SFFILM Festival 2024 Lineup: Feature Debuts ‘Didi’ and ‘Thelma’ Bookend the Fest

The annual SFFIlM Festival has officially unveiled its 2024 lineup, with two first-time feature filmmakers bookending the fest.

Sean Wang’s semi-autobiographical feature “Dìdi (弟弟)” opens the festival April 24 after premiering at Sundance 2024. Wang was also recently Oscar-nominated for his short film “Nai Nai & Wài Pó” which had been supported by SFFILM grants.

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The 67th annual festival closes out with Josh Margolin’s “Thelma” starring June Squibb, Parker Posey, Malcolm McDowell, and late actor Richard Roundtree in his final role. The feature screens April 28.

Programming highlights include “The Idea of You,” “Sing Sing,” “Janet Planet,” and Sundance award-winning documentary “Porcelain War.” A private screening of opening night film “Dìdi (弟弟)” in Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos will be held at the Dolby Cinema @ 1275 Market exclusively for cast and crew, SFFILM Festival filmmakers, and SFFILM fellows and grantees. A SFFILM members’ screening of “Mother, Couch” will also take place after the film debuted at TIFF 2023.

Special events and awards additionally include celebrating the work of “Rob Peace” director and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and “Didi” executive producer Joan Chen, whose directorial debut “Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl” will screen in 35 mm. Both Ejiofor and Chen will be honored with career retrospective tributes.

IndieWire’s own legendary Anne Thompson is hosting a discussion with Gary Meyer, the recipient of the SFFILM Mel Novikoff Award. Thompson also will serve on the jury for the festival.

While the SFFILM Festival runs from April 24 through 28 in theaters in San Francisco’s Marina and Presidio neighborhoods and in Berkeley, a selection of titles curated from the full festival will be later re-screened from May 2 to 4 as SFFILM Festival Encore Days at the historic Roxie Theater. This year marks the festival being cut in half, with past years spanning across 10 days.

“We have been boldly imagining a future where the San Francisco Bay Area is thriving in its celebration of and engagement with the arts and community,” Anne Lai, Executive Director of SFFILM, said. “Film —always a reflection of and beacon for society — remains the gateway to a vibrant, healthy future of our culture and city. This year’s festival brings the pleasure of movie-going to a footprint highlighting San Francisco’s unparalleled and iconic beauty. We look forward to welcoming guests to be inspired, entertained, and connected in the way only movies can do.”

SFFILM’s Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks added, “The cornerstone of this year’s program is the considered, international curation we are known for. We have put together a group of films that is global in scope, artistry, and impact, and includes discovery titles, hotly anticipated films, and powerhouse shorts blocks. Now more than ever we need the art of cinema — to entertain, to provoke, to question and to inspire — and each film in this lineup is richly deserving of our attention.”

See the full lineup below.

Big Nights + Special Events

Opening Night: Dìdi (弟弟)
Wed Apr 24 at 7 pm PT at Premier Theater

Wed Apr 24 at 8 pm PT at Marina 1 Sean Wang (USA 2023, 90) Narratives: USA

Closing Night: Thelma

Sun Apr 28 at 7:15 pm PT at Premier Theater Sun Apr 28 at 8 pm PT at Marina 1
Josh Margolin (USA 2024, 97)
Narratives: USA

A Tribute to Chiwetel Ejiofor + “Rob Peace” (Sloan Science on Screen)

Sat Apr 27 at 7 PM at Premier Theater Chiwetel Ejiofor (USA 2024, 146) Narratives: USA

Join us as we pay tribute to actor, director, and writer Chiwetel Ejiofor with an intimate conversation celebrating his new feature Rob Peace.

