SF/ICF FESTIVAL NEWS
The San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival returns to the city by the bay for a week of cinema events and premiere screenings.
Tickets, Passes, Film Schedule & Program featuring Award Winner Announcements – to be released 2-3 weeks prior to the festival’s opening day.
Sign-up for our Festival Updates to make sure you don’t miss out on any of our upcoming festival events
The SF/ICF mission is to celebrate and elevate the art of cinema by showcasing diverse and innovative films that inspire, challenge, and connect with audiences both locally and globally. We promote the future of independent film while honoring its rich history through premiere festival screenings held in the beautiful and historic theaters of San Francisco, that featuring the best in new and independent filmmaking voices from around the world.
With a long-term focus on becoming the premier destination for independent and international film releases, our festival is equally dedicated to fostering, inspiring, and promoting new and diverse voices in cinema storytelling.
Our teams of volunteers, students, film professionals, and programmers work tirelessly to create annual festival screenings, showcases, premieres, social gatherings, and special events. Together, these efforts combine to provide a platform for emerging and established filmmakers while also cultivating a community where film creatives and enthusiasts can unite in appreciation of risk-taking in storytelling that enriches our shared cultural landscape.
All of the above is done with the sincere hope towards inspiring like-minded folks to join our film community, whether that be as a festival attendee or by sharing your creative voice with us.
The history of the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival began in 2015, when a group of passionate movie enthusiasts met in the heart of San Francisco’s vibrant Castro District. This eclectic mix included local filmmakers, film students, industry professionals, educators, and movie lovers who shared a common dream: to create a screening space that celebrated the diverse artistic cinema of the Bay Area. Inspired by the region’s unique blend of cultures and innovative artistic movements, they envisioned the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival (SF/ICF) as a home for both established and emerging cinematic storytellers.
From the beginning, the SF/ICF aimed to be more than just a screening space; it was to be a community lab. The founders established programs inviting filmmakers to participate. By 2017, both the group and its vision had evolved, with a new focus on creating a large platform to celebrate independent films, nurture emerging talent, and engage the community through the power of cinema. A collective dream emerged to create a festival that not only highlighted films but also fostered meaningful conversations about film, culture, and society.
With a limited budget, but boundless enthusiasm, they organized the inaugural SF/ICF in August 2018. The festival’s first event showcased over 30 local independent films reflecting San Francisco’s diverse cultures and perspectives. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, prompting changes in membership as organizational goals again shifted. Several original founders moved on, as new members joined and took positions, and the new future of the festival was being planned out while the world was on hold. The SF/ICF adapted by transitioning to a smaller, all-virtual format to ensure safety until the 2023 festival could be held in person once again.
In 2024, SF/ICF celebrated its sixth anniversary with permanent programming and event production teams solidified, and strong student and volunteer teams that now featured participants from all over the world, thanks to the virtual and semi-virtual events the SF/ICF held during the pandemic.
Since 2023, the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival began an exciting new chapter of enormous growth with a new interest in cinema venue preservation and recognition, wanting to make sure that the City by the Bay, holds on to its classic movie houses, some of which are over 100 years old.
With a new focus on exhibiting films in the classic movie venues and theaters in San Francisco, as well as keeping steadfast to the festival’s original commitment to showcasing diverse voices, and fostering connections, and celebrating cinema.
Today, as the festival enters its most exciting phase yet, the SF/ICF continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences alike, solidifying its place as an essential cultural and film event in the heart of San Francisco.
The history of the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival began in 2015, when a group of passionate movie enthusiasts met in the heart of San Francisco’s vibrant Castro District. This eclectic mix included local filmmakers, film students, industry professionals, educators, and movie lovers who shared a common dream: to create a screening space that celebrated the diverse artistic cinema of the Bay Area. Inspired by the region’s unique blend of cultures and innovative artistic movements, they envisioned the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival (SF/ICF) as a home for both established and emerging cinematic storytellers.
From the beginning, the SF/ICF aimed to be more than just a screening space; it was to be a community lab. The founders established programs inviting filmmakers to participate. By 2017, both the group and its vision had evolved, with a new focus on creating a large platform to celebrate independent films, nurture emerging talent, and engage the community through the power of cinema. A collective dream emerged to create a festival that not only highlighted films but also fostered meaningful conversations about film, culture, and society.
With a limited budget, but boundless enthusiasm, they organized the inaugural SF/ICF in August 2018. The festival’s first event showcased over 30 local independent films reflecting San Francisco’s diverse cultures and perspectives. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, prompting changes in membership as organizational goals again shifted. Several original founders moved on, as new members joined and took positions, and the new future of the festival was being planned out while the world was on hold. The SF/ICF adapted by transitioning to a smaller, all-virtual format to ensure safety until the 2023 festival could be held in person once again.
In 2024, SF/ICF celebrated its sixth anniversary with permanent programming and event production teams solidified, and strong student and volunteer teams that now featured participants from all over the world, thanks to the virtual and semi-virtual events the SF/ICF held during the pandemic.
Since 2023, the San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival began an exciting new chapter of enormous growth with a new interest in cinema venue preservation and recognition, wanting to make sure that the City by the Bay, holds on to its classic movie houses, some of which are over 100 years old.
With a new focus on exhibiting films in the classic movie venues and theaters in San Francisco, as well as keeping steadfast to the festival’s original commitment to showcasing diverse voices, and fostering connections, and celebrating cinema.
Today, as the festival enters its most exciting phase yet, the SF/ICF continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences alike, solidifying its place as an essential cultural and film event in the heart of San Francisco.
©️ San Francisco Independent Cinema Festival
