Today is the opening night of the longest running film festival in the Americas – San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF). The festival runs from today through May 7, 2015 and is studded with a wonderful array of films, guests and talks.

We sat down to speak with Noah Cowan of  San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) about this year’s film festival and the strategic vision and direction he has in mind for the organization.

What is different about this year’s festival is the acknowledgement of San Francisco bay area values in the programing says Cowan. He describes the essence of San Francisco values that includes a wide range of components from innovation and technology to the political and social dynamics of the area.

Cowan spent many years at the Toronto Film Festival and helped curate lots of special projects especially on Asian films from China and South Asia. He helped curate two special programs on India’s Mani Ratnam and Raj Kapoor. So naturally we had to ask if we can expect to see more South Asian films at SFIFF. Tune in to find out what he has to say.