Singer/songwriter Becks (Tony-winning and Grammy-nominated Lena Hall) gives up her Brooklyn apartment and heads across the country to join her long-distance girlfriend (Hayley Kiyoko) in LA. But a surprise early arrival has disastrous consequences, and Becks... Read more
Music Spotlight
Sponsored by Nancy & Ken Kranzberg
The Blot
Sunday, November 12 at 7:30pm
The pioneering Lois Weber was one of the first women to direct films, and SLIFF honors the filmmaker by screening a recent restoration of her silent “The Blot,” which addresses the all-too-relevant issue of income inequality. The local Rats & People Motion... Read more
Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Sunday, November 5 at 1:30pm
When St. Louis native Chuck Berry died earlier this year, the entire world mourned the passing of the rock ’n’ roll pioneer. SLIFF pays tribute to the legendary songwriter, singer, and guitarist with a screening of “Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock ’n’ Roll,” which... Read more
Dalida
Saturday, November 4 at 9:30pm
Sunday, November 5 at 2:30pm
This powerful biopic is based on the true and fascinating story of acclaimed music icon Dalida (Sveva Alviti). Following the singer from her birth in Cairo through her traumatic childhood to her worldwide success with 170 million albums sold, “Dalida” provides an... Read more
Doc Shorts: Music & Art
Tuesday, November 7 at 5:00pm
Profiles of artists, musicians, and the communities they serve. 
An Evening with Tom Shipley of Brewer & Shipley
Friday, November 10 at 7:30pm
St. Louis filmmaker Kathy Corley is nearing completion of a feature documentary on the folk-rock duo Brewer & Shipley, whose Top 10 hit “One Toke Over the Line” was a constant presence on the radio in the 1970s. Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley — who both now... Read more
Flock of Four
Friday, November 3 at 6:45pm
Monday, November 6 at 4:45pm
Set in 1959, “Flock of Four” — an expansion of director Gregory Caruso’s short — explores both jazz music and historic Central Avenue in South Central LA. Since Joey (Braeden Lemasters) was a youngster, jazz has been an integral part of his life: He plays it with... Read more
Instrument of War
Sunday, November 12 at 3:30pm
In “Instrument of War,” American B-24 bomber pilot Clair Cline (Jack Ashton) is held at the German POW camp Stalag Luft I after being shot down over Nazi-occupied Holland during a bombing mission. Although one war ends for Cline, another begins — to keep hope... Read more
The Maestro
Saturday, November 4 at 4:45pm
Sunday, November 5 at 7:45pm
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Xander Berkeley of “The Walking Dead”) was the composer of more than 200 Hollywood films in the 1940s and 1950s. Mario went on to mentor some of film music’s greatest composers, including John Williams, Randy Newman, Henry Mancini, Jerry... Read more
Mr. Handy's Blues
Sunday, November 5 at 7:00pm
“Mr. Handy’s Blues” chronicles the life of William Christopher (aka W. C.) Handy, known worldwide as the Father of the Blues. Handy’s trajectory to success is an against-all-odds odyssey that took him from a strict religious home in Northern Alabama, to a low... Read more
Never Say Goodbye: The KSHE Documentary
Sunday, November 12 at 6:00pm
Director Ron Stevens traces the unlikely beginnings of the world’s longest-running rock radio station, KSHE 95, which reached its 50th year of continuous rocking in 2017. Stevens, who was himself an integral part of KSHE as a DJ in the 1970s, interviews the very... Read more
The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra with The Blot
Sunday, November 12 at 7:30pm
The pioneering Lois Weber was one of the first women to direct films, and SLIFF pays tribute to the filmmaker by screening a recent restoration of her silent “The Blot,” which addresses the all-too-relevant issue of income inequality. The local Rats & People... Read more
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
Saturday, November 4 at 7:30pm
“Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me” is the first major documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America. As Davis once stated: “I’m Puerto Rican,... Read more
Stormy Weather
Saturday, November 4 at 4:00pm
One of the rare classical Hollywood movies with an all-black cast, “Stormy Weather” is also the highest-profile film with a performance by East St. Louis’ dance legend Katherine Dunham and her troupe. Washington U.’s Joanna Dee Das recently released a lauded new... Read more
Traditional-Jazz Performance with Mr. Handy's Blues
Sunday, November 5 at 7:00pm
Joanne Fish’s “Mr. Handy’s Blues” chronicles the life of William Christopher Handy, known affectionately worldwide as the Father of the Blues. Handy’s trajectory to success is an against-all-odds odyssey that took him from a strict religious home in Northern... Read more