The San Francisco Green Film Festival was an environmental

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

which was held annually from 2011 to 2019.

History

The festival was founded by Rachel Caplan, who had previously worked for the

Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

, the

San Francisco Film Society SFFILM, formerly known as The San Francisco Film Society, is a nonprofit arts organization located in San Francisco, California, that presents year-round programs and events in film exhibition, media education, and filmmaker services. The Execut ...

and the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival. She created the festival to connect international environmental films and filmmakers with San Francisco Bay Area audiences and increase awareness of the climate crisis. Over 9 years, the Festival grew from a 3-day programme in one small venue to a weeklong event in multiple venues across the city, and the largest environmental film festival in the USA outside the long-established

Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital is the largest environmental film festival in the world. The festival is held annually March in Washington, D.C., presenting more than 100 films to an audience of over 30,000. Often combine ...

in Washington D.C. The festival was known for its 'Take Action' programmes, encouraging audiences to get involved with local climate campaigns and causes in partnership with organisations such as Sierra Club, Greenpeace, and 350.org. SFGFF was recognised Internationally through an official partnership with the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

(UNEP) to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and membership of the Green Film Network, a global association of 30 film festivals which focus on environmental issues. Its Science on Screen and Impact Film Forum initiatives were funded by National Endowment for the Arts. In nine years, the festival presented over 600 feature length and short films with over 800 guests ranging from filmmakers to scientists, academics, activists, indigenous leaders and youth. Notable guests included

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

Annie Leonard Annie Marie Leonard (born 1964) is an American proponent of sustainability and a critic of consumerism. She created the animated film '' The Story of Stuff'' (2007), which describes the life cycle of material goods. In 2014, she became the Execut ...

Fredrik Gertten Carl Fredrik (von) Gertten (born 3 April 1956 in Malmö) is a Swedish filmmaker, producer and journalist. In 2017, he was appointed as an honorary doctor at Malmö University. He is a brother to the documentary filmmaker Magnus Gertten. In 1994, ...

Louie Psihoyos Louis (Louie) Psihoyos (born April 15, 1957) is an American photographer and documentary film director known for his still photography and contributions to National Geographic. Psihoyos, a certified SCUBA diver, has become increasingly concerned ...

The Yes Men The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, th ...

Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'', a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Pr ...

, Céline Cousteau,

Yann Arthus-Bertrand Yann Arthus-Bertrand (born 13 March 1946) is a French environmentalist, activist, journalist and photographer. He has also directed films about the impact of humans on the planet. He is especially well known for his book ''Earth from Above'' (19 ...

Josh Fox Josh Fox is an American film director, playwright and environmental activist, best known for his Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning 2010 documentary, ''Gasland''. He is one of the most prominent public opponents of hydraulic fracturing and horizont ...

Virginia McKenna Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...

Ralph Eggleston Ralph Eggleston (October 18, 1965 – August 28, 2022). was an American animator, art director, storyboard artist, and production designer at Pixar Animation Studios. He won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for '' For the Birds''. ...

, and Madonna Thunderhawk. In 2018, the Festival was the official film presenting partner of the

Global Climate Action Summit The Global Climate Action Summit was held September 12–14, 2018 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California.Cart, Julie. CALmatters"Heavy hitters on climate change will converge on San Francisco this week, with Gov. Jerry Brown ...

, hosted by the U.N.'s Christiana Figueres, Michael Bloomberg, and California Governor Jerry Brown. In 2019, the Green Film Festival took place for the last time. The Opening Night event at the Castro Theare included a screening of

’s feature documentary film ''Push'', and a conversation with U.N. Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing,

Leilani Farha Leilani Farha is a Canadian lawyer who is the Global Director of THE SHIFT, a housing initiative. Between June 2014 and April 2020, she was the United Nations special rapporteur on adequate housing. Career Farha is legally trained and an alumna ...

