On Saturday, May 3rd at 7:30PM the Sundance Kabuki Cinema, the spotlight will be on new film director Gia Coppola, 27-year-old granddaughter to Francis and niece to Sofia. After studying photography at Bard College, she made a series of striking fashion videos for Elle, Vogue, Target, Diane Von Furstenberg and Opening Ceremony before embarking on her first feature film, Palo Alto, which will be shown (“rush,” standby tickets may be available) during the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival. The sold-out after party will happen at the upscale nightclub Roe in San Francisco. Guests will indulge in cool cocktails, delicious hors d’oeuvres and the latest beats.
About the film:
Good girl April (Emma Roberts) grapples with her attraction to her soccer coach Mr. B (James Franco), stoner artist Teddy (Jack Kilmer) finds trouble under the influence of his chaotic best bud Fred (Nat Wolff) and promiscuous Emily (Zoe Levin) pins her fragile sense of self on her many sexual encounters. With this adaptation of Franco’s book of short stories, third generation filmmaker Gia Coppola makes an assured feature debut mining the field of troubled adolescence that both her grandfather Francis and Aunt Sofia explored before her. Coppola makes the genre wholly her own with an original take on aimless youth that captures not just the sex, drugs and alcohol, but also the angst and alienation. With the future a cloudy blur, the kids in this arresting coming-of-age tale live for today in a never-ending quest to relieve the boredom of their privileged but airless lives. Naturalistic performances, Autumn Cheyenne Durald’s shimmering cinematography and a complex soundscape that includes musical contributions from singer/songwriter Dev Hynes and composer Robert Schwartzman add texture to Coppola’s dreamy, empathetic portrait of restless youth.
