Submit your film today (Deadline: 12/31/09)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Don't miss the 6th Annual San Francisco International Women's Film Festival (SFWFF), presented by the Women's Film Institute, to be held April 5 through 11, 2010.

Call For Entries - San Francisco International Women's Film Festival accepts films and videos of all lengths and genres: narrative, documentary, experimental and animation. Films and videos must be directed or co-directed by women. Entry fee: $30 (Deadline: December 31, 2009). For more information, and to submit your film: http://sfwff.com/submissions/index.html

There are so many ways you can get involved and support an organization that is dedicated to amplifying the voices of women and girls through film and new media. You can volunteer and sign up for our e-newsletter. For more information about volunteering call (415) 754-FILM or email:sfwomensfilmfestival@gmail.com

Sign up for our e-newsletter: http://www.sfwff.com/list/index.html

For more information visit: http://www.sfwff.com

31st Annual Women's Building Celebration of Craftswomen (Dec. 5-6)

Need a Holiday Gift? Stop by our table at the 31st Annual Women's Building Celebration of Craftswomen.

For the past three decades, The Women’s Building Celebration of Craftswomen has allowed Bay Area residents, along with visitors to San Francisco from throughout the world, to discover the work of the nation’s best female artisans and fine artists.

The Celebration of Craftswomen is San Francisco’s largest holiday fine crafts retail fair, and the largest event celebrating the craft of women in the nation. The event is sponsored by and is a benefit for The Women’s Building, a community service center serving women and girls in San Francisco.

Featured at the Celebration of Craftswomen are contemporary and traditional handcrafted items, such as:

• Functional and decorative ceramic and glass vessels
• Sculpted wood and works of metal.
• Polymer clay, beaded, stone and precious metal jewelry
• Woven, painted silk, leather clothing and wearables
• Home furniture and accessories
• Fine art sculpture
• Photography
• Watercolor and oil paintings

The crafts fair will also offer live music, gourmet food, a benefit raffle, and a silent auction

http://ow.ly/ILMO

FREE Webinar - How to Ask People for Money with Holly Million

How to Ask People for Money Webinar with Holly Million. This webinar is FREE and demonstrates how to develop relationships with individual donors and ask them to make a financial contribution to your film. Learn how to fundraise fearlessly and make a successful ask. We'll discuss how to identify donor prospects and cultivate them, what tools you need to do this kind of fundraising and how to go face to face to ask for money. Webinar will be held on Dec. 3, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. Space is limited and RSVP by emailing: sfwomensfilmfestival@gmail.com

About Holly Million:
Holly is a consultant, author, and filmmaker with nearly two decades' worth of experience in fundraising. In addition to securing funding for "A Story of Healing," which won a 1997 Academy Award, Million has raised money for documentary and dramatic films that have aired on PBS, HBO, and other broadcast outlets. She is the author of "Fear-Free Fundraising: How to Ask People for Money," available on Amazon.com. She is writing a new book, "A Helluva Guide to Indie Film Fundraising" to be published in 2010.

She is the founder of Golden Poppy Productions, LLC, the presenters of A Helluva Camp for Indie Filmmakers on 1/23/2010 and for Nonprofit Rebels on 1/30/2010 in San Francisco, CA. For more information on Helluva Camp or to register visit:http://www.goldenpoppy.com

Panel: Native American Women vs. Hollywood Stereotypes

Coming soon to the American Indian Film Festival on Nov.12 in SF @ 10:00 a.m.

AIFI seminars bring noted industry professionals to San Francisco to teach, inspire and share their knowledge with current and the next generation of media makers. These programs are free and open to the public. Advance registration required.

This panel explores the stereotypes of Native women in Hollywood from the common portrayal of the "Indian Princess" to the modern Native woman today. Panelists include Shirley Cheechoo, Carole Nee-ta-key Marie, Larissa Fasthorse, Kateri Walker and Casey Camp-Horinek.

The panel will screen Total Silence by Carole Nee-ta-key Marie, a compelling documentary that offers Native American women a opportunity to voice how they have been affected by Hollywood's stereotyped images.

