The lineup of films, guests and events for the 58th San Francisco International FilmFestival (SFIFF)  was announced yesterday. This year’s festival is an interesting mix that reflects the “spirit of the bay area,” as Noah Cowan put it. Cowan is the executive director of the San Francisco Film Society that hosts the annual film festival, which is the longest running film festival in North America.

Alex Gibney’s “The Man In The Machine,” on Steve Jobs is the opening night film on April 23, 2015 and Michael Almereyda’s “Experimenter” about Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram is the closing night film on May 7, 2015.

Between the opening and closing night film is a veritable treasure trove of  179 films from 46 countries. There is something for everybody in this festival right from the big, marquee films like “The Diplomat” to “Far From Men,”  to the 1929 restored silent film “Monte-Cristo” to documentaries like “Court” by Chaitanya Tamhane to “The Wolfpack” that won the Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize and “Meru” that won the Sundance Documentary Award to “City of Gold,” about Pulitzer-winning food critic Jonathan Gold of Los Angeles.

Film festivals are also a great venue to catch premiers of new films. “Mr. Holmes” will have its US premiere at the festival. Directed by Bill Condon the film stars Ian McKellen, Laura Linney and Milo Parker. McKellen plays a 93 year old Holmes, who is now in retirement, but that does not mean he has given up on his detective work.

Isabella Rosellini’s wonderful film “Green Porno” that looks at the sex lives of animals and birds right from ducks to sea urchins. Rossellini is expected to attend the festival.

And for the first time SFFS is collaborating with Alamo Drafthouse to bring a program called “Dark Wave.” Curated and co-hosted by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse the program features independent horror and sci-fi films like “Cop Car” and “Good Night Mommy.”

Films are just one aspect of the festival. There are live music performances and curated talks with filmmakers and actors. You can listen to director Guillermo Del Toro on April 25, 2015 at the Castro Theatre. Del Toro will receive Irving M. Levin directing award. And on the following day April 26, 2015 you can catch actor Richard Gere, who will receive the Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in film acting.

This year’s State of Cinema features Douglas Trumbull, an inventor and special effects pioneer who worked on “2011: The Space Odyssey,” “Blade Runner,” and “Close Encounters of The Third Kind.” You can catch this talk on Sunday, May 3, 2015 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema.

Finally, there is a terrific mix of film and events that reflects various aspects of San Francisco bay area from its iconic entrepreneurs to the historic Royal Road – El Camino Real to musical performances by Kronos Quartet, the avante garde jazz ensemble. And then there is a special live program called “Boomtown: Remaking of San Francisco,” that looks at the boom and bust cycle and how does the city deal with these changes?

You can explore and find out about the various film, talks, live events and ticket information by visiting SFFIF’s website.

Stay tuned for interview with Cowan, who talks about the highlights of the festival.