AWARDS
Golden Gate Awards
The GGAs recognize and promote excellence in documentaries, animation, shorts, experimental film and video, youth works and work for television.
New Directors Prize
This $15,000 cash award supports innovative thinking by independent filmmakers and shines the spotlight on an emerging director. Films in this juried competition must be the director's first narrative feature, exhibit a unique artistic sensibility or vision and deserve to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.
FIPRESCI Prize
Selected by the International Federation of Film Critics, this award aims to promote film art, to encourage new and young cinema and to help films get better distribution and win greater public attention.
Founder’s Directing Award
This award is given each year to a master of world cinema in memory of Irving M. Levin, visionary founder of the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1957. This year's recipient is Oliver Stone.
Peter J. Owens Award
Named for the longtime San Francisco benefactor of arts and charitable organizations Peter J. Owens (1936–1991), this soon-to-be announced award honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity. This year's recipient is Terence Stamp.
Kanbar Award
The Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting acknowledges the crucial role that screenwriting plays in the creation of great films. This year's recipient is Frank Pierson.
Mel Novikoff Award
Named in honor of legendary San Francisco film exhibitor Mel Novikoff (1922–1987), this award is given to an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema. This year's recipient is Serge Bromberg.
Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award
Established in 1997, the Persistence of Vision Award each year honors the achievement of a filmmaker whose main body of work is outside the realm of typical narrative feature filmmaking, crafting documentaries, short films, television, animated, experimental or multiplatform work. This year's recipient is Matthew Barney.
Midnight Awards
The Film Festival's Midnight Awards have been created to honor a dynamic young American actor and actress who have made outstanding contributions to independent and Hollywood cinema, and who bring striking intelligence, talent and depth of character to their roles. This year's recipients are Clifton Collins, Jr. and Zoe Saldana.
State of Cinema Address
Each year, the Festival invites a leader in the world of cinema to address the issues facing the film world today. Past speakers include Peter Sellars, Tilda Swinton, Brad Bird, B. Ruby Rich, Michel Ciment, Kevin Kelly, Mary Ellen Mark and Walter Murch.This year's address will be delivered by Christine Vachon.
Film Society Awards Night
This star-studded occasion honors this year's directing, acting and screenwriting award recipients with a glamorous black-tie evening featuring onstage celebrity appearances and gourmet dining.
