Emerging from the debris of a former sheet-metal shop turned porn-shooting stage at 30 Berry Street in 1982, No Nothing Cinema was a remarkable reflection of a uniquely San Francisco and San Francisco Art Institute spirit. The site of hundreds of screenings across its twelve years of operation, its mission statement was “No nothing — something must be happening at all times.” No Nothing was founded by local filmmakers Dean Snider, Rock Ross, Michael Rudnick, Mark Sterne, and Marian Wallace, whose collective work was core to shaping the vibrant living history of experimental filmmaking in the Bay Area. This screening includes a selection of films by No Nothing’s founders, with one selection from SFAI’s beloved George Kuchar thrown in for good measure.
The group built the cinema from the ground up, and between the theater and its outdoor courtyard they welcomed a range of performance artists, filmmakers, bands, and more. While the call for a new stadium for the San Francisco Giants forced the space’s closure — home plate is where the projection booth stood — the community built at No Nothing continues to live, evolve, and inspire.
This screening is the first in SF Artists Alumni‘s third annual Studio 8 Film Festival. View a list of the other festival screenings and learn more about No Nothing.
The screening will include films by Mark Sterne, Margaret White, Rock Ross, Dean Snider, Michael Rudnick, Marian Wallace, and George Kuchar.
Accessibility accommodations such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and assisted listening devices are available upon request ten business days in advance.
Please email publicengagement@sfmoma.org, and we will do our best to fulfill your request.
Meaningful support provided by the Susan Wildberg Morgenstein Memorial Fund.