The document out now is very premiere centric and as such leaves out tons of fantastic films that have already played US festivals but not gotten to Seattle yet. By my rough count I've seen about 18 films that will be part of SIFF this year. And all are worth seeing - OK, almost all. As soon as I'm clear the list is legit to discuss I'll have coverage on those eighteen. All of which I believe I've reviewed or made mention of previously. At least three of my favorites from SXSW are on that list, one from Fantastic Fest, and a can't miss flick from Palm Springs. All in all it looks like a promising year.
One film I've seen that is mentioned in the press release is Emily Hagin's wonderfully named vampire Comic-Con mashup flick My Sucky Teen Romance which will make its Seattle debut. I saw the film at SXSW 2010 and was favorably impressed. Especially compared to another teen vampire musical that played SIFF in the past.
Before we received our passes and guidebook for covering the festival SIFF held an outdoor award presentation to T.J. Martin the local filmmaker who co-directed the Oscar winning documentary Undefeated. It was a nice moment and the closest I've ever stood to an actual Oscar statue. Then we all headed inside for a bit of brunch and socialization. I had to head back to work - but afterward there was a presentation from festival programmers and a screening of the opening night film. I'm jealous - but also appreciative of everyone who was so concerned I leave in time to make it back for a big meeting.There are some more pictures of the event after the jump - as well as the full text of the kickoff press release - which has tons of film info to salivate over. Oh, and if you're in need of a very reasonably priced parking option near Seattle Center during the festival - here's a link to information on obtaining a Mercer Garage parking permit.
SIFF ANNOUNCES FULL LINEUP FOR
38th SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Record 24 feature films to make their world premiere at this year’s Festival
36 Films Chosen for New Directors, New American and Documentary Competitions
SEATTLE (April 27, 2012) – Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States, today announced the complete line-up of official selections, galas and special presentations. The 2012 Seattle International Film Festival is produced by SIFF, the non-profit arts organization that reaches more than 250,000 annually through SIFF Cinema, SIFF FutureWave Education and the annual Festival.
This year the Seattle International Film Festival will screen 273 features and 187 shorts representing 75 countries, from more than 5,676 submissions worldwide, compared to 5,213 in 2011, with the final selections representing 24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S. premieres and 56 short film premieres. There will be 180 features at this year’s Festival arriving without U.S. distribution and 85 films by female filmmakers, up from 62 last year.
“There are so many things to be excited about this year with the opening of our flagship SIFF Film Center headquarters and the acquisition of the historic Uptown Cinemas,” said SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This is the first time in SIFF’s history that we will have the opportunity to show films on multiple screens in a single location allowing us to present the most wide-ranging and diverse selection of films possible. There are films for every kind of movie lover whether you are a cinephile or multiplex guru, running the gamut from food, politics, comedy, action, thriller, classic, auteur cinema and everything in-between.”
This year’s films feature a star-studded lineup including Salma Hayek in As Luck Would Have It; Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney, Elizabeth Banks, and Sam Trammell in The Details; Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, and Peter Sarsgaard in Robot and Frank; Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Michelle Pfeiffer in People Like Us; Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister’s Sister; Jason Biggs, Cobie Smulders, and Cedric the Entertainer in Grassroots; Frieda Pinto in Trishna; the voices of Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane in Brave; Greta Gerwig in Lola Versus; Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, and Zac Efron in Liberal Arts, directed by Radnor; Julie Delpy and Chris Rock in 2 Days in New York, directed by Delpy; Common, Dennis Haysbert, and Danny Glover in LUV; Cybill Shepherd and David Burtka in White Camellias; Marc Duplas and Kristen Bell in Safety Not Guaranteed; Paul Giamatti in John Dies at the End; Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Sarah Silverman in Take this Waltz, directed by Sarah Polley; Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Foster in 360, directed by Fernando Meirelles; Robert Pattinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci in Bel Ami; Moonrise Kingdom directed by Wes Anderson.
The complete SIFF 2012 schedule will be released on siff.net on Thursday, May 3, and the Official Guide, a comprehensive source for all movie info, screenings, locations and special events will be available at Starbucks locations throughout the greater Seattle area starting the weekend of May 4.
GALAS
The Festival will include 10 gala film presentations including the previously announced Opening Night Gala featuring Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister (USA, Sundance Selects) on Thursday, May 17 at McCaw Hall.
The Festival concludes on Sunday, June 10 with the world premiere Closing Night Gala presentation of Grassroots (USA, MRB Productions). Stephen Gyllenhaal’s Seattle shot comedy is the perfect antidote to current pre-election discourse and centers on writer Grant Cogswell (Jason Biggs), who envisions a monorail system as the future of Seattle transit and recruits his friend Phil Campbell (Joel David Moore) to wage an off-the-cuff, unconventional City Council campaign with humorous and unexpected results. The film will screen at SIFF Cinema Uptown with the Closing Night Gala reception at the Grand Hyatt Seattle hotel immediately following.
