6/23/12

SIFF 2012 Wrap-up

I've been attending the Seattle International Film Festival for a good number of years now. Certainly longer than I've been writing this blog. In terms of in theater film-going this was a lighter year for me than normal, due to a variety of factors. But I still managed to see at least 70 of the films that played. I say "at least" because realistically I tend to forget to make a note of one or the other until much later. For example I don't think my count includes Red Road which I saw several years earlier but screened at SIFF this year (and I know I'm forgetting some screeners I watched at home. Around 1/3 or so of the "SIFF" films I actually saw at an earlier festival such as Palm Springs, SXSW or Fantastic Fest. With those factored in and a number of films I watched via DVD screener my total count is nowhere near my peak of 98 or so films screened in theater.

That's sort of sad in a ways - but the positive part of this is the ratio of films I actually really liked to those seen in total was strong in SIFF 2012. I'd like to say that was driven by super careful selection on my part. But in reality I think it was just luck. But I've always said I'd rather be lucky than good - so I'll take it.

While I did less movie-watching I did more physical exploring. Attending quite a few parties (6 by my count, and only missing one I'd hoped to hit), spent almost 90 minutes listening to the director of the Exorcist crack-up an audience at the Egyptian, interviewed the director of Game of Werewolves and hitting every one of the official venues this year including those in Renton and Everett. None of these would I given up for a film, something I realized last year when I recapped my cinematic adventures. The interview is coming, don't worry...

Interestingly (maybe) if I were forced to choose five favorites except for the SIFF opening night film they'd all been things I'd seen on prior travels. That hypothetical set would include; Your Sister's Sister, Las Acacias, Safety Not Guaranteed, The Central Park Effect and Klown. Some of the standouts which I actually saw at SIFF include; I am Not a Hipster, Gimme the Loot, The Intouchables, King Curling and Valley of Saints. For the record these "lists" are in no particular order.

The full list of what I've seen (and remembered) is below. A more practical way to peruse the full set is to jump over to the "IMDB list" I created. That way you can delve deeper into the details of each film and most interestingly add those of interest to your IMDB watchlist. A handy creation that I've started using more and more to keep track of things. Coupled with the IMDB mobile app it provides a handy reminder when a movie on your watchlist appears in your local theater. I did throw some ratings on the list to enable basic sorting - I'd take those with a grain of salt. Couldn't say the quantitative ratings are that accurate, though the relative ranking probably isn't super far off.


A semi sorted list of my SIFF 2012 film adventures...
Posted by Rich at 1:39 PM
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