American Indian Film Festival
Presented by the American Indian Film Institute, this event has been based in San Francisco since 1977. Each November the festival takes over various venues, including the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre.
9 Best Performing Arts in San Francisco, California
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Sophisticated, offbeat, and often ahead of the curve, San Francisco's performing arts scene supports world-class opera, ballet, and theater productions, along with alternative-dance events, avant-garde plays, groundbreaking documentaries, and a slew of spoken-word and other literary happenings.
The heart of the mainstream theater district lies on or near Geary Street, mostly west of Union Square, though touring Broadway shows land a little farther afield at big houses like the Orpheum and Golden Gate. But theater can be found all over town. For a bit of culture shock, slip out to eclectic districts like the Mission or Haight, where smaller theater companies reside and short-run and one-night-only performances happen on a regular basis.
The city's opera house and symphony hall present the musical classics, and venues like the Fillmore and the Warfield host major rock and jazz talents, but the city's extensive festival circuit broadens the possibilities considerably. Stern Grove is the nation’s oldest summer music festival that remains free to this day; Noise Pop is the premier alt-rock showcase putting such acts like Modest Mouse on the map; and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is a beloved celebration of bluegrass, country, and roots music, attracting hundreds of thousands of attendees from all over the nation every year.
The range of offerings is just as eclectic on the film front. San Francisco moviegoers love blockbuster hits like everyone else, but they also champion little-known indie and art-house flicks and flock to the interactive sing-along musicals presented at Castro Theatre. Nearly every month an important film festival takes place. During warmer months, many of the city’s parks host free movie nights outdoors showcasing film classics or pop-culture favorites.
San Francisco also has a rich dance scene, from classical dancers to jugglers. And it doesn't take stadium seating to make a performance space. Cafés, clubs, and bookstores often host poetry readings or author lectures.
Film Night in the Park
One of the best times you can have watching a movie in San Francisco—and it's free—the Film Night in the Park is wildly popular. Put on by the San Francisco Neighborhood Theater Foundation, the event shows free films throughout the city from mid to late summer. Films like The Graduate, JAWS 3 in 3D, Sixteen Candles, and Citizen Kane are screened in outdoor spaces such as Union Square or Dolores Park. All shows begin at dusk. Bring a picnic, but chairs are not welcome.
Mill Valley Film Festival
Marin County's annual film festival, in early October, is a renowned community event. The films shown span the genres, from features and documentaries to video, animated, and experimental film.
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San Francisco CAAMFest
Asian and Asian-American cinema is the focus of this March festival, presented by the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). The lineup includes feature and short films and videos—everything from animation to documentaries.
San Francisco IndieFest & DocFest
This popular event presents a slate of movies that are defiantly out of the mainstream. IndieFest caters to a younger demographic and specializes in oddball fare rarely programmed at other festivals; DocFest performs the same service for documentaries that you won't find at the local multiplex.
San Francisco International Film Festival
For two weeks at the end of spring, the San Francisco Film Society—which also sponsors year-round screenings and film series—takes over several theaters, including the Castro Theatre, the Sundance Kabuki Cinema, and Pacific Film Archive, to launch this festival. The event schedules about 300 films, documentaries, and videos from 50 countries; many are U.S. premieres.
San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival
The world's oldest and largest festival honoring gay and lesbian films takes place at various venues for two weeks in late June.
San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival
Documentaries, feature films, and Bollywood movies are shown at this weeklong festival in November.
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
In late July and early August, the Castro Theatre and other Bay Area venues screen films as part of this event. Parties on the opening and closing nights of the festival celebrate the films and filmmakers.
