San Francisco International Film Festival 59th San Francisco International Film Festival took place from April 21 to May 5, 2016 at venues throughout the Bay Area. Founded in 1957 by film exhibitor Irving "Bud" Levin, the SFIFF began as a philanthropic effort to secure San Francisco's place in the international arts scene as well as expose locals to cinema as an art form. The Festival played a major role in introducing foreign films to American audiences. Akira Kurosawa's "Throne of Blood" and Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" were among the films that screened at the first festival. One obstacle in the early years was the lack
Pather Panchali at times choosing to preserve the distinctive look of the films even at the cost of retaining some imperfections. On 4 May 2015, the restored "Pather Panchali" premiered at the Museum of Modern Art, a little more than 60 years to the day after the film’s world premiere at the same venue. Several days later, all three films opened at New York’s Film Forum, where they were originally scheduled to run for three weeks. Because of overwhelming public demand – with one writer commenting that "audiences can’t seem to get enough" – the films were held over at that theater