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compiled by Lauri Rose Tanner, Film Festival Consultants

{This Guide is dedicated to the memory of Robin Eickman (1948-1998), Director of the San Francisco Film Office for 18 years. She always gave special support for my efforts to develop this project. Thank you, Robin, you will truly be missed...}

Festival Listings
Festival Event Groups
Venues for Non-Profit Film & Video Exhibition
Non-Profit & Commercial Rep Theaters & Screening Venues

FESTIVAL LISTINGS

1) San Francisco International Film Festival - Begun in 1957, SFIFF is the oldest film festival in the Americas. Produced by San Francisco Film Society, Festival will celebrate its 42nd anniversary April 22 - May 6, 1999. Festival presents over 170 films and videos from more than 45 countries as well as extensive schedule of tributes, awards and other special events. At 41st fest in 1998, over 78,000 attended films at AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres and Castro Theatre in San Francisco, as well as at UC Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive and Marin County's Lark Theatre in Larkspur. Films are included in non-competitive program by invitation only, but festival also presents Golden Gate Awards, an international competition with 31 categories in 4 divisions, showcasing short, documentary, animated, television and experimental productions. More than 1,600 GGA entries from 58 countries were judged by 150 Bay Area media professionals for 1998 competition. 1999 fest entry deadlines are December 4, 1998 for GGA films and January 8, 1999 for features. SF Film Society also presents numerous film preview screenings and other events throughout the year for its members and general public. Contact San Francisco Film Society, 1521 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94115-4102; Tel. (415) 929-5000; Fax (415) 921-5032; e.mail sfiff@sfiff.org; website www.sfiff.org

2) Film Arts Festival - Fest is sponsored by Film Arts Foundation, Northern California's membership-service organization of independent film and video makers. Highlighting locally produced Northern California works in all lengths, formats and genres arranged in thematic programs, non-competitive fest takes place over 5 days in early November with early July deadline. Some 6,000 people attended the 13th Annual edition in 1997, which included 87 films and videos, selected from over 300 entries. Honoraria were paid for all works shown except those receiving FAF grants. The '98 fest, which ran November 4 - 8, opened at the Castro Theatre and continued for 5 days, moving to the Roxie Cinema. For year-round exhibition program info and 1999 fest entry materials, contact Mark Taylor at FAF, 346 Ninth Street, 2nd floor, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (415) 552-8760; Fax (415) 552-0882; e.mail filmarts@best.com; website www.filmarts.org

3) San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival - Presented by Frameline, the SF International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is world's oldest and largest event of its kind, and is also second-largest film fest of any kind in Northern California. More than 75,000 came to 283 features and shorts representing 25 countries offered at 1998 event, a premiere showcase for diverse works by and about lesbians and gay men from around the globe. Bay Area venues include historic Castro Theatre, Victoria Theater and Roxie Cinema in San Francisco. The non-competitive invitational fest recently received more than 500 entries in all genres, and screens accepted works in 16mm and 35mm, and VHS and 3/4" video. Submission deadline is mid-February 1999 for fest June 17 - 27, 1999. Frameline offers additional year-round screenings for its members, as well as extensive promotion, distribution and funding programs. Information on SFIL&GFF, contact Frameline, 346 Ninth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (415) 703-8650; Fax (415) 861-1404; e.mail info@frameline.org; website www.frameline.org

4) San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival - Presented by NAATA, (National Asian American Telecommunications Association), annual Festival is North America's premiere showcase for discovering and launching films and videos by and about the Asian Pacific diaspora. Now in its 16th year, 1998 festival took place March 5 -12 at AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres in Japantown and at S.F.'s Palace of Fine Arts, and at Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. The eight-day '97 festival drew 15,000 people with screenings of over 100 works from more than a dozen countries. There is a mid-October deadline for submissions of all genres, film (16mm and 35mm) and video (VHS and 3/4"). 1998 Festival featured 35 programs of features, shorts, documentaries and experimental works. NAATA also provides year-round screenings for members and serves as a national and international resource for exhibition, funding, distribution and broadcast of Asian and Asian American works. For March '99 fest and member information contact SFIAAFF/NAATA, 346 Ninth Street, 2nd floor, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (415) 863-0814; Fax (415) 863-7428; e.mail naata@naatanet.org; website www.naatanet.org

