#sbiff-2026

#sbiff-2026

On May 2, 2025, arts and cultural organizations across the country received notifications that grants and funding promised by the National Endowment for the Arts were being rescinded. This was part of a larger initiative by the Trump Administration to dismantle not just the NEA, but also other arts advocacy programs including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Glander and producer Payson made Boys Go to Jupiter with a tiny team and a $30,000 budget, showcasing the potential of indie filmmaking in animation.

ROOM FOR DREAMS becomes a living manifesto for utopian optimism, creative courage, and the power of imagination through a multilayered approach where large scale installations, cinematic storytelling, live conversations, and ritual-driven encounters converge.

Featuring over 1,800 pieces of cannabis packaging spanning three decades and three continents, 'Get to the Bag' is the world's first mylar art show, now in its third year.

In the new film, he plays a hit man named Mike who is attempting to leave the business when he's framed for murder. He's sleeping with loan shark Nick's wife Alice, so Nick tricks him into pulling off one last job.

The nominees for the 30th annual Webby Awards showcase a diverse range of stars and viral sensations, including Cardi B, Steph Curry, and Dwayne Johnson, alongside unconventional entries like a limited-edition soap made with Sydney Sweeney's bathwater.

The Sonoma Film Festival will offer a dozen queer features, documentaries, and shorts, showcasing diverse narratives and perspectives within the LGBTQ+ community.

In the film, Bronz's character is commissioned to compose a new national anthem for post-Oct. 7 Israel, and writes a warmongering ballad about destroying Gaza and 'love sanctified in blood.'

I never sang as a child, but in my guts, and a whole lot of chaos, music wasn't something I planned. It was something that saved me. It gave me a voice when I felt I didn't have one. It let me scream when I needed to scream and whisper when the world needed to listen. Every scar, every tattoo, every song has a story.

Jeff Ross didn't plan to start his own film festival. In 1998, he was working for both the SF International Film Festival and the San Francisco Film Society, yet he couldn't find a single local venue to screen the film "Caged" by his friend Rand Alexander. Within months, Ross found himself running the first San Francisco Independent Film Festival (SF IndieFest) out of The Roxie Theater in The Mission.

Each year, most films leave the festival without a distributor in place, and we've only seen a handful of sales so far despite Netflix, Neon, Searchlight, Focus, A24, and more all on the ground. Plus, newcomer distribution groups like Row K and Warners' independent label also landed in Utah to make an impression. Alas, many movies still need a home, and below, IndieWire rounds up the ones we think distributors will click with - some more intrepid than others, but all worthy of a hopefully big-screen landing place.