Shapeshifters Summer Camp Session 2 starts in 11 days!

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.

We still have a few spots available for Session 2 (July 20-24) during which campers will explore:

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

Scholarships are available for students registered in a Title I school.

Find out more and register now

A. Rimbaud by Patrick Wang
Sunday, August 2, 2026
2pm
Admission: $15 (discount for members)

The improbable life of French poet Arthur Rimbaud unfolds with all the shock and playfulness of his poetry. Starring Blake Draper. Directed by Patrick Wang. TRT: 175 minutes

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.

"A. Rimbaud Review: Patrick Wang Returns With the Best Three-Hour, One-Man Biopic You'll See This Year" by Siddhant Adlakha for Variety

"Shapeshifters Cinema Hosts a New Film Series for Adventurous Moviegoers" by Sarah Hotchkiss for KQED

"Vital Signs in Oakland" by David Hudson for the Criterion Collection website

It Could Be ∞ + Dyemark
Saturday, August 8, 2016
7pm
Admission: $8-88

In a benefit for Shapeshifters Cinema, illustrator Michael Wertz convenes It Could Be ∞, the ensemble of live drawing, hand-held projection, and improvised scoring with musicians Andy Cowitt, Michael Zelner and Suki O’Kane, with Super 8 by Nat Swope. Opening set by intermedia artist Dyemark.

New Member Glasses Have Landed!

Shapeshifters members at the Clairvoyant level and higher get one free beer at every event hosted at Shapeshifters Cinema (and 10% off every beer thereafter) that are served in a special member glass.

The image for this year’s glass (that we are affectionately calling a tall-girl glass) was created by Bay Area illustrator and animator Anna Firth and features a two-sided, interactive design that changes with the level and contents of the glass. Immerse yourself in the magic of this design as faces and shapes appear and disappear! Did that really happen? Have another beer and find out!

If you are currently a Shapeshifters member at the Clairvoyant level or higher, your glass will be waiting for you in the cinema to enjoy your member beer every time you come in for a screening or event. At the end of your membership year, the glass is yours to keep.

Come on by and enjoy your next member beer in this new member glass!

Take a look at all the great perks waiting for you when you join the Shapeshifters Membership Program.

The Shapeshifters shop features a variety of media (LPs, audio cassettes, books, prints, DVDs and more) all made by artists who have presented or performed in our space, and/or that represent and celebrate the spirit of our DIY, creative community.

Recent additions to the Shapeshifters shop include Agnes Martian’s The Future Light Cone audio cassette, Sadie Greyduck’s audio casette baa, Covering the Surface audio cassette by Marcia Bassett & Sergej Vutuc, 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 available items.

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.

Audium Spatial Sound Residency Call for Submissions: Audium SF invites Bay Area sound artists and musicians interested in creating and performing full-length immersive works of sound, projection and light for Audium’s 176-speaker space to apply for the Spatial Sound Residency Program. Deadline to apply is July 27, 2026. Find out more.

Ann Arbor Film Festival Early Bird Call for Submissions: The Ann Arbor Film Festival is open to experimental films as well as films that demonstrate a high regard for the moving image as an experimental art form, no matter the genre. Each year the AAFF selects 100-145 shorts and features for exhibition in the awards competition portion of the festival. The 65th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival will take place in Ann Arbor, MI March 23-28, 2027. Early bird deadline to submit is July 31, 2026. Find out more.

Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival Early Bird Call for Submissions: Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival is the UK’s festival of experimental film and artists' moving image, taking place each spring in the Scottish Borders. Across an international program of cinema screenings, live performances, moving-image exhibitions and new commissions, the festival is known for the openness, solidarity, humor and non-competitive nature with which it is delivered. Early bird deadline to submit for the 2027 festival is July 31, 2026. Find out more.

Images Festival 2027 Call for Submissions: Images Festival (Toronto) seeks short, mid-length, feature-length films and video installations completed in the last 3 years to be considered for the 2027 festival. Deadline to submit is July 31, 2026. Find out more.

Alternative Exposure Grant Award (Round 20) Call for Submissions: Alternative Exposure funds the presentation of Bay Area visual art projects by multiple artists. Selected projects receive awards of up to $5,000 to provide the seed funding to present artist-led visual art programs that are open to the public and presented outside of traditional art spaces. Possible projects include: exhibitions; publications, zines, or print series; festivals or events with a visual component; public learning opportunities for visual artists; new or ongoing projects; non-institutional spaces for art and artists; performances; screenings; web-based projects; and so much more! Deadline to submit is August 10, 2026. Find out more.