About Schools at the Festival
2025 Schools at the Festival Dates April 17–30, 2025
Since 1991, SFFILM’s Schools at the Festival outreach program has created a vital connection between the annual San Francisco International Film Festival and the local educational community, providing students of all ages the opportunity to experience stories from around the world.
The Schools at the Festival program introduces students ages 6 to 18 to international film and the art of filmmaking while promoting media literacy, deepening insights into other cultures, enhancing foreign language aptitude, developing critical thinking skills, and inspiring a lifelong appreciation of cinema.
Throughout the 2025 San Francisco International Film Festival, classes from across the Bay Area will attend weekday in-person and online matinees of curated Festival film programs at no cost to students or educators. Dozens of filmmaker guests from around the world will also visit local classrooms in person and online to discuss their films with students.
Contact Director of Education Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@Sffilm.org with questions about our current SATF program and to find out how to get your kids involved.
2025 Schools at the Festival Program
About Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Essay Contest
SFFILM Education will present the sixteenth annual Schools at the Festival Student Essay Contest at the 2025 San Francisco International Film Festival (April 17–30, 2025).
This contest is made possible by the generous support of the Nellie Wong Magic of Movies Education Fund, endowed by Tim Kochis and SFFILM board member Penelope Wong to honor the memory of her mother, Nellie Wong (1917–2007), who was an avid filmgoer and cinephile. Developed to support the year-round outreach efforts of SFFILM Education, the Fund aims to cultivate students’ imaginations, enhance their critical thinking and creative writing skills and instill a greater appreciation for the magic of movies in young audiences of the Bay Area.