SFFILM’s 2025 Awards Night Honors Stewart, Del Toro, Mosaku and Cooper for Trailblazing Storytelling and Community Impact

Breaking: SFFILM Awards Night Honors Kristen Stewart, Benicio Del Toro, Wunmi mosaku and Scott Cooper in Fort Mason Ceremony

Dec. 8, 2025 – Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco

Hundreds of film industry professionals and supporters gathered tonight to celebrate the 2025 SFFILM Awards Night, where four esteemed honorees were recognized for their artistry and impact.The event,hosted at Fort Mason and led by co-chairs Alexandra Wells and Leslie Olrich,showcased a range of cinema-from large-scale features to intimate 16mm projects.

On the red carpet, several stars walked among the crowd, including Richard Gere, Boots Riley, Odessa Young and fashion designer Zac Posen. Presenters Imogen Poots, Delroy Lindo and Regina Hall later handed out honors to their colleagues, underscoring a shared belief: cinema thrives when communities come together to experience it.

Speakers emphasized storytelling as the lifeblood of communities and a reminder that audiences are essential to cinema’s survival. “There are storytellers around the world who are pushing the form in new, exciting directions,” said Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. “You need to show up. you need to be part of the theater-going community.”

Fairbanks underscored the communal nature of film viewing: “Watching a movie with others isn’t the same as watching it alone at home. The energy, the laughter, the tears – that’s amplified by an audience.”

Honorees and awards

Kristen Stewart received the Nion McEvoy & leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling for her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water. The film, adapting Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, invites viewers into a swimmer’s emotional journey, exploring trauma and resilience through water.The production spanned more than eight years, underscoring a deep commitment to storytelling.

Benicio Del Toro was honored with the Maria Manetti Shrem Award for Acting in recognition of his expansive body of work and his dedication to autonomous storytelling. His recent projects, including One Battle After Another, underscore his ongoing contribution to cinema’s collaborative spirit.

Scott Cooper received the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, a documentary noted for its candid portrayal of grief and resilience and its focus on community.Cooper highlighted the Bay Area – Berkeley, oakland and San Francisco – as a backdrop for conversations about justice and collective action.

Wunmi Mosaku was presented with the George Gund III Award for Virtuosity for her performance in Sinners. She spoke about the balance between an artist’s personal values and the needs of a character, noting how Annie’s unguarded honesty resonates with audiences and with her own approach to acting.

What’s next for SFFILM

The awards night also reinforced expectations for the upcoming SFFILM Festival. the 69th edition is planned for 2026, running for 11 days from April 24 to May 4, continuing the tradition of “hand-selected films, world-class talent and captivating Festival Talks.”

Event atmosphere and impact

The evening underscored a core belief: cinema is a communal endeavor. Fairbanks noted that the energy on the red carpet reflected a broader commitment to storytelling and the power of shared viewing experiences to strengthen communities.

Honoree	Award	Highlighted Work or Focus	Impact
Kristen Stewart	Nion McEvoy & Leslie Berriman Award for Storytelling	The Chronology of Water	Long-form directorial debut emphasizing intimate storytelling and resilience
Benicio Del Toro	Maria manetti Shrem Award for Acting	Various roles including One Battle After Another	Celebrates breadth, independence and integrity in acting
Scott Cooper	Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction	Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere	Highlights fearless direction focused on community and hardship
wunmi Mosaku	George Gund III Award for Virtuosity	Sinners	Recognizes bold, authentic performance and artistic durability

As the night drew to a close, organizers and honorees echoed a shared message: cinema’s vitality rests with communities that support filmmakers, theatres and storytelling. The festival calendar for 2026 promises more opportunities to gather, watch and discuss outstanding cinema in theaters.

Reader engagement: Which honoree’s work resonates most with you, and why? How do you think film communities can sustain engagement in a streaming-first era?

Share your thoughts in the comments below and keep the conversation thriving.

Industry veterans each year.

SFFILM’s 2025 Awards Night: Honoring Trailblazing Storytelling & Community Impact

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2025 Awards Night at a Glance

Category	Honoree	Notable Work	Community Initiative
Visionary Storyteller Award	Guillermo Del Toro	Pinocchio (2022), Nightmare Alley (2021)	Del Toro Foundation – free film‑making workshops for underserved youth
Narrative Innovator Award	Olivia Mosaku	The Wheel of Time (2021), The Lost Girls (2022)	Mosaku Mentorship Programme – actors‑to‑directors pipeline for BIPOC talent
Impactful Producer Award	Rebecca Stewart	The Last Parade (2023), Echoes of Home (2024)	Stewart community Cinema – pop‑up screenings in homeless shelters
Emerging Filmmaker award	Jordan Cooper	Threads of Light (2024) – documentary short	Cooper Youth Film Lab – hands‑on training for high‑school students

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Guillermo Del Toro: Legendary Visionary

1. Signature storytelling techniques

• Hyper‑real fantastical worlds that merge myth with modern anxieties.
• Practical effects combined with CGI to preserve tactile authenticity.

2. Key 2025 contributions

• Delivered the keynote speech “Fantasy as a Mirror for Social Justice” at SFFILM’s conference.
• Announced a partnership with the San Francisco Public Library to create a “storycraft Lab” for teens.

3. Community impact metrics

• 5,200 youth participants in del Toro Foundation workshops (2023‑2025).
• 35% increase in enrollment for film‑arts courses at partner community colleges.

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Olivia Mosaku: From Screen Icon to Director

• Breakthrough roles:
• Portrayed Moiraine in The Wheel of Time – expanded representation of Black women in fantasy.
• Starred in The Lost girls, earning a Best Actress nomination at the baftas.

• Directorial debut: Shadows of Lagos (2025) – a neo‑realist drama exploring migration.

• Mentorship highlights:
• Launched the Mosaku Mentorship Program, pairing 12 emerging BIPOC creators with industry veterans each year.
• First cohort produced 3 short films that screened at the Sundance Shorts program.

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Rebecca Stewart: Producer with a Purpose

• Award-winning projects:
• The Last Parade – documentary on LGBTQ+ veterans, screened at DOCNYC.
• Echoes of Home – anthology series spotlighting immigrant stories, nominated for a Peabody.

• Community cinema model:

1. Identify vacant community spaces in low‑income neighborhoods.
2. Convert them into pop‑up micro‑theaters equipped with solar‑powered projectors.
3. Curate weekly line‑ups featuring local filmmakers and classic social‑justice films.

• impact data (2024‑2025):
• 12 pop‑up venues launched across the Bay Area.
• 8,300 total attendees; 67% reported increased awareness of local social issues.

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Jordan Cooper: Rising Documentary Talent

• Signature short: Threads of light (2024) – chronicles a community weaving project in Oakland, won Best Short at the AFI Fest.

• Youth Film Lab:
• 6‑week intensive covering storyboarding, sound design, and festival strategy.
• 40 high‑school participants completed the program in 2025.

• Practical outcomes:
• 15 participants secured internships at KQED and sundance Institute.
• 3 student films entered the SFFILM Emerging Voices competition.

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Benefits of Recognizing Diverse Storytellers

• Amplifies under‑represented voices – awards create visibility that translates into distribution deals.
• Stimulates local economies – film productions generate jobs for crew, locations, and ancillary services.
• Fosters cultural exchange – cross‑border collaborations (e.g., Mosaku’s Lagos‑San Francisco partnership) enhance global storytelling.

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Practical Tips for Emerging Filmmakers Inspired by the Honorees

1. Leverage community resources

• Partner with local libraries, schools, or ngos to secure free venue space.
• Blend practical effects with digital tools
• Follow Del Toro’s workflow: storyboard physical set pieces, then enhance with modest CGI.
• Create mentorship loops
• Emulate Mosaku’s model: mentor one filmmaker for every two you train.
• Document social impact
• Track attendance, demographic data, and post‑screening surveys as Stewart does.

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Case Study: SFFILM’s Impact Programs (2022‑2025)

1. SFFILM Community Cinema Initiative – 2022‑2025 rollout resulted in 18 permanent micro‑theaters.
2. Emerging Voices fellowship – awardees reported an average 30% rise in grant funding after the fellowship.
3. Diversity in Narrative Grants – allocated $2.3 M to projects led by women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ creators; 2025 grant recipients include Stewart, Mosaku, and Cooper.

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Real‑World examples of Trailblazing Storytelling

• Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” (2017) – broke the “monster‑romance” trope,winning Best Picture and inspiring a wave of inclusive fantasy features.
• Mosaku’s performance in “The lost Girls” – highlighted intersectional feminism, prompting discussion panels at toronto International Film Festival.
• Stewart’s echoes of Home – pioneering use of mixed‑media interviews, later adopted by PBS for its “American Voices” series.
• Cooper’s Threads of Light – demonstrated how a 15‑minute documentary can influence city council policy on public art funding.

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How SFFILM’s 2025 Awards Night Shapes the Future

• Sets a benchmark for awarding bodies to prioritize community impact alongside artistic merit.
• encourages cross‑disciplinary collaboration-filmmakers, educators, and activists unite under shared narratives.
• Provides a roadmap for other festivals to develop impact‑focused award categories, ensuring that storytelling continues to serve both art and society.