by Claire Wu
(May 18, 2026)
Created over the span of 16 years, “Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)” is a stunning patchwork of vérité footage, handmade dioramas and puppets, animation sequences and collages. This is not simply a film about grief, but rather a piece of ritual art that continuously meditates on all the highs and lows of Yo’s vibrant life and the integral role she played throughout the filmmaker’s lives as their dear friend.
Photo by Andy Mitchell
By Geneva Anderson (April 29, 2026)
Film Schools like to feature the successful alumni who attended their programs. But none have guided so many to success as the Sundance Labs program where new filmmakers are mentored by established cinema artists under the sensitive yet firm direction of one person.
Robert Redford and Michelle Satter at the Director’s Lab (2011). Photo by Fred Hayes. Courtesy of Sundance.
Michelle Satter, one of the world’s most important and influential champions of independent film is the recipient of SFFILM’s 2026 Mel Novikoff Award and will be honored on Thursday, April 30, at a special evening that includes Satter in conversation with award-winning Oakland filmmaker Peter Nicks, followed by a screening of Benh Zeitlin’s 2012 film “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” a wildly successful project supported by both Sundance Institute and SFFILM. Continue reading
“Artists are the gatekeepers of truth, the anchor of civilization and the compass for humanity’s conscience”
-Michelle Satter
Geneva Anderson interviewed a selection of the many filmmakers who have been through Sundance Labs to accompany her interview with Michelle Satter . Continue reading
By Noma Faingold (April 11, 2026)
Chilean-born filmmaker Andrés Gallegos chose San Francisco in 2014 to continue his education, earning an MFA in Cinema at San Francisco State University. He had visited prestigious film schools in New York and Los Angeles, but the Bay Area instantly felt like home. “I liked the program at State, but I fell in love with what was happening here,” he said. “The richness of the culture and the creative community made me want to stay.”
A debate on water, movies & inspiration
By Ari Gold. (October 21, 2025)
Where does inspiration come from? My answer can sound like I read books: Francis Coppola’s “Live Cinema”, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s “Psychomagic,” Werner Herzog’s “Conquest of the Useless.” But let’s be honest, my lifelong hunt for mentorship can feel like distraction. Continue reading
By Noma Faingold. (updated October 10, 2025)
Andrew Durham had been reliably wearing several film industry production hats, but he had never much thought about directing a feature film until good friend Sofia Coppola presented the 2013 book, “Fairyland, a Memoir of My Father,” by Alysia Abbott to him.
Award-winning screenwriter/director Coppola had optioned the property and was a committed producer. She knew the unconventional father/daughter coming-of-age story, set in San Francisco, from the 1970s to the early 1990s, would resonate with Durham’s background, having grown up in the Bay Area during those tumultuous decades. Continue reading
By Noma Faingold
(July 31, 2025)
The summer camp movie has become its own genre. By now, what audiences have come to expect is low-brow comedy (balanced by a poignant lesson), with hits like, “Wet Hot American Summer” (2001) and “Meatballs” (1979). Continue reading
By Noma Faingold (June 13, 2025)
Prolific, award-winning independent film producer Marc Smolowitz has more than 60 credits in his three-decade career. He’s raised at least $30 million for projects in every genre. At any given time, he is the driving force behind 10 films in various stages of production, including at this very moment.
Photo by Noma Faingold
He doesn’t shy away from declaring why he’s had consistent success and longevity in the ever-changing indie film industry. “I’m fearless and relentless,” Smolowitz said. “I know how to do this job very, very well.”
By Noma Faingold (May 15, 2025)
Writer/director/producer/actor Isaac Hirotsu Woofter was on his phone minutes before his feature debut, “Bound,” was being screened in February, during SF IndieFest at the Roxie Theater. It was a Bay Area homecoming for Woofter and he wanted to make sure the friends and family attending were taken care of.
By Gary Meyer. (May 13, 2025)
“A day without laughter is a day wasted” -Charlie Chaplin
I can’t imagine a more wonderful spring weekend than the Charlie Chaplin Days in Niles (Fremont), California, May 16-18. Starting with a tour of Eugene O’Neill’s house where Chaplin’s wife Oona grew up, the celebration includes plenty of restored Chaplin films made by the Essanay Studio on the big screen with audiences laughing uncontrollably at times. There are live presentations, rare footage and photos seen for the first time since they were made, walking tours, rides on a vintage diesel train, and the annual Charlie Look-Alike Contest. Continue reading
A Profile of Filmmaker Kristin Tièche
By Noma Faingold. (May 1, 2025)
Kristen Tièche walks into Le Café du Soleil, a French bistro in the Lower Haight, with unremarkable décor, clutching her little black mixed-breed dog, Zizou. She rode her bike from her Inner Richmond home. It’s mid-afternoon. As she places a glass of white wine, accompanied by a glass of water, at a window table, she mentions that her day is tighter than she realized, having already spent time at a volunteer garden, followed by a shower. “I have people coming over to my place at 5:30,” she said.
Kristen Tièche – Photo by Noma Faingold
