Jesse Hawthorne Ficks

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks
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Born	Salt Lake City, Utah
Citizenship	American
Alma mater	Keene State University
Occupation	Film critic Curator Filmmaker Educator

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks is an American film critic, curator, filmmaker, and educator based in San Francisco, California. He teaches film history and criticism in the Motion Pictures & Television department at the Academy of Art University. In addition to his academic work, Ficks contributes to Bay Area film culture through his long-running MOViES FOR MANiACS screening series (originally entitled MiDNiTES for MANiACS) and for his writing featured in the San Francisco Bay Guardian (aka 48 Hills), Release Print and Eat Drink Films.

Early Life and Education

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He developed an early interest in movies working his first job, at the age of fifteen, at Trolley Corners Cineplex Odeon Theaters and later at the legendary Tower Theater. Ficks fed this interest with magazine subscriptions to Premiere, Film Threat and Fangoria and by watching the films of David Lynch, John Carpenter, Abel Ferrara and Wes Craven. He first attended the Sundance Film Festival in 1991, and has done so every year since..

Ficks attended Keene State University, Northwest Film Center and graduated from Portland State University, where he studied film production and film history. Here he also studied theater arts, acting in works by Harold Pinter, David Mamet, LeRoi Jones and John Steinbeck.

After graduating, Ficks moved to San Francisco, and began work at the 4-Star Theater where he would create his film series MiDNiTES FOR MANiACS (now named MOViES FOR MANiACS). Curating two weekly series, Bodacious B-Movies and Kung-Fu Kult Klassics, led to a weekly summer midnite series. This capped off with an end of summer, all night triple bill, entitled “Slumber Party”, beginning at 12:00am and running until 7:00am. Audiences would dress up in their pajamas and anyone who made it through all three films would get a free bowl of cereal.

After a brief stint in New York City as the manager of a movie theater in Midtown on 59^th Street (between 2^nd & 3^rd), Ficks returned to San Francisco, bringing his film series to the Castro Theatre, presenting over 150 screenings over the past two decades. Notable actors and directors who participated in person include Peter Bogdanovich, Joe Dante, Edgar Wright, Diablo Cody, Penelope Spheeris, Diane Baker, Henry Selick, Lori Petty, and Peter Kwan.

Career

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks is an American film critic, programmer, and educator based in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his long-running midnight movie series “MiDNiTES for MANiACS,” which he founded in 2002. The program celebrates overlooked, dismissed, and genre-defying cinema from the 1970s to the present day, often pairing cult classics with contemporary discoveries. Over the years, Ficks has curated hundreds of triple-feature programs at venues including the Castro Theatre, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the Roxie Theater, building a devoted following within the Bay Area’s film community.

In addition to his curatorial work, Ficks is a film critic and cultural commentator. He has contributed essays and reviews to outlets such as 48 Hills, KQED Arts, and SF360.org, where his writing focuses on independent cinema, auteur theory, and the reevaluation of misunderstood films. His criticism is marked by “revisionist” film history, championing titles and filmmakers that were underappreciated or critically maligned upon release.

Ficks is also a long-standing member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBFCC) and frequently participates in festival panels, retrospectives, and academic discussions on the preservation of cult and independent cinema.

Beyond criticism and programming, Ficks teaches Film History and Motion Picture Production at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. His courses emphasize the relationship between film aesthetics and cultural context, where students engage critically with both mainstream and underground cinema.

Ficks’ approach to both teaching and programming reflects his broader philosophy: to bridge the gap between “high” and “low” culture in cinema.

Teaching and Academia

Ficks serves as Film History Coordinator and Professor at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he teaches courses within the Liberal Arts and Motion Pictures & Television departments. Since joining the faculty in 2005, he has been teaching the university’s film history curriculum, including survey courses Film History 1, 2 and 3 which explore the History of Genres, Sci-Fi, Horror, Female Filmmakers, Otherly-World and Underrated Cinema, and explore global and American cinema traditions.

Ficks has been recognized by students for his depth of film knowledge and enthusiasm for connecting classic and contemporary cinema. His commitment to mentorship and arts education, with a focus on helping emerging filmmakers, develops creative confidence and critical perspectives.

Ficks has contributed to shaping academic programming, supporting student involvement in film culture beyond the classroom, bridging his work as a critic and curator with his educational role.

MOViES for MANiACS / MiDNiTES for MANiACS

In 2003, Jesse Hawthorne Ficks launched MOViES for MANiACS, a San Francisco–based film program that evolved from the long-running series MiDNiTES for MANiACS at the historic Roxie Theater. The series is devoted to showcasing overlooked, misunderstood, and “misremembered” films from across cinema history — ranging from Hollywood flops and cult curiosities to visionary genre experiments and canonical works reexamined through a new lens.

Each screening is hosted by Ficks, whose introductions frame the films within their broader cultural, aesthetic, and emotional contexts. His approach blends academic insight with fandom, encouraging audiences to reconsider critical consensus and appreciate the artistry within neglected cinema. Screenings often feature triple bills built around creative themes, sometimes including surprise trailers, and rare 35mm or archival prints.

Over the years, Movies for Maniacs has developed a dedicated following within the Bay Area film community and has collaborated with institutions such as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and the San Francisco Film Society. Guest speakers have included filmmakers, critics, and scholars who share Ficks’s passion for reevaluating pop and underground cinema.

Ficks has described his curatorial philosophy as “re-evaluating cinematic history through a positivity-based lens,” reflecting his belief that every film, regardless of reputation, deserves to be reconsidered for its creative ambition and cultural resonance.

Emphasizing dismissed, underrated and forgotten films for over 23 years, MOViES FOR MANiACS is one of Ficks' film promotion projects, working with San Francisco movie theaters to promote activity and generate interest in seeing these off-beat films on the big screen.

Awards

Over the years, Movies for Maniacs has developed a dedicated following within the Bay Area film community and has been celebrated as part of Bay Area Now at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and the San Francisco Film Society.

Filmography

• Scumrock (2002) – A satirical underground comedy directed by Jon Moritsugu about a self-absorbed filmmaker and a punk musician striving to stay authentic in a collapsing art scene. Ficks worked as sound recordist.
• The Undercover Kid (1996) – A family adventure film about a boy who gains the ability to talk to his dog after being exposed to a government experiment. (Role unknown.)
• The Coexistence of Omnipotent Figures (1994) – An early independent short film; limited information available. (Role unknown.)

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