34th Seattle International Film Festival (2008)

Millions of images

Thousands of films

Hundreds of festivals

Thirteen Oscar® nominees

Four Oscar® winners

One amazing source

You can’t see us, but we’re in every frame

WHO

Greetings from the Governor

May 22 – June 15, 2008

I am delighted to welcome you to the 34th Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF).

At 25 days, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest American film festival and offers over 400 feature films and shorts from more than 60 countries. Attracting many visitors from around the world, attendance continues to reach unprecedented numbers, with last year’s audience exceeding 160,000 people.

I congratulate SIFF on the growth and success of SIFF Cinema, its new state-of-the-art theater in McCaw Hall, which provides a year-round screening facility at Seattle Center. This exciting partnership between the City of Seattle and SIFF is catalyzing Seattle Center into a hub for the arts.

Festival organizers and volunteers have worked hard to bring this annual cross-cultural event to the people of the Pacific Northwest, as well as to our visitors. This celebration of the international language of film can only serve to enlighten us all and enhance the diversity of our people.

Thank you all for being a part of this year’s Festival, and please accept my best wishes for a successful event.

Sincerely,

Christine O. Gregoire Governor of Washington

Greetings from the Mayor

Greetings!

It is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). The City of Seattle is proud to sponsor this provocative and multi-faceted celebration of film.

Fans and filmmakers come from all over the world to discover this vast and diverse array of cinematic achievement. As one of the most important film festivals in the country, SIFF gives us all a chance to mingle with filmmakers, talk with other movie lovers, and to participate in discussions hosted by luminaries from the world of cinema. I encourage all of you to spend the next 25 days taking advantage of the more than 400 feature films and shorts, dozens of professional development opportunities, and film-related activities.

Our city has long enjoyed a reputation as being a lighthouse for lovers of film, a reputation largely inspired by this Festival’s 34 years of excellent programming. I commend the many organizers, volunteers, staff, filmmakers, and sponsors who have worked so hard to bring our city together and the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival to fruition.

Sincerely,

Greg Nickels Mayor of Seattle

T HE O LYMPICS HAVE THEM . P ROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS HAVE THEM . W HY NOT AN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ?

INTRODUCING

SIFFY!

A Pan-Racial, Gender-Amalgam, Trans-Lingual, Festival Mascot/Spokesplushie.

BERET

Worn backward to say, “I’m pretentious but surprisingly approachable.”

FLASCOT Fleece neckware. The way the Northwest says “classy” .

THE DUALITY OF MASCOT IRONY

BARE BONES

A nod to independent production budgets.

GRATUITOUS PAN

DELICIOUSLY TIGHT BATHING BRIEFS

A tribute to the grand tradition of European cinema.

CONFUSINGLY ABRUPT ENDING

MONOCULAR VISION

Shows the simplicity and ease of the 2-D imagery of lm. Also makes pirates feel less alienated.

TRANS-ETHNIC MUSTACHE

Middle-Eastern theocrat or Italian widow? You decide!

EPIRANTO®

The nonspeci c universal skin tone. A head-scratcher for even the most impassioned bigots.

TRUE COMPLEXION

A tip o’ the cap to the bravery of Verité.

ENNUI

BLACKENED HEART

The universal symbol of the artist’s perpetual disappointment with the state of the human condition. And also it’s from smoking.

CIRRHOSIS

The unfortunate byproduct of choosing “edgy” substance-abuse roles.

SOCKS AND PERFORATED PLASTIC FOOTWEAR

Exempli es the majesty of nonsense, whimsy and absurdity. Also shows that some fashions aren’t just for toddlers and male nurses.

PAN-SEXUAL POLYLOINS™

CORNSTARCH-BASED, SEVENTH-GENERATION PLASTIC WASTE COLLECTION BAG

Self-composting, a Seattle tradition.

EDISON, GRAHAM BELL, RUBIK, WONGDOODY. That’s the thing about genius. When an idea changes the world, the name stays with you. An ad agency creating a mascot? Sure, it sounds like just the kind of “out of the box” thinking you’d expect from creative revolutionaries. “I don’t get it,” you say? Well, Mr. Average Joe, what does it say on YOUR business card? Clearly not Rocket Surgeon. Call us when you can do better.

MULTIPLE TONGUES

A tongue for every language of the festival. Even French.

Welcome to the Festival

Thirty-four years have passed since the Seattle International Film Festival sprang to life as one of only a handful of film festivals in existence. What began as a two week, 18 film line-up at the Egyptian-Moore Theatre has evolved into the largest event of its kind in our nation: an internationally recognized 25-day cultural celebration encompassing 247 features and more than 150 shorts from more than 60 countries. Seventy percent of the films presented this year are currently without U.S. distribution and almost half of the features in the program are from first- or second-time directors. Numbers, of course, tell only part of the story.

From our Opening Night Gala strongly rooted in the fabric of our great city, to our stellar Closing Night love letter to the California wine country, there are a number of star-studded attractions including a special tribute to Sir Ben Kingsley who appears in no less than four films at SIFF.

Adding to this excitement, we continue to showcase extraordinary films almost every day of the year in our own state-of-the-art venue with the creation of SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall. Lastly, I’m excited that we will be at the Cinerama for the entire closing weekend of the Festival thanks to the generosity of Paul Allen.

This is just a taste of the many films, events, and experiences unfolding at the 34th edition of what Variety recently called one of the world’s “un-missable” film festivals. I hope you can join us for an extraordinarily vibrant and highly entertaining 25 days!

Carl Spence

SIFF Artistic Director

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 34th annual Seattle International Film Festival. SIFF staff and volunteers have spent countless hours viewing and booking films, arranging for those films to get to Seattle, coordinating filmmakers’ travel, setting up the venues, creating this catalogue you are reading right now…even popping the popcorn! We are ready to invite more than 160,000 attendees to join us for the next 25 days as we discover extraordinary films from around the world.

However, SIFF is much more than the films themselves. It’s about the unique experiences the Festival has to offer and the fact that we all get to share these experiences together. There are now a myriad of ways people can view films, and most of us can do this quite comfortably in our own homes. So why do SIFF’s audiences continue to grow from year to year? Of course, the films are excellent and many of them might not be able to be seen any other way, but I believe we come out in record numbers year after year because we recognize that there is something uplifting and inspiring about making these discoveries together, as a community.

Whether you choose to see one film or 100, I wish you all a fabulous Festival. Enjoy the films, and enjoy experiencing them with each other!

Deborah Person SIFF Managing Director

Message from the Board

Welcome to the 2008

Seattle International Film Festival

On behalf of the Board of Directors and our Festival staff I’d like to thank our sponsors, filmmakers, volunteers, and especially our audiences for making the Seattle International Film Festival what it is.

Now in its 34th year, SIFF spotlights the best in the world of cinema and I’m sure you’re going to enjoy this smorgasbord of motion pictures. From international masterpieces to local works of genius, SIFF continues to take the lead in introducing American audiences to preeminent artistic lights. With tons of special events, film series, supporter screenings, discussion groups, and celebrity appearances, SIFF’s year-round programming is richer and more diverse than ever.

This event has had a profound influence on Seattle culture and I, for one, am truly proud and humbled to be a part of it.

Best wishes to everyone for a great Festival.

Sincerely,

Richard Fassio President, SIFF Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Rich Fassio

President

Sharon Conner

Vice President

Ben Margoles

Vice President

Craig Friedson

Secretary

Gary Grina

Treasurer

Kraig L. Marini Baker

John W. Comerford

Chris Gorley

Scott Lipsky

Darryl Macdonald, Co-Founder of SIFF

Mary Metastasio

Charlie Nordstrom

Bill Predmore

Lance Rosen

Keith Simanton

Carl Tostevin

Sara Woolsey

Meli Solomon

Board Intern

Board Emeritii

Dan Ireland

Co-Founder of SIFF

Deborah Person

Tom Skerritt

Rick Stevenson

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.

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New

10th and Pike Street on Capitol Hill

Turning possibilities into results.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management salutes those who make a difference in the communities where we live and work.

We are proud to sponsor the Seattle International Film Festival.

USA

2007

Director: Stuart Townsend

Producers: Mary Aloe

Kirk Shaw

Maxime Remillard

Screenwriter:

Stuart Townsend

Cinematographer: Barry Ackroyd

Editor: Fernando Villena

Music: One Point Six Ltd.

Cast: Andre Benjamin

Jennifer Carpenter

Isaach De Bankolé

Woody Harrelson

Martin Henderson

Joshua Jackson

Ray Liotta

Connie Nielsen

Michelle Rodriguez

Rade Sherbedzija

Channing Tatum

Charlize Theron

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales: Hyde Park Entertainment

Print Source: Redwood Palms Pictures

Film Website: www.battleinseattlemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Opening Night Gala Battle in Seattle

THURSDAY MAY 22 7:00 PM MCCAW HALL

We are very proud to have as our Opening Night presentation this star-studded rendering of that brief moment in time when the spotlight of world media attention was firmly fixed on our fair city. In his directorial debut, Irish actor Stuart Townsend brilliantly portrays one of the most shocking events in recent U.S. history. The film grafts a gripping fictional narrative onto the known facts of the World Trade Organization riots in 1999, when a non-violent protest about the erosion of civil liberties due to global economic forces turned sour, resulting in detentions, curfews, and decisions made at the highest level. The skillfully handled multiple storylines include a doctor pleading for the lives of third-world AIDS victims in the face of uncaring bankers and politicians inside the convention center, while outside a team of activists outfoxes the police and blockades the streets, and an irresponsible media cries wolf by focusing on a handful of anarchists in order to depict a city descending into chaos. Ray Liotta gives a career-best performance as Mayor Jim Tobin, caught like a deer in the headlights as his world starts to unravel, struggling with the appropriate application of law and order in this unparalleled situation. Also outstanding in the stellar cast are Woody Harrelson as Dale, a disillusioned SWAT team member who misdirects his anger at peaceful protestors, and Charlize Theron, heartbreaking as Ella, his pregnant wife who gets swept up in a wave of panicked police brutality. Townsend keeps the pace swift, nimbly balancing scenes of high-octane TV reporting with moments of tender drama. While his heartfelt and provocative film’s sympathies clearly lie with the protestors, the film tellingly revisits issues that have not received such concentrated attention since those few days in Seattle—just one of the many reasons for which the film deserves to be widely seen.

Closing Night Bottle Shock

SATURDAY JUNE 14 6:30 PM CINERAMA

USA

2008

Director:

Randall Miller

Producers: Jody Savin

Randall Miller

Brenda Lhormer

Marc Lhormer

J. Todd Harris

Marc Toberoff

Screenwriters: Jody Savin

Randall Miller

Ross Schwartz

Cinematographer:

Michael J. Ozier

Editors:

Randall Miller

Dan O’Brien

Music:

Mark Adler

Cast:

Alan Rickman

Bill Pullman

Eliza Dushku

Chris Pine

Rachael Taylor

Freddy Rodriguez

Dennis Farina

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Voltage Pictures

Print Source: Freestyle Releasing

Film Website: www.bottleshockthemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Nobel Son (2007)

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005)

Against the backdrop of the turbulent 1970s, and in the shadow of the French who had dominated the world’s viticulture and viniculture for centuries, Bottle Shock is director Randall Miller’s affectionate and beautifully crafted cinematic love letter to California’s wine country. The film chronicles the events leading up to the famous Paris Tastings of 1976, wherein the not-yet-famous Napa wines bested the exalted French wines in a blind tasting and put California wines on the map for good. The story is told through the lives of father and son, Jim (Bill Pullman) and Bo Barrett (Chris Pine), who founded Chateau Montelena in the early 1970s and whose Chardonnay went on to win what was eventually coined the “Judgment of Paris.” Jim Barrett is emblematic of the California vintners’ spirit—mavericks who had come to Napa on a quest to make world-class wines. Bottle Shock is many things: the story of Steve Spurrier (Alan Rickman), an unwitting British wine shop owner in Paris whose publicity stunt set the stage for a paradigm shift in the wine world; a father and son story as Jim and Bo overcome their differences to save Chateau Montelena from creditors; a young beautiful university student (Rachael Taylor) who came to learn the wine business first-hand; and the story of a young, Hispanic vintner (Freddy Rodriguez) just branching out on his own. A twist of fate along a dusty road brings the floundering vintners and the struggling shop owner together, changing both their lives—and the wine industry—forever. Beautifully acted by the ensemble cast and intelligently filled with humor and heart, Bottle Shock perfectly captures the time and place of an irresistible underdog tale that just happens to be true.

Centerpiece Gala The Great Buck Howard

USA 2008

Director:

Sean McGinly

Producers:

Tom Hanks

Gary Goetzman

Screenwriter:

Sean McGinly

Cinematographer:

Tak Fujimoto

Editor:

Myron I. Kerstein

Music:

Blake Neely

Cast:

Colin Hanks

Tom Hanks

John Malkovich

Emily Blunt

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Summit International

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography: Two days (2003)

The Truth About Juliet (2002)

FRIDAY JUNE 6 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Sean McGinly’s The Great Buck Howard is a sweet, funny, and warm-hearted comedy that perfectly captures the often-fickle relationship between entertainer and audience. With rent to pay, recent law school drop-out Troy (Colin Hanks) lucks into a job as a personal assistant to psychic Buck Howard (John Malkovich in a performance not seen since Peter O’Toole in My Favorite Year), whose billing was bestowed on him by Johnny Carson 40 years ago, and who has clung to it ever since. This career departure doesn’t impress Troy’s dad (an inspired cameo by Hanks’ father, Tom), but in the small town theatres that are now his domain, The Great Buck Howard still insists on carrying himself like a star, and Troy slips easily into the role of all-purpose flunky. Buck’s set consists of corny catchphrases, hypnosis, and card tricks, with a sentimental interlude at the piano, a tribute to his former dear friend, George “Sulu” Takei. While Buck surprisingly wins over the mostly small-town audiences to entertaining effect, Troy can never figure out how his boss pulls off his signature stunt: at the end of each show he asks the audience to hide his fee somewhere in the auditorium. He never fails to find the money. Dwindling stardom leaves Buck forever scrounging for a new comeback scheme. With the help of a sexy, no-nonsense publicist (played wonderfully by Emily Blunt), Troy hopes to bring a little bit of the spotlight back into Buck Howard’s life. Suffice to say that very little goes according to plan. A stellar supporting cast including Steve Zahn, Ricky Jay, and Adam Scott joyfully add a great deal of charm, wit, and character to the proceedings. ENCORE SCREENING SUNDAY JUNE 8 11:00 AM UPTOWN CINEMAS

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Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting Sir Ben Kingsley

SUNDAY MAY 25 2:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Seemingly emerging out of the blue with a brilliant Academy Award-winning performance in the title role of Richard Attenborough’s classic bio-epic Gandhi, Ben Kingsley had actually been honing his acting skills for almost two decades when the film became the cinematic phenomenon of 1982. Kingsley began his career with a small role on the long-running British soap opera Coronation Street in 1966. He was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967, and made his film debut in Fear is the Key in 1972 His versatile good looks, talent, and Indian and Russian/Jewish heritage made him a casting agent’s dream from the start, earning him a career to be envied, portraying a variety of characters on stage and television. His turn as the Mahatma in Attenborough’s Gandhi caused audiences and critics worldwide to stand up and take notice of this supremely talented Brit, and earned him a slew of major awards in the process, including an Oscar, a BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe for Best Actor. He followed that triumph with a brilliant performance as an altogether different character— the cuckolded, contemporary husband in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, firmly establishing himself as an actor with a range as vast as his talent. Since that time, he has brought to life an assortment of richly nuanced, wildly varied characters as disparate as an Arab prince, a mad scientist, a deposed Iranian colonel seeking a new life in the U.S., the well-known Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as cinematic portrayals of real-life luminaries Itzhak Stern, Dmitri Shostakovich, and Simon Wiesenthal. In 2000, Kingsley was recognized in his native country by HM Queen Elizabeth II, who named him a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and knighted him the next year as part of the 2001 New Year’s Honors. His talents continue to impress, and audiences can look forward to eight new features in the coming year featuring his outstanding performances, three of which—Transsiberian, The Wackness, and Elegy—are having their Seattle premieres at SIFF, as well as a screening of his Academy Award-nominated 2001 performance in Sexy Beast. From an audience perspective, we can always look to Sir Ben Kingsley to transport and inspire us, to provide the moral core of a film, or—when he plays an unconventional antagonist—to provoke and transfix us, sometimes to astonishingly scary effect.

Whichever guise Sir Ben Kingsley’s characters take on in his multi-faceted, hugely accomplished body of work, you can count on a performance of such understated force and emotional truth that few actors can equal him on the basis of sheer, unbridled talent. We are honored to have the opportunity to salute him with this richly deserved tribute.

Filmography:

Gambit (2009)

Shutter Island (2009)

Number 13 (2008)

Will (2009)

Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008)

Elegy (2008)

War, Inc. (2008)

The Love Guru (2008)

Transsiberian (2008)

The Wackness (2008)

You Kill Me (2007)

The Last Legion (2007)

The Ten Commandments (2007)

Bloodrayne (2006)

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Oliver Twist (2005)

A Sound of Thunder (2005)

Parting Shots (2004)

Suspect Zero (2004)

Thunderbirds (2004)

Unlikely Heroes (2004)

House of Sand and Fog (2003)

Tuck Everlasting (2002)

The Triumph of Love (2002)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001)

Sexy Beast (2001)

Rules of Engagement (2000)

What Planet Are You From? (2000)

Alice In Wonderland (1999)

Crime and Punishment (1999)

Parting Shots (1999)

A Force More Powerful (1999)

The Confession (1999)

Photographing Fairies (1998)

Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997)

The Assignment (1997)

Twelfth Night (1996)

Species (1995)

Death and the Maiden (1994)

Liberation (1994)

Dave (1993)

Schindler’s List (1993)

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)

Freddie as F.R.O.7 (1992)

Sneakers (1992)

Bugsy (1991)

L’ Amour Necessaire (1991)

Romeo-Juliet (1990)

Una Vita Scellerata (1990)

The Children (1990)

The Fifth Monkey (1990)

Murderers Among Us –

The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989)

Slipstream (1989)

Pascali’s Island (1988)

Testimony (1988)

Without A Clue (1988)

Maurice (1987)

Turtle Diary (1986)

Harem (1985)

Sleeps Six (1984)

Betrayal (1983)

Gandhi (1982)

Fear is the Key (1972)

Elegy

North American Premiere

SUNDAY MAY 25 2:00 PM

Sexy Beast

EGYPTIAN THEATRESUNDAY MAY 25 6:00 PM

Based on Philip Roth’s novella “The Dying Animal,” Elegy is illuminated by a performance of mesmerizing energy from Sir Ben Kingsley that arguably tops even his electric turn as the foul-mouthed hood Don Logan in Sexy Beast. Professor David Kepesh (Kingsley) is an aging baby-boomer who teaches literary criticism and makes a regular habit of sleeping with his students. He considers himself free of the entanglements of romance until the shy, beautiful Consuela (Penelope Cruz) captures his attention. Suddenly, it is the playboy teacher who finds himself being taught a lesson in jealousy. He takes to stalking Consuela when they are apart. Though he offers her no real future, he becomes obsessed with the idea that she will leave him for another man. Despite his urbane exterior, he fears the inevitable decline of age and begins to see the affair as one of his last ties to youth. “Stop worrying about growing old,” his friend George (Dennis Hopper, a marvelous foil for Kingsley) advises, “and think about growing up.” The acting chops are excellent all round, with Peter Sarsgaard as David’s estranged and disapproving son Kenny, hypocritically clinging to a marriage that is long past dead, and Patricia Clarkson, surfacing regularly as David’s sophisticated long-time mistress. But it is the central coupling (pun intended) of Kingsley and Cruz, well-matched despite the age disparity, who carry director Isabel Coixet’s splendid adaption of Roth’s tale of intimations of mortality.

USA

2007

Director:

Isabel Coixet

Screenwriter:

Nicholas Meyer based on the novel by Philip Roth

Cinematographer: Jean-Claude Larrieu

Editor: Amy E. Duddleston

Music: Isabel Coixet

Cast: Sir Ben Kingsley

Penelope Cruz

Dennis Hopper

Patricia Clarkson

Peter Sarsgaard

Deborah Harry

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Print Source:

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Selected Filmography:

The Secret Life of Words (2005)

My Life Without Me (2003)

Those Who Love (1998)

Things I Never Told You (1996)

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Jonathan Glazer’s 2000 directorial debut breathed new life into the British caper movie with this energetic mixture of great direction and vibrant performances, particularly Sir Ben Kingsley cast against type as the volatile psychopath Don Logan. The essential elements of the caper genre are all included: sharp dialogue, sexual intrigue, and dark humor, but it is the superb acting that electrifies the film. Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) was a successful criminal who used his accumulated loot to sweep his adult-film star wife Deedee away to a sunny retirement on the Spanish coast. That is, until Don Logan arrives. Don wants Gal to help him with one more heist and no one says “no” to Don Logan. Gal is quite content to stay where he is and leave the criminal life to the younger generation but he is at a distinct disadvantage in this test of wills. The gangland boss, Teddy Bass (Ian McShane) has instructed Don that returning to London without Gal is not an option. The debate is one of several abusive seductions using fear, money, power, and of course, sex. Soon the team is assembled in London where Teddy has been posing as the lover of a man who owns a bank and plans to drill into the safe-deposit vault from the Turkish bath next door. Tension hits a boiling point as this mix of violence, romance, and comedy plays out in a story that is as funny as it is terrifying.

