Indie film distributor Gravitas Ventures has secured U.S. and Canadian rights to “Between The Beats,” a feature documentary chronicling San Francisco’s early 1990s rave scene and its lasting impact on the Bay Area.

Directed by Martin O’Brien and produced by O’Brien and Mike Koeppel, the film features prominent figures from the era, including Brian Behlendorf, DJ Harvey, DJ Dan and DJ Doc Martin. It examines the DIY ethos and psychedelic community spirit that defined the scene.

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The documentary explores how the all-night electronic music dance parties attracted diverse crowds and became catalysts for many attendees who later became significant players in Silicon Valley, global dance music and activism.

O’Brien, who was involved in creating the San Francisco rave scene, said: “The film was made to take viewers on a journey back to an early ’90s music scene that has since grown into the hugely popular EDM/electronica phenomenon across the globe. I wanted to capture the magic of those early years and celebrate transformational music and the powerfully positive energy among its participants.”

Mackenzie Maguire, acquisitions manager at Gravitas Ventures, added: “This intimate look into the San Francisco rave scene is sure to fascinate audiences nationwide.”

Gravitas Ventures, an Anthem Sports & Entertainment company,  plans to release “Between The Beats” on digital platforms on October 15.

The company has been on an acquisition spree of late with recent pickups including sci-fi thriller “The Fix,” starring Grace Van Dien, who appeared in “Stranger Things”; drama “My Home Unknown” starring, written and produced by first time feature director Yaz Canli; Lou Simon‘s “9 Windows,” a modern re-telling of Director Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1954 classic, “Rear Window”; and horror thriller “I’ll Play Mother.”

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The cleanup will focus on select contaminants — polychlorinated biphenyls, copper, lead and mercury — left by the Navy when the base was active. The goal is to remove contaminants that endanger animals that live in bay mud, as well as birds and humans that eat the contaminated shellfish and fish harvested from the water around the site.

Community advocates have called the agreement a “back door deal” that doesn’t fully address the radioactive contamination the Navy left in the soil at the site.

Work won’t start until 2027 after the Navy completes remedial design and planning. It will take about two years to complete the more than $30 million project; the Navy has yet to select a contractor to carry out the work or landfill to dispose of the waste.

The polluted sediment could be removed or remediated with dredging, treatment in place, capping or natural processes that eradicate the contaminants over time. The U.S. EPA and the California EPA oversee and enforce the Navy’s cleanup actions.

The 866-acre Hunters Point Naval Shipyard site was home to a shipyard from 1945 to 1974 and the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory from 1948 to 1960. By decontaminating ships after atomic bomb tests and other activities, the Navy contaminated shipyard soil and groundwater — as well as surface water and sediment in the San Francisco Bay — with radioactive chemicals, heavy metals and petroleum fuels. The base was declared one of the nation’s most contaminated sites in 1989.

The agencies overseeing the cleanup alongside the Navy spent at least six years figuring out the best way to clean up the underwater portion of the site because it poses a risk to people and wildlife.

Cleanup of the site began in 1996.

“You don’t have to be an engineer to do the math, but that’s 28 years,” said Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board. “I want to thank the community who’s had to wait, but the end product is going to be great.”

The project is important as storms intensify because of human-caused climate change, said Michael Montgomery, director of the EPA’s Superfund and Emergency Management Division.

“Very large storms can cause disruption,” he said. “So, in terms of super storms, the remedy would help prevent contamination from shifting.”

Bayview residents including Arieann Harrison have advocated for the complete cleanup of the site for decades. Harrison, founder and CEO of the Marie Harrison Community Foundation, said community members felt blindsided by the plan.

By Melissa Koenig For Dailymail.Com

Published: 06:37 BST, 26 September 2024 | Updated: 08:35 BST, 26 September 2024

Terrifying video shows the moment a San Francisco 49ers fan was brutally run over by a gang of dirt bike riders as he was attempting to buy beer from a local gas station. 

Ariel Cruz decided to walk to the Gulf station on February 11 at around 11pm after running out of booze while watching the football team’s overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs when he noticed a gang of dirt bike riders in the area, the San Francisco Standard reports.

One then allegedly punched him in the mouth splitting his lip on both sides, and video caught by a bystander showed the brazen gang started to taunt him – with dirt bikes and an ATV racing around him.

Cruz, who was still wearing a red 49ers jersey, could be seen waving his arms frantically as two cops with their batons drawn try to talk to him, before ultimately deciding to call for backup.

But the ATV then runs over Cruz at a high rate of speed, knocking him to the ground.

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Video shows a brazen gang of dirt bike riders taunting Ariel Cruz after he walked over to a local gas station to buy some beer on February 11 

An ATV eventually hit into Cruz at a high rate of speed, sending him plummeting to the ground

The quad bike then hits a post in front of one of the gas pumps with such force that the rider is thrown from his seat.

He then appears to get up and run from the two police officers at the scene – who watched them get away – as Cruz struggles to get back to his feet, stumbling as he stands.

Cruz said he suffered a knee injury and a concussion in the aftermath and could not walk for more than a month – leaving him unable to do his job as a painter.

‘I just remember my head was split open. I had staples in my head,’ the victim told KTVU. ‘My knee was really inflamed, I couldn’t walk on it.

‘My lip was busted on the inside and outside. I had a slash on my lip.’ 

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Officers on the scene were seen talking to Cruz as the chaos ensued 

The cops watched the gang get away while Cruz was struggling to stand up

Julian Ulloa Gomez, 31, was finally arrested for the incident on August 29, according to KRON. 

He is now facing charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon – namely the Yamaha FX quad bike he was on – against an officer, as well as filing a false police report.

Police said Ulloa Gomez almost ran over one of the officers on the scene as well, noting that the San Francisco Police Department was already at the gas station at the time of the attack conducting a different investigation.

Cruz said he had to get staples in his head in the aftermath of the random attack

Ulloa Gomez was booked into jail on August 30 at 12.48pm and has already appeared in court to face the charges.

Following the hearing, Cruz said, police had to give him a ride home due to the large number of supporters the suspect had in the room.

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‘Mr. Ulloa Gomez is a longtime Bay Area resident who, until his arrest, worked for years for a local towing company,’ Deputy Public Defender Eden Schwartz told The Standard. 

‘He has the support of his family, and our office is committed to defending him against these charges.’