The San Francisco International Film Festival

A Little Something for Everyone!

No matter how eclectic your taste in film might be, if you live in the Bay Area or are planning to visit in late April/early May, you’ll find something that will satisfy your inner critic at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Since 1957, this festival has been the place to be for film lovers, as well as those who craft these funny, thought-provoking, emotional, philosophical, political, informative and often visually stunning entertainments. For two weeks each spring, the festival showcases more than 150 films and live events at venues all over the city. Each year, more than 70,000 film lovers attend at least one event, with most attending several over the course of the festival.

This festival is also one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world, attracting more than 100 filmmakers, who vie for at least two dozen awards for cinematic excellence. As you might guess, it takes a lot of venues to show more than 150 films in 14 days. The list of venues includes most of the city’s best movie theaters, including:

  • The Castro Theater at 429 Castro (Castro and Market Streets)
  • Sundance Kabuki Cinemas at 1881 Post Street (Post and Fillmore)
  • The Walt Disney Family Museum 104 Montgomery St (In the Presidio)
  • The Film House 1426 Fillmore Street, Suite 300 (Fillmore and Geary)
  • New People Cinema 1746 Post Street (Post and Webster)
  • Ruby Skye 420 Mason Street (Mason and Geary)
  • Bimbo’s 360 Club 1025 Columbus Avenue (Columbus and Chestnut)
  • Temple Nightclub 540 Howard Street (Howard and First)
  • Roe Restaurant 651 Howard Street (Howard and Hawthorne)

And in Berkeley:

  • The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive 2575 Bancroft Way (Bancroft and Bowditch)

From animated shorts to documentaries to feature films to experimental work, digital media, live action and much more, the San Francisco International Film Festival is not to be missed if you love all kinds of movies. There are also lots of other types of events, such as panel discussions with filmmakers and technical personnel, seminars, gala meet and greets with the schmoozerati, a highly regarded Schools at the Festival program, which teaches film appreciation to younger fans and much more. Tickets, show times, this year’s lineup of films and filmmakers and much more information can be found at the official website of the festival at http://www.sffs.org/.