Olivia Wilde’s THE INVITE, POWER BALLAD, Among Lineup for 2026 San Francisco International Film Festival
The Festival returns to San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley April 24 through May 4, 2026.
SFFILM has unveiled the program for the 69th San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The Festival returns to San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley April 24 through May 4, 2026.
The lineup includes 79 programs from 40 countries, filled with award-winning performers like Tilda Swinton, Danielle Brooks, Irrfan Khan, Dale Dickey, Dustin Hoffman, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Paul Rudd, Lubna Azabal, Don Cheadle, Jamie Lee Curtis, Charlotte Rampling, and Demi Moore. Take a look at highlights from the lineup below.
Tickets will go on sale for SFFILM Members on Wednesday, April 1, at 10 am here. The online box office will open to the general public on Friday, April 3, at 10 am. Ticket prices for General Admission are $20, and $16 for SFFILM Members. Senior, student, and ADA are $19. For select programs, tickets for Children 14 and under are $11.
The Festival’s Opening Night returns to the newly restored Castro Theatre with a double feature. Kicking off the night is Kent Jones' Late Fame from Magnolia Pictures, starring Greta Lee and Willem Dafoe. Both Jones and Lee are expected to join in person.
The second feature is The Invite, directed by and starring Olivia Wilde. Fresh off its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and newly acquired by A24, the film also stars Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton. Written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, the story follows two very different couples whose lives collide during an unexpected night together. Wilde will appear in person to present this San Francisco-set story to its hometown audience on 35mm film.
The Centerpiece presentation announced last month is Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters. The new film from NEON makes its West Coast and hometown premiere with two sold-out screenings, showing at Oakland’s historic movie palace, the Grand Lake Theatre. Riley, plus cast members Poppy Liu, Eiza González, and Lakeith Stanfield, are expected to join in person.
The already sold-out Closing Night program is a very special May the 4th “Star Wars Day” screening of Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back, including an onstage conversation between C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, and his lifelong friend, Lucasfilm veteran, and SFFILM Board Vice President Howard Roffman.
Several Special Events and Awards programs throughout the 11-day run celebrate film’s singular influence on global culture by recognizing the artistry behind filmmaking. The beloved Music + Film program returns with Beth Aala’s intimate portrait of Grammy-winning musician Gabriela Quintero of Rodrigo y Gabriela titled Mysterious Bird. The mid-length documentary is paired with a special musical performance by guitarist Gabriela Quintero presenting her Música x los Animales project with producer and multi-Grammy winning artist Daniel Ho.
In celebration of the Berkeley Repertory Theater’s world premiere screen-to-stage musical adaptation of The Lunchbox debuting in May, the Festival will host An Evening with Ritesh Batra and a special screening of The Lunchbox (2013), his debut feature.
The Persistence of Vision Award honors the achievement of a filmmaker whose main body of work falls outside the realm of traditional narrative feature filmmaking. This year’s honoree is experimental filmmaker and poet Lynne Sachs. With support from San Francisco Cinematheque, the program which will be held at the Berkeley Museum of Art and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) features an award presentation, onstage conversation, and screening of Sachs's new film Every Contact Leaves a Trace.
The 2026 Mel Novikoff Award will be presented to Michelle Satter, the Founding Senior Director of Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, who has championed independent filmmakers there since 1981. She will be joined in conversation by Bay Area filmmaker Peter Nicks and a special screening of the celebrated 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild, a project supported by both Sundance and SFFILM.
Other notable titles include Tuner, directed by Academy Award-winning Daniel Roher, which follows a piano tuner whose extraordinary hearing leads him into a risky life of crime, with Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall starring. Also screening is Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff's Give Me the Ball!, a documentary spotlighting Billie Jean King. In Sender, directed by Russell Goldman, Britt Lower plays a young woman whose online shopping habit turns terrifying when mysterious, eerily personal packages begin arriving, with Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis co-starring.
