Director

Sophoan Sorn is a Cambodian-American film festival director, curator, and programmer. Born in a refugee camp in 1985, he emigrated to the US with his family in 1991. He is in his 14th season as Director of San Francisco’s Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, America’s leading festival of contemporary German cinema, which presented its 28th edition during April 18th-25th, 2024.

He expanded Berlin & Beyond’s programming with the Autumn Showcase series, the Honolulu tour, the Career Achievement Award (renamed Film Maker Award in 2024), the Spotlight Award in Acting, and the international Youth 4 German Cinema initiative, which celebrated its 10th Anniversary at the 2023 Festival.

Amidst the current COVID-19 global pandemic, he produced the virtual Berlin & Beyond in Focus (November 2020), the hybrid 25th Anniversary Berlin & Beyond Film Festival with drive-in, in-cinema, and virtual programming (May 25-June 6, 2021), the in-person Berlin & Beyond Autumn Showcase (November 15-17, 2021), and the return to the Castro Theatre for the 26th edition (March 11-16, 2022). The 2023 Festival opened a new era as the 27th edition (March 23-28, 2023) headed to San Francisco’s vibrant Mission District and Berkeley’s University neighborhood.

He was also the Founder and Director of 10 editions of the San Joaquin International Film Festival (2008-2018) in Stockton. He was Advisor and Production Partner for the first 10 programs (2013-2020) of Cinema Italia San Francisco, which were homage series to Italian directors and actors. Through the years, he has worked as a portrait photographer, documentary videographer, graphic designer, and consultant to film exhibition programs. He studied cinematography, is an avid flower gardener, plays the piano, and has traveled to over 80 countries around the world.