| SAFILM - San Antonio Film Festival | |
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SAFILM Executive Director, Adam Rocha. |
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| Location | San Antonio,TX, United States |
| Number of films | 135 |
| Language | English and international |
| Official website | |
The SAFILM - San Antonio Film Festival was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival, which sported a logo of a naughty-looking angel. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival. The non-profit festival is held annually in June at the Instituto Cultural de Mexico en San Antonio in Hemisfair Park. The festival showcases independent narrative, animated, documentary, and experimental shorts or features.
The mission of the film festival is to serve as an accessible and inclusive platform for artists in the category of cinema and to provide cinematic culture to a diverse audience. The SAFILM - San Antonio Film Festival showcases films from around the world in its role of nurturing, fostering, and developing filmmakers of all ages.
The 16th annual SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival was held June 23 – 27, 2010 with over 130 films and included film workshops and discussions with filmmakers and actors.
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The San Antonio Film Festival has been a cultural support for the San Antonio community since 1994. SAFILM has worked with the director of the Instituto Cultural de México to provide the San Antonio community with cinematic culture and elevate arts appreciation. During the past 15 years, Adam Rocha, the founder and executive director of SAFILM, has transformed his non-profit organization from a small film screening to one of the largest film festivals in South Texas.
The SAFILM has grown in size and reputation through the years. After his sophomore year at San Antonio College, Adam Rocha was invited to screen his short film at the San Diego Latino Film Festival in California. The experience inspired him to organize his own film festival. In 1994, the first festival screened a dozen films and awarded low-rider bikes to the best picture.
That year, Fredrick Weiss, the founder of the Texas Music Coalition, encouraged Rocha to develop the festival into a more substantial event. Renamed “The San Antonio Underground Film Festival,” the small festival slowly expanded over the next five years into an event that attracted wider participation, larger audiences, and greater news coverage.
The nonprofit's mission statement still drives the organization: “to offer an accessible and inclusive platform for artists and to provide cinematic culture to a diverse audience,” while maintaining a sociable, community-centered atmosphere. For several years the historic Instituto Cultural de México, located in Hemisfair Plaza in downtown San Antonio, through Gabriela Franco has partnered with the festival to provide a venue.
In 2006, the organization adopted its current name: SAFILM - San Antonio Film Festival.
Today the San Antonio film festival showcases more than 100 films by professional, amateur, and high school filmmakers. During the festival, SAFILM conducts free public workshops to teach film technique, style, and content. Throughout the year, SAFILM volunteers encourage students to appreciate the arts and become involved in film making by regularly visiting high schools to give guest lectures on career paths involving film, handling media exposure, and tips for successful networking. The festival itself helps students begin film careers, highlights outstanding filmmakers with a variety of awards, exposes rising talent, and reminds the public of the value of art.
Since its inception, the San Antonio Film Festival has also showcased local visual artists. Artists Mig Kokinda, James Cobb, Robert Tatum and Rigoberto Luna are among those submitting accepted designs for festival posters. The 2009 SAFILM Festival Poster created by Rigoberto Luna was selected as a finalist for the 39th annual Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards for Theatrical Print - Festival Posters.[1]
As of 2011, the San Antonio Film Festival due to popular demand and evident success rates, decided to award more Audience Choice Awards instead of the traditional Jury Prizes. The Audience Choice Awards not only allow for large success for the filmmakers, but also allows for the audience to have a voice. This change in additional Audience Choice Awards makes the awarded films more attractive to distributors in the increasingly competitive film market.
2011 SAFILM Award Winners
2010 SAFILM Award Winners
2009 Award Winners
2008 Award Winners
2007 Award Winners