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 Greatest Films of All Time" and 48th in its 2012 directors' poll. In 1998, in a similar critics' poll from Asian film magazine "Cinemaya", "Pather Panchali" was ranked the second-greatest film of all time. "The Village Voice" ranked the film at number 12 (tied with "The Godfather") in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics. "Pather Panchali" was included in various other all-time lists, including "Time Out"s "Centenary Top One Hundred Films" in 1995, the "San Francisco Chronicle" "Hot 100 Films From the Past" in 1997, the "Rolling Stone" "100