A Tribute to Joan Chen + “Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl”

Sun Apr 28 at 1 pm PT at Premier Theater Joan Chen (China 1998, 147)
Narratives: International

Festival Talk: Filmmaking in the Bay Area and “Dìdi (弟弟)” Thu Apr 25 at 5 pm PT at the SFFILM Festival Lounge
Special Events

Join us for an exclusive discussion with local filmmaker Sean Wang, as he reminisces about his experiences making films in the Bay Area. From his acclaimed short films, including H.A.G.S. (Doc Stories, 2022) and Oscar®-nominated Nai Nai & Wài Pó (Festival, 2023), to his feature debut Dìdi (弟 弟), Sean has forged a path of making deeply personal art in collaboration with local creatives. His own experiences living in the Bay Area are frequently reflected on screen, pulling audiences into deeply intimate journeys set against the backdrop of the place we call home. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear Sean discuss his approach to filmmaking, how the Bay Area community helped shape his stories, and the local resources that strengthened his films.

Festival Talk: Soundscapes with Richard King

Sat Apr 27 at 3 pm PT at the Vogue Theatre

Special Events

The craft of sound editing is critical to our movie viewing experience. A soundscape blends ambient noise, dialogue, music, room tone, and more into a tapestry of sonic cues that transports audiences into the imagery onscreen. At the Festival, four-time Academy Award®-winning sound editor Richard King joins us for an intimate conversation about his contributions to Dunkirk, Inception, The Dark Knight, Maestro, Oppenheimer, and more. This talk will include an exclusive presentation of a clip from Dune: Part Two film of Paul Atreides riding a sandworm (courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures), to highlight the complex work Richard does in film.

Awards

Mel Novikoff Award: Gary Meyer + “Macario” + “Sour Death Balls”

Sat Apr 27 at 12 pm PT at Premier Theater Roberto Gavaldón (Mexico 1960, 146) Narratives: International

For over 30 years, the SFFILM Mel Novikoff Award has been given to an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the film-going public’s appreciation of world cinema. This year’s Mel Novikoff presentation will include Gary Meyer in conversation with IndieWire’s own Anne Thompson, followed by a screening of the 1960 Mexican classic Macario and Jessica Yu‘s memorable short Sour Death Balls.

Persistence of Vision Award:

Johan Grimonprez + “Soundtrack for a Coup d’Etat”

Thu Apr 25 at 6:30 pm PT at BAMPFA Johan Grimonprez (Belgium 2024, 200) Documentaries: International

Sloan Science on Screen Award: “On the Invention of Species”

Sat Apr 27 at 7:30 pm PT at Vogue Theatre Tania Hermida (Ecuador 2024, 91)
World Premiere
Narratives: International

Presented through a partnership between SFFILM and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Sloan Science on Screen Award is a recognition that celebrates the compelling depiction of science in a narrative feature film.

This screening will feature the presentation of the Sloan Science on Screen Award and an enhanced Q&A after the film with cast and crew alongside Berkeley biology professor Noah Whiteman.

Documentaries: International

Agent of Happiness

Thu Apr 25 at 6 pm PT at Marina 1
Sun Apr 28 at 12 pm PT at BAMPFA
Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó (Bhutan 2024, 94) Documentaries: International

Black Box Diaries

Fri Apr 26 at 6 pm PT at Marina 1 Sat Apr 27 at 2:15 pm PT at BAMPFA Shiori Ito (Japan 2024, 104) Documentaries: International

Eternal You

Fri Apr 26 at 3:30 pm PT at Premier Theater
Hans Block, Moritz Rieswieck (Germany 2024, 87) Documentaries: International

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

Fri Apr 26 at 6 pm PT at Premier Theater Lucy Walker (USA 2023, 98)
US Premiere
Documentaries: International

Porcelain War

Fri Apr 26 at 8:45 pm PT at Premier Theater Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev (Ukraine 2024, 90) Documentaries: International

Sugarcane

Sun Apr 28 at 4:15 pm PT at Premier Theater
Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie (Canada 2024, 107) Documentaries: International

The Cats of Gokogu Shrine

Sat Apr 27 at 2:45 pm PT at Marina 2 Sun Apr 28 at 7 pm PT at BAMPFA Kazuhiro Soda (Japan 2024, 119) North American Premiere Documentaries: International

Zinzindurrunkarratz

Fri Apr 26 at 5:45 pm PT at Marina 2 Sat Apr 27 at 11:30 am PT at BAMPFA Oskar Alegría (Spain 2023, 89) Documentaries: International

