49th San Francisco International Film Festival Ticket Office Opens

Festival Passes and Tickets on Sale Today

March 28, 2006

San Francisco, CA—The 49th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 20–May 4) ticket office opens to  San Francisco Film Society members on Tuesday, March 28  and to the general public on Tuesday, April 4. The Festival will present 227 films during its 15-day run at the Kabuki 8 Theatres and the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, the Pacific Film Archive Theater in Berkeley and Landmark’s Aquarius Theater in Palo Alto, including numerous premieres of outstanding narrative features and exceptional nonfiction works, as well as treasures from film archives of the world.

Each year the Festival celebrates extraordinary actors, directors, individuals and institutions whose work furthers the film-going public’s acquaintance with world cinema. The 49th San Francisco International Film Festival will present the Film Society Directing Award to Werner Herzog, the Peter J. Owens Award to Ed Harris and the Kanbar Award for excellence in screenwriting to Jean-Claude Carrière at Film Society Awards Night. This magical evening, which benefits the Education Program of the San Francisco Film Society, features tributes from friends and peers toasting the honorees on Thursday, April 27, at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. For Film Society Awards Night information and tickets only, call 415. 551.5190.

Regular admission tickets to Festival screenings are $11 for the general public and $9 for San Francisco Film Society members. Tickets are $10 for persons with disabilities, seniors and students. For weekday matinees, times up to and including 5 pm, tickets are $7.50. Special admission prices apply for Big Nights and Special Presentations.

CineVisa ($650 members only), the most comprehensive and versatile ticket option, offers access to all Festival ticketed events (excluding Opening and Closing Night). The flexibility of a fully transferable CineVisa ensures no waiting in lines or wondering about ticket availability.

Two special venue-specific packages—the Castro Pass ($155 members only) and the Aquarius Pass ($45 members only) provide access to ticketed programs exclusively at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco (excluding Opening and Closing Night films) or Landmark’s Aquarius Theatre in downtown Palo Alto.

The Stella Artois Late Show Movie Pass ($32 members only) includes admission to all four Late Show screenings at the Kabuki 8 Theatres and access to the Stella Artois Lounge where the Festival will provide complimentary Stella Artois beverages 30 minutes prior to each screening.  Must be 21 years or older to enter the Stella Artois Lounge; proof of age is required.  Please drink responsibly.

Talk Cinema Ticket Package ($30 general/$24 members) is valid for admission to all three films at the Kabuki 8 Theatres at 10 am on April 22, 23 and 29.  The films, which are selected by Talk Cinema founder Harlan Jacobson, will not be announced in advance; they will be introduced by a Talk Cinema moderator once the audience has taken their seats.

Family Films Package ($40 general/$32 members/$26 children 12 and under) includes tickets to select screenings of Not So Quiet Silents with Alloy Orchestra, Viva Cuba, the Youth Gone Wild and Friends—Lost and Found shorts programs.

KinoTek Ticket Package ($50 general/$40 members) offers tickets to select screenings of Addictive TV: Eye of the Pilot/Optronica; Cock Byte: Masters of Machinima; Scribble, Scrppble, I.C. You; Pocket Cinema; and Addictive TV Eats San Francisco.

CineVoucher 10 Pack ($100 general/$80 members) provides a voucher for 10 tickets to regularly priced Festival films at a discounted price.

Group Sales For information please call Film Society Marketing Department at 415.561.5047.

Founded in 1957, the vanguard San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for two weeks, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring some 200 films and live events with more than 100 filmmakers in attendance, presenting some 22 awards and attracting a diverse audience of nearly 80,000 people.

The 49th International runs April 20–May 4, 2006 at the Kabuki 8 Theatres, the Castro Theatre 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, as well as several smaller venues. To purchase tickets and for ticket information log on to www.sffs.org, call 925.866.9559 or visit the Main Ticket Outlet at the Kabuki 8 Theatres (1881 Post Street) or the Satellite Ticket Outlet at Virgin Megastore (2 Stockton Street). For additional information log on to www.sffs.org or call 415.561.5000.

San Francisco Film Society, presenter of the flagship SFIFF, is a nonprofit arts and educational organization dedicated to celebrating the world of film and media in all its glorious forms. In early 2006 the Film Society unveiled SF360, a broad-spectrum series of initiatives designed to showcase the extraordinary vitality, variety and innovation of the San Francisco Bay Area film and media scene, including www.sf360.org, SF360 San Francisco Movie Night, SF360 InSchool Cinemas and the SF360 Festival of Festivals.

The Film Society will present the first annual San Francisco International Animation Festival from October 11–15, 2006 and a new SF International Youth Media Festival in 2007.

First to 50: SFIFF will hold its landmark 50th anniversary in April 2007.