The curtain rises at the 51st Annual Seattle International Film Festival on Thursday, May 15th! Join us as we review the programming, events, and what we’re excited to see!
May is my favorite time of the year in beautiful Seattle, Washington. The first weekend of the month finds Crypticon Seattle, an awesome horror convention with panels, guests, and a film festival. I’m biased, as I sit on those panels and help program the film festival. If you’re a genre lover in the Pacific Northwest, come check us out.
But then, we pivot from the stress of planning a film festival to sitting back and enjoying another! Where the only stress is choosing from a veritable bounty of features and shorts! As it’s the largest public-facing film festival, I’ve attended the Seattle International Film Festival for as long as I’ve lived in the area, and it’s always an amazing selection.
The 51st Seattle International Film Festival, or SIFF, runs from May 15th through 25th for in-person screenings at 5 recurring locations (SIFF’s year-round theatres and AMC Pacific Place) and one screening at STG’s Paramount live theatre and concert venue), and May 26th through June 1st for a select group of encore streaming availabilities. Within those 11 days of cinematic adventures (plus a few continuing into streaming), SIFF is presenting 245 films from over 70 countries and regions! Of those, 83 are narrative feature films, 35 documentaries, 3 archival features, 2 secret films, and 122 shorts (via 14 package events).
No matter what one looks for in genre, type, origin, or themes, SIFF has everything needed. For ease of planning, SIFF has built eleven film programs. Four highlight specific areas of the world: African Pictures, Asian Crossroads, Ibero-American Cinema, and the locally themed Northwest Connections. Native people around the world are amplified in cINeDIGNEOUS. Let the music of cinema dance your soul with the Face the Music selections. New American Cinema brings out new voices and perspectives, as does FutureWave, where all the films are focused on younger viewers. For younger and older film lovers watching together, Films4Familes presents three family-friendly titles. Finally, my favorites: WTF: Wild, Terrifying, Fantastic! highlighting the strangest corner of the fest and Alternate Cinema, delving into experimental film.
This year’s archival films are The Dark Crystal with a new soundtrack by DJ Nicfit, The Glass Web, a 1958 Jack Arnold-directed noir in 3D, and the once-lost camp of Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers, courtesy of AGFA.
Check out the full festival at siff.net/festival for your perusal, more up-to-date info (including filmmakers in attendance), screening times, etc.
Just because you’re not in Seattle, you might be able to watch many of the films. The streaming portion is generally accessible for all, although some may be limited to Washington residents. Check the individual listings for more.
It’s a lot of film and not a lot of time. Especially since I’m the only Cinema Crazed reviewer to “Escape To The Reel World,” to use the festival’s tagline, I must be selective. As much as I appreciate the skills and stories of many festival films, my interests, and those of this publication, lie in the horror, the strange, and the weird. Thus, my highlights are mostly focused in this direction. This, of course, is not to discount any of the hard work elsewhere in the fest. I’ll likely watch many of the other films when and if they become available later.
To keep focused, here are the top ten films I’m most interested in seeking out during the festival. But expect reviews for these and other films as the festival rolls out.
Good Boy (d. Ben Leonberg)
Just what is your dog looking at when staring at nothing in the kitchen? Ghosts, of course! The family dog fends off dark forces in a horror film from the dog’s perspective. It’s been making the rounds, premiering at SXSW in March, and has been one of my most anticipated films of the year. I’m beyond excited to see it with a crowd at SIFF (Last year, Oddity in a full crowd was a favorite theatrical experience). BTW, it has Larry Fessenden! Hell yes.
Chain Reactions (d. Alexander O. Phillipe)
The director of fascinating film documentaries 78/52 (about Psycho’s shower scene) and Lynch/Oz, turns his eye, sans /, at 1974’s Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Gathering horror and culture icons, he explores the impact of the seminal film. THE SAW IS FAMILY!