Documentaries: USA

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story

Sat Apr 27 at 12:15 pm PT at Marina 1 Charlie Hamilton James (UK 2023, 78) Documentaries: USA

Counted Out

Sun Apr 28 at 5 pm PT at Marina 1 Vicki Abeles (USA 2024, 89) Documentaries: USA

Luther: Never Too Much

Thu Apr 25 at 8:30 pm PT at Marina 1 Dawn Porter (USA 2024, 131) Documentaries: USA

Seeking Mavis Beacon

Fri Apr 26 at 7 pm PT at BAMPFA
Sat Apr 27 at 4 pm PT at Premier Theater Jazmin Renée Jones (USA 2024, 103) Documentaries: USA

Uncropped

Thu Apr 25 at 2:30 pm PT at Marina 2 D.W. Young (USA 2023, 111) Documentaries: USA

Narratives: International

Alemania

Fri Apr 26 at 8:45 pm PT at Marina 1 Sat Apr 27 at 7:15 pm PT at BAMPFA María Zanetti (Argentina 2023, 87) Narratives: International

Banel & Adama

Thu Apr 25 at 3:30 pm PT at Marina 1 Sat Apr 27 at 5 pm PT at BAMPFA Ramata-Toulaye Sy (Senegal 2023, 87) Narratives: International

Empty Nets

Fri Apr 26 at 3 pm PT at Marina 2
Sun Apr 28 at 2:30 pm PT at BAMPFA Behrooz Karamizade (Germany 2023, 101) Narratives: International

Eureka

Thu Apr 25 at 2:45 pm PT at Premier Theater

Lisandro Alonso (Argentina 2023, 146)

Great Absence

Thu Apr 25 at 8:15 pm PT at Marina 2 Kei Chika-ura (Japan 2023, 152)
US Premiere

Heartless

Thu Apr 25 at 6 pm PT at Premier Theater Nara Normande, Tião (Brazil 2023, 90)
US Premiere

Ru

Sat Apr 27 at 5:45 pm PT at Marina 2 Charles-Olivier Michaud (Canada 2023, 116)

Sidonie in Japan

Fri Apr 26 at 3:30 pm PT at Marina 1 Élise Girard (Japan 2023, 95)
US Premiere

The Practice

Sat Apr 27 at 8:45 pm PT at Marina 2 Martín Rejtman (Argentina 2023, 95)

The Teacher

Fri Apr 26 at 4 pm PT at BAMPFA Sat Apr 27 at 5:15 pm PT at Marina 1 Farah Nabulsi (UK 2023, 118)

Wakhri

Sun Apr 28 at 2 pm PT at Marina 1 Iram Parveen Bilal (Pakistan 2023, 99) Narratives: International

Woodland

Fri Apr 26 at 8:15 pm PT at Marina 2 Elisabeth Scharang (Austria 2023, 100) Narratives: International

Narratives: USA

Dìdi (弟弟)
Wed Apr 24 at 7 pm PT at Premier Theater Wed Apr 24 at 8 pm PT at Marina 1
Sean Wang (USA 2023, 90)

Janet Planet

Sat Apr 27 at 2:30 pm PT at Marina 1 Sun Apr 28 at 4:45 pm PT at BAMPFA Annie Baker (USA 2023, 113)

Sing Sing

Thu Apr 25 at 8:30 pm PT at Premier Theater Greg Kwedar (USA 2023, 107)

Sloan Science on Screen: “Mabel”

Sat Apr 27 at 5 pm PT at Vogue Theatre

Nicholas Ma (USA 2023, 84) World Premiere

The Idea of You

Sat Apr 27 at 8:15 pm PT at Marina 1 Michael Showalter (USA 2024, 115)

Thelma

Sun Apr 28 at 7:15 pm PT at Premier Theater Sun Apr 28 at 8 pm PT at Marina 1
Josh Margolin (USA 2024, 97)

Shorts

Shorts 1: I’m Just a Girl

Sun Apr 28 at 4:15 pm PT at Marina 2

Rizoo
Azadeh Navai (Iran 2023, 16)

Can We Pretend
Samantha Toy Ozeas (USA 2023, 12)

