2026 PRESS - NOIR CITY 23

For 10 days, Oakland’s hottest nightclub is a movie theater — Noir City 23 is ready to swing
G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

"Lauren Bacall famously told Humphrey Bogart to “put your lips together and blow.” The movie was To Have and Have Not (1944) and the how-to instructions referred to whistling. Six years later, she could have given the same tip, albeit for a different reason, to co-star Kirk Douglas in Young Man with a Horn." MORE

NOIR CITY 23: a musician walks into an alley…
Scott Strickland, The Movie Gourmet

"The 23rd edition of the festival showcases noir and neo-noir movies with and about musicians. After all, how many guys start off playing in a nightclub and end up face-down in the gutter?" MORE

Screen Grabs: NOIR CITY sings the blues
Dennis Harvey, 48hills

"As usual, there will be some titles familiar to even the most casual noir aficionado, like Howard Hawks’ 1944 To Have and Have Not...Lesser-known jewels include the 1941 Blues in the Night, chronicling a fictive jazz ensemble’s turbulent history, and 1962’s British All Night Long, a modern club-scene version of Othello featuring jazz superstars Dave Brubeck and Charles Mingus." MORE

NOIR CITY 23 to the Rescue! Anticipating this year’s music-themed fest with delight
Meredith Brody, EatDrinkFilms

"The more I studied the program, the more excited I got. I realized that many of the movies programmed I had seen most recently on TV, and I was longing to replace those memories with big screen ones. (I can often talk myself into going to an oft-seen classic, such as To Have and Have Not or Sweet Smell of Success, by thinking “When will I have another chance to see it on the big screen?" MORE

Movies: NOIR CITY in Oakland
Anita Katz, Bay City News

"Additional highlights include Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1945) with Henry Fonda and a Bernard Herrmann score; Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight (1986) starring saxophonist Dexter Gordon in his Oscar-nominated performance; and Laszlo Kardos’ lesser-known The Strip (1951) featuring Mickey Rooney and Louis Armstrong." MORE

The NOIR CITY film noir festival returns to the Bay Area for its 23rd iteration, January 16–25, 2026, at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre. FNF president Eddie Muller has programmed 24 films over 10 days full of music, mayhem and murder. From early examples of Hollywood noir like Blues in the Night (1941) to jazz-fueled sixties’ gems like All Night Long (1962) and A Man Called Adam (1966), the movies feature genuine musical legends performing alongside film noir favorites including Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Kirk Douglas, Ann Sheridan, and Robert Mitchum.

Among the real-life musicians appearing onscreen at NOIR CITY 23: Elvis Presley, Doris Day, Louis Armstrong, Keely Smith, Dexter Gordon, Ella Fitzgerald, Hoagy Carmichael, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peggy Lee, Oscar Levant, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Mingus, and many more.

Popular jazz performer Elizabeth Bougerol is the latest Ms. NOIR CITY; She not only graces the poster, she’ll co-host the opening weekend with Muller. “Film noir and jazz are a match made in heaven,” she said, “so I’m incredibly excited to be part of the festival! The New York-based singer recalls, “I’d just played Yoshi’s in Oakland with my band the Hot Sardines when Eddie and I drank too much coffee and he hatched the idea of this year’s festival being music-themed.”

Returning as the festival’s musical director is renowned guitarist and jazz historian Nick Rossi, a Bay Area favorite, who for several years has added to the festival’s aura with pre-show and post-intermission entertainment. Says Rossi: “In addition to our illustrious Ms. Noir City, I will be using my various combos to put the spotlight on some of the Bay Area’s finest jazz musicians, many of whom are already familiar faces to fans of the festival."

Many of the films on the schedule are fictions in which music plays a major part; others are based on actual performers, like the 1955 Doris Day vehicle Love Me or Leave Me in which Day gives a scintillating performance as 1920s singing and dancing sensation Ruth Etting. Kirk Douglas’ Young Man with a Horn from 1950 (also starring Day) is based on the life of cornetist Bix Beiderbecke (with Harry James providing the actual horn work). Similarly, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dexter Gordon give memorable portrayals in, respectively, A Man Called Adam and Round Midnight (1986), playing composites of real-life jazz artists.

