Bio

 

 

 

Pamela Gentile likes to work in the dark.  

The first film she ever processed was 16 mm, meant for movies, her first love and the profession she trained for. She found she always shot stills on everyone else’s movies though.  

Shooting the local music scene in San Francisco she got an assignment to go on tour with Chris Isaak where she focused on story. Her interest in stories brought her to SF Weekly where as photojournalist and photo editor she shot photo stories for ten years processing her own film and making prints in her darkroom. 

Gentile kept her focus on her first love, the world of cinema.  

Her archive is now thirty plus. Her subject matter, backstage, on stage, the red carpet, the marquee, the audience, screenings, and odd moments in between, is captured cinematically in an atmospheric visual narrative. Her portraits of filmmakers, actors and musicians shot simply and candidly, often in a makeshift backstage studio, form a historical record of influential figures in World Cinema. Her most recent capture of screens preserves movies in movie theaters which is fast becoming an endangered species.  

 

EDUCATION 

M. A. Film, San Francisco State University  

M. A. English, San Francisco State University 

B. A. English, Concentration in Film, University of Oregon  

 

GROUP EXHIBITION 

2022 Images from Persistence of Vision, Leica Gallery, San Francisco, California, January 2021 - April 2022 

 

JURIED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 

2021 The De Young Open, Two Portraits, Boots Riley and Honey Mahogany, de Young Museum, San Francisco, California 

2019 Something Personal, Leg, American Photographic Artists, SOMArts Gallery, San Francisco, California 

2009 Something Personal, Two Triple Portraits, Director (Nicolas Philibert) and Actress (Maggie Cheung), American Photographic Artists, Leftspace, San Francisco, California 

 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS  

2017 Persistence of Vision, Leica Gallery, San Francisco, California, April 6 - May 31  

2017 Atmosphere, Portrait of a Film Festival, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California March 14 - June 13 

2015 30 Years of Portraits, Presidio Film Centre, San Francisco, California 

2014 Matti Bye, Salle Piano, San Francisco California 

2013 Photos from the Archives, San Francisco International Film Festival, Sundance Kabuki Cinema, San Francisco, California October 14 - March 6, 2014 

2012 The Stuff that Dreams are Made of : San Francisco and the Movies, San Francisco Mint, San Francisco, California June 14 - June 27 

2008 Images from the San Francisco Film Society Archives, Cole Haan, San Francisco, California April 16 - May 15  

2008 Portraits from San Francisco International Film Festival, Gamma Black and White Photographic Lab June 26 - August 29 

2001 39th Exposure, San Francisco California 

1988 Film Festival Faces, AMC Theater, San Francisco California 

 

ARTIST TALK 

2017 Leica Store, San Francisco, California 

2007 Apple Store, San Francisco, California 

 

PRESS 

2018 Sam Whiting “Film festival stills over 30-plus years form a film noir of their own” San Francisco Chronicle (March 30) https://www.sfchronicle.com/movies/article/Film-festival-stills-over-30-plus-years-form-a-12788876.php 

2017 Jonathan Blaustein “Real Life Film Noir In San Francisco” New York Times (May 25) https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2017/05/25/real-life-film-noir-in-san-francisco/ 

2017 Sally Fay “Photographer Pamela Gentile: 30 Years With SFFILM And Still Clicking!” Huffington Post (May 26) https://www.huffpost.com/entry/photographer-pamela-gentile-30-years-with-sffilm-and_b_5926232ee4b090bac9d46b70 

2017 Ann Jastrab “Pamela Gentile: Portrait of a Film Festival” All About Photo (April 17) https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-e&q=Ann+Jastrab+%E2%80%9CPamela+Gentile%3A +Portrait+of+a+Film+Festival%E2%80%9D+All+About+Photo+April+17%2C+2017 

2016 Rebecca Robertson Photo District News “Portrait of a Film Festival” Photo District News (April 20) https://pdnonline.com/featuredin-print/pdn-july-2016-the-innovation-issue/ 

2012 Frako Loden The Evening Class “The Stuff That Dreams are Made of : San Francisco and the Movies” (June 12) https://theeveningclass.blogspot.com/2012/06/stuff-that-dreams-are-made-of-san.html 

2001 Michael Fox “Eyes Wide Shut “ The Reel World SF Weekly (August 1) https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/reel-world/Content?oid=2142580 

 

PRODUCTION STILLS 

2022 Logic Paralyzes the Heart Lynn Hershman 

2019 Shadow Stalker Lynn Hershman 

2018 VertiGhost Lynn Hershman 

2013 Inequality for All Jacob Kornbluth 

2002 China 21 Ruby Yang 

1999 Citizen Hong Kong Ruby Yang 

1995 No Loans Today Lisanne Skyler 

1987 Aria Julien Temple 

 

PUBLISHED EDITORIAL WORK 

The New York Times  

Vanity Fair  

The Wall Street Journal  

The Washington Post  

The LA Times  

The Hollywood Reporter  

The Village Voice  

Variety  

The San Francisco Chronicle 

San Francisco Magazine 

 

PUBLISHED WORK IN BOOKS 

Something Beautiful Ruby Yang 

Sitting Down with the Stars—Interviews with 100 Hollywood Legends Ruthe Stein 

Kim Gordon : No Icon Kim Gordon 

Eye on the World—Conversations with International Filmmakers Judy Stone 

Born Under Fire Rina Neiman 

Lowside of the Road—A Life of Tom Waits Barney Hoskyns 

Communicating Effectively In English Pat Porter, Margaret Grant 

Venus Envy Elizabeth Haiken 

 

WORK EXPERIENCE 

Photo Editor/Lead Photographer SF Weekly, San Francisco, California, 10 years