The whole aspect of cinema and film festivals should be a moment to come together and celebrate art and humanity.” – Keanu Reeves

Driven by innate belief that “film is an art form” and “meaningful agent for social change.” Led by the credo of a festival “deeply rooted in the culture and process of film appreciation,” with ubiquitous vision of “transforming the world through the creativity and inspiration of film” the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is set to covet cinephiles, as the 67th Edition flags off from April 24-28, 2024.

One of the longest-running film festival in the Americas, SFFILM, which took its birth in 1957, the traditional 11-day festival, shrunk to five days this time around, is nine counties Bay Area’s most prestigious cinema carnival that connects the Bay with the World and vice-versa through an ensemble of enchanting crème la crema cinemas.

This time around the festival features a galaxy of works drawn from over 40 countries which will be kicked off by Sean Wang’s Sundance award-winning debut feature Didi. A semi-autobiographical coming of age feature centering on adolescence which follows 13-year-old Taiwanese American Chris providing a nuanced and tender, and layered exploration of youthful love.

As SFFILM Executive Director Anne Lai, states “film — always a reflection of and beacon for society — remains the gateway to a vibrant, healthy future of our culture and city,” the festival will draw curtains with the closing film of Josh Margolin’s Thelma. The film revolving around a lone 93-year-old widow who falls prey to a cash-grabbing hoax and vows to bring the perpetrators to justice, setting out on an audacious odyssey to do so.

The festival which sees a curated 13 odd sections with screening of full-length features, documentaries, shorts, under specifically titled heads, besides academic and other workshops, promises a veritable filmi fiesta for film buffs.

The festival sees the presentation of the Golden Gate Awards (GGAs) traditionally presented in 11 narrative, documentary, mid-length, and short film categories.

Among international narratives line up of films from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba/Ecuador, Japan, Pakistan, Senegal, US and beyond include Argentinian woman director María Zanetti’s debut feature Alemania, inspired by her own family’s story, which tells the story of Lola, a 16-year-old who dreams of escaping her challenging homelife.

French Senegalese woman filmmaker Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s debut film Banel & Adama that charts the tumultuous romance caught in the traditional customs, mores and strict expectations of their community.

The Iranian director Behrooz Karamizade’s Empty Nets, a searing and soulful blighted romance between a wealthy girl and a hand to mouth brave fisherman boy braving against Iran’s rigid diktats of class difference and dowry customs.

Argentinian director Lisandro Alonso’s stylish and non-conformist Eureka featuring a triptych of stories focused on Indigenous culture in the Americas.

Kei Chika-ura’s Japanese flick Great Absence which spotlights on the estrangement saga of a father and son spanning over a decade that takes on multiple shades, and, most importantly, a portrait of dementia, as the father sinks into senility.

Heartless, by Brazilian female filmmaker Nara Normande & Tião, is inspired by Nara’s own life, and speaks of teenager Tamara’s voyager of discovery of gender and sexuality and love.

Woman film maker Tania Hermida’s Ecuador/Cuban film On the Invention of Species (La Invención de las especies) revolving around Clara, a young girl, cusp of womanhood and grappling with the loss of her brother, befriends two young boys as she surges through biological and emotional upheaval.

Argentine director Martín Rejtman’s acerbic satire on relationships and wellness culture in a tale centered on an Argentinian yoga instructor living in Chile, in The Practice.

Canadian film maker Charles-Olivier Michaud’s Guests Expected based on Kim Thúy’s award-winning novel, about a young girl coming to terms with her past through ten-year-old Tinh’s family who flee Vietnam after the 1975 fall of Saigon, undertaking an arduous journey to Quebec.

Woman French film maker Élise Girard’s Sidonie in Japan with the renowned French actress Isabelle Huppert, about a writer, grieving over another family bereavement, consent to brief tour in Japan to celebrate a new translation of her book, accompanied by soft-spoken interpreter Kenzo woman, who finds a new lease on life.

Palestinian woman film maker Farah Nabulsi’s debut feature The Teacher, reflective of the current turbulent times, revolves around a teacher who seeks to protect and draw away a young vengeful boy from seeking revenge of his brother’s murder by an Israeli settler.

Pakistani American woman filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal’s Wakhri, which, drawing inspiration from Qandeel Baloch, Pakistan’s first social media celebrity, spotlights on widowed schoolteacher Noor and her queer best friend Guchhi, seeking to live out their dreams and aspirations, leading double lives, in the face of societal proscription against such relationships.

Austrian woman film maker Elisabeth Scharang’s German-Romanian feature Woodland (Wald) about a journalist who retreats to her childhood village and her late grandparents’ barely habitable home to cope with the trauma of witnessing a terrible crime and incurring the wrath and resentment of the locals for her critical articles on her best friends.

Among other titles in the US narratives to explore include The Idea of You by Michael Showalter, Janet Planet by Annie Baker, Mabel by Nicholas Ma, Mother Couch by Niclas Larsson, and Sing Sing by Greg Kwedar.

Of course, SFFILM features a whole host of other wide-ranging mélange of movies in documentary, shorts and other featured sections, besides tributes, suiting the palate of a diverse of cine buffs who can look forward to binge upon in the five days of the festival.

The only regret though is there is no representation from India in the festival whose Bay Area home to the Silicon Valley which boasts of a sizeable chunk of Indian diaspora housing some of the big-ticket hi-tech giants that feed on them.

By..

S Viswanath is veteran Film Journalist / Critic & involved in various key capacities at many International Film Festivals circuits across the Globe also co-author of book ‘Random reflections: kaleidoscopic musings on Kannada cinema.