Awards:

Nominated Academy Award 2002 (Best Supporting Actor)

Nominated Golden Globe Award 2002 (Best Supporting Actor)

Boston Society of Film Critics 2001 (Best Supporting Actor)

British Independent Film Awards 2001 (Best Actor, Film, Director, Screenplay)

European Film Awards 2001 (Best Actor)

United Kingdom/ Spain 2000

Director:

Jonathan Glazer

Producer:

Jeremy Thomas

Screenwriters:

Louis Mellis

David Scinto

Cinematographer:

Ivan Bird

Editors:

John Scott

Sam Sneade

Music:

Roque Baños

Cast:

Sir Ben Kingsley

Ray Winstone

Ian McShane

Amanda Redman

Running Time:

89 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Twentieth Century Fox

Selected Filmography: Birth (2004)

Because of your support:

SIFF produces the largest film festival in the US: 25 days; 165,000 attendees; 426 feature films and shorts from 63 countries; 47 World, 39 North American, and 20 US Premieres (in 2007)

Secret Festival

Long ago that irascible French scamp François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire) said that the secret of being a bore is to tell everything. Harry Potter had his Chamber of Secrets. Nicolas Cage had his Book of Secrets and SIFF has the Secret Festival. Never heard of it? That’s because it’s a….a….work with us here.

That’s right, it’s a secret!

How do we keep such a major event secret? How do its mysteries remain unplumbed by the uncouth philistine, the unworthy barbarian, the profane? Because only members of our innermost circle, our clandestine Society of the Secret Festival may attend these off-the-record screenings. Society members must sign the dreaded Oath of Silence—in the vernacular that’s a… promise to keep your yap shut…forever!

Legend has it that Benjamin Franklin was initiated into the secret society of Freemasons by Voltaire and these great friends would have surely come to the SIFF Secret Festival if, you know, film had been invented or if they had like a time machine or something. And had they attended, they might have even brought their buddy King Louis XIV. Why don’t we have historical records of the three of them being such great friends? Well, Benjamin Franklin said that three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. And that’s just what happened, Louis blabbed and just look at what happened to him: Whack. Thump. Thump. Thump.

To get into the Secret Festival Society doesn’t require royal or presidential connections, just $53 simoleons ($43 for SIFF Supporters). Membership has its privileges, specifically it entitles the holder of the pass to attend all four 2008 Secret Festival Sunday morning screenings at the Egyptian Theatre. Each person will be required to sign the OATH OF SILENCE. Yes, it’s worth writing in caps, the OATH OF SILENCE!

What might you see? It could be a new film, just waiting to be released, or a rarely seen archival film. It could be a one-of-a-kind print recovered from a subterranean vault where it was guarded by a cryptic series of traps, each more diabolic than the last.

It could be a foreign language masterpiece, smuggled out of a remote country in pieces by being hidden inside the glass eyes of a caravan of one-eyed circus clowns, and then reassembled on an off-shore drilling platform by nimble-fingered grey aliens who’re being held captive by the CIA. You just never know. That is, unless you’re in on the secret.

Special Presentation Seattle Arts & Lectures and SIFF present: John Waters

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:30 PM

BENAROYA HALL

Selected Filmography:

Writer/Director

Fruitcake (in production) (2008)

A Dirty Shame (2004)

Cecil B. DeMented (2000)

Pecker (1998)

Serial Mom (1994)

Cry-Baby (1990)

Hairspray (1998)

Polyester (1981)

Desperate Living (1977)

Female Trouble (1974)

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Multiple Maniacs (1970)

The Diane Linkletter Story (1969)

Mondo Trasho (1969)

Eat Your Makeup (1968)

Roman Candles (1966)

Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (1964)

Writer

Hairspray (also executive producer) (2007)

This Filthy World (2006)

T“John Waters is the Pope of Trash.”

–William Burroughs

he films of cultural juvenile delinquent John Waters see beauty and truth in trailer-trash junkscapes and the outrageous, disgusting doings of polite society’s outcasts. From his earliest movie, Hag in a Black Leather Jacket (1964), to Pink Flamingos (1972) to Fruitcake (currently in production), his work has been driven by an us-versus-them, hip-versus-square dynamic in which being bad is good, and the minority outsiders who embrace their “neuroses and obsessions” are the cool ones who emerge as winners. He envisioned his cross-dressing neighbor Glenn Milstead as Divine, high priestess of his trash aesthetic and female archetype of Waters’ cinematic universe. Mainstream Hollywood eventually recognized the sophisticated irony of his vision and funded more ambitious projects like the film Hairspray (1988), which became an award-winning Broadway hit. Waters lives to shock, and proved it in A Dirty Shame (2004), in which a sex saint and his apostles of perversion invade the uptight suburbs. Over the past four decades, Waters has been a cinematographer, film editor, and composer. He has written and directed 16 films, acted and appeared in 100 films and TV shows, published eight books, and exhibited his photography worldwide. Join Seattle Arts & Lectures, SIFF, and the smiling man with the pencil-thin mustache for an original talk and an unforgettable evening. Festive attire welcomed, and even encouraged.

Tickets are available at Polyester, Beehive, Mink Stole, and Divine levels. Join the Divine to attend a fabulous afterparty with John Waters at the W Hotel. Visit www.lectures.org or call 206-215-4747 for tickets and information.

Thanks to the W Seattle for their support of the Waters after-party. Additional thanks to Scarecrow Video; and to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, KUOW 94.9 FM Puget Sound Public Radio, and Seattle Gay News for their media support.

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is proud to support the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival.

Congratulations to SIFF on SIFF Cinema and its ongoing success in supporting the film communities in the Pacific Northwest.

Lawyers

Suite 2200

1201 Third Avenue

Seattle,WA 98101 206-757-8494

www.dwt.com

©

USA

2008

Director:

Nanette Burstein

Special Presentation American Teen

Producers: Jordan Roberts

Nanette Burstein

Eli Gonda

Chris Huddleson

Screenwriter: Nanette Burstein

Cinematographer: Laela Kilbourn

Editors: Mary Manhardt Tom Haneke

Nanette Burstein

Music: Michael Penn

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales: Cinetic Media

Print Source: Paramount Vantage

Selected Filmography: The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) On the Ropes (1999)

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Directing Award)

FRIDAY MAY 30 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

PENCORE SCREENING SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

laying like The Breakfast Club for a new generation, the latest film by Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture) unleashes the archetypes of high school culture back onto the big screen. Four seniors at Indiana’s Warsaw Community High School take the spotlight. There’s the Jock, Colin. He is the star of the high school basketball team and is feeling the pressure to perform on the court by his father, who has threatened that Colin must earn a scholarship or he will be sent into military service. Megan, the Prom Queen, is student council vice-president, daughter of a prominent surgeon, and class beauty. She maintains her position at the height of popularity by ruling with an iron fist of rumor and embarrassment. Jake, the acne-plagued Nerd, retreats from his romantic failures into the world of video games and marching band. He looks ahead to college like a prisoner awaiting parole. The liberally-minded Outsider, Hannah, dreams of being a film director and moving out of her conservative Indiana town. Burstein develops an extraordinary understanding of these students, resulting in a film that embraces the clichés of high school life but moves with complexity into a portrait of youth struggling to define itself. Burstein specifically examines the secret fears and fantasies in each student and renders their dreams in stylized animations. American Teen ultimately succeeds because it touches upon the quest for the power that lies within us all.

The Apartment (Alley24)

The Graduate (Cornish College of the Arts)

The Godfather (Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria)

Bringing Up Baby (tottini)

City Lights

(As seen from the 15th floor of Enso)

A Room With a View (Rollin Street Flats)

Some Like It Hot (Banya 5 Russian Spa)

Vertigo (View of EMP from Veer Lofts)

Chariots of Fire (Rain Fitness)

The Sound of Music (KEXP 90.3 FM)

DEFINITELY A NEIGHBORHOOD A MOVIE LOVER COULD LOVE.

Easy Rider (The Seattle Streetcar)

Dr. Strangelove (UW Medicine)

All of the above are now playing at a South Lake Union near you.

On the Waterfront (The new Lake Union Park)

Special Presentation Jolene WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM CINERAMA

USA 2008

Director:

Dan Ireland

Producers: Zachary Matz

Riva Yares

Screenwriter: Dennis Yares based on the story by E. L. Doctorow

Cinematographer: Claudio Rocha

Editor: Luis Collna

Music:

Harry Gregson-Williams

Cast: Jessica Chastain

Dermot Mulroney

Chazz Palminteri

Rupert Friend

Michael Vartan

Denise Richards

Frances Fisher

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source: Next Turn Productions

Selected Filmography: Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005) Passionada (2002)

The Velocity of Gary (1998) The Whole Wide World (1996)

ENCORE SCREENING SATURDAY JUNE 14 2:30 PM CINERAMA

SIFF is very proud to present the fourth feature from one of the Festival’s founding fathers, Dan Ireland. Based on the short story, “Jolene: A Life”, by one of America’s most celebrated writers, E.L. Doctorow (Ragtime, Billy Bathgate). Jolene is the provocative tale of a young girl who survives a series of abusive foster homes and is ready to try anything to force the hand of fate. The film follows her on a ten-year odyssey across America in her pursuit of love and independence as she battles adversity and threads herself through the lives of others like a modern-day Candide until her own path becomes clear. Dazzling newcomer Jessica Chastain handles the transition from naïve 15-year-old to a confident, mature woman of 25 with consummate ease and grace. She is generously supported by an impressive cast that includes Dermot Mulroney as her attractive but unprincipled Uncle Phil, Chazz Palminteri as her unlikely champion, and rising star Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice), playing against type as a gloriously sleazy tattoo artist. Told on a big canvas using bold brushstrokes of humor and heartbreak, passion and power, Jolene leaves audiences with an indelible impression of a woman who becomes much more than the sum of her past.

United Kingdom 2007

Director: James Marsh

Producers: Simon Chinn Maureen Ryan

Victoria Gregory

Cinematographer: Igor Martinovic

Editor: Jinx Godfrey

Music: Michael Nyman

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales: The Works

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography: The King (2005) The Team (2005) Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Jury Prize, Audience Award)

Special Presentation Man on Wire

THURSDAY JUNE 5 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

ENCORE SCREENING SATURDAY JUNE 7 11:00 AM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

On August 7, 1974, after months of spying and planning, a young French wirewalker named Philippe Petit strung a narrow steel cable between the nearly finished Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, and then walked across. Hailed as the artistic crime of the 20th century, this walk was the culmination of months of planning by an international band of friends, an inside man at the Twin Towers who helped them smuggle tons of equipment into the World Trade Center, and the fearless Philippe Petit. The joyful and exuberant Man on Wire documents the exhilarating act that left an indelible image on New York City and the world. Petit had already gained worldwide attention for his clandestine walks between the towers at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and the pylons of the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia. But it was the hour he spent more than 1,350 feet above the New York City sidewalks, dancing and walking on the wire, with no security devices at all, that granted him a permanent place in history. When finally arrested for “criminal trespass and disorderly conduct,” the complaint against Petit simply read “man on wire.” Using incredible home movie and archival footage, snippets of heist films, and interviews with his accomplices who have waited 30 years to tell their part of this story, Man on Wire is more than a how-he-did-it film, it is a portrait of an irrepressible artist who dreamed about walking in the clouds.

Cornish College of the Arts

include…top row, left to right: Jason Bready, Chloé McLennan & Blake Wilton, Julia Camp & Patrick Nobbe ; second row: Patrick Nobbe, Paul Barkshire & Colin Bryant ; third row: Leslie Ann Kam & Jethro Paler, Eugene Kong & Ashley Williamson ; fourth row: Scott Garner & Query Johnson, Ashley Williamson ; fi fth row: Chanse Redus, Stefani Swiatkowski, Tiffany Laine De Mott, Assistant Professor . Special thanks for motion graphics work to Dan Thornton of Alibi Pictures.

USA

2007

Director: C. Jay Cox

Producers:

C. Jay Cox

Richard Santilena

Bob Schuck

Screenwriter: Ty Leiberman

Cinematographer: Carl Bartels

Editor:

John Keitel

Music: Ben Holbrook

Cast: Tori Spelling Philipp Karner

James O’Shea

Amber Benson

Garrett M. Brown

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta

Print Source: Regent Releasing

Film Website: www.kissthebridemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Latter Days (2004)

Gay-La Kiss the Bride

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

ENCORE SCREENING FRIDAY MAY 30 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Ten years after leaving his conservative Arizona hometown, successful magazine editor Matt (Philipp Karner) has no trouble meeting men, but he dumps them soon enough when they fail to measure up to his high school boyfriend, Ryan (James O’Shea). When Matt receives an invitation to Ryan’s wedding (to a woman!) he drops everything and flies home to investigate, intent on rescuing his former love from whatever “she-devil” has trapped him into this huge mistake. As Matt tries to rekindle the old flame, Ryan is intent on putting out any sparks, dismissing their old romance as just a high school thing. On the other hand, Ryan’s perky fiancée Alex (Tori Spelling) takes quite a liking to Matt. What Matt doesn’t expect is just how much he likes Alex, too. At the same time dealing with Ryan’s macho best man, Alex’s always-soused mother (Joanna Cassidy), and a hometown he thought he’d left entirely in the past, Matt realizes Ryan may still be the love of his life, sending everyone’s sexual-identity issues into a tailspin and leading to an unexpected ending. Director C. Jay Cox (whose Latter Days was the highest-grossing gay-themed film of 2004) returns with this sexy, fun romantic comedy, the first feature to result from Outfest’s (the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) Screenwriting Lab, which tests the boundaries of love, sexuality, and identity.

Sony 4K. Only reality is more realistic.

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France/USA 2000

Director: John Waters

Producers: Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr. John Fiedler

Mark Tarlov

Screenwriter: John Waters

Cinematographer: Robert M. Stevens

Editor: Jeffrey Wolf

Music:

Basil Poledouris

Zoé Poledouris

Cast: Melanie Griffith

Stephen Dorff

Alicia Witt

Adrian Grenier

Larry Gilliard Jr.

Maggie Gyllenhaal

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Swank Motion Pictures

Film Website: www.bacfilms.com/demented

Selected Filmography:

A Dirty Shame (2004) Pecker (1998)

Serial Mom (1994) Cry-Baby (1990) Hairspray (1988) Polyester (1981)

Desperate Living (1977)

Female Trouble (1974)

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Talking Pictures

Includes a special on-stage interview with John Waters, moderated by SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence

John Waters presents Cecil B. DeMented

LTUESDAY JUNE 3 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

ights. Camera. Insanity! A group of crazed “kamikaze filmmakers,” led by director Cecil B. DeMented, plan a cinematic polemic against Hollywood by kidnapping sell-out starlet Honey Whitlock when she visits Baltimore for the premiere of her latest movie. Once they have Honey in their tattooed clutches, DeMented and his sexually repressed crew (known as the “Sprocket Holes”) force her to perform in Raving Beauty, the ultimate indie film. Armed with as much artillery as film gear, the band wreaks havoc, attacking everything they disdain: the local multiplex, the Maryland Film Commission, even the set of a blockbuster movie. Honey is cast as the bitchy owner of an art gallery and, for perhaps the first time in her life, actually begins to act with some passion. Her transformation is fueled by a series of television interviews, in which her tabloid-trashy life gets put on display for all to see. Soon, the Teamsters union, the Baltimore police, and a group of familyvalues activists are out to shut down DeMented, so the Sprocket Holes will need all the magic of film just to keep going. Inspired by the real-world kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst, who appears in this and several other John Waters films.

Talking Pictures

Local personalities introduce and discuss a favorite film Stephanie Shine presents

Romeo and Juliet

TUESDAY MAY 27 6:45 PM SIFF CINEMA

Shine is completing her tenth season as Artistic Director of the Seattle Shakespeare Company. Her other directorial credits include work with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, “I Am of Ireland” (which she also conceived and adapted), Book-It Repertory Theatre, “Love’s Labors Lost” for Cornish College of the Arts, “A Christmas Carol” (also adapted) for Bainbridge Performing Arts, and the award-winning onewoman Marilyn Monroe biopic, “Marilyn: Forever Blonde,” which is currently touring across the nation. A well-known actress in the Northwest, she has performed for the Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT, The Empty Space, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Book-It, and Tacoma Actors Guild, and both the Oregon and New Jersey Shakespeare Festivals. She is the very proud mother of Conor and Cally Shine.

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli (Italy, 1968, 138 minutes)

It is by no means the only film version of Shakespeare’s legendary star-crossed lovers, but Franco Zeffirelli’s interpretation of “Romeo and Juliet” is considered by many to be the quintessential portrayal of the Bard’s tale. Unlike other film adaptations of the period, which used older stars, Zeffirelli cast two unknown actors, Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, for the leading roles. About half of Shakespeare’s stage dialog was trimmed to heighten the emotional realism and increase the story’s accessibility. Zeffirelli was heavily criticized by the old guard for these edits, but the counterculture youth movement of 1968 responded to what was perceived as a democratization of a story that had been canonically and intellectually elite. The film resuscitated the story’s subtle eroticism with a flash of Whiting’s bare buttocks, and showed Juliet awakening in her bed after what was clearly a night of physical passion. Composer Nino Rota wrote an achingly tragic love theme that suffused the film and influences similar pieces to this day. Despite other cinematic interpretations of the play, it is perhaps Zeffirelli’s vision that remains the most true to the story—star-crossed though its characters may be—of a young man and a young woman who are, more than anything, in love. Presented with a pristine new 35mm print.

“My mom took me to see this film when it first came out. I was riveted, mesmerized—I sort of fell in love with it. It made me want to do Shakespeare. I had always liked musicals best but this one film illuminated a path for me 40 long years ago that I have followed with a crazy, unfailing tenacity.” —Stephanie Shine

Stephanie

Talking Pictures

Local personalities introduce and discuss a favorite film Howard Patterson presents

The Young Master

SUNDAY JUNE 8 6:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Long ago, in a university far away (UC Santa Cruz), Howard Patterson, a young zoologist, began juggling with the kid across the hall. Soon, they discovered they had founded The Flying Karamazov Brothers. They took a year off to try their hands at performing before going on to graduate school, and then 30 years passed. This year, after rampaging around the world on stages, in concert halls, in films (The Jewel of the Nile), and on television (Seinfeld, and The Tonight Show among too many others), Howard Patterson has finally retired from the Karamazov fold and is working on his Master’s in Environmental Science at Portland State University. He was recently trained by The Climate Project to present his version of the Inconvenient Truth slideshow, and is occasionally available to do so. He lives ecstatically in Portland (America’s greenest city) with his very extended molecular family, but still loves Seattle too, and looks forward to the track upgrade so that he can get here in an hour on the Bullet Train.

Directed by Jackie Chan (Hong Kong, 1980, 101 minutes)

Based on his acting success in Drunken Master and The Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Jackie Chan was given the go-ahead by his studio to take on the additional roles of screenwriter and director. This confidence was well placed. The film beat box office records set by Bruce Lee and established Chan as a major filmmaker. The plot of The Young Master centers around two brothers, Tiger and Dragon (Chan), who enter a Lion Dance competition hoping to win enough money to save their school. Tiger is injured just before the competition, heaping the fate of the school upon Dragon’s shoulders. However, during the competition Dragon realizes that his brother faked his injury in order to compete for the rival school. Tiger is exiled in disgrace. Hoping to save both his school and his family honor, Dragon sets off to find his brother and convince him to make amends with their master. His task is complicated when Dragon is mistaken for an infamous criminal known as The White Fan. Meanwhile, Tiger has also gotten himself mixed up with the underworld, forcing Dragon to use all his martial arts skills in a desperate gambit to save them both.

“The Young Master changed my life. Jackie’s demonstration that beauty, physical comedy, polished skill, ridiculous amounts of practice, unexpected and creative use of objects, and well-tuned conflict can have at least as much of a role in story telling as spoken language, influenced most if not all of my career creative output, though despite his example I tended to talk too much. There will never be another like him–there’s no place in the world where the kind of training he received as a child is still legal.”

—Howard Patterson

Emerging Masters

Every year, the Seattle International Film Festival selects four directors who have distinguished themselves as cinematic innovators who are working in a fresh, original style and displaying the early marks of a master in their craft.

These directors are emerging adepts who will, in short order, burst into the consciousness of mainstream audiences. Past honorees have included many names that are now well-known such as: Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), Michael Winterbottom (Welcome to Sarajevo), François Ozon (8 Women), Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe), Susanne Bier (Brothers, Open Hearts), and Olivier Dahan (La Vie En Rose).

This year’s honorees add four new names to this esteemed company: David Mackenzie brings us iconoclastic looks at life and love (Mister Foe, Young Adam). Fatih Akin tells border spanning stories of searching hearts (The Edge of Heaven, Head-On). Jeremy Podeswa weaves together concepts of shelter and disappearance (The Five Senses, Fugitive Pieces). Abdellatif Kechiche sojourns through stereotypes to bring new light to the human experience (Games of Love & Chance, The Secret of the Grain).

