Mel Novikoff Award: Roxie Theater + “Rashomon”
For over 30 years, the SFFILM Mel Novikoff Award has honored an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the film-going public’s appreciation of world cinema. This year’s celebration recognizes the iconic Roxie Theater! Filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes will moderate a conversation about the Roxie’s past, present, and future with Executive Director Lex Sloan and Director of Programming Isabel Fondevila. The event will conclude with a screening of Akira Kurosawa’s seminal classic Rashomon, celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Mel Novikoff Award
The 2025 Mel Novikoff Award celebrates the Roxie Theater — Local gem, cultural landmark, and steadfast champion of independent cinema, the Roxie Theater has been igniting San Francisco’s film scene for over a century.
Rashomon
In Akira Kurosawa’s hugely influential drama, a woodcutter, a bandit, a bride, and a ghost offer opposing perspectives on a samurai’s murder.
Description
Waiting out pouring rain in the shelter of Kyoto’s Rashomon Gate, a woodcutter and a priest relate the story of a samurai’s murder in Akira Kurosawa’s classic drama. But as they swap anecdotes, it’s apparent that this is no straightforward chronicle. The woodcutter claims to have witnessed the crime and tells one version of events. But there are three other perspectives: that of the bandit charged with the killing, that of the samurai’s bride, and then there is the samurai’s ghost speaking through a medium. No two recollections lineup, leaving a mystery intact at the heart of the tale. Rashomon’s influence looms large over succeeding generations of filmmakers, the title itself entering the lexicon as shorthand that describes a certain type of film. Seventy-five years after winning Venice’s Golden Lion and jolting cinema, the film’s ravishing black-and-white images and arresting storytelling remain as powerful as ever.
Mel Novikoff Award
Join us in celebration of the Roxie Theater! Filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes will moderate a conversation about the Roxie’s past, present, and future, with Executive Director Lex Sloan and Director of Programming Isabel Fondevila. A screening of Akira Kurosawa‘s multivalent Rashomon, celebrating its 75th anniversary, will follow.
Film Details
LanguageJapanese
Year1950
Runtime88
CountryJapan
DirectorAkira Kurosawa
ProducerJingo Minoura
Executive ProducerMasaichi Nagata
WriterAkira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto
EditorShigeo Nishida
CinematographerKazuo Miyagawa
MusicFumio Hayasaka
CastToshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori
Closed CaptionsClosed Captions are not currently confirmed for this film
Audio DescriptionAudio Descriptions are not currently confirmed for this film
American Sign Language (ASL) InterpretationAmerican Sign Language Interpretation is not currently scheduled for this program
