Filmmakers in Focus

Posted on 21 May 2025

Join us for a screening of local filmmaker Harris Cohen’s two short documentaries about San Rafael characters, past and present.

“Phyllis!” (13:24) profiles Phyllis Thelen, the nonagenarian artist and founder of San Rafael’s Art Works Downtown. Phyllis was also instrumental in the organization of Marin Ballet and Youth in Arts and is the recipient of numerous honors, including San Rafael’s 2009 Citizen of the Year. Phyllis will be in attendance and available for questions afterwards!

“Joe’s Story” (8:23) portrays the life of Joe Moist, a developmentally disabled man. With the help of the San Rafael nonprofit Opportunity for Independence, Joe found a home and a community and, for a time, was affectionately known as The Mayor of 4th Street.

The films will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.

Harris Cohen, Filmmaker:
After studying in the theater arts department at the University of California, Los Angeles, Cohen, 83, had a long career in television, working as a cameraman and producing, directing and editing news stories for the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite” and NBC’s “The Huntley–Brinkley Report,” as well as creating hundreds of short-form documentaries. In 1983, he founded Magnetic Image Video, a video production equipment rental and crew services business, then based in San Rafael, and has created numerous videos for nonprofit organizations pro bono.