Germany

Fatih Akin

The Edge of Heaven (2007)

Head-On (2004)

France

Abdellatif Kechiche

The Secret of the Grain (2007)

Games of Love & Chance (2003)

United Kingdom

David Mackenzie

Mister Foe (2007)

Young Adam (2003)

Canada

Jeremy Podeswa

Fugitive Pieces (2007)

The Five Senses (1999)

Emerging Masters

Fatih Akin

With his fourth film, Gegen die Wand (Head-On), winner of the Golden Bear at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival, Fatih Akin created a devastatingly emotional, critically-acclaimed portrait of Turkish immigrants in contemporary Germany. Born of Turkish parentage in Hamburg, Germany, Akin studied Visual Communication at Hamburg’s College of Fine Arts. His first two short films, Sensin - You’re The One! (1995) and Weed (1996), won awards at several international film festivals. His feature films include Short Sharp Shock (1998), In July (2000), Solino (2002), and the documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (2005). His most recent film, The Edge of Heaven (2007), won Best Screenplay at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Abdellatif Kechiche

Born in Tunis, Tunisia, Abdellatif Kechiche spent most of the ’90s acting on both stage and screen. In 2000, he turned to filmmaking as a writer-director with his debut La Faute à Voltaire (Blame it on Voltaire). His second film, L’Esquive (Games of Love & Chance, 2003), won four César Awards (the French equivalent of the Oscars), including Best Director and Best Film. His third feature, La Graine et le mulet (The Secret of the Grain, 2007), continues the auteur’s auspicious career, winning a Special Jury Prize at the 64th Venice Film Festival, as well as four César Awards, including Kechiche’s second wins for Best Director and Best Film.

David Mackenzie

Gaining international acclaim with his 2003 feature film Young Adam, starring Ewan McGregor and Tilda Swinton, David Mackenzie won British Newcomer of the Year from the 2004 London Critics Circle Film Awards. Born in Scotland, Mackenzie began his career making short films including California Sunshine (1997)—which starred his brother Alastair Mackenzie—Marcie’s Dowry, and Somersault (both 1999). His feature film debut was the eerie thriller The Last Great Wilderness (2001). Following Young Adam, Mackenzie’s next films were Asylum (2005), featuring Natasha Richardson and Ian McKellen, and this year’s Mister Foe, which the London Observer described as being “… perched on a razor’s edge between the sinister and the whimsical.”

Jeremy Podeswa

Born in Toronto, Jeremy Podeswa studied film at the Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and the American Film Institute. With his first feature film Eclipse (1994)—a sensation on the gay and art house cinema circuits—Variety hailed Podeswa as “a visual stylist to keep an eye on.” His follow-up, The Five Senses (1999), earned him a Genie Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Oscars) for Best Director. His television work includes episodes of Queer as Folk, Six Feet Under, Nip/Tuck, and The Tudors. Fugitive Pieces (2007), which received enormous critical acclaim at both the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals, is his third feature film.

Head-On

SUNDAY MAY 25 11:00 AM PACIFIC

When alcoholic widower Cahit deliberately drives his car into a wall, the smash-up brings him together with an equally dissolute outsider, Sibel, who has slit her wrists in an attempt to escape her crushingly conservative Muslim family. Though Cahit is nearly twice her age, Sibel proposes the two should marry, not from any illusions of love but because she needs a Turkish husband (any Turkish husband) to escape from her family. Sibel agrees to take care of Cahit’s house so long as she may have sex with anyone she wants. The deal sounds good to the slovenly Cahit whose entire life needs a good washing and who gets all the sex he can handle from a girl at the local bar. Both Cahit and Sibel struggle with the contradictory nature of being Turkish in Germany, where the temptations of drugs and drink erode traditional values and the subculture is hemmed in by racism and double standards. As they try to escape the reality of their surroundings, real feelings invade the insular cocoon of their fake relationship. Full of grungy and uncomfortably identifiable emotions, Fatih Akin’s fourth film is a devastating examination of Turkish identity in contemporary Germany.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2004 (Golden Bear)

Germany/Turkey 2004

Director:

Fatih Akin

Producers:

Stefan Schubert

Ralph Schwingel

Screenwriter:

Fatih Akin

Cinematographer:

Rainer Klausmann

Editor:

Andrew Bird

Music:

Alexander Hacke

Maceo Parker

Cast:

Birol Ünel

Sibel Kekilli

Catrin Striebeck

Meltern Cumbul

Zarah McKenzie

Running Time:

121 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German and Turkish, with English

subtitles

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Film Website: www.gegendiewand.de

Selected Filmography:

The Edge of Heaven (2007)

Crossing the Bridge (2006)

In July (2000)

Short Sharp Shock (1998)

AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE

The Edge of Heaven

FRIDAY MAY 23 6:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE SUNDAY MAY

25 1:30

PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

In The Edge of Heaven, writer-director Fatih Akin gives us an exquisitely moving yet resolutely unsentimental story of six characters whose lives intersect in Germany and Turkey. To relieve his loneliness, Ali, a Turkish widower, hires Yeter, a prostitute, as his live-in companion, but accidentally causes her death in a drunken rage. After Ali is sent to prison, his son Nejat sets out to fulfill Yeter’s most fervent wish—to find her missing daughter, Ayten. Nejat’s search is complicated by the fact that Ayten is a political activist on the run. When it is no longer safe for her in Istanbul, Ayten flees to Germany where Lotte befriends her. The two women become lovers, setting in motion a complex series of events as the protagonists find grief and solace in unexpected places. The director assembled a superb cast who give heartfelt performances, including the great Hanna Schygulla (Fassbinder’s muse), who etches a piercing portrait of a bereaved mother. Rainer Klausmann’s vibrant cinematography adds emotional and geographic color to this complex puzzle. The Edge of Heaven is a profound meditation on mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, the personal versus the political, and is executed with uncommon candor and elegance.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Cannes Film Festival 2007 (Best Screenplay)

European Film Awards 2007 (Best Screenwriter)

Bavarian Film Awards 2008 (Best Director)

Germany/Turkey 2007

Director:

Fatih Akin

Producers:

Fatih Akin

Andreas Thiel

Klaus Maeck

Screenwriter:

Fatih Akin

Cinematographer:

Rainer Klausmann

Editor:

Andrew Bird

Music:

Shantel

Cast:

Nurgül Yeşilçay

Baki Davrak

Patrycia Ziolkowska

Nursel Köse

Tuncel Kurtiz

Running Time:

122 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German and Turkish, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

The Match Factory

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Film Website:

www.strandreleasing.com

Selected Filmography:

Crossing the Bridge (2006)

Head-On (2004)

Solino (2002)

In July (2000)

Short Sharp Shock (1998)

GEGEN DIE WAND

PLACE CINEMAS

L ’ ESQUIVE

Games of Love & Chance

TUESDAY JUNE 10 3:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Refusing to repeat the clichés of the vast housing estates of suburban Paris, where drugs, racial tension, and arranged marriages are the order of the day, director Abdellatif Kechiche made a courageous teenage romance that borders on the revolutionary. Fifteen-year-old Abdelkrim is an average teenager—hanging out with friends, talking about girls, and dreaming of making the big time. He risks the ridicule of his friends when, in a bid to win the heart of his stunning blonde classmate Lydia, he contrives to get himself cast opposite her in the school play, the romantic 18th-century drama “A Game of Love and Chance” by Marivaux, figuring he can let the playwright do the talking. Unable to express his feelings or cope with the highly stylized dialogue he must memorize, the normally taciturn Krimo finds himself floundering. Will he ever find the right words—his own words—to tell the unattainable paragon how he feels? Raw energy and hyper-realistic dialogue distinguish this debut feature and capture, in brilliant broad strokes, the working class milieu of the original locations where the film was shot. Surprise winner at the 2005 César awards, Games of Love & Chance came straight out of left field, blindsiding several of the more obvious, star-laden contenders. “I wanted to show a different way of looking at kids in the projects,” Kechiche says. He not only achieves his stated ambition, but does so with the sure hand of an established master.

Awards:

Cesar Awards 2005 (Best Director, Film, Writing, Most Promising Actress,

France 2003

Director:

Abdellatif Kechiche

Producer: Jacques Ouaniche

Screenwriters:

Abdellatafi Kechiche

Ghalia Lacroix

Cinematographer:

Lubomir Bakchev

Editors:

Antonella Bevenja

Ghalia Lacroix

Cast:

Osman Elkharraz

Sara Forestier

Sabrina Ouazani

Nanou Benhamou

Running Time: 123 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Films Distribution

Print Source: New Yorker Films

Film Website: www.peripherfilm.de/ lesquive

Selected Filmography:

Secret of the Grain (2007) Blame it on Voltaire (2000)

The Secret of the Grain

TUESDAY JUNE 10 6:00 PM

THURSDAY JUNE 12 3:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Abdellatif Kechiche’s ambitious yet intimate saga of an extended family living in the southern French seaport of Sète won him four Césars (the French Oscar), so it seems we are not alone in considering this remarkable talent, whose earlier Games of Love & Chance (L’Esquive) was one of the hits of SIFF ’06, as an emerging master. When careworn, divorced dockworker Slimane, a Tunisian immigrant, is let go from his job after 35 years, he uses his severance pay to finance a restaurant for his ex-wife, who makes a mean fish couscous. His girlfriend, Latifa, is unimpressed by this, not least because she had hoped the money would go toward renovating her run-down hotel. Luckily for Slimane, Latifa’s determined, resourceful daughter Rym adores him and throws herself into action. She organizes a big, splashy dinner to attract investors for him, while the taciturn Slimane doggedly deals with the hurdles put in his way by disdainful city bureaucrats. Kechiche brilliantly paints his big picture with small details in his underlying theme of the contrast in the immigrant experience for the two sexes: whereas men are frequently afflicted by impotence and alienation, are unable to sustain their patriarchal roles, or relate to their Frenchborn children, the women actually seem to settle in easily and thrive in their new domain. Male or female, Kechiche’s uniformly excellent cast serves him well in imparting a super-realistic feel to this impressive, finely observed drama.

Awards:

Cesar Awards 2008 (Best Film, Best Director, Newcomer Award)

France 2007

Director:

Abdellatif Kechiche

Producer:

Claude Berri

Screenwriter:

Abdellatif Kechiche

Cinematographer: Lubomir Bakchev

Editor:

Ghalia Lacroix

Cast: Habib Boufares

Marzouk Bouraouïa

Faridah Benkhetache

Sabrina Ouazani

Running Time: 151 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pathé Distribution (Paris)

Print Source:

IFC Films

Film Website: www.lagraineetlemuletlefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Games of Love & Chance (2003)

Blame It on Voltaire (2000)

LA GRAINE ET LE MULET

Most Promising Actor)

Istanbul Film Festival 2004 (Special Jury Prize, FIPRESCI Prize) Lumiere Award 2005 (Best Screenplay)

Lumiere Award 2008 (Best Director, Most Promising Actress)

Venice Film Festival 2007 (FIPRESCI, Marcello Mastroianni Award, Special Jury Prize)

Mister Foe Young Adam

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:45 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Adapted from Alexander Trocchi’s novel of the same name, Young Adam is a mid-century erotic thriller set aboard a floating barge on the canals between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The story follows Joe (Ewan McGregor), a failed novelist and drifter who befriends one of the barge’s owners, Les, while shoveling coal. However, these overtures are only a brazen ploy by Joe to seduce his new friend’s sexually dissatisfied wife, Ella (Tilda Swinton). When they discover the body of a young woman, dressed only in lingerie, floating in the stygian water, we wonder if Joe is hiding other secrets from his new friend. Though the police investigate and arrest another man, Joe’s obsession with the body hints that he knows more, perhaps much more, about the girl’s death. The plot is existentially anxious and characterization is driven by three of Britain’s finest actors. Director David MacKenzie writes that Young Adam is “an amoral moral tale…about degrees of innocence in a hypocritical moral climate.” The film was assigned the infamous NC-17 rating after its U.S. distributor was forced to rescind intended cuts. The risqué narrative of the film is deeply influenced by Trocchi, a lifelong heroin addict who was infamous in the Beat movement, sometimes a fugitive from the law, and whose work remains the target of censorship.

United Kingdom/ Scotland 2003

Director:

David MacKenzie

Producer:

Jeremy Thomas

Screenwriters:

David MacKenzie based on the novel by Alexander Trocchi

Cinematographer:

Giles Nuttgens

Editor:

Colin Monie

Music:

David Byrne

Cast:

Ewan McGregor

Tilda Swinton

Peter Mullan

Emily Mortimer

Jack McElhone

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Selected Filmography:

Mister Foe (2007)

Asylum (2005)

Last Great Wilderness (2002)

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:15 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

British director David Mackenzie returns with an impressive handling of adolescent malaise in Mister Foe. When 17-year-old Hallam’s (Jamie Bell) mother drowns in a nearby lake after an overdose of sleeping pills, he suspects the death was not suicide, but murder. The prime suspect in her death is Hallam’s new, young stepmother (Claire Forlani), a woman who both repels him and also stirs up strange feelings of attraction. Hallam starts to exhibit signs of paranoia and indulges in some bizarre behavior; he begins dressing up in strange clothes, peeping at his neighbors, and surprising them during…intimate moments. After the sexual tension with his stepmother leads to an encounter that is too close for comfort, Hallam flees his father’s Scottish estate. He lands, broke and friendless, in Edinburgh. There he is drawn to Kate, a sophisticated hotel worker who resembles his dead mother in her youth, but a drunken bout of sex may put him in over his head. The young lovers at the center of this playful rite of passage, Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles, make this one of the filmic delights of the year. Mister Foe also features a lively soundtrack with Sons & Daughters, Orange Juice, and Franz Ferdinand.

Awards: Berlin International Film Festival 2007 (Best Music)

United Kingdom 2007

Director:

David Mackenzie

Producer:

Gillian Berrie

Screenwriters:

David Mackenzie

Ed Whitmore

based on the novel by

Peter Jinks

Cinematographer: Giles Nuttgens

Editor: Colin Monie

Music:

David Mackenzie

Cast:

Jamie Bell

Sophia Myles

Ciarán Hinds

Jamie Sives

Maurice Roëves

Ewen Bremner

Claire Forlani

Running Time:

96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Independent Film Sales

Print Source:

Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: www.thefilmfactory.co.uk/ hallamfoe

Selected Filmography: Asylum (2005)

Young Adam (2003)

The Last Great Wilderness (2002)

The Five Senses

Fugitive Pieces

SUNDAY JUNE 15 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMASSATURDAY JUNE 14 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 15 1:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

An intimate epic that expertly traces the fragility and strength of human bonds, The Five Senses boasts an ingenious overlapping narrative structure worthy of comparison to Robert Altman’s best work. The story unfolds over an intense three-day period during which a missing child galvanizes the attention of the public, the media, and five characters trapped by their own personal crises. Podeswa deftly utilizes the five senses as a metaphor for the human failings of his protagonists, starting with Ruth, a widowed massage therapist whose touch soothes complete strangers, but who cannot comfort her daughter Rachel, a troubled girl who desperately needs to see the world with new eyes. The missing child was under Rachel’s care, and wandered away when she became momentarily distracted. Now, Rachel must bear the responsibility. Ruth shares an office building with Richard, a French optometrist who is slowly going deaf. Their offices are tidied by Robert (the acid-tongued Daniel McIvor), a professional house cleaner intent on examining his romantic past through his highly refined sense of smell. Robert’s best friend Rona is a cake decorator whose confections look fabulous, but have no flavor. Rona is also revisiting past romantic escapades as her Italian holiday fling suddenly turns up on her doorstep. The dilemma of the missing child catalyzes self-awareness in each of these characters, slowly helping them to move past their personal crises toward greater spiritual and emotional fulfillment. Gorgeously shot, with a talented ensemble cast, The Five Senses paints an intriguing view of modern urban life.

Awards:

Genie Awards 2000 (Best Achievement in Direction)

Toronto International Film Festival 2000 (Best Canadian Feature Film)

Canada 1999

Director:

Jeremy Podeswa

Producers: Camelia Frieberg

Jeremy Podeswa

Screenwriter: Jeremy Podeswa

Cinematographer:

Gregory Middleton

Editor:

Wiebke Von Carolsfeld

Music:

Alexina Louie

Alex Pauk

Cast:

Mary-Louise Parker

Pascale Bussieres

Brendan Fletcher

Marco Leonardi

Nadia Litz

Daniel Maclvor

Molly Parker

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Alliance Atlantis Pictures

Print Source:

Fine Line Features

Selected Filmography:

Fugitive Pieces (2007)

Eclipse (1994)

It is a rare and marvelous thing when a great work of literature is brilliantly adapted for the screen. Such is the case with Jeremy Podeswa’s eagerly awaited treatment of Anne Michaels’ acclaimed novel. Athos (Rade Sherbedgia) is an archaeologist working in Nazi-occupied Poland who, on a dig one day, discovers a little boy hiding in the mud. Jakob (Robbie Kay) has fled into the woods following the murder of his family and the abduction of his sister, Bella. Athos smuggles the boy back to Greece and shelters him for the duration of the war. Eventually, the two of them emigrate to Canada to make a new start, but the adult Jakob (Stephen Dillane) is haunted by the grief of losing his family. As he establishes himself as a poet and forms relationships with friends and lovers, he struggles to balance his ties to the past with his life in the present. The film’s structure interweaves the different parts of Jakob’s life over decades and across continents, and offers its own insights into the nature of memory. Podeswa, whose last film (and SIFF favorite) The Five Senses explored the experience of the physical world, brings Michaels’ rich metaphor and vivid imagery to life. The resulting film is a powerful meditation on the meaning of survival and remembrance and a testament to every person’s navigation of the histories that make us who we are.

Awards:

Rome Film Festival 2007 (Best Actor)

Canada/Greece 2007

Director:

Jeremy Podeswa

Producer: Robert Lantos

Screenwriters:

Jeremy Podeswa based on the novel by Anne Michaels

Cinematographer: Gregory Middleton

Editor:

Wiebke von Carolsfeld

Music:

Nikos Kypourgos

Cast: Stephen Dillane

Rade Sherbedgia

Rosamund Pike

Ayelet Zurer

Robbie Kay

Running Time:

104 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Maximum Films

International

Print Source: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Film Website:

fugitivepiecesthefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

The Five Senses (1999) Eclipse (1994)

Pa Pa Pat atttty ty y Duk Duuke

F. Murray Abraham

Special Archival Presentations

Alexander Nevsky with the Seattle Symphony

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:30 PM BENAROYA HALL

FRIDAY JUNE 13 7:00 PM BENAROYA HALL

SATURDAY JUNE 14 8:00 PM BENAROYA HALL SUNDAY JUNE 15 2:00 PM BENAROYA HALL

Soviet Union 1938

Directors:

Sergei Eisenstein

Dmitri Vasilyev

Screenwriters:

Sergei Eisenstein

Pyotr Pavlenko

Cinematographer:

Eduard Tisse

Editor:

Sergei Eisenstein

Music:

Sergei Prokofiev

Cast:

Nikolai Cherkasov

Nikolai Okhlopkov

Andrei Abrikosov

Dmitri Orlov

Running Time: 112 minutes

Selected Filmography:

Que Viva Mexico (1979)

Ivan the Terrible, Part Two: The Boyar’s Plot (1958)

Ivan the Terrible, Part One (1944)

Old and New (1929)

Ten Days That Shook the World (1928)

Battleship Potemkin (1925) Strike (1925)

Performed with live accompaniment by Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall, Alexander Nevsky is one of the all-time great cinematic epics that combines art with propaganda. A thinly disguised attack on German territorial aggression, Nevsky was filmed at a time when Russia’s relationships with that nation were fragile, to say the least. In the 13th century, when a horde of Teutonic knights sweeps in from the West, slaughtering all in their path, Prince Alexander Nevsky (a performance of majestic hauteur by Nikolai Cherkasov) becomes a national hero after raising a ragtag army from the people of Novgorod to successfully repel the invaders. Sadly for director Sergei M. Eisenstein, the film was a spectacular case of bad timing as, shortly after its completion, Russia signed a non-aggression pact with Germany and his film was instantly suppressed. Work of this quality is hard to keep down, however, and the film quickly became a classic, especially for the breathtaking battle on ice sequence and for the highly stylized armor that has influenced films down through the cinematic age, from Laurence Olivier’s Henry V to Star Wars. Eisenstein restrained his earlier experimental style for his first sound film. Instead, he drew from Russian folk narratives and even borrowed a stylistic trope or two from Walt Disney. His great innovation in the film was the first cinematic use of editing a film to music. Eisenstein collaborated with composer Sergei Prokofiev, who created a score that still thrives in the classical music canon, and which makes the film a natural for accompaniment by live orchestra and chorus.

SIFF thanks our Opening Night Gala

Catering Partners!

