San Francisco International Film Festival opens with star power, local love

SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco International Film Festival opened Friday night at the Castro Theatre with two high-profile premieres and a shared appreciation for the city that helped shape them.

Actor and director Olivia Wilde premiered her latest film, The Invite, a relationship-driven comedy set and filmed in San Francisco. Wilde, who also stars in the film, said screening it at the newly renovated Castro Theatre made the moment especially meaningful.

"This will be my first time sitting in this exquisite theater, watching the film projected as it was intended. I'm very emotional about that whole experience, because when you see a film projected on a proper film projector, you're experiencing it the same way they did 100 years ago," Wilde said. "It just feels really special."

Stars celebrate San Francisco

The Invite follows two San Francisco couples whose casual dinner gathering takes unexpected turns. The film, which also stars Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton and Seth Rogen, was shot in locations including North Beach and the Mission District. The cast spent two days filming in San Francisco. 

Wilde said the city was integral to the story from the beginning.

"The film was written to be about San Franciscans. It's about people who live here, and it was in the DNA of the screenplay," she said. "I loved that when I first read Will and Rashida's script, because my mom's from San Francisco. I've been coming here my whole life. I loved it here, and I was so excited to establish the characters as being from here."

Meanwhile, Greta Lee premiered Late Fame, a drama co-starring Willem Dafoe that explores ambition and second chances through a vibrant group of artists. Lee shared that her first acting job was in San Francisco. 

Lee said seeing long lines of moviegoers outside the Castro Theatre was especially moving.

"I really love it. It makes me emotional every time to see the line of people outside waiting to see a movie. I just think that's so important right now, when it feels like it's something we need to protect and fight for — the movie-going experience," she said. 

Festival organizers say this year’s event features more than 100 films over 11 days, encouraging audiences to explore both familiar and unexpected selections.

"Try something that you think you're going to like and then try something that you don't know, and that you take a little bit of a leap of faith," Lai said. 

SFFILM's festival, the longest-running film festival in the Americas, runs through May 4 at venues across the city, including the newly renovated Castro Theatre.