AN EVENING WITH PETER WEIR. Aussie New Wave director Weir helped secure his stateside reputation at the first SIFF (1976) with Picnic at Hanging Rock. We'll be treated to an in-person interview, as well as a screening of Fearless and a retrospective of his career highlights. Additionally, Weir's The Last Wave, Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously, The Cars That Ate Paris, The Mosquito Coast, and The Truman Show will be screened during SIFF. Cinerama. Sun 6/4 at 7pm.
WORLD PREMIERE OF SILENCE! Seattle director Gregg Lachow's silent B&W film Silence! promises to be a modern update on the traditional Japanese benshi film. Accompanied by a simultaneous live performance by actors and musicians. Paramount Theater. Sat 5/27 at 7:15pm.
ARCHIVAL FILMS. Look forward to new prints of: The Pink Panther (Peter Sellers as the forever-bumbling Inspector Clouseau); Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (with a newly mixed Dolby SR soundtrack); Pietro Germi's naughty 1962 comedy Divorce Italian Style (featuring the suave Marcello Mastroianni); the Russian silent classics Eye of Glass and The Young Lady and the Hooligan (with live piano); the Coen brothers' Blood Simple; Karel Reisz's 1960 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Albert Finney as the proverbial angry young man); Joseph Losey's rarely shown 1963 Eva; plus the Peter Weir retrospective (see above).
FILMMAKERS FORUM. Various industry figures visiting SIFF will discuss the art, business, and future of film. Expect to see some directors and performers with work in the festival, local filmmakers, plus a few critics and corporate types. This series of 12 seminars and panel discussions opens with a free event at 911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale N, on Sat 5/27. Series moves to Broadway Performance Hall on Sat 6/3, where it continues Fri 6/9-Sat 6/10 (Fri 6/9 event devoted to new media).
FLY FILMMAKING. During SIFF, Election cowriter Jim Taylor, Freak Weather director Mary Kurila, and Dead Dogs director Clay Eide will each scout, cast, shoot, and edit a short film in only a week. One will be shot on 16mm film, one on high definition video, and one on digital video. All three will be projected Sat 6/10 at the Cinerama, with directors in attendance.
EMERGING MASTERS. Another SIFF tradition: Each Friday night, a promising new director will appear with a new film, followed by a screening of an earlier work the next day. This year's guests include the acclaimed Zhang Yang (Spicy Love Soup and Shower) and Cannes prize-winner Erick Zonca (for The Dreamlife of Angels), who also brings The Little Thief to this year's fest.
PASSPORT TO THE WORLD. A SIFF sidebar honoring the 19 countries in which Seattle has sister cities—including China, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, France, Vietnam, Italy, Mexico, and Uzbekistan. Expect major prize-winners, US premieres, official national Oscar submissions, and various filmmaker guests. Series begins with an Opening Gala Thu 5/25 at the Paramount, featuring IstvᮠSzab�Sunshine (with Ralph Fiennes). A post-screening reception will include music, food, and costumes from each country.
CINERAMA DAY. See rare archival prints of How the West Was Won (John Ford directs the Civil War segment); the first Cinerama film, This Is Cinerama; and a new documentary, Cinerama Adventure. The Cinerama process has been meticulously restored to bring back its seven-channel sound, three simultaneously running projectors, and a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling screen. It'll make you ashamed of your big-screen TV.
SHORT FILMS. Eight packages of shorts, arranged according to themes including: international, mortality, youthful discovery, gender, animation, Northwest artists, and the avant-garde.
MIDNIGHT MOVIES. Forget about art! Eight flicks get late-night showings, including: Hong Kong actioners The Mission and Purple Storm, camp Aussie horror flick Cut, Jude Law as vampire in The Wisdom of Crocodiles, evil Danes in Possessed, plus a half-dozen shorts.
DRIVE-IN PARTY. Two recent festival schlock faves, Psycho Beach Party and The Convent, will screen at the Valley Drive-In. Psycho spoofs Gidget-style beach flicks, while Convent takes its evil cue from Catholic-girls-school exploitation movies. Fri 5/28 at dusk (approx. 9:15pm).
FILMS 4 FAMILIES. Family matinees at Pacific Place run four consecutive Saturdays during SIFF and include Kirikou and the Sorceress on Thu 5/20, The Pink Panther on Thu 5/27, Mr. Rice on Sat 6/3, and Tsatski, Mum and the Policeman (with English subtitles) on Sat 6/10.
SPOTLIGHT ON KID FILMMAKERS. Part of the HBO Pacific Northwest Kid Flicks Festival, aspiring juvenile filmmakers can submit original short films to a jury panel. The winner will receive an Apple iMac computer with iMovie software and have his or her film premiered during the Films 4 Families matinee (then later broadcast on AT&T Cable Services community television and HBO Family's 30 by 30: Kid Flicks) on Sat 6/10.
POSTER AUCTION. A SIFF tradition, auctioning off 80 rare posters from festivals around the world to benefit Cinema Seattle. Consolidated Works, 410 Terry N, on Sat 6/10. Viewing begins at 2pm, bidding at 3:30pm.