Special Archival Presentations

In the Land of the Head Hunters

TUESDAY JUNE 10 7:00 PM THE MOORE THEATRE

Director: Edward S. Curtis

Cinematographer: Edward S. Curtis

Music:

John J. Braham

Running Time: 53 minutes

Followed by a live performance

Film Restoration: UCLA Film & Television Archive Score edition: Getty Research Institute

Selected Filmography: Seeing America (1916)

In 1914, famed photographer Edward S. Curtis released this melodramatic, silent motion picture. An epic story of forbidden love and war set before European contact, the film features non-professional actors from Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl) communities in British Columbia—a people already famous for their spectacular visual culture and performances. The story integrates its love story with sea battles in war canoes, hunting, and even the burning of villages. Curtis spent years documenting the landscapes and cultures of North America in both still and moving pictures. While touring with his “picture opera” in 1911 and 1912, Curtis integrated ethnographic motion pictures with his music-accompanied slide shows and lectures. He chose to release In the Land of the Head Hunters in theaters to “give a glimpse of the primitive Americans as they lived in the Stone Age and as they still were living when…explorers…touched the shores of the Pacific between 1774 and 1791.” The film had a gala opening at Seattle’s historic Moore Theatre on December 7, 1914. The silent picture was accompanied by interpretive music composed by John J. Braham. Unfortunately, a lack of promotion and bad timing doomed the film to financial ruin. Audiences at the time were more interested in World War I dramas than ethnology. The film was, however, a great inspiration to Robert Flaherty, who created the 1921 success, Nanook of the North. The Burke Museum and Seattle Theatre Group in collaboration with SIFF now present a newly restored copy of the film reunited with its original orchestral score performed live and complemented with a performance by descendents of the original Kwakwaka’wakw cast. For complete project information visit www.curtisfilm.rutgers.edu.

Seattle’s historic Moore Theatre holds a special place in SIFF’s heart, because it’s where the Festival was founded in 1976. SIFF’s first edition lasted two weeks and screened 18 films. SIFF operated The Moore (renamed as The Moore-Egyptian) as a year-round art house cinema and primary Festival venue until 1985. We are excited to screen In the Land of the Head Hunters as part of The Moore Theatre’s centennial celebration. “We invite the community to join us in celebrating The Moore Theatre’s centennial,” said Seattle Theatre Group Executive Director Josh LaBelle. “As stewards of this historic venue, we are proud of its legacy and are committed to keeping The Moore alive and vibrant for many years to come.” Cited at its opening on December 28, 1907, as the “epitome of architectural elegance,” The Moore Theatre remains the oldest operating theater in Seattle. USA 1914

1914 Billboard: courtesy Bill Utley

Alaska Airlines. Proud to play a small role in international cinema.

ARCHIVAL FILMS

Walking back into the archives of cinematic history gets easier each year as more and more classic films become available in modern formats.

Our film heritage presents an astoundingly rich array of artistic storytelling. But any cineaste worth the salt on their popcorn probably already knows that seeing a classic film in any other format (even on that top-of-the-line plasma at home) just can’t compare to seeing it on the big screen. The Seattle International Film Festival remains committed to reviving our celluloid heritage with a full program of archival presentations, and thanks to our year-round SIFF Cinema, we now bring them to you on a weekly basis. This year, we get to cross a bit of our own history by revisiting our original home, The Moore Theatre, as we partner with The Burke Museum and Seattle Theatre Group to present In The Land of the Headhunters as part of The Moore Theatre’s centennial celebration. This newly restored version by famed photographer Edward S. Curtis will be accompanied with the original orchestral score and a performance by descendents of the original Kwakwaka’wakw cast. We are also partnering with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, who will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s original score to a presentation of Alexander Nevsky at Benaroya Hall. Other treasures in the Festival range from the first film in three-strip Technicolor, Becky Sharp, to the John Cassavetes classic Faces preserved in celebration of its 40th anniversary. As part of the Face the Music program, we will also be presenting a unique live event bringing music and film together. The Album Leaf will perform a new original score, adding a layer of aural poetry to F. W. Murnau’s compelling 1927 American debut Sunrise, a silent-era melodramatic masterpiece. Sit back and enjoy the celluloid sights and sounds of yesteryear that resound as loudly today as they did in days gone by.

Becky Sharp

Becky Sharp is the classic rags to riches tale of a lower-class girl who insinuates herself into an upper class family, only to see her life and the lives of those around her destroyed. The heroine of Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, ruthless, self-willed and beautiful, Becky is one of the most famous characters in English literature. The novel had been adapted to film twice before, but Rouben Mamoulian‘s translation claimed its place in movie history as the first feature-length film to be made in full (three-strip) Technicolor, a process that went on to dominate the movie industry until the 1950s. Mamoulian and cinematographer Ray Rennahan make good use of the process, particularly in set pieces such as the stunning ball sequence when, on the eve of Waterloo, Napoleon’s cannons are heard in the distance and a precipitous exit by the dancers turns into a fullblown stampede. The energetic Miriam Hopkins makes a splendid Becky, beguiling enough to win over admirers yet transparent enough for others to detect her baser motives. Abetted by a first-rate roster of supporting actors, including Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Billie Burke, and Nigel Bruce, Becky Sharp was indubitably the cinematic event of 1935 for the first successful use of color in film. In its own way the film is as much a landmark as The Jazz Singer was in the advent of “talking pictures.” Preservation of the film funded by The Film Foundation.

USA

1935

Director:

Rouben Mamoulian

Producers:

Rouben Mamoulian

Kenneth Macgowan

Screenwriters:

Francis Edwards Faragoh

Langdon Mitchell

Cinematographer:

Ray Rennehan

Editor:

Archie F. Marchek

Music:

Roy Webb

Cast:

Miriam Hopkins

Frances Dee

Cedric Hardwicke

Billlie Burke

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

UCLA Film and Television Archives

Selected Filmography:

Silk Stockings (1957)

The Wild Heart (1952)

Summer Holiday (1948)

Rings on Her Finger (1942)

Blood and Sand (1941)

The Mark of Zorro (1940)

Golden Boy (1939)

High, Wide, and Handsome (1937)

The Gay Desperado (1936)

We Live Again (1934)

Queen Christina (1933)

The Song of Songs (1933)

Love Me Tonight (1932)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)

City Streets (1931)

Applause (1929)

SUNDAY JUNE 8 4:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

Faces

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00 PM

Faces was one of a remarkable series of independent films made by John Cassavetes, in which he was able to exercise a degree of control rarely accorded to an individual director in American cinema up until that time. Shot in an edgy handheld style that was essentially dogme before dogme, Faces was unquestionably an artistic triumph, garnering three Academy Award nominations (Cassavetes for Best Original Screenplay, Seymour Cassell for Best Supporting Actor, and Lynn Carlin for Best Supporting Actress). The film covers one long, bumpy night as Richard and Maria Forst (John Marley and Gena Rowlands), a wealthy couple becalmed in an emotional downswing in their long relationship, dally separately with other partners. Faces contains Cassavetes’ trademark improvisational feel in daringly extended scenes and the innovative use of dead time between dialogues to underscore dramatic tensions. This dissection of a thoroughly modern marriage felt fresh at the time, and feels so still, though an alternative title could well be “Laughter,” since laughter dominates every scene in the movie. It is, however, rarely the product of mirth, but rather laughter as a mask, as a palliative, as embarrassment, or as avoidance of the pain that lies beneath the surface of blighted lives. Preservation of the film funded by The Film Foundation with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

SIFF CINEMA

USA 1968

Director:

John Cassavetes

Producer:

Maurice McEndree

Screenwriter:

John Cassavetes

Cinematographer: Al Ruban

Editors:

Maurice McEndree

Al Ruban

Music: Jack Ackerman

Cast:

John Marley

Gena Rowlands

Seymour Cassel

Lynn Carlin

Fred Draper

Running Time:

130 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

UCLA Film and Television

Archive

Selected Filmography:

Big Trouble (1986)

Love Streams (1984)

Gloria (1980)

Opening Night (1977)

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

Minnie and Moskowitz (1971)

Husbands (1970)

A Child is Waiting (1963)

A Pair of Boots (1962)

Too Late Blues (1961)

It Always Rains on Sunday

SUNDAY MAY 25 4:00 PM

Ealing Studios became world-famous for its whimsical comedies (The Ladykillers, The Lavender Hill Mob), but its excellent dramas are less well known. One of the best of these is It Always Rains on Sunday, co-written and directed by Robert Hamer two years before his comic masterpiece Kind Hearts and Coronets. Set in a single day in London’s working-class East End, this precursor of the 1960s British “kitchen sink” dramas is a bleak thriller of dead ends and might-have-beens. Googie Withers stars as Rose, a dissatisfied housewife who is married to decent but dull older man. When her gangster ex-lover Tommy (John McCallum) escapes from prison and seeks her help, Rose smuggles him into the house and into her bedroom where the hidden man is in constant danger of discovery. Tension rises as the household trundles through its Sunday routines and the ex-lovers rekindle their passion with an erotic charge undreamtof in period Hollywood films. (In real life Withers and McCallum went on to marry a year later, and recently celebrated their 60th anniversary.) Jack Warner (The Blue Lamp) co-stars as the copper on the trail of the wanted man. Hamer uses mirrors strikingly to introduce flashbacks into the narrative. Dramatically photographed by famed cinematographer Douglas Slocombe (who later shot the Indiana Jones movies), the film climaxes in a spectacular chase across railyards. This neglected gem is long overdue for re-discovery.

United Kingdom

1947

Director:

Robert Hamer

Producer:

Michael Balcon

Screenwriters:

Robert Hamer

Henry Cornelius

Angus McPhail

based on the novel by

Arthur La Bern

Cinematographer:

Douglas Slocombe

Editor:

Michael Truman

Music:

Georges Auric

Cast:

Googie Withers

Edward Chapman

Susan Shaw

Patricia Plunkett

David Lines

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Rialto Pictures

Selected Filmography:

School for Scoundrels (1960)

The Scapegoat (1959)

To Paris with Love (1955)

HARVARD EXIT

Night Tide The Saga of Anatahan

2 7:00 PM

When Curtis Harrington died last year, his friend, screenwriter Robert Mundy, said of his work, “Whether you liked them or you didn’t, you always knew it was a Curtis Harrington film.” A journeyman director, Harrington’s vast résumé included early avant-garde work with Kenneth Anger, genre pics in the ’60s and ’70s (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet), and episodic television series such as Charlie’s Angels and Dynasty. But in his eerily evocative debut feature, Harrington’s vast cinematic artistry is on full display. In his first leading role, Dennis Hopper stars as Johnny Drake, a sailor on shore leave from the Navy. One night in a jazz bar, he meets Mora, a beautiful, dark-haired young woman who plays a sideshow mermaid on the Santa Monica Pier. An intense chemistry immediately forms between them despite numerous pier residents informing Johnny that Mora’s previous two boyfriends each drowned under mysterious circumstances. Mora eventually reveals a bizarre fact to Johnny: she believes herself to be a real mermaid whose siren’s call lured her previous lovers to their deaths. Convinced she is possessed by nothing more than a fragile psyche, Johnny continues with their relationship, but after a number of weird incidents, his suspicions grow. Ostensibly an homage to Cat People, Harrington’s film is imbued with a salt-weathered, seaside atmosphere wherein, to quote the film’s original tagline, “Sensual ecstasy becomes supernatural terror!” The Academy Film Archive restored Night Tide in 2008 with support from The Film Foundation and Curtis Harrington.

USA 1961

Director:

Curtis Harrington

Producer:

Aram Katarian

Screenwriter:

Curtis Harrington

Cinematographer: Vilis Lapenieks

Editor: Jodie Copelan

Music: Sid Sidney

Cast:

Dennis Hopper

Linda Lawson

Luanan Anders

Gavin Muir

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Academy Library

Selected Filmography:

Mata Hari (1985)

Ruby (1977)

The Killing Kind (1973)

What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971)

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971)

Queen of Blood (1966)

Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965) (as John Sebastian)

1 1:30 PM

“Very rarely seen, Anatahan is a masterpiece, to rank with the Dietrich films,” (David Thomson, A Biographical Dictionary of Film). After the indignity of losing control of his last two American films, Macao and Jet Pilot, to producer Howard Hughes, Josef von Sternberg accepted an invitation to make a film in Japan. The great auteur was in no mood to cede any part of his vision, so he wrote, photographed, and directed Anatahan himself. The film is based on a famous incident in which a group of Japanese sailors were shipwrecked on the island of Anatahan in 1944. They lived there for seven years without knowing about the end of World War II, during which time several of the men died fighting over the island’s one remaining woman. Japanese films were beginning to find international distribution in 1953, but Anatahan was considered an insufficiently Japanese hybrid at the time. The film was also controversial for its nudity and exoticism, as well as for von Sternberg’s narration. However, those very qualities make it legendary today, and we are grateful to the Library of Congress for allowing SIFF to present this print made from a negative in the Meri von Sternberg collection. “If the material is fascinating, the treatment of it is just amazing. Sequences of dream-like abstraction and images of staggering beauty are recognizably the work of the man who created the image of Marlene Dietrich, but here they go way beyond Hollywood evasions and compromises.” (Tony Rayns, Time Out Film Guide).

HARVARD EXIT

Japan

1953

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Producer:

Kazuo Takimura

Screenwriters:

Josef von Sternberg based on the novel by Michiro Maruyama

Cinematographer:

Josef von Sternberg

Editor:

Mitsuzo Miyata

Music:

Akira Ifukube

Cast:

Akemi Negishi

Tadashi Suganuma

Kisaburo Sawamura

Shôji Nakayama

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Library of Congress

Selected Filmography:

Duel in the Sun (1946)

The Devil is a Woman (1935)

Blonde Venus (1932)

Shanghai Express (1932)

How do you engage and empower youth from underserved communities around the world? Adobe Youth Voices is designed to do that and more by enabling young people to use digital tools to share their ideas, demonstrate their potential, and

Adobe is proud to support the FutureWave Programs for youth at the 34TH annual Seattle International Film Festival.

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SIFF FutureWave: Expanding Cinema

Through Education offers youth and educators a direct link both to the Festival and the local filmmaking community.

Encompassing two complimentary activities, movie watching and movie making, FutureWave includes compelling, relevant films and meaningful workshops for youth. Together, these components advance SIFF’s leadership role in providing an extensive forum for multi-faceted and creative exchange. These expanded opportunities give aspiring young cineastes access to some of the best filmmakers the world has to offer.

FutureWave programs include: classroom visits by filmmakers, special student screenings, study guides, post-film discussions, digital technology workshops, the SuperFly filmmaking weekend, the FutureWave Shorts program showing films created by young filmmakers under 18, and a professional development workshop for educators.

Our FutureWave feature program invites teens to the cinema for eight films, selected specifically with them in mind, that exemplify thrilling global cinema. This year’s selections have everything from wirefu to hurling lightning, first boyfriends to undead romance, and an animated woman singing the blues. These films are guaranteed to be a delight for all (teen or otherwise).

Appropriate for ages 13 and up.

FILMS

32A (Ireland, 2007)

Directed by Marian Quinn (Mild adult themes and language)

Ain’t Scared (France, 2007)

Directed by Audrey Estrougo (Adult themes, violence, and language)

Alone in Four Walls (Germany, 2007)

Directed by Alexandra Westmeier (Descriptions of crimes including one murder)

Camille (USA, 2008)

Directed by Gregory Mackenzie (Some violence and brief partial nudity)

Fighter (Denmark, 2007)

Directed by Natasha Arthy (Martial arts violence and mild adult themes)

The Island of Lost Souls (Denmark, 2007)

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel (Mild violence and unrestrained evil)

Leroy (Germany, 2007)

Directed by Armin Völckers (Racial gang violence, partial nudity, strong language, adult themes)

Sita Sings the Blues (USA, 2007)

Directed by Nina Paley (Mild adult themes)

Sleepless

MA IN FILM STUDIES

MFA IN FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCING MFA IN SCREENWRITING

MFA IN PRODUCTION DESIGN

MFA IN FILM PRODUCTION: Cinematography • Directing • Editing • Sound Design

MBA/MFA IN FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCING

Film has the power to make us laugh or cry, to challenge dearly held beliefs or to put forth new concepts.

If you dream of telling your story, expressing your passions or bringing life to your ideas through film, the Graduate Conservatory of Motion Pictures at Chapman University has the highly accomplished faculty mentors, intensely hands-on curriculum and resources to help you reach your goals.

Learn more. Call us. Visit us online.

One University Drive, Orange, CA92866

Just a heartbeat from Hollywood.

800-775-0065 • 714-997-6765

FTV.CHAPMAN.EDU

ROBERT BASSETT, DEAN

Schools and Colleges.

David Ward/WRITER/DIRECTOR

in Seattle, The Sting

John Badham/DIRECTOR Saturday Night Fever, WarGames

Alexandra Rose/PRODUCER

Norma Rae, Frankie and Johnny Lawrence Paull/ PRODUCTION DESIGNER Back to the Future, Blade Runner

Paul Seydor/EDITOR White Men Can’t Jump, Barbershop II

Bill Dill/CINEMATOGRAPHER Dancing in September, The Five Heartbeats

Chapman University is accredited by and is a member of the Western Association of

Dezso Magyar/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR No Secrets, Summer

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Dublin, 1979: As her 14th birthday approaches, Maeve Brennan’s life revolves around her best friends—Ruth, Orla, and Claire—and, just as importantly, her brand-new, first bra. Long fascinated by breasts (even the school’s head nun Sister Una doesn’t escape notice), Maeve and her friends hope their new undergarments will portend a great many new experiences. That is, except for Claire, a self-proclaimed feminist who consequently goes braless. But none of them can foresee just how much will change in the few short weeks before summer and before Maeve’s birthday arrives. For starters, Maeve attracts the attention of Brian Power, the local 16-year-old heartthrob. When they begin to date, she experiences the exhilaration of first love and soon neglects her friends. Meanwhile, Ruth’s life takes a dramatic turn when her estranged father suddenly comes back into her life. Nervous about their first meeting in years, Ruth secures her friends’ promise to accompany her, but when the time comes, Maeve ditches them to go with Brian to the Grove, the city’s coolest new club. Rumors and innuendos fly in the wake of these events, and Maeve soon finds herself a social pariah among friends and family at what could possibly be the worst moment in her life. Filling 32A with plenty of Irish warmth and humor, writer-director Marian Quinn (sister of Aidan Quinn, who plays Maeve’s father) creates an unerring portrait of four girls’ difficult, yet strangely empowering, first steps into adolescence. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Mild adult themes and language)

Ireland 2007

Director:

Marian Quinn

Producers:

Tommy Weir

John McDonnell

Screenwriter: Marian Quinn

Cinematographer: PJ Dillon

Editor: Rune Schweitzer

Music: Gerry Leonard

Cast:

Aidan Quinn

Orla Brady

Jack Lynch

Kate O’Toole

Running Time:

85 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in English and Irish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Beta Cinema

Print Source:

Beta Cinema

Selected Filmography: Come To (1998)

REGARDE - MOI Ain’t Scared

THURSDAY MAY 29 4:30 PM SIFF

SATURDAY MAY 31 6:30 PM PACIFIC

Living in the banlieue (the low-income suburbs of Paris) changes you—trade in your frayed jeans for jogging pants, your father’s jazz for hip hop, and become a master of verbal aggression. Of her four years in the banlieue, 23-year-old director Audrey Estrougo recalls, “I would have to defend myself constantly, in particular by denying what, more than anything, I was: a girl on the threshold to womanhood.” Employing a two-part narrative, Estrougo achieves amazing results with her first film, a depiction of the banlieue from a recent insider. The first part describes the world of the boys and their perceptions of the girls, displaying the culture that requires girls to shed their femininity to blend in with their brothers. The second part focuses upon the consequences of this female self-denial in Julie and Fatimata. The white girl and the black girl have fallen in love with Jo, a soccer player with a chance of getting out of the banlieue. The dream of escaping with Jo places the young women in competition, raising tensions to a fever pitch. Ain’t Scared is a triumph of personal filmmaking for Estrougo, artistically taking the experience from her youth and viscerally bringing the banlieue to the screen. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Adult themes, violence, and language)

France 2007

Director:

Audrey Estrougo

Producers: Bruno Petit

Xavier Durringer

Screenwriters:

Audrey Estrougo

Feme Apache

Cinematographer:

Guillaume Schiffman

Editor:

Marie-Pierre Renaud

Music:

Baptiste Charvet

Cast:

Emilie de Preissac

Terry Nimajimbe

Paco Boublard

Salomé Stévenin

Eye Haidara

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Gaumont International

Print Source:

Gaumont International

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

CINEMA

PLACE CINEMAS

ALLEIN IN VIER WANDEN

Alone in Four Walls

SUNDAY JUNE 8 4:00 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 7:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

“They’re animals, not children.” At a juvenile detention school in Russia’s Ural Mountains, 10- to 14-year-olds serve sentences for crimes ranging from petty theft to murder. Searching beneath the surface of their unhappy expressions, director Alexandra Westmeier explores the innocence these children lose growing up on dangerous streets and in broken, abusive homes. In candid interviews, the children share their histories and crimes. Ljoscha, a thief, arrives without having the chance to say goodbye to his mother. Fighting back tears, he tries to adapt to his new and rigidly structured environment. Tolya, a murderer, appears stable and intelligent, yet recounts his crime without evidence of real remorse. As the children are interviewed, their hard exteriors break, revealing the repressed human instincts struggling within each child’s speech and mannerisms. Eschewing sentimentality, Alone in Four Walls is the best kind of documentary filmmaking. Undeniably powerful, it builds a deep empathy for the children that ultimately threatens to break when the camera moves beyond the prison walls and targets those most affected by their crimes. Appropriate for ages 13 and up.

