Welcome to the Liberation Film Festival (LFF) website, the official site of the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. LFF in San Francisco. The Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation - NorcalMLK - hosts the film festival, in partnership with California Newsreel, as part of its yearly MLK celebrations.
LFF is dedicated to bringing human interest documentary works and short features to fresh, diverse audiences. It was launched in November of 2011 by the NorcalMLK Foundation and premiered its first screenings in January of 2012 and runs concurrently with the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday celebration events and takes advantage of the thousands of celebrants attending every year in January.
Companies and organizations can participate direclty by sponsoring the festival or a screening (by pressing the sponsor button above), which brings great visibility and other privileges.
ABOUT MLK2018
Each January, during the weekend of the federal holiday, the NorcalMLK Foundations hosts the region's premier celebration events that brings thousands together to honor Dr. King. With programs and activities for all interests. the events culminate on the federal holiday, each third Monday in January, with our commemorative march, celebration and numerous festivals at the famed Yerba Buena Gardens, the crown jewel of San Francisco's arts and culture district and home to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Waterfall, the third largest monument in his honor in the United States.
Please consider supporting the events by donating to NorcalMLK. And Subscribe to our mailing list to receive our newsletter and special notifications.
The New Lights Film Project challenges promising high school film-makers to submit three-minute video expressions on the meaning of Dr. King's words in today's society. In 2018 over 100 high schoolers submitted entries. Five entries were selected and recognized at the MLK2018 events in San Francisco. See the award-winning videos below.
At the tail end of a school shooting a single student tries to escape. (directed by high school student Blake Sepe)
Two perspectives of white privilege, told through the eyes of two teenage girls. (directed by high school student Alia Badain)
Why we don’t listen to naysayers. (directed by Marie Lambiase, Rauliz Paez, Rebecca Unubun, Rebecca Vu, Sophia Quigley, Tiffany Cespedes, Yeison DeLeon)
The Bird Painter shows a short fable telling how the birds got their colors and why the doves did not. Told through watercolored and inked paper puppets along with lovely lyrical song, The Bird Painter is a film of charm that is not to be missed. (directed by high school student David Benjamin)
What does social justice mean? And what are some experiences and actions people are taking in an effort for a more equitable and just environment. (directed by high school student Jacky Zhang)