Mar 15, 2017
Festival
San Francisco, CA — SFFILM announced today the launch of the Creativity Summit, a new suite of programming at the San Francisco International Film Festival focused on the intersection of film and technology. Kicking off an exciting day of in-depth public conversations, Dr. Ed Catmull—a pioneering innovator in the fields of computer animation and computer graphics research—will deliver the highly anticipated State of Cinema Address on Saturday April 8, 11:00 am at Dolby Cinema at 1275 Market. The inaugural Creativity Summit, produced in partnership with bay area-based Pixar Animation Studios and WIRED magazine, will bring together trailblazers at the intersection of film and technology for a day of conversations and networking with leaders in both fields.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Pixar and WIRED to launch the Creativity Summit,” said Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM’s Director of Artist Services. “This cross-section of art, film, and technology is a significant movement and unique to the Bay Area. An exciting series of conversations at SFFILM Festival between experts of these disciplines is a wonderful opportunity for both visiting filmmakers and members of the industry.”
Catmull will begin the day’s programs with SFFILM’s annual State of Cinema Address, in which he will dispel the myth that art and technology are incongruous. He will discuss the importance of skepticism when exploring new technology and cite historic successes and failures that have paved the way for this revolutionary time for creative expression when technology is such a significant tool in empowering artists of all disciplines. Highlighting the connections between technology and the arts, Catmull will illuminate the possibilities inherent to collaborations between artists, individuals, and organizations from both fields.
Following Catmull’s keynote, Pixar artists Alan Barillaro (Director), Lindsey Collins (Producer), Danielle Feinberg (Director of Photography – Lighting), and Gini Santos (Supervising Animator) will join him on stage for an extended conversation, which will be moderated by Robert Capps of WIRED. Subsequent discussions throughout the day will feature notable individuals in the vanguard of art, film, and tech in the city where these forces most powerfully intersect. Panel details and participants will be announced in the coming weeks.
Catmull is the co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios and President of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Previously, he was Vice President of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm, Ltd., where he managed development in the areas of computer graphics, video editing, video games and digital audio. Catmull has been honored with five Academy Awards®-including two Scientific and Engineering Award Oscars®-for his work. He has been selected to receive the ACM SIGGRAPH Steven A. Coons Award for his lifetime contributions in the computer graphics field, the Progress Medal and the Fuji Gold Medal awards from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and the animation industry’s Ub Iwerks Award for technical advancements in the art or industry of animation.
Catmull founded three of the leading centers of computer graphics research-including the computer division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Pixar Animation Studios. He is one of the architects of the RenderMan rendering software, which has been used in over 90% of Academy Award® winners for Visual Effects over the past 20 years. His book, the New York Times bestseller, CREATIVITY, INC.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, was published by Random House in 2014.
Over the years SFFILM Festival has invited many visionary thinkers to deliver their views on the current state and evolution of filmmaking. Director Steven Soderbergh provoked a media sensation with his 2013 address when video of his searing critique of the movie business went viral via the New York Times, WIRED, The Hollywood Reporter, and hundreds of other media outlets. In addition to Soderbergh, previous State of Cinema speakers have included Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and New York Times Critic at Large Wesley Morris, visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull, author Jonathan Lethem, film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, WIRED publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich, and Michel Ciment, longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif.
Further expanding the 2017 SFFILM Festival‘s exploration of the relationship between film and technology, the popular program VR Days returns for a second year, expanding into two full days of immersive storytelling. Festivalgoers are invited to experience some of this year’s finest storytelling in virtual reality (VR) and meet the artists behind this cutting-edge medium. From an Academy Award®-nominated animated short (Pearl) to interactive re-enactments of historic battles (My Brother’s Keeper) to cinematic dance on camera (Through You), this year’s lineup showcases a diverse slate of the best in VR.
Held at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, VR Days celebrates the great work coming out of the Bay Area and from around the world, with projects from Felix & Paul Studios, Baobab Studios, Oculus, Google, New York Times VR, and more. Check out the best of VR, along with a robust series of panels featuring thought leaders in the field. Visit sffilm.org/festival for updated information on VR Days programs, panels, schedules, and pricing.
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60th San Francisco International Film Festival The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM Festival) is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. The 60th edition runs April 5-19 at venues across the Bay Area and features nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with close to $40,000 in cash prizes, and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.