(Descriptions of crimes including one murder)

Awards:

International Film Festival Locarno 2007 (Grand Prize) Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (MAX OPHÜLS Prize)

Germany 2007

Director:

Alexandra Westmeier

Producers:

Alexandra Westmeier

Inigo Westmeier

Screenwriter: Titus Maderlechner

Cinematographer: Inigo Westmeier

Editor:

Alexandra Westmeier

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

The Film Sales Company

Print Source:

Linger On Filmproduction

Film Website: www.lingeron.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Camille

SUNDAY MAY 25 9:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS WEDNESDAY MAY 28 4:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Young love has rarely been so twisted. Silas Parker (James Franco) just got out of prison and his parole officer has blackmailed him into marrying his beautiful but annoying daughter Camille (Sienna Miller). After forcing out an “I do,” Silas and Camille hit the road on a motorcycle and sidecar for their honeymoon at Niagara Falls. Along the way, Silas makes a fatal mistake, leaving him with an undead bride who keeps wondering “What is that rotting smell?” On the run from the cops and his father-in-law, Silas and Camille hurtle through quirky predicaments and a new-found romance, fleeing for the salvation of the Canadian border. Camille is an exciting choice for James Franco and Sienna Miller whose audience, used to seeing them in more standard Hollywood fare, will be delighted by their unusual performances. Appearing in engaging supporting roles are veteran favorites Scott Glenn as the parole officer and David Carradine as an odd horse wrangler who appears to pop up everywhere (including Camille’s dreams). Director Gregory Mackenzie ably fixes his camera at this mixture of undead romance and comedic action with precision, building the drama to a potent emotional climax and into a truly satisfying independent treat. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Some violence and brief partial nudity)

USA 2008

Director:

Gregory Mackenzie

Producers:

Gregory Mackenzie

Daniel Grodnik

Steve Markoff

Bruce McNall

Albert S. Ruddy

Brett Walsh

Screenwriter:

Nick Pustay

Cinematographer: Sharone Meir

Editor:

Roger Bondelli

Music:

Mark Mancina

Cast: Sienna Miller

James Franco

David Carradine

Scott Glenn

Running Time:

91 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

A-Mark Entertainment

LLC

Selected Filmography: Feature Film Debut

DE FORTABTE SJÆLES Ø

Fighter

SUNDAY JUNE 1 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

School doesn’t interest Aicha. Instead, kung fu fighting is her passion, an interest that flies in the face of her Turkish parents’ desire for her to attend medical school. Aicha secretly begins training at a professional co-ed kung fu club led by veteran Chinese actor-stuntman and fight choreographer Xian Gao. The boys of the club doubt Aicha’s abilities, but her determination and obvious talent soon win them over, even igniting romance between Aicha and her sparring partner Emil. As the kung fu championship draws near, Aicha is put to the ultimate test as she fights for freedom from her parents’ expectations, struggles to maintain her femininity in a blossoming relationship, and battles her own self-confidence—depicted as a black ninja in her fantasies. The film, a melting pot of perspectives from Aicha’s Turkish roots, contemporary Danish society, and Chinese philosophy, is a tremendous showcase of young acting talent. The story’s emotional thrust and physical choreography build in intensity, leading through the bravura kung fu championship sequence that breathlessly closes the film. Fighter is Denmark’s first film to use martial arts wirework, though director Natasha Arthy ensures the focus is on the perspective of her female protagonist as each physical and emotional encounter becomes another obstacle in her blossoming maturity.

Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Martial arts violence and mild adult themes)

Awards:

BUFF Film Festival 2008 (Church of Sweden Film Prize)

Denmark 2007

Director:

Natasha Arthy

Producer: Johnny Andersen

Screenwriters:

Natasha Arthy

Nikolaj Arcel

Cinematographer:

Sebastian Wintero

Editor:

Kasper Leicke

Music: Frithiof Toksvig

Cast:

Semra Turan

Cyron Melville

Xian Gao

Nima Nabipour

Molly Blixt Egelind

Running Time:

100 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Danish and Turkish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Delphis Films, Inc

Print Source: Danish Film Institute

Film Website:

www.fighter-filmen.dk

Selected Filmography:

Se til venstre, der er en Svensker (2003) Mirakel (2000) Barbie (1997)

The Island of Lost Souls

TUESDAY JUNE 10 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 NOON CINERAMA

Brace yourself for a tutorial on fists full of lightning, shadow spirits, malevolent scarecrows, and supernatural forces gathering deep in the Land of the Dead. The story begins with a brief historical prologue as the menacing and powerful Necromancer escapes the clutches of a secret lodge sworn to combat evil. Jump to present day: 14-year-old Lulu has moved with her family to a small coastal town. One night, a mysterious ball of light possesses her brother Sylvester and Lulu notices a change in his behavior. He isn’t such a pain in the butt anymore. Soon she learns that secret lodge member Herman Hartmann, who died in 1873, has inhabited Sylvester, and Lulu’s brother can hear the screams of a thousand lost souls on a nearby island. It is now up to Lulu and her friends to face the ultimate evil and save the world. The film’s amazing special effects are on par with modern Hollywood and never overshadow the story, contributing to the magical awe and building suspense at every twist and turn. The young stars easily carry the film with solid performances grounded in a youthful reality, supported by great adult performances by Nikolaj Kopernikus as a crackpot shrink-ghostbuster and Lars Mikkelsen (Mads’ brother) as the evil Necromancer. The narrative is infused with the spirit of the great fantasy and adventure films of the ’80s while adding an undeniably Danish sensibility that solidifies its unique place in our cinematic memory. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Mild violence and unrestrained evil)

Awards: Leeds Int’l Film Festival for Children and Young People 2007 (Audience Award)

Denmark

2007

Director:

Nikolaj Arcel

Producers:

Sarita Christensen

Meta Foldager

Screenwriters: Nikolaj Arcel

Rasmus Heisterberg

Cinematographer:

Rasmus Videbæk

Editor:

Mikkel E.G. Nielsen

Music:

Jane Antonia Cornish

Cast:

Sarah Langebæk

Gaarmann

Lucas Munk Billing

Lasse Borg

Nikolaj Kopernikus

Lars Mikkelsen

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Danish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Trust Film Sales

Print Source: Danish Film Institute

Film Website: www.fortabtesjaele.dk

Selected Filmography: King’s Game (2004)

Leroy

North American Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Neo-nazism, racism, and xenophobia are nothing new to cinema audiences, but tackling them through a romantic comedy is a bit unusual. Leroy is young, German, and black. Blond Eva falls for him and introduces him to her five ferocious skinhead brothers and right-wing parents. Leroy soon realizes he has a lot to learn…about Eva, sex, and black power. Sporting a giant Afro, Leroy is the son of a white mother from the Green Party and an inventor father of African origin. An optimist, he grew up freely choosing his likes and dislikes. Mainly, he likes hanging out with friends and playing classical cello. One day he steps into a Black Panther office and discovers soul music, Malcolm X, and Shaft. A new world opens up to him. With tongue-and-cheek dialogue and charm to burn, Leroy is refreshing in its tone and approach to racism. Integration of minority communities remains a sensitive issue in Germany, where some 15 million people or roughly 18 percent of the country is of foreign origin. “We have minorities and we have people with different looks. They all live here and they all have their place in German culture,” said film’s producer Oliver Stoltz. “We forget that we have become an immigrant country. Instead of pointing fingers and being didactical or politically correct, we wanted to open hearts with humor and make another point in the discussion of what Germany is and what Germans look like.”

Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Racial gang violence, partial nudity, strong language, adult themes)

Germany 2007

Director:

Armin Völckers

Producer:

Oliver Stoltz

Screenwriter:

Armin Völckers

Cinematographer:

Toni Mitchell

Editor:

Marty Schenk

Music:

Ali N. Askin

Cast:

Alain Morel

Anna Hausburg

Constantin von Jascheroff

Günther Kaufmann

Eva Mannschott

Running Time:

89 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Tomato Pictures

Print Source:

Tomato Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Sita Sings the Blues

SUNDAY MAY 25 1:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

MONDAY MAY 26 6:45 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Sita Sings the Blues has been called the “greatest break-up story ever told.” It is also the most exhilarating animated film in years—a triumphant combination of drama and comedy with a thoroughly original visual style rooted in Asian puppetry techniques. The prologue explodes with a brilliant collage of Indian music, movement, and rapid-fire visuals before director Nina Paley introduces two parallel story lines. The first is the autobiographical story of Nina, an animator whose husband gets a job in India and then breaks up with her in an e-mail. Interwoven is the tale of Sita from the ancient Indian epic “Ramayana.” Sita is a goddess who, after being kidnapped by a multi-headed man, is inexplicably dumped by her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Sita resembles Betty Boop and her woeful dialogue consists of 1920s jazz vocals sung by Annette Hanshaw. Peppered throughout the film is a “Greek chorus” of three hilarious shadow puppets who argue the facts and interpretations of the ancient text. Come for the bevy of sidesplitting laughs and creative visuals, but the film is also about the way art continues to imitate life. And despite being written 3,000 years ago, there is much that can be learned about ourselves through classic literature. Appropriate for ages 13 and up. (Mild adult themes)

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (Special Jury Mention)

USA 2007 Director:

Nina Paley

Producer:

Nina Paley

Screenwriter:

Nina Paley

Cinematographer: Reena Shah

Editor:

Nina Paley

Music:

Todd Michaelsen

Masala Dosa

Rohan

Rudresh Mahanthappa

Nik Phelps

Featuring the Voices of:

Annette Hanshaw

Aseem Chhabra

Manish Acharya

Bhavana Nagulapally

Reena Shah

Running Time: 82 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Nina Paley Productions

Film Website: www.sitasingstheblues.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SUPERFLY

SIFF FutureWave: Expanding Cinema Through Education empowers youth to work collaboratively, communicate their ideas, exercise their potential, and take action in their communities. This goal is embodied in the SuperFly Program where young filmmakers are asked to comment on their world using multimedia and digital tools.

Starting June 5, youth from around the country will converge on Seattle to participate in SuperFly, SIFF’s 36-hour filmmaking workshop. In our continued partnership with Longhouse Media, 50 young filmmakers will be placed in five teams and given a script co-written written by SuperFly alumni and Tulalip tribal members Aaron and Derek Jones. The script will be an original work from an excerpt of Sherman Alexie’s award-winning book, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” The teams will have less than two days to storyboard, shoot, and edit their films, which will then premiere at the FutureWave Shorts screening.

Last year’s SuperFly films (based on a script by filmmaker Sterlin Harjo) have played at festivals around the country, winning awards and inspiring other communities to use digital media for education. The program has caught the attention of youth media organizations and national media centers including the Smithsonian Museum’s media center and Native American Public Telecommunications, providers of Native content to PBS television.

Join us on June 7 at 4:00 PM at the Egyptian Theatre for this year’s SuperFly premiere.

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS

SIFF is proud to present FutureWave Shorts, a program of new films created by artists younger than 19 years old whose talents run the gamut from narrative to documentary, and from live action to animation.

These original short films are exciting, challenging, inspiring, and include the best of young people’s filmmaking from across the country. Also included in the program will be the J. Michael Award winner from the Seattle Times Three-Minute Masterpiece digital film contest.

The WaveMaker Award for Excellence in Youth Filmmaking will be presented to one film chosen in recognition of its artistic and technical achievement. The award, selected by the directors of this year’s Fly Filmmaking Challenge, comes with a $500 cash prize.

SIFF FutureWave has once again partnered with Longhouse Media to present the SuperFly Filmmaking Workshop for Youth (page 75). The SuperFly short films will open the FutureWave program. We hope you will join us for this very special film event. These filmmaking voices will amaze you.

A Sign of the Times

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

FutureWave Competition Jury

Rob Cunningham, Megan Griffiths, Andy McCone, Joe Shapiro, Cheryl Slean

30 Minute Guarantee

USA, 2008, 3 minutes, director: Jayke Lewis

A delivery man is chased by three ninjas.

4th Floor

USA, 2008, 6 minutes, director: Misami Kubo

An elevator trip proves to be the wrong decision.

Driving to the New Age:

American Automobiles and You

USA, 2007, 10 minutes, directors: Meng Mao, Eli Shalcross, Charlie Shelton, Matt Yaggyb

A ’50s-style educational film parody about how pollution affects our lives.

Like Pink Milk

USA, 2008, 9 minutes, director: David Over

After being attacked on the street, a young man discovers a basement that holds the on/off switch for his dreams.

A Sign of the Times

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Daisy Khamphakdy

An eye-opening documentary about media influence on young girls’ physical aspirations.

Super Quaker

USA, 2008, 7 minutes, director: Terri Doan

Who’s going to save Franklin High?

Be Healthy!

USA, 2007, 2 minutes, directors: Muckleshoot Native Lens Youth

A music video shout out to drinking water, exercise, and eating healthy.

Claudio the Magnificent

USA, 2008, 5 minutes, director: Liyah Horwitz

Two mimes vie for the attention of a young woman, setting the stage for real disaster.

Disorder

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Rose McAleese

A struggling student explains the challenging obstacles of learning.

Giving Thanks

USA, 2007, 3 minutes, directors: Muckleshoot Native Lens Youth

Four friends join hands and become the world.

Kick Me

USA, 2008, 7 minutes, directors: Chelsea Adams, Jennifer Jordan

A bully and a victim talk candidly about the effects their actions have on themselves and others.

New Perspective

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Dave Riff

A boy and a girl set out on a collision course toward self-discovery.

Save Me

USA, 2008, 5 minutes, director: Maya Lortan

Korean youth discuss their choices to discover religion.

Air France is a proud supporter of the 34th Annual Seattle International Film Festival.

SIFF IN THE SCHOOLS

• award-winning films from around the world.

Students from elementary to high school attend

Filmmakers visit classrooms and share their

• knowledge of filmmaking and cross-cultural understanding that is an integral part of the art of filmmaking.

• workshops in our Digital Classrooms.

Technically minded young people can attend

Teachers can explore media literacy by

• attending a professional development workshop.

Student Screenings:

Films are carefully selected by the SIFF programming team to reach a broad range of learning levels and interests for students and teachers all the way from elementary through high school. Content areas include foreign films produced in countries whose languages are taught in schools as well as motion pictures that enhance learning in classrooms for world cultures, civics, science, nature, and the environment. Student Screenings are offered free of charge and transportation is provided when needed.

Filmmaker Visits:

SIFF brings more than 100 international industry professionals to the Festival each year. Whenever possible, SIFF FutureWave invites these artists into classrooms and community organizations around Puget Sound to share their real-world experience. These visits are integrated into a multitude of school subjects and provide professional role models for every age group. In all cases, students get a first-hand opportunity to talk directly with filmmakers who will meet with students, sometimes offering constructive suggestions on student projects or using their expertise as a catalyst for discussion.

Digital Media Lab:

Students can attend free workshops through SIFF’s Digital Media Lab. These classes give students “hands-on” experience with computers and filmmaking tools. In the labs, there is plenty of time to work with instructors, ask questions, and solve issues with their own projects. See page 261 for location, class times, and descriptions.

Digital Storytelling and Media Literacy in the Classroom:

Training for Teachers of Grades 6–12

Three regional youth media organizations (Reel Grrls, BAVC, Spyhop) will offer a three-hour workshop for middle and high school teachers integrating media literacy and digital storytelling into the academic classroom. The training includes story generation and basic media production techniques – from scripting and storyboarding, to camera work, audio production, and editing. In this creative, idea-packed workshop, participating teachers will come away with concrete lesson plans and technological know-how. The class is free and clock hours will be available.

For more information and to participate in these programs, please contact Educational Programs Coordinator Dustin Kaspar at 206-464-5830 or via email at dustin.kaspar@siff.net.

More Music Mornings

Mozart at 8and 98 Minutes of Commercial Free Music

M-F 8-10:30

Because of your support:

SIFF expands cinema through education with SIFF’s educational program FutureWave, serving more than 10,000 students per year.

FILMS4FAMILIES

Join SIFF each Saturday and Sunday during the Festival for a matinee excursion into imaginative programming for children and the young at heart.

Films4Families is a way for the whole family to celebrate the culture and art of the moving image through filmmaking and film-going experiences. This year we present a riveting, hand-selected series showcasing the best features and shorts from around the globe to wow, regale, and excite the attention spans of modern families.

The Sunday, June 8 screening of Princess of the Sun in the Films4Families series will have subtitles performed live by a professional voice artist, ensuring that all ages can come and discover this wonderful film regardless of reading ability.

Plus, don’t miss seeing the next generation of filmmakers being showcased in FutureWave Shorts, a collection of young people’s filmmaking from around the country. These will play with films from the SuperFly Youth Filmmaking Workshop. Films are appropriate for all ages.

FILMS

Alice, Upside Down (USA, 2007)

Directed by Sandy Tung

Kung Fu Panda (USA, 2008)

Directed by Mark Osborne, John Stevenson (Martial arts action)

Nocturna (Spain, 2007)

Directed by Adrià García, Víctor Maldonado (Shadow creature might scare very young children)

Princess of the Sun (France, 2007)

Directed by Philippe Leclerc (Subtitles will be performed live by a professional voice artist at the Sunday, June 8 screening.)

Saving Luna (Canada, 2007)

Directed by Suzanne Chisholm, Michael Parfit

Some Assembly Required (USA, 2007)

Directed by Dori Berinstein

Terra (USA, 2007)

Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas (Mild animated violence)

The Family Picture Show

SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA

The many facets of youthful creativity are celebrated in this lively collection of the finest family shorts from around the world. (92 minutes)

Herzog and the Monsters

Scotland, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Lesley Barnes In stunning collage animation, Herzog creates a strange, new world constructed from books and letters.

Sleeping Betty

Canada, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Isabelle Au Bois Dormant

Princess Betty is asleep and nothing can wake her, so her father summons the nearest prince, but what to do in the meantime?

Lavatory Love Story

Russia, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Konstantin Bronzit A bathroom attendant searches frantically for her secret admirer in a love story that can’t be stalled.

Anita’s Africa

Uganda, 2007, 18 minutes, director: Beverley Reid

A pen pal letter from a girl in Uganda becomes a visual postcard of her daily life.

The Inquisitive Snail

Canada, 2007, 1 minute, director: Flemish Beauty

A new twist on “food for thought.”

Flutterby

Australia, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Jack Perry A spider and butterfly engage in a symphonic survival of the species.

Zoologic

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Nicole Mitchell A fussy zookeeper goes about his daily routine but must contend with a very uncooperative little penguin.

Miranda & Gordon

Canada, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Graeme Lynch Banished from tea time with the adults, a young girl chats with a man on the stairs, learning information that warms her grandmother’s heart.

The Watchman and the Little Girl

Germany, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Christoph Englert A security guard rediscovers the art around him when he follows a little girl with a red balloon around the museum.

Absolutely Afro

Netherlands, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Dorothée van den Berghe

Twelve-year-old, adopted Hanneke has a big, beautiful afro, but lives in a world where straight, blonde hair rules.

Triple Concerto in D Minor

Australia, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Daniel Mitchell Rebecca navigates the ups and downs of life as an aspiring orchestral triangle player.

Jeu

Canada, 2006, 4 minutes, director: Georges Schwizgebel An Escher-esque piece of nine cycles of paintings that destroy and reconstruct themselves.

The

Alice, Upside Down

SATURDAY JUNE 14 11:00 AM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 1:30 PM

Based on the award-winning series of “Alice” books written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Alice, Upside Down chronicles the experience of an endearing heroine growing up without a mother. Alyson Stoner (outgrowing her Disney Channel roots) embodies 11-year-old Alice McKinley, who is uprooted when her father moves the family to a suburb of Washington, DC, to open a business. At her new school, Alice has trouble surviving the day without embarrassing herself in front of the entire sixth grade class—from being assigned Mrs. Plotkin (Penny Marshall), the toughest teacher in school, to performing a not-so-great audition for the lead in the school play. Alice also mourns the passing of her mother six years ago, an event from which her father has never recovered. To deal with her adolescent struggles, Alice immerses herself in daydreams, which often get her into more sticky situations. Through the guidance of Mrs. Plotkin, Alice learns not to judge things by appearance or jump to conclusions. The strength of Alice, Upside Down lies in its ability to entertain while being honest about the challenges facing an 11-year-old girl. It encapsulates the joys and pains of growing up, discovering oneself, and learning to overcome the prejudices within. Appropriate for all ages.

USA 2007

Director:

Sandy Tung

Producer:

Chip Rosenbloom

Screenwriters:

Sandy Tung

Meghan Heritage based on a book by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Cinematographer: Mark Mervis

Editor:

Clarinda Wong

Cast:

Alyson Stoner

Lucas Grabeel

Penny Marshall

Luke Perry

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

New Dog Inc.

