the 07/21/2008

Bicycle Film Festival hits San Francisco

In a way, the Bicycle Film Festival happened by accident.

It was a bright and sunny New York day in 2000, when Brendt Barburwas riding around on his single-speed bicycle running errands.Having just moved from San Francisco, Barbur was thinking howespecially appreciative he felt to live in another bicycle-friendlycity.

That's when he got doored.

An inattentive van driver opened his driver's-side door directlyinto the cycling Barbur, who subsequently ricocheted onto anoncoming bus.

Barbur was hospitalized for weeks with lower spinal cord injuries,torn up knees, a dislocated shoulder, a sprained neck and afractured jaw.

"But you know, it wasn't that bad," says Barbur, who apparentlyalways rides on the sunny side of the street. "I came up with theidea for the Bicycle Film Festival during that time, and I wasdetermined to turn a negative into a positive. But if that were tohappen to me now, it would get in the way of the festival. Man,that would be terrible."

Barring any further attacks from front doors of vans, Barbur willbe in San Francisco on Wednesday to present the 2008 Bicycle FilmFestival, of which he is the founding director. In its eighth year,the festival has grown from a handful of avant-garde shorts shownat New York's Anthology Film Archives to a 17-city tour thatscreens dozens of bicycle-related films from Europe, Asia and NorthAmerica for about 100,000 festivalgoers.

But just because it's called the Bicycle Film Festival doesn't meanyou need to wear spandex body suits and fluorescent helmets and eatpower bars instead of popcorn. In fact, just because it's calledthe Bicycle Film Festival doesn't mean it's all about films.

"Truth is, the festival is lots of different things," Barbur says."There'll be a multimedia art show, video installations, shortfilms, feature films, food, drinks, bicycle rides - some might callit one big party."

On wheels, naturally.

Barbur, 37, grew up in Northern California and was alwaysinterested in how the skateboarding and surfing culture sonaturally rolled with the world of art and film. Meanwhile, Barbur,a lifelong cyclist, felt that bicycles were getting cut off.

"I wanted to harness the creative energy of bike culture andcombine it with film," he says. "I found that there was a lot ofuntapped creativity."

For a film to be included in the festival, it doesn't necessarilyhave to reinvent the bicycle wheel. For the premiere Bicycle FilmFestival, Barbur screened perhaps the ultimate in classic bikemovies - "Breaking Away" - which he juxtaposed alongside severalchoices collected with help from the Anthology Film Archives.

"A Bicycle Film Festival film can simply be a strong character of abicycle, on a bicycle or just with a scene with a bicyclethroughout," says Barbur, whose film festival training wheels arenow off. "For example, in our second year we screened a featurefilm set in the East Village about a bike shop owner. It's reallyabout gentrification and him getting kicked out of the community.The important thing is that all the films have something to say."

The festival program changes slightly from city to city, with about75 films to be screened overall in 2008 and almost every single onebeing a premiere. Unlike when he started, there is not shortage ofmaterial: This year Barbur received close to 500 submissions fromaround the world. The festival also produces at least a couple offilms every year.

The festival officially opens Wednesday with a "Bikes Rock" partyat 330 Ritch with live music. Then on Thursday, Barbur will curatethe "Joyride" art show at Bottle Capp Gallery in the MissionDistrict.

Seven programs of films, mostly shorts, will be screened Friday andSaturday at the Victoria Theatre.

Friday's highlights include "Millar's Tale," an 11-minute glimpseinto the life of professional cyclist David Millar and hisinvolvement in a doping scandal. That film will be a warm-up to the75-minute feature "Road to Roubaix," directed by David Deal andDavid Cooper, about the one-day race from Paris to Roubaix (nearthe Belgian border) that has been happening since 1896.

Other sure-to-be sleeper hits: "God's Lesson," a 2004 Czech shortabout how "sometimes bike lessons can be divine"; "Ghost Ride," a2008 U.S. short about "ghost riding"; "Jim's Lines," a 2008 U.S.short about creating land art with a bicycle; and "PterodactylPolio," a 2007 U.S. short about "a bicycle wheel escaping theclutches of an evil bike shop."

In the end it's all about celebrating cycling.

Say Barbur: "I think people who ride daily are heroic."

 

BICYCLE FILM

FESTIVAL:

Seven programs of screenings Fri.-Sat. at the Victoria Theatre,2961 16th St., San Francisco. "Bikes Rock" opening party at 9 p.m.Wed. at 330 Ritch St., San Francisco. "Joyride" exhibition opening6-10 p.m. Thurs., gallery hours 2-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat., at Bottle CappGallery, 180 Capp St., San Francisco. "BFF Street Party" with BMXramps, track competitions, music, 1-7 p.m. on Capp Street between16th and 17th streets, San Francisco. Individual program tickets:$10. Festival pass: $30. Free valet bike parking at all screenings. www.bicyclefilm festival.com .

E-mail Delf Vigil at dvigil@sfchronicle. com.