San Francisco Cinematheque

What San Francisco Cinematheque does

San Francisco Cinematheque is a nonprofit arts organization founded in 1961 that presents, preserves, and publishes experimental and avant-garde cinema. The organization traces its origin to Bruce Baillie (1931-2020), whose Canyon Cinema microcinema screening grew into a 59-year peripatetic series that fed both the Cinematheque and the Canyon Cinema distributor. Its core activities are: (1) a year-round program of curated film screenings co-presented with partner venues across the San Francisco Bay Area — primarily the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), SFMOMA, and the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco; (2) the annual CROSSROADS festival of experimental film; (3) the SFC Archives, which preserve experimental-cinema materials; (4) a publishing arm that produces the Cinematograph journal and a large back catalog of limited-edition books, DVDs, zines, and cassette works by artists such as Stan Brakhage, Nathaniel Dorsky, Tony Conrad, George Kuchar, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul; and (5) critical writings hosted on its website.

The business model is a hybrid of nonprofit earned revenue and contributed support. Earned revenue comes from three streams: an annual membership program with five tiers priced from $30 (discounted Experimenter) to $500 (Visionary, which includes four CROSSROADS festival passes); single-ticket admissions priced at $18 general / $12 member at BAMPFA and other rates at partner venues (e.g., $0-$30 sliding scale at SFMOMA); and an online bookstore selling publications and merchandise worldwide. Contributed revenue comes from tax-deductible donations accepted via PayPal. Curatorial authority is held by Artistic Director Steve Polta; institutional partners include BAMPFA, SFMOMA, the Jewish Film Institute, the Berkeley Film Foundation, and BAMPFA's senior film curator Susan Oxtoby. The organization operates from a single San Francisco mailing address (55 Taylor Street), has no disclosed employees beyond leadership, and has no parent company, venture investment, or public listing.

Name

San Francisco Cinematheque

Legal name

San Francisco Cinematheque

Website

https://sfcinematheque.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

San Francisco Cinematheque is a 65-year-old San Francisco nonprofit that curates, presents, and publishes experimental and avant-garde cinema through Bay Area screenings, the annual CROSSROADS festival, a film archive, and an online bookstore, funded by memberships, tickets, donations, and publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experimental Cinema Presentation

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro primary industry

Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ), Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)

Keywords

• Experimental film screenings
• Avant-garde cinema
• Film festival programming
• Cinema bookstore
• Film archive preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Program: Annual membership program with five tiers ranging from $30 to $500, providing benefits including discounted screening admissions, complimentary event access, waived festival submission fees, and store discounts.
2. Ticket Sales: Revenue from general admission and member ticket sales for film screenings at partner venues. General admission typically $18, with member discounts to $12.
3. Bookstore Sales: Sale of publications, books, zines, DVDs, and merchandise related to experimental cinema, avant-garde filmmakers, and film theory through the online store.
4. Donations: Tax-deductible donations collected through PayPal and other means to support the Cinematheque's mission of cultivating the international field of artist-made film.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

San Francisco Cinematheque is a nonprofit organization that presents experimental and avant-garde cinema through curated film screening series at Bay Area partner venues (SFMOMA, BAMPFA, JCCSF), hosts the annual CROSSROADS film festival, maintains the SFC Archives of experimental film, sells related publications and merchandise through an online bookstore, and operates a tiered membership program. The organization serves film enthusiasts, filmmakers, and scholars with curated access to rare and significant artist-made films.

