San Francisco Documentary Festival

Bay Area Shorts 3

Available in 33d 14h 26m 15s
Available May 28, 2026 7:00 AM UTC
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6 films in package
Oakland Strong
For over a decade, Coach Mike Jenkins has taught Olympic weightlifting for free—right in the heart of Oakland. With zero city support, he’s produced national and international champions, college-bound scholars, and confident leaders. But strength alone can’t keep the lights on.
No Small Matter
In the shadows of a worsening mental health crisis, thousands of lives are lost to a revolving door of shelters and institutions. Through the lens of a 15-year-old filmmaker, No Small Matter pulls back the curtain on a radical shift: a court designed not to punish, but to provide a final, desperate lifeline. The film explores whether a courtroom can truly offer the dignity of a home and the hope of recovery to those the world has forgotten.
This Side Up
This Side Up is a short film that documents the interior lives of art handlxrs and their experiences in the art world. Set in the Bay Area and contextualized by the voice of contemporary art curator Eungie Joo, this film features Adrian Clutario and Nahkoura Mahnassi as they explore the ways that their identities as LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people intersect with their roles behind the scenes of museums and art galleries.
The Middle of Everywhere
Steps from State Route 166 is the High Desert town of New Cuyama, California, population 542. Uniquely situated in the valley of four major counties, New Cuyama’s unincorporated rural status strains it from resources, keeping it “out of sight, out of mind."Through the eyes of artists and organizers Alex, Chuy, Carmen, and Jack, we learn about the unique joys and challenges of living in this remote town. Their perspectives provide an unexpected window into a rural community during a time of intensified polarization in our country.
Hidden Levels: Machinima
Back in the 90s, artists turned video games into movie sets, and their wildest ideas are finally hitting documentaries. Before “virtual production” existed, filmmakers cracked open PC games and used them like back-lot studios. This film traces that underground invention—machinima—from hacked Quake mods and live Halo shows to today’s festival docs shot inside Grand Theft Auto. Hidden Levels: Machinima explores authorship, community, the relationship between art & commerce, and whether or not there is really a benefit to being a pioneer. Fast, funny, and unexpectedly emotional, this film promises that you will be seeing a lot more films shot using video games.
Halo, Good Moraling
Farm boy, serviceman, biker, trucker, baker, wood worker, mechanic, father, philosopher and Haight-Ashbury mainstay, Frank "Dago" Barron has been living on the streets of San Francisco since the 1970's. This is my time spent with him over 2 years as he reminds us of maintaining morality in a difficult world.
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Back in the 90s, artists turned video games into movie sets, and their wildest ideas are finally hitting documentaries. Before “virtual production” existed, filmmakers cracked open PC games and used them like back-lot studios. This film traces that underground invention—machinima—from hacked Quake mods and live Halo shows to today’s festival docs shot inside Grand Theft Auto.


Hidden Levels: Machinima explores authorship, community, the relationship between art & commerce, and whether or not there is really a benefit to being a pioneer. Fast, funny, and unexpectedly emotional, this film promises that you will be seeing a lot more films shot using video games.

  • Year
    2025
  • Runtime
    30 minutes
  • Country
    United States
  • Director
    Andrew Callaway
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