Sundown Cinema and PROXY Spring Series Film Fest bring al fresco cinema watching to San Francisco parks and greenspaces in the spring and summer.
We come to this place for magic… and an excuse to drink a glass or seven of wine while enjoying San Francisco vistas and fresh air. And a duo of newly launched outdoor film festivals in SF — SF Park Alliance’s beloved Sundown Cinema series, now in its sixth season, and PROXY’s Spring Series Film Fest, which brings outdoor movie watching to Hayes Valley— are vying for spots on your calendar.
PROXY SF — the fee venue space hugging Patricia’s Green — will project films onto an expansive wall space now through April 26 where people can cozy up with hyperlocal eats and drinks, some of which can be procured on-site by participating vendors. Popular blockbusters like Barbie and Pixar’s Turning Red sit alongside more niche independent films, like Fremont, on the festival’s roster. Dubbed a “walk-in theater,” all showings start at dusk and are free to attend.
Watching a movie atop Alamo Square Park on a big screen, backdropped by peripheral views of SF’s iconoclastic Painted Ladies to the sides of it, is nothing short of magical. It’s this occult quality that makes securing a seat for any one of Sundown Cinema’s showings an accomplishment… and not something for perpetual procrastinators (*pulls away gaze from MacbookPro screen out of self-ascribed shame*).
“The magic of Sundown Cinema is in the community you find in our city parks and the films. This year really welcome community interaction,” says Drew Becher, CEO of SF Parks Alliance in a press release. “There’s going to be a lot of singing, laughing, and cheering. And probably some tears at Selena.”
Barring weather predicaments — difficulties PROXY SF faced recently after needing to postpone its Barbie showing due to rainy weather — Sundown Cinema will debut Friday, May 17th at Dolores Park with a Selena sing-along.
The series is then slated to head to the Presidio Civil War Parade Ground for a screening of Bullitt on June 14; Sundown Cinema will be hosted at Glen Park for the David Bowie-led cult classic Labyrinth on July 12th — a first for the park.
In another first, Sundown Cinema is partnering with the Prelinger Archives to screen SF’s Lost Landscapes: Found Home Movies. A Sundown Cinema-specific cut and edit will be shown, offering a never-before-seen montage of lost and rarely-seen historical film clips showing, per SF Parks Alliance, “life, survival, and celebration in San Francisco as captured by amateurs.”
Below you can find the full list of showings — all of which are free to attend, though attendees can reserve seats in advance by becoming a member of the SF Parks Alliance — that are slatted to show across San Francisco:
- Friday, May 17 @ Dolores Park – Selena (sing-along)
- Friday, June 14 @ Presidio – Bullitt
- Friday, July 12 @ Glen Park – Labyrinth
- Friday, August 2 @ The Ferry Building – Barbie
- Friday, September 6 @ Duboce Park – SF’s Lost Landscapes: Found Home Movies
- Friday, October 4 @ India Basin Waterfront – The Princess and the Frog
- Friday, October 18 @ Jerry Garcia Amphitheater – The Nightmare Before Christmas (costume contest)
Doom loopers be damned, San Francisco (and the movies) are, indeed, back!
Feature image: Courtesy of SF Parks Alliance via Marlene Sanchez
