Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters West Coast Premiere at SFFILM April 28

Boots Riley will return to Oakland to present I Love Boosters as the Centerpiece of the 69th San Francisco International Film Festival, with two screenings at the Grand Lake Theatre, 3200 Grand Ave., on Tuesday, April 28. “I’m hyped as hell to bring I Love Boosters to SFFILM since they were the first organization to recognize me as a filmmaker and to support me in my filmmaking journey,” Riley said in a statement. “It’s going to be extra special to premiere in my hometown at Grand Lake Theater I’ve been going to since I was a kid. This film is my best work and it’s going to be special to see this movie, which is set in the Bay Area, play here.”

SFFILM has scheduled two April 28 shows to meet demand: a 6:30 p.m. screening that will be followed by a moderated conversation with Boots Riley, and a 9:30 p.m. screening that will begin with a moderated introduction. Sources state Riley will appear in person at the Grand Lake Theatre for both screenings. Tickets are priced at $30 to $35; SFFILM members get exclusive on-sale access beginning Monday, March 2, and the general public sale opens Wednesday, March 4 at sffilm.org.

Descriptions of I Love Boosters vary by outlet but converge on setting and tone: KQED calls it a “comedy-thriller about a high-fashion heist” and elsewhere “a comedy-thriller set in the Bay Area,” while Yahoo and the San Francisco Chronicle describe it as a “comedy about a fearless crew of female shoplifters who launch a Bay Area crime spree.” The cast listed in festival copy includes Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Will Poulter, and Demi Moore. Distributor Neon is scheduled to roll the film out theatrically on May 22 following festival play.

SFFILM frames the Centerpiece selection as part of a longstanding relationship with Riley: SFFILM director of programming Jessie Fairbanks said, “It is such a privilege to showcase local talent in our festival lineup,” and noted that this is the festival’s third time featuring Riley’s work, listing his honors and past selections. AwardsWatch and festival materials specify that Riley’s Sorry To Bother You was SFFILM’s Centerpiece in 2018, his series I’m A Virgo closed the Festival in 2023, and Riley has been an honoree with the SFFILM Storytelling Award, a former FilmHouse Resident, and a Rainin grantee.

I Love Boosters follows a world premiere at SXSW in Austin on March 12 and will join SFFILM’s full lineup during the April 24 to May 4 festival window; SFFILM’s full program was scheduled to be announced April 1. The festival’s decision to program Riley’s hometown premiere at a marquee Oakland venue, and to price tickets at $30 to $35, signals both cultural and commercial positioning: Riley’s Bay Area provenance and recognizable cast create local box office pull ahead of Neon’s nationwide release on May 22.

The Centerpiece slot also sits among other high-profile festival events this year, with Yahoo noting closing-night programming that includes The Empire Strikes Back at the Castro Theatre with actor Anthony Daniels in person. For Bay Area audiences, April 28 will be a homecoming for Riley and a rare opportunity to see a locally set film by a locally based director before its wide release.