Weekend Preview: Films, Art, And Brews

CAVANAUGH: This is KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Maureen Cavanaugh. Fall start this is weekend, and forecasters say it will still be pretty warm in San Diego, but not too warm to take a walk along the bay or enjoy a blues festival. Nina Garreth, welcome. GARRETH: Hello. CAVANAUGH: Beth Accomando is here, she's KPBS arts reporter. ACCOMANDO: Hello, Maureen. CAVANAUGH: Let's get started. September is arts month in San Diego. One of the many events available is San Diego'sart walk on the bay. It is listed as extraordinary art in an extraordinary setting. Tell us about the setting. ACCOMANDO: Okay. So I compared this in a story today to the little sister, little brother of the regular AFRT walk that's in little Italy, and I called the regularart walk Ben Afleck, and the artwalk on the bay is like Casey Afleck. A little classier. [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: I can only wonder how much thought went into that. ACCOMANDO: I know! Basically this one is at the Hilton bayfront park, so it's really lovely, it has grass, it has water, yachts, it's much fancier than the one in little Italy. What is the typical quality of the art? ACCOMANDO: It used to be that it was kind of, like, hotel art that you would find. But it's getting known for having some more contemporary artists, jewelry, photography, sculpture, so it's bring think out more kind of an eclectic mix. You can still find some hotel art. [ LAUGHTER ] ACCOMANDO: But in there is really good stuff. CAVANAUGH: What artists would you say that someone going to this event should put on their must-see list? ACCOMANDO: It's all very personal. The organizers say they have a lot of photography in that they could do an entire show of photography. Personally, I love what the Mexican artists do. They always have a group showing of what they're up to, and that always seems to me like the freshest stuff that I usually see. That's my must-see list. CAVANAUGH: Okay. That's good to know. And there's also some extraordinary music to be heard at this art walk. What are some of the musicians that we can see this weekend? ACCOMANDO: We have some local singer/son writer, Sabba is a great music, and Joe DoMIGo, and because it's fancy, the symphony is going to be there too. CAVANAUGH: And it sounds like it's a family event too. ACCOMANDO: Yes. They have a kids walk. So families can come and there'll be fine art lessons, weaving, and you can even make a 3D puzzle with your child. CAVANAUGH: After the show, we're going to have to talk about why you think Casey Afleck is more classy. [ LAUGHTER ] GARRETH: I think we'll see GIGLI, and that's it. [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: Speaking of movie stars, cinema under the stars continues this season. At least through the next month in Mission Hills. ACCOMANDO: Well, with this warm weather continuing, this is the perfect place to did and watch movies. It's an outdoor cinema, they have zero- gravity lounge chairs, love seat cabana, they make a really nice effort to put TWIVENGel lights up, and cutouts of celebrities, and thing hikes that. So it's a really comfortable, inviting environment to come and watch movies at. And Ralph deloro introduces the film, and he's passionate about movies. CAVANAUGH: And they play classics and independents. What's this week? ACCOMANDO: Billy wilder's Sabrina, with woman holden and Audrey help burn. Very enjoyable. And Billy wilder is such an accomplished director. CAVANAUGH: You have a clip from the trailer. NEW SPEAKER: There's no doubt about it! They're havag I ball! And you're all invited. Humphrey Bogart, and William holden, captivating Audrey help burn as Sabrina, who ran away to Paris to learn about life and came back home to live it in a great big way. NEW SPEAKER: It's Sabrina. Isn't it amazing? Would you have recognized her? NEW SPEAKER: How do you like those legs now? Aren't they something? NEW SPEAKER: David, the last pair of legs it was something cost the family $25,000. CAVANAUGH: Don't you wish you could talk like this on the radio! ACCOMANDO: They don't take trailers like that anymore! They're so much fun! CAVANAUGH: And one of your favorite Hitchcock films is playing next week. ACCOMANDO: Yes! Rear window. It is such a delight to see that film on a big screen. Jimmy Stewart, grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, and it's a film in which you're watching out of the window where Jimmy Stewart is, he's broken a leg, he can't move, and he's watching this apartment complex and seeing what's going on in all these apartment rooms, and then he discovers that his neighbor may have killed his wife. And it's just a beautifully executed film. It's so tight, so suspenseful. Grace Kelly is gorgeous! And it's just so much fun to see it on a big screen. GARRETH: You just ruined it for me. [ LAUGHTER ] GARRETH: I didn't know the wife part. ACCOMANDO: But that's the beginning of it. GARRETH: Oh. ACCOMANDO: Oh, yeah, there's plenty more after that. GARRETH: I'll be there next weekend then. CAVANAUGH: Beth is never a spoiler. How much is it to get in? ACCOMANDO: It's $15 to get in. If you get a membership, it's a dollar cheaper. So it's on par with most of the movie theatres in San Diego. CAVANAUGH: And how difficult is it to get in? ACCOMANDO: You really want to make reserve IGZs, and you get to pick your seat, a zero-gravity lounge chair or a cafe table. But I would definitely maybe reservations at the beginning