May 3, 2022
Festival
Brazilian debut film Mars One received the award in the Feature Narrative category and world premiere Jeannette won the Feature Documentary category
San Francisco, CA – May 1, 2022 – Today, SFFILM announced the Audience Award winners at the conclusion of the 65th annual San Francisco International Film Festival, which showcased more than 130 films from 56 countries over 11 days. The winning films had an encore screening alongside jury-selected Golden Gate Awards winners.
The winner of the 65th SFFILM Festival Audience Award for Narrative Feature was Mars One, directed by Gabriel Martins. The winner of the Audience Award for Documentary Feature was Jeannette, directed by Maris Curran.
“Mars One, by first-time filmmaker, writer, editor, and producer Gabriel Martins, not only captures the everyday challenges of an Afro-Brazilian working-class family but digs into the connective tissue of these nuclear bonds, and finds humor and beauty throughout this intimate story based on real-life events,” said SFFILM Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks. “This film is emblematic of the fresh, bold stories being told by Latinx filmmakers, and I am so delighted the audience embraced this film and was so moved by the performances.”
“I cannot overstate how excited I am by the audience’s response to Jeannette,” said Fairbanks. “It has been such an honor to see our community embrace and uplift the film, the filmmakers, and Jeannette herself. This is a deeply nuanced and profound film with huge scope, encompassing trauma and triumph, the Pulse mass shooting in Orlando, queer identity, Hurricane Maria, and of course Jeannette’s indomitable spirit. It was such an honor to welcome SFFILM-supported filmmaker Maris Curran back to the Festival for a third time with the world premiere of Jeannette.”
Mars One
Gabriel Martins (Brazil 2022, 115 min)
This charming and humorous film centers on the Martin family, a dynamic unit who meet the shifting politics of modern-day Brazil with grit and determination. Featuring four vibrant characters — the matriarch Tércia, who struggles to move past a shocking experience; her husband Wellington, a man of appetites and futebol superfan, who spends his days caring for the middle class with indefatigable loyalty; their bookish son Deivinho, who obligingly absorbs his father’s athletic ambitions while harboring a secret desire to colonize Mars; and Eunice, a young woman discovering her sexual identity — this tender film is a delightful portrait of a bombastic clan who dare to dream. Tensions flare and disaster looms but this ensemble of strivers finds strength in one another. Tenderly woven together by writer-director Gabriel Martins with a keen eye for the authentic minutiae of daily life, Mars One will nourish your soul.
Jeannette
Maris Curran (USA 2022, 78 min)
Filmed in striking and intimate vérité, this portrait of competitive bodybuilder and queer single mother Jeannette unfolds as a nuanced story of balancing the relentlessness of daily existence with the realities of living through trauma. In the wake of Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub shooting, Jeannette continues to coach other survivors at the gym while raising her son. Life seems calm again, until Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico and Jeannette is thrown back into crisis mode. Skirting headlines to instead focus on the tenderness of healing, Maris Curran (Five Nights in Maine, Festival 2018) returns to SFFILM with the world premiere of Jeannette.
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2022 San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival)
Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The 11 day event features a range of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, new digital media work, live music performances, and dazzling red carpet events. The SFFILM Festival is deeply rooted in the culture and process of film appreciation—film as an art form and as a meaningful agent for social change—and is an important showcase for the most searching and innovative films from around the globe. The 65th edition runs April 21–May 1, 2022.
SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM connects and inspires audiences, students and teachers, and filmmakers through film exhibition, youth education, and artist development programs. Annual public film programs include the SFFILM Festival which is the longest running film festival in the Americas, Doc Stories documentary series, special events with the best and brightest in contemporary film, and family programming. SFFILM Education serves more than 15,000 students and educators with learning opportunities designed to cultivate media literacy, global citizenship, and a lifelong love of movies. SFFILM Makers supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services.
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This press release is available online at sffilm.org/press/releases
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