Sonoma International Film Festival spans issues, genres

Some film festivals have found success specializing in one kind of movie or another - animation, documentaries, short films, new mainstream releases - but the Sonoma International Film Festival likes to do it all.

The five-day festival celebrates its 20th anniversary starting next Wednesday with 130 films in 20 languages from 27 countries, showing at seven venues in and around downtown Sonoma. Of those films, 63 are full-length and the rest will be packaged in five different programs of short films. The final selections were culled from 700 entries submitted to the festival.

In addition, more than 200 filmmakers are expected to attend, said the festival's executive director, Kevin McNeely,

“We've always been a credible platform, I think, for indie filmmakers to come and have their films seen,” McNeely said. “In the last few years, we've had a few films that have started here and gone on to get wider distribution. Ours is a destination film festival.”

Ask the ever-enthusiastic McNeely to name a few favorites, and he'll readily rattle off a score of titles, but here are half a dozen highlights, with McNeely's comments:

The opening film of the festival: “The Promise,” 2016, USA, 134 min. Christian Bale and Angela Sarafyan star in a love story set in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. 7 p.m. at the Sebastiani Theatre and 7:30 p.m. at the Sonoma Veterans Hall, Wednesday, March 29.

“‘The Promise' is a beautifully shot, period-piece film about a love triangle,” McNeely said. “The actress Angela Sarafyan will be here to support the film.” The program starts with “Hyper,” an Oscar-nominated Pixar short animated film.

“Straws,” 2017, USA, 32 in. Director Linda Booker, making a return visit to the Sonoma festival, explores the environmental damage done by plastic straws. Narration by Tim Robbins. 9:15 a.m. Thursday, March 30, at the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Theatre, Sonoma Community Center, and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the “House of Docs” in the Sonoma Veterans Hall, Theater Two.

“Soul on a String,” 2016, China, 142 min. Director Yang Zhang blends Buddhist spiritual elements with classic American Western motifs in an action drama about a blood feud. 11:30 a.m. Friday, March 31, and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the Sebastiani Theatre. “It's hard-hitting and has the look of an American Western, but it's a Chinese cast,” McNeely said.

“Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary,” 2016, USA, 99 min. The definitive documentary biography and appreciation of jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, with Denzel Washington, Wynton Marsalis and Sonny Rollins. 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Sonoma Veterans Hall, Theater One; 7:45 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at Sonoma Veterans Hall, Theater Two. “Our music films are always popular,” McNeely said. “This is a fresh new film that people haven't seen.”

“Two Trains Runnin',” 2016, USA, 82 min. Documentary follows the search for two early blues singers, Son House and Skip James, carried out in Mississippi during the height of the American civil rights movement. 2:15 p.m. Friday, March 31, at Sonoma Veterans Hall, Theater One, and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Theatre, Sonoma Community Center. “Narrated by Common, with music by Gary Clark Jr., this film is about such hot-button issues as police brutality, racism, civil rights and the legacy of black music.”

The closing night film of the festival: “Cook Up a Storm,” 2017, Hong Kong, 97 min. A Cantonese street cook and his chief rival, a French-trained Michelin-starred chef, discover they have a lot in common as they prepare for a world-famous culinary competition. 6 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the Sebastiani Theatre.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.