of the week if you really want to go. CAVANAUGH: Sabrina plays this Thursday through Sunday, doors open at 6:00, and the films begin at 8:00. Back to Nina for the San Diego blues festival this Saturday. Where is the blues festival this year? GARRETH: It's not far from art walk on the bay. This one is at embarcadero marina park north, across from seaport SKRILG. CAVANAUGH: I see. What are some of the highlights? GARRETH: When it first started, it was really big. We with BBking here. It was really big. It's smaller now, and six of the ten artists are from San Diego. The national acts are pretty great, Henry Gray is 87, and my colleague called him walking history. He used to play with Howling Wolf, and the Rolling Stones pretty much ripped off of this guy's work. Really great old-school blues musician. And some well known blues musicians as well as some locals. CAVANAUGH: And it's touted as a great value. Why is that? GARRETH: Well, it's $10. [ LAUGHTER ] GARRETH: $10 for pretty much nine hours of music. And that is cheaper than the movies. [ LAUGHTER ] GARRETH: So that is a pretty good value. CAVANAUGH: That is amazing. It also helps the community? GARRETH: Yes. So along with your $10, you bring in two cans of food, and that goes to the San Diego food bank. And last year, they raised 6,600 pounds of food, are and $25,000. So it's for a good cause too. CAVANAUGH: Is there any advice on when to get there? Is this a really popular event? Should you get there early? GARRETH: There's a lot of blues fans here. So yeah, it gets -- and it's such a good value, so showing up early is always a good idea. Or show up early, have lunch, find your parking, walk around. CAVANAUGH: Got it. The blues festival is this Saturday from 11:00 to 8:00 PM. We move to the San Diego museum of art's human beast. It's screening three classic German expressionist films. First of all, tell us what the human beast show is all about. ACCOMANDO: Well, it's an exhibit on German expressionism, and the museum has recently gotten a collection of work to supplement their own. It was a donation through a will. So they've expanded their collection, and they're highlighting all these works from Germany and Austria, and to supplement that and to show how those works impacted another medium, they're showing three German expressionist films. So it's a perfect blend of elements there. CAVANAUGH: Wow. Okay. So how did German expressionism impact art? ACCOMANDO: Well, for the film industry, and one of the reasons why some people may know about German expressionism here in the United States is because there were a number of German expatriot filmmaker who is came from Germany just before World War II, went to Hollywood, take some of these elements, and people like Billy wilder who we just mentioned, and they made their film noirs, and they brought a certain bold style with lighting and set design and all these elements were heightened and much different from what the conventional Hollywood films were before that. CAVANAUGH: Now the names of some of these films are going to be very familiar to film students. Tell us about them. ACCOMANDO: They're showing three films continuously in a small theatre with couches. It's in the midst of all the paintings. You can see M, which stars Peter Lori. It was Fritz Lang's first talking film. There's NOS ferrat U, which is the silent vampire film, which is wonderful. And the cabinet of doctor Calgary, which is still amazing today. The set design in that is so impressive, and it fill feels fresh because nobody is doing anything like that now, and it still feels radical and remark ABLG. CAVANAUGH: And creepy. [ LAUGHTER ] ACCOMANDO: Yes! CAVANAUGH: Mondays and Fridays. The films are free with admission to the museum. Now for something completely different! [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: The San Diego festival of beer is Friday night in downtown San Diego. This has been around for a while. How many years? GARRETH: This is actually the county's longest running beer festival, which in a city of millions of beer festivals is a great accomplishment. 19 years. CAVANAUGH: Oh, wow! That is a long time. What kinds. Entertainment and food does it offer? GARRETH: This is a beer festival, so you're getting meat. [ LAUGHTER ] GARRETH: Sausages, burgers, things like that, and there's a lot of rock and roll. Nightshift, blues rock. So it's not typical, but what you would want when you're drinking a lot of beer. CAVANAUGH: Beer, beef, and rock. Okay! [ LAUGHTER ] CAVANAUGH: 16 breweries are going to be on hand for tasting. Can you have us focus in on a few winners to try? GARRETH: Yes, thanks to my clothing, Pete Roe, he has suggested seZAN DU bus. I'm not sure if I'm saying that right. It's Belgian, a collaboration by Stone, Dogfish head, and victory. And there's Coronado's orange avenue whit. CAVANAUGH: And it's easier to say. GARRETH: Yes. And then San Diego's a hoppy town, so Stone's 16th anniversary beer is a good one if you like IPAs. CAVANAUGH: At Columbia and B street this Friday. And 40-foot films. ACCOMANDO: It's because you get to see films on a big screen again, which is always a pleasure! They show classic films on a big screen on a regular basis which is really nice for people who don't want to necessarily just watch them on NetFlix. CAVANAUGH: What's coming up? ACCOMANDO: This week is treasure of Sierra madre, with Humphrey Bogart, and Walter Houston. And it's just a delight. CAVANAUGH: And the producers coming up on Saturday!