For over 30 years, SFFILM and the Mel Novikoff Family Foundation have presented the Novikoff Award at the annual San Francisco International Film Festival. The Novikoff Award is named for Mel Novikoff (1922–1987), the pioneering San Francisco-based art and repertory film exhibitor. His influence on film appreciation and movie-going culture endures through the Award which is given to an individual or institution that honors the history of cinema and celebrates theatrical exhibition as a means of connecting audiences with the art of film. The honoree is selected by members of the Novikoff Committee which is made up of notable filmmakers, curators, exhibitors, culture workers, and historians whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema.