{"id":302829,"date":"2026-05-06T17:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/302829\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T17:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:30:13","slug":"san-francisco-international-film-festival-winners-announced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/302829\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco International Film Festival Winners Announced"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSFFILM has announced the winners of the Golden Gate Awards for the 69th edition of the San Francisco International Film Festival<\/a>. The 2026 festival ran April 24 to May 4 in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, hosting over 40,000 attendees, filmmakers, and students from around the Bay area.<\/p>\n

Anne Lai, SFFILM\u2019s Executive Director, said, \u201cWe couldn\u2019t have asked for a more incredible Festival this year. There was such a strong spirit of discovery throughout\u2014from audiences diving into thoughtfully curated films, to filmmakers bringing honesty and insight to every Q&A. Our supporters and volunteers made each event feel special, and our partners welcomed everyone with true warmth and generosity. We\u2019re so grateful to everyone who showed up and made it what it was. Human connection is what made this year so memorable\u2014it is one for the books! We can\u2019t wait to celebrate our 70th Anniversary together next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Below, the full list of Golden Gate Award and Audience Award winners for SFFILM\u2019s 69th San Francisco International Film Festival.<\/p>\n

New Directors Award
\u201cFilipi\u00f1ana\u201d \u2014 Rafael Manuel<\/p>\n

Kirby Walker Documentary Award
\u201cHow to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps\u201d \u2014 Carolina Gonz\u00e1lez Valencia<\/p>\n

Global Visions Award
\u201cSalvation\u201d \u2014 Emin Alper<\/p>\n

Short Film Award\u2014Narrative
\u201cCallback\u201d \u2014 Matthew Puccini<\/p>\n

Short Film Award\u2014Documentary
\u201cIn the Morning Sun\u201d \u2014 Serville Poblete<\/p>\n

Short Film Award\u2014Animation
\u201cPaper Trail\u201d \u2014 Don Hertzfeldt<\/p>\n

Short Film Award\u2014Bay Area
\u201cThe Baddest Speechwriter of All\u201d \u2014 Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry<\/p>\n

Mid-Length Film Award
\u201cScenes from the Divide\u201d \u2014 Alison Klayman<\/p>\n

Cine Latino Spotlight
\u201cIt Would Be Night In Caracas\u201d \u2014 Mariana Rond\u00f3n, Marit\u00e9 Ug\u00e1s<\/p>\n

Family Films Award
\u201cDuet\u201d \u2014 L\u00e9o Brunel<\/p>\n

Youth Works Award
\u201cCindy Undead\u201d \u2014 Mariella Guti\u00e9rrez<\/p>\n

Audience Award\u2014Narrative
\u201cHot Water<\/a>\u201d \u2014 Ramzi Bashour<\/p>\n

Audience Award\u2014Documentary
\u201cFigaro Up, Figaro Down\u201d \u2014 Javid Soriano<\/p>\n

\t\tTuesday, May 5 \t<\/p>\n

\n\tLMGI Elects Danny Finn as President and Unveils New Board for 2026\u20132027 Term<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Location Managers Guild International has named Danny Finn as its new president and unveiled its 2026\u20132027 board of directors, marking the guild\u2019s first major leadership transition in five years.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinn, an award-winning location manager whose credits include \u201cHacks,\u201d \u201cFreakier Friday\u201d and \u201cHer,\u201d was unanimously elected to the role. Based in Los Angeles, he previously served as the guild\u2019s second vice president and played a key role in its communications strategy and international outreach, including appearances on global industry panels.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are experiencing historic, industry-wide changes, with \u2018grey stages\u2019 and generative AI positioned as alternatives to the real-world work our members do every day,\u201d Finn said. \u201cThis underscores the urgency of our work as a guild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added that the organization will continue \u201cchampioning that work, celebrating our members, elevating their creative contributions, and continuing to push for authentic, location-driven storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJoining Finn on the executive team are Robin Macdonald as first vice president, Ryan Schaetzle as second vice president, Andrea Keener as secretary and Edward Mazurek as treasurer.<\/p>\n

\n\tReturning to board service are founding members Mike Fantasia and Stevie Nelson, along with Ken Brooker. Re-elected directors include Michael Glaser, Eric Klein and Schaetzle, while Hannah James-Johnson joins as a newly elected director.<\/p>\n

\n\tFinn succeeds outgoing president John Rakich, who led the guild for five years, including through the COVID-19 pandemic and a period of global growth.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe guild also confirmed that the 2026 LMGI Awards will take place Aug. 22 at the Broad Performing Arts Center in Santa Monica.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2018Star Wars\u2019 Collectibles Including Stormtrooper Helmet and Rare Posters Available for Auction<\/p>\n

\n\tEntertainment memorabilia auction house Propstore is offering \u201cStar Wars\u201d collectors and fans the chance to own tangible pieces of the cinematic saga across two upcoming auctions.<\/p>\n

The Online Entertainment Memorabilia Auction will run May 4-21, while the Collectible Posters Auction will be held May 4-22.<\/p>\n

Highlights include a Stormtrooper helmet from \u201cStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,\u201d credited to be displayed among the remains of the Death Star during Rey\u2019s search for the Sith Wayfinder. It is estimated to sell between $2,640 to $5,280. Also up for grabs is a Resistance bomb from \u201cStar Wars: The Last Jedi,\u201d used during the film\u2019s opening battle sequence and priced within the same range as the helmet.<\/p>\n

Leading the selection of curated posters is a British UK Quad \u201cGone with the Wind\u201d style poster for Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and is estimated to sell between $13,200 to 26,400, joined by a rare Russian three-panel poster produced for \u201cStar Wars\u2019\u201d delayed Soviet release in 1991. Issued as part of a limited artist series, it remains one of the rarest Star Wars poster designs, estimated at $3,300 to $6,600.<\/p>\n

Both auctions are open for bidding and feature over 400 lots each.<\/p>\n

Stephen Lane, Propstore\u2019s founder and CEO, said, \u201c\u2019Star Wars\u2019 material has always been synonymous with Propstore, and it remains one of the most enduring and sought-after areas of collecting. From iconic poster artwork to pieces used in the films themselves, this selection reflects the depth and legacy of the franchise, and we\u2019re thrilled to bring it to auction for fans this May the Fourth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor more information, visit the Propstore website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SFFILM has announced the winners of the Golden Gate Awards for the 69th edition of the San Francisco…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[127831,42095,101,103,93779,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-302829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-film-news-in-brief","tag-hot-water","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-international-film-festival","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}