Seattle International Film Festival: Apr 14 - 24

Two full years have elapsed since the region declared a public health emergency and cultural venues shut their doors. This past fall and winter saw a return to regular theatrical programming for the regional independent Seattle cinemas.  After the 2020 edition was cancelled outright, and the 2021 edition shifted to online virtual exhibitions, the Seattle International Film Festival returns to in-person programming for the first time since 2019. Globally it has also been a succession of years wherein festival programmers have either indefinitely postponed their programs, or shifted to online virtual settings. With dropping infection rates, and widely available vaccines, 2022 is the first season in which many festivals have finally opened their programs to in-person settings. The fall, winter, and spring season's most notable festivals, taking place in Locarno, Venice, Rotterdam, Berlin, and last summer's Cannes and Toronto have presented the richness of their spoils in cinemas. These were shared content agendas that once had prominence within SIFF, on occasion even approaching the programming on offer in cities like Chicago and New York. Those times though, are now decades in the past. That said, it's worth noting that this year's festival isn't as painfully omissive as 2011 or 2010 for that matter. We saw a string of years that suggested relief from the lackluster programming described above, which waned a bit in 2012 and expressed a further positive direction in 2013. For the 2014 festival, their 40th Anniversary was celebrated with SIFF's strongest programming in almost a decade, suggesting a renewed vision for the festival. Both 2017 and 2018 also saw a nominal return to the strength of seasons past. Those years marked a trend away from the previously seen glut of middle-ground postmodern contemporary romances and knowingly-clever dramas seemingly conceived for the Sundance and SXSW sects.

One can speculate that this middle road approach to programming, clearly expressed by the programming of the 2015 festival and 2016 after it, has been conceived to entice some imagined Northwest demographic out of their suburban hobbles and inner-city condos. One can't help but consider these factors alongside the changing economic and cultural landscape of Seattle and what may be SIFF's conception of programming that corresponds to these changes. For decades, Seattle International Film Festival existed as a focal point of visionary cinema curatorialship, with the resources, funds and legacy to be a hugely influential institution. Annually, looking to San Francisco and Vancouver, one bears witness to these institutions programming festivals of a caliber that SIFF has seemingly un-learned. Even our neighbors in the relatively rural setting of the Orcas Island Film Festival are more incisive and discriminating in their assembly of a quality festival. Yet there remain a small handful of legitimate, original, well crafted films to be found in here too. Largely culled from the Midnight Adrenaline, WTF, Alternate Cinema, Documentary Films, and Asian Crossroads sections. This year I was able to generate a little more than a dozen films of interest, curiosity or critical gravitas from the full festival program. These run the spectrum from directors of note, archival restorations and new developing artists. A good percentage of the films listed below are simply of interest, rather than what could be considered essential viewing. Nonetheless, I continue to be enthused about their home at the SIFF Cinema Uptown and expanded programming seen since their reopening after the initial pandemic hiatus, on screens at SIFF Cinema Egyptian and the SIFF Film Center.

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Friday, April 15
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1:30 PM - Ursula Meier "The Line"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/the-line-x27389

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Friday, April 15
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6:15 PM - Toshimichi Saito "The Pursuit of Perfection"
AMC Pacific Place 11

https://www.siff.net/festival/the-pursuit-of-perfection

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Saturday, April 16
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12:00 PM - Kaltrina Krasniqi "Vera Dreams of the Sea"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/vera-dreams-of-the-sea

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Saturday, April 16
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7:00 PM - Norbert Pfaffenbichler "2551.01"
SIFF Film Center

https://www.siff.net/festival/255101

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Sunday, April 17
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9:45 PM - Fruit Chan "Coffin Homes"
SIFF Cinema Egyptian

https://www.siff.net/festival/coffin-homes

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Monday, April 18
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6:30 PM - Roger Michell "The Duke"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/the-duke

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Monday, April 18
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9:00 PM - Peter Strickland "Flux Gourmet"
SIFF Cinema Egyptian

https://www.siff.net/festival/flux-gourmet

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Monday, April 18
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9:00 PM - Céline Sciamma "Petite Maman"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/petite-maman

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Tuesday, April 19
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3:00 PM - Nadav Lapid "Ahmed’s Knee"
Ark Lodge Cinemas

https://www.siff.net/festival/aheds-knee

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Tuesday, April 19
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6:30 PM - Panah Panahi "Hit the Road"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/hit-the-road

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Tuesday, April 19
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9:00 PM - Tan Chui Mui "Barbarian Invasion"
AMC Pacific Place 11

https://www.siff.net/festival/barbarian-invasion

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Wednesday, April 20
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6:30 PM - Masaaki Yuasa "Inu-Oh"
SIFF Cinema Egyptian

https://www.siff.net/festival/inu-oh

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Wednesday, April 20
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9:30 PM - Kornél Mundruczó "Evolution"
AMC Pacific Place 11

https://www.siff.net/festival/evolution

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Thursday, April 21
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1:15 PM - Fabrice du Welz "Inexorable"
SIFF Cinema Egyptian

https://www.siff.net/festival/inexorable

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Thursday, April 21
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1:30 PM - Hong Sang-soo "In Front of Your Face"
AMC Pacific Place 11

https://www.siff.net/festival/in-front-of-your-face

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Thursday, April 21
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3:45 PM - François Ozon "Everything Went Fine"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/everything-went-fine

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Friday, April 22
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1:00 PM - Zhang Yimou "One Second"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/one-second

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Friday, April 22
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9:00 PM - Emmanuel Carrère "Between Two Worlds"
SIFF Cinema Uptown

https://www.siff.net/festival/between-two-worlds

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Saturday, April 23
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8:30 PM - C.B. Yi "Moneyboys"
AMC Pacific Place 11

https://www.siff.net/festival/moneyboys