Sad day for San Francisco film fans

Two big bummers today, my fellow cinemaniacs.

The first bit of news is that it's official, according to collective member Claudia Lehan: beloved Haight Street landmark the Red Vic Movie House [1] will officially be closing its doors July 25, the theater's 31st birthday (read my story about the Red Vic's 30th birthday year here [2].) The last film to grace its screen will be perennial Red Vic favorite (and annual Red Vic birthday flick), Harold and Maude [3] (1971). Stay tuned for more on this story.

And sad news from the San Francisco Film Society [4]: charismatic executive director Graham Leggat will be stepping down from the post he's held since 2005 due to health issues, according to a SFFS press release [5]. (Chronicle columnist Leah Garchik has more on the story here [6].) Leggat wasn't just a figurehead for the organization. He oversaw a huge expansion of SFFS' programs -- per the release: "Historic developments under Leggat’s direction include the launch of the country’s only daily independent regional online film magazine, SF360.org [7], in 2006; integration of the filmmaker services programs of Film Arts Foundation in 2008, which have since grown into a rich array of grants, residencies and project development services; the creation and expansion of SFFS’s annual Fall Season slate of festivals and events, which this year includes seven themed film series between September and November; and the recent announcement of the creation of the San Francisco Film Society New People Cinema [8], which provides a year-round theatrical home for the organization’s myriad activities for the first time in its 54-year history." Best of luck to Leggat -- a man whose charming, witty presence is familiar to all regular attendees of the San Francisco International Film Festival [9].