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The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees.[1] SIFF runs for more than three weeks (24 days) in May-June, and features a diverse assortment of predominantly independent and foreign films and, in recent years, a strong contingent of documentaries.
SIFF 2006 included 300+ films and was the first SIFF to include a venue in neighboring Bellevue, Washington since an ill-fated early attempt. However, in 2008, the festival was back to being entirely in Seattle, and had a slight decrease in the number of feature films.
[edit] History
The festival began in 1976 at a then-independent cinema, the Moore Egyptian Theater (now back to its earlier name, the Moore Theater, and functioning as a concert venue). When founders Dan Ireland and Darryl Macdonald of the Moore Egyptian lost their lease, they founded the Egyptian theater in a former Masonic Temple on Seattle's Capitol Hill, which remains a prime festival venue to this day, although the festival now typically uses about half a dozen cinemas (including, since 2007, its own SIFF Cinema at Seattle Center), the exact roster varying from year to year.
During the 1980s, SIFF audiences developed a reputation for appreciating films that did not fit standard industry niches, such as Richard Rush's multi-layered The Stunt Man (1980). SIFF was instrumental in the entry of Dutch films into the United States market, including the first major American success for director Paul Verhoeven.[citation needed]
[edit] The nature of the festival
The festival includes a sidebar that is unique among major film festivals: a four-film "Secret Festival". Those who attend the Secret Festival do not know in advance what they will see, and they must sign an oath that they will not reveal afterwards what they have seen.
In general, SIFF has a reputation as an "audience festival" rather than an "industry festival".[2] The festival often partially overlaps the Cannes Film Festival, which can reduce attendance by industry bigwigs; in 2007 there were two days of overlap, May 24 and 25.
The SIFF group also curates the Global Lens film series, the Screenwriters Salon, and Futurewave (K-12 programming and youth outreach), coordinates SIFF-A-Go-Go travel programs (organized tours to other film festivals), and co-curates the 1 Reel Film Feastival at Bumbershoot and the Sci-Fi Shorts Film Festival at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame.[1]
[edit] SIFF Cinema
November 28, 2006, SIFF and Seattle mayor Greg Nickels announced that SIFF will soon have a home and a year-round screening facility in what has been the Nesholm Family Lecture Hall of McCaw_Hall, the same building at Seattle Center that houses the Seattle Opera. The city contributed $150,000 to the $350,000 project. This auditorium is now a "flagship venue" for SIFF festivals[1] and the site of most press screenings.
[edit] Awards
Since 1985, the Seattle International Film Festival has awarded the Golden Space Needle award each year to the festival's most popular movie. Ballots are cast by audience members at the end of each movie. Previous winners of the Golden Space Needle include Whale Rider for 2003, Trainspotting for 1996 and Kiss of the Spider Woman for 1985.
[edit] Golden Space Needle (Best Film) and SIFF Awards for Best Short and Documentary
| Year |
Best Film (Golden Space Needle) |
Best Short |
Best Documentary |
| 1985 |
Kiss of the Spider Woman (dir. Héctor Babenco, Brazil) |
Frankenweenie (dir. Tim Burton, United States) |
|
| 1986 |
The Assault (dir. Fons Rademakers, Netherlands) |
The Big Snit (dir. Richard Condie, USA) |
| 1987 |
My Life as a Dog (dir. Lasse Hallström, Sweden) |
Your Face (dir. Bill Plimpton, USA) |
| 1988 |
Bagdad Café (dir. Percy Adlon, West Germany) |
Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall (dir. Jonathon Sanger, USA) |
| 1989 |
Apartment Zero (dir. Martin Donovan, USA) |
Tin Toy (dir. John Lasseter, USA) |
| 1990 |
Pump Up the Volume (dir. Allan Moyle, USA) |
Knick Knack (dir. John Lasseter, USA) |