This year’s Centerpiece Gala will feature the North American premiere of Daniel Cohen’s culinary comedy, The Chef (France, Cohen Media Group), on Saturday, June 2. Jean Reno stars as a renowned chef fighting against molecular cuisine and a slippery financier, and Michaël Youn, who gets fired from diners for trying to liberate frites-filled menus. They join forces to hilarious effect. The film will screen at the Egyptian Theatre with a gala reception at Seattle’s Daughters of the American Revolution Hall immediately following.
Additional Gala Presentations include:
Fat Kid Rules the World (dir. Matthew Lillard, USA, Whitewater Films)
Robot and Frank (dir. Jake Schreier, USA, Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Lola Versus (dir. Daryl Wein, USA, Fox Searchlight Pictures)
As Luck Would Have It (dir. Alex de la Iglesia, Spain, 6 Sales)
Starbuck (dir. Ken Scott, Canada, Québec, eOne Films US)
Gayby (dir. Jonathan Lisecki, USA, Wolfe Releasing)
The Details (dir. Jacob Aaron Estes, USA, The Weinstein Company)
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
This year’s Special Presentations spotlight some of the most original and interesting features in our line-up.
Brave (dir. Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, USA, Disney • Pixar)
Diaz - Don’t Clean Up This Blood (dir. Daniele Vicari, Italy, Fandango Portobello)
The Last Reef 3D (dirs. Luke Cresswell, Steve McNicholas, United Kingdom, Giant Screen Films)
People Like Us (dir. Alex Kurtzman, USA, Dreamworks SKG)
Trishna (dir. Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom, Sundance Selects)
FEATURE PREMIERES
World (24):
- 419, dir. Ned Thorne – USA
- American Addict, dir. Sasha Knezev – USA
- The Beautiful Game, dir. Victor Buhler – USA
- Camilla Dickinson, dir. Cornelia Duryée Moore – USA
- City World, dir. Brent Chesanek – USA
- Duck Beach to Eternity, dirs. Stephen Frandsen, Hadleigh Arnst, Laura Naylor – USA
- Earthbound, dir. Alan Brennan – Ireland
- Easton's Article, dir. Tim Connery – USA
- The Empty Home, dir. Nurbek Egen – Kyrgyzstan/Russia
- Free Throw, dir. Court Crandall – USA
- Fugly!, dir. Alfredo de Villa – USA
- Grassroots, dir. Stephen Gyllenhaal – USA
- Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, dir. Matthew Mishory – USA
- The Long Ride Home, dir. Tom Wright – USA
- The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On, dir. Drew Denny – USA
- Recalled, dir. Michael Connors – USA
- The Revolutionary, dirs. Lucy Ostrander, Don Sellers, Irv Drasnin – USA
- The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, dir. Jeff Kaufman-USA
- Short Life, dir. Scott Levy – USA
- Sin Bin, dir. Billy Federighi – USA
- The Standbys, dir. Stephanie Riggs – USA
- True Wolf, dir. Rob Whitehair – USA
- Welcome To Doe Bay, dirs. Nesib Shamah, Dan Thornton – USA
- White Camellias, dir. Russell Brown – USA
North American (25):
- 4 Days in May, dir. Achim von Borries ¬– Germany
- 6 Points About Emma, dir. Roberto Pérez Toledo ¬– Spain
- 170 Hz, dir. Joost van Ginkel – Netherlands
- The Blindfold, dir. Garin Nugroho – Indonesia
- Chapiteau-Show, dir. Sergey Loban – Russia
- A Checkout Girl’s Big Adventures, dir. Pierre Rambaldi – France
- The Chef, dir. Daniel Cohen – France
- Coming Home, dir. Frédéric Videau – France
- The Convoy, dir. Alexey Mizgirev – Russia
- Diaz - Don’t Clean Up This Blood, dir. Daniele Vicari – Italy
- Dragon Pearl, dir. Mario Andreacchio – Australia
- The First on the List, dir. Roan Johnson – Italy
- The Fourth State, dir. Dennis Gansel – Germany
- Fuck My Wedding, dir. Nicolás López – Chile
- The Glass Man, dir. Cristian Solimeno – United Kingdom
- Joan and the Voices, dir. Mikayel Vatinyan – Armenia
- Kill Me, dir. Emily Atef – Germany
- Là-bas: A Criminal Education, dir. Guido Lombardi – Italy
- The Last Man on Earth, dir. Gian Alfonso Pacinotti – Italy
- Nosilatiaj.Beauty, dir. Daniela Seggiaro – Argentina
- Otelo Burning, dir. Sara Blecher – South Africa
- Prime Time Soap, dir. Odilon Rocha – Brazil
- Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings, dir. Jade Castro – Philippines
- Sharqiya, dir. Ami Livne – Israel
- Silence: All Roads Lead to Music, dir. Haider Rashid – Italy
U.S. (16):
- 360, dir. Fernando Meirelles – United Kingdom
