Empress Hotel & Tenderloin Double Feature

Thursday September 14, 2023 | 5-9pm

at the Tenderloin Museum | 398 Eddy St. SF, CA 94102

Free or $10 Suggested Donation | Register via Eventbrite

Tenderloin Museum presents a double feature of two films from 2009–the documentary Empress Hotel and narrative feature Tenderloin–that share subjects, themes, and filmmaker community while depicting the neighborhood in the late 2000s from two distinct perspectives.

The films Empress Hotel and Tenderloin depict the TL from documentary and narrative forms respectively while sharing a verite quality and filmmaking experience–Tenderloin director and editor Michael Anderson was also a camera operator for Empress Hotel. Join us for a double feature screening with in-person filmmaker discussion after each film. Read more about these films & their shared resonance in this article by David L. Brown on cinesourcemagazine.com.

About the films:

Empress Hotel (2009; 85min; screening at 5:15pm)

The Empress Hotel, in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, is home to a rarified clientele–people afflicted with mental illness or addiction who have lived on the streets. Not every person can stay on meds or get clean, yet out of chaos and hopelessness, a remarkable community is formed. Directed and produced by Academy Award-winners Allie Light and Irving Saraf, the film Empress Hotel tells the stories of ten residents, providing insight into the lives of homeless people and their demons. 

Tenderloin (2009; 80 min; screening at 7:10)

Tenderloin is a compelling drama of a broken Iraq war vet who moves into San Francisco’s gritty Tenderloin neighborhood. Can he find hope among the junkies, hookers, and elderly poor who befriend him? Can he be a father to his young son and a partner to his seductive, addicted girlfriend? The screenplay was written by Ned Miller who lived in the Tenderloin for eleven years. The film was shot and directed by acclaimed filmmaker, Michael Anderson.