The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and video production with an emphasis on work that has not yet secured U.S. distribution. In 2009, it served around 82,000 patrons, with screenings held in San Francisco and Berkeley. In March 2014, Noah Cowan, former executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival, became executive director of the SFFS and SFIFF, replacing Ted Hope. Prior to Hope, the festival was briefly headed by Bingham Ray, who served as SFFS executive director until his death after only ten weeks on the job in January 2012. Graham Leggat became the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society on October 17, 2005. The Scottish-born Leggat died on August 25, 2011 from cancer, aged 51. The 63rd edition of the festival, originally scheduled for April 2020, but was ultimately postponed to 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. History Founded in 1957 by film exhibitor Irving "Bud" Levin, the SFIFF began as a philanthropic effort to secure San Francisco's place in the international arts scene as well as expose locals to cinema as an art form. Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood and Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali were among the films that screened at the first festival. One obstacle in the early years was the lack of support from the major Hollywood studios, suggested reasons being the growing threat of international films' appeal and a fear that the festival would draw commercial attention away from the Oscars. It was not until 1959 that a major American film, Henry King's Beloved Infidel, starring Gregory Peck and Deborah Kerr, played at SFIFF. Honors and Tributes Irving M. Levin Directing Award The Festival's directing award is named after SFIFF's founder, Irving Levin. From 2003 to 2014, the award was known as the Founder's Directing Award. Prior to 2003, the award was known as the Akira Kurosawa Award. Recipients include: Mira Nair, 2016 Guillermo del Toro, 2015 Richard Linklater, 2014 Philip Kaufman, 2013 Kenneth Branagh, 2012 Oliver Stone, 2011 Walter Salles, 2010 Francis Ford Coppola, 2009 Mike Leigh, 2008 Spike Lee, 2007 Werner Herzog, 2006 Taylor Hackford, 2005 Miloš Forman, 2004 Robert Altman, 2003 Warren Beatty, 2002 Clint Eastwood, 2001 Abbas Kiarostami, 2000 Arturo Ripstein, 1999 Im Kwon-taek,