Must Advance Register at:

http://www.aifisf.com/aiff/2009/?fMenu=program&q=&fContent=program&id=86

Coming soon to SF Latino Film Festival

San Francisco Women's Film Festival is proud to co-present the following screening as part of this year's SF Latino Film Festival featuring: 1, 2, y 3 Mujeres directed by Andrea Herrera, Anabel Rodriguez and Andrea Rios. A beautifully shot film in three parts that navigates Venezuelan society through the lens of three women and their feminine condition. Each woman in the film shows us the grand destinies that exist in even the smallest stories. Fore more information and to purchase tickets:
http://www.sflationfilmfestival.com

Don't miss the Anne McGuire Show on 10/25/09

Don't miss the Anne McGuire Show at Cinema by the Bay presented by San Francisco Film Society. McGuire's rare genius (Photograph above by M.C. Schmidt) will be on full display as she draws from her extensive catalogue for an eclectic and pleasurable evening featuring some of her most famous videos, live performances, recent works, a guest MC and several surprises.

Admission: $12.50 (General), $11 (Senior discount).

Landmark Clay Theatre,

San Francisco, CA:

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, 9:00 p.m.

http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=8,38,106&pageid=1311

Read more about the Anne McGuire Show:

http://www.sf360.org/features/anne-anne-anne-mcguire-comes-alive

The Celluloid Ceiling: Thoughts From Five Women Who Broke Through

Last night at the London Film Festival, to an audience of possibly 90% women, a lively and at times quite provocative discussion went down about a topic that’s come up quite a bit this year - women and filmmaking. 2009 has been seen by many as landmark film for female-directed, written or produced cinema, which certainly finds evidence London’s programming. To name but a few: Lone Scherfig’s “An Education,” Claire Denis’ “White Material,” Xiaolu Guo’s “She, A Chinese,” Jane Campion’s “Bright Star,” Lindy Heymann’s “Kicks,” Sophie Barthes’ “Cold Souls,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s “Father of My Children,” Catherine Breillat’s “Bluebeard” and Sam Taylor Wood’s “Nowhere Boy.” And in honor of this notable but still stunningly disproportionate trend, the festival put together “Snipping Away at the Celluloid Ceiling,” a panel featuring five women associated with some of those films to discuss whether or not there’s a “sea change” in female-associated filmmaking, and what exactly that characterization means in the first place. (article published by IndieWire, written by Peter Knegt) To read more visit:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the_celluloid_ceiling_thoughts_from_five_women_who_broke_through/p

San Francisco Film Society Presents Cinema by the Bay (Oct. 22-25)

San Francisco Film Society Presents Cinema by the Bay (Oct. 22-25)

Don't miss Cinema by the Bay, a three-day festival featuring new films produced in or about the San Francisco Bay Area that provide a compelling window into its local film culture and practice. Cinema by the Bay kicks off Thursday, Oct. 22 at 8:00 p.m. at Temple Nightclub and Prana Restaurant with an eclectic and exuberant evening of short film and video screenings, multimedia performances, live music and collegial carousing. The festival will cover a broad range of subject matter and genres -- from a hipster odyssey of self-discovery to a documentary tracking the likely extinct ivory-billed woodpecker, to a shorts program showcasing Bay Area filmmaking at its best.

Don't miss the Anne McGuire Show. McGuire's rare genius (Photograph above by M.C. Schmidt) will be on full display as she draws from her extensive catalogue for an eclectic and pleasurable evening featuring some of her most famous videos, live performances, recent works, a guest MC and several surprises.

Admission: $12.50 (General), $11 (Senior discount).

Landmark Clay Theatre,

San Francisco, CA:

Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, 9:00 p.m.

http://www.sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=8,38,106&pageid=1311

Victoria directed by Anna Karina Tonight at MVFF

San Francisco International Women's Film Festival (SFWFF) is proud to co-present VICTORIA, a film starring, written and directed by Anna Karina at this year's MVFF32.

One part Some Like It Hot, one part Breathless and yet thoroughly fresh and new, Anna Karina's first directorial effort in more than 30 years echoes the youthful zest of the world-shaking French New Wave, while brimming with a life entirely its own.

Admission: $12.50 (General), $11 (Senior discount).

