49th SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
APRIL 20 - MAY 4, 2006

CALL for ENTRIES

August 11, 2005

San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco International Film Festival, a celebration of international and independent film and filmmakers, presenting the best in world cinema since 1957, announces the call for entries for the 49th San Francisco International Film Festival, scheduled to run April 20-May 4, 2006. In 2005 the 15-day Festival presented 185 films from 49 countries, reached an audience of over 77,000 film lovers, filmmakers, industry representatives and journalists and awarded $31,500 in cash prizes to filmmakers. Narrative features, documentaries, shorts, animation, experimental, youth-produced works and television productions on film, video and digital media which have been completed after January 1, 2005 may be submitted. The Festival highlights current trends in international film and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution.

ENTRY INFORMATION
Filmmakers are encouraged to access comprehensive information and eligibility requirements and to complete the entry form online at the San Francisco Film Society Web site, www.sffs.org, beginning September 5. Entry forms and eligibility requirements can also be requested by email, gga@sffs.org (for the Golden Gate Awards competition) or programming@sffs.org (for narrative features); by fax, 415.561.5099, Attention Programming Department; or by mail, Programming Department, San Francisco Film Society, 39 Mesa Street, Suite 110, The Presidio, San Francisco CA 94129, USA. The primary deadline, with a discounted fee, for all submissions is 5:00 pm PST, Friday, November 11, 2005. The final deadline is 5:00 pm PST, Friday, December 9, 2005. Both deadlines are for receipt at the Festival office.

NARRATIVE FEATURE ENTRIES
Narrative features over 40 minutes long, which will not have been screened or broadcast on television in the San Francisco Bay Area prior to May 5, 2006 are eligible for consideration.

First features by emerging filmmakers are eligible for the SKYY Prize, which includes a $10,000 cash award and was established in 1997 by the Festival and premier sponsor SKYY Vodka to recognize a director whose film exhibits a unique artistic sensibility. At the 48th Festival the SKYY Prize went to Miranda July's ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW.

Feature-length works are also eligible for the FIPRESCI Prize, awarded by members of the International Federation of Film Critics. The San Francisco International Film Festival is one of only three North American film festivals selected to award the FIPRESCI Prize. The Italian film PRIVATE directed by Saverio Costanzo won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 48th Festival.

GOLDEN GATE AWARDS COMPETITION
Documentaries, shorts, animation, experimental, youth-produced works and television productions may be submitted for consideration for the Golden Gate Awards competition which will present 14 awards and cash prizes totaling $21,500. Entries will be reviewed by panels of dedicated media professionals for nomination as Official Selections for the competition. Last year's submissions exceeded 1,400 films and videos from over 80 countries.

Distinguished international juries will convene during the Festival to select the Golden Gate Award winners and bestow cash prizes up to $5,000 per category. At the 48th Festival additional in-kind prizes donated by Apple, Kodak and Alpha Cine Labs were also awarded. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes the San Francisco International Film Festival as a qualifying festival for the Short Film and Documentary Short Subject categories for the 78th Annual Academy Awards. Recent Golden Gate Award competition films which have gone on to further acclaim include DOUBLE DARE, GIRL TROUBLE, OFF TO WAR, THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN, THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, DAUGHTER FROM DANANG and RIVERS AND TIDES.

AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Awards will be given to the Best Narrative Feature and the Best Documentary Feature. The 2005 VIRGINMEGA Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was presented to ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW. The VIRGINMEGA Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to PURSUIT OF EQUALITY directed by Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw.

The Golden Gate Awards, SKYY Prize and FIPRESCI Prize will be presented at the Golden Gate Awards ceremony on Wednesday, May 3. The Audience Awards will be announced on Closing Night, Thursday, May 4, 2006.

The San Francisco Film Society, presenter of the 49th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 20-May 4, 2006), is a nonprofit arts and education organization dedicated to celebrating international film and the moving image.