Seattle International Film Festival Film director
Kathryn Bigelow with former SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence – Photo by Matt Daniels
Location Seattle , Washington, United StatesFounded 1976 Language English Website siff
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle , Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees.[ 1] independent and foreign films , and a strong contingent of documentaries.
SIFF 2006 included more than 300 films and was the first SIFF to include a venue in neighboring Bellevue, Washington , after 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. The 2010 festival featured over 400 films, shown primarily in downtown Seattle and its nearby neighborhoods, and in Renton , Kirkland , and Juanita Beach Park.[ 2]
History
The festival began in 1976 at a then-independent cinema, the Moore Egyptian Theater, under the direction of managers Jim Duncan, Dan Ireland , and Darryl Macdonald.[ 3] Glenda Jackson , Louis Malle ’s "Black Moon," Luis Buñuel's "Phantom of Liberty ."[ 4] The Rocky Horror Picture Show was the unnamed secret "sneak preview."[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8] Moore Theatre is back under its earlier name 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 . The Egyptian theater 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 ), with 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 [citation needed SIFF was instrumental in the entry of Dutch films into the United States market, including the first major American debut for director Paul Verhoeven .[ 9]
The nature of the festival
The festival includes a component 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 afterward what they have seen.
In general, SIFF has a reputation as an "audience festival" rather than an "industry festival".[ 10] 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 Festival at Bumbershoot and the Sci-Fi Shorts Film Festival at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame .[ 1]
In 2006, Longhouse Media launched the SuperFly Filmmaking Experience, in partnership with the Seattle International Film Festival, which brings youth together from diverse backgrounds to work collaboratively on film projects that promote awareness of indigenous issues and mutual understanding of each other's cultures. Fifty youth from across the United States arrive in Seattle to then travel to a local Pacific Northwest reservation to create 4 films in 36 hours.
SIFF Cinema
November 28, 2006, SIFF and Seattle mayor Greg Nickels announced that SIFF would 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 was a "flagship venue" for SIFF festivals[ 1]
Shortly after the 2011 festival, SIFF moved its operations to the SIFF Film Center on the Seattle Center campus. The Film Center includes a 90-seat multi-use theater, multi-media classroom, exhibition spaces, archives, and offices for SIFF and the Film School.[ 11]
In May 2014 it was announced that SIFF had purchased the Uptown Theater, and would be leasing and renovating the Egyptian Theater (abandoned roughly a year earlier by Landmark Theatres ) from Seattle Central College .[ 12]
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 Trainspotting Kiss of the Spider Woman Boyhood Academy Award for Best Picture and win the Golden Space Needle.
Year
Best Film (Golden Space Needle)
Best Short
Best Documentary
1985
Kiss of the Spider Woman Héctor Babenco , Brazil)
Frankenweenie Tim Burton , United States)
1986
The Assault Fons Rademakers , Netherlands)
The Big Snit Richard Condie , USA)
1987
My Life as a Dog Lasse Hallström , Sweden)
Your Face Bill Plimpton , USA)
1988
Bagdad Café Percy Adlon , West Germany )
Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall Jonathon Sanger , USA)
1989
Apartment Zero Tin Toy John Lasseter , USA)
1990
Pump Up the Volume Allan Moyle , USA)
Knick Knack John Lasseter , USA)
1991