Date and Time: Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA.

For more information and to purchase tickets:

http://www.tiny.cc/victoria316

Don't Miss Arresting Ana at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival:

If you missed the premiere of Arresting Ana dir. by Lucie Schwartz as part of the Women's Film Institute (WFI) Shorts Tour in San Francisco in August, here's your chance. See an eye-opening film about the global underground of anorexia on Oct.16 at 5:00 PM at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA.

http://2009.mvff.com

3 Must See Films Coming Soon to the Mill Valley Film Festival

San Francisco International Women's Film Festival (SFWFF) is proud to co-present VICTORIA, a film starring, written and directed by Anna Karina at this year's MVFF32.

One part Some Like It Hot, one part Breathless and yet thoroughly fresh and new, Anna Karina's first directorial effort in more than 30 years echoes the youthful zest of the world-shaking French New Wave, while brimming with a life entirely its own.

Admission: $12.50 (General), $11 (Senior discount).

Date and Time: Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, 6:30 p.m.

Location: Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA.

For more information and to purchase tickets:

http://www.tiny.cc/victoria316

Don't Miss Kunjo and Arresting Ana at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival:

SFWFF 2007 was honored to screen Terrie Samundra's Tale of Xuan. Don't miss her new film entitled Kunjo on Oct.12 at 5:00 PM at the Sequoia Theatre in Mill Valley, CA. The film is about a young girl coping with her community's displacement and an act of betrayal as she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an upper caste girl.

If you missed the premiere of Arresting Ana dir. by Lucie Schwartz as part of the WFI Shorts Tour in San Francisco in August, here's your chance. See an eye-opening film about the global underground of anorexia on Oct.16 at 5:00 PM at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA.

http://2009.mvff.com

San Francisco International Women's Film Festival (SFWFF) is proud to co-present VICTORIA, a film starring, written and directed by Anna Karina at this year's MVFF32.

One part Some Like It Hot, one part Breathless and yet thoroughly fresh and new, Anna Karina's first directorial effort in more than 30 years echoes the youthful zest of the world-shaking French New Wave, while brimming with a life entirely its own.

Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Les Lolitas! Not one, but two stars are born, as Stan and Jimmy, a duo of talented and delightfully inept young musicians in sequined drag and not-quite-fitted platinum blonde wigs, hit the road on a tour through Quebec, lured by the thrill of a free meal. But their journey leads them further than they ever dreamed to love, loss and inevitable self-discovery.

Admission: $12.50 (General), $11 (Senior discount).

Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, CA:
Friday, Oct. 16, 2009, 6:30 p.m.

For more information and to purchase tickets:

http://www.tiny.cc/victoria316

Coming soon to Mill Valley Film Festival

SFWFF 2007 was honored to screen Terrie Samundra's Tale of Xuan. Don't miss her new film entitled Kunjo on Oct.12 at 5:00 PM at the Sequoia Theatre in Mill Valley, CA. The film is about a young girl coping with her community's displacement and an act of betrayal as she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an upper caste girl.

If you missed the premiere of Arresting Ana dir. by Lucie Schwartz as part of the WFI Shorts Tour in San Francisco in August, here's your chance. See an eye-opening film about the global underground of anorexia on Oct.16 at 5:00 PM at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, CA.

http://2009.mvff.com

Networking Mixer and Fundraiser to Benefit SF Women's Film Festival

You are invited to a special networking and fundraising event to support the San Francisco International Women's Film Festival

The event will take place at S.N.O.B. Wine bar (http://www.sfsnob.com/) at 1327 Polk Street on Thursday, October 1st from 6-9 PM. Located in the heart of San Francisco, it's the perfect place to unwind after work with a glass of wine (or beer, or soda. Whatever suits your fancy!).

This evening is designed to bring together the movers and shakers in the Bay Area art and business community: business professionals, writers, artists, fashion designers, musicians, and media makers in film, TV, online and print. So come out to make a new connection, share resources, or find a collaborator for a project. It will be a fantastic opportunity to mingle with the community, not to mention feel good about supporting an arts organization dedicated to showcasing the best in women's cinema year-round!

