The Film Arts Festival is back for it's 18th year showcasing the best new work of Northern California's independent film and videomakers, in five jam-packed days of screenings, exhibitions, panels and parties. The festival features an exciting and inspiring mix of new films: hard-hitting documentary features by Bay Area luminaries, short films in spectacular 35mm, cutting-edge digital videos by first-time makers and eclectic feature-length narratives by award-winning local directors.

This year, the festival is proud to present a series of social issue documentaries co-presented with Mother Jones Magazine called Agitators and Instigators throwing a special focus to activism and media in the mix of this year's offerings. In addition to the four film programs included in the series, there is a Panel Discussion on Saturday, November 16th at 1PM at Brava Theater called From Your Seat to the Street that will bring filmmakers, activists and writers together in a heated and lively discourse about how we translate cinema into effective social change. Don't miss the opportunity to screen exciting film clips from both award-winning classic films and new videos just off Final Cut, and to participate in lively discussion with some of San Francisco's top media makers and community advocates.

From November 1st-17th, the festival's city-wide moving image installation series, Beyond the Screening Room, Beyond the Frame, takes place in storefront and gallery windows all over the city. Check out these provocative artworks that stretch the imagination and traditional expectations of how we see the world.

As a group, this year's films reveal the richness, passion and diversity of Bay Area filmmaking, the intelligence and probing spirit of local directors and the incredible depth and breadth of Bay Area film art. The festival is packed with entertaining, provocative and unexpected work from one of the most dynamic film communities in the country. Come join us.

- Wendy Levy, Festival Director
Film Arts Foundation