My Mother's Castle Yves Robert , France)
The Potato Hunter Timothy Hittle , USA)
Paris Is Burning Jennie Livingston , USA)
1992
IP 5 - L'île aux pachydermes Jean-Jacques Beineix , France)
Anima Mundi Godfrey Reggio , USA)
A Brief History of Time Errol Morris , USA)
1993
The Wedding Banquet Ang Lee , Taiwan /USA)
The Fairy Who Didn't Want to Be a Fairy Anymore Laurie Lynd , Canada)
Road Scholar Roger Weisberg , USA)
1994
Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Stephan Elliott , Australia)
The Wrong Trousers Nick Park , UK)
The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl Ray Müller , Germany)
1995
The Kingdom Lars von Trier , Denmark)
Surprise! Veit Helmer , Germany)
Crumb Terry Zwigoff , USA)
1996
Trainspotting Danny Boyle , UK)
That Night John Keister , USA)
Hype! Doug Pray , USA)
1997
Comrades: Almost a Love Story Peter Chan , Hong Kong)
Ballad of the Skeletons Gus Van Sant , USA)
Licensed to Kill Arthur Dong , USA)
1998
God Said Ha! Julia Sweeney , USA)
Sin Sostén Rene Castinello , Antonio Urrutia , Belgium)
Frank Lloyd Wright Ken Burns , Lynn Novick , USA)
1999
Run Lola Run Tom Tykwer , Germany)
12 Stops of the Road to Nowhere Jay Lowi , USA)
Buena Vista Social Club Wim Wenders , USA)
2000
Shower Zhang Yang , China)
In God We Trust (dir. Jason Reitman , USA)
Trade Off Shaya Mercer , USA)
2001
Finder's Fee Jeff Probst , USA)
Boychick Glen Gaylord , USA)
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition George Butler , USA)
2002
Elling Petter Næss , Norway)
The Host Nick Tomnay , Australia)
Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House Deborah Dickson , USA)
2003
Whale Rider Niki Caro , New Zealand)
Misdemeanor Jonathan Lemond , USA)
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised Kim Bartley , Donnacha O'Briain , Ireland/Venezuela )
2004
Facing Windows Ferzan Özpetek , Italy)
Consent Jason Reitman , USA)
Born into Brothels Zana Briski , Ross Kauffmann , USA)
2005
Innocent Voices Luis Mandoki , Mexico )
Raftman's Razor Keith Bearden , USA)
Murderball Henry-Alex Rubin , Dana Adam Shapiro , USA)
2006
OSS 117: Nest of Spies Michel Hazanavicius , France)
Full Disclosure Douglas Horn , USA)
The Trials of Darryl Hunt Ricki Stern , Annie Sundberg , USA)
2007[ 13]
Outsourced John Jeffcoat , USA)
Pierre Dan Brown , USA)
For the Bible Tells Me So Daniel Karslake , USA)
2008
Cherry Blossoms Doris Dörrie , Germany)
Felix Andreas Utta , Germany)
The Wrecking Crew Denny Tedesco , USA)
2009
Black Dynamite Scott Sanders , USA)
Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death Nick Park , UK)
The Cove Louie Psihoyos , USA)
2010
The Hedgehog Mona Achache , France)
Ormie Rob Silvestri , Canada)
Ginny Ruffner: A Not So Still Life Karen Stanton , USA), Waste Land Lucy Walker , United Kingdom)
2011
Pájaros de papel Emilio Aragón , Spain)
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg , USA)
To Be Heard Amy Sultan , Roland Legiardi-Laura , Edwin Martinez and Deborah Shaffer , USA)
2012
Any Day Now Travis Fine , USA)
CatCam Seth Keal , USA)
The Invisible War Kirby Dick , USA)
2013
Fanie Fourie's Lobola Henk Pretorius , South Africa)
Spooners Bryan Horch , USA)
Twenty Feet from Stardom Morgan Neville , USA)
2014
Boyhood Richard Linklater , USA)
Fool's Day Cody Blue Snider , USA)
Keep on Keepin' On Alan Hicks , USA)
2015
The Dark Horse James Napier Robertson , New Zealand)
Even the Walls (dir. Sarah Kuck, Saman Maydani, USA)
Romeo Is Bleeding
2016
Captain Fantastic Matt Ross , USA)
Alive & Kicking: The Soccer Grannies of South Africa (dir. Lara-Ann de Wet, USA, South Africa)
Gleason
2017
At the End of the Tunnel Rodrigo Grande , Spain/Argentina)
Defend the Sacred (dir. Kyle Bell, USA)
Dolores
2018
Eighth Grade Bo Burnham , USA)
Emergency (dir. Carey Williams, USA)
Won't You Be My Neighbor? Morgan Neville , USA)
2019
Tel Aviv on Fire Stepdaddy (dir. Lisa Steen, USA)
We are the Radical Monarchs (dir. Linda Goldstein Knowlton, USA)