We encourage you to invite all of your friends and colleagues, but please RSVP: sfwomensfilmfestival@gmail.com to let us know that you will be joining us. If you plan on attending, or are unable to attend and still would like to make a donation, please do so at our website: http://www.sfwff.com/donate/index.html

Donations accepted at the event as well. For all those who make a donation there will be special discounted wine prices! A little karma with your cocktail.

No one turned away for lack of funds. No contribution is too small or too large, every bit helps in bringing this much needed film festival and gift to the community.

Cash bar. 21 + with Valid ID.

10th Annual Expo and Symposium for Independent Artist Starts Today

Join Us at the 10th Annual Expo and Symposium for Independent Artists

Don't miss a full-day of panel discussions, networking opportunities, conversations, and DIY workshops organized around the theme "Art Works when Artists Work - Creativity, Culture, Community" on Sept. 25th at the David Brower Center in Berkeley.

Admission:
Sliding Scale - No one turned away for lack of funds.

Stop by and say Hello! WFI will be tabling at the Expo on Sept. 26th from Noon -6:30 PM at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

For more information visit:

http://www.artsandmedia.net

October is Funding for Arts Month @ the Foundation Center - Free Events and Classes

October is Funding for Arts Month @ Foundation Center, Free events for artists/Nonprofits http://ping.fm/F81ri

Coming Soon to the Sausalito Film Festival (Aug 21-23)

San Francisco International Women's Film Festival is proud to co-present The Sari Soliders at the inaugural Sausalito Film Festival.

As part of this year's Sausalito Film Festival, which will take place from August 21-23, SFWFF will co-present The Sari Soliders directed by Julie Bridgham. Filmed over three years during the most historic and pivotal time in Nepal's modern history, The Sari Soldiers is an extraordinary story of six women's courageous efforts to shape Nepal's future in the midst of an escalating civil war against Maoist insurgents, and the king's crackdown on civil liberties.

Date/Time: Saturday, August 22nd at 2:30 PM. Admission: Regular $10. $5 with discount code. Location: Cavallo Point at Fort Baker (Callippe Theater) 601 Murray Circle, Sausalito, CA 94965.

Sausalito Film Festival is offering a huge discount on tickets to the SFWFF Community. Receive 50% off the advance ticket price by using the discount code: 012359 at check out.

For more information, or to purchase tickets:

http://www.sausalitofilmfestival.com

Coming Soon to SF Jewish Film Festival

As a part of this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, which will take place from July 23rd to August 10th, SFWFF will be co-presenting three films: Lady Kul El-Arab with Grown Up and Desert Brides.

Lady Kul El-Arab with Grown Up

Thursday, July 30th, 3:45 PM - Castro Theater
Saturday, August 1st, 2:00 PM - Roda Theater
Wednesday, August 5th, 2:30 PM - CineArts in Palo Alto

Lady Kul El-Arab
Director/Screenwriter/Cinematographer Ibtisam Mara'ana
Israel, 2008, 56 min., color, Arabic, Hebrew

Duah Fares, a spirited Druze Arab from Israel's Galilee, prepares for the annual Lady of the Arabs beauty pageant. Her avuncular coach and sympathetic family offer her loving support in what appears at first to be a documentary about the dreams of Arab girls in Israel. But this film veers rapidly towards edge-of-your-seat suspense when Duah changes her name to Angelina and applies to enter the Miss Israel pageant. Her family worries about the swimsuit competition, the Israelis force her to choose national loyalties, and the mood turns ominous when village traditionalists get involved. Duah's father and mother face agonizing choices and sacrifices if they are to support their rebel daughter's ambition. Against this landscape of runway competition, exploitation and surprising moments of solidarity, Duah will make a decision that is guaranteed to provoke controversy. Special Jury Award winner, IDFA Silver Wolf Competition.

Grown Up
Director Dana Neuberg
Israel, 2008, 20 min., color, English

In the confusing time between childhood and adolescence, 15-year-old Shira discovers the world of sexuality, jealousy and seduction. When her mother's date arrives earlier than expected, things get out of control and boundaries are broken.

