Students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) to work with SFFILM-supported filmmakers to compose original film scores set to screen at the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival in April 2025.
Shared with permission. Story by Mark Taylor, SFCM. Originally posted on October 16, 2024.
SFCM students Rafe Axne and Theo Popov. Photo Courtesy of SFCM
Picture a world where a students’ musical dreams reach the magic of the silver screen faster than ever before. That’s becoming a reality as the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) and SFFILM join forces for a groundbreaking collaboration.
For student Theo Popov (‘25) it’s a long-time wish come true. “Young composers rarely get a shot to work on movies that reach such a wide audience, so it feels like SFCM is propelling us forward in our careers before we’ve even graduated!” Popov said.
Popov is one of 15 Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) students at SFCM who will spend the next year collaborating with SFFILM-supported directors to to provide original score, sound design, and sound mix for films that will be presented during the annual San Francisco International Film Festival in April 2025.
Studio G inside SFCM’s Bowes Center. Photo Courtesy of SFCM.
“This new partnership gives our composers, sound designers, and producers real-world experience as they work alongside amazingly talented filmmakers,” said Executive Director of the TAC program Steven Horowitz. “Directors will have a chance to polish and complete their soundtracks in our state-of-the-art studios alongside our young composers. Perhaps best of all, these projects will become part of the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival.”
SFFILM is northern California’s premiere film organization. Since 1957, SFFILM has produced the longest-running film festival in the Americas, and has grown to provide a comprehensive artist development program for new generations of filmmakers through grants, fellowships, and residencies.
“This new collaboration allows us to shine a spotlight on the process of music and sound design, focus on cross-discipline collaborations, and celebrate the cinematic form in a unique way,” said Anne Lai, SFFILM’s Executive Director. “Our desire to provide access, resources, and expertise to ensure that independent voices in film can thrive through all stages—from development to being seen—is what drives our mission forward. We’re delighted to launch this new partnership with SFCM.”
Masashi Niwano, the Director of SFFILM’s Artist Development program concurs, “The SFFILM Sound and Cinema Fellowship exemplifies our mission by uniting our SFFILM supported filmmakers with SFCM’s Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) students to create original, independent work, and to have the opportunity to be showcased at our Festival.”
SFCM TAC students in class. Photo Courtesy of SFCM.
Over the school year, as part of their course curriculum, TAC students will essentially become a given film’s music and sound department, working with directors on four different short films. Directors and their films come from SFFILM’s FilmHouse Residency program, which provides San Francisco Bay Area-based filmmakers with artistic guidance and support from established film industry professionals.
The San Francisco International Film Festival produced by SFFILM is renowned for bringing voices and stories from around the world to audiences in the San Francisco Bay. In addition to exhibiting completed films, SFFILM provides support to all stages of filmmakers’ careers and creates opportunities for growth around every stage of filmmaking from development to post production.
For the students involved, they can’t wait to get started. “I’ve never worked on a project this big before, and it’s really exciting,” said student Rafe Axne (‘26). “Getting exposed to some of the work we’ll be doing in the future as composers and sound designers this early on is invaluable experience. I’m excited to get to know the producers and directors and work with them to make their film come to life,” he added.
TAC students Rafe Axne and Theo Popov. Photo Courtesy of SFCM.
“This project also does something else that is very important,” Horowitz added of this unique partnership. “It brings together two vital SF artistic communities that will help to raise the bar and foster a more vibrant and cohesive climate for all Bay Area artists. I really think this kind of collaboration between organizations is a big win-win for the entire SF creative arts scene.”
At the conclusion of the program, the films will be presented, with directors and composers in attendance, in a screening on campus as part of the SFFILM Festival in April 2025.
Stay In Touch With SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM brings the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers all year long. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.
SF Honors is our annual award presentation in celebration of a filmmaker’s singular vision in our current cinema landscape, and we were honored with a discussion between director Azazel Jacobs and actors Elizabeth Olsen and Jovan Adepo.
SFFILM honored Azazel Jacobs and his film His Three Daughters in the world-class Premier Theater at One Letterman. Before the screening of the film, SFFILM Board President Todd Traina presented the award to Azazel with a very special introduction calling attention to the masterful storytelling in His Three Daughters. After the screening, SFFILM Director of Programming Jessie Fairbanks was joined onstage by Azazel Jacobs and actors Elizabeth Olsen and Jovan Adepo. During the conversation, the filmmakers discussed everything from the structure of the film and the nuances behind its construction to the connection between the actors and their collaboration in the achievement of a singular goal.
