27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Photos: Costumed contestants salute director Chris Columbus at SFFilm festival
Big-screen characters paid tribute to director Chris Columbus in person during the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival on Saturday, April 26.
Fans dressed as their favorite characters from Columbus' films competed for signed memorabilia from the director, known for audience favorites 'Home Alone' (1990), 'Mrs. Doubtfire' (1993) and two installments of the 'Harry Potter' franchise, 'Sorcerer's Stone' (2001) and 'Chamber of Secrets' (2002).
Eleven members of the audience and SFFilm staff competed in the costume contest, with winners — all from the audience — chosen by Columbus. First place went to Jimmy Pittman-Moore, dressed as a background character in 'Rent' (2005); second place to a person dressed as Kevin, the kid in 'Home Alone'; and third place to a person dressed as Marv, the burglar in 'Home Alone.'
Other competitors at the career tribute to Columbus dressed as Mrs. Doubtfire, Chuck from 'The Goonies' (1985), and Mark and Mimi from 'Rent.'
Columbus, a San Francisco resident, has set some of his films in the city, including 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 'Nine Months' (1995).
SFFilm's tribute to the director, held at the Premier Theater screening room at One Letterman in the Presidio, also reunited cast members of Columbus' adaptation of the Broadway hit 'Rent,' including Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp and Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who won a Tony Award for his performance in the stage version. 'Rent,' which follows a group of eight friends over a year, was set in New York with portions filmed in the Bay Area.
The festival concludes Sunday, April 27, with 'Outerlands,' an American drama about self-discovery, at the Premier and Marina Theatre in San Francisco, and 'Hot Milk,' a British drama about a tense mother-daughter relationship, at BAMPFA in Berkeley.