Desert Brides

Wednesday, July 29th, 2:15 PM - Castro Theater
Sunday, August 2nd, 4:00 PM - Roda Theater
Tuesday, August 4th, 2:00 PM - CineArts in Palo Alto

Desert Brides
Director Ada Ushpiz
Israel, 2008, 90 min., color, Arabic, Hebrew

In Desert Brides (Best Film, Doc Aviv Festival 2008) a wedding photographer's lens offers a portal to women's struggles with polygamy. Ushpiz's outstanding film explores the realities of becoming a first wife or second wife in Bedouin culture. With the state pressure on nomadic cultures to integrate into Israeli society, a third of Bedouin women live in polygamous households fueled by a relentless drive back to religion for minority survival. Followed by a panel discussion in Berkeley.

For more information, or to purchase tickets click here:

For Lady Kul El-Arab with Grown Up:
http://tickets.sfjff.org

For Desert Brides:
http://tickets.sfjff.org

Coming Soon to SF Jewish Film Festival

San Francisco International Women's Film Festival is proud to co-present the following screening as part of this year's San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, featuring the following film:

Desert Brides
Director Ada Ushpiz
Israel, 2008, 90 min., color, Arabic, Hebrew

In Desert Brides (Best Film, Doc Aviv Festival 2008) a wedding photographer's lens offers a portal to women's struggles with polygamy. Ushpiz's outstanding film explores the realities of becoming a first wife or second wife in Bedouin culture. With the state pressure on nomadic cultures to integrate into Israeli society, a third of Bedouin women live in polygamous households fueled by a relentless drive back to religion for minority survival. Screening: Wed. Jul 29th, 2009 @ 2:15 PM - The Castro Theatre, San Francisco, CA

For more information, or to purchase tickets visit:
http://tiny.cc/Gyb1G

Coming Soon to Frameline33

SFWFF is proud to be a community partner at this year's Frameline33, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!

SFWFF co-presents a film screening of To Each Her Own directed by Heather Tobin on June 22 at 6:30 PM and June 25 at 7:00 PM.

DIRECTOR: Heather Tobin

Jess may look like any other beautiful girl, but her life is that of a woman, already married and settled at 25. Her husband Trevor, sweet but utterly clueless, is plotting the course of their lives (including children) with no eye for his wife’s apathy and detachment. Jess’s life is trudging on without her even having a hand in it.

Casey, on the other hand, finds nothing worth committing to. She mindlessly plows away as a landscaper by day, and an array of indiscriminate women by night. But a quick Romeo & Juliet-style balcony exchange ignites a fire in both, and the first date turns into love before either woman knows what hit her. Though they fit together seamlessly, a weak-willed Jess struggles to come to grips with her new love, and the lifestyle change that comes with it. Stifling memories power Jess’s reluctance, the lifelong judgments of her homophobic mother driving the wedge that threatens the relationship.

Jess’s tale is a common one, but in To Each Her Own, that isn’t a flaw: The film simply plays out like the story of someone you know. The tender and very sexy bedroom scenes feel like the first time. You can sense how it just fits for Jess, as she experiences that utterly relatable moment when a first love brings out a part of you that no one else has touched. To Each Her Own may be another coming out story, but it’s a damn good one. — ALEXIS WHITHAM


www.frameline.org

View the Trailer:
www.youtube.com/watch

Dear Friends of SFWFF & Arts Lovers,
I wanted to share some NOT TO BE MISSED events with you. Check it out and hope to see you there! Please help spread the word to your friends and colleagues. For more information, read on.
Thank You
Scarlett Shepard
Women's Film Institute/SF Women's Film Festival

DANCE & FILM COLLIDE @ 9TH STREET
The moving image and moving body push into view for Ninth Street's MediaARTS Series, co-presented with SFWFF on June 12 at 8:00 PM! Join us for dynamic, dreamy and hypnotic films that partner with the medium and movement of dance. Admission: $5. For more information:www.motionpictures-sf.com

