Documentary fever is worth catching this week. Also, it’s SF Film (the San Francisco International film fest), week two, along with two new feature releases.
DocLands, an annual festival of documentary cinema, presents its 2026 edition Thursday through Sunday at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. More than 30 nonfiction films on subjects ranging from environmental activism to artists and political notables to underdog sports teams comprise the event presented by the California Film Institute. It opens with “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” director David Alvarado’s portrait of filmmaker-playwright (“Zoot Suit,” “La Bamba”) and Chicano arts pioneer Valdez. “Little Feat: The Documentary,” director Jesse Lauter’s profile of the under-celebrated rock band, closes the festival. Other selections include “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World,” a film about the Pulitzer Prize–winning poet; “Nuns vs. The Vatican,” about three former nuns seeking justice for the well-connected priest who raped them; “Zelensky,” a French doc about Volodymyr Zelensky’s ascent from TV comic to Ukrainian president; “Trade Secret,” about a mission to protect polar bears from the fur industry; and “Reggae Girlz,” about Jamaica’s national women’s soccer team. Visit doclands.com for details.
The San Francisco International Film Festival continues through May 4, offering, along with its high-profile movies, lots of under-the-radar indies and little gems, such as:
• “Figaro Up, Figaro Down” (USA): a documentary about Tim Blevins, a baritone who performed on major stages before sliding into addiction and landing on San Francisco streets. (April 27, 6 p.m. at Marina Theatre; April 28, 4:30 p.m. at BAMPFA)
• “Enough Is Enough” (Democratic Republic of Congo): an eye-of-the-storm documentary about resistance and resilience amid the Kivu War. (April 29, 5 p.m. at BAMPFA; May 3, 6:15 p.m. at Marina)
• “Those Who Whistle After Dark” (Turkey): an imaginative dark comedy about family life. (April 29, 5:45 p.m. at Marina; May 3, 7 p.m. at BAMPFA)
• “Blue Heron” (Canada): a sad but beautiful drama about a Hungarian immigrant family with a troubled son. (April 29, 8:30 p.m. at Marina)
• “Filipinana” (Singapore): a coming-of-age satire set at a Manila golf course with some unsavory secrets. (May 1, 7 p.m. at BAMPFA; May 3, 8 p.m. at Premier Theater at One Letterman)
• “One in a Million” (UK): an epic-scale documentary following a Syrian refugee family building a life in Germany. (May 2, noon at Marina)
• “To Hold a Mountain” (Serbia): a documentary about a mother and daughter fighting to protect their ancestral mountain from becoming a military training ground. (May 2, 5:15 p.m. at Marina Theatre)
• “Yo (Love Is a Rebellious Bird)” (USA): a documentary in which Bay Area filmmaker Anna Fitch lovingly honors her late friend with an ambitious art project. (May 2, 8 p.m. atPremier Theater at One Letterman)
Short films, all at Marina Theatre
• Shorts Block 4: “Shades of Menace” (April 29, 6 p.m.)
• Shorts Block 2: “Under Pressure” (May 1, 6:15 p.m.)
• Shorts Block 1: “Human Flow” (May 2, 2:45 p.m.)
• Shorts Block 3: “Shapes of Love” (May 3, 3:15 p.m.)
Visit sffilm.org for a schedule and ticket information.
“I Swear,” in Bay Area theaters, dramatizes the story of John Davidson, the Scottish activist well known in the U.K. for raising awareness of Tourette syndrome. Written and directed by Kirk Jones (“Everybody’s Fine”), and radiating uplift, the film is a frustratingly formulaic but informative and entertaining triumph-over-hardship picture. It opens with a middle-aged John Davidson meeting the queen, then flashes back to John’s earlier years. In the 1980s, the 13-year-old John (played by Scott Ellis Watson) is experiencing tics and involuntary outbursts of swearing. Classmates taunt him, his mother (Shirley Henderson) banishes him from the dinner table, and his father (Steven Cree) leaves and doesn’t return. Hope occurs for the 20-something John (Robert Aramayo) when he is taken in by a friend’s mother, Dottie Achenbach (Maxine Peake), a psychiatric nurse who helps him get a job and believe in himself. John starts educating others about Tourette syndrome and becomes a recognized advocate for people with Tourette’s. Emotional complexity and dramatic depth are not director Jones’ specialties. Jones doesn’t convey John’s deeper feelings or explore the strained relationship between John and his cold mother, an underdeveloped character. He opts for warmth and an upbeat tone at the expense of something more truthful and penetrating. Still, the film stands out as an educational vehicle regarding a condition that many still misunderstand and mock. It is also undeniably enjoyable, due largely to Aramayo’s vital, funny and convincing performance. Whether John is struggling through a job interview or interacting with a confused teenager who, too, has Tourette’s, or blurting out expletives, sometimes amusingly and sometimes problematically (the movie notes but doesn’t emphasize its fact-based subject’s inadvertent racial slurs), the actor portrays his real-life character thoughtfully and compellingly.
“The Travel Companion,” an indie comedy directed by Travis Wood and Alex Mallis, screens at 6 p.m. April 28 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. The plot involves buddies and roommates Bruce (Anthony Oberbeck), who works for an airline, and Simon (Tristan Turner), an aspiring filmmaker who enjoys, courtesy of Bruce, free flights. When Bruce begins dating Beatrice (Naomi Asi), Simon, fearing the loss of his travel-companion status, unravels. A Q&A with Wood follows the screening.