The Sacramento Film and Music Festival (SF&MF) is a major multi-day international film festival held in Sacramento, California in the United States. It has been running since 2000. The festival’s mission is to celebrate film production from around the world and sponsor the art of film in the California metropolitan area.
History
For the 2011 season, the 12th festival, the event was split into two parts: WinterFEST Jan. 15-17 and SummerFEST Aug. 18-21. The WinterFEST dates coincided with the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, and in addition to the usual spectrum of film programming, there were documentaries on themes of politics, peace and social justice, including “Sowing Seeds of Justice” about the life and legal career of Cruz Reynoso.
The 2010 festival ran from July 23 to Aug. 1. It opened with the documentary “Official Denial” about the difficulties of getting films into film festivals. On July 29, 2010, the festival had the world premiere of “Walking Dreams,” a documentary about the artist’s work, in a special program. David Garibaldi, followed by a live performance of his work and a charity auction. In an important career-making performance in front of 600 visitors, David painted his first large-format self-portrait. Five of the paintings created that evening were sold after the performance, the proceeds benefiting both the festival and the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Friends Commission.
The 2009 festival ran from July 24 through Sunday, August 2. The 10th festival opened with the premiere screening of the independent feature film “Sensored,” starring. Robert Picardo and shot entirely on a Red Ultra High-Definition digital camera.
The festival kicked off 2009 with Sac Music Seen on New Year’s Eve at Crest Theater with live music from Dirty Feet and Autumn Sky, select local music videos from the festival’s own video production program and short film program.
The 2008 festival dates were Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 17. The 2008 festival included 17 feature films, over 100 short films and video projects, eight music acts, two industry presentations, a pitch session, 30 ticketed events and a presentation of 25 awards. The festival’s Gold Circle series premiered on the West Coast. INDEPENDENT: the new math of American elections. Filmmaker David Earnhardt was joined by radio host Peter B. Collins and political columnist Brad Friedman to discuss the film’s themes of voting integrity and election fraud.
In 2007, the eighth annual festival hosted. Larry Meistrich, principle of NEHST Studios and producer of such films as Academy Award-winning Sling Blade and You Can Count on Me; Mike DiManno and Scott Reed, CEO and president, respectively, of Redwood-Palms Pictures; and writer/director Joe Carnahan. During the 2007 festival, 99 films were screened in competition, plus five short films made for the Sacramento Bee. In an eight-hour marathon pitching session, Larry Meistrich met with directors and potential directors, resulting in four development deals.
In 2007, marquee sponsor Sactown Magazine was added to the festival, a relationship that lasted three seasons.
In 2006, the seventh annual festival featured more than 90 film and video projects and four live bands over five days, including special programs Sac Music Seen (a local music video production program), 10×10 Filmmaker Challenge (a 10-day film-making program) and Student Days (a student film festival as part of a larger event). Sac Music Seen is supported by a grant from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission in recognition of its contributions to the arts community and its support of both local musicians and filmmakers. SFMF was recognized by readers of the magazine as the Best Film Festival in Sacramento. Sacramento News & Review.
In 2004, in its fifth year, SF&MF was recognized as Sacramento’s Mayor Heather Fargo and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger for its achievements and contributions to the community.