Film Website: www.thealicemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Saving Shiloh (2007)

Soccer Dog: European Cup (2004)

Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999)

Confessions of a Sexist Pig (1998)

Across the Tracks (1991) A Marriage (1985)

Kung Fu Panda

SUNDAY JUNE 1 11:00 AM

Wax on! Wax off! Dreamworks Animation succeeds in creating an animated kung fu adventure for all ages that deserves to have the Shaw Brothers logo illuminate its opening frames. Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black) is a lowly waiter at a noodle restaurant but he is a kung fu fanatic. Unfortunately, the round shape of Po’s belly doesn’t lend itself to kung fu fighting. In fact, Po is proudly the laziest of all the animals in ancient China. The problem is that Po has just been prophesied as the “Chosen One,” and it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Evil forces led by warrior Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane) are clawing at the gates. It will take a group of martial arts masters led by Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman) with black belts in patience to whip Po into shape before it is too late. Dreamworks has taken the best of the Hong Kong kung fu genre and made it accessible as a primer for young audiences beginning their foundation in kung fu cinema while simultaneously creating a film with enough action and comedy firmly rooted in the Hong Kong past to please any genre buff. Appropriate for all ages, martial arts action.

USA

2008

Directors:

Mark Osborne

John Stevenson

Producers:

Melissa Cobb

Glenn Berger

Jonathan Aibel

Screenwriters:

Jonathan Aibel

Glenn Berger

Ethan Reiff

Cyrus Voris

Cinematographer:

Yong Duk Jhun

Editor:

C. K. Horness

Music:

Hans Zimmer

Featuring the Voices of:

Jack Black

Jackie Chan

Dustin Hoffman

Lucy Liu

Angelina Jolie

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Dreamworks Animation

Film Website: www.kungfupanda.com

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

UPTOWN CINEMAS

LA REINE SOLEIL Princess of the Sun Nocturna

SATURDAY MAY 24 11:00 AM

SIFF CINEMA

MONDAY MAY 26 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Blend Monsters Inc. with the visual splendor of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and you start to get an idea of Nocturna. Tim, a chubby little boy at the city orphanage discovers a way to ease his fears of the dark by connecting with a single star he has named Adhara. One evening, Adhara disappears from the sky and Tim must venture into the darkness. He is quickly introduced to a world where all the things that go bump in the night are carefully managed by a team of exotic characters. In addition to the scary monsters, there is an army of do-gooders who work on important tasks such as messing up sleeping people’s hair, putting sand in people’s eyes, and even a mischievous urchin named Pee who is the guilty party whenever a bed is wet. Tim joins with his guardian cat, Tobermory, and a gargantuan creature known as the Cat Shepherd to confront his fears of the dark and do battle with the star thief before the world is left in total darkness. Nocturna’s straight-forward storytelling abandons pop culture in-jokes, musical segments, or flashy visuals to weave its magical tale. Surrender your imagination to the dreamlike world of Nocturna and experience superior animated entertainment.

Presented in English. Appropriate for all ages. Shadow creature might scare very young children.

Spain/France 2007

Directors:

Adrià García

Víctor Maldonado

Producers:

Julio Fernández

Philippe Garell

Screenwriters:

Adrià García

Víctor Maldonado

Teresa Vilardell

Editor:

Felix Bueno

Music:

Nicolas Errèra

Running Time: 83 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Filmax International

Print Source:

Filmax International

Film Website: movies.filmax.com/ nocturna

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

SUNDAY JUNE 8 11:00 AM

SIFF CINEMA

TUESDAY JUNE 10 4:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

The Egyptian streets bustle with life from the first frames of Philippe Leclerc’s animated masterpiece. Young Prince Tutankhamen (destined to be the famous king) is navigating an ancient traffic jam to meet Princess Akhesa whom he is expected to marry. Akhesa, a smart and fearless 14-year-old, has snuck out of the palace and is bounding across the rooftops with parkour-like fervor when she accidentally disrupts Prince Tut’s trip, starting the couple on the wrong foot. Back at the royal palace Akhesa’s father, Pharoah Akhenaten, is so enamored with his monotheistic devotion to the Sun God that he has ignored his family and the safety of his people. Akhesa and Tut flee to Thebes to seek help from Akhesa’s mother, Nefertiti, to save their land from vicious invaders who worship a variety of idols. On the journey, they are confronted with Nile crocodiles, burning desert dunes, and fearless mercenaries led by one-eyed Zannanza. With dazzling visuals and a breathtaking stylistic palate, Princess of the Sun brings fantastic and supernatural touches to the mysterious Egyptian mythology. Moments of pure magic (a character is taken to the afterlife after transforming into grains of sand while his ancestors hover) lend a dream-like quality to the solid adventure narrative and historical content, which is further advanced by modern jazz artist Didier Lockwood in his musical score, mixing Asian sensibilities, rhythm and blues, and the classical harmonies of Debussy and Ravel. Appropriate for all ages, though chases by mercenaries might be intense for very young children. Subtitles will be performed live by a professional voice artist at the Sunday, June 8 screening.

France/Hungary 2007

Director:

Philippe Leclerc

Producers:

Leon Zuratas

Jean-Michel Rey

Philippe Liégeois

Screenwriters:

Gilles Adrien

Hadrien Soulez-Larivière

Nathalie Suhard

Laurent Burtin

Phillippe Leclerc based on the novel by Christian Jacq

Editor:

Nathalie Delvoye

Music:

Didier Lockwood

Featuring the Voices of: Coralie Vanderlinden

David Scarpuzza

Running Time: 77 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

REZO Films

Print Source:

REZO Films

Film Website: lareinesoleil-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

The Rain Children (2003)

Saving Luna

SATURDAY JUNE 7 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA

SUNDAY JUNE 8 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Co-director Michael Parfit opens his film with the statement “There is a wall built of fear and respect, which normally stands between humans and wild beings. We humans tell sweet and magical fables about going through that wall and making friends with a mysterious creature on the other side…but we don’t think it could actually happen.” Parfit and Suzanne Chisholm (his wife and co-director) were sent to follow the story of Luna, a 2-year-old orca who mysteriously appeared alone in the waters of Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 2001. Orcas are social creatures and Luna, separated from his pod (community of orcas), began to interact with the locals, drawing tourist attention and scientists’ warnings about the dangers of human contact. Even those fighting to keep Luna from interacting with humans found his charms undeniable, creating a moral crossroads for both the participants in the story and the documentary audience. The film presents an eyeopening depiction of the attempt to capture the orca and a local native tribe’s non-violent effort to stop it. Amidst the struggle for what is best for Luna, Parfit and Chisholm weave a personal tale of their journalistic objectivity that bends throughout the film until they find themselves face to face with a gentle, beautiful creature with a personality and desire for companionship that transcends the wall between man and nature. Filled with stunning underwater photography and first-hand accounts of the people who encountered the solo orca, this emotional journey is not to be missed. Appropriate for all ages.

Canada 2007

Directors:

Suzanne Chisholm

Michael Parfit

Producer:

Suzanne Chisholm

Screenwriter: Michael Parfit

Cinematographers:

Suzanne Chisholm

Michael Parfit

Editor: Michael Parfit

Music:

David Parfit

Tobin Stokes

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Mountainside Films Ltd.

Film Website: www.savingluna.com

Some Assembly Required

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

SUNDAY JUNE 15 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA

Think you can beat Parker Brothers or Hasbro?

These middle school students do. They’re preparing for the annual Toy Challenge in San Diego, a competition that challenges boys and girls to invent the next big game or toy using a budget of no more than $150. More than 400 teams began the competition but only 50 will present their creations to a panel of judges. Director Dori Berinstein follows six teams from schools in Saddle Brook, New Jersey; Brighton, Michigan; Harlem, New York; West Hartford, Connecticut; and Washington, D.C. through brainstorming sessions, design meetings, and construction of their projects. While often hilarious, this documentary also inspires through its recognition of the students’ ingenuity, humor, teamwork, and enthusiasm. In one scene a group of Girl Scouts are wiring a circuit board for their “Climate Change” board game. In another, students create a game venue for families to discuss serious life-issues. Throughout the film, educators skillfully guide their students through joy, heartache, and unexpected obstacles on the path to seeing their dream toys come to life. Some Assembly Required is a beautifully crafted film with nostalgic nods to the toys of yesteryear peppered throughout its creative transitions. Dori Berinstein paces the film just right, building suspense toward an eventual, satisfying conclusion the whole family can enjoy. Appropriate for all ages.

USA 2008

Director:

Dori Berinstein

Producers:

Dori Berinstein

Sally Ride

Screenwriter:

Dori Berinstein

Cinematographers:

Miles Montalbano

Tony Hardmon

Tracey Gudwin

Editor:

Doug Blush

Music:

Craig Sharmat

Running Time:

94 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta

International Sales:

Films Transit International

Print Source:

Films Transit International

Selected Filmography:

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007)

Terra

SUNDAY MAY 25 11:00 AM

MONDAY MAY 26 11:00 AM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Featuring jaw-dropping animation, an outstanding voice cast, an exhilarating mix of action, adventure, and environmental concerns, Terra will be the talk of the family table. Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) lives on the planet Terra where peace is a way of life. Much to the Terrans’ surprise, humans, who have exhausted the resources on Earth, invade their pastoral planet. Soon, a Terraformer arrives and Mala learns it makes the atmosphere habitable for humans but poisonous for Terrans. When Mala’s father (Dennis Quaid) is kidnapped, she captures a human pilot (Luke Wilson) and nurses him back to health. Their friendship forges a plan to save both the human race and the planet, Terra. They soon realize that peace will not be easy, as they contend with the mighty Terraformer and the dark political forces that desire only power for power’s sake. While Terra’s message, that peace is a question of free will and choice, resonates throughout the film, the quest of Mala and her friends never loses narrative focus. Aristomenis Tsirbas succeeds in creating a new universe that speaks across cultural boundaries and will inspire long after the credits run.

Appropriate for all ages, some mild animated violence.

USA

2007

Director:

Aristomenis Tsirbas

Producers:

Keith Calder

Ryan Colucci

Dane Allan Smith

Jessica Wu

Screenwriter:

Evan Spiliotopoulos based on the story by Aristomenis Tsirbas

Cinematographer: Aristomenis Tsirbas

Editor:

J. Kathleen Gibson

Music:

Abel Korzeniowski

Featuring the Voices of: Evan Rachel Wood

Brian Cox

James Garner

Chris Evans

Danny Glover

Amanda Peet

David Cross

Dennis Quaid

Luke Wilson

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Wild Bunch

Print Source:

Snoot Entertainment

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

KEXP proudly supports the Seattle International Film Festival

FACE THE MUSIC

Each year, SIFF presents a series of films that bring great music to the screen and portray the fascinating faces and stories behind the sound.

The eight new documentaries featured here provide windows into the personal worlds of masters, unsung heroes, and raw talents. They explore musical styles from around the globe, ranging from the art of the Tango in Argentina, to the L.A. studio musicians who helped create the soundtrack of America. They shed light on rock icon Patti Smith and the often-overlooked jazz great Billy Strayhorn, and balance tradition with new vision. From heavy metal group Anvil to a husbandand-wife Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline tribute act; from the first head-bangers in a war-torn Iraq to a Sudanese former child soldier promoting peace through hip-hop; we are witness to new music in a changing world. Face the Music brings us into the personal stories of music makers who, despite the odds, just won’t give up. These films show the transformative power of music, but also make one thing abundantly clear: it doesn’t come easy. This program celebrates great music by illuminating the hopes, struggles, and triumphs behind it.

In addition, SIFF is pleased to present a unique live event bringing music and film together. The Album Leaf will perform a new original score, adding a layer of aural poetry to F.W. Murnau’s compelling 1927 American debut Sunrise, a silent-era melodramatic masterpiece. A beautiful, atmospheric, lyrical, and poetic work of art with roots in the German Expressionist movement, it is considered one of the greatest films ever made!

FACE THE MUSIC LIVE

The Album Leaf performs Sunrise (USA, 1927)

Directed by F.W. Murnau

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (USA, 2008)

Directed by Sacha Gervasi

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life (USA, 2007)

Directed by Robert Levi

Café de Los Maestros (Argentina, 2008)

Directed by Miguel Kohan

Emmanuel Jal: War Child (USA, 2008)

Directed by C. Karim Chrobog

Heavy Metal in Baghdad (USA, 2007)

Directed by Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi

Patti Smith: Dream of Life (USA, 2008)

Directed by Steven Sebring

Song Sung Blue (USA, 2008)

Directed by Greg Kohs

The Wrecking Crew (USA, 2008)

Directed by Denny Tedesco

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Face the Music Live The Album Leaf Performs F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise

FRIDAY JUNE 13 7:00 PM AND 9:30 PM

TRIPLE DOOR

Seating is first come, first served. You must arrive at least 15 minutes before the show starts, or your table will be released.

USA

1927

Director: F. W. Murnau

Producer: William Fox

Screenwriter:

Carl Mayer based on the book by Hermann Sudermann

Cinematographers: Charles Rosher

Karl Strauss

Editors:

Harold D. Schuster

Katherine Hilliker

Cast:

George O’Brien

Janet Gaynor

Margaret Livingston

Bodil Rosing

Running Time:

95 minutes

Print Source:

Criterion Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)

Faust (1926)

Tartuffe (1925)

The Phantom (1922)

Nosferatu (1922)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

One of the most stunning visual films ever made, Academy awardwinning Sunrise was F.W. Murnau’s American debut. Though shot in America, planning for the film began when Murnau was in Germany, lending to the German Expressionist influences in the film. Subtitled A Song of Two Humans, the poignant story of corruption and redemption revolves around a rural farmer seduced into an extramarital affair by a visiting city vamp. As the farm goes to ruin from neglect, he begins to plot the murder of his faithful and loving wife. Unable to follow through with his plan, he almost loses her anyway in a tragic accident. Released in the first year of the Academy Awards, the film won three awards including a Best Unique and Artistic Picture (discontinued after the first year), Best Actress (Janet Gaynor), and the first Academy Award for Cinematography. The breakthrough camera tracking techniques and skillful use of superimposition along with the strong use of imagery and symbolism influenced many future films. This film is presented with a live original score performed by The Album Leaf, the solo project of Jimmy LaValle, guitarist for post-rock band Tristeza. With Brian Eno-inspired compositional atmospherics, The Album Leaf has been called “melodic daydreams personified” and makes an exquisite pairing with this silent-era melodramatic masterpiece.

Awards:

Academy Award 1929 (Best Actress, Picture, Cinematography) National Film Preservation Board 1989 (National Film Registry)

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

THURSDAY JUNE 5 9:15 PM

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:30 PM

When they were 16, friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to never stop rocking. By the early 1980s, their band Anvil was playing stadiums and sharing stages with the Scorpions, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi. Their debut album “Metal on Metal” rocked like nothing before and went on to influence bands including Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. But while their contemporaries went on to fame and fortune, Anvil dropped into obscurity. After more than 35 years, this new film finds that Lips and Robb, now in their 50’s with working-class day jobs and families to support, have never stopped playing nor hoping for that increasingly improbable big break. Long-time friend of the band, director Sacha Gervasi, has captured a wonderful and often funny portrait of the world’s hardest-working, most under-appreciated metal band and their last-ditch quest for success. What begins as a real-life Spinal Tap, following them on a ridiculously mismanaged European tour (one club tries to pay them in goulash), unfolds into a moving story of dreams, determination, friendship, and family. Candid interviews with their ever-supportive but long-suffering families demonstrate the degree of tolerance required to stick with middle-aged men still pursuing teenage rock star fantasies. One of the most talked about films at Sundance, Anvil is an alternately heartwarming and headbanging tale of survival and unadulterated passion.

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

USA 2008

Director:

Sacha Gervasi

Producer: Rebecca Yeldham

Cinematographer: Christopher Soos

Editors:

Jeff Renfroe

Andrew Dickler

Music:

David Torn

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source: Ahimsa Films

Film Website: www.anvilthestoryofanvil.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

MONDAY JUNE 2 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

While Billy Strayhorn may not be a household name, many of his songs are among the most recognizable in jazz. Lush Life is here to set the record straight, uncovering the story of this pioneering African-American composer, arranger, and pianist, and exploring some of the reasons for his near anonymity. While a teenager in Pittsburgh, Strayhorn studied classical music and was already writing complex works. His famous tune, “Lush Life,” later widely recorded, was written when he was just 16. Not long after, in 1939, he joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, updating the band’s musical style with a fresh, intellectual, and romantic sophistication. Over his near 30-year tenure with Ellington, Strayhorn wrote or co-wrote some of the most famous music in his repertoire, including the band’s theme song “Take The A-Train” and “Satin Doll” to name just a couple. While fruitful, the situation proved complicated as Ellington’s name was continually the only one on the marquee, in the newspapers, and on the paycheck. In the shadow of the most celebrated figure in jazz, director Robert Levi finds the often-unrecognized genius behind Ellington’s legacy. Strayhorn’s life as an openly gay black man, his close yet complex relationship with Ellington, and his involvement in the civil rights movement make his biography the stuff of legends. But his music, witnessed here in both archival footage and new performances by Elvis Costello, Dianne Reeves, Hank Jones, and others, is the reason everyone should know his name.

USA/France

2007

Director:

Robert Levi

Producers:

Joshua Blum

George Seminara

Screenwriters:

Robert Levi

Robert Seidman

Cinematographers:

David Sperling

Fred Murphy

Editor: Ray Hubley

Featuring:

Dulé Hill

Dianne Reeves

Hank Jones

Joe Lovano

Elvis Costello

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Washington Square Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

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Café de Los Maestros

North American Premiere

FRIDAY MAY 23 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Tango is not just a dance in Argentina, it’s a way of life. Argentinean writer Macedonio Fernández once said, “Tango is the only thing we will never discuss with Europe.” Tango belongs to Argentina and is very much an urban phenomenon in cities such as Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Rosario, where it is considerably more than simply a nostalgic echo of the past. Many of the grand old men and women of tango still perform—some of them having been doing so for almost 80 years.

Award-winning Argentine composer Gustavo Santaollala (Brokeback Mountain, Babel) is our guide into this uniquely atmospheric world. He introduces us to several of the art form’s more colorful characters, including some creators of tango’s classical repertoire, and the founders of a variety of styles and schools. We also meet the members of bands and orchestras who found fame during the golden age of tango of the 1940s and 1950s. These veteran artists are being reunited for a purpose: to inspire younger generations of tango enthusiasts to preserve and enjoy this thrilling fusion of music, dance, and theater. The film comes to a glorious climax at an unforgettable tango evening at the world-famous Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Argentina/USA/ Brazil 2008

Director:

Miguel Kohan

Producers:

Walter Salles

Lita Stantic

Screenwriters:

Miguel Kohan

Gustavo Santaolalla

Cinematographers:

Miguel Kohan

Gabriel Pomeraniec

Federico Gomez

Diego Poleri

Gaston Delecluze

Carolina Graña

Marcelo Iaccarino

Guillermo Nieto

Alejandra Palacios

Editors:

Alejandra Almiron

Gonxalo Santiso

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Pathé Pictures

International

Print Source: Pathé Pictures

International

Selected Filmography: Salinas Grandes (2004)

Emmanuel Jal: War Child

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 7:15 PM SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY JUNE 14 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Emmanuel Jal was one of the many thousands of child soldiers who fought during the brutal twodecade civil war in Sudan. His survival was a long shot, to say the least. His rise to become one of Africa’s biggest hip-hop stars is incredible. Director Christian Karim Chrobog traces Emmanuel’s life story—a tapestry of tragedy, luck, and hope. Born into war, Emmanuel’s mother died when he was a young child and his father was a Sudanese Liberation Army soldier. At the age of seven, Emmanuel was trained as a soldier. Though he and 400 others escaped the army, he was one of only 12 to survive the exodus. His fortune began to change when a woman working for a children’s relief organization adopted him and then smuggled him into Kenya. Twelve years later, Emmanuel was a rising star storming the music charts with his hit “Gua.” His songs, sung in a combination of five languages, tell of the terror that befell his family and friends, the horror he inflicted upon others, and his desire to set things right. The film follows Emmanuel as he speaks and performs internationally, reunites with family, and helps to open a new school in Sudan. “If you touch people only in their minds, then they’ll only act temporarily,” Emmanuel says in the film, “but if you touch their hearts then they will carry it with passion.” His story and his music are the purest champions of peace.

USA

2008

Director:

C. Karim Chrobog

Producers: C. Karim Chrobog

Afshin Molavi

Cinematographer: Stanley Staniski

Editor:

Nels Bangerter

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

Print Source: 18th Street Films

Film Website: www.warchildmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:30 PM

SUNDAY MAY 25 11:00 AM

Apart from the obvious, is there a heavy metal scene in Baghdad? Filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi’s mission to find out is as much a testament to their determination as it is to the beleaguered subjects of this remarkable seatof-the-pants style documentary, the Baghdadbased metal quartet Acrassicauda (Latin for “Black Scorpion,” and if that reference passes you by, chances are this film is not for you). It took a detail of 12 sharpshooters to protect Moretti and Alvi while filming in the war-torn city, with the daily death toll reaching 300. Fans of Metallica, Slayer, and Slipknot, Acrassicauda formed in 2001 but has to date only managed a handful of gigs—all of which have been beset by every nightmare from death threats accusing them of devil worship to car bombs and having their equipment fall foul of a SCUD missile. Asked where the band finds the inspiration for its music, the response is quick and cutting, “Take a look around. We’re living in a heavy metal world.” Even after the fall of Saddam Hussein and despite eschewing all sectarian rigidity, the bands’ dreams of living in peace as long-haired headbangers remain just that… dreams. The film transmogrifies from an affirmation of the liberating power of rock and roll into something darker—a meditation on the nature of tolerance, or lack of it, for those who wish to be just a little bit different, albeit at an ear-splitting level on the volume dial.

