March 29, 2005

48th San Francisco International Film Festival Announces Second Annual Fipresci Prize and Jury; Films from Around the Globe Contend for the International Critics Prize

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5) announces its second annual international juried competition for the FIPRESCI Prize at the Festival. The FIPRESCI Prize, which has been a distinguished competition for many years at film festivals throughout the world, is for first or second feature-length films by emerging directors judged by an international jury of film critics. The winning title will be announced at the Festival's Golden Gate Awards on Wednesday, May 4, 2005.

FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics) has been in existence for more than 65 years, with membership from over 60 countries. The prize was established to promote film art and to encourage new and emerging cinema. The purpose of FIPRESCI is to support cinema as an art and as an outstanding and autonomous means of expression.

This year, the jury will consist of three internationally known film professionals: Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC-FM and KCET-TV and president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association; Zlatko Vidackovic, film critic for the Vijenac, a Croatian arts weekly publication and artistic director for the Pula Film Festival; and Marcelo Janot, film critic for Criticos.com.br and Journal do Brazil. Last year, in its inaugural year at the Festival, the FIPRESCI jury selected as its award winner, the Oscar-nominated German/Mongolian production, THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL.

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival runs April 21—May 5, 2005 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Home of the Festival, the Castro Theatre, the Palace of Fine Arts, Kanbar Hall at the Jewish Community Center and the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco; the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley; and Landmark's Aquarius Theatre in Palo Alto. Tickets for San Francisco Film Society members will be available on March 29 and for the general public on April 5. To purchase tickets and for ticket information log on to www.sffs.org, call 925.866.9559 or visit the Main Ticket Outlet, located in the atrium of the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street or the Satellite Ticket Outlet at the Virgin Megastore, 2 Stockton Street. For up-to-date Festival information log on to www.sffs.org or call 415.561.5000.

The 48th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 21—May 5, 2005) is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, a nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image.