. The tenth edition was planned to be held over 10 days in September 2020, but in May it was announced that the festival would cease operations due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Around that time, it had a staff of three employees, not counting its board of directors. In 2022, SF IndieFest launched the 'Green Film Festival of San Francisco' as a new event which is not affiliated with this festival.

Venues

Castro Theatre The Castro Theatre is a historic movie palace in San Francisco that became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street in the Castro District, it was built in 1922 with a California Churrigueresque façad ...

Roxie Theater The Roxie Theater, also known as the Roxie Cinema or just The Roxie, is a historic movie theater, founded in 1912, at 3117 16th Street in the Mission District of San Francisco. It is a non-profit community arthouse cinema. History The Roxie is o ...

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

*518 Valencia *Ninth Street Independent Film Center

Awards

Best Feature Award

*2019 - ''Push'' directed by

*2018 - '' Anote's Ark'' directed by Matthew Rytz *2017 – ''RISE: Standing Rock'' directed by

Michelle Latimer Michelle Latimer is a Canadian actress, director, writer, and filmmaker. She initially rose to prominence for her role as Trish Simkin on the television series ''Paradise Falls'', shown nationally in Canada on Showcase Television (2001–2004). ...

*2016 – '' Catching the Sun'' directed by

Shalini Kantayya Shalini Kantayya is an American filmmaker and environmental activist based in Brooklyn, New York, whose films explore human rights at the intersection of water, food, and renewable energy. Kantayya is best known for her debut feature documentary, ...

*2015 – ''Bikes vs Cars'' directed by

*2014 – ''

DamNation Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite th ...

'' directed by Matt Stoeker, Travis Rummel and Ben Knight *2013 – ''

More Than Honey More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka ...

'' directed by

Markus Imhoof Markus Imhoof (born 19 September 1941) is a Swiss film director, screenwriter, theatre and opera director. Biography He began his career as a documentary maker, focusing on controversial issues. His 1968 film ''Rondo'' was a critical look at ...

*2012 – ''

You've Been Trumped ''You've Been Trumped'' is a 2011 documentary by British filmmaker Anthony Baxter. The film documents the construction of a luxury golf course on a beach in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by developer Donald Trump and the subsequent struggl ...

'' directed by Anthony Baxter

Best Short Award

*2019 - ''After the Fire'' directed by Derek Knowles & Spencer Seibert *2018 - ''Invisible Blanket'' directed by Pasha Reshikov *2017 – ''Pangolin'' directed by Katie Schuler & Nick Rogacki *2016 – ''Nature Rx'' directed by Justin Bogardus *2015 – ''Beyond Recognition'' directed by Michelle Grace Steinberg *2014 – ''Sticky'' directed by Jilli Rose *2013 – ''The Story of An Egg'' directed by

Douglas Gayeton Douglas Gayeton is an American multimedia artist, filmmaker, writer, and photographer who divides his time between a farm near Petaluma, California and Pistoia, a medieval Tuscan town. Along with his wife, Laura Howard-Gayeton, he directThe Le ...

*2012 – ''Coalition of the Willing'' directed by Knife Party

Green Fire Award

Juried award introduced in 2017 for Best Bay Area Environmental Feature with $5,000 prize. *2019 - ''Artifishal'' directed by Josh "Bones" Murphy *2018 - ''Wilder Than Wild: Forests, Fires and the Future'' directed by Stephen Most & Kevin White *2017 – ''Tidewater'' directed by Roger Sorkin

Green Tenacity Award

*2019 - '' Cooked: Survival by Zip Code'' directed by Judith Helfand *2018 - '' Stroop: Journey into the Rhino Horn War'' directed by Susan Scott (and

Bonné de Bod Bonné de Bod (born 11 June 1981) is a South African television presenter and documentary film producer. She is best known for her film STROOP - Journey into the Rhino Horn War. She is also noted for field reporting on the nature television ser ...

) *2017 – ''Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas'' directed by Joakim Demmer *2016 – ''Not Without Us'' directed by Mark Decena *2015 – ''

The Chinese Mayor ''The Chinese Mayor'' (), original title ''Datong'' (大同), is a 2015 documentary that follows Datong mayor Geng Yanbo's efforts to transform one of the China's most polluted cities into a cultural destination, in large part by displacing 500,0 ...

