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San Francisco Frozen Film Festival 2021
Head over to the Mission District for the 15th's year of the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival. All films play at the Roxie Theater at 3117 16th Street.
The 2021 event runs from July 14th to the 18th. Films are shown on just two of these days. The other days are set aside for awards and other festival events.
Founded in 2006, the mission for the organization is to help independent filmmakers, youth, and those in underserved communities showcase their work. With the decrease in cost of technology and equipment, almost anyone can make a movie these days. This festival strives to help those with a smaller budget get their work shown to a larger audience.
Artists comes from around the world to present their movies and to see movies from local directors, screenwriters, and actors.
The SF Frozen Film Festival is great as it has a large variety of works from many different communities. They group the films by type, so each showing offers several pieces with the same theme.
This year's event features several environmental documentaries, dramatic shorts, and animation. You can also watch shorts focused on the LGBT community, some considered "experimental," and others that will make you laugh.
This film festival is always spotlighting the best of the best and has been named one of the "Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" by Moviemaker Magazine, "Best Film Festival in Town" by the SF Chronicle (and they should know since they are from here!) and also "One of the 25 Festivals Worth the Fee" by Movie Maker Publications. That way you will know you are getting great films, great discussions, and great deals at in one place!
Click here to visit their website for a full schedule of films this year.
More Festival Details
Reasons To See The Frozen Film Festival
Everyone can watch a movie anywhere on their tvs, laptops, tablets, or phones at this point. However, that isn't really watching a movie in the best way. To really get the feeling of what a movie, a director, actors, screenwriters and more are trying to portray, there is nothing like seeing a movie on the big screen with other people in the theater with you.
The ability to connect with others through silence, laughter, gasps, and so many other emotions and sounds is unlike anything else. That is why the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival is so important. The local artists get a chance to see how their work comes across to a wide variety of movie goers and how to tweak and learn as you educate them just as they teach you through their innovative movies.
The types of movies that you'll be able to see include short films, full length films, documentaires, animated films, virtual reality films and pretty much any other type you can imagine. This festival truly tries to bring everything possible into one event for you to enjoy.
One of the great reasons to go to this festival is the wide range of movies that you'll see from all over the world. The San Francisco Frozen Film Festival has had film entrees from countries as varied as Iran, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, and many more.
Not only will you see movies that are mind blowing and original, you also get the chance to see art, but also musicians and more at the opening gala. This is held at a different location so make sure to plan in advance and check out where it is.
Another great reason to see this amazing film festival is to help youth work with all types of equipment to make movies. The "Voices from the Heart" is a youth filmmakers program which helps kids from the 6th grade up through high school, learn about making movies. This special program is during the Frozen Film Festival and is a great way to tell people, "I saw them when they were only 14 years old making movies and now they are famous!" Trust me, it is amazing how imaginative and exciting to see these kids and their movies since they aren't restrained by the inside the box type of thinking that Hollywood pushes on them.
Fun Fact: Supposedly Google's electric car project was thought up backstage at one of the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival parties. No one can prove this...but it seems very reasonable to me. Just think of what you might hear or see happen before anyone else!
How to Get to the Roxie
The Roxie is easy to get to from any location around SF and the Bay Area. It is just two blocks west of the 16th Street BART station.
You can also take one of these buses that drops you off within a few blocks of the theater: 14, 22, 33, & 49.
Yummy Restaurants Nearby
This area of San Francisco has a number of amazing places to eat. These are just a few of my favorites that are less than a block away.
- Monk's Kettle: This gastro pub offers everything from a delicious chopped kale salad to mouth watering burgers. Some of my other favorites here include their mushroom risotto, the bavette steak, and the meat and cheese plate. Their kitchen is open until 1am and they have an amazing beer selection. (3141 16th Street)
- Limon Rotisserie: This place has amazing slow roasted chicken that you can pair with one of their unique sauces. You will also find a number of small plates, both cold and hot, that include everything from seafood to mushrooms. I often get one of their empanadas or the truffle mac 'n' cheese! (524 Valencia Street)
- Thai House: Find traditional Thai dishes including pad thai, curry dishes, and many other noodle dishes. It's more casual and a little less expensive than the two mentioned above. (530 Valencia Street)
- Puerto Alegre: If you want low-key but delicious Mexican food, then head here. They offer everything from crispy tacos to burritos. Their salsa is great and their margaritas are hard to put down. (546 Valencia Street)
Places to Stay Nearby
You will not find any large hotels in this district. However, you will find several great vacation rentals.
A vacation rental is when you rent out someone's personal apartment. It's a great way to feel like a local and get to know the area.
You will find almost 30 vacation rental options on TripAdvisor for this district. They range from studios to four-bedroom houses. Check out the selection here.
Other Locations to Stay in San Francisco
Other Upcoming Film Festivals
Japan Film Festival: The Japan Film Festival features the best movies from Japanese filmmakers. Click here for details.
Jewish Film Festival: The Jewish Film Festival is a three-week event showing the best Jewish films from around the world. Click here to find out more about this festival.
Other Top Film Festivals Each Year
International Film Festival: One of the largest film festivals each year in SF is the International Film Festival. It's the longest running film festival in the Americas and runs for two weeks every April and/or May. Click here to learn more.
SF International Festival of Shorts: The SF Festival of Shorts offers independent filmmakers the chance to show the world their short films. It often takes place in October and only shows films less than 30 minutes.
SF Doc Fest: One of my favorites is SF Doc Fest. For two weeks every June, the best documentary films showcase the chaotic world we live in.
Other Fun Events this Month
Stern Grove Festival: On Sunday afternoons in July at 2pm, head over to Stern Grove for free live music in the park. This event draws thousands every year, so head over early to secure your spot. Click here for this year's line-up.
Laborfest: This annual festival offers dozens of events throughout the month of July that focus on the history and culture of working people. Events include the annual film festival, history walks around SF, and several talks and panels. Find the full calendar here.
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