Over the last seven years, The San Francisco Film Society (now known simply at Sffilm) has become one the largest nonprofit supporters of independent and documentary film having doled out over $800,000 to individual films in 2016. With targeted and flexible filmmaking grants the SFFilm Maker program has been able to give individual films a significant financial boost when they need it most – ranging from before the script is written all the way to the sound mix.

Read More: San Francisco’s Master Plan to Keep Film Relevant In the 21st Century — Sf International Film Festival

Having played a critical role in successful films like “Short Term 12,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild” and “Fruitvale Station” getting made, Sffs’s support has also come to signal to the rest of the film world that a project is worth tracking.

However, the film society’s mission goes beyond being a key cog in...