Boots Riley’s newest feature film, I Love Boosters, a crime comedy with a star-studded cast including Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, and Don Cheadle, will make its West Coast Premiere as the Centerpiece program of the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM).
The award-winning writer and director, known for surreal comedies like the 2018 film Sorry to Bother You and the 2023 limited series I’m A Virgo, is set to attend the Oakland event in a celebration of his work and Bay Area roots.
“I’m hyped as hell to bring I Love Boosters to SFFILM since they were the first organization to recognize me as a filmmaker and to support me in my filmmaking journey,” said Riley, who has long been a member of the SFFILM community as a filmmaker, community advocate, and mentor to emerging artists. “It’s going to be extra special to premiere in my hometown at Grand Lake Theatre I’ve been going to since I was a kid. This film is my best work and it’s going to be special to see this movie, which is set in the Bay Area, play here.”
I Love Boosters follows a “fearless crew of inventive young women” who turn “shoplifting into a radical act of defiance,” described Jessie Fairbanks, SFFILM’s Director of Programming. Led by Corvette, played by Keke Palmer, “they move across Oakland, boosting coveted goods as both survival and protest—challenging a system built on exclusion and excess. They even offer a community service, selling their stolen wares at deep discounts to make fashion accessible to all. When their exploits draw unwanted viral attention and their feud with fashion mogul Christine Smith,” played by Demi Moore, “turns personal, the Boosters plan one final, audacious heist. Joined by unexpected allies wielding supernatural powers and time-bending technology, they discover a chance to ignite revolutionary change. Bursting with eye-popping visuals and razor-sharp social commentary, I Love Boosters is a brash, hilarious, and wholly unexpected joyride of friendship and style.”
Fairbanks expanded on the choice to select I Love Boosters as SFFILM’s Centerpiece program and welcome Riley back to the festival: “It’s such a privilege to showcase local talent in our festival lineup,” she said. “SFFILM has a long history of honoring local icons, and this is our third time featuring Boots Riley’s innovative work in the Festival. An honoree with the SFFILM Storytelling Award, a former FilmHouse Resident, and Rainin grantee of SFFILM, Riley’s visionary film Sorry to Bother You was the Festival Centerpiece in 2018, while his hilarious series I’m A Virgo closed the festival in 2023. I deeply admire Boots and the way he deploys satire and surrealism as astute critiques of capitalism, institutional racism, and economic paradigms. His work is brave, bold, and wildly unexpected. We could not be more thrilled to anchor this year’s festival with the Centerpiece screening of I Love Boosters.”
Anna Lai, SFFILM’s Executive Director, praised Riley’s talent and Bay Area spirit as a central component of his work. “Whether music or film,” she said, “Boots’ larger-than-life presence and revolutionary perspective emanates through his art. Witnessing and supporting his work up close for years has been a gift. To now celebrate him and I Love Boosters in the home and to the audiences that inspire his audacious imagination and political practice is an incredibly satisfying moment.”
I Love Boosters’ West Coast premiere as the Centerpiece program of the SFFILM will take place on Tuesday, April 28, 2027, with two screenings at the Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, California.
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