By Noma Faingold

To paraphrase Liam Neeson’s monologue in the 2009 action flick, “Taken,” what Director of Operations at SFFILM, Jordan Menashe, possesses is a very particular set of skills she has acquired over a long career, in a multi-faceted job, that would be a nightmare for people like you.

There are things she and her staff prepare for in managing an event, such as the annual Doc Stories, Nov. 5-8, at the Vogue Theater. They must contend with a daunting assortment of variables.

“There’s always going to be a number of things that we know. A lot of stuff that is repeatable,” Menashe said. “And there’s a shocking number of things we have to solve that are going to come up, some in the moment. That keeps it fun. You need to be willing to get a little grungy to do this work.”

During Doc Stories, her team consists of two permanent staff members (Joey Smith and Zoë Hughes) and several seasonal hires. Aside from all the preparation, the operations crew works from 8 a.m. to midnight, once the event goes live. Each day, they are the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave. Roles include venue manager, projectionist, logistics, hauling equipment, anything tech-related, along with decorating, stocking food and beverages for the VIP lounge. They also coordinate the needs of other departments, such as marketing, media relations and programming.

“We’re taking care of all of the systems,” Menashe said. “I’ve done a version of everyone’s job on my team. I feel blessed to do all this work. I’ve done it so long that I understand what needs to happen.”

On opening night at Doc Stories a couple of years ago, her team had an emergency involving a badly stained director’s chair being stored backstage at the theater. It was to be used to seat a filmmaker for an on-stage Q&A.

“We couldn’t delay the film. I assigned someone on the team to drive 40 minutes to our office get a spare director’s chair,” Menashe said. “We had to sneak it onstage in the dark while the credits rolled. Things like that happen constantly.”

Menashe, who grew up in Los Angeles and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz, has lived in the Outer Richmond since 2017. She has worked her way up in the ranks at SFFILM, where she has been since 2018.

She started her career as a seasonal contract worker at the SFFILM International Film Festival and other film festivals, including Sundance and the Mill Valley Film Festival. For six years she led a nomadic existence, working a circuit without having a home base.

“I used to come and go doing film festivals, which were temporary gigs. I’d work for a festival for two to four months, move to that city (subletting an apartment), then do the same thing somewhere else. It was an amazing life,” she said. “San Francisco was part of the circuit. I spent a lot of time in the Bay Area. It was really the place where I was happiest. “

Opening night of Doc Stories – on Nov. 5 – will screen “14th,” directed by Ava DuVernay. The film examines the vulnerable 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It will stream on Netflix in December. Another highlight is “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been,” on Nov. 6, as is the closing night selection (Nov. 8), “Tutu.” There are also shorts programs and panel discussions.

To pull off a seamless festival or event, being organized is essential. Menashe and her team follow a day-to-day framework, involving databases and timelines.

“We have a lot of systems that we use that create a shared vocabulary for the entire staff. We’re executing a vision,” she said. 

Menashe insists that what she does is not glamorous.

“You have to be a certain type of personality. It’s a low-ego job. There’s a lot of physical labor. We’re kind of the little back-end ninjas,” she said. “My team jokes about how many jobs we have. You have to be someone who gets a thrill from creative problem solving. The end goal of my work and the operations team is that no one knows what we’re doing. If we’re doing things very well, no one thinks about us at all.”

The next fall event is SFFILM’s annual fundraiser, Awards Night, on Dec. 7 at Fort Mason’s Gateway Pavillion, an important stop during awards season for A-list actors, screenwriters and filmmakers. The celebration is attended by 400 donors, SFFILM members, media and VIPs.

Past award recipients include actors Demi Moore (“The Substance”), Nicholas Cage (“Dream Scenario,” “Pig”), Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) and directors Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”), the Bay Area’s own Ryan Coogler (“Sinners”), Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”) and Denis Villeneuve (“Dune” trilogy).

In early 2027, Menashe will be gearing up for the 70th year of the San Francisco International Film Festival, April 22 -May 2 2027, hosted by SFFILM at several Bay Area venues. She will lead a combined operations team of at least 15 seasonal crew members and staff.

“It’s the same systems on a different scale,” she said.

SFFILM’s Doc Stories takes place Nov. 5-8, at the Vogue Theater, 3290 Sacramento St., San Francisco. Find more information at sffilm.org.