2020
Not awarded -- Festival cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Year
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
1985
Krzysztof Zanussi (Power of Evil Renee Soutendijk (The Fourth Man William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman
1986
Fons Rademakers (The Assault Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa
1987
Lasse Hallström (My Life as a Dog Monique van de Ven (Iris Gary Oldman (Prick Up Your Ears
1988
Alan Rudolph (The Moderns Deborra-Lee Furness (Shame Tom Hulce (Dominick and Eugene
1989
Martin Donovan (Apartment Zero
Wendy Hughes (Boundaries of the Heart Rutger Hauer (The Legend of the Holy Drinker
1990
Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal Rebecca Jenkins (Bye Bye Blues Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer , USA)
1991
Peter Greenaway (Drowning by Numbers Lily Tomlin (Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Alan Rickman (Close My Eyes Truly, Madly, Deeply
1992
Jean-Jacques Beineix (Betty Blue Marianne Sägebrecht (Martha and I , Germany/France)
Dermot Mulroney (Where the Day Takes You Samantha
1993
Ang Lee (The Wedding Banquet Taiwan /USA)
Tilda Swinton (Orlando Russell Crowe (Romper Stomper Hammers Over the Anvil
1994
Rolf de Heer (Bad Boy Bubby Mimi Rogers (Reflection on a Crime Terence Stamp (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
1995
Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects Nicole Kidman (To Die For Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects
1996
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting Lili Taylor (Girls Town Vincent D'Onofrio (The Whole Wide World
1997
Peter Greenaway (The Pillow Book Robin Wright Penn (Loved Brendan Fraser (Still Breathing
1998
Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters Christina Ricci (Buffalo 66 The Opposite of Sex Stephen Fry (Wilde
1999
John Sayles (Limbo Piper Laurie (The Mao Game Rupert Everett (An Ideal Husband
2000
Zhang Yang (Shower , China)
Nathalie Baye (Venus Beauty Institute Dan Futterman (Urbania
2001
Tim Blake Nelson (O Thora Birch (Ghost World John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch
2002
Julio Médem (Sex and Lucia Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher Moritz Bleibtreu (Das Experiment
2003
Niki Caro (Whale Rider Moon So-ri (Oasis South Korea )
Sol Kyung-gu (Oasis South Korea )
2004
Marco Tullio Giordana (The Best of Youth Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace Colombia /USA)
Luis Tosar (Take My Eyes
2005
Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin Joan Allen (Yes Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin
2006
Goran Dukic (Wristcutters: A Love Story Fiona Gordon (The Iceberg [fr ] Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson
2007[ 13]
Daniel Waters (Sex & Death 101 Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose Daniel Brühl (Salvador
2008
Amin Matalqa (Captain Abu Raed Jessica Chastain (Jolene Alan Rickman (Bottle Shock
2009
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker Yolande Moreau (Seraphine Sam Rockwell (Moon
2010
Debra Granik (Winter's Bone Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone Luis Tosar (Cell 211
2011
Larysa Kondracki (The Whistleblower Natasha Petrovic (As If I Am Not There Bill Skarsgård (Simple Simon
2012
Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild Jamie Chung (Eden Alan Cumming (Any Day Now
2013
Nabil Ayouch (Horses of God Samantha Morton (Decoding Annie Parker )James Cromwell (Still Mine
2014
Richard Linklater (Boyhood Patricia Arquette (Boyhood Dawid Ogrodnik (Life Feels Good
2015
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Nina Hoss (Phoenix Cliff Curtis (The Dark Horse
2016
Javier Ruiz Caldera (Anacleto: agente secreto Vicky Hernández (Between Sea and Land Rolf Lassgård (A Man Called Ove
2017
