Stories in Action

“Polk Street: Lives in Transition,” an exhibit of photographs and audio on the changing face of San Francisco’s Polk Street. Through August 25. Good Vibrations Polk Street Gallery, 1620 Polk Street (at Sacramento). More.

“Stories in the Sand II,” a teen photography and writing exhibit captures the little noticed in the town. Through September 30. Ridgecrest Branch Library, 131 East Las Flores Avenue. More.

Need an antidote for the summertime blues? Try the Don’t Knock the Rock festival in Los Angeles, a high-energy mix of film and music that runs every Thursday in July and August at the Silent Move Theater in Hollywood. The festival celebrates the rock ’n’ roll roots of Hollywood with classic and brand-new rock films containing quintessential music performances and live shows by fresh musical talents. Coming up this Thursday, July 2, at 8 pm is the Council-supported film “Chicano Rock,” the lively story of how young Mexican Americans in East Los Angeles created a new musical form — a blend of white rock, black soul and Latin rhythms.
More.

Journalist and oral historian Joey Plaster presents audio stories from 15 people who find their dreams and nightmares on San Francisco’s Polk Street. Come for a sneak preview of stories Plaster is fashioning into an hour-long radio documentary with famed producer Jay Allison. Thursday, June 18, 6:30-7:30 pm, 1217 Polk Street, between Bush and Sutter, San Francisco. More. The exhibit connected to the project – “Polk Street: Lives in Transition,”moves to Good Vibrations Polk Street Gallery on Thursday, June 25 (opening reception 6 to 7:30 pm), and runs there through the end of July. 1620 Polk Street at Sacramento. More.

“Montclair: “Discovering Montclair Family Stories,” an exhibit of photographs, drawings and excerpts of oral interviews created by Montclair area students about the area’s history will run through Tuesday, June 30, at the City of Montclair Civic Center, 5111 Benito Street, Montclair.

“Claiming the Title: Gay Olympics on Trial,” a short film about the U.S. Supreme Court and gay rights, will premiere at the Castro Theater in San Francisco at 3:30 pm on Sunday, June 21. More.

“¡Thinking Grande!” a film about one man’s efforts to build a Mexican Disneyland in the heart of California, will be broadcast on KVPT Public Television in Fresno on Monday, June 22 at 7 pm. More. In connection with the film, a Mexican fiesta will take place on the grounds of the place featured in the film on Sunday, June 14 from 2 to 7 pm. Asi Es Mi Tierra – Rancho Bonilla, Highway 166, New Cuyama. More.

On Sunday, June 28, the Los Angeles Film Festival will screen “From Street to Streams,” a series of three films developed by participants in the Council’s Youth Digital Filmmakers program. The films – “I Ain’t Leaving,” Voices Between the Mountains” and “A Choice of Weapons” — offer three unique takes on life in California, from Oakland’s Cambodian-American community to the interaction between native and non-native youth in rural Siskiyou County to hard life choices in San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point. 10 am-1 pm, Italian Cultural Center, 1023 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles. Admission is free. First-come-first served seating.
Go to http://www.lafilmfest.com/tixSYS/2009/filmguide/Title/FF and click on “From Street to Streams” for more information, or just show up on the 28th.

“Forget Me Not,” a California Documentary Project film, now in production, tells the story of the Aids Memorial in San Francisco, which began as a landscaped grove maintained by volunteers and is now is a national memorial.

Emmy-nominated director and producer Andy Abrahams Wilson is very excited about the film, but needs funds to complete it. You can help by attending a benefit on Thursday, June 11, 6 to 8 pm, at the Marine’s Memorial Club & Hotel Ballroom, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco. Armistead Maupin, of “Tales of the City” fame, is the guest speaker. Honorary co-chairs of the event are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and State Senator Mark Leno. Find our more and sign up.

The Chinese American experience in California is subject of a Chautauqua performance called “Uncle Toisan” by noted storyteller Charlie Chin. Chin will perform the role this weekend and on three dates in June at the following Bay Area locations.

Asian Art Museum
200 Larkin Street
Saturday, May 16, at 12:15 pm
Part of the Asian Heritage Street Celebration in San Francisco

Oakland Museum of California
1000 Oak Street
Sunday, June 7, at 3 pm

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San Jose
150 E. San Fernando Street
Sunday, June 14, at 2 pm and
Tuesday, June 23, at 6:15 pm