SF DocFest Kicks Off 25th Edition With More Than 80 Nonfiction Films
Major Bay Area theaters plus online platforms pair topical documentaries, international series, retrospectives to widen access and deepen local engagement.
Overview
- The San Francisco Documentary Film Festival is mounting an 11-day program that will screen more than 80 nonfiction titles across the Roxie, Vogue, Artists’ Television Access and a streaming platform.
- Festival opening-night screenings include Mischa Richter’s Summer Tour and James Buddy Day’s 40 Years of F***in’ Up, and the festival’s centerpiece is the documentary #WhileBlack.
- The lineup highlights locally rooted and politically urgent work such as Seized, about the August 2023 raid on the Marion County Record, plus From Gaza With Love, which is available only via streaming.
- Japantown’s New People Cinema is running the second edition of Nippon Vibes with four films including Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Kore-eda’s Monster, Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron and a 4K Tekkonkinkreet restoration.
- Bay Area theatrical programming also includes Daniel Roher’s narrative debut The Tuner opening Friday, Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters currently playing, and a weekend Agnes Varda retrospective at the 4-Star Theater.