Earth Balance - An exploded view inside the creative mind of Rankin Renwick
Thursday, May 28, 2026
7pm
Admission: $15 (discount for members)

Rankin Renwick has worked with experimental and poetic documentary forms for over 40 years. Eschewing an allegiance to any one medium or form, Renwick builds authentic works revealing an insatiable curiosity and unflinching engagement with the world around them. Often focusing their lens on nature, freedom and the locales of their adopted home, the Pacific Northwest, Renwick uses avant-garde formal elements to explore radical politics and environmental issues. Renwick will be joining us for this one-night-only event to share a specially-designed exploded diagram presentation of five video installations, plus related single-channel videos they have made over the years showcasing their wide spectrum of interests including jellyfish, wolves, dogs, cats, whales, chimps, Vaux Swifts, ants, elephants, and spirits, as well as gentrification and genocide. These installations, and the additional single-channel conglomerations, have been shown in festivals and museums around the world, including the Centre Pompidou, The Exploratorium, and the MIXNYC Festival. Some of the installations now reside in permanent collections of museums. "There is nothing quite like preparators showing up to haul your bulky-ass, space-hogging installation out of your house in exchange for a big-ass check!" (RR)

Do-Over Music Series - Eleonora / Knudsen / Davis / Glenn
Thursday, June 4, 2026
7pm
Admission: $10 (discount for members)

The Do-Over Music Series at Shapeshifters Cinema, organized by Lisa Mezzacappa and Jordan Glenn, is a monthly series of sound performances presented by a rotating cast of local luminaries and special guests. The first set features performances of creative - improvised - composed - electronic - acoustic - music. The second set opens up to a live improvised collaboration of sound and visuals made using images culled from the Shapeshifters 16mm film collection.

Set 1: 7pm sound performance by Eleanora (harp)

Set 2 (8pm): expanded cinema + improvised music with:

Eleanora - harp
Kasey Knudsen - saxophone
Ben Davis - cello
Jordan Glenn - drums
Films, film loops and other visual interventions by the Shapeshifters Performance Group (Ellie, Kathleen & Gilbert)

Against All Odds: London
Saturday, June 6, 2026
7pm
Admission: $12 (discount for members)

Experimental film ambassador (and maker) Karel Doing was invited by us to curate this program as an addendum to the Against All Odds film series he is curating and organizing to screen at Close-Up Film Centre—a 40-seat microcinema in London, UK. This series provides a window for London audiences into some of the work coming out of DIY/independent microcinema and film lab communities around the world. In March, the series was launched with a program of work made by Bay Area-based artists. Against All Odds: London is a program featuring films made by artists associated with the Close Up Film Centre community so that we in the Bay Area can look back through that window and see what-all they are up to across the pond.

Screening: Notes for the Woodshed (2023) by Daniel Owusu, Views from Home (2005) by Guy Sherwin, Hues (2024) by Lynn Loo, Heliotrope & Citron (2025) by Jim Hobbs, Intervals (2023) by Simon Payne, Aerospace Imaging (2020), by Pierre Bouvier Patron, Afterimage (2025) by Susu Laroche, Standing Prayer (2023) by Hugo Max, Citadel (2020) by John Smith, Inflated (Double) Struggle (2018), by Jenny Baines, A Monster with its Mouth Agape (2024) by Steven McInerney and Dead as a Dodo (2025) by Leena Habiballa

Revelations of Divine Love
with director Caroline Golum in person
Sunday, June 21, 2026
2pm
Admission: $15 (discount for members)

An irreverent biopic vividly realized through fantastic psychedelia and handmade sets with an ever-topical feminist approach, Revelations of Divine Love, by Caroline Golum is inspired by and adapted from the memoir of 14th-century mystic and philosopher Julian of Norwich—an account of religious ecstasy, plague, and revolt considered to be the first English-language book to be authored by a woman. Running time: 73 minutes. In English and Latin with English subtitles.

