Stephen Currydidn’t stop by the San Francisco International Film Festival after all, but theGolden State Warriorssuperstar still found a way to be the center of attention.

The 66th editionof the oldest festival in the North Americas opened outside San Francisco for the first time on Thursday, April 13, with the Bay Area premiere of “Stephen Curry: Underrated” at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. Although Curryhad never committed to appear in person,rumors swirled that he might attend (his image was even included on the “face sheet” handed to media lining the red carpet before the screening). Instead, Curry, who did appear at the world premiere of the documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in January, sent a video recorded earlier in the day from the Warriors’ practice facility at Chase Center, apologizing for his absence and explaining to the cheers of the sold-out crowd that “I’m getting ready for our playoff chase; we are locked in.”

Game 1 of the Warriors’first-round series with the Kingsis Saturday, April 15, in Sacramento.

Curry also revealed that the Apple TV+/A24 film that traces his rise from unheralded lightweight high school athlete who received only one Division I college offerto an NBA greatwill debut on Apple TV+ on July 21.

Still, there was plenty of star power in the 560-seat arena — err, make thattheater. But the cheers during the film as Curry led tiny Davidson College to the Elite Eight in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and the Warriors to four NBA championships briefly turned the 97-year-old movie palace into Chase Center East.

Warriors owner Joe LacobandOakland Mayor Sheng Thaowere in the audience, while “Black Panther” director and Oakland nativeRyan Coogler,who produced; Oakland-based director Peter Nicks; and retired Davidson coachBob McKillopwere among those on hand to present the film.

“My mother took me to my first-ever movie in this theater,” Coogler told the audience.

Nicks added, “All of my films have played here, and SFFilm has supported me from the beginning.”

While lines spilled onto Grand Avenue for a sold-out second screening of the documentary, most of the filmmaking team relocated to the Oakland Museum of California for the opening night party, where attendees included comedian and TV hostW. Kamau Bell,whose documentary “1000% Me: Growing up Mixed,” about the joys and struggles of children growing up as mixed race, is scheduled to screen at the festival; Hollywood director and Oakland residentJennifer Phang,who just wrapped production on the Disney+ movie “Descendants: The Rise of Red”; Bay Area-raised Oscar-winning producerJoseph Patel(“Summer of Soul”); and Palo Alto’sTanuj Chopra,showrunner and director of season two of Netflix’s “Delhi Crime.”

Earlier on the red carpet,SFFilm Executive Director Anne Laisaid the decision to open the festival in Oakland was an “organic” one considering the Oakland ties of Coogler, Nicks and Curry, who called the city home for 10 years when the Warriors played at Oracle Arena.

Asked what she loved most about Curry, Lai laughed and said, “I’m gonna go with his beard. It’s not even his phenomenal athletic talent; it’s the beard.”

On a more serious note, Thao was asked aboutan article in The Chroniclein which East Bay nativesRafael Casal and Daveed Diggsstated they were frustrated they were not able to shoot more of their Starz series “Blindspotting” in Oakland (the series’ interiors were shot mostly in Los Angeles, with some exterior scenes shot in the East Bay).

Casal, who is set to presentthe first two episodes of season twoat the Grand Lake Theatre on Friday, April 14, said that while the Oakland Film Office was “good” to the “Blindspotting” production, the unit is understaffed, and Alameda County doesn’t offer tax breaks that could help attract film production to the region.

Mayor Thao said she has been working on transforming the film office since she was on the City Council.

“There’s a pricelessness to making sure that films can be filmed in Oakland, and these are some of the talks that I’m currently already having,” Thao said. “I want to create a stronger base here and really cut down the red tape and the bureaucracy. We have the talent, we have the arts and culture here, and it’s a great place to film.”

Nicks, known for his Oakland trilogy of documentaries that addressed issues of health care(“The Waiting Room,” 2012),policing(“The Force, 2017”)and education(“Homeroom, 2021”),agrees.

“I think we need a better film office in Oakland. A bigger staff, No. 1, tax breaks, and liaisons that connect out to young people,” said Nicks, whose “Underrated” is the first project of Proximity Media, which he formed with Coogler, and which he said will have a footprint in the East Bay. “There’s all these debates about investments in the community. The big ones are, ‘Should we invest tax dollars in a new stadium? ’ I’m not an economist. I don’t know if that makes economic sense. But I do know from a cultural perspective the ripple effect of empowering artists to tell stories in communities is profound and has lasting, multigenerational implications, both economically and in inspiring young people to know that their voicemeanssomething, whether it’s in music, film, theater or what have you.”

In a sense, he added, that’s what “Underrated” is about. It might be a profile of a basketball star, but it also has a theme that runs through all of Nicks’ films.

“It’s a reminder of how family and community can help unlock the potential within us,” he said, “and to stay open to the people around you instead of just focusing on your goal.”

Reach G. Allen Johnson:ajohnson@sfchronicle.com; Twitter:@BRFilmsAllen