mashup does the same with Studio Credits taken from films featured in the installation. A pair of screens show us people in movies watching movies, and the movies they are watching, and Staircase and the Cinema Chapel look at contrasting ways we move through our days, with suggestions of eternity.

First Pro Tip: definitely use the wireless headphones to view the Date Movie, Cinema Chapel, and TimePiece. The those three have soundtracks that are essential.

I'll be spending time at the gallery as I continue to build two of the pieces. I'll update it as I add other sessions, so check here for a schedule of those times. Also, if something happens and I'm not going to make it to the gallery at one of the times I've listed, I'll update that here. Currently...

Wed Sep 16, reception 4-8

Mon Sep 21, morning/midday TBA

Fri Sep 25, 2-6

Fri Oct 2, 1-4 (followed by Artist Talk 7-8:30)

Sat Oct 3, 10-4

PARKING

(this is important)

There's a lot of construction around Regent College right now, so parking is tricky. There's plenty of it, but you need to know where to look. There are a limited number of 2 hour spots along the east side of Western Parkway (Honk or Pay By Phone) - definitely the most convenient, but before 6pm you're strictly limited to two hours, and you might want a bit more time to sit down and really take in the long-form videos, the Date Movie or the Cinema Chapel - or visit the amazing Regent Bookstore. There's also plentiful underground parking off Allison Road - 2 hour limit for meter parking, or (I think?) longer durations if you use the Hangtag app (but download it in advance; I've found it a pain to try and download when I've just parked, so I don't). But here's the PRO TIP! UBC - Fairview Crescent parking. Pay By Phone or Honk app, always spots available, it's right beside a nice little forest, five minute walk from Regent, and if you book three hours or so it extends it beyond midnight for free! The other day I it charged me only ten bucks to park from 10am to midnight!

It's located south of Regent. Turn east from Wesbrook Mall onto Thunderbird Boulevard, go left when you have to turn at Osoyoos Crescent, then an immediate left onto Fairview Avenue. I've marked it on the map below. Low tech, low artistic merit, but hey, I'm not THAT kind of artist, okay?!!

photo | children in gaza watching the lion king | omar ashtawy

Sunday, September 06, 2026

photos | william klein

Saturday, August 29, 2026

TRIBAL COUNCIL REP RENAMES BOUNDARY LIVESTOCK POND TO ‘LAKE DELBERT’ IN ESCALATING TUPPERWARE TRADE WAR

BREAKING: TRIBAL COUNCIL REP RENAMES BOUNDARY LIVESTOCK POND TO ‘LAKE DELBERT’ IN ESCALATING TUPPERWARE TRADE WAR

THE REZ: In a stunning escalation of the ongoing border dispute between District 3 and District 4, Acting Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Natural Resources and Bingo Operations, Delbert Yellowhair, signed a unilateral executive directive this morning officially renaming the shared Route 9 Livestock Catchment Pond to "Lake Delbert." The sweeping geographical overhaul comes just 48 hours before District 4’s controversial 25% tariff on all incoming Tupperware and Avon deliveries takes effect at the highway cattle guard.

"For too long, District 4 has exploited our maritime borders while financially devastating our aunties’ essential food-storage logistics," stated Yellowhair, standing before a Sharpied piece of plywood zip-tied to a T-post. "As of midnight Friday, any District 4 horse caught drinking from Lake Delbert will be legally classified as a hostile foreign import and impounded under tribal sovereignty."

The geopolitical standoff hit an immediate procedural bottleneck when the Department of Public Works refused to install the official $450 reflective highway signage, citing a 1998 Tribal environmental survey that legally classifies the body of water as an oversized seasonal pothole.

"I don’t care if he calls it Lake Delbert, Lake America, or the Pacific Ocean, it’s still just a knee-deep mud puddle with a 2004 Nissan transmission at the bottom of it," fired back Charlene Begay, Vice-Secretary of the District 4 Bake Sale and Grievance Commission. "He can flex his naval authority all he wants, but his cousin still owes me $42 for a deviled egg carrier from last October."

As of press time, a pack of stray rez dogs had successfully breached the newly established international waters, prompting an emergency deployment of the Chapter House maintenance guy to secure the coastline.

Ronnie Lodge Pole

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Friday, August 21, 2026

I Am England / 54-46 Was My Number

Great song, great opening credits for a great movie.

Monday, August 17, 2026

my movie montages

I love the movies. And I like making things. So I spend a lot of time making movies out of the movies. Here are links to some of my ongoing montage projects. (Note: They're always best with headphones, or good speakers. The bigger the screen the better. Probably best at the theatre, or a gallery...)