The two special Member Screenings features are Carolina Cavalli's The Kidnapping of Arabella, a road trip adventure in which a precocious seven-year-old accidentally fakes her own kidnapping, sending her father, played by Chris Pine, into a panic. Director John Carney brings his Power Ballad, a musical comedy in which former boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) and wedding singer Rick (Paul Rudd) clash over a stolen song turned global hit.
The historic Golden Gate Awards (GGAs) juried competition carries on for the 69th year with cash prizes awarded to New Directors Competition, Global Visions Competition, Mid-Length Competition, and a prize for the best documentary feature film with the Kirby Walker Documentary Award. There is also a special spotlight recognizing a standout Cine Latino title.
Program Highlights
Opening Night: The Invite
Director: Olivia Wilde, Producers: David Permut, Ben Browning, Megan Ellison
(USA 2026, 107 min)
Nothing is off limits in Olivia Wilde’s (Booksmart, Festival 2019) taboo-smashing third feature where two San Francisco couples meet for a casual get-to-know-one-another dinner but instead find themselves traversing surprising boundaries of intimacy and relationships. Penelope Cruz, Olivia Wilde, Edward Norton, and Seth Rogen star.
Opening Night: Late Fame
Director: Kent Jones, Producers: Pam Koffler, Christine Vachon, Mason Plotts, Danny Roberts, H.S. Naji, Jackie Langelier, Ethan Lazar, Taylor Shung
(USA 2025, 96 min)
When a retired poet’s forgotten writings capture the attention of a vibrant NYC group, admiration, longing, and desire stir in this heartfelt, witty meditation on ambition and second chances. Willem Dafoe and Greta Lee star.
Centerpiece: I Love Boosters
Director: Boots Riley, Producers: Aaron Ryder, Andrew Swett, Allison Rose Carter, Jon Read, Boots Riley
(USA 2026, 106 min)
A fearless crew of young women led by Corvette (Keke Palmer) shoplift designer clothes across the Bay Area and sell them at deep discounts. When fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore) takes notice, their rivalry escalates—sparking a bold plan for one final heist.
Closing Night: Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back
Director: Irvin Kershner, Producer: Gary Kurtz
(USA 1980, 124 min)
After the Rebellion’s defeat on the ice planet Hoth, Luke journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda. Darth Vader attempts to convert Luke to the dark side.
Special Screening: Power Ballad
Director: John Carney, Producers: Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan, Robert Walpole
(Ireland, USA 2026, 98 min)
After former boy-band star Danny (Nick Jonas) turns a song stolen from wedding singer Rick (Paul Rudd) into a global hit, the two musicians clash in a hilarious, heartfelt, and chaotic battle over creativity and credit.
Hot Water
Director: Ramzi Bashour, Producers: Jesse Hope, Max Walker-Silverman, Josh Peters
(USA 2026, 97 min)
Ramzi Bashour’s poignant road movie depicts an anxious mother transporting her delinquent son from Indiana to California and highlights the glories of the American Midwest while unpacking the dynamics of parenting and letting go. With Lubna Azabal and Dale Dickey
If I Go Will They Miss Me
Director: Walter Thompson-Hernández, Producers: Josh Peters, Saba Zerehi, Ben Stillman
(USA 2026, 89 min)
Set in South Los Angeles, this coming-of-age story blends social and magical realism, Greek mythology, and vérité observation, crafting a poetic yet grounded portrait of family, legacy, and the realities of growing up. With Danielle Brooks.
Sender
Director: Russell Goldman, Producers: Jamie Lee Curtis, Molly Hallam, Jake Katofsky
(USA 2025, 94 min)
Severance’s Britt Lower stars as a young woman whose online shopping habit turns terrifying when mysterious packages containing eerily personal items begin arriving. With Rhea Seehorn and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Tuner
Director: Daniel Roher, Producers: JoAnne Sellar, Lila Yacoub, Teddy Schwarzman, Michael Heimler
(USA 2024, 109 min)
When a piano tuner’s extraordinary hearing reveals a knack for cracking safes, his quiet New York routine gives way to a risky life of crime—just as the possibility of love suggests another future. Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall star.
Photo Credit: A24
Videos