“Jazz may dominate the program,” FNF president Eddie Muller notes, “but we’ve also got samplings of classical (1946’s Humoresque), country (1958’s Thunder Road), and rock ‘n’ roll (1958’s King Creole) — I finally hit on a theme that accommodates my favorite Elvis movie.”

NOIR CITY 1 - 21 SCREENINGS

→ View our complete list of films screened at NOIR CITY 1-22 here.

2017 NOIR CITY 15

The 2017 incarnation of the world's most popular film noir festival returned to the legendary Castro Theatre January 20�29 with 24 exceptional films exploring, in films both suspenseful and comedic, the desperate lengths to which people will go to beat the system and hit the big time. "The Big Knockover" was a veritable history of the heist film. MORE

2016 NOIR CITY 14

NOIR CITY returned to San Francisco's majestic Castro Theatre for its 14th edition, January 22-31, 2016. Its timely theme, given the threat traditional arts face from the technology revolution and its accompanying skyrocketing living costs, was "The Art of Darkness"—a collection of 25 noir-stained films exploring the pressures, pitfalls, paranoia and pain of being an artist in an indifferent and often cruel world. MORE

2015 NOIR CITY 13

Movie lovers from around the globe had a grand time at the 13th annual edition of NOIR CITY: The San Francisco Film Noir Festival, held January 16–25, 2015. MORE

2014 NOIR CITY 12

The 12th edition of the world's most popular film noir festival went international, exploding the long-held belief that noir stories and style are a specifically American phenomenon. MORE

2013 NOIR CITY 11

NOIR CITY's 11th year festival kicked off with a tribute to guest of honor Peggy Cummins, legendary for her ferocious performance as outlaw Annie Laurie Starr in Gun Crazy. MORE

2012 NOIR CITY X

NOIR CITY celebrated its tenth anniversary as the world's most popular film noir festival with a 10-day extravaganza featuring San Francisco treats, a Dashiell Hammett marathon, freshly preserved 35mm rarities, by-popular-demand encore screenings, and super special guest star ANGIE DICKINSON. MORE

2011 NOIR CITY 9

NOIR CITY 9 audiences proved to be noir-nuts, packing the Castro Theatre for ten days and nights of wonderfully entertaining craziness. Loyal customers saw the ultimate payoff from their patronage: three brand new 35mm prints funded by the Film Noir Foundation: High Wall (1947), Loophole (1954), and The Hunted (1948). MORE

2010 NOIR CITY 8

The 2010 NOIR CITY 8 at San Francisco's Castro Theatre broke its previous record for attendance. Many of the regular patrons declared that the 2010 edition of the world’s most popular film noir festival had the best “vibe” yet, as hundreds of loyal Bay Area attendees mixed with an amazing influx of out-of-state and international fans, in town for the festival’s duration. MORE

2009 NOIR CITY 7

The theme of the NOIR CITY 7 running from January 23 through February 1, 2009, was Newspaper Noir, with many of the films set in the world of newspapers, publishing or radio. Programmers Eddie Muller and Anita Monga made a special effort to have NOIR CITY's nightly double bills reflect the traditional programming of theaters in the 1940s. MORE

2008 NOIR CITY 6

Neither the brutally inclement weather, nor the traffic-stopping logistics of having Gus van Sant and (NC4 special guest) Sean Penn shooting a film right outside the theater could deter record crowds from packing the Castro Theatre during the 10-day festival spanning January 25 – February 3, 2008. Go here to read about the highlights of the NOIR CITY 6 including press links and photos..

2007 NOIR CITY 5

Held January 26 through February 4, 2007, NOIR CITY 5 saw more than 11,000 people attending the ten-day series at the Castro Theatre, establishing a new box office milestone for the festival. Go here to view NOIR CITY 5 photo and media coverage.

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