- Coteau Rouge, dir. André Forcier – Canada (Québec)
- Countdown, dir. Huh Jong-ho – South Korea
- The Crown Jewels, dir. Ella Lemhagen – Sweden
- Everything and Everyone, dir. Tracy D. Smith – Canada
- Hail, dir. Amiel Courtin-Wilson – Australia
- The Last Friday, dir. Yahya Alabdallah – Jordan
- Legends of Valhalla: Thor, dirs. Gunnar Karlsson, Toby Genkel, Oskar Jonasson – Iceland
- Lipstikka, dir. Jonathan Sagall – Israel
- Lost in Paradise, dir. Ngoc Dang Vu – Vietnam
- Lost Years, dir Kenda Gee, Tom Radford – Canada
- The Mirror Never Lies, dir. Kamila Andini – Indonesia
- Salt White, dir. Keti Machavariani – Georgia
- Starry Starry Night, dir. Tom Shu-Yu Lin – Taiwan
- Tey, dir. Alain Gomis – Senegal
- Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods, dir. Christian Ditter – Germany
In addition to the above listed feature premieres, this year’s Festival will also include 56 short film premieres.
COMPETITIONS
New Directors Competition
Festival programmers select 12 films remarkable for their original concept, striking style and overall excellence. To be eligible films must be a director’s first or second feature and without U.S. distribution at the time of their selection. Winners receive a $2,500 cash prize.
2012 Entrees: 6 Points About Emma (dir. Roberto Pérez Toledo, Spain); 170 Hz (dir. Joost van Ginkel, Netherlands); Chapiteau-Show (dir. Sergey Loban, Russia); The Empty Home (dir. Nurbek Egen, Kyrgyzstan); The Invader (dir. Nicolas Provost, Belgium); L (dir. Babis Makridis, Greece); Là-bas: A Criminal Education (dir. Guido Lombardi, Italy); The Last Friday (dir. Yahya Alabdallah, Jordan); Lipstikka (dir. Jonathan Sagall, Israel); Mirage (dir. Jung-ho Yang, South Korea); Nosilatiaj.Beauty (dir. Daniela Seggiaro, Argentina); Otelo Burning (dir. Sara Blecher, South Africa)
New American Cinema Competition
Festival programmers select 12 films without U.S. distribution that are sure to delight audiences looking to explore the exciting vanguard of New American Cinema and compete for the FIPRESCI Award for Best New American Film. The jury is comprised of three members from the International Federation of Film Critics. In addition, six of this year’s entries will also participate in SIFF’s Catalyst program, celebrating independent production. Asterisk (*) denotes 2012 Catalyst participant.
2012 Entrees: 419* (Ned Thorne); Easton's Article* (Tim Connery); Eden (Megan Griffiths); Fugly! (Alfredo de Villa); Future Weather* (Jenny Deller); I Am Not a Hipster* (Destin Cretton); Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean (Matthew Mishory); The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On (Drew Denny); Recalled* (Michael Connors); Sin Bin (Billy Federighi); Welcome To Pine Hill* (Keith Miller); White Camellias (Russell Brown)
Documentary Competition
Unscripted and uncut, the world is a resource of unexpected, informative, and altogether exciting storytelling. Documentary filmmakers have, for years, brought these untold stories to life and introduced us to a vast number of fascinating topics we may have never known existed—let alone known were so fascinating. Documentary Competition winners will receive a $2,500 cash prize.
2012 Entrees: American Addict (dir. Sasha Knezev, USA); The Beautiful Game (dir. Victor Buhler, USA); Duck Beach to Eternity (dirs. Stephen Frandsen, Hadleigh Arnst, Laura Naylor, USA); Five Star Existence (dir. Sonja Lindén, Finland); Free Throw (dir. Court Crandall, USA); Italy Love it or Leave It (dirs. Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi, Italy); The Mexican Suitcase (dir. Trisha Ziff, Mexico); Rouge Parole (dir. Elyes Baccar, Tunisia); The Source (dirs. Jodi Wille, Maria Demopoulos, USA); The Standbys (dir. Stephanie Riggs, USA); We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (dir. Brian Knappenberger, USA); Winter Nomads (dir. Manuel von Stürler, Switzerland)
SIFF Shorts Competition
All short films shown at the Festival are eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and Jury Award. Shorts Competition jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each jury winner will receive $1,000 and the Narrative and Animation winners may also qualify to enter their respective films in the Short Film category of the Academy Awards®.
