The 67th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) will take place April 24-April 28 with screenings at various theaters around San Francisco and the East Bay.
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a preview of the festival, featuring brief looks at five films:
1.) BILLY & MOLLY: AN OTTER LOVE STORY
(UK, 2023. 78 min)
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story is a documentary about a man and his otter friend, and the film is an absolute joy. Produced by National Geographic and directed by renowned nature photographer Charlie Hamilton-James, Billy & Molly features brilliantly photographed coastal vistas and serene sunset colors. And, of course, there’s the most adorable otter ever, Molly. She enters Billy’s life when he most needs a friend, and they end up impacting each other’s lives in profound ways. The film is heartwarmingly narrated by Billy and his wife Susan with a wry sense of humor and a deep familial awareness. Billy & Molly will make you cry, smile, laugh, and love nature (and especially otters) more than you already should.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 27th, 12:15pm at the Marina Theatre
2.) WOODLAND
(Austria, 2023. 100 min)
Caught between a life left behind and another life paralyzed by recent trauma, Marian (Brigitte Hobmeier) finds herself battling for a sense of meaning and tranquility in Elisabeth Scharang’s Wald (“Woodland”). The story is based on a 2015 novel with elements of Scharang’s first-hand witness account of the 2020 terrorist attack in Vienna. Against a stunning forest backdrop, the film explores the nature of wounds, internal and external, and the unpredictable challenges of the healing process. Hobmeier gives a bravura performance as a lost soul yearning for a nostalgic slice of life, which, perhaps, wasn’t as perfect as she recalls.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Fri., April 26th, 8:15pm at the Marina Theatre
3.) EUREKA
(Argentina/France/Portugal/Germany/Mexico, 2023. 146 min)
Eureka challenges audiences to embrace a deliberately paced spiritual journey of loosely connected vignettes. The film is beautifully shot, with stories taking place across diverse regions of the world. Each segment is filled with non-professional actors (alongside a few famous faces), which is one of many literal and metaphorical ways the film explores the effects of colonialism across generations. Director Lisandro Alonso creates a sense of unease, lingering the camera on characters and scenes longer than other filmmakers would while pushing the bounds of thematic storytelling.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Thurs., April 25th, 2:45pm at the Premier Theater at One Letterman
4.) THE PRACTICE
(Argentina/Chile/Germany/Portugal, 2023. 95 min)
Delightfully absurd and deadpan, Martín Rejtman’s dramedy follows Gustavo, a yoga instructor in Chile who can’t quite come to terms with his recent divorce while also dealing with a series of odd occurrences plaguing his yoga practice. The awkward interactions between characters have a naturalistic tone. And yet, these same interactions never seem quite natural. Esteban Bigliardi is wonderful as an aimless pushover hoping his life can return to normalcy. The absurdity of the events is perfectly set amid a literal meditative backdrop.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 27th, 8:45pm at the Marina Theatre
5.) THE CATS OF GOKOGU SHRINE
(Japan, 2024. 119 min)
For a community of street cats and an aging community of senior citizens, the rural seaside town of Ushimado and the Gokogu Shinto shrine within it are home. Director Kazuhiro Soda lets the inhabitants speak for themselves as we get an intimate view of the microcosmic village, where nature and civilization spar for tranquility. Volunteers take care of the cats while keeping their population in check. Locals are annoyed by the endless amounts of cat feces and trash left behind by tourists, who are also valued financial lifelines for the community. The Cats of Gokogu Shrine pays careful attention to the small details that form this ecosystem of elders, tourists, and cat poop.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sat., April 27th, 2:45pm at Marina Theatre
– Sun., April 28th, 7:15pm at BAMPFA
