SFFILM clarifies: 'Now Now' is Javid Soriano's documentary on baritone Tim Blevins
- SFFILM’s April 30 program makes clear the film is not “Now Now” but Javid Soriano’s 75-minute documentary “Figaro Up, Figaro Down” about Tim Blevins. - The key detail is Tim Blevins himself — a Juilliard-trained baritone whose story spans addiction, homelessness in the Tenderloin, and a late comeback. - It matters because the film has been in the SFFILM pipeline for years, turning a local work-in-progress into a festival premiere.
The correction here is simple, but it changes the whole frame. The movie screening through SFFILM is not a documentary called “Now Now.” It’s “Figaro Up, Figaro Down,” a 75-minute documentary by Bay Area filmmaker Javid Soriano about opera singer Tim Blevins — and SFFILM is presenting it in this year’s San Francisco International Film Festival run. (sffilm.org) ### So what is the film actually called? It’s “Figaro Up, Figaro Down.” SFFILM’s event page lists the film under that title, credits Javid Soriano as director, and gives the runtime as 75 minutes. The festival page also lists two screenings — Monday, April 27, 2026 at the Marina Theatre and Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at BAMPFA. That’s the concrete program listing, which is why the “Now(sffilm.org)itle. (sffilm.org) ### Who is Tim Blevins? Blevins is the reason the film lands so hard. He’s a Juilliard-trained baritone who once performed major roles on big stages, including work tied to Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, before addiction wrecked both his career and family life. The film follows the collapse, but it also follows the attempt to come back from it — not in the abstract, but in San Franci(sffilm.org) rebuild. (sffilm.org) ### Why does San Francisco matter so much here? Because this is not just a music documentary. It’s a San Francisco story about talent, addiction, housing insecurity, and what recovery looks like when it happens in public. SFFILM’s description places Blevins in the Tenderloin after he loses his home, and the film’s comeback arc is tied to restoring both his place on stage and his role in(sffilm.org)reated it as a hometown-supported project, not just another acquisition. (sffilm.org) ### How long has Soriano been working on this? A while — basically years, not months. SFGATE says the documentary was produced over 10 years, and SFFILM’s own development trail shows the project moving through earlier working-title stages before arriving here as a finished feature. In 2023, SFFILM’s FilmHouse residency listed Soriano with a documentary feature called “The Impossib([sffilm.org](https://sffilm.org/event/figaro-up-figaro-down-2/))onnect with his children. By late 2025, SFFILM grant materials were calling the project “Figaro Up, Figaro Down.” ([sfgate.com](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/sf-singer-streets-documentary-22220320.php)) ### Why is the title confusion believable? Because documentaries like this often change titles while they’re being developed, financed, and edited. That doesn’t prove “Now Now” was ever an official title, but it does explain how confusion happens around festival season — especially with a locally made film that’s been circulating through grants, reside([sfgate.com](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/sf-singer-streets-documentary-22220320.php)) Up, Figaro Down.” (sffilm.org) ### Is this just a festival one-off? Not really. SFFILM flagged the film as one of its supported titles in the 2026 festival lineup, which means the organization didn’t just book it — it helped incubate it. That gives the screening a little more weight. It’s the festival showing the finished version of a project it had already backed through its artist-development system. (sffilm.org)ncisco-international-film/)) ### Who’s expected to be there? SFFILM says Soriano, producer Rob Richert, and Tim Blevins are expected for a post-screening Q&A. That matters because this is the kind of film where the conversation after the credits is part of the event — especially when the subject’s life, recovery, and public return are still unfolding in the same city where the film is screening. (sffilm.org) ### Bottom line The useful clarification is straightforward: if you’re looking for this SFFILM screening, look for “Figaro Up, Figaro Down,” not “Now Now.” And the reason to care is bigger than the title fix — it’s a long-gestating Bay Area documentary about Tim Blevins, a singer who fell from elite opera stages to homelessness and is trying, very publicly, to sing his way back. (sffilm.org)