Dead Lover (d. Grace Glowicki)
Glowicki, director of the strange and entrancing Strawberry Mansion) writes, directs, and stars in this gender-bending Frankenstein riff. A lonely gravedigger meets the man of her dreams. When he drowns, she goes to extreme lengths to get him back. Looks beautifully bizarre! Dead Lover won the SXSW NEON Auteur Award.
Slanted (d. Amy Wang)
A presenter at the press event described Slanted as “The Substance, junior edition.” As The Substance was my number one last year, that is more than enough to pique my interest. The winner of the SXSW Grand Jury is about a Chinese-American teen who, like Elizabeth Sparkle, goes through a medical experiment to change how she looks. For Joan Huang, she becomes Caucasian and deals with the consequences.
Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass (d. Stephen Quay; Timothy Quay)
I’m a fan of the Quay Brothers. Their unique form of filmmaking is always striking. Their films feel from another, ghostly world as they combine striking stop-motion and selected live action into surreal tableaus. Inspired by Polish writer Bruno Schultz, Sanatorium follows a man seeking his father at a sanatorium that might exist on a different plane of reality.
New Jack Fury (d. Lanfia Wal)
An over-the-top 80s throwback action-comedy. A cop loses his job (turn in your badge and gun! I’m sure a grizzled sergeant yells) and his girlfriend is kidnapped, forcing him to connect with a pair of criminals to take down a crime syndicate. This looks like a ton of fun in an anything-goes send-up of cheap but aiming-high cheesy action flicks of a bygone era.
Balconettes (d. Noemie Merlant)
The star of A Portrait of a Lady on Fire also writes and stars in her second directorial feature film. On the seaside of Marseille, three roommates are dealing with a heatwave and complications of toxic masculinity in the darkly comic Balconettes. The sweaty tale looks like a wild ride of a feminist bend on twisty thrillers.
By Design (d. Amanda Kramer)
Art, fetish, and obsession collide in a strange, surreal story of a woman (Juliette Lewis) whose soul is transferred into a chair obsessed with by many, including Udo Kier! By Design has the vibe of a performance art via Wes Anderson. I’m looking forward to also seeing Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney!
Cat Town, USA (d. Jonathan Napolitano)
Changing gears from the odd and wild, Cat Town, USA, is a softer weird. I love niche documentaries, looking at different slices not usually covered. Of course, personal harrowing explorations of the effects are war are incredibly important (and present across the festival). But for me? Give me a dig into an unexpected subject. A few years ago, SIFF showed Catwalk, a film of the cat show circuit, a real-life Best in Show of oddity. Cat Town, USA, expanded from a short that played before Catwalk, is an intimate look at a couple taking in elderly cats on their sprawling property. I’m a cat lover, and will gladly have a feel-good experience of cats living their best lives.
Four Mothers (d. Darren Thornton).
The opening film of the festival. The director of A Date For Mad Mary (an excellent film that played at the 2017 festival) returns to SIFF with a sweet, comic look at mothers and sons. A gay YA novelist is about to have his big American break while caring for his stroke-addled mother. This complicated set-up is heightened when three friends leave their mothers with him to take off to Pride for a few days. (Side note: the Closing Night is Sorry, Baby, directed by Eva Victor, a drama exploring the ripples of trauma in a non-linear story. Currently, it’s the top-rated film on Metacritic.)
It’s hard to write about only 10 of the dozens I have my eye on. It’s tempting to keep going with everything I want to see. When you look, you’ll see your selection of choices. Luckily, the website for the festival breaks down into genres, styles, themes, and programmer picks to find your festival.
Keep checking back for Cinema Crazed’s coverage of Seattle International Film Festival!
Hey Bob! Happy to leave you a ticket to the side for Cat Town, USA this week! Just let me know! Appreciate the nod.
Thanks for offer! I am unable to attend either of the in-person shows but did watch a screener. My very positive review will be posted in a few day, loved the film!
Appreciate the love Bob! Means a lot. Maybe I’ll catch you at SIFF in 2026!