CATALYST
New this year, SIFF Catalyst is a selection of six U.S. feature films celebrating the next wave of independent filmmaking, thriving thanks to the collaborative support of their peers and the financial support of hundreds of fans. In this new creative dynamic, the filmmaker exists as the catalyst of the creative process.
FUTUREWAVE & FILMS4FAMILIES
The FutureWave program invites teens to the cinema for nine great feature films that will excite and challenge youth, engaging them in the joy of discovery at the Festival. This year’s selections feature vampires, surfing, graffiti artists, young love, and so much more.
2012 Entrees: Fat Kid Rules The World (USA); The First Time (USA); Gimme The Loot (USA); My Sucky Teen Romance (USA); Otelo Burning (South Africa); Sin Bin (USA); Starry Starry Night (Hong Kong); We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (USA)
Films4Families is a celebration of the whole family coming together to share the movie-going experience. The 2012 lineup features some of the best children’s features and shorts from around the world, in both live action and animation. Seattle families will be among the first audiences to enjoy a select few of these creative treasures.
2012 Entrees: Brave (USA); Dragon Pearl (Australia); The Familiy Picture Show; The Great Bear (Denmark); Legends of Valhalla: Thor (Iceland); The Painting (France); War of the Buttons (France); Wickie and the Treasure of the Gods (Germany/Malta)
TRIBUTES
SIFF 2012 will also feature an abundance of star power, with tributes to honor the illustrious careers of actress Sissy Spacek and director William Friedkin.
Spacek, whose distinguished career includes six Academy Award® nominations and one win for Best Actress in 1980’s Coal Miner’s Daughter, will receive SIFF’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting at a special tribute event featuring a screening of her film, Badlands, on Thursday, June 7, at the Egyptian Theatre.
Friedkin, an industry legend whose name has been synonymous with action and thriller films for more than 40 years, will be honored with SIFF’s Golden Space Needle for Lifetime Achievement on Saturday, June 9, at the Egyptian Theatre and will feature the west coast premiere of his new film, Killer Joe.
Special retrospective screenings of Spacek’s films Carrie and Coal Miner’s Daughter and Friedkin’s The Exorcist and The French Connection will also be featured at this year’s Festival.
In addition to the Tribute events, Spacek and Friedkin will be honored at a special dinner on Friday, June 8, at Prava Studios prepared by James Beard Award-winning chef, Thierry Rautureau of Rover’s and Luc Restaurants in Seattle. Tickets are available for purchase at SIFF.net.
AWARDS
Golden Space Needle Awards Given in five categories (Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Short Film) as voted by festival audiences. Awards are presented on Sunday, June 10, at the Space Needle.
WaveMaker Award for Excellence in Youth Filmmaking Sponsored in part by Adobe Youth Voices and presented to one filmmaker, 18 years old or younger, from the FutureWave program, whose talents celebrate the creative possibilities of film. All FutureWave films shown at the Festival are eligible for the Youth Filmmaking award. In addition to the award, TheFilmSchool will provide the winner with a scholarship to their Prodigy Camp, a week-long immersive overnight film camp for youth ages 12-18, held in late July.
PATHWAYS
Introduced in 2011, SIFF Pathways help moviegoers find the film and experience that suites their moods. Instead of using traditional categories, SIFF Pathways easily connect the audience with films by organizing them into areas that help answer the question, “What sort of film do I feel like seeing tonight?” Pathways include: Love Me, Do!, Make Me Laugh, Creative Streak, I Didn’t Know That!, Sci-Fi and Beyond, Show Me The World, Give Me Drama!, To the Extreme, Thrill Me!, and Face the Music.
VENUES
The historic Uptown Cinemas (renamed SIFF Cinema Uptown) and the new SIFF Film Center will be the central hub of the Festival along with traditional venues downtown and on Capitol Hill.
In addition to its Seattle venues, SIFF will again have screenings in Renton, Everett and Kirkland, with each hosting its own Opening Night festivities. Renton Opening Night is Friday, May 18, and will feature a screening of Fat Kid Rules the World (USA). Everett Opening Night is Thursday, May 24, and will feature a screening of Lola Versus (USA). Kirkland Opening Night is Thursday, May 31, and will feature a screening of Starbuck (Canada, Québec).
Seattle: Egyptian Theatre, Harvard Exit, Majestic Bay Theatres, McCaw Hall, Pacific Place Cinemas, Boeing IMAX, Pacific Science Center, SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Film Center, SIFF Lounge at Harry & Oscar’s, The Triple Door
Everett: Everett Performing Arts Center
Kirkland: Kirkland Performance Center
Renton: Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
2 comments:
Very nice, thanks for sharing.
We have a great crew coming for the last weekend of the festival. Keep keeping us in the know.
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