CHILLIN' PRODUCTIONS' 11TH ANNIVERSARY
Executive director of SFWFF, Scarlett Shepard, will celebrate with Chillin' Productions at its event featuring 80 fashion designers, 180 painters and photographers, video installations and a host of great DJ's on June 13 from 8:00 PM - 2:00 AM! Stop by our table and check out one-of-a-kind handmade Jewelry by Scarlett. The best part is that the proceeds from your jewelry purchase will go directly to supporting SFWFF and its educational programs. Admission: $7 (21 + with ID). For more information: www.chillinproductions.com

QUEER WOMEN OF COLOR MEDIA ARTS PROJECT PRESENTS
Don't Miss 5th Annual Queer Women of Color Film Festival from June 12-14, 2009.
Screenings-FREE. For more information:www.qwocmap.org


COMING SOON TO FRAMELINE
SFWFF is proud to be a community partner at this year's Frameline33, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival! SFWFF co-presents a film screening of To Each Her Own directed by Heather Tobin on June 22 at 6:30 PM and June 25 at 7:00 PM. For more information and to get tickets: www.frameline.org

Dance and Film Collide on 6/12 at 8:00 PM

The moving image and moving body push into view for Ninth Street's MediaARTS Series, co-presented with SFWFF on June 12 at 8:00 PM!

Join us for dynamic, dreamy and hypnotic films that partner with the medium and movement of dance -- a special opportunity to discuss with Motion Pictures, a San Francisco-based dance on camera collective, how the two artistic mediums of Dance & Film Collide. Admission: $5

For more information about the event: www.motionpictures-sf.com

Coming Soon to Frameline33

SFWFF is proud to be a community partner at this year's Frameline33, San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!

SFWFF co-presents a film screening of To Each Her Own directed by Heather Tobin on June 22 at 6:30 PM and June 25 at 7:00 PM.

DIRECTOR: Heather Tobin

Jess may look like any other beautiful girl, but her life is that of a woman, already married and settled at 25. Her husband Trevor, sweet but utterly clueless, is plotting the course of their lives (including children) with no eye for his wife’s apathy and detachment. Jess’s life is trudging on without her even having a hand in it.

Casey, on the other hand, finds nothing worth committing to. She mindlessly plows away as a landscaper by day, and an array of indiscriminate women by night. But a quick Romeo & Juliet-style balcony exchange ignites a fire in both, and the first date turns into love before either woman knows what hit her. Though they fit together seamlessly, a weak-willed Jess struggles to come to grips with her new love, and the lifestyle change that comes with it. Stifling memories power Jess’s reluctance, the lifelong judgments of her homophobic mother driving the wedge that threatens the relationship.

Jess’s tale is a common one, but in To Each Her Own, that isn’t a flaw: The film simply plays out like the story of someone you know. The tender and very sexy bedroom scenes feel like the first time. You can sense how it just fits for Jess, as she experiences that utterly relatable moment when a first love brings out a part of you that no one else has touched. To Each Her Own may be another coming out story, but it’s a damn good one. — ALEXIS WHITHAM

http://www.frameline.org

Wednesday, April 1, 2009: 7:00 PM at Women's Building

2009 SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL TO PREMIER AND HOST INDIE FILMS FROM FEMALE FILMMAKERS WORLDWIDE THIS APRIL
The San Francisco International Women’s Film Festival (SFWFF) will host its fifth annual film festival-celebrating women in all areas of film from April 1 through 5 in select theaters and community centers across the Bay Area. Join us for our Opening Night, Networking Reception and Festivities on April Fools Day! Here is the line up.

Bay Area Cypher directed By Idris Hassan (USA, 2007, 27 min, Documentary) A performance documentary that blends live freestyle presentations with short interviews that document the unique evolution of Hip Hop in the San Francisco Bay Area. Film screening and performance starts at 7:00 PM. Join us for our Networking Reception from 8:00-9:00 PM.

Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority directed by Kimberlee Bassford (USA, 2008, 56 min, Documentary) Patsy Takemoto Mink made headline news in 1965 when she became the first woman of color to serve in the U.S Congress. An outspoken liberal, Mink stood out for her opposition to the Vietnam War and her fierce advocacy for equality and justice in America. Award-winning filmmaker Kimberlee Bassford chronicles the fascinating life of this pioneering politician who co-authored Title IX, the 1972 landmark decision prohibiting sex discrimination in schools, whether in education or athletics. Patsy Mink: Ahead of the Majority is the story of this dynamic trailblazer who, battling racism and sexism, redefined American politics. Film screening starts 9:15 PM.

