The San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle
Honoring excellence in film while uplifting the voices of the Bay Area's vibrant film community.
Honoring excellence in film while uplifting the voices of the Bay Area's vibrant film community.
Since 2020, the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle has served as the official jury for the Outstanding First Narrative Feature Award at the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline). This distinction is presented annually to an exemplary debut narrative feature, recognizing a significant emerging voice in LGBTQ+ cinema.
Two films impressed the SFBAFCC jury so much that we’re honoring both this year. Adrian Chiarella's intense directorial debut Leviticus floored the jury not only because of how confident and accomplished it was for a first feature, but how it complexly explored issues pertaining to internal and external homophobia through the guise of a horror film.
Sam McConnell’s gritty sports-themed drama Test knocked us all out not only by its endearing, volcanic star-making turn from screenwriter Brock Yurich but for how it never once hit an inauthentic note in a searing portrayal of a closeted amateur bodybuilder trying to make his own mark and find connection with another man in the process. Congrats to both.
The Nature of Invisible Things (A Natureza das Coisas Invisíveis | Brazil/Chile 2025 | 90 min | dir. Rafaela Camelo)
Lucky, Apartment (럭키, 아파트 | South Korea 2024 | 96 min. | dir. Garam Kangyu)
Big Boys (USA 2023 | 90 min. | dir. Corey Sherman)
So Damn Easy Going (Så jävla easy going | Sweden/Norway 2022 | 91 min. | dir. Christoffer Sandler)
Two of Us (Deux | France/Luxembourg/Belgium 2019 | 99 min. | dir. Filippo Meneghetti)