Academy Award–nominated documentarian Sam Green (The Weather Underground, SFIFF 2003) returns to SFIFF with the world premiere of a new work. Like his previous project, Utopia in Four Movements (SFIFF 2010), The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller includes live narration by Green and live music. To back his images and words, Green has teamed with indie superstars Yo La Tengo (remembered for their singularly inspiring score for the short films of Jean Painlevé at SFIFF 2001) to compose a score for the piece, and YLT will perform it on this special night. The film is part of a larger commissioned project which is included in an exhibition at SFMOMA scheduled to open on March 31 titled “The Utopian Impulse: Buckminster Fuller and the Bay Area.” Both the documentary and the exhibition contemplate the projects Fuller proposed for the Bay Area—including a gargantuan floating tetrahedral city in the middle of the Bay—and explore his utopian vision of radical change through a “design revolution.” Forever associated with the geodesic dome, Fuller was also a galvanizing intellect. Green has tracked down many Bay Area luminaries to discuss his influence. In addition to the live documentary, Green is producing a multi-channel installation, built by the local tech wizards at Obscura Digital. Ticket holders for the documentary also gain admittance to the Fuller exhibition at SFMOMA on the night of the program and an 8:00 pm reception at the museum’s Koret Visitor Education Center.


Tickets $20 for SFFS and SFMOMA members, $25 for the general public. Box office open for SFFS members online at sffs.org and in person at SF Film Society Cinema (1746 Post Street, Webster/Buchanan). Box office opens February 17 for the general public.