5) San Francisco Jewish Film Festival - San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, the oldest, largest and most prestigious event of its kind, was created in 1981 to showcase contemporary films from around the world and to heighten awareness of secular Jewish culture. At 18th annual festival in 1998, 40 films from 12 countries were presented to an audience of 34,000. The Festival is a showcase of independent cinema about Jewish history, culture and identity. Submissions of all genres are accepted annually from January through March 15. The fest programs 16mm and 35mm films, as well as videos (Beta SP format). The organization distributes films year-round, serves as an international resource center and also programs monthly screenings at S.F.'s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. It has produced festivals in Moscow and Madrid at critical historical junctures. Contact: San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, 346 Ninth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (415) 621-0556; Fax (510) 548-0536; e.mail jewishfilm@aol.com; website www.sfjff.org

6) American Indian Film Festival and Video Exposition - Founded in 1975, American Indian Film Festival is the oldest and most recognized international film exposition dedicated to preservation of Native Americans in cinema. Fest marks a contemporary approach whereby Native Americans produce, select and showcase outstanding Indian films, to support a burgeoning Indian film industry while fostering public understanding and appreciation of Native Americans in today's society. The American Indian Film Institute presented the 23rd annual Festival November 12 - 20, 1998, beginning at S.F.'s Palace of Fine Arts and continuing at other Bay Area venues. Film or video to be entered for competition should be by or about Native Peoples of the USA and Canada that were produced in the last two years. Further info on November '99 fest and entry deadlines, contact: AIFI, 333 Valencia Street, Suite 322, San Francisco, CA 94103; Tel. (415) 554-0525; Fax (415) 554-0542; e.mail indianfilm@aifisf.com; website www.aifisf.com

7) Cin(E)-Poetry Fest - Cin(E)-Poetry Fest is sponsored by LTV: Literary Television (formerly Poetry Film Workshop) which presents and catalogs innovative and compelling work of poetry filmmakers and videographers. After 21 years of sponsoring poetry film festivals, the S.F.'s Poetry Film Workshop has culled an impressive archive, and is now making this collection available to television and cable broadcasters, educational institutions and Internet Webcasters. All entrants are considered for the Cin(E)-Poetry Festival in SF, the National Poetry Video Festival in Chicago, the Taos Poetry Circus in New Mexico as well as the Cin(E)-Poetry Catalog now containing over 400 titles. No videotaped poetry readings accepted. 1998 Fest began tour in November at Roxie Cinema/Brainwomb. For submission and fest info contact: LTV/Poetry Film Workshop, 934 Brannan Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, Tel. (415) 552-9261; Fax (415) 552-9271; e.mail gamuse@slip.net; website www.slip.net/~gamuse

8) Mill Valley Film Festival and Videofest - Film Institute of Northern California presents the annual Mill Valley Film Festival in early October. More than 25 countries were represented in 1998, with 49 sold-out programs in the eleven-day, invitational, non-competitive fest. Feature films, shorts, video, interactive and new media, and a Children's FilmFest made up the diverse offering of hundreds of titles. Tributes and seminars covered wide range of topics. Over 40,000 attended the October 1 - 11, 1998 festival, located a few miles north of San Francisco. The 1999 MVFF is set for October 7 - 17. In 1999, Film Institute of Northern California will be opening the Rafael Film Center in downtown San Rafael. This state-of-the-art, three-screen cinematheque will feature restored Art Deco auditorium and will be year-round venue for American and international independent film. Institute's long-running Outreach & Education Program is approaching new stage of expansion and development to bring film into a more integral role in education. Contact Film Institute of Northern California/MVFF, 38 Miller Avenue, Suite 6, Mill Valley, CA 94941; Tel. (415) 383-5256; Fax (415) 383-8606; e.mail finc@well.com; website www.finc.org

9) Black Filmworks Festival of Film and Video - Black Filmworks was presented September 25 - 27 and October 2 - 4, 1998, by the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, producers of the Oscar Micheaux Awards Ceremony and founded in 1973. The international fest features films and videos made by, for and about the African and African American experience, and also offers symposia and workshops for adults and children. The annual fest events take place over two weekends at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco, and at Oakland's Paramount Theater and Oakland Museum. BFHFI has sponsored the International Black Independent Film, Video & Screenplay Competition for the past several years, and honors the winners in numerous categories with screenings at Black Filmmakers Festival. For information contact BFHFI, 405 14th Street, Suite 515, Oakland, CA 94612; Tel. (510) 465-0804; Fax (510) 839-9858; e.mail bfhfi@aol.com; website www.blackfilmmakershall.org

