The 68th San Francisco International Film Festival opens today, Thursday, April 17th, and will run through Sunday, April 27th with screenings at San Francisco’s Marina and Premiere (Presidio) theaters and at Berkeley’s BAMPFA. You can browse the complete Festival program here, and below we highlight four films worth seeing: two documentaries and two features. And check out our previous preview post here for more tips on best bets. See you at the Fest!
1.) SALLY
(USA 2025. 99 min)
Most people know that astronaut Sally Ride was the first American woman to go into space, but few probably know much about her personal life, which she kept intensely private. Documentarian Cristina Constantini (Mucho Mucho Amor; Science Fair) invites us to get to know the woman behind the media persona in this terrific film about the trailblazing astrophysicist and astronaut. Closeted until her death in 2012, Ride faced brutal sexism and skepticism as one of the first six women admitted to NASA’s space program in 1978. Interviews with Tam O’Shaughnessy, Ride’s partner of 27 years, and many colleagues, friends, and family help to paint a portrait of a much loved, highly respected,but complicated woman who felt compelled to present a carefully tailored version of who she was to the world. Ride’s story is as frustrating as it is uplifting, and you’ll be glad to have had a glimpse into the life of this brilliant, remarkable woman. Sally is a must see.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sun., April 20th, 5:15pm, Premier Theater at One Letterman, SF Presidio
2.) The Chaplain and the Doctor
(USA, 2025. 86 min)
After its cinematic debut in the 2012 Golden Gate Award documentary winner The Waiting Room, Oakland’s Highland Hospital once again takes a starring role in this must-see doc. Here, director and Highland physician Dr. Jessica Zitter presents an equally engrossing look at her work with Highland’s Chaplain, 80-year-old Betty Clark. The pair serve in the hospital’s palliative care unit, and the picture examines the forms pain can take, from physical and psychological to ancestral and generational. Zitter, who is Jewish, and Clark, who is African-American, candidly discuss complex issues of racism, anti-semitism, and economic disparity in the healthcare world and beyond. To watch Zitter and Clark with their patients–who are not always at their best–is to be awed by their dedication and kindness–to their patients, their community, and to each other.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Mon., April 21st, 6:00pm, Marina Theatre
– Weds., April 23rd, 4:30pm, BAMPFA
3.) Isle Child
(USA 2024. 88 min)
Director Thomas Percy Kim examines the complex effects of South Korean international adoption in his first feature film. Adopted at three years old by loving Concord, Massachusetts parents, Si Miler (Ethan Hwang) is a star high school baseball player with rowdy friends and a sweet girlfriend. But when he discovers a letter from the adoption agency saying his birth mother wants to meet him, his world is upended. As Si struggles to figure out who he is in a community where nobody looks like him, he confronts issues of identity and belonging in ways that often push away those who care about him most. While Si isn’t always likable, Hwang’s layered performance allows us to understand and empathize with the pain and confusion underlying Si’s behavior.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Fri., April 25th, 8:30pm at the Marina Theatre
4.) OUTERLANDS
(USA, 2025. 100 min)
Nominated for the Grand Jury Award at SXSW last month, writer/director Elena Oxman’s feature debut reflects her intimate knowledge of San Francisco and its inhabitants. Gorgeously filmed in areas of SF seldom seen on screen, including the Sunset and the Richmond, Outerlands stars Asia Kate Dillon (Orange is the New Black) as Cass, a non-binary Tosca waiter and part-time babysitter with a drinking problem. Cass’s life is upended when they agree to watch Ari (Ridley Asha Bateman) the 12-year-old daughter of Cass’s unreliable coworker Kalli (Louisa Krause). Kalli and Ari’s dynamic trigger Cass’s memories of their own mother, and they begin to confront childhood trauma head on for the first time. Oxman’s film beautifully conveys that we’re never truly alone: “You’re here with me,” Cass tells Ari, just as Cass’s friend Denise (Lea DeLaria) tells them “It’s okay–I’ve got you.” We always can find support when we need it, Oxman film tells us, and what’s more San Francisco than that?
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sun., April 27th, 5:00pm, Premier Theater at One Letterman, SF Presidio
– Sun., April 27th, 6:00pm, Marina Theater
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The 68th San Francisco International Film Festival is happening now in San Francisco and Berkeley, and will run until Sunday, April 27th.
