The Compatriots is one of 200 entries screening at this year’s San Antonio Film Festival. Credit: Courtesy Image / San Antonio Film Festival

The 31st Annual San Antonio Film Festival, which starts this week, will screen 200 selections including The Wasps, a musical comedy executive produced by Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused) that’s set in ancient Athens, and The Compatriots, a feature centered on an undocumented immigrant and his long-lost best friend.

The six-day gathering, also known as SAFILM, begins Tuesday and runs through Sunday. Movies will screen at four local venues: the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, the Radius Center, EVO Entertainment in Schertz and the Malu and Carlos Alvarez Theater at Texas Public Radio.

“This multi-venue format allows us to reach a broader audience while celebrating cinema in some of San Antonio’s most iconic cultural spaces,” SAFILM founder and Executive Director Adam Rocha said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to welcome filmmakers and film lovers alike to this citywide celebration of storytelling.”

The screenings will include features, shorts and documentaries along with student, international and local films, organizers said. As in years past, SAFILM also will include a variety of education programs, including free industry panels open to the entire community along with filmmaker meet-and-greets, workshops and a Grand Finale Awards Ceremony.

This year’s festival will also present its Texas Yanaguana Award to four-time NBA champion and former San Antonio resident Shaquille O’Neill in honor of his towering impact on film, TV and other media. O’Neill’s brother, Jamal Harrison, will accept the award at Sunday’s ceremony, which also will feature a video presentation from the basketball legend himself.

SAFILM is offering day and weekend passes along with all-access VIP badges an student VIP badges. More details on the event, including a full schedule and ticket details, are available online.

$52.86-$146.40, Tuesday, July 22-Sunday, July 27, Radius Center 106 Auditorium Circle, (210) 885-5888, safilm.com.

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This article appears in Jul 10-23, 2025.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...