Amy Adams
Photo by Drew Altizer

Boots Riley and Ishmael Reed
Photo by Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

Steve McQueen and Michelle Rodriguez
Photo by Drew Altizer Photography

Heidi Fisher and Sonya Yu
Photo by Devlin Shand for Drew Altizer Photography

Erik Moore and Anisha Padamshi
Photo by Andrew Caulfield for Drew Altizer Photography

Liza Cannata and Alicia Engstrom
Photo by Drew Altizer

Barbara Tomber
Photo by Andrew Caulfield for Drew Altizer Photography

Katie Traina, Todd Traina and Dede Wilsey
Photo by Drew Altizer

A bird's-eye view of the 2018 SFFILM Awards Night
Photo by Drew Altizer Photography

John C. Reilly
Photo by Drew Altizer

SFFILM honored Amy Adams, director Steve McQueen, and screenwriter and activist Boots Riley at its annual Awards Night on Monday, December 3, held at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Exhibition Center.

Vice director Adam McKay presented Adams with the Peter J. Owens Award for Acting, while Widows star Michelle Rodriquez presented McQueen the Irving M. Levin Award for Film Direction. Riley received the Kanbar Award for Storytelling. The evening’s event raised over $250,000 to benefit SFFILM Education, which serves to promote media literacy, expand its public programs and create new opportunities for filmmakers to connect with Bay Area students.

Executive director Noah Cowan and event co-hosts Heidi Fisher and Sonya Yu celebrated with guests that included: John C. Riley, Diane Baker, Dagmar Dolby, Natasha and David Dolby, Alexandra and Spencer Wells, Tracy Falconer, Lisa Zabelle, Amy Glass, Jack Calhoun, Henny Garfunkel, Kathryn Lasater, and Serena and Alec Perkins.

Also in attendance were filmmaker Todd Traina and his mother, philanthropist Dede Wilsey, who together gifted $1 million to make possible SF Honors, a recurring awards event that takes place in the lead-up to the SFFILM gala. In its tradition of celebrating achievement in filmmaking, this year’s SF Honors—held on Saturday, November 10, at the new Saint Joseph’s Arts Society—was dedicated to the upcoming Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic, On The Basis of Sex, and welcomed guests including the film’s co-stars, Armie Hammer and Felicity Jones. “[San Francisco is] the third biggest conglomeration of Academy voting members behind L.A. and New York, and the studios are starting to see that it’s an important stop along the Oscar campaign trail,” said Traina. “This is the sort of thing that really excites me—bringing the cast and filmmakers up from L.A. to do something special for our community.”

Written by David Nash and Anush Benliyan