10) National Educational Media Network - National Educational Media Network (NEMN) is the nation's only media organization solely dedicated to recognizing and supporting excellence in educational media. NEMN hosts the Apple Awards Competition, the largest educational media competition in U.S. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Apple Awards are recognized throughout the educational media industry as "seals of approval" for educational media. Winners include titles designed for broadcast/cablecast, home market or for classroom or corporate use, and selected winners are showcased in May at the Apple Awards Festival at the Oakland Museum and other Bay Area venues. Also in May, NEMN presents CONTENT, its Media Market and Conference designed to bring together experienced as well as new media makers with distributors, broadcasters and other media professionals. The Media Market component provides unique opportunity for media makers to seek distribution for latest productions from several dozen major non-theatrical distributors who attend and view submitted titles on site. Apple Awards Competition submission deadline was early November 1998. Media Market "Early Bird" submission deadline is in March 15, 1999. Contact NEMN, 655 13th Street, Suite 100, Oakland, CA 94612-1222; Tel. (510) 465-6885; Fax (510) 465-2835; e.mail jp@nemn.org; website www.nemn.org

11) Berkeley Video Festival - Berkeley Video Festival, (formerly known as East Bay Video Festival), was created in 1991 by the East Bay Media Center, which was established in 1980 in Berkeley to provide video and television technologies access and training for East Bay communities. Annual competitive fest is open to filmmakers/ videographers nationwide, and prior fests have received over 200 entries, with awards from sponsors in every category including art, experimental and narrative. Entry deadline is December 31, 1998 for Fall 1999 event. Works may originate in any format, but must be submitted in Betacam SP, S-VHS or Master Quality VHS. Berkeley Video Festival broadcasts and cablecasts the festival nationwide and in S.F. Bay Area. EBMC provides seven edit suites and training programs in video production and computer graphics, also offering rental of production equipment and tape duplication. 1998 festival was only available on-line in October at website*. Contact Berkeley Video Festival, 1939 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94704-1179; Tel. (510) 843-3699; Fax (510) 843-3379; e.mail vid3699@aol.com; *website www.citysearch7.com

12) Cinequest - San Jose Film Festival - Cinequest showcases maverick films, filmmakers, and film technology. Fest accepts submissions of feature and short films (16mm and 35mm, all genres) of artistic, social or stylistic merit - deadline was October 2, 1998 for Cinequest IX, which will occur from February 25 through March 3, 1999 in San Jose, CA. Sections of festival include: Maverick Competition of features, documentaries and shorts; Digital and High-Tech; Gay and Lesbian showcase. Special events, tributes, seminars, technical presentations, and entertainment add to this festival. 1998 Fest hosted over 182 visiting filmmakers and drew 30,000 attendees. Contact Cinequest, PO Box 720040, San Jose, CA 95172-0040; Tel. (408) 995-5033; Fax (408) 995-5713; email sjfilmfest@aol.com; website www.cinequest.org

13) Festival ¡Cine Latino! - Cine Acción was created in 1980 for purpose of encouraging production, distribution and understanding of independent Latino cinema. Since its inception, Cine Acción has sponsored regular screenings of Latino film and video as well as co-presenting works with fellow media arts organizations and festivals. Publications include bi-monthly newsletter distributed to members and subscribers. Cine Acción's film festival Festival ¡Cine Latino!, entering its seventh year in 1999, features Latino/Chicano film and video from U.S. and Latin America. Fest, which takes place in mid-September, has expanded into several new venues that include theaters in San Francisco, Berkeley and Sacramento. More info contact: Festival ¡Cine Latino!/ Cine Acción, 346-9th Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco CA 94103; Tel. (415) 553-8135; Fax (415) 553-8137; e.mail cineaccion@aol.com

