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.
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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.
SFFILM welcomed guests at FilmHouse for a community gathering of Palestinian film and filmmakers
FilmHouse is the SFFILM community hub for filmmakers to work and collaborate, and where we host events that bring people together through film. Last Thursday night, SFFILM welcomed guests at FilmHouse for an evening of Palestinian film, conversation, and connection. The Arab Film & Media Institute (AFMI) selected a short film for the program, and then we heard from SFFILM FilmHouse Resident and Mexican-Palestinian American filmmaker Colette Ghunim for a sneak peek at her in-progress feature documentary Traces of Home.
A Space for Connection and Community Care
Guests began arriving to FilmHouse in the early evening, gamely dodging the persistent winter rains. They were welcomed with food and drinks, and time to say hello to old and new friends before the program began. We hit capacity and settled in. Masashi Niwano, the Director of Artist Development took the mic and explained how the program came together as a collaboration between SFFILM staff and Serge Bakalian, the Executive Director of AFMI. Masashi explained, “We at SFFILM have been processing all of the tragic news happening in the Middle East and navigating ways we can be helpful and contribute to our community. SFFILM believes in the power of cinema and understands that telling stories and exploring timely topics through film is vital. Our mission is to continue to nurture, support, and exhibit independent storytellers. Tonight’s program celebrates two films and filmmakers that are uniquely bold and powerful. Although different from each other, we feel that this pairing is a way to showcase the diversity in stories and creativity that center on Palestinians and Palestinian Americans.”
Masashi then introduced Serge, who told the gathering about his selected short called Ambience by Palestinian filmmaker Wisam Al-Jafari. It tells the story of two young Palestinians trying to record a demo for a music competition inside a noisy, crowded refugee camp. Serge DM’d with Wisam who was home in Jenin earlier in the day to let him know we’d be screening the film, a true honor for SFFILM since it had premiered, “at a little festival in France.” (Serge was of course referring to the film’s award-winning performance at Cannes!)
After the short film, Masashi welcomed 2024 FilmHouse Resident Colette Ghunim to the front for conversation and Q&A. Colette shared an in-progress trailer for her documentary Traces of Home, a personal story where Colette embarks on journeys with her parents to find the ancestral homes they fled from as children in both Mexico (mother), and Palestine (father). She explains, “…the film then becomes this healing journey of me figuring out where home is for myself through the journeys of us returning to Mexico and Palestine.” Below are some highlights from their conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
In Conversation with Filmmaker Colette Ghunim
Because Colette’s film is intensely personal, but feels incredibly urgent and relevant globally, Masashi asked Colette, “How do you as a filmmaker balance what is true to your story and what’s unique, but then also making a film that can kind of connect with people outside and represent a larger community?” Her responses were enlightening and generous, “the thing that is really fascinating about film is that the more intimate we go and the more personal that we go, that’s how we’re actually able to create it to be more universal. There’s this intergenerational trauma piece that is the core message of the film, but especially now with what’s happening in Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, that it has now become a tool to show my dad’s story, and give context to what has been happening for the past 75 years. And that people don’t realize that this is not something that just happened on October 7. And so through this very intimate story of us returning, it is now going to the global space of understanding the context of the occupation and the siege.”
Colette also explained that even in the face of the horrific violence and grief she came to understand her role as a filmmaker and storyteller to be essential and will, “create the long term narrative change that is needed to create the liberation of Palestine and that and the whole world. This is why I feel the mode of film is just so powerful and, and art in general, that it allows us to open up about these things in ways that we wouldn’t be able to if it was just political activism and just protests.”
She also regaled us with tales of guerilla documentary filmmaking, and is looking ahead to completing and releasing the film this year with an impact campaign to follow at colleges and universities. The film is a co-production with Kartemquin Films and funded by Latino Public Broadcasting, among others.
We are so grateful to Wisam for sharing his film with us from afar, and for Serge and Colette’s time being in community with us. Film is our favorite connection point. We look forward to the next one!
About The Author
Justine Hebron is the Director of External Relations at SFFILM where she leads the communications, marketing, cultural, and PR strategy. For over a decade, Justine worked in feature film production on films like The Patriot, Mystery Men, The Replacement Killers, and Anaconda. An interest in organizing and cultural strategy moved her into nonprofit communications where she worked with people and organizations including Tom Steyer’s Next Generation, Hillary Rodham Clinton and The Clinton Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Propper Daley, Mom 2.0, Ford Foundation, The Opportunity Agenda, and more.