Installation:

Dal Schindell Gallery

Sep 16 - Oct 3, 2026

Gallery closed Sundays

Several of my long form film montages will be featured this fall in the gallery at Regent College on the UBC Campus. The centrepiece will be the premiere of the 12-hour Date Movie, which moves through the twelve months of the calendar year using date-specific clips from thousands of films. Timepiece, which premiered in 2025 at the Richmond Cultural Centre, moves through twenty-four hours of clock time in one hour, a tribute to Christian Marclay's video masterwork The Clock. Also premiering will be the Cinema Prayer Chapel, a contemplative space featuring prayers of every kind drawn from world film, as well as other works celebrating the movies and movie-going.

gallery website

Date Movies

The whole obsession began with the project of finding date references in movies. On June 6, 2004, I marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day by watching The Longest Day, which led to a search to find one movie for each day in the calendar year, undertaken by several participants in the Arts & Faith online conversation board. Which eventually led to the idea of creating mashups of multiple film clips representing specific days of the year, usually the birthdays of friends. I've created almost 100 such videos, but many were posted on a defunct Vimeo account. Here are links to a handful I've put up on YouTube.

Jan 6

Feb 7

Feb 21

Mar 1

March 21 for Tom (new)

Apr 19

April 24 for Doug (new)

May 13

Jun 3

Jun 7

Jun 19

Jul 12 | with extended credits

Jul 30

Aug 19 for Tom (a different Tom. even newer)

Sep 2

Sep 11

Oct 2

Oct 30

Dec 22

Another iteration of this whole dates-in-movies project was to build a thirty minute montage with one clip for each calendar day. I really like it.

A Year At The Movies In Half An Hour

or one month at a time... (September is my favourite)

A Month At The Movies In Two And A Half Minutes

January | dates only | dates titles events

February | dates only | dates titles events

March | dates only | dates titles events

April | dates only | dates titles events

May | dates only | dates titles events

June | dates only | dates titles events

July | dates only | dates titles events

August | dates only | dates titles events

September | dates only | dates titles events

October | dates only | dates + titles

November | dates only | dates + titles

December | dates only | dates titles events

I prefer the versions with no titles, just a stream of images and sound. But if you're curious about what movies the clips are from, or about the events depicted, there are versions including those things as well

Dial V for Video

A tribute to video stores, a trailer for Video Cat on International Independent Video Store Day. 40 movies in 4:32. Here.

Good Time Diner

My son-in-law plays in a band, and they thought it would be a blast to project movie clips behind them while they play, and during breaks. So I got to make some really long montages! Welcome to the diner! Here's a minute-and-a-half trailer for one of their gigs, but unfortunately there are restrictions for viewing the longer montages.

NT GUILTY: You need a good lawyer?

Movie clips about lawyers and the law, a graduation present for my daughter Katie's graduation from law school. Probably my favourite. Montage, not daughter. Here.

The Movies Go To The Movies: Marquees

A chronology of movie-going, as seen in the movies. A work in progress; here's an early version, starting with a 1915 screening of "The Curse Of Drink" at The Gem (from the film "On Moonlight Bay") through to "The Bicycle Thief" at The Rialto in 1991 (as seen in "The Player"). The complete Marquee montage will premiere as part of the Numbering Our Days installation at the Dal Schindell Gallery this fall.

Earth Day International Film Festival: End of the World Edition

And here's the trailer for an imaginary film festival. Just for fun, to pass the time during the pandemic.

Monday, August 10, 2026

from a coffee bar in kyoto | "beatles change drummer!"

photo | mkay 10:05pm

Sunday, August 09, 2026

the birds | poster

Saturday, August 01, 2026

henri + fred

Henri Nouwen wrote this letter to Fred Rogers after Fred had been hurt by a particularly critical article about him.

Dear Fred,

I have just returned from Europe where I received permission from my Bishop to stay at L’Arche. I am now back here hoping to settle more definitely and find a new rhythm of life that is a little more livable than what I have had in the past. I read the article you sent me and can very well understand how much that must have hurt you. It must be really painful to be confronted with a total misunderstanding of your mission and your spiritual intentions.

It is these little persecutions within the church that hurt the most. I simply hope that you are not too surprised by them. They come and will keep coming precisely when you do something significant for the Kingdom. It has always struck me that the real pain comes often from the people from whom we expected real support. It was Jesus’ experience and the experience of all the great visionaries in the Church, and it continues to be the experience of many who are committed to Jesus.

I don’t think it makes much sense to argue with the writer of this article. He speaks from a very different plane and will not be open to your explanations. Some of the criticisms we simply have to suffer and see as invitations to enter deeper into the heart of Jesus. I won’t send you some of the reviews I get of my books, but some are not very different from the tone of this piece. So I certainly feel a unique solidarity with you.

Let us pray for each other, that we remain faithful and not become bitter and that we continue to return to the center where we can find the joy and peace that is not of this world. Thanks so much for staying in touch with me.

Much love,

Henri Nouwen