14) San Francisco Environmental Film Festival - San Francisco Environmental Film Festival, operating since 1993, holds its next series of screenings in April 1999. The focus will be on food and hunger issues as they relate to the environment. Event will be jointly sponsored by New College Community Global Studies Program. Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy, producer of this fest, is a membership organization empowering citizens to change the root causes of hunger, poverty and environmental decline through independent research and education. Contact San Francisco Environmental Film Festival - c/o Institute for Food and Development Policy/Food First, 398 60th Street, Oakland, CA 94618; Tel. (510) 654-4400; Fax (510) 654-4551; e.mail foodfirst@igc.apc.org; website www.foodfirst.org

15) Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival - Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival, now in its seventh year, is an open showcase for short-shorts. All entries must be two minutes or less; only non-commercial work is accepted. Due to increased response in past years, a panel of judges now determines which entries will be screened. Viewers' Choice Awards are given to artists based on audience ballots. 1998 festival ran at Castro Theatre on November 3, 1998, with subsequent screenings at the Parkway Theater in Oakland, the 911 Media Center in Seattle, and The Knitting Factory in New York City. Fest includes works originating in all formats (16mm, super-8, VHS, pixelvision, etc.) and is edited together on Beta SP videotape and projected on video for festival screening. Program typically runs about 2 hours, with 15 minute intermission. Entry deadline was September 5, 1998. For 1999 info, contact Justin Graham at SASFVF, PO Box 460316, San Francisco, CA 94146, Tel. (415) 206-1922; e.mail case@sirius.com; website www.bandaland.com/shortfilm

16) Troubadors Fest - Troubadors Fest is a Christian media festival which takes place every October in San Francisco. Started six years ago, it is billed as the world's only independent Christian film and video festival. Networked amongst both Christian and secular artists and producers, both commercial and independent works are accepted for July 31st deadline. This non-competitive exhibition reviews and analyzes all genres and examples of past and current media produced by Christians. Media produced about Christians is also highlighted as a form of media education regarding this growing global subculture. All genres, lengths, denominations, nationalities and cultural backgrounds are welcome, with independent projects encouraged, especially by and/or about women and people of color. Formats accepted are 16mm and VHS. Ongoing events are also presented year-round. Contact Bret Lutz, Curator, Cathedral X, P.O. Box 192845, San Francisco, CA 94119-2845; Tel. (415) 863-5201.

17) Silent Film Festival - The Silent Film Festival, the only film festival in U.S. devoted exclusively to silent-era film with live musical accompaniment, is an annual one-day event that takes place in July at S.F.'s historic Castro Theatre. Due to overwhelming success of last two events, The Silent Film Festival is spending 1998 restructuring and expanding, and will be back in 1999 for third festival. In 1997, 2300 moviegoers attended fest, where four silent classics were presented. All films were shown in 35mm archival prints and accompanied by live piano or organ. Founded to introduce the remarkable films of the silent era to as many people as possible and to create a greater awareness of their need for preservation, The Silent Film Festival has had over 5,700 attend their programs. Contact The Silent Film Festival, 833 Market Street, Suite 311, San Francisco, CA 94103-1820; Tel. (415) 777-4908; Fax (415) 777-4904.

18) IMAGEfest - Independent Media Artist Group, based in Palo Alto, sponsors IMAGEfest Film and Video Festival, now in its fifth year. IMAGE is a networking consortium of over 600 people whose mission is to develop a collaborative industry for independent media artists. Yearly fest showcases works by residents of greater San Francisco Bay Area, loosely defined by area codes 408, 510, 415 and 650. IMAGE also hosts ongoing screenings, guest speakers, meetings and a summer picnic, and is open to anyone interested in independent film, video, and multimedia. Contact IMAGE, P.O. Box 60803, Palo Alto, CA 94306; Tel. (650) 562-3485; e.mail image@mediacity.com; website www.mediacity.com/~image

The following groups have recently begun presenting film and video festival events. Please contact them for current details and venues:

VENUES & PROGRAMS for NON-PROFIT FILM & VIDEO EXHIBITION

NON-PROFIT & COMMERCIAL REP THEATRES & SCREENING VENUES

This Guide was created and developed by Lauri Rose Tanner, Director/Founder of Film Festival Consultants, a strategic planning, fundraising and sponsorship firm specializing in work with arts organizations and film festivals. She is currently writing two books on How to Start and Operate Film & Video Festivals(to be published by Big Horse Inc.), based in part on her interviews with the film and video festivals of Northern California. Justine Herbert provided extraordinary assistance in data-gathering and production of this Guide.