Product overview

San Francisco Cinematheque is a nonprofit organization cultivating experimental and avant-garde cinema through multiple interconnected offerings: a core film screenings program featuring artist-made films at Bay Area venues (SFMOMA, BAMPFA, JCCSF); the annual CROSSROADS festival; the SFC Archives preserving experimental film collections; the Cinematheque Bookstore selling publications, books, zines, and merchandise; writings and critical essays; and a tiered membership program ($30-$500). The organization functions as both a presenter of live film events and a publisher/distributor of related scholarly materials and limited-edition publications focused on experimental cinema.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CROSSROADS: Annual film festival presented by San Francisco Cinematheque
• Cinematograph

Products and services

• Film Screenings Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 65 years of continuous operation presenting avant-garde cinema
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2026BAMPFA serves as the primary co-presenting venue for Cinematheque screenings, including the Nathaniel Dorsky & Jerome Hiler Film Offerings series (August 14-29, 2026). BAMPFA is also the archive of record for Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler, having been entrusted with the long-term care and preservation of their films. The institution hosts multiple Cinematheque programs throughout the year.
• Susan Oxtoby (BAMPFA)minorOthers · 1 August 2026Susan Oxtoby, Director of Film and Senior Film Curator at BAMPFA, provided curatorial text and introduction for the Nathaniel Dorsky & Jerome Hiler Film Offerings series.
• Berkeley Film FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2026Berkeley Film Foundation co-presents the BAMPFA series 'Made in Berkeley: The House That Zaentz Built', which includes Cinematheque's 'Tongues Untied' screening. The foundation supports documentary filmmaking in the Bay Area.
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026SFMOMA co-presents Cinematheque screenings, including 'A Thing Brilliant and Powerful' (July 23, 2026), a program of films on paint, painting and paintings in resonance with SFMOMA's exhibition 'Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal'. The Phyllis Wattis Theater at SFMOMA serves as the venue.
• Jewish Film InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2026Jewish Film Institute presents the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (46th edition, July 16-August 2, 2026) and co-presents screenings including 'Holofiction' by Michal Kosakowski at JCCSF Kanbar Hall. Cinematheque serves as a programming partner for this co-presentation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• EYE Filmmuseum: Amsterdam museum and archive dedicated to film culture including experimental and avant-garde cinema. Comparable as a nonprofit experimental film institution with archive and exhibition functions, but operates at national-museum scale with public funding.
• Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA): University-affiliated film exhibition and archive program at UC Berkeley that co-presents programming with SFC. Comparable as a major Bay Area experimental and independent film exhibitor, but operates at significantly larger institutional scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Canyon Cinema: Independent nonprofit distributor and archive of experimental film founded alongside San Francisco Cinematheque from Bruce Baillie's 1961 microcinema screening. Shares historical lineage and the same core constituency of avant-garde filmmakers and audiences, making it the most genealogically comparable peer.
• Anthology Film Archives: New York-based nonprofit cinematheque dedicated to preserving and exhibiting experimental, avant-garde, and independent cinema. Directly comparable to SFC as a fellow nonprofit cinematheque with curated screening programs, an archive, and an international filmmaker community focus.
• Light Cone: Paris-based nonprofit experimental film distribution cooperative that maintains an active film archive and supports avant-garde filmmakers. Directly comparable to SFC in mission and operating model, but serves the European experimental film community.
• Filmmakers' Cooperative: New York-based nonprofit distribution and exhibition organization for experimental film. Comparable to SFC as a peer institution preserving and circulating avant-garde works, with overlapping curatorial and archival functions.

Regional players

• Berkeley Film Foundation: Bay Area nonprofit that supports documentary filmmaking and co-presents film programs with SFC partners. Comparable as a regional film nonprofit that collaborates on screening programming, but focuses on grantmaking rather than presentation.
• Jewish Film Institute: Bay Area nonprofit that presents the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and partners with SFC for co-presented screenings. Comparable as a Bay Area film festival organizer and cultural nonprofit, but focuses on Jewish-themed programming rather than experimental cinema.

Emerging players

• Microscope Gallery: New York-based independent gallery presenting experimental film and video programs. Comparable to SFC in its curated avant-garde screening focus, but operates as a smaller commercial gallery model rather than a membership-based nonprofit cinematheque.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SFCinematheque
• Facebookfacebook.com/sanfranciscocinematheque
• Instagraminstagram.com/sfcinematheque
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-francisco-cinematheque

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Francisco Cinematheque