Admission: $20 Advance, $25 Door. To purchase tickets in advance go to:
CLICK HERE

To learn more about the film:
CLICK HERE

Co-presented by

Thursday, April 2, 2009: 6:00 PM at 9th Street Independent Film Center

Local Filmmaker Spotlight: Documentary and Activism Panel at 6:00 PM
We live in an age where documentary films have the power to inform the masses on hot topic issues from global warming, preserving freedom of speech to genetically modified food debate. SFWFF will host a panel dedicated to “Filmmaking and Activism.” Local Filmmakers, Shani Heckman (America's Most Unwanted), Sheila Ganz (Moms Living Clean), Windy Borman (The Eyes of Thailand), and Tamara Perkins (The Trust).

America's Most Unwanted, is a project that reveals tales of hope and survival from former foster youth and group home kids. Moms Living Clean reveals the trans-formative effect an innovative residential substance abuse treatment program has on six mothers and their young children interwoven with drug policies that impact pregnant and parenting mothers.
The Eyes of Thailand raises awareness about the endangered Thai Asian Elephant. In 1993, Thailand boasted 40,000 Thai Asian Elephants. By November 2007, a mere 14 years later, there were less than 2,600 left in captivity. The Trust is shot inside San Quentin State Prison and in surrounding Bay Area communities. The Trust program is to transform the incarcerated from social liabilities into assets for themselves, their families and their communities.

Indie Spotlight: Short Film Showcase at 7:30 PM
Palm Trees on Third Street directed by Maria Judice (USA, 2007, 19 min, Narrative/Fiction) Half-sisters, Nikki and Winter, meet for the first time among the palm trees in San Francisco. Winter helps Nikki search for a father she's never met. The journey takes a turn as they abandon the search for their father and develop a relationship of their own. Around the Way directed by Ruby Flores (USA, 2008, 11 min, Narrative/Fiction) A slice-of-life tale about a girl, a lovestruck boy, a very special Filipino dish and how they all come together on a summer day in Jamaica, Queens.
A Summer Rain directed by Ela Thier (USA, 2008, 17 min, Narrative/Fiction) When an 11-year-old Israeli girl immigrates to the US, she expresses her humorous and innocent interpretations of American culture in the letter she writes back home to her best friend. As she navigates culture shock, homesickness, and the beginnings of puberty, she finds solace with a Vietnamese girl who shares in her experience.

Admission: $10 Advance, $12 Door. To purchase tickets in advance go to:
CLICK HERE

Co-presented by Ninth Street Independent Film Center

Friday, April 3, 2009: 5:00 PM at 9th Street Independent Film Center

Making Herstory: Young Women in the Director's Chair. Young women are full of creative insight, allowing for various perspectives through a multitude of genres. SF Women’s Film Festival honors the upcoming generation of women filmmakers, with the support of Ninth Street Independent Film Center’s youth media program, TILT. Please join us for a fun filled, impressive program of young women who make media.

Films include: & All That Jazz directed by Marie Benedetto, Allyson Laquian, Ida VSW Red, Erika Sokolower-Shain (USA, 2008, 6 min) Two urban lesbians, one young, one old - find themselves in competition for scarce housing. Their generational styles, needs, and approaches clash, but there is a hint of common ground in search for home, community. Generation of Consolidation directed by Brooke Noel and Sami Muilenburg (USA, 2008, 12 min, Documentary) A documentary exploring the impact of media consolidation on news content and how this affects youth, both as viewers and media makers. Sound Affects directed by Fifer Garbesi (USA, 2008, 2 min) What happens when you wake up one morning to discover all the sounds in your life have been scrambled? Still Life directed by Michaela Creedon (USA, 2008, 2 min) A multi-layered short that shows us the view of the city through the eyes of a young artist as she transitions through on public transportation. Klaira's Story, Part I of As Old as Our Eyes directed by Klaira Markenzon (USA, 2004, 13 min) Klaira lives in that foggy middle space between Old and New World. This Unkrainian-Jewish Teenager immigrated to San Francisco as a young child with her extended family. Now on the brink of adulthood, she interviews her grandparents about their new American lives, yearning to see her adopted world through older generations' eyes. Klaira understands that life in the United States has changed her profoundly. Thicker Than Water directed by Camille Kolodziejski and Sami Kubo (USA, 2008, 16 min) Abby is going through something that will transform her life forever. Can she keep her identity and be happy in a harshly judgmental society?

