STIFF is Coming

I've been talking quite a lot about SIFF these days, but with May 3rd approaching it's time to take a brief pause from that and recognize the arrival of "Seattle's True Independent Film Festival" aka STIFF.  Look, I'm not going to get into the whole "true" vs. SIFF part - I'm not about the labels. All that matters is if the festival has something interesting to offer. Many may know STIFF as the festival that traditionally ran during SIFF making attending both challenging to say the least. But starting last year the folks over at STIFF have moved their festival ahead of their larger cousin making it easy to attend both. While STIFF may be smaller it's definitely worth checking out. In keeping with the festival's missions statement the production costs often are lower. But as past entries have shown cheaper to make doesn't necessarily mean less fun or lower quality.

"The Seattle True Independent Film Festival is dedicated to the exhibition of independent, underground, experimental and zero budget films. The festival endeavors to provide cultural exchange and educational opportunities by bringing a diverse selection of films to the area and provide a place for networking between local filmmakers, visiting filmmakers and the public."

Venues are more intimate (the Grand Illusion is the most commonly used venue), prices tend to be more affordable (an all access pass if available runs around $50) and of course there are a choice of parties to participate in.

Festivities kick off May 3rd and run through May 11th. Including shorts, features, parties, awards, and something I'm a bit afraid to attend called Indepenetration.

Unfortunately there's not a ton of films playing that I've seen at STIFF. The full list of films with descriptions and trailers are of course available on their website. Below I picked off just a few options from the STIFF schedule to give a sense what's available.

Free Preview Screening: The Kings of Summer

If you're looking for something to do April 25th and fancy a movie then you're in luck. As I write this free passes are available for a preview screening of the comedy The Kings of Summer which is currently rocking a 7.1 rating on IMDb.com (and a Metacritic score of 70). Not too shabby...

Oh, and of course it's free. Well, not totally free, you likely will have to stand on line to get in as these things are often overbooked a bit.

All you need to do is mosey over to gofobo.com with this link. And then perhaps enter the code RWTFPJ9N if you're asked. Then, as long as they haven't all been snatched up you should be good to go. Update [4/19] - You can also checkout an alternative screening on June 5th at Southcenter (code RWTFQYAA if the direct link doesn't work by itself)

I've included the film's teaser trailer. "Teaser" apparently means it's designed to remind me of Sound of Noise rather than completely give away the story give a sense of the film. From what I can tell looks worth a shot. So hoping to catch the film myself - so don't hesitate to shoot me a note in the comments or on Twitter if you're planning to do the same.

   

NFFTY 2013

Wanted to remind everyone that the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) is coming up fast. It's scheduled to be held April 25th-28th at SIFF Cinema and the world renowned Cinerama. I've sung the praises of NFFTY before - and it's worth reminding people that while the talent contributing to the festival isn't that old their skills are often way ahead of their calendar ages.

I was lucky enough to preview eleven of the short films that will screen during the festival. While I certainly liked some more then others the quality of all of them was pretty top notch. The four day festival has shorts packages broken down into themes with at least one bound to appeal to almost any cinema lover. From comedy to horror to action shorts NFFTY has the based covered. Passes are available for a day or the entire festival. And of course individual tickets are on sale as well. It's a good time and a great cause.

If you're wondering my favorites included Tina for President, Dewey: The Musical and 80's Fitness. The first two taking very different approaches to student elections, the third a crazy musical/animated/bloody battle between rival aerobics groups that would be at home at Fantastic Fest. Each of which would've wowed me at any festival I regularly attend.

The NFFTY motto of "Film Starts Here" is well deserved. Hope to see everyone there!

Kiss of the Damned

One of my most anticipated films of SXSW was Kiss of the Damned. Not really based on anything particularly significant about the film other that it had (a) vampires and (b) a trashy enough trailer to pique my interest in a big way. I mean, if we're all being honest, they don't put a half naked female vampire chained to a bed out there because it's going to drive audience members way do they?

The good news, is that if you're intrigued before or after reading this review Kiss of the Damned is available ahead of theatrical release on various video on demand channels. The less good news is that in my opinion you'd be way way better off watching We Are the Night again (so long as you can avoid the dubbed version on Netflix). There are some reasons to watch the film, mainly a couple of interesting shots that made me really sit up straighter when they hit the screen. But overall I was seriously underwhelmed.

I'm going to stray really close and perhaps a smidge over the spoiler line in what follows. But I don't think it's going to take away from the film much ... if Kiss of the Damned is going to speak to you it's not because of the minor plot point transgressions I make below.