Mar 12, 2018
Artist Development, Festival
San Francisco, CA – After an impressive first year resulting in purchases by distributors including Magnolia Pictures and Sundance Selects, SFFILM‘s Launch program returns to provide a platform for a select group of exceptional films just beginning their distribution journey. In Launch‘s second year, five documentary features within the official lineup of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival have been selected to have their world premieres. This year, as last, SFFILM is excited to introduce new opportunities for debuting films in this section to benefit from the unique and diverse audiences of the Bay Area as they find their new champions in distribution and exhibition.
“We are delighted to shine the spotlight on our second year of Launch,” said SFFILM Executive Director Noah Cowan. “This is a tightly focused program of world premiere presentations that we feel represent the values of our city and region and that we want to see enter the global film distribution system to help promote those values. At the heart of our approach is compassion—for underserved youth, for the sons and daughters of the incarcerated, for under-represented cultures, and for those affected by our decaying environment and the global human rights crisis. We invite buyers from around the country to help us advance a culture of change.”
SFFILM is dedicated to elevating exceptional and innovative films and filmmakers. The SFFILM Festival’s Launch initiative is an organic extension of the organization’s year-round artist development programs, which support filmmakers at all stages of production through significant financial and creative resources. With Launch, SFFILM now brings the same level of care and assistance to a select number of films as they begin their journeys on the festival circuit. The five titles featured in Launch—found among several Festival sections—are making their debuts to the film industry as well as the Festival’s discerning audiences.
LAUNCH TITLES AT 2018 SFFILM FESTIVAL
The Human Element (Matthew Testa, USA, 80 min) – World Premiere
American photographer James Balog has been tracking human-caused changes to our planet for over 35 years. Disturbed and motivated by what he has seen, The Human Element documents how the earth’s four elements—water, air, fire, and earth—have all been impacted by a fifth element, homo sapiens. With breathtakingly rich and innovative photography, he illustrates issues ranging from rising sea levels to pollution’s impact on asthma cases to focus us on a call for change.
The Rescue List (Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, USA/Ghana, 80 min) – World Premiere
Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest man-made lake in the world; it is also notorious as a locale for forced child labor. Bay Area filmmakers Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink’s beautifully shot documentary charts the courageous efforts of a local safe house to rescue the kids, give them schooling and therapy, and prepare them for reintegration into their families. Though it contains many intimate and moving moments with the children, the star of the film is real life hero Kwame, who initiates several dramatic rescues.
Tre Maison Dasan (Denali Tiller, USA, 94 min) – World Premiere
Tre, Maison, and Dasan are three boys who all share something in common-one of their parents is in jail. Following their separate lives through boyhood and weaving their stories together, first-time documentary filmmaker Denali Tiller tenderly observes each youngster’s life, as the kids come to understand more about the world around them. Capturing loving, frustrating, and heart wrenching moments between parent and child, Tre Maison Dasan approaches the issue of mass-incarceration by exposing the effects of the criminal justice system on young men.
Ulam: Main Dish (Alexandra Cuerdo, USA, 80 min) – World Premiere
For lovers of food documentaries like Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) and the Chef’s Table series, Ulam: Main Dish will come as a welcome and fresh addition. The film centers on the honest struggle for authenticity and respect for a cuisine often marginalized by the food world. Deploying rousing interviews with owners, restaurateurs, top chefs, as well as mouth-watering dishes placed front and center, filmmaker Alexandra Cuerdo follows the heartaches and triumphs of contemporary chefs that seek a place for their culture at the dinner table, one dish at a time.
Wrestle (Suzannah Herbert, USA, 96 min) – World Premiere
Jamario, Jaquan, Jailen, and Teague are teammates on the J.O. Johnson High School wrestling team in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by their passionate coach, they are trying to qualify for the State Championships but the pressures outside of the ring—emotional breakdowns, racial profiling by the police, teenage pregnancy—are mounting for each of the young men. Over the course of the season, director Suzannah Herbert gracefully follow each of them, showing that the sport is what keeps them focused and in control of their lives.
For general information visit sffilm.org/festival
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For photos and press materials visit sffilm.org/press
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2018 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 61st edition runs April 4-17 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.
SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization with a mission to champion the world’s finest films and filmmakers through programs anchored in and inspired by the spirit and values of the San Francisco Bay Area. Presenter of the San Francisco International Film Festival, SFFILM is a year-round organization delivering screenings and events to more than 75,000 film lovers and media education programs to more than 10,000 students and teachers annually. In addition to its public programs, SFFILM supports the careers of independent filmmakers from the Bay Area and beyond with grants, residencies, and other creative development services.
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