The Ruth Brinker Story At Upcoming SF DocFest

The Ruth Brinker Story (Apo W. Bazidi, 23 mins, SDFF 2023), a documentary short about a retired food-service worker who founded Project Open Hand when she began delivering meals to HIV/AIDS patients in 1985, will be screened as part of this year’s San Francisco Documentary Festival, which opens June 1.

The 23-minute short, which premiered at this year’s SebDocs, will be shown at SF DocFest opening weekend as part of the Bay Area Shorts: Legends shorts block. The block also includes Tony&Denise: Cinematic Memoir of Denise D’Anne (Brian J Favorite, 26 mins), an experimental piece that tells the life of pioneering transgender labor activist Denise D’Anne; See You At The Bar: The Casa Loma Story (Peter Paul Jacques, 21 mins) that uses a nightspot for idiosyncratic Gen X-ers to foreground changes to the fabric of the city; and The Girl From 7th Avenue. Pat Cleveland & The Runway Revolution (Antonio Conteras, 20 mins), an illustrated look at supermodel Pat Cleveland’s breakthrough career and her support for designer Patrick Kelley that gives a fresh perspective on fashion’s history and future.

The Ruth Brinker Story is one of almost 30 docs about/from Bay Area Stories/Storytellers, which also includes the festival’s Opening Night film 26.2 to Life (Christine Yoo, 90 mins), about San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club, a marathon held in the prison. The film explores the transformative power of the training and competition, as well as the meaning of “personal transformation” within the context of the U.S. carceral state.  The film will be available on June 1, in person and online, and will be followed by a filmmaker Q&A.

This year’s festival includes 39 features and 47 shorts, all of which will show at the Roxie Theater and via a virtual on-demand platform. All filmmaker Q&As will also be made available on demand. For more details, see the SF DocFest website.