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

USA/Canada 2007

Directors:

Eddy Moretti

Suroosh Alvi

Producers:

Monica Hampton

Shane Smith

Spike Jonze

Cinematographer:

Eddy Moretti

Editor: Bernardo Loyola

Music: Acrassicauda

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

International Sales: Lumina Films

Print Source:

Vice Films

Film Website: www.

heavymetalinbaghdad. com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

SUNDAY MAY 25 9:00 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Young photographer, Steven Sebring, saw his first Patti Smith concert 11 years ago and was so impressed that he asked Smith if he could film her. Sebring has spent much of his time since then doing just that, in a quest to find out who Patti Smith really is. Rock icon, poet, activist, mother, legend…the labels all seem too narrow to define a towering artist who remains at the top of her game, despite a 16 year absence from the public eye, when she devoted herself to her marriage to the late musician Fred Smith. Shot in an appropriate, yet ravishing grainy black and white, the film captures Patti Smith in concert, at home surrounded by a few beloved objects, making brief excursions for a walk on the beach, a visit to her much-loved parents, and pilgrimages to the graves of her favorite poets. Taunting Sebring that she’s not going to budge until he finishes filming her, Smith pours forth a stream of consciousness and references that candidly and affectionately look back to her New Jersey childhood, her political education, her entrée into the New York art monde, and rock and roll in the company of Young Turks Sam Shepard and Robert Mapplethorpe in a gentle manner that is the antithesis of the wild, rage-fuelled stage artist we have come to know and love. Sebring’s long-term observational work developed along the way into a very personal biopic, enhanced by Patti Smith’s own comments on the filmed material, yet one that will satisfy her legions of diehard fans.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Cinematography Award)

Preceded by:

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Jem Cohen

A portrait of Patti Smith and her son, William Blake’s death mask, Kurt Cobain, and cats as household saints as America moves from guitars to dirty dishes.

USA

2008

Director:

Steven Sebring

Producers:

Scott Vogel

Margaret Smilow

Steven Sebring

Screenwriter:

Steven Sebring

Cinematographers:

Phillip Hunt

Steven Sebring

Editors:

Angelo Corrao

Lin Polito

Running Time:

109 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

Palm Pictures

Selected Filmography:

DKNY Road Stories (2004)

New York Stories (2003)

Song Sung Blue

THURSDAY MAY 29 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY JUNE 2 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

The American Dream in all its shaggy, sweaty, and sequined glory is on display in the lives of Mike and Claire Sardina, aka Lighting & Thunder, a Milwaukee-based husband and wife pair of celebrity impersonators. He’s Neil Diamond, she’s Patsy Cline, and together they struggle to make ends meet while keeping their eyes on the prize— making a living solely on the proceeds of their performing. They’ve got the kids, the house, and the yard…but just barely as addiction, dysfunction, and freak accidents threaten to take it all away. First-time director Greg Kohs followed the pair for eight years, chronicling the highs and lows of a career that reached its pinnacle when the duo shared the stage with Eddie Vedder in a performance of Diamond’s “Forever in Blue Jeans,” and was nearly wiped out when a random accident cost Claire one of her legs and nearly broke up the family. Through it all, Lightning refuses to consider a day job despite the calls from bill collectors and the disapproval of Thunder’s mother, promising “My retirement will be when I’m dead.” The alternately heartwarming, humorous, and tragic pair make their way through it all with love, affection and not a few tears, producing a raw and poignant portrait of the struggle for glory amid disappointment and pain.

USA

2008

Director:

Greg Kohs

Producers:

Greg Kohs

Andrea Mihalik

Screenwriter: Greg Kohs

Cinematographers: Jimmy Sammarco

Greg Kohs

Editor: Nick Kleczewski

Music: Tony Dekker

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

International Sales: Corn Filmworks, Inc.

Print Source: Corn Filmworks, Inc.

Film Website:

www.songsungblue.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

The Wrecking Crew

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY MAY 26 4:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

Everyone in the Los Angeles recording industry wanted to work with them. In fact, they recorded more number one singles than the Beatles. You’ve heard their legendary work, but have you ever heard their names? Dubbed, “The Wrecking Crew,” this gang of extremely talented studio musicians recorded hits with everyone from Frank Sinatra to The Monkees. Hal Blaine, Carole Kaye, Tommy Tedesco, Glen Campbell, and Earl Palmer were just a few members of the Crew that could record four songs in three hours…consistently. Producers called on them to lay down instrumental tracks, and if those tracks became hits, they recorded the songs, and put a group together to tour with the album–and so were born groups like the Marketts, Routers, and T-Bones. The next day they would do it all over again, same musicians…different band name. Tedesco’s son, Denny, couldn’t let their remarkable story fade away, so before his father’s death he set out to lay down their historical track. Featuring conversations with Brian Wilson, Cher, Nancy Sinatra, Dick Clark, Mickey Dolenz, and more, this heartfelt tribute to a father, his music, and his friends reveals a crucial layer of the West Coast music scene, and the faces of those who helped create the soundtrack of America.

Awards:

Buffalo Niagara Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

USA

2008

Director:

Denny Tedesco

Producers:

Denny Tedesco

Suzie Tedesco

Jon Leonoudakis

Mitchell Linden

Claire Scanlon

Cinematographers:

Rodney Taylor

Trish Govoni

Editor:

Claire Scanlon

Music:

The Wrecking Crew

Featuring:

Brian Wilson

Cher

Nancy Sinatra

Herb Alpert

Glen Campbell

Micky Dolenz

Hal Blaine

Plas Johnson

Carol Kaye

Tommy Tedesco

Running Time:

95 minutes

Presentation Format:

Print Source:

Lunchbox Entertainment

Film Website: www.wreckingcrew.tv

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

PLANET CINEMA

For decades, narrative filmmakers have been telling stories set in a dystopian future with a shredded atmosphere, rising seas, and extreme weather shifts.

Elements of climate change are no longer the exclusive province of science fiction. They are fact. However, the undesirable effects of this new reality can be blunted by immediate action and SIFF is committed to being part of that initiative. We present Planet Cinema, our landmark series of excellent new films drawn from four genres–documentary, drama, experimental, and horror–that speak to humanity’s relationship with global ecology. The independent film community boasts a bold tradition of using the camera to confront and ignite public action around the most pressing issues of our time. This year our green-centric selections address the global dependence on oil, our love-hate relationship with water, the struggles behind building green housing, and a sci-fi twist on post-global warming. These films take audiences to every corner of the planet and show, not just tell, viewers the contradictions and struggles of a changing Earth.

FILMS

About Water (Austria, 2007)

Directed by Udo Maurer

Fields of Fuel (USA, 2007)

Directed by Josh Tickell

FLOW: For Love of Water (USA, 2008)

Directed by Irena Salina

Good Food (USA, 2008)

Directed by Melissa Young, Mark Dworkin

The Greening of Southie (USA, 2008)

Directed by Ian Cheney

Half-Life (USA, 2008)

Directed by Jennifer Phang

They Killed Sister Dorothy (USA, 2008)

Directed by Daniel Junge

Up the Yangtze (Canada, 2007)

Directed by Yung Chang

Fields of Fuel

About Water

THURSDAY JUNE 5 9:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Poetic, mysterious, and subtly horrifying, About Water offers up three unforgettable portraits of humanity’s precarious, dependent relationship with the titular substance. In Bangladesh we meet nomads driven not by desert winds but by a constantly encroaching tide, which is dissolving the shoreline in such voracious chunks that a tree falling into the water offers no surprise to dispassionate bystanders. Kazakhstan is home to a former section of the Aral Sea, bone dry after the construction of a dam, where rusting fishing boats sit like ghost ships on flat, cracked dust. It is also home to a former coastal town and several canneries whose inhabitants must now travel hours by bus to buy fresh fish. And in Kibera, Nairobi, where municipal services are haphazard at best, a black market thrives in water. The taps are turned on in random, remote locations that on any given day can be a two-hour walk for those in need of H20. This is no impediment to a brisk business, as the clients haul their bulky yellow jugs and stand in lines that snake up around the alley. Eschewing narration, director Udo Maurer allows those he meets to tell their stories, and the images he captures to transport us into their world. A dizzyingly fresh look at the world’s most common element, which removes water from the everyday and restores its rightful status as a wonder that sustains and threatens us all in equal measure.

Austria/ Luxembourg 2007

Director:

Udo Maurer

Producers:

Erich Lackner

Anne Schroeder

Screenwriters:

Udo Maurer

Michael Glawogger

Ursula Sova

Cinematographer:

Attila Boa

Editor:

Udo Maurer

Music:

Serge Tonnar

Running Time:

82 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales: Paul Thiltgies Distributions

Print Source:

Austrian Film Commission

Film Website: www.ueberwasser.at

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Fields of Fuel

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 7:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

THURSDAY JUNE 12 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

As more and more evidence uncovers the enormous ecological, economic, social, and political costs of America’s oversized dependence on oil, a consensus is finally beginning to emerge about the pressing need for alternative energy sources. Josh Tickell, one of the admirable figures who works to bring about a shift in public perception, presents a lively, wide-ranging, and fiercely populist documentary about biodiesel. Tickell isn’t naïve enough to consider biodiesel the magic bullet for all our fuel woes, but he’s convinced it will play an important role in a greener America of the future. He is so certain that in 1997 he toured the country in a brightly-painted station wagon, rolling past gas stations to fuel up at fast-food joints, whose excess fryer grease is easily converted to feed his vehicle’s tank. His journey was a public relations coup, and since then he’s continued his environmental activism. His unapologetic fury at the large oil and automobile corporations, and their government lapdogs who keep the system rigged, is wittily balanced by an admiration for everyone he’s met along the way. He talks with scientists, activists, Hollywood celebrities, interstate truckers, elected officials, and average-Janes-next-door, all doing what they can to spread the biodiesel revolution. Someday we’ll look back amazed that anyone had to fight this battle. Until then, Tickell’s celebration of these people’s efforts serves as a fine example.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

USA/France/ Germany/UK 2007

Director:

Josh Tickell

Producers:

Greg Reitman

Dale Rosenbloom

Daniel Assael

Screenwriter:

Johnny O’Hara

Cinematographer:

James Mulryan

Editors:

Tina Imahara

Mike Horowitz

Sara Rose Bergman

Kristin Tieche

Music:

Mike Meeker

Ryan Demaree

Featuring:

Laurie David

Larry David

Woody Harrelson

Willie Nelson

Julia Roberts

Neil Young

Richard Branson

Running Time:

93 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

International Sales:

The Little Film Company

Print Source:

Blue Water Entertainment

Film Website:

www.fieldsoffuel.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

FLOW: For Love of Water

SUNDAY JUNE 1 6:30 PM

TUESDAY JUNE 3 4:30 PM

Water is the essence of life, sustaining every creature on the planet, but the global water supply is in crisis. More than one billion people lack access to clean water. Water profiteering is at the center of a global healthcare emergency that kills more people than AIDS or malaria. Meanwhile, in the West, the bottled water industry pulls in billions of dollars—well more than the amount it would take to solve the world’s water problem—on an unregulated product that is more contaminated than what comes out of the tap (not to mention the mountain of empty plastic bottles that poison the environment). Irena Salina’s urgent and unflinching documentary focuses on the role of politics, pollution, corruption, and human rights in the often-invisible and underreported global water crisis. Interviews with community leaders, activists, experts, and water company executives in Asia, Africa, South and Central America, and the United States illustrate a graphic and grim story about corporate water piracy. Developing nations sell their water to companies who get sweetheart deals to offer substandard, overpriced service at a terrible cost to human life, especially the poor. But local activists around the world are fighting back and winning public, non-profit ownership of their waterworks. Infuriating, insistent, and inspiring, FLOW is a wake-up call shouting that the precarious relationship between humanity and water can no longer be ignored.

Awards:

Mumbai Film Festival 2008 (Jury Prize)

Vail Film Festival 2008 (Best Documentary)

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA/Bolivia/ India/France

2008

Director:

Irena Salina

Producer: Steven Starr

Cinematographers: Pablo De Selva

Irena Salina

Editors: Caitlin Dixon

Madeline Gavin

Andrew Mondshein

Music: Christophe Julien

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

International Sales: Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

The Group Entertainment

Film Website: www.flowthefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Ghost Bird: The Life and Art of Judith Deim (2000)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

While so many documentaries catalogue the errors and arrogance that contribute to the problems facing our planet, Good Food offers a celebration of those working to turn things around and make them right. The film provides a lively tour of various Washington State farms and ranches (independent, cooperative, even Universityaffiliated) that have adopted healthier organic methods in raising their products. Though small and devoted to local markets, this new breed is far more pragmatic than communal experiments of years past. Rather than fizzle out on their high ideals, each understands, as one puts it, that such enterprises must now prove both “economically…and socially viable.” An equal part of the story, and the credit, is shared with the distributors, retailers, and restaurants that have specifically sought out such food providers, taking the extra effort to obtain the best options for their customers. Informative without becoming pedantic, Good Food lays out several lucid arguments in favor of smaller, more efficient farms, and purchasing locally grown crops. Still, nothing is as convincing as the marvelous bounty laid before our eyes: vibrant and crisp green beans, carrots as thick as a baby’s leg, pinwheels of peppers exploding in rainbow colors and beautifully coated cattle nimbly wandering their free range. A delectable array that, aside from the political and ethical merits of its production, is a mouthwatering temptation.

USA

2008

Directors:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Producers:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Screenwriters:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Cinematographer: Mark Dworkin

Editor: Mark Dworkin

Music:

Jami Sieber

Mark Graham

Los Emocionantes

Running Time: 72 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

Print Source:

Moving Images

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

The Greening of SouthieHalf-Life

MONDAY MAY 26 6:30 PM

TUESDAY MAY 27 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

It seems an idea whose time had not just come, but was unavoidable. The Macallen condominiums were designed to be Boston’s first LEED® certified green residential high-rise, a break from the past as much as an example for the future. But as construction begins, the laborers on the site are doubtful at best, dismissive at worst, and are convinced that the ecological design is an expensive boondoggle. As the work progresses, complications and setbacks arise—buckled flooring, a poorly designed roof garden—that justify those concerns. Anyone who has a familiarity with Boston will note the title hints at part of the reason for the skepticism. South Boston’s entrenched working-class neighborhood views these expensive condos as simply a yuppie encroachment upon their community, one whose doors they’ll never be able to afford to enter. The class-consciousness in the project is understated but ever-present, and though the film offers a detailed look at the building of an eco-friendly structure, The Greening of Southie is less about architecture than the need to compromise with changing the world. Avoiding heavyhanded sermonizing and overt editorializing the film is a clear-eyed but optimistic look at the real work of going green.

USA/Bolivia 2008

Director:

Ian Cheney

Producer:

Curt Ellis

Cinematographer:

Taylor Gentry

Editor:

Ian Cheney

Music:

Force Theory

Running Time:

86 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in English and Spanish, with English

subtitles

Print Source:

Wicked Delicate Films

Film Website: www.greeningofsouthie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

FRIDAY JUNE 6 6:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

SATURDAY JUNE 7 1:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Reflective, quietly subversive, and gorgeously photographed, Half-Life takes place in a world much like our own, except global warming has already passed the tipping point. As flooding accelerates along the coast, inland areas grow hotter, and tempers begin to flare (like the sun). Writer-director Jennifer Phang doesn’t specify an actual date for the film’s setting, but suggests it’s a few short years from now. She focuses her penetrating gaze on Southern California’s fractured Wu family and the figures within their orbit. Based in the arid and appropriately-named Diablo Valley, hospital administrator Saura (Julia Nickson) carries on a torrid affair with the younger Wendell (Ben Redgrave), who makes wildly inappropriate comments to the kids in their mother’s absence. (The Wu family patriarch, a pilot, disappeared more than a year ago.) Caustic teenager Pam harbors a crush on rebellious neighbor Scott (Leonardo Nam, The Perfect Score), who has just come out of the closet, while her artistic younger brother develops mysterious powers, like the abilities to heal and to move objects with his mind. As Scott strains against his fundamentalist adoptive parents, Saura and her children experience visions and daydreams (depicted through handdrawn and computer animated sequences). The air around them crackles with strangeness and unpredictability. Half-Life combines science fiction, domestic drama, and psychological horror to reach unusual and provocative effects.

USA 2008

Director:

Jennifer Phang

Producers:

Alan T. Chan

Reuben Lim

Robert Zimmer

Screenwriter:

Jennifer Phang

Cinematographer:

Assulv Wolf Austad

Editor:

Harry Yoon

Music:

Michael S. Patterson

Cast:

Alexander Agate

Sanoe Lake

Julia Nickson

Ben Redgrave

Running Time:

116 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Lane Street Pictures & the MOD Studios

Film Website: www.halflifemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA

Up the Yangzte They Killed Sister Dorothy

TUESDAY MAY 27 7:00 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 4:30 PM

On February 12, 2005, Sister Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old Catholic nun and activist known as the “Angel of the Amazon” was shot dead in the Brazilian rainforest where she had lived and worked for more than 30 years. The motive: a dispute over ten square miles of land, part of a sustainable development project that allows poor farmers to make a living while reducing overall deforestation. A shadowy network of ranchers and loggers who tried to intimidate Sister Dorothy are arrested, but they are well connected in a corrupt political system where “justice” is often for sale. The trials are riveting, but grow ever more outlandish as the prosecutors encounter a mix of exuberant, impassioned speeches, naked perjury, and bureaucratic chaos. The defense team attempts to portray Sister Dorothy as a rabble-rousing radical sent by the United States government to arm Brazilian peasants with highcaliber weapons. Narrated by Martin Sheen, this powerful documentary interviews those who knew Sister Dorothy best, gives viewers unprecedented access to the defendants, and uses archival footage of Sister Dorothy herself to illustrate this profile in courage.

Awards:

SXSW Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award, Grand Jury Prize)

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA 2008

Director:

Daniel Junge

Producers: Henry Ansbacher

Nigel Noble

Editor: Davis Coombe

Music:

Pedro Bromfman

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM, in Portuguese and English, with English subtitles

Print Source: Just Media

Film Website: www.theykilledsisterdorothy.com

Selected Filmography:

Iron Ladies of LIberia (2007) Chiefs (2002)

SUNDAY MAY 25 7:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

MONDAY MAY 26 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

For many, China’s mammoth Three Gorges Dam project on the Yangtze River is an eco-disaster in the making. For others, including the operators of the “farewell” cruises to the spectacular but doomed region, it is an opportunity to make hay while the sun shines, economically speaking. While acknowledging the cultural and archeological devastation the project encompasses, director Yung Chang intelligently and sensitively anticipates the collateral human damage of the project by focusing on the contrasting fortunes of two youngsters employed on one of the cruise ships. Shy and awkward, Yu Shui is forced to abandon her education to work on the boats and ply the waters that will soon engulf her parents’ home. In stark contrast is the confident and opportunistic Chen Bo Yu, whose good looks and easy charm soon have the tips rolling in. Re-named “Cindy” and “Jerry” for the benefit of their foreign clients, the two are quickly immersed in corporate ethics while director Chang ferrets out images of ironic juxtaposition that convey his position more eloquently than words ever could. It is this embracing of gentle irony rather than indignation that makes this gorgeous, poetic meditation on the tenuous balance of China’s rich cultural past and its modernized future a triumph as it points out a human tragedy in the making.

Canada 2007

Director:

Yung Chang

Producers:

Mila Aung-thwin

Germaine Ying Gee Wong

John Christou

Screenwriter:

Yung Chang

Cinematographers:

Wang Shi Qing

Editor:

Hannele Halm

Music:

Olivier Alary

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Mandarin, English, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

National Film Board of Canada

Print Source:

Zeitgeist Films

Film Website: www.nfb.ca/uptheyangtze

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARDS

Make your voice heard!

Each year, thousands of films vie for a spot in the Seattle International Film Festival. We select our favorite few hundred and share them with you, but after the lights go up and celluloid has run its course, we want to know what your favorites are. Was it the film that made you fall on the floor laughing, the one that left you confounded, or the film that helped you see something from an entirely new perspective?

Exercise your right to vote in the race for the prestigious audience-choice Golden Space Needle awards in the categories of Best Film, Documentary Feature, Director, Actor, Actress, and Short Film. Although we can’t take all the credit, past winners have gone on to add Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards to their shelves. You may be the first

to see the film, so let the world know what films and filmmakers need to be on their radar.

Voting is easy and there are no hanging chads involved. For Best Film or Documentary Feature, simply take a ballot from an usher as you enter the theater. Once the film’s presentation is over, tear your ballot at the appropriate grade listed (from 1 to 5), and give your completed ballot to an usher as you leave. Ballots for each film are tallied throughout the Festival. To vote for Best Director, Actor, Actress, and Short Film, use one of the blank ballots available next to the ballot boxes at each Festival venue. Simply write in your choice for the winner in each of these categories and place your completed ballots in the box.

