With CineFestival, the San Antonio Film Festival and the San Antonio Feminist Film Festival now memories, fall is small film festival season in San Antonio.
Four festivals will present independent films from locations around the world: Urban-15’s Manhattan Short Film Festival runs Sept. 27–Oct. 5, the San Antonio River Foundation’s one-night Wild & Scenic Film Festival takes place Sept. 28 at Confluence Park, the 6th annual San Antonio Black International Film Festival runs Oct. 4-6 and the Raza Cósmica Film Festival runs Oct. 10-12.
Manhattan Short Film Festival
Urban-15’s South Presa Street headquarters will serve as one of a purported 500 locations around the world showing films as part of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, which is billed as “the world’s first global film festival,” running since 1998.
If You Go
What: Manhattan Short Film Festival
When: Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5
Where: Urban-15, 2500 S. Presa St.
How much: $20, tickets available here
Locations portrayed in the 10 short films to be shown Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5 range from Ireland to Ukraine, and a fictional 1990s Bosnia to Venice.
Communications Manager Pedro Luna said Urban-15’s participation in the worldwide festival “shows our commitment to bringing an elevated, even scholastic, approach to the arts in our city.”
All 10 films will be shown each of the festival’s four nights at Urban-15. Tickets are $20, available here.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Billed as a festival focused on environmental activism, the California-based Wild & Scenic Film Festival goes on tour with a stop at Confluence Park on Sept. 28.
If You Go
What: Wild & Scenic Film Festival
When: Sept. 28
Where: Confluence Park, 310 W. Mitchell St.
How much: $20-$40, tickets available here
A touring project of the South Yuba River Citizens League organized locally by the San Antonio River Foundation, the one-day festival features films that celebrate and challenge humanity’s intersection with the natural environment.
The full event runs from 6:30 p.m.-10 p.m., with a community market, food vendors, live music and art by Audrya Flores. Films begin around 7:45 p.m. and ticketholders will be entered into a kayak raffle following the screening at 9:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $20, and VIP tickets are $40.
San Antonio Black International Film Festival
The San Antonio Black International Film Festival (SABIFF) returns Oct. 4-6 with a focus on wellness. The three-day event, billed as a chance to “Re-Focus, Re-Charge and Re-Fresh,” combines film, conversation and education over three days in multiple locations.
If You Go
What: San Antonio Black International Film Festival
When: Oct. 4-6
Where: Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry St.
Lockwood-Dignowity Park, 701 Nolan St.
Tony G’s Soul Food, 915 S. Hackberry St.
How much: varies by event, check website for details
Named “Black Friday,” the festival’s first day begins at 9 a.m. with a student school field trip that includes student films from the Eastside Youth Content Creators Program, followed by a lunch break at Tank’s Pizza. At 6 p.m., a San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum history film screening and panel discussion focuses on The Green Book: Guide to Freedom by Yoruba Richen.
The second day, dubbed “Soul Saturday,” begins with two Black independent film showcases at the Carver Community Cultural Center and the Little Carver Theater, followed by creative film workshops. A Cinema Under the Stars event featuring The Beautiful Struggle by Texas filmmaker Rock White begins at 7 p.m. in Lockwood-Dignowity Park, free with reservations.
The festival wraps with a Sunday praise brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tony G’s Soul Food restaurant, and an announcement of the inaugural Ubuntu Community Award.
Find ticketing information and a full schedule of events on the SABIFF website.
Raza Cósmica Film Festival
The Raza Cósmica Film Festival is billed as “a constellation of Latinx sci-fi cinema.” Opening night Oct. 10 at Jaime’s Place will feature a 7 p.m. live episode of the Xicanx Versus Aliens podcast hosted by Joaquín Muerte followed by a screening of short films.
If You Go
What: Raza Cósmica Film Festival
When: Oct. 10-12
Where: Jaime’s Place, 1514 W. Commerce St.
Slab Cinema Arthouse, 134 Blue Star
Cassiano Park, 1728 Potosi St.
How much: free, with reservations recommended
Filmmaker Dylan Hensley will be in attendance for the screening of his documentary Somos Borderlands on Rio Grande Valley band Futuro Conjunto.
The Oct. 11 program at the Slab Cinema Arthouse in the Blue Star Arts Complex begins at 6 p.m. with the Excursions In Afrofuturism program of short films, followed by Itu Ninu by Mexican-born director Itandehui Jansen, a feature-length film set in 2084.
The festival closes Oct. 12 in Cassiano Park with an outdoor screening of superhero movie Blue Beetle by director Angel Manuel Soto, preceded by Lupe Q and the Galactic Corn Cake, a short film by Javier Badillo.
All Raza Cósmica screenings are free, with reservations recommended for indoor screenings.