Justine was born in New York City, and grew up in Telluride, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her BA in English from San Diego State University and is a trained high school teacher.
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 for what’s coming next.
Honoring the films and filmmakers that have been curated, honored, and supported by SFFILM over the past year
The Academy Awards nominations are officially in, the culmination of a fine year for movies creatively, culturally, and at the box office. Many of the films SFFILM hosted, honored, and supported in the past year have been collecting nominations and wins this Award Season, and the Oscars is the final show! We are proud to highlight the films and filmmakers featured at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Doc Stories, SFFILM Presents, Awards Night, and through our Artist Development and Youth Education programs.
We’ll be tuned in to watch the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 10, 2024 on ABC. We hope you will join us to root for these filmmakers, and yes, it is a life-changing honor just to be nominated.
Sterling K. Brown—American Fiction Robert Downey Jr.—Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling—Barbie
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Emily Blunt—Oppenheimer America Ferrera—Barbie
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Elemental—Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan, and Julie Zackary Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse—Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
Four Daughters—Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha
DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
Island In Between—S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien The Last Repair Shop—Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó—Sean Wang and Sam Davis
FILM EDITING
Oppenheimer—Jennifer Lame
MAKEUP and HAIRSTYLING
Oppenheimer—Luisa Abel
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
American Fiction—Laura Karpman Oppenheimer—Ludwig Göransson
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
I’m Just Ken—From Barbie; Music and Lyric By Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt It Never Went Away—From American Symphony; Music and Lyric By Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson What Was I Made For?—From Barbie; Music and Lyric By Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction—Ben Leclair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, Producers Barbie—David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, Producers Oppenheimer—Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers Past Lives—David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, Producers
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie—Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer Oppenheimer—Production Design: Ruth De Jong; Set Decoration: Claire Kaufman
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Letter To A Pig—Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter
SOUND
The Creator—Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van Der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic Oppenheimer—Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator—Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
American Fiction—Written For The Screen By Cord Jefferson Barbie—Written By Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach Oppenheimer—Written For The Screen By Christopher Nolan
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Past Lives—Written By Celine Song
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Award: Oppenheimer
SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Award: Oppenheimer
SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Award: Oppenheimer
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Regina Hall, Sterling K Brown
Regina Hall, Sterling K Brown
Regina Hall, Sterling K Brown
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Nadim Cheikhrouha, Kaouther Ben Hania
Nadim Cheikhrouha, Kaouther Ben Hania
Nadim Cheikhrouha, Kaouther Ben Hania
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr.
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino
Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino
Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Photo by Tommy Lau
Boots Riley, Cord Jefferson
Boots Riley, Cord Jefferson
Boots Riley, Cord Jefferson
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Photo by Pamela Gentile
Miri Navasky, Joan Baez, and Karen O’Connor
Miri Navasky, Joan Baez, and Karen O’Connor
Celine Song, Greta Lee
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.
SFFILM, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, presented Christopher Nolan’s staggering global cinematic phenomenon Oppenheimer as the 2023 recipient of the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize.
What is the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize?
In December, SFFILM, in partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, presented Christopher Nolan’s staggering global cinematic phenomenon Oppenheimer as the 2023 recipient of the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize. This honor celebrates the compelling depiction of scientific themes or characters in a narrative feature film, and the special event featured a pre-screening conversation with Oppenheimer Production Designer Ruth De Jong, Editor Jennifer Lame, four-time Academy Award winning Sound Designer and Supervising Sound Editor Richard King along with University of California Berkeley Professor of Physics Benjamin Safdi.
SFFILM’s partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation—the nation’s leading philanthropic grantor for science and the arts—culminates in the SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Initiative. Launched in 2015, the program celebrates and highlights cinema that brings together science and the art of storytelling, showing how these two seemingly disparate areas can combine to enhance the power of one another. The selections are meant to immerse a broad public audience in the challenges and rewards of scientific discovery, as well as to engage members of the scientific community.
In the words of University of California Berkeley Professor of Physics Benjamin Safdi, “…the Trinity Test [scene]… I thought, as a viewer and as a physicist, was exhilarating. One thing I really appreciated that you did with the sound was [including] the delay. When the bomb went off, I was like ‘Oh okay, here comes the sound.’ And it didn’t, and I thought ‘Oh, all right! Checkmark for them!’
Watch the full conversation to hear about the making of this summer blockbuster.
SFFILM Sloan Science in Cinema Prize Conversation
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.