For two weeks every April, the San Francisco Film Society hosts its annual showcase of innovative cinema in the country's most beautiful city. Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23-May 7, 2009) is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The Festival attracts an annual audience of more than 80,000 and features over 150 films from 50 different countries.

According to The Film Society's mission statement, "The International is deeply rooted in the strongest and finest traditions of appreciation of film both as an art form and as a meaningful agent for social change. The Festival programs a bonanza of narrative feature films, live action and animated shorts, experimental work, marquee premieres, international competitions, documentaries, digital media work and star-studded gala events. Highly anticipated by its loyal and passionate audiences, championed by civic and community leaders, admired and adored by filmmakers and closely watched by industry professionals, SFIFF is one of the most important events in the Bay Area's cultural calendar and an important stop on the international festival circuit."

LA MISSION (USA, 2009)

The SFIFF52 opening night film is the West Coast premiere of La Mission by Peter Bratt, starring his brother Benjamin Bratt. An audience favorite at Sundance, the film is described as a "redemptive story of community, family and one man's struggle to unlearn a lifetime's destructive habits. It's an ardent love letter to the vibrancy of San Francisco's Mission District and an urgent corrective to the violence playing out in its streets. La Mission tells the story of Che, a reformed and respected ex-con and recovering alcoholic who has turned his life around and now devotes himself to his lifelong friends, his passion for building classic cruisers and, most of all, his rock solid relationship with his honor student son."

UNMADE BEDS (Argentina, 2008)

For the festival's closing night film, SFIFF has chosen Alexis Dos Santos' second feature, Unmade Beds. SFIFF's Rob Avila describes the film as "an enveloping tale of two solitary ex-pats, wayward young souls crossing paths in the cosmopolitan art-rock entrepot of a sprawling East London squat. Visceral yet dreamlike, Unmade Beds lolls moodily and infectiously in a commandingly fluid visual style, heightened by a stirring soundtrack featuring cameos by a handful of contemporary UK bands. It is Dos Santos' sly, pitch-perfect nod to both our most basic natures as well as the masks we hide them behind."

FERLINGHETTI (USA, 2009)

The Festival always boasts a strong roster films in the non-fiction genre- this year is no exception. SFIFF52 is proud to present the world premiere of Ferlinghetti by Chris Felver. The director's long friendship with San Francisco's poet laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti yields some rare interviews with his subject as well as an impressive set of testimonials from Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snider, Michael McClure, Anne Waldman, Dennis Hopper, Amiri Baraka, Dave Eggers, and Jack Hirschman. The film follows Ferlinghetti's journey from disillusioned WW2 G.I. to philosophical anarchist, bookstore owner and publisher, free-speech icon, and eventually, the world's most-read poet. Felver reveals a true American literary legend who turns 90 this year, and is still writing, painting, publishing and speaking out.

Robert Redford - 2009 Peter J. Owens Award

The stars come out to shine at the Castro Theater when Robert Redford is presented with the Peter J. Owens Award for his contributions to film culture. The program will feature career retrospective film clips, audience Q&A and an onstage interview with Phil Bronstein, editor-at-large of the San Francisco Chronicle. The tribute will conclude with a screening of one of Redford's most beloved films, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), directed by George Roy Hill.

LE AMICHE (Italy, 1955)

SFIFF is a dependable source of re-discovered and restored film gems. These films are presented on the large screen in newly-minted prints with state-of-the-art audio restoration. This year, the festival offers a rare screening of Le Amiche (Italy, 1955) by Michelangelo Antonioni. Cited as his international breakthrough, Le Amiche made Antonioni the world's most notorious cult filmmaker and subsequently overshadowed his earlier films. His virtuoso command of film technique is in evidence here and set Antonioni apart as a peerless cinematic craftsman for the rest of his career.

WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE (USA, 1974)

From the epic landscapes of the American West to the tortured confines of domestic life, SFIFF presents two classic examples of film culture. Woman Under the Influence is remembered as one of the foremost examples John Cassavetes unsparing realism. The seeds of the contemporary independent film movement can be found here and in Cassavetes' other works. Gena Rowlands is expected to attend.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (Italy, 1968)

In his film Once upon a Time in the West, Sergio Leone reinvigorated the Western with the unique vision of a brilliantly observant outsider. The film famously employs the archetypal characters and themes of the genre, but goes far beyond a reiteration of cinematic clichés. The result is a riveting and emotional exploration of Western mythologies. A painstaking photochemical restoration has been made using the original negative so as to preserve the beauty of the photography and director Leone's bleak vision of human nature. The audio was restored from magnetic master tracks.

THE LOST WORLD (USA, 1925) & Dengue Fever

One of the most highly anticipated special events of each year's Festival is the annual pairing of live music with an iconic silent film. While not always a resounding success, the results are never less than memorable. This year, SFIFF pairs The Lost World with the genre-busting pop band Dengue Fever. Based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novel of the same name, The Lost World revels in adventure-flick thrills but is equally effective as a cinematic document of our fascination with our own prehistory. With stop-motion sequences by animation pioneer Willis O'Brien (who went on to animate King Kong) and enlivened by outlandish costumes and sets, this dinosaur epic was a smash hit upon its release in the middle of the Roaring Twenties.

SFIFF's Sean Uyehara describes Dengue Fever as "a fusion of vintage South Asian '60s pop with driving beats, jazzy riffing, folksy Klezmer and kick-ass funk, conjuring up a '60s heyday of smoky bars populated by a harmonious mélange of Cambodians and Westerners. Dengue Fever's score no doubt will playfully and lovingly evoke worlds both known and unknown, and elevate the The Lost World's offbeat humor and singular beauty."