The Seattle International Film Festival began in 1976 at the Moore theater in downtown Seattle, moved over to Capitol Hill’s Egyptian, and eventually included theaters around the city and the eastside.
And now it has come to Everett.
For the first time, this year SIFF spreads its mighty bulk to include eight days at the Everett Performing Arts Center, from Thursday through June 3.
The usual sprawl, more than 250 feature films and counting, will arrange itself at SIFF Cinema, Egyptian, Neptune, Pacific Place, Uptown, Harvard Exit, Admiral and Kirkland Performance Center. You almost have no excuse for not seeing a movie during the next month, even accidentally.
The festival officially kicked off last night with the opening gala at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall, a showing of “The Extra Man,” with star Paul Dano (of “There Will Be Blood”) in attendance.
Starting today, the madness truly kicks in, and runs until June 13, when the closing night gala (featuring the well-reviewed new indie, “Get Low”) brings the curtain down at Pacific Place.
Until then, we’ll see the usual collection of spotlights (“New Spanish Cinema,” for instance), special guests, zany midnight movies, panels, family films and shorts.
The special tribute guest this year is Edward Norton, the actor who has gotten a lot of love for his tendency to take on edgy projects; he’ll show his new picture (“Leaves of Grass,” directed by Tim Blake Nelson, also in attendance) and answer questions in an on-stage interview on June 4.
At other times that weekend, a trio of Norton’s movies, “American History X,” “Fight Club” and “25th Hour,” will screen. There’s a good chance he’ll show up to introduce at least a couple of those.
Musical tie-ins will also bring some special guests. Stephen Merritt, the leader of the wonderful band Magnetic Fields, will present a live music performance for the 1916 silent film “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” on June 9 at the Paramount.
Another silent film, “Riders of the Purple Sage” (1925), will be scored live by the Northwest band the Maldives, May 25 at Triple Door. Piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin underscores “A Spray of Plum Blossoms” (1931), a rare Chinese film, on May 30 at SIFF Cinema.
Other “archival” movie presentations include a quartet of pictures restored by Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, presented on Saturday afternoons at the Harvard Exit. They are John Ford’s “Drums Along the Mohawk” (1939), Jean Renoir’s beautiful India saga “The River” (1951), Luchino Visconti’s “Senso” (1954), and John Cassavetes’ jazzy debut as director, “Shadows” (1959).
We’ll also see a three-movie salute to Leonard Bernstein (part of a citywide celebration of the composer-conductor), with films that include Bernstein compositions: “On the Town,” “On the Waterfront” and, of course, “West Side Story.”
SIFF offers more than 50 documentaries, which means you could have a major film festival just by looking at nonfiction titles. These include profiles (of Condoleeza Rice, William S. Burroughs and comedian Bill Hicks, among others); social-message pictures (“Countdown to Zero,” on the current nuclear threat); and performance (“Ride, Rise, Roar,” a fun look at a David Byrne concert tour).
The festival has a large section of locally produced movies this year, including one recent Oscar nominee — in the short documentary category — chronicling a former Washington governor’s involvement in the Death with Dignity law in 2008: “The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner.”
A delightful piece of music history, “Wheedle’s Groove” shines a light on the Northwest soul scene in the ’60s and ’70s, a busy world that almost broke into the mainstream.
Another doc, “Chihuly Fire &Light,” looks at the inescapable glass artist, while “Amplified Seattle” cruises through performances by no fewer than 13 Seattle bands.
Also in the local category, “Bass Ackwards” is a new feature from “Walking to Werner” director Linas Phillips, who again stars in his own picture. And you have to be curious about “Senior Prom,” which was directed by a 17-year-old Mountlake Terrace High School student, Nicholas Terry, using his classmates as actors.
SIFF has some oddball “event” evenings, one-time-only happenings that can be memorable. For instance, the sing-a-long to “Grease” at SIFF Cinema on June 12, which will presumably have onscreen lyrics; or “Cane Toads: The Conquest — in 3D,” a look at the infestation of said amphibian in Australia — all in three glorious dimensions! (May 28, Neptune).
As for the Everett leg of the festival (during which the Seattle theaters will continue full-blast), its official opening night film is “Mao’s Last Dancer,” a sure-fire crowd-pleaser about a ballet dancer from communist China who got a taste of the West in 1981. Party will follow; plans are for director Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”) to be in attendance.
Along with these special items, parties and competitions, there’s the meat of SIFF’s line-up: a sprawling collection of international films and American indies. Navigating through this mess of a schedule is daunting; you can look for favorite filmmakers, countries of origin, or genres, and still not know what you might be getting.
Of course, you could also read our weekly capsule reviews, and get some tips there. The schedule itself can be found online at the festival’s website, siff.net, and SIFF’s portable floppy Film Guide (new this year, and a handier thing to carry around than the massive catalog, although that exists this year, too) is available.
Did we mention that this is officially the 36th annual Seattle International Film Festival? And that the thing just seems to get larger every year? If not, duly noted — and here we go again.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
