Ah, downtown San Francisco, alive with the smell of coffee, weed, and, well, other things. But if you’re near Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco on Aug. 12 or 13, you’ll probably be drawn in by the marvelous aroma of adobo and lechon. That’s where the free annual Pistahan Filipino Festival is taking place, with a parade down Market Street on Saturday and a soirée of Filipino food, art and music at Yerba Buena Gardens. Details here.
Meanwhile, inside YBCA starting Aug. 17, there’s the Festival of New Filipino Cinema, which organizers are framing as a response to the current political climate — and the anxiety over the unpredictable presidents of both the U.S. and the Philippines.
Along with films about life under President Rodrigo Duterte, about the war on drugs and other upheavals, there’s also the festival’s opening film: Sunday Beauty Queen, a documentary about domestic workers in Hong Kong who spend their solitary day off at the end of the working week getting dressed up, putting on makeup, and holding a beauty pageant for themselves. That’s opening night, Thursday, Aug. 17. New Filipino Cinema runs through Sept. 3 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Details here.
