While The Dictator and Battleship compete for multiplex audiences, the usually robust Seattle film scene has otherwise given a wide berth to the annual event that devours all.
Yes, SIFF 2012 has begun. Opening night celebrates local filmmaker Lynn Shelton’s latest, My Sister’s Sister, and by extension an impressive line-up of Washington State-born films. From homegrown productions (Megan Griffiths’ excellent Eden, where Eastern Washington stand in for the American Southwest) to locally-shot films (Safety Not Guaranteed, with Aubrey Plaza and honorary Seattle actor Mark Duplass, and closing night film Grassroots, a Seattle story with Jason Biggs and Joel David Moore playing versions of Phil Campbell and activist Grant Cogswell), this is without a doubt the best showing of Seattle and Washington State cinema at SIFF ever.
Along with the premieres and galas and special presentations, SIFF will also screen Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, direct from Opening Night at Cannes, before its Seattle opening in June, and host tributes to actress Sissy Spacek and director William Friedkin during its final week of screenings and events.
How to navigate event? Parallax View is here to help. This weekend we will launch launched our SIFFing 2012 guide, with links to reviews, previews, interviews, and other coverage on the web. In the meantime, browse these resources.
Previews:
In addition to my Parallax View preview, here’s an overview from Richard T. Jameson at Straight Shooting and a preview of the Northwest Connections line-up from Moira Macdonald at Seattle Times.
Reviews and capsules:
Seattle Weekly has a slew of Week 1 Picks & Pans (from Brian Miller and others, including a couple from me) and The Stranger’s Guide to SIFF 2012 has just kicked in, blog style (their guide is more accessible on print right now; pick up the latest copy for the pull-out guide). And there’s opening weekend highlights from Three Imaginary Girls and more at SIFFBlog from Kathy Fennessy.
Spotlights:
Let us now praise our local filmmaking luminaries. Lynn Shelton is profiled by Moira Macdonald for The Seattle Times and interviewed by Brian Miller for Seattle Weekly (that’s in addition to a well-deserved profile at The New York Times earlier this month!). I took a look at Rick Stevenson’s “5,000 Days” project, and his documentary feature “Two Brothers), for Seattle Weekly. But where is the much deserved profile of Megan Griffiths, whose Eden is arguably the best homegrown film of the festival? Here’s one from March from IndieWIRE’s SXSW coverage.
You should, of course, bookmark the festival calendar at the SIFF website and don’t forget to check in on updates and schedule changes.
And should you want more, you can always sign on to the official Twitter feed of the Seattle International Film Festival.
Repertory
The UCLA Festival of Preservation continues at NWFF for a third long weekend of screenings, with Outfest Legacy Project Program of three newly rescued films celebrating the LGBT culture (Friday, May 18), the 1942 Native Land (May 19), the 941 Forgotten Village (May 20), and Douglas Sirks’ 1948 Sleep, My Love (May 21). All shows at 7pm. Complete schedule and film notes at NWFF website.
Jerzy Skowlimowksi’s superb (and still unavailable on DVD) Deep End concludes the “Shadow Street: The Best of British Film Noir” series, on Thursday, May 24 on 35mm at the Seattle Art Museum. Series passes are sold out but you can usually get tickets at the theater, but arrive early. See reviews from Richard T. Jameson and Sean Axmaker.
George Cukor’s Holiday, the third of four pairings of Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, plays for a week at Grand Illusion in a brand new 35mm print. I review the film for Seattle Weekly here.
Schedules and Showtimes
You can check your favorite independent cinemas, neighborhood theaters and multiplexes here.
Independent theaters:
SIFF Cinema
Northwest Film Forum
Grand Illusion
Seattle Art Museum
Central Cinema
The Big Picture
Majestic Bay Theatres
Cinerama
Multiplexes and Chains
Cinebarre
Landmark Theatres (Egyptian, Guild 45, Harvard Exit, Varsity and others)
Regal Cinemas (Meridian 16, Thornton Place and others)
AMC Cinemas (Pacific Place, Oak Tree, Alderwood and others)
Kirland Park Place
Lincoln Square Cinemas
Village Roadshow Gold Class Cinemas