SAFILM attracts film lovers, and our audiences include press, filmmakers, industry leaders & die-hard fans!
The San Antonio Film Festival sets up an amazing, creative innovative environment where opportunities for one-on-one networking abound, connections are forged and filmmakers have a slew of unique opportunities to share ideas and advance their careers. As an accessible and inclusive platform for cinema artists, the San Antonio Film Festival also brings together scores of new and original films from across the country and around the world to delight, elevate and edify cinema lovers as well.
Day 2 Feature Films
*FEATURE FILMS SOLD SEPARATELY*
| Bring Them HomeDirected by Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, Daniel Gilick12:30 PM | Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater Bring Them Home tells the story of a small group of Blackfoot people and their mission to establish the first wild buffalo herd on their ancestral territory since the species’ near-extinction a century ago, an act that would restore the land, re-enliven traditional culture and bring much needed healing to their community. |
| InDoctornatedDirected by Chris Hansen, Ross Ruediger3 PM | Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater From a freelance writer reflecting on his journey crafting stories for an inclusive theme park, to a scientist working to protect our environment, to an engineer building technology that saves decades worth of film, inDoctornated delves into the power of storytelling to ignite passions, change lives, and ultimately change the world. |
| I Hope This Helps!Directed by Daniel M. Freed7 PM | Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater From executive producer Matthew Modine, "I Hope This Helps!" is a humorous, genre-bending hybrid documentary that invites viewers to ponder the evolving relationship between humanity and technology. In the film, investigative journalist Daniel Freed enlists the help of Google's AI chatbot, Bard, to collaborate on a documentary...about AI. Appearing in the blue, furry form it requested, Bard helps Freed explore the benefits and risks of this world-changing innovation. |
| Hear Me Out3 PM | Feik Rotunda MisophoniaDirected by Bella Hall3 PM | Feik Rotunda When Martin is fired and subsequently forced to move in with his sister following a Misophonia outburst at work, he sets out on a comically disgruntled mission to identify the various ways he might manage his Misophonia and get his life back on track. |
| CocoonDirected by Adam Aalderks7 PM | Feik Rotunda The film opens with a deafening sound of deep trumpets echoing the heavens. Men, women and children vanish the moment the sound hits their ears, revealing the biblical events of the rapture have begun. Those that remain, a lawless landscape slithering with greed, murder and lust. It’s there we find LEVI, a man calloused by this new world and the grit it takes to survive. |
| RochaDirected by Raymond Ramos12:30 PM | McLaughlin Rotunda This isn't just a San Antonio story; it’s one that begins in San Antonio and has rippled across the creative world. Adam Rocha has inspired and guided countless artists toward their creative destinations. |
| Pike Off OTADirected by William H. Molina3 PM | McLaughlin Rotunda Pike Off OTA chronicles the dramatic events that emerge during public meetings, press conferences, investigative audits, and a Supreme Court enabling one of the largest eminent domain takes in Oklahoma history. |
| The CowboyDirected by Emma Rozanski12:30 PM | Radius Center If the cowboy boot fits, wear it. The arrival of a stray horse triggers a series of events in Bernicia’s life that alters her world as she slowly takes on the persona of a cowboy. Through her journey, she must overcome several obstacles that threaten her newfound desires. EL VAQUERO is an uplifting drama about self-determination. |
| Ugly Little MonkeysDirected by David E. Valdez, Enrique Castillo3 PM | Radius Center A group of young men in Tucson, Arizona some as young as nine are formed into the first youth Mariachi in the United States by an Irish Catholic Priest.Despite the Priest’s immoral conduct, they created a world-renowned Youth Mariachi Movement that endures and sixty years later the group continues being celebrated. |
| First We Bombed New MexicoDirected by Lois Lipman7 PM | Radius Center 'First We Bombed New Mexico" follows the intimate journey of indomitable Hispanic cancer survivor Tina Cordova who has catalyzed a movement seeking justice for the forgotten residents of southern New Mexico – mostly Hispanic and Native – who suffer multigenerational cancers they tie to the secret poisoning of their land by the Trinity Bomb. |
Short Sessions
9:30 PM | Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater
| Chill RavineDirected by Ran Ao In northern China in the 17th century, firearms began to proliferate among hunters in the northeast, and a wanted criminal armed with a gun hid in the wilderness. Wanted posters were posted at the intersections of the forest paths. On another frigid day, Three strangers with mysterious identities met by a campfire in a frigid valley. A showdown of identities, trust, and survival was imminent, and a more dangerous force was poised to strike. |
| El Último TramoIn Buenos Aires, Argentina, a recovered addict seeking to repair his relationship with his son, returns to the rehabilitation center that saved his life. When a fellow patient runs away, he follows after him to bring the patient back before it’s too late. |
| HATCHDirected by Alireza Kazemipour, Panta Mosleh An Afghan refugee boy hides with his mother inside a moving water tanker trying to cross the border to safety. Losing his mother in the process, NAAJI forever tries to find a way to relive his last memory of her. |
| MotherDirected by Sebastian Kwidziński Paulina (35 years old) is out on parole after serving a prison sentence for the murder of her husband Andrzej. She returns to her hometown to meet her 11-year-old son Nikodem. |
| Neither Donkey nor HorseDirected by Robin Wang Amidst the outbreak of the 1910 Manchurian Plague, a young Chinese doctor must defy prejudices of both the East and the West to champion his groundbreaking theory of the disease and seek the truth that will heal it. |
12:30 PM | Feik Rotunda
| InkedDirected by Annamarie Alvarez A struggling tattoo artist discovers newfound inspiration in unexpected places! |
| Jan Beauboeuf: The Creative SpiritDirected by Graham Holt The Creative Spirit follows Jan Beabouef, an 88 year old artist from central Louisiana as she completes her latest project, a sculpture assembled from locally sourced materials. |
| Unlikely MermaidDirected by Lorraine Portman Two Mermaid wannabes audition to be performers at Weeki Wachee, the Florida roadside tourist attraction that is older than Disney World. Lorraine, obsessed with mermaids, invites Peggy, 79, to travel with her to audition after they practice underwater ballet |
| AbebeDirected by Javier Ruiz Abebe tells the story of a nationally recognized Ethiopian artist living in Dallas where he is far removed from his homeland, but not from his roots. |
| El Duende Within… I Am ChampionDirected by Gabriel Redondo Flamenco - a fusion of dance, music, and lyric to tell a story. This story began five generations ago with the Champion family in the heart of San Antonio’s Westside. |
| Razón de SerDirected by Alessandro Gentile A documentary that chronicles the story of this rare Chicano photographer who uniquely documented activist movements on both coasts, and internationally, during the 1960s and 1970s. |
7 PM | McLaughlin Rotunda
| LilyDirected by Vianelli Maturino ALily follows a a seemingly ordinary day in the life of a beloved pet whose curiosity is piqued by a chilling news report. As her observations grow increasingly suspicious, Lily becomes convinced her doting owner might be hiding a deadly secret |
| Frank & BeansDirected by Eric Rodrigo Gonzales Frank & Beans is an award-winning short film about three people whose lives intertwine in a life-or-death struggle. Frank (Raul Casso, Fear The Walking Dead), a thirty-something slacker, is completely oblivious as his wife, Nora, gets ready for an office party at a time when she is being considered for a promotion. Mr. Beans, Nora's boss, encounters Frank at the party and tensions rise. The situation escalates, leading to a confrontation where Frank must make a choice. |
| Basil KingDirected by Darryl Della A late night business meeting results in the brutal murder of a pizzeria owner, forcing three overzealous gangster wannabes to dispose of the body. They are about to come to terms with their lack of expertise when one wrong move thrusts all three of them into a grave too deep to climb out. |
| Nobody's PerfectDirected by Joshua Collins Two best friends become amateur hitmen in order to make ends meet, but they soon realize they are in over their heads. |
| Crisis at the Call CenterDirected by Quinn Angell After a hookup, two coworkers have to navigate their new relationship while at their job at a call center. |
| Dead WeightDirected by Ian Scott Two San Antonio Detectives team up to solve the murder of a recovering addict. |
| Theft 101Directed by Xihe Huang Three clumsy thieves break into a popular restaurant owner's house to steal his burger recipe, only to discover the house owners’ unspoken secret. |
| Un Verano TardioDirected by David Michael Carbajal When a down on his luck author, Oscar, finds himself deep in debt after a disastrous day at the racetrack his only refuge is a shabby hotel room. Hiding from aggressive loan sharks, Oscar is desperate to keep his girlfriend, Lucero, from finding out the truth. |
