4 alumni films to screen at the San Francisco International Film Festival

Stephen Curry, Davidson College Sophomore, is interviewed after the first round of the 2008 NCAA tournament against Gonzaga University. (Photo: Courtesy Pete Nicks)

Documentary films by six alumni will screen at the San Francisco International Film Festival April 13-23. Pete Nicks (‘99), Sean Havey (’14) and Gaby Arvizu’s (’16) film “Underrated“, featuring the breakout story of NBA superstar Stephen Curry will kick off the 66th SFFILM Festival.

Pete Nicks, Sean Havey and Gaby Arvizu at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where “Underrated” premiered.

Also screening are Débora Souza Silva’s (’14) “Sol in the Garden” about a formerly incarcerated woman nourishing a garden with her new community, and Christian Lee Collins’ (’20) “What These Walls Won’t Hold” — directed and shot by Adamu Chan. Nicks (’99) is executive producer.

Both films will screen Saturday, April 15, in San Francisco.

Faviola Leyva‘s (’16) “Blood, Sweat & Sparkles: The Young Activists Guide to Ending Period Poverty,” will screen April 19 as part of SFFILM’s Schools at the Festival hybrid program.

It’s the third time at the prestigious festival for Nicks, (“The Waiting Room,” Festival 2012; “The Force,” Festival 2016; “Homeroom,” 2021) who returns with another documentary about a Bay Area institution, the celebrated and singular iconography of NBA superstar Stephen Curry. Intertwining Curry’s emergence on the court at North Carolina’s Davidson College with footage of the 2021-22 Golden State Warriors season when the team won its fourth championship of the Curry era, Nicks deftly builds a portrait of a man who continually defies expectations.

Débora Silva

“It’s such an honor to be back at the San Francisco International Film Festival, this time with “Sol in the Garden,” a short film I co-directed with my dear friend Emily Cohen Ibañez, who’s also a local filmmaker,” Silva (“Black Mothers Love & Resist,” 2022) said.

The film tells the story of Sol, who upon her release from prison, discovers that coming into her own freedom can be as challenging as living behind bars. It aims to serve as a role model for Black and brown communities across the country, in particular, those fighting mass incarceration and food insecurity.

“As local filmmakers covering this inspiring Bay Area story,” Silva said, “we could not think of a better platform than SFFILM to host the premiere of our film and could not be more excited.”

“What These Walls Won’t Hold,” filmed during the coronavirus pandemic, also focuses on incarceration, in particular the way the crisis brought into focus and catalyzed ongoing organizing efforts at San Quentin State Prison. Chan, who was incarcerated there, chronicles his journey home, interweaving his account with those of his loved ones both inside and outside the penitentiary walls.

Producer Christian Lee Collins (right) and director Adamu Cha (left) on location filming “What These Walls Won’t Hold”.

“This film lives in a very special place in my heart,” Collins said. “I volunteered inside of San Quentin before the pandemic and instantly became inspired by the work and dedication of the folks behind the walls. By chance of pure fate, Adamu saw me driving in Berkeley and waved me down. He was released only a month earlier and wanted to make a film about the pandemic in San Quentin and the relationships that strengthened despite the walls. Having seen his work and knowing his artistic talent, I immediately offered any help to make his vision reality. From the jump, he made deliberate choices to make this film undermine the destructive media legacy of storytelling about incarcerated people and their communities.”

About the festival
Founded in 1957, SFFILM Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. The annual event features a range of marquee premieres, international competitions, documentaries, short and mid-length films, live music performances, and red carpet events. The festival is deeply rooted in the culture and process of film appreciation — film as an art form and as a meaningful agent for social change — and is an important showcase for the most searching and innovative films from around the globe.

Faviola Leyva. Photo by Julio-Adrian de la Torre.