VOID
Yusuke Iwasaki (Japan 2023, 24) North American Premiere

Muna
Warda Mohamed (UK 2023, 19) North American Premiere

Little Queen
Julien Guetta (France 2023, 25) US Premiere

Shorts 2: Of Body and Mind

Sat Apr 27 at 12 pm PT at Marina 2

Thirstygirl
Alexandra Qin (USA 2023, 10)

Playground
Raul Villalba (Spain 2023, 16) North American Premiere

La Perra
Carla Melo Gampert (Colombia 2023, 14)

I Did Not Wake Up Dead Today
Erin Macpherson (Belgium 2023, 18) North American Premiere

Don’t Look Down
Ilanna Barkusky (USA 2023, 8)

Choices
Kameishia Wooten (USA 2022, 12)

Punta Salinas
Maria del Mar Rosario (Puerto Rico 2023, 16) North American Premiere

Shorts 3: Lineages of Love

Sun Apr 28 at 1:30 pm PT at Marina 2

Salone Love
Tajana Tokyo (USA 2023, 5)

a film is a goodbye that never ends María Luisa Santos (Costa Rica 2024, 13) World Premiere

I Was Here
Noëlle Gentile (USA 2023, 17) World Premiere

Layover
Taylor Sanghyun Lee (USA 2024, 12) World Premiere

The Medallion
Ruth Hunduma (UK 2023, 19)

We Exist in Memory
Darian Woehr (USA 2023, 14)

Weekend Visits
Pete Quandt (USA 2024, 9)

Battery Mommy
Seungbae Jeon (South Korea 2023, 8)

Shorts 4: Migration Flows

Thu Apr 25 at 5:30 pm PT at Marina 2

Bogotá Story
Esteban Pedraza (Colombia 2023, 16)

Boat People

Thao Lam (Canada 2023, 10)

Primero, Sueño
Andrés Lira (USA 2023, 17)

Confused Blood
James Cutler (South Korea 2023, 17)

Until He’s Back
Jacqueline Baylon (Morocco 2023, 40)

Shorts 5: Family Films

Sat Apr 27 at 10 am PT at Marina 1

A Little Beetle Returns
Elene Sebiskveradze (Georgia 2023, 4) North American Premiere

Self

Searit Kahsay Huluf (USA 2023, 7)

Where Do Ideas Come From?
Joysi Olijhoek (Netherlands 2023, 5) World Premiere

Yuck!
Loïc Espuche (France 2024, 13)

Dynasty and Destiny
Travis Lee Ratcliff (USA 2024, 7)

Bottle George
Daisuke ‘Dice’ Tsutsumi (Japan 2024, 13) World Premiere

Coach Pancake
Gabriel Olson (USA 2024, 6)

Battery Mommy
Seungbae Jeon (South Korea 2023, 8)

Little Fan
Sveta Yuferova (Germany 2023, 5)

Shorts 6: Youth Works

Sun Apr 28 at 11 am PT at Marina 2

Make Art, Reese!
Mika Lim (USA 2023, 8)

Weathered
Patrick Jang (USA 2023, 9) World Premiere

Comma
Sonia Leliukh (Ukraine 2023, 4)

like a stone or flower
Kaiya Jordan (USA 2023, 10) World Premiere

FATALE
Kayen Manovil (USA 2024, 4)

Sil-tteu-gi
Yezy Suh (USA 2023, 5)

Majid, the Muslim Rapper Kea Morshed (USA 2023, 10)

Substratum
Harvey Abrahams (Australia 2023, 7)

Puppet Back Up
Maxwell Downer (UK 2023, 9) World Premiere

Maps
Esmé Nix (USA 2023, 8)

Gentle Breeze
Wenwei Hu (China 2023, 4) North American Premiere

Family Workshop

Cartoon Saloon Workshop: “Puffin Rock and the New Friends”

Sun Apr 28 at 1 pm PT at The Walt Disney Family Museum Jeremy Purcell (Ireland 2023, 120)
Special Events

Members Screening

Members Screening: Mother Couch

Sun Apr 28 at 10 am PT at Marina 1 Niclas Larsson (USA 2023, 96)

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