Thank you to all of the educators and students who joined us for our Spring 2025 Classroom to Cinema season!
This semester, we were honored to welcome students from across the Bay Area to the Smith Rafael Film Center for a powerful lineup of films that celebrated cultural heritage months and highlighted timely social topics. From Black History Month to Women’s History Month to AAPI Heritage Month, each screening opened a window into a story that mattered.
We’re proud of the conversations sparked by these films – conversations about girlhood and gender, belonging, and the everyday courage it takes to come of age in complex cultural landscapes. These experiences weren’t just cinematic, they were connective, timely, and inspiring.
Thank you for being part of this journey. We can’t wait to see you next semester! Our Fall 2025 lineup will be announced in August, so check back for new films, new conversations, and more opportunities to bring your students to our theaters.
SPRING 2025 SEASON PROGRAM
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22 • 10:00 AM
ABOUT THE FILM
In this captivating documentary short, filmmaker Contessa Gayles follows a group of young Black women in Oakland as they prepare for their debutante ball – a ceremony rooted in tradition, culture, and self-determination. The Debutantes offers a rare look into the complexity and pride of Black girlhood, sisterhood, and legacy.
Director: Contessa Gayles (US 2023) 96 min + Q&A
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
THURSDAY, MARCH 21 • 1:00 AM
ABOUT THE FILM
QATAR STARS is the first feature documentary about girls in Qatar. This documentary is a four- year coming of age story set inside a gender self-segregating rhythmic gymnastics school, in the rapidly evolving years leading up to the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup. Girls from Qatar, Lebanon, Egypt, Ukraine, and UK grow up onscreen over four years, changing from wiggly nine-year-olds to maturing teens who must navigate the evolving, gendered world around them. The girls experience both triumphs and heartaches, to ultimately form an unbreakable bond.
Director: Danielle Beverly (US 2023) 98 min + Q&A
To learn more, visit the Qatar Stars website
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BVAC
ASIAN AMERICAN + PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH
MONDAY, MAY 12 • 11:00 AM
ABOUT THE FILM
Set in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, SMOKING TIGERS is a portrait of a lonely Korean-American teen named Hayoung who is taken under the wings of three wealthy students she meets at an elite academic bootcamp. As she falls deeper into their world, Hayoung works harder to hide her true self, only to discover the bittersweet pains of adulthood that will forever shape her life.
Directors: So Young Shelly Yo, Guo Guo (US 2023) 91 min + Q&A