| 1991 |
My Mother's Castle (dir. Yves Robert, France) |
The Potato Hunter (dir. Timothy Hittle, USA) |
Paris Is Burning (dir. Jennie Livingston, USA) |
| 1992 |
Betty Blue (dir. Jean-Jacques Beineix, France) |
Anima Mundi (dir. Godfrey Reggio, USA) |
A Brief History of Time (dir. Errol Morris, USA) |
| 1993 |
The Wedding Banquet (dir. Ang Lee Ti Wong, Taiwan/USA) |
The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore (dir. Laurie Lynd, Canada) |
Road Scholar (dir. Roger Weisberg, USA) |
| 1994 |
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (dir. Stephan Elliott, Australia) |
The Wrong Trousers (dir. Nick Park, UK) |
The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (dir. Ray Müller, Germany) |
| 1995 |
The Kingdom (dir. Lars von Trier, Denmark) |
Surprise! (dir. Veit Helmer, Germany) |
Crumb (dir. Terry Zwigoff, USA) |
| 1996 |
Trainspotting (dir. Danny Boyle, UK) |
That Night (dir. John Keister, USA) |
Hype! (dir. Doug Pray, USA) |
| 1997 |
Comrades: Almost a Love Story (dir. Peter Chan, Hong Kong) |
Ballad of the Skeletons (dir. Gus Van Sant, USA) |
Licensed to Kill (dir. Arthur Dong, USA) |
| 1998 |
God Said Ha! (dir. Julia Sweeney, USA) |
Sin Sostén (dir. Rene Castinello, Antonio Urrutia, Belgium) |
Frank Lloyd Wright (dir. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, USA) |
| 1999 |
Run Lola Run (dir. Tom Tykwer, Germany) |
12 Stops of the Road to Nowhere (dir. Jay Lowi, USA) |
Buena Vista Social Club (dir. Wim Wenders, USA) |
| 2000 |
Shower (Zhang Yang, China) |
In God We Trust (dir. Jason Reitman, USA) |
Trade Off (dir. Shaya Mercer, USA) |
| 2001 |
Finder's Fee (dir. Jeff Probst, USA) |
Boychick (dir. Glen Gaylord, USA) |
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition (dir. George Butler, USA) |
| 2002 |
Elling (dir. Petter Næss, Norway) |
The Host (dir. Nick Tomnay, Australia) |
Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House (dir. Deborah Dickson, USA) |
| 2003 |
Whale Rider (dir. Niki Caro, New Zealand) |
Misdemeanor (dir. Jonathan Lemond, USA) |
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (dir. Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain, Ireland/Venezuela) |
| 2004 |
Facing Windows (dir. Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy) |
Consent (dir. Jason Reitman, USA) |
Born into Brothels (dir. Zana Briski, Ross Kauffmann, USA) |
| 2005 |
Innocent Voices (dir. Luis Mandoki, Mexico) |
Raftman's Razor (dir. Keith Bearden, USA) |
Murderball (dir. Henry-Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro, USA) |
| 2006 |
OSS 117: Nest of Spies (dir. Michel Hazanavicious, France) |
Full Disclosure (dir. Douglas Horn, USA) |
The Trials of Darryl Hunt (dir. Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg, USA) |
| 2007[3] |
Outsourced (dir. John Jeffcoat, USA) |
Pierre (dir. Dan Brown, USA) |
For the Bible Tells Me So (dir. Daniel Karslake, USA) |
[edit] SIFF Awards for Best Director, Actress and Actor
| Year |
Best Director |
Best Actress |
Best Actor |
| 1985 |
Krzysztof Zanussi (Power of Evil, Poland) |
Renee Soutendijk (The Fourth Man, Belgium) |
William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Brazil) |
| 1986 |
Fons Rademakers (The Assault, Netherlands) |
Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa, UK) |
Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa, UK) |
| 1987 |
Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog, Sweden) |
Monique van de Ven (Iris, Netherlands) |
Gary Oldman (Prick Up Your Ears, UK) |
| 1988 |
Alan Rudolph (The Moderns, USA) |
Deborrah-Lee Furness (Shame, Australia) |
Tom Hulce (Dominick and Eugene, USA) |
| 1989 |
Martin Donovan (Apartment Zero, USA) |
Wendy Hughes (Boundaries of the Heart, Australia) |
Rutger Hauer (Legend of a Holy Drinker, Italy) |
| 1990 |
Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal, Canada) |
Rebecca Jenkins (Bye Bye Blues, Canada) |
Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, USA) |
| 1991 |
Peter Greenaway (Drowning by Numbers, UK) |
