About Us
“It is through film and the arts that we experience Cultural Understanding and Appreciation, key elements to a peaceful world.”
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL – MISSION & OBJECTIVE
Located just 50 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Santa Rosa International Film Festival, a Wine Country Film Festival event, is wine country’s FIRST – the area’s original, largest, and longest running film festival. It features more spectacular Festival screenings in venues throughout Santa Rosa and in wine caves and under the stars – Films al Fresco™ – than any other festival in North America.
The Santa Rosa International Film Festival, a Wine Country Film Festival Event, is celebrating its 26th Anniversary in 2012. The Festival is dedicated to bringing the finest international cinema to the community and providing a cultural resource for filmmakers, artists and the public at large. We believe that film can broaden our appreciation of the arts, engender social conscience, create international cultural understanding and expand multi-cultural awareness.
A top tier event, the festival is leisurely paced and friendly with time to enjoy a wonderful recreation region.
There’s nothing rote about our Festival. Every year we are amazed by the quality of films that are submitted for consideration. In addition we seek out the best of International Cinema through our long-standing relationships around the globe.
There are seven sections: World Cinema, U.S. Cinema, Arts in Film, Music in Film, CineLatino, Cinema of Conscience (humanity and social issues), and EcoCinema. We have, in addition, Special Sections of FOOD ON FILM and Paseo de España. We program Shorts, Documentaries, and Features.
Share your passion and unique vision
Join the Team or Enter your Film and share Your vision with local festival-goers and those from places afar.
Many supporting events bring a greater appreciation to the art of filmmaking such as performances, readings, exhibitions of paintings, sculpture and photography. Films are screened in local theaters and outdoors under the stars in spectacular wine country settings such as the Grand Room in the wine Caves of Deerfield Ranch Winery.
SPECIAL GUESTS
Over the years the Festival has hosted and Tributed In Person such luminaries as Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Jonathan Demme, Richard Shepard, Philip Kaufman, Ron Shelton, Rita Moreno, Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Theresa Russell, Anthony Edwards, Vilmos Zsigmond, Chuck Workman, Elliott Gould, Teri Garr, Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Patrick Swayze, international filmmakers Percy Adlon, Mika Kaurismaki, Nana Djordjadze, Anant Singh, Eliseo Subiela and Gregory Peck to our unique cinema event.
Our purpose is, through film and the arts, to recognize their talents, their humanity, their compassion, and their sense of justice to create a more equitable world.
The Festival includes Competitions of First Features, Documentaries and Shorts in Various Categories.
Arts In Film
Arts In Film are projects made about the “Arts.” Included are: literature, opera, dance, painting, photography, music, filmmaking, culinary arts & wine, theatre, sculpture,etc.
Cinema of Conscience
Features, docs and shorts that you made regarding human rights, civil liberties, social justice and/or issues you feel passionate about. If your film is about the environment go to EcoCinema. We favor films that have artistic merit as well as relevancy.
Shorts
Shorts will be included in one of our categories: Arts in Film, U.S. Cinema (produced in the U.S.) Music in Film, Cinema of Conscience, World Cinema, EcoCinema, Food On Film, Paseo de España or CineLatino.
U.S. Cinema
For Independent films (shorts, docs, features, animation) that are produced in the U.S. All lengths and all genres considered. Remember, you can indicate more than one category.
World Cinema
For features, shorts, docs, animation produced outside of the U.S. This is our Specialty! We seek out films that express what we call “The Terroir of Cinema”, that is… films that reveal something of the roots of the filmmakers land and culture.
It is through film and the arts that we experience Cultural Understanding and Appreciation, key elements to a peaceful world.
EcoCinema
Eco films (features, shorts, docs, animation) have an environmental message. In some way they should increase public awareness of environmental problems and solutions and inspire personal action. Or the environment is in some way a “character” in your film. In this section we include “Food On Film” (particularly ‘sustainable’ foods and farming) although Culinary Arts are also considered to be in the “Arts In Film” section.
CineLatino CineLatino is a showcase of films (shorts, docs, features, animation) from Latin America, Cuba, Portugal, and South America. We are interested in cultural diversity. We are interested in all genres. Spain has a Special Sub-section known as PASEO DE ESPANA and Catalan films are part of CATALAN FOCUS.
Paseo de España
PASEO DE ESPANA IS A CELEBRATION OF IBERIAN CINEMA FROM, SPAIN AND BASQUE COUNTRY. ALL GENRES ARE WELCOME. CATALAN FILMS fall under our CATALAN FOCUS Special Section.
FOOD ON FILM
This section includes films that are usually touching on other categories as well, but seeing that we are in one of the great culinary areas of the world, we showcase films that include Food or Wine as themes, and we frequently have cooking demonstrations that accompany the screenings! DO YOU COOK? If you like, you too can do a cooking demo! Let us know! It is lots of fun.