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69th edition
SFFILM Festival
San Francisco, United States
April 23 - May 3, 2026
11 days
About SFFILM Festival
The SFFILM Festival, also known as the San Francisco International Film Festival, is organized by the nonprofit SFFILM and is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The program spans narrative and documentary features, shorts and mid-length work from around the world, screened at venues across San Francisco and the Bay Area including the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Documentary is a core strand, supported by the Golden Gate Awards competition and the year-round Doc Stories program.
Festival details
Location
455 9th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 · San Francisco, United States
Scope
International
Focus
World Cinema · Documentary · Narrative Features · Shorts · Artist Development · Education
Duration
11 days
Founded
1957
Awards
Golden Gate Award - Documentary Feature
Juried award for outstanding documentary feature.
Golden Gate Award - Documentary Short
Juried award for short-form documentary.
Golden Gate Award - Bay Area Documentary Feature
Outstanding documentary feature with Bay Area connections.
Sloan Science in Cinema Prize
$20,000 prize for films dramatizing science and scientists.
Audience Awards
Audience-voted prizes across narrative and documentary sections.
Special programs
SFFILM Festival
Annual spring festival with international features, shorts and mid-length works.
Doc Stories
Year-round documentary-focused programming.
Artist Development
Grants, residencies and filmmaker support since 2008.
SFFILM Education
Year-round education for students, teachers and families (since 1991).
Golden Gate Awards
Juried competition for documentary, short, animation and new-directors work.
For filmmakers
Submission deadline
December 1
Screening eligibility
Early Sep 1, Regular Nov 1 (features/shorts final), Final Dec 1 (mid-length and youth).
Accepted formats
Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Short Film, Mid-length Film, Animation, Youth Works
Best Documentary Films
Award-Winning Documentaries
Curated For You
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