View trailer
Read the NY Times article
Read Guy Maddin's interview with Caroline Golum

Vital Signs is a new film series organized by Bay Area filmmaker and curator Jonathan Kiefer to showcase new and recently-released, feature-length, contemporary, independent and artist-made films that have shown around the international film festival circuit but may or may not have been picked up by distributors and are otherwise hard to find. Films may feature obscure themes, unusual perspectives or eccentric material, but they have all been sifted through the Vital Signs filter so you can be sure they are all films worth leaving your home to see in community with like-minded art film/film art appreciators. Screenings will take place at Shapeshifters every first Sunday at 2pm unless otherwise noted.

Printing Imperfect Movies At Home
Instructor: Alex Mejia
Sunday, June 28, 2026
1-5pm
In-person at Shapeshifters Cinema
Admission: $60 + $15 materials fee (Discount for Shapeshifters members)

DIY printing using copy machines and home printers is a living tradition across movements and subcultures as an accessible and cost-effective way to create things like personal zines, poetry chapbooks, scene reports, and insurgent manifestos. In this workshop led by Alex Mejia, participants will experiment with this wonderfully imperfect, lo-fi, high-contrast, black & white aesthetic using text, found footage and animations as source material that will be printed directly onto 16mm film leader to create homemade movies without cameras or photochemical processes. Building on the lo-fi zine aesthetic/practice, participants will engage in simple writing exercises that respond to the images – turning mistakes, glitches, and distortions into language-based material. Participants will leave the workshop with handmade, printed 16mm film loops, as well as video capture of the footage, to carry into future moving image projects.

Summer is approaching! What is your teen doing this summer?

The Shapeshifters Summer Youth Media Makers Camp is a week-long, hands-on, workshop-style camp for youth, ages 12-17 to learn a variety of DIY, experimental film and sound-based processes from experienced Bay Area-based artists and educators.

This year we are offering two sessions: Session 1: June 22-26 and Session 2: July 20-24 with the following creative projects:

Panorama Crankies, with Risa Lenore
Found Sound, with Cheryl Leonard
Cut Paper Collage Animation with Lydia Greer
Multimedia Poetry, with Kathleen Quillian
Material Cinema, with Ellie Vanderlip
Shadow Puppets, with Lydia Greer
Virtual Sound Making, with Jon Leidecker
Pre-Cinema Optics, with Kathleen Quillian
Creative Coding, with Gilbert Guerrero
Phytography, with Ellie Vanderlip

Sign up for both sessions and get a 10% discount (applied automatically).

Find out more and register now

Shapeshifters members are the heart of the organization.

By joining the Shapeshifters Membership Program, you become part of an engaged, diverse, creative community working in and around experimental moving image, sound and time-based art.

In exchange for your generous support, we offer a wellspring of fantastic benefits including:

• 10% discount on tickets, registrations and everything purchased in both the cinema and café (Seer level, $60)

• A special, limited edition beer mug (with original image designed this year by Anna Firth!) + one free beer at every on-site event you attend (Clairvoyant level, $100)

• Shapeshifters T-shirt or tote bag (Conjurer level, $150)

• One free admission to every screening hosted in our cinema (Magus level, $300)

• Named sponsorship of one Shapeshifters Fellow (Shapeshifters level, $500)

Help ensure the future of Shapeshifters Cinema. Become a member now.

Want to support the organization without committing to a membership? Consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, San Francisco Cinematheque, a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations go directly towards covering the costs of operating our venue, without which we can’t continue to do what we do. And if the company you work for offers matching donations, you can double your impact! Every donation makes a huge difference and is greatly appreciated.

We have re-stocked our collection of the popular 6-in-1 flipbook series (and added a new one!) in our shop. These are innovatively-designed flipbooks made in Spain featuring six different image sequences in one book. Each book focuses on work by pioneering artists related to pre-cinema and early cinema history, including Eadweard Muybridge, Étienne-Jules Marey, Georges Méliès, Lotte Reiniger, The Lumière Brothers and Josepth Plateau. We have a limited stock of each book. Get them while you can!

Other recent additions to our shop include Lynne Sachs and Lizzie Olezker’s Hand Book: A Manual on Performance, Process, and the Labor of Laundry, Marielle V Jakobson’s Star Core LP and Analog Cookbook, Issue #8: All Recipes.

