Cinequest Screenings at the California Theatre

Cinequest empowers, discovers and showcases great film, media, creativity and technology. Cinequest engages artists and their creations with audiences — forging community, illumination and joy. Based in the Silicon Valley, Cinequest’s powerful integration of creativity and technology inspires and transforms lives.

Voted “Best Film Festival” by USA Today readers, the Cinequest in-person festival occurs in the Silicon Valley while the virtual festival occurs via the Cinejoy online platform.

Annually, over 300,000 participate in Cinequest experiences from all walks of life, engaging with great art, tech and each other. Cinequest’s renowned hospitality makes the festival experience as warm and personal as it is electrifying.

Cinequest’s highest honor, the Maverick Award, recognizes bold, visionary and creative forces exemplary in the worlds of Silicon Valley innovation and the creative arts. Its Maverick Spirit Awards recognizes artists (including past guest recipients Nicolas Cage, Harrison Ford, Tatiana Maslany, J.J. Abrams, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ben Kingsley, Elle Fanning and Sir Ian McKellen). Its Maverick Innovator Award recognizes technologists (including Martin Cooper, father of the cell phone). A Maverick stands apart from the crowd willing to create and innovate from a place of personal yet global vision.