“The fact that we get to be here is such a huge privilege to us. We didn’t make this with results in our minds. We made this because of a process that we had all missed. That’s where it came from,” said Elizabeth Olsen. “[We] wanted to support a filmmaker who we love as a person and as a creative.”
Watch the full conversation to hear more about the creation of Azazel Jacobs’s His Three Daughters, and be sure to watch the film on Netflix starting on Friday, September 20.
SF Honors: His Three Daughters—In conversation with Azazel Jacobs, Elizabeth Olsen, and Jovan Adepo
Stay In Touch With SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM brings the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers all year long. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.
At the 67th San Francisco International Film Festival, we celebrated the career of actor, filmmaker, and local legend Joan Chen. She discussed her love for storytelling and the history behind her work with the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Janet Yang.
SFFILM honored the inimitable Joan Chen with a career-spanning tribute. Before a very special 35mm screening of her award-winning feature directorial debut Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl, she and Janet Yang had an intimate—and illuminating—conversation about her path. From her early stardom in Beijing to her later ascension into fame in the US, their conversation touched on the difficulties of immigrating, learning how to navigate Hollywood, and making the jump from acting to directing.
“Films, Filmmaking, and being creative really has nourished me for almost 50 years.”
Watch the full conversation to hear more about Joan’s life and work including her most recent film Dìdi (弟弟), the Opening Night program for the 2024 SFFILM Festival. Dìdi (弟弟) opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 26, and in San Francisco on August 2. Be sure to get your tickets here!
A Tribute to Joan Chen—In conversation with Janet Yang
Stay In Touch With SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM brings the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers all year long. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.
The 67th San Francisco International Film Festival opened with Sean Wang’s feature directorial debut Dìdi (弟弟). We talked to him about the importance of this homecoming and the making of the film.
We kicked off the the 2024 SFFILM Festival with a dual screening of what is sure to be a Bay Area classic in Sean Wang’s Dìdi (弟弟). Bay Area movie lovers filled two movie theaters San Francisco’s Marina District for this personal coming of age film with director Sean Wang, producers Josh Peters and Valerie Bush, and many cast and crew members in attendance.
The film features a brilliant cast including Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, SFFILM Festival tributee Joan Chen, and Sean Wang’s real-life grandmother Chang Li Hua. The story follows 13-year-old Chris as he makes his way through a series of firsts preceding his freshman year in high school. Sean Wang cited his love for coming-of-age movies, and this film is a love letter to them.
Watch the full conversation to hear more about the story and making ofDìdi (弟弟), and make sure you get your tickets for the opening of this beautifully crafted film.
An Interview with the Filmmaker behind Dìdi (弟弟)
Stay In Touch With SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM brings the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers all year long. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.
Academy Award-nominated June Squibb closed the 67th San Francisco International Film Festival with a special screening and conversation about her latest starring role
The filmmakers and star of Thelma have the perfect summer movie
SFFILM Festival audiences were treated to a sneak preview of Thelma this April as the closing night film of the program including an onstage conversation with director and writer Josh Margolin, star June Squibb, producers Chris Kaye and Zoë Worth, and composer Nick Chuba.
The film, which opens June 21 in local and national theaters, features steely and hysterical June Squibb in her first leading role as a 93-year-old widow (Thelma) proudly living alone when she falls prey to a cash-grabbing hoax. Vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice, Thelma sets out on an odyssey across Los Angeles, accompanied by her old friend Ben (played by Richard Roundtree in his final performance). Together, the determined duo wields their charm, social invisibility, and elder-age devices to overcome numerous obstacles. Director Josh Margolin draws on action-hero genre cliches, playing with traditional set-ups to illustrate Thelma’s agency.
Watch the full conversation to hear about the making of Thelma, then call your grandma and get your tickets to see this one in the theater!
In Conversation with the Filmmakers of Thelma
Stay In Touch With SFFILM
SFFILM is a nonprofit organization whose mission ensures independent voices in film are welcomed, heard, and given the resources to thrive. SFFILM works hard to bring the most exciting films and filmmakers to Bay Area movie lovers. To be the first to know what’s coming, sign up for our email alerts and watch your inbox.
