The film industry life cycle begins anew in the first quarter of every year as awards season comes to a close and festival season gains momentum. A time reserved for acknowledging the industry’s greatest achievements of the past year meets the period during which filmmakers rigorously strive to get their initial products noticed. Sundance and Berlinale kicked off the festival season earlier this quarter, SXSW has just wrapped, and now, SFFILM‘s San Francisco International Film Festival is on the horizon. Fellow filmgoers, we are officially in the thick of the festival circuit.

Consistently boasting one of the most diverse programs in the world, the 62nd annual festival, which runs from April 10 to April 23, could not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the SFFILM staff, led by Executive Director Noah Cowan and Director of Programming Rachel Rosen. The festival has steadily risen in scale and quality since Cowan and Rosen joined the organization within the last 10 years.

This year’s program features a total of 163 Films, including 46 narrative features, 40 documentary features, 4 new vision features, 3 episodic programs, 70 shorts, 52 countries represented, 36 languages, 12 world premieres, 5 North American premieres, 1 US premiere, and an impressive 72 women filmmakers. All told, nearly half of the films in this year’s program are directed by women.

Olivia Wilde leads an impressive lineup of directorial debuts with her film “Booksmart,” featuring rising stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. Special tribute presentations include Laura Dern on April 14, accompanied by a screening of her new film, “Trial by Fire,” Claire Denis on April 11, accompanied by a screening of her new film, “High Life,” starring Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattison, Laura Linney on April 11, accompanied by a screening of “The Savages,” for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, and John C. Reilly on April 12, accompanied by a screening of “The Sisters Brothers.”

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