SF Film Festival Goes Virtual 2021-Rita Moreno; Cine Mexicano; Live Music @Drive In & More

The 2021 San Francisco Film Festival is going to have a different look this year since SF Film is presenting a varied program of online films along with select screenings and live events at San Francisco’s Fort Mason FLIX Drive In.

Among the enticing selections of film which encompass naratives, documentaries and shorts that you can see online will be a new documentary on the iconic actress Rita Moreno. Moreno who is turning 90 later this year is one of the rare show biz performers to win an Emmy, an Oscar, a Tony and a Grammy thus becoming a EGOT. This entertaining documentary “Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For it” by Mariem Perez Riera will be streamed this coming weekend only: April 9th through Monday, April 12 at 8 am.

Another intriguing film “Cuban Dancer” focuses on 15 year old dancer Alexis who has a promising career as a dancer in Cuba but things change when his family moves to Florida to join his sister. Shot over five years, this coming of age documentary follows Alexis struggle as he starts over in the US but his talent and determination pushes him forward to follow his dream. Italian-Nicaraguan director Roberto Salinas‘ film will be shown throughout the online festival from Friday, April 9 through Sunday, April 18. The majority of the festival’s films are available to viewed online the duration of the festival.

The festival is also featuring a spotlight on Cine Mexicano which encompasses 6 New Mexican films including Cruz, Dance Of The 41, Fauna, Nudo Mixteco, Son Of Monarchs and The Spokeswoman. The filmmakers of these films, Teresa Cameu Guerrero, David Pablos, Nicolas Pereda, Angeles Cruz, Alexis Gambis and Luciana Kaplan will have featured on a special panel “Cine Mexicano Filmmakers on Rebellion and Innovation” which takes place online on Tuesday, April 13th at 4 pm.

The festival will also have special film screenings at the Fort Mason Flix Drive In including a special Music and Film screening of Rick Prelinger and Alex Cruse’s film “The Lost Landscapes Of Oakland” with a special live music score by Grammy award winner Fantastic Negrito. Other events will be live screenings of the opening night film Naked Singuarity, the centerpiece film Socks On Fire and the closing night film “Street Gang: How We Got To Seasame Street”.

For tickets, the film screening schedule and more information, go to www.sffilm.org.

Photo Image: A scene from Mariem Perez Riera’s film Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It, playing at the 2021 San Francisco International Film Festival, April 9 -18, 2021. Courtesy of SFFILM.