Rodrigo Grande (At the End of the Tunnel Lene Cecilia Sparrok (Sami Blood (Sameblod) Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake
2018
Gustav Möller (The Guilty
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade Miguel Ángel Solá (The Last Suit , Argentina/Poland/Spain/France/Germany)
2019
Ulaa Salim (Sons of Denmark (Danmarks sønner) , Denmark)
Damla Sönmez (Sibel Julius Weckauf (All About Me (Der Junge muss an die frische Luft )
2020
Not awarded -- Festival cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Jury awards
Premieres
Among the films that have received North American or world premieres at SIFF are:
Alien [ 14] Arafat, My Brother Rashid Masharawi (2005, North American premiere)[ 15] Banlieue 13 [ 15] Burning in the Wind [ 16] Cafe Society [ 17] Creature [ 18] Ghost World I Murder Seriously [ 19] Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean Matthew Mishory (2012, World Premiere)[ 20] Last Days [ 15] Mars [ 15] Mongolian Ping Pong [ 15] Monster House [ 21] Nate Dogg [ 19] PTU [ 19] Time Trap – Mark Dennis & Ben Foster (2017, World Premiere)[ 22]
Tomorrow's Weather [ 23] Twice in a Lifetime [ 24]
Gala Event films
Seattle
Year
Opening Night
Other Galas
Closing Night
1991
The Miracle Neil Jordan , UK)
Uranus Claude Berri , France)
1992
Le Bal des casse-pieds [fr ] Yves Robert , France)
Equinox Alan Rudolph , USA)
1993
Much Ado About Nothing Kenneth Branagh , USA)
King of the Hill Steven Soderbergh , USA),
1994
Little Buddha Bernardo Bertolucci , UK)
Barcelona Whit Stillman , USA)
1995
Braveheart Mel Gibson , USA)
Cold Comfort Farm John Schlesinger , UK)
1996
The Whole Wide World Dan Ireland , USA)
Emma Douglas McGrath , USA)
1997
Addicted to Love Griffin Dunne , USA) Addicted to Love
Mrs. Brown John Madden , UK)
1998
Firelight William Nicholson , USA)
Smoke Signals Chris Eyre , USA)
This Is My Father Paul Quinn , USA)
1999
The Dinner Game Francis Veber , France)
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Jay Roach , USA)
2000
Love's Labour's Lost Kenneth Branagh , UK)
A Rumor of Angels Peter O'Fallon , USA)
2001
The Anniversary Party Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming , USA)
O Tim Blake Nelson , USA)Liam Stephen Frears , UK)Tortilla Soup Maria Ripoll , USA)Ghost World Terry Zwigoff , USA)
Investigating Sex Alan Rudolph , USA)
2002
Igby Goes Down Burr Steers , USA)
24 Hour Party People Michael Winterbottom , UK)
Passionada Dan Ireland , USA)
2003
Valentín Alejandro Agresti , Argentina)
H Lee Jong-hyuk , South Korea)Caeser Uli Edel , USA)PTU Johnnie To , Hong Kong)Together Chen Kaige , South Korea)Whale Rider Niki Caro , New Zealand)
Jet Lag Daniele Thompson , France)
2004
The Notebook Nick Cassavetes , USA)
Saved! Brian Dannelly , USA)Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut Richard Kelly , USA)Before Sunset Richard Linklater , USA)Criminal Gregory Jacobs , USA)
Intimate Strangers Patrice Leconte , France)
2005
Me and You and Everyone We Know Miranda July , USA)
The Dying Gaul Craig Lucas , USA)Red Dust Tom Hooper , UK)Bombón, el Perro Carlos Sorín , Argentina)Côte d'Azur Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau , France)
Last Days Gus Van Sant , USA)
2006
The Illusionist Neil Burger , USA)
Factotum Bent Hamer , USA)Perhaps Love Peter Ho-Sun Chan , Hong Kong)A Prairie Home Companion Robert Altman , USA)Strangers with Candy Paul Dinello , USA)
The Science of Sleep Michel Gondry , France)
2007
Son of Rambow Garth Jennings , USA)
2 Days in Paris Julie Delpy , France)A Battle of Wits Jacob Cheung , Hong Kong)The Boss of It All Lars von Trier , Denmark)Evening Lajos Koltai , USA)
Molière Laurent Tirard , France)
2008
Battle in Seattle Stuart Townsend , USA)
The Great Buck Howard Sean McGinly , USA)
Bottle Shock Randall Miller , USA)
2009
In the Loop Armando Iannucci , UK)
Humpday Lynn Shelton , USA)
OSS 117: Lost in Rio Michel Hazanavicius , France)
2010
