Local Filmmaker Lise Swenson Tribute

Lise Swenson Tribute

Join us at 6pm on Thursday, February 9th at the Roxie for a hosted reception to celebrate the life of filmmaker Lise Swenson and this year’s posthumous SF IndieFest Vanguard Award honoree, followed by a 7:15pm premiere screening of her eagerly anticipated new film, Saltwater.

In its 19th year, SF IndieFest is proud to honor longtime local filmmaker Lise Swenson with its Vanguard Award.  As both a filmmaker and professor, she pushed artistic boundaries and inspired legions of aspiring and accomplished filmmakers in the Bay Area film community.  Sadly, after many years of creating and inspiring others, Lise passed away last year.  

Since the 1980’s, Lise had been an awesome force within the Bay Area’s media arts scene. Whether making films or co-founding the cinema nonprofit Artists’ Television Access (ATA), Lise helped cultivate community and give voice to many.  This passion extended into the way she made films, frequently embracing a uniquely collaborative process where real life people within affected communities were encouraged to contribute and opportunities were given to her students to participate in the filmmaking process.  In the end, the results were award-winning, vibrant pieces of media art that are truly independent films, and challenged perceptions of what being an outsider is.

Lise Swenson is the latest filmmaker the festival has recognized among the unconventional, creative risk-takers in cinema that are redefining the form and are “someone to watch.” Past honorees include Sean Dunne, Robert Greene, and Melody Gilbert.

Lise’s newest film, the eclectic Salton Sea-themed Saltwater screens Thursday, 2/9 at 7:15p and Saturday, 2/11 at 2:45p. And to honor her past work, we present a FREE retrospective screening of the timely 2004 San Francisco Mission District-set film, Mission Movie, on Saturday, 2/11 at 12:30p.

– Chris Metzler