PRIMARY DEADLINE: postmarked by Friday, November 7, 2008
FINAL DEADLINE: postmarked by Friday, December 5, 2008

The longest-running film festival in the Americas, the San Francisco International Film Festival has built an international reputation for bringing the world's finest films and filmmakers together with passionate and enthusiastic Bay Area audiences. Visionary from the start, the S.F. International has shown nearly 6,000 films from over 120 countries to nearly two million people and earned worldwide recognition as an extraordinary showcase of cinematic excellence.

Narrative features, documentaries, shorts, animation, experimental, youth-produced and television works on film, video and digital media which have been completed after January 1, 2008 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.

HOW TO ENTER
Entry form and information: http://www.sffs.org/sfiff/enter.html.
San Francisco Film Society members at the Filmmaker Pro level are eligible for a discount on SFIFF entry fees. More information about SFFS membership can be found at http://www.sffs.org/membership/index.html.

GOLDEN GATE AWARDS COMPETITION
Documentaries, shorts, animation, experimental, youth-produced and television works are eligible for 15 Golden Gate Awards and cash prizes totaling $80,000. SFIFF52 will inaugurate the Golden Gate Award for Best Investigative Documentary Feature, with a juried cash prize of $25,000. This new award, along with increases in the purse for Best Documentary Feature to $20,000 and Best Bay Area Documentary Feature to $15,000, enable the International to showcase the finest nonfiction works from across the globe.

NEW DIRECTOR'S PRIZE
Established in 1997 by the Festival to recognize a film with a unique artistic sensibility or vision. First features by emerging filmmakers will be considered for the $15,000 prize.

AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Awards will be given to the Best Narrative Feature and the Best Documentary Feature. The Chris Holter Award for Humor in Film includes a $3,500 prize.

For More Information Contact: gga@sffs.org