Sonoma International Film Festival

SONOMA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (SIFF)

ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL FILMS, DRIVE-INS AND SPECIAL EVE NTS: M ARCH 24-28, 2021

100+ Films | 40+ Countries | 20+ Premieres | 3 Drive-Ins

Online Cooking Demonstrations | Virtual Wine Tastings | Filmmaker Q&As Scheduled

Dame Judi Dench and Robert De Niro Films Mark Open and Closing Nights

The Sonoma International Film Festival opens its online screening platform to the public for preview today to a slate of more than 100 of the best in new independent cinema from around the world at sonomafilmfest.org/festival . The online festival, March 24-28, also features three live Drive-Ins during the festival dates and Passholder Only Exclusive Access online events beginning March 3.

“An advantage of a virtual film festival is one can see far more films and can see them any time over the five day period,” said SIFF Artistic Director Kevin W. McNeely. “SIFF will take you around the world and expose you to different cultures, customs, languages and lifestyles. Social justice, environmental issues and solutions, sports action, culinary delights, gripping drama, thrilling narratives and enlightening documentaries; including multiple shorts programs (adventure, animation, comedy, culinary, documentary, drama and foreign) are all in this robust program. Get your virtual pass today on our new website. Go virtual now and we will see you live for SIFF25 in 2022!”

Notable distinctions for the SIFF2021 include: Premieres from more than 20 international films; its continued dedication to the gender parity initiative, with at least 50% of the films made by, for or about women; and special passholder-only early online access events including: cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and a special screening of Food Club from Samuel Goldwyn on March 13, available a week before it releases to the general public.

Additionally, the SIFF First Responder | Front-Line Healthcare Workers Pass , available for purchase for donation by the general public for only $25, will be given to healthcare workers at the two healthcare facilities in Sonoma---Sonoma Valley Hospital and Sonoma Valley Community Health Center in appreciation for their efforts to the community.

Animal activist and SIFF sponsor Susan Atherton is highlighting the Northern California premiere of the documentary Escape To Extinction by matching up to $10,000 for paid screenings and donations to this online title, with proceeds benefiting the Conservation Society of California | Oakland Zoo.

All films in the online festival are eligible for Jury Prizes in: Best U.S.Independent Feature, Best Foreign Feature, Best Documentary, Best Short in categories: Animation, Comedy, Documentary, Drama and Foreign.

Six movie industry professionals comprise the SIFF2021 Jurors: John Bailey , former president of the 1 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and noted cinematographer of the films Ordinary People, The Big Chill, As Good As It Gets, and The Accidental Tourist, among others; Elisabeth Costa deBeauregard , president of the production, finance and global media sales company Storyboard Media; John Della Rosa , a Media Finance agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) specializing in packaging, financing and selling distribution rights; Gudrun Giddings, the CEO of G4C Innovation who serves on the Board of Directors for Mentor Foundation USA, founded by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden and the World Health Organization; Gabrielle Kelly , screenwriter and producer on the screenwriting faculty at AFI (American Film Institute); and April Wright , an award-winning filmmaker and festival programmer for Sundance Film Festival and AFI Fest.

All films are also eligible for SIFF Audience Awards, as voted by online viewers. 2021 Audience Awards include the Stolman Award for Best Feature and the A 3 Award for Best Documentary. All winners will be announced at the conclusion of the festival.

Opening and Closing Night titles are $15 per screening, all other full length feature and documentary films are $12 per screening, and short films are available for $5 per screening or by shorts category block for $12. SIFF Passholders have access to all titles at no charge as part of their passholder benefits.

SIFF Virtual Film Festival Highlights:

The Opening Night film on Wednesday, March 24 at 6 PM PT is the haunting pre-Nazi Germany feature Six Minutes To Midnight starring Dame Judi Dench, James D'Arcy, Eddie Izzard and Jim Broadbent. The Closing Night film on Sunday, March 28 at 6 PM PT is the comedy feature film The Comeback Trail starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones and Morgan Freeman, which follow the antics of two not so slick film produc ers. Both titles are also available to view on demand throughout the five-day online festival.

A panel for filmmakers, and the interested public, on “Filming in Northern California” features insights from Bay Area film and arts commissions including San Francisco Film Commission, Oakland Film Office and Film Shasta.

SIFF2021 Virtual Opening Night March 24 at 6 PM PT:

Six Minutes To Midnight

Feature | 99 Minutes | U.S.

Director: Andy Goddard

Starring Dame Judi Dench, James D'Arcy, Eddie Izzard and Jim Broadbent Summer 1939. Influential families in Nazi Germany have sent their daughters to a finishing school in an English seaside town to learn the language and be ambassadors for a future looking National Socialist. A teacher there sees what is coming and is trying to raise the alarm. But the authorities believe he is the problem.

SIFF2021 Virtual Closing Night March 28 at 6 PM PT:

The Comeback Trail

Feature | 104 Minutes | U.S.

Director: George Gallo

Starring Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Morgan Freeman and Zach Braff

Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined.