Documentary Film Festival
The 22nd annual Documentary Film Festival kicked off on Thursday and goes until Sunday, June 11, online and in person at the Roxie Theater.
Films from local artists include “Sweetheart Deal,” the story of four sex workers seeking to escape the throes of addiction with the help of a roadside healer in an RV, and “Tony & Denise,” an experimental documentary-memoir telling the story of transgender pioneer Denise D’Anne, who lived in the Mission until her death.
See the full festival program here. You can filter for live events, ones you can watch from home, or buy a pass to see it all.
Thursday, June 8
Queer Bollywood
In celebration of Pride Month, Asian performers with the Beyond Bollywood Dance Series are challenging assumptions about gender roles in dance. This Thursday, come see Khmer dancer Prumsodun Ok, the founder of Cambodia’s first gay dance company, and Ishami Dance Company doing contemporary South Asian dance for their show, Queering Dance Traditions.
The event is on Thursday, June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Asian Art Museum at 200 Larkin St. For information and tickets, click here.
Baobab dance class
If you feel like dancing, check out Bissap Baobab this Thursday for an Afro-Caribbean dance class and afterparty. Happy-hour food and drinks will be available beforehand from 5 to 7 p.m. at the new location, 2243 Mission St. near 19th Street.
The class is $15, and if you just want to check out the party, entry is $10 and goes until midnight. For details, click here.
Saturday, June 10
Porchfest
Who doesn’t love a good stoop hang, especially with this sunshine we’ve finally been getting? Come out on Saturday, June 10, for this free mini-music festival on the porches and stoops and parklets of the Mission District.
Check out this map of the events and their locations.
Drag Brunch
Celebrate San Francisco’s Latinx and queer culture this Saturday at El Rio. La Jotería is a free event in collaboration with Calle 24, with music, drinks, food, and resources.
Doors open at noon on Saturday, June 10, and drag performers are expected to go on at 1:45 p.m. For details, click here.
Juneteenth parade
It’s a little early, but come out for the city’s first-ever Juneteenth parade on Market Street this Saturday and celebrate the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans and celebrate African American culture. There will be 10 floats, Black cowboys on horseback, a classic car caravan, live music, and more.
The parade starts at Market and Spear streets at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 10. For details on the event, click here. RSVP here for free to show your support.
Juneteenth on the waterfront
Earlier in the day, you can also drop by Ferry Plaza and support Black-owned businesses from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in celebration of Juneteenth. Lots of local businesses will be serving food at the south end of the Ferry Building, SF Black Wallstreet will be hosting a lounge with music, and there will be some free food and beverage programs and demos.
For details on the event, click here.
Sunday, June 11
‘Swimming with Lesbians’
It is Pride month, and we’ll have plenty of ways for you to celebrate over the next few weeks. On Sunday, the Marsh will begin hosting workshop performances of Marga Gomez’s latest work, set on a cruise ship, complete with a wet T-shirt relay race and a boarding-school nemesis.
Gomez is a three-time winner of the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s “Best Of The Bay Comedian,” and her comedy has garnered praise from the likes of Armistead Maupin and Robin Williams.
Performances, which will continue through June 25, will be at 5 p.m. on Sundays at 1062 Valencia St. Tickets are for sale on a sliding scale. Visit the Marsh’s website for more information.
Monday, June 12
Off the Page
Word for Word is hosting another Off the Page staged reading at the American Bookbinders Museum on Monday, June 12, at 7 p.m. This one will be “The Secret Source” by Ben Okri, a “speculative fiction” tale once published in The New Yorker about two young people going up against complacent scientists to find clean water.
The event is at 355 Clementina St. between 4th and 5th streets, at what’s said to be “the only museum in North America dedicated to preserving and promoting the art and history of bookbinding.”
Reserve your seat, or donate here or at the reading.
SF Black Film Festival kickoff
The first event of this year’s San Francisco Black Film Festival is actually in Oakland, but if you find yourself across the bridge on Monday evening, be sure to check out Lady Soul Revolution II. The film will be showing at Yoshi’s, and will kick off the festival’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The event is at 7:30 p.m. at 510 Embarcadero West in Oakland. Click here for tickets and here for more information.