Night+Day

tuesday
october 28
Hot Shots The photo collection "The Family of Man," which debuted at New York's MOMA in 1955, brought viewers face to face with people they'd never met, through photos like Alma Lavenson's San Idlefonso Indians, New Mexico (1941). Lavenson, a San Francisco-born, self-taught photographer whose work was exhibited nationally during her career, is celebrated at "Alma Lavenson (1897-1989): A Centennial Selection." Curator Susan Ehrens, who worked with the photographer and wrote a book about her, focuses on Lavenson's work during the '20s, '30s, and '40s, including shots of Mount Tam and the Oakland Estuary, soft-focus pictorialist work, and photos that sought to capture the spirit of the Southwest, including the San Idlefonso Indians portrait. The exhibit opens at 11 a.m. (and is up through Nov. 29) at Shapiro Gallery, 250 Sutter (at Grant), S.F. Admission is free; call 398-6655.

Short Cuts Gutter and glitter punks get their due in Sarah Jacobson's The Adventures of Sweet Miss: The Disco Years, and Lidia Szajko chronicles the loss of a friend to AIDS in A Constant State of Departure; what these films have in common with each other and the over a dozen short films they're showing with at the outdoor showcase and barbecue "You Never Forget Your First" is that they're the maiden efforts by local Bay Area women filmmakers. The BYO barbecue begins at 7:30 p.m., followed by the screening at 9 p.m., at No Nothing Cinema, 30 Berry (at Second Street), S.F. Admission is free; call 642-5952.