Saddened by the loss of Stephen Parr from Oddball Films

We’ve spent many nights watching strange film collections at Oddball Films, the massive film warehouse located on the  3rd floor of an old building in the Mission.  Stephen Parr, the founder and archivist at Oddball, would curate specially themed nights of obscure 16mm films and play them for 30-40 lucky attendees. The space was hot, the seats were uncomfortable, and the films often felt like they were falling apart in front of you. It was magical.

You’d spend the night watching retro-futuristic films about robots, or experimental animation, or 1960s films about the future of music. The shows were well curated and you’d rarely see the same film twice.

We always knew it was a special place, so we cherished each visit as if it were our last. We figured the rents would go up, or the film might catch fire, but we were saddened to hear that it was Stephen himself that would no longer be with us. He passed away on October 24th. We hope the space can continue to run without him. If it does, promise me you’ll try to attend one of their Oddball Film nights. It was truly the home of some of my favorite Mission memories.

ODDBALL from Joshua Moore on Vimeo.