2008 San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival

I saw 28 programs at this year's DocFest. DocFest is affiliated with SF IndieFest and Hole in the Head. The festival ends today but I won't be able to attend tonight's programs. I have not been a big fan of documentaries in the past. Modestly speaking, I'm a history buff so I watch the History Channel alot but I don't seek out documentaries like I do other films.

I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed the 2007 DocFest. That was the main factor influencing my decision to purchase a festival pass this year. I'm glad to report that I enjoyed this year's festival tremendously.

I'll list the films I saw in categories of enjoyment.

Favorite Film of the Festival
Operation Filmmaker; (2007) - Official Website

Highly Recommended Films from the Festival
Going on 13; (2008) - Official Website
Come On Down! The Road to 'The Price is Right'; (2008) - Official Site
Jump!; (2007) - Official Site
Debate Team; (2008) - Official Site
Sync or Swim; (2008) - Official Site
Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness; (2007) - Official Site
Toots; (2006) - Official Site
Over My Dad's Body - Hebrew with subtitles; (2007) - Official Site
Elvis in East Peoria; (2007)
Enlighten Up!; (2008) - Official Site
Spirit of the Marathon; (2007) - Official Site

Enjoyed but Felt Ashamed Afterwards
I Think We're Alone Now; (2008) - Official Site

Not a Bad Way to Kill an Hour or Two
Chelsea on the Rocks directed by Abel Ferrara; (2008) - Official Site
Bird's Nest: Herzon & de Meuron in China - German and Mandarin with subtitles; (2008) - Official Site
Married at the Mall; (2002) - Official Site
Whole; (2003) - Official Site
Disconnected; (2008)
The People's Advocate: The Life & Times of Charles P. Garry; (2007) - Official Site
San Francisco: Still Wild at Heart; (2007) - Official Site
Chasing the Devil: Inside the Ex-Gay Movement; (2008) - Official Site

Did Not Enjoy/Cannot Recommend
Bigfoot: A Beast on the Run; (2008)
Brave New West; (2008) - Official Site
Bunnyland; (2007) - Official Site
Here, Kitty Kitty; (2007)
Neshoba; (2008)
This Dust of Words; (2008) - Official Site
When Clouds Clear - Spanish with subtitles; (2007)
Belonging; (2008?)
Megalopolis - Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese and some Arabic languages with subtitles; (2008) - Official Site

Short Films that Preceded Certain Features
I'm Like This Every Day; (2008)
A Stiff Upper Lip; (2008)
Song of a Sperm Donor; (2007)
Why We Wax; (2007) - Official Site
Standard Deviation; (2008)
The Good Mother of Abangoh; (2008) - Official Site

Dust played at DocFest but I saw it previously at the 2008 SF International Film Festival. I didn't enjoy it the first time so I saw no reason to see it again.

Films I Regret Missing at the Festival
A Life Without Pain
A Hole in the Fence
Kassim the Dream
Lucio
The Rich Have Their Own Photographers
Silhouette City