Two Films. One Manilatown Legacy
About this Event
TWO FILMS. ONE MANILATOWN LEGACY.
Manilatown Heritage Foundation and SOMA Pilipinas, in partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, invite you to a special FREE double-feature film premiere at SFMOMA's Phyllis Wattis Theater.
On Saturday, November 7, 2026, experience two films that bring the history and living legacy of San Francisco's Manilatown and International Hotel to the big screen.
THE FALL OF THE I-HOTEL — SAN FRANCISCO PREMIERE
1:00 PM — Film Screening
2:00 PM — Community Conversation with filmmaker Curtis Choy and producers, moderated by Caroline Ocampo
The Manilatown Heritage Foundation presents the San Francisco premiere of the newly enhanced and restored edition of Curtis Choy's landmark 1983 documentary, The Fall of the I-Hotel.
After a decade of resistance against urban displacement, the struggle to save San Francisco's International Hotel culminated in the violent eviction of its elderly Filipino and Chinese tenants on August 4, 1977. With extraordinary immediacy, The Fall of the I-Hotel bears witness to a community's fight for dignity, housing, and justice.
More than four decades after its original release, the film remains both an essential record of Filipino American history and a powerful reminder of continuing struggles against displacement and inequality.
Newly re-scanned from a pristine 16mm print and digitized in 2K, this enhanced restoration was completed by the Manilatown Heritage Foundation in collaboration with the UCLA Asian American Studies Center and FotoKem.
Following the screening, join us for a special community conversation featuring filmmaker Curtis Choy, who returns to San Francisco to share reflections on his landmark film and the history it captured.
MANILATOWN MANANG — PREMIERE
3:00 PM — Film Screening
4:00 PM — Community Conversation with Jeanette Lazam and producers, moderated by Caroline Ocampo
Manilatown Manang tells the remarkable story of Jeanette Gandionco Lazam—artist, activist, and one of the few women who lived in the International Hotel as a Tenant Defender during the historic anti-eviction movement of the 1970s.
As a young Filipina activist, Jeanette moved into the I-Hotel and joined the International Hotel Tenants Association, standing alongside the elderly Manongs in their fight to save their home. On the night of the August 4, 1977 eviction, Jeanette remained at the side of elder tenant leader Wahat Tampao as sheriff's deputies forcibly cleared the building. Their final moments inside the I-Hotel were captured in Curtis Choy's The Fall of the I-Hotel.
More than four decades later, Jeanette became the last evicted tenant to return home to the rebuilt International Hotel Senior Residences.
Through archival footage, personal reflection, and contemporary storytelling, Manilatown Manang traces Jeanette's lifelong commitment to social justice while illuminating the often-unseen leadership of women whose work helped sustain movements for racial justice, women's rights, LGBTQ+ liberation, and community self-determination.
Following the premiere, Jeanette Lazam will join the film's producers for a community conversation about her extraordinary life, the struggle for the I-Hotel, and the legacy that continues today.
EVENT SCHEDULE
1:00 PM — The Fall of the I-Hotel
2:00 PM — Community Conversation with Curtis Choy + Producers
Moderated by Caroline Ocampo
3:00 PM — Manilatown Manang
4:00 PM — Community Conversation with Jeanette Lazam + Producers
Moderated by Caroline Ocampo
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2026
SFMOMA — Phyllis Wattis Theater @ San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 Third Street, San Francisco, CA
ADMISSION
Advance registration through Eventbrite is required for admission. Please reserve your ticket in advance to join us at SFMOMA.
Choose the ticket that works for you! Admission to this special SFMOMA program is free. For those who are able, we also offer a $25 Support Manilatown ticket as an optional contribution to help sustain the Manilatown Heritage Foundation’s cultural and historic preservation work. Both ticket types provide the same admission to the complete program.
Co-produced by the Manilatown Heritage Foundation and SOMA Pilipinas in partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, with partial funding from the San Francisco Arts Commission.
This film screening is a part of DEKADA, marking a landmark ten years of community building, cultural preservation, and placemaking in SOMA Pilipinas, the City and State-recognized Filipino Cultural Heritage District. For a full calendar of celebrations, please visit: somapilipinas.org
For more information about the Manilatown Heritage Foundation please visit us at www.manilatown.org and contact us at [email protected].
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 25.00