'' directed by Zhou Hao *2014 – ''Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek'' directed by Leah Mahan *2013 – Thomas Riedelsheimer (for body of work) *2012 – ''

Blood in the Mobile ''Blood in the Mobile'' is a 2010 documentary film by Danish film director Frank Piasecki Poulsen. The film addresses the issue of conflict minerals by examining illegal cassiterite mining in the North-Kivu province in eastern DR Congo. In par ...

'' directed by Frank Piasecki Poulsen *2011 – '' Bananas!*'' directed by

Inspiring Lives Award

*2019 - ''

The Age of Stupid ''The Age of Stupid'' is a 2009 British documentary film directed by Franny Armstrong, with first-time producer Lizzie Gillett. The executive producer is John Battsek. The film is a drama- documentary- animation hybrid, which stars Pete Postleth ...

'' directed by

Franny Armstrong Franny Armstrong (born 3 February 1972) is a British documentary film director working for her own company, Spanner Films, and a former drummer with indie pop group The Band of Holy Joy. She is best known for three films: ''The Age of Stupid'', ...

*2018 - ''Food Coop'' directed by Tom Boothe *2017 – Flo Stone, founder of

*2016 –

, actress/activist of ''

Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her in ...

' *2015 – ''

Landfill Harmonic ''Landfill Harmonic'' (stylized as ''landillharmonic'') is a 2015 documentary film directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley. It stars and tells the story of Paraguayan music teacher Favio Chavez and his Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, a childre ...

'' directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley *2014 – ''Project Wild Thing'' directed by David Bond *2013 – '' Bidder 70'' directed by Beth and George Gage *2012 – ''Urban Roots'' directed by Tree Media

Audience Award

*2019 - ''Motherload'' directed by Liz Canning *2018 - ''Patrimonio'' directed by Lisa F. Jackson & Sarah Teale *2017 – ''Yasuni Man'' directed by Ryan Killackey *2016 – ''The Babushkas of Chernobyl'' directed by Holly Morris and Ann Bogart *2015 – ''Landfill Harmonic'' directed by Brad Allgood and Graham Townsley *2014 – ''Seeds of Time'' directed by Sandy McLeod *2013 – ''La Source'' directed by

Patrick Shen Patrick Shen (born 1975) is an American writer and director and producer. Shen is the founder of Transcendental Media. Documentaries Shen directed the Emmy-nominated documentary ''We Served With Pride: The Chinese American Experience in WWII'', ...

*2012 – ''Sushi: The Global Catch'' directed by Mark Hall

Young Filmmaker Award

*2019 - ''Save our Planet'' directed by Alexis Buggs Hodgson *2018 - '' Youth Unstoppable'' directed by Slater Jewell-Kemker *2017 – ''The Plastic Bottle Controversy - Explained'' directed by Jeffery Chen *2016 – ''Escape Velocity'' directed by James Tralie *2015 – ''Pseudo Evolution'' directed by Luisa Gobel and Bruna Almeida

Green Film Network

The Festival was a member of the Green Film Network,Green Film Network
/ref> an association of worldwide environmental film festivals.

References

External links

San_Francisco_Green_Film_Festival_website_ San_Francisco_Green_Film_Festival_website_[archive
/nowiki>">rchive">San_Francisco_Green_Film_Festival_website_[archive
/nowiki> {{Portal.html" ;"title="rchive
/nowiki>.html" ;"title="rchive">San Francisco Green Film Festival website rchive">San_Francisco_Green_Film_Festival_website_[archive
/nowiki> {{Portal">San_Francisco_Bay_Area.html" ;"title="rchive
/nowiki>">rchive">San Francisco Green Film Festival website [archive
/nowiki> {{Portal">San Francisco Bay Area">Environment, Film Film festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area Environmental film festivals in the United States Environmental organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco