Seattle International Film Festival (1 Viewer)

[Aaron Schmitt]

Anyone planning on going to any of the films at this year's SIFF? I was just briefly glancing through the film list, and found 4 films I'd like to see:
Princess Blade (Donnie Yen directed action sequences)
Pistol Opera (Seijun Suzuki)
Men With Brooms
Happy Times (Zhang Yimou)
I'm debating whether or not to grab a cinematic 6-pack (6 tickets, you can see 6 different films or 3 with 2 tickets each for just $42), but I'm not sure if there are 2 other movies I want to see (or if I can even afford to get tix right now anyway). Any recommendations from anyone willing to dig through the film list? What else is anyone excited to see this year?
Aaron

 

[Jordan_E]

There just isn't anything that jumps out at me this year, although I only glanced at the line-up. What happened to things like the Mel Gibson-appearing BRAVEHEART premiere? John Sayles is cool, but isn't enough to get me out there.

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

The Seattle festival tends to be more International and Indie oriented. They've had a few big premiers there in the past, but it almost seems like they don't want the big name, big budget premiers there. Who knows why, though. Big name exposure to draw more crowds might actually help out the lesser known films they tend to show.

Aaron

 

[Steve Enemark]

I'll be there for about 20-25 films. About half of which are vintage, or the "secret festival". Maybe I'll see you in line!

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

Knowing there's a Zhang Yimou film shown really makes my mouth water. But, I'll just have to resign myself to wishful thinking.

Bruce

 

[Jordan_E]

I'm leaning toward seeing the 70's era showings. What happened to the "Secret Showings?" Or did I miss it in the paper?

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

Jordan: they have 4 secret showings set up, one each week I believe, and you don't know what it is until you are in the theater. If you go to the SIFF website, Check the Ticket Info section, and there's info about the sectret showings there.
Steve, have you been to the secret showings before? What are they like? What sort of films do they tend to show?
Aaron

 

[Steve Enemark]

Steve, have you been to the secret showings before? What are they like? What sort of films do they tend to show?

I'd tell you, but it's a secret! Seriously, I've only been to one, and it was a mainstream blockbuster, shown about a month before its release date. Awesome! However, I'm told that's not normal, usually they show more obscure stuff that has no distributor.

 

[Ross Williams]

This is my favorite part of the year. I went to about 40 films last year, I'm gonna try to beat that this year. I've got a pass, which makes it really easy to see films. There's a bunch I'm looking forward to, but the ones I want to see the most are:

CQ

Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

Pumpkin

Tadpole

Uzumaki: Spiral into Horror

Versus

The secret fest is great. Last year I saw a world premier , a "lost" film by a famous director, and two films that got play at other festivals that couldn't get official play at SIFF.

Let's keep this thread going, with what we each see and a small review. Word of mouth is the best way to find stuff.

 

[Aaron Schmitt]

Ross: thanks for posting about your experience with the Secret fest. I was hoping that the newest Miyazaki movie would be in the mix somehow, maybe it will be one of the secrets, who knows though. I'm tempted to pick up a pass for the secret fest now too.

Aaron

 

[Steve Enemark]

Good luck, they're probably sold out by now.

 

[Ross Williams]

So far I've seen; Soft for Digging, an interesting/boring super low budget "horror" film. With hardly any dialogue, the film follows an old man who observes some weird occurances.
CQ, Roman Coppola directs a fun film, starring Jeremy Davies as an editor who's gotten the chance to direct a "Barbarella" type sci-fi film.
Cherish, a weird romantic comedy about a girl who gets "framed" for killing a cop and her relationship with the officer who controls her under house arrest. Genres galore are explored in this one.
Versus, a Japanese, kung-fu, yakuza, zombie flick with some great action sequences and wonderful photography. A kung-fu version of Evil Dead.
Secret Fest #1 - Can't say anything.
Savage Souls, a French, period piece about the life of a poor young woman. Very slow and plodding. Only saw it cause it stars Laetitia Casta, and I'm obsessed with her.

 

[JohnAD]

I wish I could go this year, especially for Versus and Pistol Opera, but since I'm ordering a region-free DVD player on Friday, that sucked up my film budget :frowning:.
At least they're out on DVD in R2.
John.