Thousands descended on a San Francisco park Saturday for a lookalike tournament honoring convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and comedian Nathan Fielder.
The event, held at Lafayette Park, drew more than 1,000 RSVPs on Partiful for a competition centered on the stars of the A24 documentary “You Can See Everything,” directed by Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. Contestants arrived in black turtlenecks with headphones and tightly pulled-back hairstyles, some carrying laptops and others tossing fake $100 bills into the crowd.
“We expected to have a couple of our friends show up, and if a few people thought it was cool, they would reach out. We did not expect anything like this. It’s amazing,” co-host Miranda Stern told KRON4.
Participants faced a series of escalating challenges beyond mere costume. Holmes portrayers delivered business pitches while Fielder lookalikes presented marketing strategies, with everyone enduring staring competitions and dance-offs. Simply dressing the part proved insufficient for judges seeking genuine embodiment of the pair’s distinctive personalities.
The documentary at the heart of the gathering examines Holmes, the disgraced Theranos founder whose promise to revolutionize blood testing with minimal blood samples captivated Silicon Valley before investigations exposed fatal flaws in her company’s technology and practices. Theranos dissolved in 2018, and Holmes received an 11-year federal prison sentence in 2022 following her investor fraud conviction. Fielder approaches his subject with the deadpan, absurdist humor familiar from his earlier television work.
Some attendees traced their interest directly to that established comedic portfolio. “I love Nathan for You. I have seen the show. I have seen The Rehearsal; it’s so funny. I have seen so many of the lookalike competitions on TikTok and social media in general, and I was like, ‘why not?'” Jade Adu, who had not yet watched the documentary, told KRON4.
The tournament ultimately crowned Sierra Stingl and Alex Kesin as “most A24-approved,” awarding them a crown, headphones and bragging rights. Yet organizers framed the spectacle as serving broader civic purposes. “Historically, SF has been a place for weird people, creative energy, and a lot of really cool ideas. I feel like we are losing a little bit of that spark, so our whole mission is to bring that fun and audacity back to the city. I think we need more audacity,” co-host Tanvi Kaur said.
The group behind the event, known on social media as @threegirlsinsf, indicated plans for additional unconventional community gatherings. Their Partiful-driven success suggests a ready audience for such programming.
Audience reactions captured the event’s chaotic appeal. “It was funny. It was insane. It was like a rollercoaster, up and down. You never knew what was going to happen next,” attendee Shane Boile told KRON4. “Honestly, one of my top favorite movies I have seen in a while,” Emily Willlams told KRON4.
The lookalike tournament format itself has proliferated across platforms, with social media driving renewed interest in celebrity impersonation as participatory entertainment. Saturday’s convergence of documentary subject, director, and eager imitators represented perhaps its most conceptually layered iteration yet.
The organizers, who go by @threegirlsinsf on social media, said they hope to keep bringing San Franciscans together through similarly unconventional community events.