Representing the reps

Dario Argento's Suspiria brings witchiness to SFMOMA's fall film calendar

FALL ARTS Here's a list to get your started; visit the venue or organization website for even more events than could possibly fit here.

Artists' Television Access (www.atasite.org [1]): "Other Cinema," the Saturday-night showcase of creatively programmed films and videos, returns Sept. 11 (www.othercinema.com [2]); the "Electronic Cinema" series brings sound artists together with experimental filmmakers Sept. 14.

Castro (www.castrotheatre.com [3]): "Blonde Bombshells" series (lot o' Marilyn) Aug. 27–Sept. 5; a digital restoration of 1957 classic Bridge on the River Kwai Sept 10–16; and a Chaplin series Sept. 18–21. Jesse Hawthorne Ficks' always-fun "Midnites for Maniacs" (www.midnitesformaniacs.com [4]) rolls out a "Reinventing Prom" triple feature Sept. 17 (at midnight: 1982's Zapped!).

Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Festival (www.cafilm.org [5]): The biggest event up north is the 33rd Mill Valley Film Festival (www.mvff.org [6]), Oct 7-17. Other special events: the "Films of My Life" series, with Talking Head Jerry Harrison discussing Jim Jarmusch's 1984 Stranger Than Paradise.

Clay (www.landmarktheatres.com [7]): The Clay closes Aug. 29. Head out for Aug. 28's midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), with the Bawdy Caste on hand for a live performance and Clay "funeral."

Film Night in the Park (www.filmnight.org [8]): Dude! Season-capper The Big Lebowski (1998) invades Dolores Park Sept. 25.

Forbidden Island (www.forbiddenislandalameda.com [9]): Shout out to Will "The Thrill" Viharo, whose "Forbidden Thrills" double-feature-and-signature-drink series packs in some true oddities. Nov. 15's entry is an Ed Wood tribute, with "The Angora Sweater" cocktail.

Pacific Film Archive (www.bampfa.berkeley.edu [10]): Highlights of the fall program include "Drawn from Life: The Graphic Novel on Film" (Sept. 10–Oct. 31); and the San Francisco Cinematheque co-sponsored "Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area" (Sept. 17–March 31).

Red Vic (www.redvicmoviehouse.com [11]): Oh, hi. Good luck trying to get a ticket for The Room (2003) with THE Tommy Wiseau in person Sept. 17–18. Other fall delights: the local theatrical premiere of Cropsey, a doc that investigates the intersection of true crime and urban legend, Oct 15–19.

Roxie (www.roxie.com [12]): It's a festival-a-thon, with the SF Latino Film Festival (www.sflatinofilmfestival.com [13]) Sept 16-19 and the SF Irish Film Festival (www.sfirishfilm.com [14]) Sept. 23–25. Don't miss the Robert Altman miniseries, with 1977 personality-swapping epic 3 Women Sept 21.

San Francisco Cinematheque (www.sfcinematheque.org [15]): Complete program information was unavailable at press time, but SF Cinematheque heads to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (www.sfmoma.org [16]) for a screening of films by avant-gardist Alexander Hammid, plus live music by the Beth Custer Ensemble, Oct 21.

San Francisco Film Society (www.sffs.org [17]): A few highlights: the NY/SF International Children's Film Festival (Sept. 24–26); programs of films from Taiwan (Oct. 22–24), France (Oct. 23–Nov. 3), and Italy (Nov. 14–21); the San Francisco International Animation Film Festival (Nov. 11–14); and a screening of 1919 silent Sir Arne's Treasure with accompaniment by the Mountain Goats (Dec. 14).

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (www.sfmoma.org [16]): Picks include "The Elements" sound and film performance Sept. 30, with experimental filmmaker Paul Clipson; and the "Witches" double feature Oct. 28 with George Romero's Season of the Witch (1973) and Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977).

Victoria (www.victoriatheatre.org [18]): Joshua Grannell's horror comedy All About Evil screens at the very theater where it was filmed, Oct 21–24 — with Grannell's alter ego, Midnight Mass hostess Peaches Christ in person (www.peacheschrist.com [19]).

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (www.ybca.org [20]): The maker of 1965's Dead Birds gets his due at "Others/Ourselves: The Cinema of Robert Gardner" (Sept. 23–30); plus, check out "Totally Ridiculous: The Lost Films of Charles Ludlum" (Sept. 24–26) and "Sesame Street: A Celebration" (Oct. 1–30).

And more: Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema (Sept. 2–5) blankets the 'hood with free screenings (www.bhoutdoorcine.org [21]). Good Vibrations Fifth Annual Indie Erotic Film Festival (Sept. 18–23) aims to tickles your fancy (www.goodvibes.com [22]). The 14th Arab Film Festival (Oct. 14–24) screens films from and about the Arab world (www.arabfilmfestival.org [23]).