Admission: FREE. For more information about the film screening and panel:
CLICK HERE

Co-presented by

Friday, April 3, 2009: 6:30 PM at Women's Building

On this evening, SFWFF honors Lourdes Portillo with a festival Tribute Award for her many achievements and contributions to independent cinema. We will screen her film entitled Senorita Extraviada/Missing Young Woman. Senorita Extraviada/Missing Young Woman tells the haunting story of the more than 350 kidnapped, raped and murdered women of Juarez, Mexico. Visually poetic, yet unflinching in its gaze, this compelling investigation unravels the layers of complicity that has allowed for the brutal murders of women living along the Mexico-U.S. border. In the midst of Juarez's international mystique and high profile job market, there exists a murky history of grossly under-reported human rights abuses and violence against women. The climate of violence and impunity continues to grow, and the murders of women continue to this day. Relying on what Portillo comes to see as the most reliable of sources the testimonies of the families of the victims. The film documents a two-year search for the truth in the underbelly of the new global economy. Film screening with special guest Lourdes Portillo starts at 8:00 PM.

Join us at our networking reception and live performance by Lit by Lightning before film screening at 6:30 PM.

Admission: $15 Advance, $20 Door. To purchase tickets in advance go to:
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Listen to Lit by Lightning:
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Friday, April 3, 2009: 10:15 PM at Women's Building

Short Film Showcase. Films include: Discovering Composition in Art directed by Heidi Phillips (Canada, 2008, 2 min, Experimental) Discovering Composition in Art uses found footage as source material for various darkroom experiments. These failed attempts to capture "good composition" race before viewers' eyes like flashing lights. "By using some of these guides we can create exciting art from the world around us." Bottled directed by Jian Lee (USA, 2007, 4 min, Animation) 'Bottled' is about two people living in glass bottles. The bottles are located in an artist's studio and the characters are the creations of the artist. The hand, the artist, creates another male character for the woman to save her from loneliness. Resta directed by Anna Bucchetti (Netherlands/Italy, 2008, 24 min, Narrative/Fiction) Elena's mental illness dominates the lives of her husband and children, whose fears increasingly worsen as she goes missing every night. Mofetas directed by Ines Enciso (Spain, 2007, 10 min, Narrative/Fiction) In Tangiers, two boys hide inside the undercarriage of a truck, in order to smuggle themselves across the border. We see their joyful fantasies of getting a car, an education, and fame as such as a soccer player. In this beautifully surreal and yet down-to-earth short, the comical delight such of such dreams is interrupted when one of the stowaways is dragged away by police. But he cheers his friend on - as the truck leaves for a better world.
Dandelion Dharma directed by Veronica DiPippo (USA, 2008, 26 min, Narrative/Fiction) A magical tale of love, loss and letting go, we first meet Trudy, a distraught 20-something determined to rid herself of the final dredges of a failed romance. Brokenhearted, she stands in the community garden plot she shared with her fiance, once a reflection of their vibrant love for each other, now a barren weed-filled piece of land. Suddenly, Trudy is interrupted by three mysterious women who appear on the garden path; reluctantly she listens as the eccentric women eventually befriend and ultimately beguile her with their stories. The three women surprise her with their power of persuasion, as they become intimate sharing laced brownies and shots of vodka, as well as stories of failed romance and their own "Mr. Wrong." Savoring every detail of their touching and humorous accounts, Trudy continues to fall under the spell of these quirky wise women. Following their tales of love, where "beginnings" come from endings, endings from beginnings," Trudy's perception of life, love and reality changes, as she unexpectedly uncovers new meaning to "letting go."

Admission: $10 Advance, $12 Door. To purchase tickets in advance go to:
CLICK HERE