By Mabel Pais

The San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) returns for the 66th year. It is considered the longest-running film festival in the Americas. This year’s program, curated from over 5,000 submissions and invitations features work from 37 countries and spotlights new work from Bay Area Filmmakers. These will screen exclusively in theaters across San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, April 13–April 23.

The 2023 SFFILM Festival will run in theaters across the Bay Area, including the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market, the Castro Theatre, the Premier Theater, The Walt Disney Family Museum, and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). The central hub of the Festival will be at CGV San Francisco to allow for maximum viewing; this location will also feature a hospitality lounge presented by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for guests to meet and mingle with each other in between screenings.

BIG NIGHTS + SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening Night: “Stephen Curry: Underrated”

Peter Nicks (USA 2023, 110 min)

Thursday, April 13 | 6:30 pm PT | Grand Lake Theatre

Thursday, April 13 | 9:30 pm PT | Grand Lake Theatre

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Award-winning filmmaker Peter Nicks delivers a searing documentary illuminating the career of NBA superstar Stephen Curry. Intertwining Curry’s emergence at Davidson College with thrilling footage of the 2021–22 Golden State Warriors season when the team won its fourth championship of the Curry era, Nicks deftly builds a portrait of a man who continually defies expectations. With unique access, heart-pounding edits, and electrifying footage, Stephen Curry: Underrated tells the remarkable story of a local legend. Expected Guests: Director Peter Nicks, and producer Ryan Coogler.

TICKETS

Tickets are available to Opening Night Film & Party, Second Showing (screening only) for members & the general public.

Centerpiece: “Past Lives”

Celine Song (USA/South Korea 2023, 106 min)

Tuesday, April 18 | 8 pm PT | Castro Theatre

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

Playwright Celine Song makes a masterful leap to film with this tenderly wrought relationship drama revolving around long-separated childhood friends’ attempts to define their unusual connection over two reunions set 12 years apart. Expected Guests: Director Celine Song, and actor Greta Lee.

TICKETS

Tickets are available for members and the general public.

Closing Night: “I’m A Virgo”

Boots Riley (USA 2023, 115 min)

Sunday, April 23 | 6 pm PT | CGV 3

Sunday, April 23 | 7:30 pm PT | CGV 2

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

From visionary filmmaker Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You, Festival 2018), I’m A Virgo is a darkly comedic fantastical coming-of-age joyride about Cootie (Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, CA. Having grown up hidden away, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, he escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, the real-life superhero named The Hero, played by Walton Goggins. Riley will be in attendance at this special screening of the first four episodes of I’m A Virgo, which will be followed by a Q&A, presented by Prime Video. Expected Guests: Creator, Co-Showrunner, Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Boots Riley.

TICKETS

Tickets are available for members and the general public.

For the complete film lineup, visit sffilm.org.

FILMS CONNECTED TO THE INDIAN DIASPORA 

DOCUMENTARIES: INTERNATIONAL

Against the Tide

Sarvnik Kaur (India 2023, 97 min)

Thursday, April 20 | 6 pm PT | CGV 3

Saturday, April 22 | 5:30 pm PT | BAMPFA

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE 

As the Arabian Sea’s fish population dwindles, two fishermen from Mumbai’s Koli community endeavor to change their fortunes. United by a shared ambition, their friendship is tested when each man chooses different technology. While Rakesh adheres to ancient practices handed down through generations of ancestors, Ganesh seeks modern methods that in the short-term promise a bigger catch but contribute to overfishing, dooming both men’s long-term prospects. Ultimately powerless against the raging waters and growing mountains of debt, Rakesh and Ganesh sway along the waves of life, trying their best to keep their heads above the water that threatens to engulf them. Bookending it all, amidst centuries-old songs of valor and courage, is the customary hum of fishing boats and their promise of hope. ‘Against the Tide’ won a special jury prize for vérité filmmaking at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is an SFFILM Documentary Film Fund recipient.

SHORTS

How We Get Free

Geeta Gandbhir (USA 2023, 31 min) 

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

In Denver, an intrepid activist runs for office with the aim of eliminating cash bail.

Birdsong

Omi Zola Gupta + Sparsh Ahuja (UK/Laos 2023, 18 min)

CALIFORNIA PREMIERE

A meditation on the act of listening and perceiving, guided by the vanishing Hmong tradition of whistling.

 Growing up with Memory Loss | A Gift for My 16th Birthday

Keertana Sreekumar (USA 2023, 3 min)

BAY AREA PREMIERE

A young artist with an impaired memory reflects on what it means to grow up.

Hop Heel Drop

Sania Bhatia (USA 2023, 3 min)

Tap dancer Sydney Barnas shares her story of encouragement and passion for movement.

American Ball Game

Teja Mettu + Krish Mysoor (USA 2023, 9 min)

WORLD PREMIERE

With twisting dark humor, Dan uncomfortably tries to fit in with his friend’s white family.

Connect with SFIFF:

Hashtags:    #SFFILM and #SFFILMFestival

Twitter:      @SFFILM

Instagram: @sffilm

Facebook:    facebook.com/SFFILM

Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/sffilm

2023 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival)

The official SFFILM program—curated from over 5,000 submissions and invitations—includes premieres, eagerly anticipated award titles, debut work from emerging storytellers, international narrative and documentary, mid-lengths and shorts, a Cine Latino section, and the Golden Gate Award juried competition. Filmmakers and guests can network at industry meetings and talks, and everyone will get to celebrate the magic of cinema with SFFILM’s prestigious Persistence of Vision, Mel Novikoff, Sloan Science in Cinema awards, and a tribute to a special honoree.

The SFFILM Festival always centers the Bay Area with selections by local creators and crews, and serves students, teachers, and families with Youth Works, family friendly workshops, and educational screenings through Schools at the Festival that reaches thousands of students each year.

SFFILM

SFFILM’s mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM connects and inspires audiences, students and teachers, and filmmakers through film exhibition, youth education, and artist development programs.

Annual public film programs include the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) which is the longest running film festival in the Americas, Doc Stories documentary series, special events with the best and brightest in contemporary film, and family programming.

SFFILM Education serves more than 15,000 students and educators with learning opportunities designed to cultivate media literacy, global citizenship, and a lifelong love of movies. SFFILM Makers supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services. For more information, visit sffilm.org.

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Health & Wellness, Cuisine and Spirituality.)