San Francisco Dance Film Festival

10/23/2026

It’s opening night! 🤩

SFDFF 2026 kicks off tonight with the live performance capture of the multi-award-winning ballet “Nureyev,” choreographed by Yuri Possokhov and staged by Staatsballett Berlin. 17 in-person screenings will follow from October 28 through November 8 at venues throughout San Francisco, featuring artist Q&As, performances, a masterclass, and community gatherings that bring audiences and artists together.

We invite you to celebrate the intersection of dance and film with us 💫
Tickets and passes available at our website

10/22/2026

SFDFF presents Behind the Sound & Music of “SO CLOSE”, a filmmaking masterclass!

Skywalker Sound’s Shelley Roden and Pete Horner join SO CLOSE Composer-Director Katy Jarzebowski for an in-depth look at their distinctly musical collaboration. The team will break down their process, from spotting the rough cut to shaping the final mix, and share behind-the-scenes clips from the foley stage to show how character-driven sound design gets made.

The Masterclass will take place on Saturday, November 7 at *10:30am* at the Brava Theater. Attendance is FREE!
(And you can catch SO CLOSE at the Body Language: Screendance Shorts program immediately afterwards!)

10/21/2026

Moving like glaciers, disappearing over time.

“The Sea” traces the imprints of aging on body and soul, weaving a poetic dance of time and movement as it explores men’s evolving relationships with solitude, intimacy, and community. Filmed entirely on location along the Baltic Sea, this feature film includes choreography by David Dorfman, Benno Voorham, and director Douglas Rosenberg.

🎬 Screening on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 11:00am at the Brava Theater

This film is co-presented by ODC SF and sponsored by the Brava Theater.

10/20/2026

A striking exploration of memory, connection, and what remains.

“Vestiges,” directed by Marcus Eriksson in collaboration with Medhi Walerski and Ballet BC, will screen in this year’s “Spotlight Shorts” program. The 11 films span hand-drawn ink animation, immersive lighting design, and full-scale collaborations with world-class dance companies.

🎬 Screening at Brava Theater: Saturday, November 7 at 8:30PM
Followed by a reception in the lobby with music from Gregg Schoenberg

This program is sponsored by Brava Theater and Red Curtain Addict.

Get tickets today: https://sfdancefilmfest.org/fall-festival-2026/spotlight-shorts-2026/

10/19/2026

Meet Robert Shields, 70s icon of SF’s Union Square 🤖

Funny, joyful, and full of wonder, “Robert Shields: My Life as a Robot” introduces you to a man whose signature robot routine influenced the DNA of popping, locking, and hip-hop dance as we know it today.

🎬 Screening at Brava Theater: Friday, November 6, 8:00PM
🕺Live performance by Poppin John
+ Q&A with Robert Shields, director Mark Bonn, producer Christine Seibert Bonn, and Poppin John

This program is sponsored by Brava Theater.
Get your tickets today: https://sfdancefilmfest.org/fall-festival-2026/robert-shields/

10/18/2026

The 2026 SF Dance Film Festival opens this Friday, October 23!

Experience a live performance capture of the multi-award-winning ballet “Nureyev,” choreographed by Yuri Possokhov, a production that blends ballet, opera, and drama into a sweeping homage to one of the 20th century’s greatest dancers.

Possokhov’s breathtaking choreography offers a deeply layered artistic reflection on Nureyev’s personality and creative legacy as well as his life, including his lifelong friendship with the legendary Margot Fonteyn, portrayed by Iana Salenko.

🎬 Screening on Friday, October 23, 2026 at 7:00PM at Lucasfilm Premier Theater

This event is sponsored by San Francisco Ballet.

10/15/2026

Every drifted thought becomes an ensemble. Every lost moment becomes a world.

SFDFF’s “In Other Words” program brings together five story-driven films where feeling takes physical form, including “ADHD,” a short dance film built around the interior life of a kid who cannot, will not, and perhaps should not quiet his own head.

Choreographed in five days by Emmy-nominated choreographer Chris Scott (Wicked, In the Heights) with more than two hundred dancers from the CLI Conservatory Class of 2025, the film treats distraction not as failure but as a form of flight.

🎬 Screening as part of “In Other Words” at Brava Theater: Friday, November 6 at 6:00PM

This program is sponsored by Brava Theater.

10/14/2026

In every mirror, another version of her is waiting to be met.

Jia Wu’s “The Other Within”（一身万物) explores the multiplicity of the self through a body caught in recursive loops of time and identity. Through repetition, reflection, and shifting space, the body inhabits parallel versions of itself—suspended between inner fracture and boundless becoming. Catch the film at our “China Moves” program, which presents dance films by filmmakers working inside China alongside those creating from afar.

🎬 Screening as part of “China Moves” Wednesday, October 28 at 8:00PM at the Delancey Street Theater

This program is co-presented by the US Chinese Dance Association.

10/13/2026