San Francisco Independent Film Festival

The San Francisco Independent Film Festival, known as IndieFest, is an annual film festival, held in January or February, that recognizes contemporary independent film. It is run by SF IndieFest, a nonprofit organization, and based at the Roxie Theater in the Mission District.

San Francisco Independent Film Festival
Official 2005 poster
Genrefilm festival
DatesFebruary
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)San Francisco, California, United States
Years activeJanuary 1999 – present
Founded1998
FounderJeff Ross
Next eventFebruary 2023
People
  • Jeff Ross, Director
  • Catie Roads-Redhouse, Operations Manager[1]
Websitesfindie.com

History

The San Francisco Independent Film Festival was founded in 1998 by Jeff Ross, operations manager of the San Francisco International Film Festival and office manager of the San Francisco Film Society,[2][3] at the end of a decade when independent films had increased in importance.[4] The impetus was that San Francisco independent filmmaker Rand Alexander was unable to find a venue in the city to show Caged, which had premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival.[5][6] The first festival took place in January 1999[7][8][9] and comprised 20 films,[5] with a focus on experimental and otherwise unconventional works.[10] The second IndieFest was held in January 2000,[2] expanding from four days to nine,[11] and the festival has continued to take place in January or February and further expanded to two weeks.[6][12] The 2000 IndieFest added cartoon shorts;[2] in 2002, despite losing corporate sponsorship in the wake of 9/11, the festival added foreign films.[13] Ross directed the festival alone until a program director, Bruce Fletcher, was added.[8]

IndieFest is now based at the Roxie Theater in the Mission District; it began at the Victoria, also in the Mission,[7] and has used other Bay Area theaters including the United Artists Galaxy, the Castro Theatre,[13] the Brava,[10][14] the Alamo Drafthouse,[14] the Lumiere, and the Fine Arts Cinema in Berkeley.[2][11] It has become known for the associated parties, particularly the Big Lebowski party.[2][8][12] The 20th IndieFest, in 2018, included a film from each previous festival.[15] The 2021 festival, held during the COVID-19 pandemic, was streamed.[16][17] The 2022 festival had a mix of screenings at the Roxie and virtual events.[18]

Associated events

SF IndieFest also runs the spin-off film festivals DocFest, the SF Documentary Film Festival, started in 2001,[3][19] Another Hole in the Head, a horror and science fiction festival started in 2003,[3][20] the San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, started in 2019,[21] and the Livable Planet Festival, which was launched in 2021 as a replacement for the San Francisco Green Film Festival, which folded after the COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the 2020 festival,[22] and was rebranded in 2022 as the Green Film Festival of San Francisco.[23] The first Decibels Music Film Festival took place in fall 2021 at the Roxie and online.[24][25] Past associated festivals included the Northern California Action Sports Film Festival and the US edition of the International Short Film Festival.[1] A week-long Winter Music Fest was added in 2010, taking place the week before the film festival;[26] starting in 2011, it ran concurrently and the number of music-related films was increased.[7] Ross also started A Mighty Ruckus, a rock festival.[27]

Film categories

The San Francisco Independent Film Festival has separate film entry categories for general entrants and for Bay Area filmmakers. Both have sub-categories for length (features and shorts) and genre (narrative fiction, documentary, and animation).[28]

Awards

The SF IndieFest awards panel confers the following awards:

  • Audience Award for Best Feature Drama
  • Audience Award for Best Feature Comedy
  • Audience Award for Best Feature Documentary
  • Audience Award for Best Short Drama
  • Audience Award for Best Short Comedy
  • Audience Award for Best Short Documentary
  • Audience Award for Best Animated Short
  • Audience Award for Best Midnight Movie
  • Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature
  • Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature
  • Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short
  • Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short
  • Jury Prize for Best Animated Short
  • Screenplay Competition Best Feature Script
  • Screenplay Competition Best Short Script
  • Vanguard Award, recognizing "unconventional, creative risk-taking filmmakers that are redefining the cinematic form"[16]

References
  1. "About". SF IndieFest. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  2. James Sullivan (January 6, 2000). "IndieFest Aspires to Be A Good Party / 'Light, fun films' picked for second annual festival". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. Matthew Toffolo (February 4, 2016). "Interview with Festival Director Jeff Ross (SF IndieFest // SF DocFest // Another Hole in the Head)". Festival Reviews. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  4. Sandy Yang (May 24, 2000). "Independent films changed face of '˜90s movie industry". Daily Bruin. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  5. Delfin Vigil (February 4, 2007). "Zombies, Swingers, Punks: it's Indiefest". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. Emily Wilson (February 9, 2012). "Jeff Ross Says SF Indiefest Couldn't Happen in Any Other City But San Francisco". SF Weekly. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  7. G. Allen Johnson (February 3, 2011). "S.F. IndieFest: Expanded version adds MusicFest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  8. Pam Grady (February 5, 2015) [January 28, 2015]. "5 questions for IndieFest founder-director Jeff Ross". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  9. G. Allen Johnson (February 5, 2012). "SF IndieFest a showcase for digital filmmakers". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  10. G. Allen Johnson (February 6, 2013). "S.F. IndieFest shows experimental films". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  11. Wesley Morris (January 7, 2000). "Indie Fest disarms and charms". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via SFGate.
  12. David Lewis (February 5, 2019) [January 21, 2019]. "Datebook: An insider's guide to SF Indie Fest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  13. Carla Meyer (January 31, 2002). "IndieFest goes for broke / Down on funds, event keeps growing". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  14. David Lewis (January 25, 2017). "Facts about SF IndieFest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  15. G. Allen Johnson (January 31, 2018). "Crash course in indie film as 20th IndieFest screens a film from each festival". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  16. Pam Grady (February 4, 2021) [February 1, 2021]. "Datebook: A conquistador visits modern Mexico in Oakland filmmaker's unconventional '499' at SF Indie Fest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  17. Rice Stoughtenborough (February 1, 2021). "Dozens of offbeat flicks online in SF IndieFest". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  18. Pam Grady (February 3, 2022) [February 2, 2022]. "Datebook: 6 films to catch at 2022 SF IndieFest". San Francisco Chronicle.
  19. Lei Wang (September 30, 2014). "San Francisco events calendar". TimeOut San Francisco. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  20. Richard von Busack (March 17, 2004). "Horror Heaven: Another Hole in the Head film festival in San Francisco deliver the scares and gore". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  21. G. Allen Johnson (September 17, 2019) [September 11, 2019]. "Datebook: SF IndieFest brings first all-shorts program to Japantown's New People". San Francisco Chronicle.
  22. Pam Grady (May 10, 2021) [April 21, 2021]. "Datebook: 6 films to catch at the Livable Planet Film Festival". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  23. G. Allen Johnson (March 16, 2022). "Datebook: Like spring itself, Bay Area film festivals about to experience a warming trend". San Francisco Chronicle.
  24. Mick LaSalle. "Datebook Pick: Decibels Music Film Festival". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  25. Pam Grady (October 26, 2021) [October 25, 2021]. "Datebook: In 'Oh, It Hertz!' an obscure conspiracy theory provides a lesson in listening". San Francisco Chronicle.
  26. Aidin Vaziri; Robert Hurwitt (January 22, 2010). "Date Lines: IndieFest adds Winter Music Fest". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  27. Aidin Vaziri (September 17, 2006). "ON THE TOWN: With Jeff Ross / Festival of tastes suits this Mission dweller". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  28. "SF IndieFest Submissions". FilmFreeway. October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
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