San Francisco International Film Festival 52

While Sundance, Toronto and Telluride are the bells of the film festival ball, they are just the biggest names in a craze that started years earlier with the Columbus International Film Festival and the even more prominent San Francisco International Film Festival. With the lineup and schedule just announced today, now is the time to start planning a visit to this landmark American event.

While the movies have been a favorite American pastime for over 100 years, it wasn’t until the mid-1950’s that the festival format found its way into our collective filmgoing experience, first in Columbus, Ohio, then in San Francisco, where the longest-running film festival in North America will soon hold its fifty-second event.

Despite its age, the San Francisco International Film Festival has never faltered in its aim: to bring a diverse array of international and domestic films to a spirited audience of film-lovers. SFIFF celebrates passion over budget, skill over talk, and talent over celebrity. It is, in a manner of speaking, the real deal; a place where the art always outweighs the prestige.

The San Francisco International Film Festival features more than 200 films over 15 days at 6 venues throughout the city. Categories run the gamut, from directorial debuts to stirring documentaries, but the Festival is best known for its support of international films. The festival is often credited with introducing and to an extent popularizing the works of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and Indian director Satyajit Ray, both considered today to be among the world’s most influential directors.

Along with film presentations, the Festival includes several parties, galas, concert events and the annual Golden Gate awards recognizing excellence in independent and world cinema. Begin your search of events here.

The San Francisco International Film Festival will be held from April 23 – May 7, 2009 throughout San Francisco. General public tickets go on sale April 2 at 9:00 a.m. Festival organizers have compiled a list of best bets. For more information, head here.

See a new(ly-renovated) face on an old favorite at the San Francisco Marriott Union Square, formerly the Hotel 480. Got to love that new hotel smell.

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