Mar 29, 2016
Festival
San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) announced today that it is re-launching its Online Screening Room web platform and introducing a new mobile app to allow SFFS members to stream select feature films, shorts and events from the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival on AppleTV and their iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads. In addition to more than 20 Festival films, the Online Screening Room and app will offer red-carpet interviews, Q&As with film festival talent, and fresh behind-the-scenes content from the 2016 Festival, which takes place April 21–May 5. The Online Screening Room website and app will be available beginning April 20.
The Online Screening Room is available exclusively to Film Society members on the web at watch.sffs.org. Members can also access Film Festival content by downloading the SFFS Online Screening Room app and logging into their membership accounts. Content on the website and app will be available to SFFS members for free for a limited time. The Film Society’s Online Screening Room is available for iOS and Apple TV and is a free download on iTunes. The web platform and app have been created in association with FORA.tv, a San Francisco-based video production and marketing company.
The Film Society’s Online Screening Room is an additional SFFS membership benefit, which starts at $70 per year. Other year-round member benefits include early access and discounts on all Film Society events, private members-only screening opportunities, invitations to exclusive member preview parties, and more. The Film Society will provide enhanced programming for the Online Screening Room, including at least one new feature-length film per month, plus shorts and videos from Film Festival events past and present.
New content from will be made available on the Online Screening Room throughout the year, including films from the San Francisco International Film Festival and the SFFS Fall Season, Filmmaker360-supported projects and other hits from the international festival circuit selected by Film Society curatorial staff. Films will be available live on the Online Screening Room for a limited time. Members will be notified of new films and expiring content online and in their weekly Picture Talk email newsletter.
“With more than 180 films showing at this year’s festival, it’s hard for one individual, no matter how ardent a fan, to attend all the screenings,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “The Online Screening Room will make it more convenient for our members to enjoy highly curated global cinema. Many of these films will not be returning to play in theaters, nor will they be readily available on traditional streaming services. It also makes Film Society membership even more desirable, with new content added to the Online Screening Room monthly.”
Films from SFIFF will be available on the screening room once they have had their final screening at the Festival, subject to approval by their directors. An estimated 22 feature-length Festival films and shorts will be available; the full lineup of content will be announced in the weeks to come. To learn more, go to watch.sffs.org. To download the iOS apps, search for “San Francisco Film Society” on iTunes and AppleTV.
For general information visit festival.sffs.org.
To request interviews or screeners, contact your Festival publicist.
For photos and press materials visit sffs.org/press.
FORA.TV
FORA.tv is a San Francisco-based digital media company that works with more than 500 organizations, including WIRED Magazine, Oracle, NYU, the San Francisco Film Society, Vanity Fair, Politico and the New Yorker.
FORA.tv helps organizations and brands reach new audiences and increase revenues from live streams, social video campaigns, pay-per-view, sponsorship fulfillment, and broadcast quality production.
Founded in 2006, the company is led by CEO Bob Appel and Chairman William R. Hearst III.
For more information visit fora.tv.
59th San Francisco International Film Festival
The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21-May 5 at the Castro Theatre, the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission, the Roxie Theater and the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco and BAMPFA in Berkeley. Held each spring for 15 days, SFIFF is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities, featuring nearly 200 films and live events, 14 juried awards with nearly $40,000 in cash prizes and upwards of 100 participating filmmaker guests.