2020 Programs

2019 Programs

Welcome to the program lineup for the 10th annual San Francisco Dance Film Festival. This year we are celebrating our 10 Year Anniversary. We are excited to bring to you a rich lineup of feature length dance films and short programs that reflect our growth over the last decade and also gives a nod to how we envision our future.

Festival Dates: November 2 - 10.

2020 Programs

2019 Programs

2019 Festival Programs

Welcome to the program lineup for the 10th annual San Francisco Dance Film Festival. Join us in our tenth year of sharing dance films. We feature dancers from all over the world who use this art form to celebrate life, reflect on current events, and give expression to our innermost thoughts.

2019 Award Winners | 2019 Award Jury

Feature Length Films

Ballet for Life was a unique collaboration between three huge cultural brands: Queen, Versace and the visionary choreographer Maurice Béjart. At its heart is the loss of two legendary performers, Freddie Mercury and dancer Jorge Donn, both of whom died of AIDS in the early 1990s.

Lynne Wake

Maurice Béjart

Queen & Béjart: Ballet For Life

Les Ballets De Monte Carlo, Nacho Duato, SFDFF 2019

… a masterpiece which, according to critics, has reached heights deemed hitherto impossible on the landscape of modern arts.

Andreas Paeper

Nacho Duato

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo

Drama, dance and death innovatively collide in Georgia Parris’ life-affirming debut feature starring renowned contemporary dancer Bobbi Jene Smith. ★★★★ “Stirringly adventurous… A startling level of achievement.” —The Guardian

Georgia Parris

Maxine Doyle

Mari

Various

Dance Films from China

In the ghetto where Lil Buck grew up, violence and poverty are everywhere—but dance is keeping people alive and proud.

Louis Wallecan

Lil Buck

Lil Buck: Real Swan

One of the greatest romantic ballets of all time, Giselle is the first full length work choreographed by Akram Khan. < br /> < br /> ★★★★★ – “Staggeringly beautiful” —Daily Express

Akram Khan

Akram Khan’s Giselle

Created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, the award-winning Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance that explores the psychological states of trauma, grief and addiction.

Jeff Tudor

Crystal Pite

Betroffenheit

Orphée et Eurydice from Lyric Opera of Chicago Preview | Great Performances | PBS

Staged by acclaimed director-choreographer John Neumeier and produced in collaboration with The Joffrey Ballet

Matthew Diamond

John Neumeier

Orphée et Eurydice from Lyric Opera of C…

Répétition(s) | 2019 SF Dance Film Festival

A rare and privileged glimpse as two star dancers embrace the challenge of having one week to learn and rehearse choreographer Ohad Naharin’s B/olero.

Catherine Ginier-Gillet, Luc Pagès

Ohad Naharin

Répétition(s)

Thierrée / Shechter / Pérez / Pite, SFDFF 2019

An evening with the Paris Opera Ballet under the sign of contemporary dance, directed by Cédric Klapisch and Miguel Octave!

Cédric Klapisch, Miguel Octave

James Thierrée, Hofesh Shechter, Iván Pérez, Crystal Pite

Four Choreographers of our Time at the P…

From Knee to Heart | 2019 SF Dance Film Festival

Documentary portrait of the career of Spanish dancer and choreographer Sol Picó

Susanna Barranco

Sol Picó

From Knee to Heart

The ballet itself is the result of Boris Eifman’s years-long contemplation of the great composer’s personality and creative world.

Boris Eifman

TCHAIKOVSKY PRO et CONTRA

Reimagined as a narrative feature and shot on location in Budapest, this film by International Emmy Award-winning directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt brings the Shakespeare classic, and Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s celebrated choreography to the big screen.

Michael Nunn, William Trevitt

Sir Kenneth MacMillan