It seems like there’s always a film festival somewhere in the Bay Area, and even in the summer — perhaps the slowest season on the calendar for those events — there are some options for cinephiles who would rather spend nice, sunny days in a cool, darkened theater.
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TheSan Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festivalis back at full strength after two years of pandemic-affected events.
Highlights include a free outdoor screening of local filmmakerH.P. Mendoza’slatest film, “Attack, Decay, Release,” at 9 p.m. Sunday, June 19, at at the Proxy Theater in Hayes Valley; a documentary profile of San Francisco live events producer Marc Huestis (“Impresario,” 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 21, Castro Theatre); and a centerpiece presentation of “Last Dance,” Coline Abert’s documentary about drag performer Vincent DeFonte, a.k.a. Lady Vinsantos — who got her start at San Francisco’s Trannyshack — as the artist prepares for one final show in Paris.
The centerpiece party at Oasis nightclub (298 11th St., S.F.), clad in a newvibrant mural, follows the “Last Dance” screening at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 23, with drag luminaries in attendance. Many of these programs also can be streamed through the festival’s website.
June 16-30. $15.50-$17.50. Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., S.F.; Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F.; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third St., S.F.; Proxy, 432 Octavia St., S.F.; AMC Kabuki 8, 1881 Post St., S.F.; the New Parkway Theater, 474 24th St., Oakland.www.frameline.org
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Highlights include a special preview of the documentary series “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” about how Americans grappled with one of history’s greatest humanitarian crises, featuring an onstage conversation at the Castro Theatre with filmmakers肯布rns,Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein; San Francisco native David Strathairn(“Nomadland,”“Nightmare Alley”)presents in person the world premiere of “Remember This,” in which he plays Polish diplomat Jan Karski, a World War II hero and Holocaust witness; and Oakland filmmakerPratibha Parmar’stake on feminist writer and activist Andrea Dworkin, “My Name Is Andrea,” which features Ashley Judd,Andrea Riseboroughand Christine Lahti(“Grace and Frankie”).
July 21–Aug. 7. Ticket prices are still to be announced. Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., S.F. (July 21–25); Landmark’s Albany Twin 1115 Solano Ave., Albany (July 26–31); streaming (Aug. 1–7).www.jfi.org
Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival
The Silicon Valley-based Cinequest becomes the last major Bay Area film festival to mark its in-person return.
The festival’s 30th edition was six days in when it came to a screeching halt, along with the rest of the world, with the arrival of the first COVID-19 shelter-in-place order in March 2020. The festival has since poured its resources intoan innovative online festival,Cinejoy. (Cinequest, known for pushing the boundaries of film festival technology, first began streaming online in 2005.) Now the in-person component returns at a new spot in the calendar, August.
Aug. 16-29. Various venues in San Jose and elsewhere in Silicon Valley.www.cinequest.org
Freelance writer Pam Grady contributed to this report.