Christopher Coppola, “the pirate of the Coppola family,” as he’s been called, is a filmmaker, above all, with several iconoclastic features to his credit and a spate of projects with titles like Sacred Blood and Biker MacBeth on various burners. An impassioned champion of digital technology and arts education, among his multitude of interests, Coppola also chairs the film department at the San Francisco Art Institute and sits on the California Arts Council. Here, at Keyframe’s request, he offers a few notes on film favorites, trends, budgets and teaching. For the in-depth take via interview, see “Christopher Coppola: Three Rings Isn’t Enough,” by Michael Fox.
[Many of the other Coppolas may be seen this weekend at “A Coppola Family Affair,” a benefit for the Roxie cinema in San Francisco, beginning Friday, December 19.]
Favorite film of the year: “I don’t usually have favorites but if I was on a deserted island for the rest of my life I would go with these two: Guardians of the Galaxy for my guilty pleasure enjoyment and Boyhood for directorial respect.”
Favorite short of the year: The Grey Matter
Favorite feature made under $1 million: Primer
Worst trend of 2014: “Discovering that my film students don’t know who Orson Welles or Federico Fellini are. However, I enjoy watching the ‘wow’ factor as they see Citizen Kane and 8 1/2 for the first time.”
Five films I enjoyed in 2014: Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Boyhood, The Raid 2: Berandal, Locke