The Extra Man Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini , USA)
Farewell Christian Carion , France)
Get Low Aaron Schneider , USA)
2011
The First Grader Justin Chadwick , UK)
Service Entrance Philippe Le Guay , France)
LIfe in a Day Kevin MacDonald , UK)
2012
Your Sister's Sister Lynn Shelton , USA)
The Chef Daniel Cohen (filmmaker) [fr ] , France)
Grassroots Stephen Gyllenhaal , USA)
2013
Much Ado About Nothing Joss Whedon , USA)
20 Feet from Stardom Morgan Neville , USA)
The Bling Ring Sofia Coppola , USA)
2014
Jimi: All Is By My Side John Ridley , USA)
Boyhood Richard Linklater , USA)
The One I Love Charlie McDowell , USA)
2015
Spy Paul Feig , USA)
The End of the Tour James Ponsoldt , USA)
The Overnight Patrick Brice , USA)
2016
Café Society Woody Allen , USA)
Gleason Clay Tweel , USA)
The Dressmaker Jocelyn Moorhouse , Australia)
2017
The Big Sick Michael Showalter , USA)
Landline Gillian Robespierre , USA)
The Young Karl Marx (Le jeune Karl Marx) Raoul Peck , France/Germany/Belgium)
2018
The Bookshop Isabel Coixet , Spain)
Sorry to Bother You Boots Riley , USA)
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot Gus Van Sant , USA)
2019
Sword of Trust Lynn Shelton , USA)
Late Night Nisha Ganatra , USA)
The Farewell Lulu Wang , USA)
Kirkland
Year
Opening Night
2010
The Over the Hill Band Geoffrey Enthoven , Belgium)
2011
Bon Appétit David Pinillos [es ] , Spain)
2012
Starbuck Ken Scott , Canada)
2013
Papadopoulos & Sons Marcus Markou , UK)
2014
The Grand Seduction Don McKellar , Canada)
2015
Good Ol' Boy Frank Lotito , USA)
2016
Paul à Québec François Bouvier , Canada)
2017
Footnotes (Sur quel pied danser) (dir. Kostia Testut , Paul Calori , France)
2018
The Drummer and the Keeper (dir. Nick Kelly, Ireland)
2019
Non-Fiction (Doubles vies) Olivier Assayas , France)
Renton
See also
References
^ a b c "SIFF to Create New Home for Great Films at Seattle Center" . www.siff.net (press release). November 28, 2006. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007.^ "Venues" . www.siff.net . Archived from the original on May 13, 2008.^ Queen Anne & Magnolia News, Just before dawn
Now THAT was a festival, Richard T. Jameson, Seattle, May 28, 2012
^ https://medium.com/journal-of-precipitation/lets-remember-when-the-very-first-seattle-international-film-festival-opened-on-this-day-in-1976-1c6da4d21f48 , retrieved 11/18/19^ https://www.historylink.org/File/10097,retrieved 11/18/19^ Have You Heard About the Third, Seattle International Film Festival 1978 Program guide
^ Seattle's Biggest Festival, John Hartl, The Seattle Times, April 23, 1978
^ The Last Four Days, John Hartl, The Seattle Times, May 28, 1978
^ "Twenty-five years of SIFF" . Seattle Weekly . Retrieved January 20, 2016 .^ Lynn Jacobson, Locals swarm huge Seattle fest . Variety , June 19, 2005
^ "ORA: SIFF Film Center" . Retrieved June 2, 2014 .^ Paul Constant, SIFF To Renovate and Reopen the Egyptian Theatre , slog.thestranger.com (blog of Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger
^ a b c d Reel News (SIFF), Autumn 2007, p. 5.^ 1979 SIFF program (guide/booklet) states this is the World Premiere of Alien
^ a b c d e News in 2005 , SIFF. Accessed November 23, 2006.^ Burning in the Wind , SIFF, Accessed November 23, 2006.^ "SIFF 2016 to open with Woody Allen's comedy 'Café Society' . The Seattle Times . April 21, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016 .^ Hunter, David (January 14, 2000). " . The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014 . ^ a b c Press release , SIFF. Accessed November 23, 2006.^ [1] , SIFF, Accessed April 29, 2012.^ [2] Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine ^ Erbland, Kate. "Time Trap Trailer: First Look at Mind-Bending New Sci-Fi Adventure | IndieWire" . www.indiewire.com . Retrieved May 28, 2017 . ^ Tomorrow's Weather , SIFF, Accessed November 23, 2006.^ Twice in a Lifetime AFI Catalog of Feature Films
External links
