San Antonio Film Festival Celebrates Its 30th Year, Showcasing Local and International Movies and Illustrating the Ever-Growing Culture of The City’s Film Scene
With the film festival season well underway, San Antonio has demonstrated its commitment to the city’s film community with the recent Cinefestival and, now, with last week’s historic exhibition of the 30th annual San Antonio Film Festival (SAFILM). During the festival, which concluded on Sunday, various filmmakers and fans alike gathered to celebrate the three-decade milestone of SAFILM, noted as being the largest film festival in the South Texas region.
Founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha, SAFILM is a nonprofit organization that prides itself on being a nationally recognized film festival, while still serving as an accessible and inclusive cinema event. Designed to foster an environment conducive to networking at the local level, while simultaneously illustrating the legitimacy of San Antonio as a powerhouse of the film industry, SAFILM masterfully toes the line between nation-wide acclaim and community-driven support for those looking to get their start in the industry.
The festival has experienced a significant boost in recognition and in size in the last few years, with film submissions coming in from all around the world. But when Rocha launched SAFILM 30 years ago, he just wanted to create a space for local, indie filmmakers to be able to show their work and connect with other like-minded people in the area. Rocha had no real intention of the festival becoming so big, but even after amassing all of its success, SAFILM retains the feeling of being a ‘mom-and-pop’ function and remains committed to its roots in showcasing local films from San Antonio creators.
This year’s festival – having grown almost 18 times in size since its inception – presented more than 230 films, including nearly 50 feature films and a boatload of shorts and documentaries. Several of the films in the festival came from international filmmakers from countries like Spain and the Philippines, but most of the spotlight was turned toward local productions with a total of 22 San Antonio filmmakers highlighted during the event. With the support of SAFILM, many of their films could go on to play in theaters and/or other notable film festivals where they’ll have opportunities for further recognition.
San Antonio Film Commissioner Kimberly LeBlanc also made an appearance at SAFILM, where she declared the city as being “the best place for filmmaking in the entire world,” with some of the most competitive film incentives in all of Texas. San Antonio has long been an often-overlooked destination for filmmakers, but with the recent rise of grants and film permits offered by the city, and the surge in popularity of local festivals like SAFILM, it has become a beacon for both up-and-coming filmmakers and big-time production studios.
