Essential SF is an ongoing compendium of the Bay Area film community's most vital figures and institutions. Veteran visionaries Allie Light, Irving Saraf, Joshua Grannell, Susan Gerhard, Karen Larsen, Canyon Cinema, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman and others will be feted at this short ceremony.

An outgrowth of SF360.org’s Essential SF column and a key event in SFFS’s Cinema by the Bay, this event shines a light on the region’s legendary idiosyncratic and multifaceted contributions to the filmmaking world.

Read about this year's Essential SF honorees on SF36.org:

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman By Michael Fox With riveting characters and cascading revelations, Epstein and Friedman’s dramatic nonfiction paved the way for contemporary documentary practice.

Susan Gerhard By Johnny Ray Huston SF360.org editor Susan Gerhard talks copy, critics and the 'there' we have here.

Joshua Grannell By Johnny Ray Huston Since its first event in 1998, Midnight Mass has become an SF institution, and Peaches Christ, well, she's its peerless warden and cult leader.

Karen Larsen By Michael Fox Universally warm sentiment is attached to the Bay Area's hardest working indie/art film publicist.

Canyon Cinema By Michael Fox For 50 years, Canyon Cinema has provided crucial support for a fertile avant-garde film scene.

Irving Saraf and Allie Light By Michael Fox Saraf and Light's work is marked by an unwavering appreciation for underdogs and outsiders.