Take a look at all the items available in the Shapeshifters Shop.

We also have gift cards! Shapeshifters gift cards can be purchased in any amount you choose and can be used in both the cinema and café. That means that your recipient can use it to buy whatever they want! A latte, a book and a ticket to a film screening; or, a beer, a record and admission to a workshop. The variations are endless! Not only are you giving your favorite creative person access to a treasure trove of great things (and experiences), you are also supporting your favorite microcinema/brewery/café. It’s a win-win scenario! Buy a gift card now.

Volunteer at the Taste of Jack London Food and Beer Fest! The Jack London Improvement District is proud to present the Taste of Jack London Beer and Food on Saturday, August 15, 2026. The festival is looking for volunteers to help with set up, ticket sales, MOOPing, and potentially working at a food or beer booth. In exchange you will receive a free tasting ticket so you can enjoy the beers and food. Volunteer shifts are only for the first part of the event or at the end of the event, so all volunteers will have at least 2 hours to enjoy the party. Must be 21+ to participate. Find out more.

ATA Monthly Open Screenings: Artists’ Television Access (ATA), the stalwart experimental microcinema holding ground in SF’s Mission District since 1984, hosts Open Screenings every first Thursday. This free community film/video show welcomes short format work (15 min or less) from all genres made by independent filmmakers, experimental artists, rogue visionaries and inspired tinkerers who work with the moving image. ATA’s Open Screenings happen the first Thursday of every month at 8:00 pm. Entries must be received by 7:00 pm on show night. Find out more.

Sacramento State University, Open Faculty Positions: The Film Program at Sacramento State University seeks to fill two faculty positions: an Assistant Professor who specializes in contemporary approaches to narrative and/or documentary filmmaking, with an emphasis on short film storytelling; and an Assistant Professor in Cinema Studies whose research focuses on narrative film history, indigeneity, migration, diaspora, decolonization, and/or ecology & climate change. Positions are open until filled. Find out more.

Communications Coordinator Position, Audium SF: Audium (San Francisco) is seeking a thoughtful and creative Communications Coordinator to join its small, passionate team of artists, technologists, and sound lovers. This is a flexible, part-time role (up to 15 hours/week) with room to grow. They are looking for someone excited to help shape the public face of a one-of-a-kind sound theater and to connect their work with new audiences. Positions is open until filled. Find out more.

Living Wage Residencies, The Lab: The Lab (San Francisco) announces an open call for its celebrated Living Wage Residency program in 2026-27, providing substantial support for SF Bay artists in the creation of new works. Artists working in all media and disciplines are invited to apply, keeping in mind The Lab’s history as a site for experimental and interdisciplinary forms of artistic work spanning performance, exhibition, installation, sound and experimental music, writing, institutional critique, social practice, parades, feasts, and further disciplines yet to be defined. Deadline to apply is May 31, 2026. Find out more.

Found Footage Magazine Call for Submissions: Authors are invited to submit essays, interviews, video-essays, film and book reviews for Found Footage Magazine, Issue #12. Deadline to submit is June 1, 2026. Find out more.

California Arts Council, Region 3 Bay Area Individual Artist Fellowship: California Arts Council, in association with Kala Art Institute, is offering a new fellowship program that supports individual artists and culture bearers across all disciplines in the Bay Area. By providing unrestricted funding, the fellowship empowers artists at pivotal moments in their careers, enhancing their ability to contribute meaningfully to California’s diverse communities. This grant program identifies three career tiers in which artists may benefit from this support: Legacy Artist, Established Artist and Emerging Artist. Deadline to apply is June 5, 2026. Find out more.

Exploratorium Artist-in-Residence Program: The Exploratorium is currently accepting applications for the 2026–2027 Artist-in-Residence Program. The Exploratorium AIR program allows artists to embed within the unique culture of the institution, affords access to a dynamic and distinct staff, and provides opportunities for cross-pollination with a diverse public. Residencies typically unfold over two years and include both an exploratory and project-development phase. Applicants to the program should be inherently curious and deeply invested in inquiry as a part of their practice. Deadline to apply is June 29, 2026. Find out more.