Lily Tomlin (Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, USA) |
Alan Rickman (Close My Eyes / Truly, Madly, Deeply, UK) |
| 1992 |
Jean-Jacques Beineix (Betty Blue, France) |
Marianne Sagebrecht (Martha and I, Germany/France) |
Dermot Mulroney (Where the Day Takes You, USA) |
| 1993 |
Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet, Taiwan/USA) |
Tilda Swinton (Orlando, UK/Russia/Italy/France/Netherlands) |
Russell Crowe (Romper Stomper / Hammers Over the Anvil, Australia) |
| 1994 |
Rolf de Heer (Bad Boy Bubby, Australia) |
Mimi Rogers (Reflection on a Crime, USA) |
Terence Stamp (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Australia) |
| 1995 |
Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, USA) |
Nicole Kidman (To Die For, USA) |
Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, USA) |
| 1996 |
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, UK) |
Lili Taylor (Girls Town, USA) |
Vincent D'Onofrio (The Whole Wide World, USA) |
| 1997 |
Peter Greenaway (The Pillow Book, UK) |
Robin Wright-Penn (Loved, USA) |
Brendan Fraser (Still Breathing, USA) |
| 1998 |
Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, USA) |
Christina Ricci (Buffalo 66 / The Opposite of Sex, USA) |
Stephen Fry (Wilde, UK) |
| 1999 |
John Sayles (Limbo, USA) |
Piper Laurie (The Mao Game, USA) |
Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband, UK) |
| 2000 |
Zhang Yang (Shower, China) |
Nathalie Baye (Venus Beauty Institute, France) |
Dan Futterman (Urbania, USA) |
| 2001 |
Tim Blake Nelson (O, USA) |
Thora Birch (Ghost World, USA) |
John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, USA) |
| 2002 |
Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia, Spain) |
Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher, Austria/France) |
Moritz Bleibtreu (Das Experiment, Germany) |
| 2003 |
Niki Caro (Whale Rider, New Zealand) |
Moon So-ri (Oasis, South Korea) |
Seol Kyung-gu (Oasis, South Korea) |
| 2004 |
Marco Tullio Giordano (The Best of Youth, Italy) |
Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace (Colombia/USA) |
Luis Tosar (Take My Eyes, Spain) |
| 2005 |
Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, USA) |
Joan Allen (Yes, USA) |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin, USA) |
| 2006 |
Goran Dukic (Wristcutters: A Love Story, USA) |
Fiona Gordon (The Iceberg, Belgium) |
Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, USA) |
| 2007[3] |
Daniel Waters (Sex & Death 101, USA) |
Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose, France) |
Daniel Brühl (Salvador, Spain) |
| 2009 |
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, USA) |
|
|
[edit] Jury awards
[edit] Premieres
Among the films that have received North American or world premieres at SIFF are
- Arafat, My Brother — Rashid Masharawi (2005, North American premiere)[4]
- Banlieue 13 — Pierre Morel (2005, North American premiere)[4]
- Burning in the Wind — Silvio Soldoni (2003, World premiere)[5]
- I Murder Seriously — Antonio Urrutia (2003, North American premiere)[6]
- Last Days — Gus Van Sant (2005, North American premiere)[4]
- Mars — Anna Melikian (2005, North American premiere)[4]
- Mongolian Ping Pong — Ning Hao (2005, North American premiere)[4]
- Monster House — Gil Kenan (2006, North American premiere) [1]
- Nate Dogg — Thomas Farone (2003, World premiere)[6]
- PTU — Johnny To (2003, North American premiere)[6]
- Tomorrow's Weather — Jerzy Stuhr (2003, North American premiere)[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c SIFF to Create New Home for Great Films at Seattle Center SIFF press release, November 28, 2006.
- ^ Lynn Jacobson, Locals swarm huge Seattle fest. Variety, Jun. 19, 2005
- ^ a b c d Reel News (SIFF), Autumn 2007, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e News in 2005, SIFF. Accessed 23 November 2006.
- ^ Burning in the Wind, SIFF, Accessed 23 November 2006.
- ^ a b c Press release, SIFF. Accessed 23 November 2006.
- ^ Tomorrow's Weather, SIFF, Accessed 23 November 2006.
[edit] External links