The winners are announced at the Golden Space Needle Award brunch at the Space Needle, 11:00 am Sunday, June 15.

SIFF 2007 Golden Space Needle Audience Award Winners

Lena Sharpe Award

Annie Sundberg and Ricki Stern, The Devil Came on Horseback

Best Director

Daniel Waters, Sex & Death 101

Best Actor

Daniel Brühl, Salvador

Best Actress

Marion Cotillard, La vie en rose

Best Film Outsourced, director John Jeffcoat

Best Documentary

For The Bible Tells Me So, director Daniel Karslake

Best Short Film

Pierre, director Dan Brown

NEW DIRECTORS SHOWCASE

Jury

Frederic Boyer

Frederic Boyer has been working at the Cannes International Film Festival since 1985 and is currently one of the chief programmers for the Festival’s Director’s Fortnight with responsibility for North America, Asia, the UK, Australia, Scandinavia, and France. Since 1995, he has also been running the Paris-based video library, Videosphere, which, with more than 40,000 titles, is the largest in Europe. Boyer is currently involved in the development of a video-on-demand company that will specialize in European arthouse cinema.

Oliver Mahrdt

Born in Speyer, Germany, in 1966, Oliver Mahrdt studied marketing and tourism in Heidelberg and Ravensburg. After a successful acting career, he studied directing at the New York Film Academy, when he met and started working with the late and legendary agent Hanns Wolters. Mahrdt was responsible for key accounts and for acquisitions of more than 200 European and North American feature films. After Wolters’ passing, Mahrdt became the president and senior agent of the company. Today he represents the German Film Industry on the East Coast of the United States and Canada.

Charles Taylor

Charles Tayor is a columnist for the Newark Star-Ledger and Bloomberg News. A member of the National Society of Film Critics, he is a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and Dissent. His writing on movies, books, pop music, and politics has appeared in the New Yorker, The Nation, Film Comment, Sight and Sound, Details, and other publications.

NEW DIRECTORS SHOWCASE

One of the most important aspects of a film festival is the promotion of new talent.

Each year, SIFF’s programmers choose a short list of films from around the world that are either a debut or second feature by their director and are without U.S. distribution at the time of selection. The competition spotlights these films as representing the best in emerging cinema and are then whittled down to eight on the basis of their original concept, striking style, and overall excellence. The jury for the New Directors Showcase is composed of film industry professionals and journalists who choose the award-winning director on the Festival’s final weekend. This film will be awarded a $5,000 cash prize and the filmmaker will receive an annual subscription to FilmTracker from Baseline Studio Systems. The winner will be announced on the final day at the Golden Space Needle Awards brunch.

FILMS

Apollo 54 (Italy, 2007)

Directed by Giordano Giulivi

Captain Ahab (France, 2007)

Directed by Philippe Ramos

Cochochi (Mexico, 2007)

Directed by Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán

Everything is Fine (Canada, 2008)

Directed by Yves-Christian Fournier

Mermaid (Russia, 2007)

Directed by Anna Melikyan

Postcards from Leningrad (Venezuela, 2007)

Directed by Mariana Rondón

The Red Awn (China, 2007)

Directed by Cai Shangjun

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop (Scotland, 2007)

Directed by Simon Miller

Mermaid

Mermaid

Apollo 54

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 4:00 PM

Italy, the future: as a mysterious television signal threatens to reduce the populace to mindless drones, dashing fair-haired scientist Bobby Joe discovers a mysterious cable leading up into the heavens. Quickly constructing an interstellar cable car equipped with numerous astounding gadgets (and a macramé lamp on the dashboard), the intrepid adventurer, along with his slightly less intrepid co-pilot Jim Bob, takes to the skies to defeat the alien threat. What these far-out spacenauts discover during their journey into the unknown includes dangerous extraterrestrial hitchhikers, galactic tollbooths, and a shadowy figure with designs on enslaving the entire cosmos. All this, plus Bobby Joe’s snazzy spectacle-dispensing fountain, which has only two refills left. Combining the artfully jumbled comedic sensibilities of a Time Bandits-era Terry Gilliam with its own unique streak of deadpan absurdity, director Giordano Giulivi’s sepiatoned homage to 1950s space operas stands as a complete trip, in all senses of the word. The film is a continually inventive, visually astounding trip to the end of the universe … and just a tad beyond. Can your puny Earth mind comprehend the majesty of Kazuya the Blazing Space Dragon?

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

Italy 2007

Director:

Giordano Giulivi

Producers:

Duccio Giulivi

Giordano Giulivi

Luca Silvani

Silvano Bertolin

Screenwriters:

Duccio Giulivi

Giordano Giulivi

Luca Silvani

Silvano Bertolin

Cinematographer:

Giordano Giulivi

Editor:

Giordano Giulivi

Music:

Duccio Giulivi

Cast:

Duccio Giulivi

Silvano Bertolin

Luca Silvani

Giordano Giulivi

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP, in Italian, with

English subtitles

Print Source:

The54

Film Website: www.apollo54.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

CAPTAINE ACHAB

Captain Ahab North American Premiere

FRIDAY MAY 30 7:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

TUESDAY JUNE 3 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Herman Melville would be proud. When he wrote Moby Dick, he experimented with different points of view as he pushed the boundaries of the narrative novel. Heck, one chapter was even written in the form of a play. With Captain Ahab, writerdirector Philippe Ramos has created a prequel to Melville’s iconic novel in five chapters with five different narrators. Compared to most films the conceit is bold but, as with the source material, the execution comes across as straightforward and feels perfectly logical. Conveyed chronologically, the first chapter is narrated by Ahab’s father and covers the boy’s infatuation with the father’s girlfriend as she has her own affair with a traveling painter. It doesn’t end well. Chapter two is narrated from the point of view of Rose, Ahab’s aunt, as she takes over raising him with religion and a new dandyish husband. Mulligan narrates chapter three, about how he took care of Ahab after he ran away from home. When chapter four rolls around, Ahab is an adult and is played by iconic and obsessive French actor Denis Levant. The chapter is narrated by Anna, the woman who takes Ahab in after he abandons his ship and loses his leg to the white whale. The final chapter covers the period of time of “Moby Dick” and is narrated by first mate Starbuck. Through it all, the period detail and creative storytelling develop a character that may not mesh perfectly with Melville’s original creation, but is fascinating in and of himself.

Awards: Locarno International Film Festival 2007 (Best Director, FIPRESCI Prize)

France/Sweden 2007

Director:

Philippe Ramos

Producer:

Florence Borelly

Screenwriter:

Philippe Ramos based on the novel by Herman Melville

Cinematographer:

Laurent Desmet

Editor:

Philippe Ramos

Music:

Olivier Bombarda

Cast:

Denis Lavant

Virgil Leclaire

Dominique Blanc

Jacques Bonnaffé

Jean-François Stévenin

Running Time:

97 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Wide Management

Print Source:

Wide Management

Selected Filmography: Farewell Homeland (2003)

Cochochi

MONDAY MAY 26 6:45 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Set in the lush Sierra Tarahumara of northwest Mexico, this beautifully photographed fable recounts the story of two indigenous brothers sent on an errand who lose their way. This simplest of plots is the basis for many of the world’s great stories and it serves first-time filmmakers Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán well. Their tale unfolds with poetic simplicity as the boys’ journey takes them through the mountains and canyons that are home to the Raramuri, as the indigenous Tarahumara call themselves. Evaristo and Tony have just come home from elementary boarding school when their grandfather asks them to deliver medicine to another village miles away. Twelve-year-old Evaristo is a good student who longs to continue his education, master the Spanish language, and live a bi-cultural Raramuri-Mexican life, while 11-year-old Tony is thrilled to be out of school and back at the ranch with its traditional way of life. Much to Evaristo’s chagrin, Tony borrows their grandfather’s horse without permission. Along the way they lose the horse and each other. The brothers’ separate adventures illuminate the life in this remote region where communication is via radio and the dominant culture rarely intrudes. Cochochi is both an exquisitely detailed portrait of a traditional culture and a universal tale of children on the cusp of adulthood.

Awards:

Gijon International Film Festival 2007 (FIPRESCI Award)

Toronto International Film Festival 2007 (Discovery Award)

Mexico/UK/ Canada 2007

Directors:

Israel Cárdenas

Laura Amelia Guzmán

Producers:

Pablo Cruz

Donald Ranvaud

Screenwriters:

Israel Cárdenas

Laura Amelia Guzmán

Cinematographers:

Israel Cárdenas

Laura Amelia Guzmán

Editors:

Israel Cárdenas

Yibrán Asuad

Music:

Israel Cárdenas

Cast:

Antonio Lerma Torres

Evaristo Lerma Torres

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Tarahumara, with English subtitles

International Sales: Ondamax Films

Print Source: Ondamax Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

TOUT EST PARFAIT

Everything is Fine

SATURDAY MAY 24 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY MAY 25 4:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Camaraderie and social ties, important to anyone at any stage of life, are crucial and absolute to a teenager, enough that the commitment and influence can unnerve overly concerned adults. When four of Josh’s friends commit suicide, the 16-year-old is surrounded by well-wishers whose sympathetic expressions mask anxious inquiries. “No,” he tells his parents, “There was no suicide pact.” “No,” he deflects his psychiatrist, “There’s nothing I wish to discuss.” Forced into brooding isolation by his friends’ actions, and unmoved by the public displays of mourning put on by this squalid section of Quebec, Josh seeks out bonds of his own choosing, though seemingly less to unburden himself than to wallow in survivor’s guilt. A grieving father, still blasted by his child’s self-destruction, and a buddy’s girlfriend whose youthful eroticism can’t be dampened forever by tragedy, become his new allies as Josh struggles to understand the legacy his friends have left him. First-time director Yves-Christian Fournier earned glowing comparisons to Gus Van Sant and Larry Clark for this debut, and his humane examination of teenage despondency deserves no less. Tempering its somber respect with a deft flashback structure and several galvanizing performances (not least Maxime Dumontier, riveting in the demanding lead role) Everything is Fine sets its deliberate visuals in service to a literate, enigmatic script that reveals so much while still allowing the dead to carry some of their mysteries with them.

Canada 2008

Director:

Yves-Christian Fournier

Producer:

Nicole Robert

Screenwriters:

Guillaume Vigneault

Yves-Christian Fournier

Cinematographer:

Sara Mishara

Editor: Yvann Thibaudeau

Music: Patrick Lavoie

Loco Locass

Cast:

Maxime Dumontier

Chloé Bourgeois

Maxime Bessette

Jean-Noël Raymond-Jetté

Niels Schneider

Running Time:

118 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Seville Pictures

Print Source:

Seville Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

RUSALKA

Mermaid

SATURDAY MAY 24 1:15 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Is that the sea or a shower curtain flowing and rippling before our eyes? Whatever it is, it belongs to the voluptuous mermaid bathing nude in the sea under the eyes of a sleepy but watchful sailor. Thus starts the fanciful urban fairytale of an introverted little girl, Alisa, who resides at a seaside ramshackle shack with her mother and grandmother. She has special talents: telekinetic powers that influence the weather and she can make wishes come true. However, she also has problems. A man with his hand stuck in a pickle jar triggers a traumatic event and Alisa ends up in a special education school after she stops speaking. Next, a hurricane hits her seaside town and destroys everything. The saying goes that “when people have nowhere to go they go to Moscow,” so Alisa and her family leave the coast and move to the capital. In Moscow, she finds a simple job where she doesn’t have to speak. She hands out ads from inside an oversized rubber cell phone costume, but her life takes yet another radical turn when she witnesses the suicide attempt of a young man. In the vein of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairytale The Little Mermaid and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film Amèlie, director Anna Melikyan grapples with love, modernity, and materialism inside modern Russia.

Awards:

POSTALES DE LENINGRADO

Postcards from Leningrad

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

THURSDAY JUNE 12 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Russia

2007

Director:

Anna Melikyan

Producer: Ruben Dishdishian

Screenwriter:

Anna Melikyan

Cinematographer: Oleg Kirichenko

Music:

Igor Vdovin

Cast:

Masha Shalaeva

Yevgeniy Tsyganov

Maria Sokova

Nastya Dontsova

Irina Skrinichenko

Veronica Skugina

Running Time:

114 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Magnum Studios in association with Central Partnership

Print Source:

Central Partnership

Selected Filmography: Mars (2004)

Director Mariana Rondón’s wildly stylized, romantic, make-believe interpretation of life in mid-1960s, Caracas is about a young girl’s reinvention of her lost childhood. La Niña is the first baby born on Mother’s Day and so she and her mother become the center of a public relations blitz. Her mom, an armed political revolutionary, doesn’t welcome public or media attention. She packs up her daughter and they begin to lead a life on the run, full of disguises and disappearing acts. Eventually, la Niña is shipped off to relatives where she and her charming cousin Teo make up wild stories about superhero revolutionaries, and act them out daily. Their favorite game is hide-and-seek and their favorite character is the Invisible Man. Invention is often hard to distingush from truth or reality with all the deaths, tortures, denunciations, and treasons in Venezuela’s guerrilla movement. Yet la Niña’s hopes are kept alive by postcards sent from Leningrad. Rondón chooses to combine dramatic and comedic narrative, magic realism, faux documentary, and comic book style hand-drawn animation over live action to tell this funny, yet serious story of volatile times and the heavy toll of radical politics.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Foreign Language Film)

Venezuela 2007

Director:

Mariana Rondón

Producer:

Marite Ugás

Screenwriter:

Mariana Rondón

Cinematographer:

Micaela Cajahuaringa

Editor:

Marite Ugás

Music:

Felipe Perez Santiago

Camilo Froideval

Cast:

Laureano Olivares

Greisy Mena

William Cifuentes

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Centro Nacional Autónomo de Cinematografía

Film Website: www.postalesdeleningrado.com

Selected Filmography:

At Midnight and a Half (1999)

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Directing Award) Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (FIPRESCI Prize)

HONGSE KANGBEIYIN

The Red Awn

North American Premiere

FRIDAY MAY 23 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY MAY 24 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

The knowledge that an “awn” is a combine harvester might suggest the title refers to a slice of Maoist propaganda, when in fact this quietly affecting father-and-son drama is anything but that. The directorial debut of Cai Shanjun—regular screenwriter for Chinese director Zhang Yang and whose work includes SIFF 2000 Golden Space Needle award winner Shower—finds 50-something Song Hai returning to his hometown after five years away. Hoping to reclaim his house, Song instead discovers he has been declared officially dead after and his son crossed him off the local registry. The film follows Song’s efforts to resuscitate his relationship with his emotionally closed-off son Yongtao—a task at which he is prone to major gaffes (such as mistaking the object of Yongtao’s affections for a hooker and offering her money to sleep with the boy). The pair join Song’s friend Yongshan as itinerant harvesters on his combine-for-hire and slowly begin to rediscover their long-dormant bond. Set among the burnished cornfields of China’s central Gansu province, the film is ravishingly shot, and is an auspicious debut by a screenwriter clearly ready to take his position behind the camera.

Awards:

Pusan International Film Festival 2007 (FIPRESCI Prize)

China 2007

Director:

Cai Shangjun

Producer:

Li Xudong

Screenwriters:

Gu Xiaobai

Cai Shangjun

Feng Rui

Cinematographers:

Li Chengyu

Chen Hao

Cast:

Yao Anlian

Lu Yulai

Huang Lu

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Mandarin, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Wan Ji Communications

Print Source: Wan Ji Communications

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop

US Premiere

SATURDAY JUNE 7 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Which is more truthful: story or fact? For Angus, this is a question he has struggled with since the deaths of his parents, a question that is only complicated by his grandfather’s love of folk tales and storytelling. But now, with his grandfather dying and hospitalized, Angus visits him in hopes of finally learning the truth about his parents’ fateful attempt to scale Seachd, a craggy, fog-shrouded peak located on the Isle of Skye. Instead, his grandfather does what he has always done best—he tells stories. From here, the film flashes back to Angus’s childhood after his parents died. Sent to live with his grandparents in a community that only speaks Scottish Gaelic, Angus wants nothing more than to leave (and to speak English). His grandfather attempts to soothe his anger, and to instill in him a sense of pride for his heritage by telling him tales from Scottish folklore. Shipwrecked sailors, a magician’s apprentice’s revenge, a bargain for a fairy water horse, and a nobleman’s quest for his poisoned lover’s cure—each tale is wondrously recreated in the fabric of the film and serves to subtly illuminate the immediate conflict between Angus and his grandfather. Confronted by these childhood memories, the adult Angus agrees to go with his grandfather to Seachd, in hopes of finally discovering the truth, in both history and story, which has long eluded him. Filled with sumptuous cinematography of the Scottish wilds, Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop is the first feature-length film made in Scottish Gaelic and is an unforgettable addition to the unique beauty of the Scottish language and storytelling.

Scotland

2007

Director:

Simon Miller

Producer:

Christopher Young

Screenwriters:

Jo Cockwell

Ishbel T. MacDonald

Iain F. MacLeod

Aonghas MacNealail

Simon Miller

Cinematographer:

Ian Dodds

Editor:

Angus Mackay

Music:

Jim Sutherland

Cast:

Pàdruig Moireasdan

Aonghas Pàdraig

Caimbeul

Colla Dòmhnallach

Winnie Brook Young

Crisdean Dòmhnallach

Annie NicLeòid

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Scottish Gaelic and English, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Altadena Films

Print Source:

Altadena Films

Film Website:

www.seachd.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

NEW AMERICAN CINEMA

Jury

Thorsten Ritter

Born near Hannover, Germany, in 1965, Thorsten Ritter studied English, literature, and history at the Universities of Hannover, Göttingen, and Oldenburg. After a year of studies at the State University of New York, he became a freelance journalist writing about film and music for various magazines. This passion led him to numerous film festivals, resulting in his decision to found a film festival himself. In 1994, he founded the Oldenburg International Film Festival, which he ran for five years. Ritter joined Bavaria Film International in 1999 as the head of marketing, taking over as the head of the company in February 2008.

Rajendra Roy

Rajendra Roy is currently the Celeste Bartos chief curator of the Department of Film at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Roy graduated from the University of California, San Diego, and was executive director of the MIX festival: The New York Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film/Video Festival. For seven years, he worked at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum advancing to the position of program manager. He was a director of programming and, more recently, the artistic director of the Hamptons International Film Festival. At HIFF, Roy initiated the Rising Stars program, the first festival showcase to feature emerging actors in public panels and workshops.

Kyle Thorpe

Kyle Thorpe is the vice president of publicity at Focus Features. He is in charge of the company’s field publicity efforts on behalf of its feature films. His current projects include the Coen Brothers’ Burn After Reading; Hamlet 2, starring Steve Coogan, and Gus Van Sant’s Milk, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk. Thorpe joined Focus Features in 2004, as the director of field publicity, and coordinated efforts on such films as the Academy Award-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Motorcycle Diaries, The Constant Gardener, and Brokeback Mountain. Prior to Focus, he worked in publicity at MGM/United Artists Pictures and Artisan Entertainment. At the latter, he worked on the groundbreaking campaign for The Blair Witch Project

NEW AMERICAN CINEMA

No other country on Earth produces as many films as the United States and every year, independent American filmmakers push into new territory, revisit classic paradigms, and advance the very concept of cinema.

Drawing from the tremendous number of motion pictures that have not yet received American distribution, SIFF jurors select one exceptional film that represents both excellence in filmmaking and innovation in vision. This film will win a $5000 cash prize and be recognized with the New American Cinema Award. The filmmaker will receive a one-year subscription to The Studio System from Baseline Studio Systems. The winner will be announced on the last day of the Festival at the Golden Space Needle Awards brunch.

FILMS

The 27 Club (USA, 2008)

Directed by Erica Dunton

American Son (USA, 2008)

Directed by Neil Abramson

The Bluetooth Virgin (USA, 2008)

Directed by Russell Brown

Dream Boy (USA, 2008)

Directed by James Bolton

Em (USA, 2008)

Directed by Tony Barbieri

My Effortless Brilliance (USA, 2008)

Directed by Lynn Shelton

Mysteries of Pittsburgh (USA, 2007)

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

Visioneers (USA, 2008)

Directed by Jared Drake

Mysteries of Pittsburgh

American Son The 27 Club

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY JUNE 14 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

For most people, being 27 means that 30 is just around the corner. For a musician, the number takes on a more macabre significance. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Kurt Cobain left an indelible mark on the world, but checked out before turning 28. Born six days apart, Tom Wallace and Eliot Kerrigan grew up making music, eventually forming the popular duo Finn. At the height of their fame, 27-year-old Tom commits suicide, leaving his shattered partner to secure a convertible and hire a kindly check-out clerk named Three Words to serve as his driver. Eliot’s only directive is to head east, through his home state of Missouri, and on to New York, where Tom’s funeral awaits. As flashbacks fill in Eliot’s relationship with his best friend, he and his chauffeur develop an intriguing partnership. The trip accelerates in interest when hitchhiker Stella (Bono’s daughter, Eve Hewson) joins the unlikely entourage. By the end of the trip, all three find themselves in a better place than the one they left behind. In her third film, Dunton transforms familiar themes, like the odd couple, into something fresh. An exciting young cast aids in her achievement, particularly Anderson, who plays one of the silver screen’s most convincing rock stars.

USA 2008

Director:

Erica Dunton

Producers:

Erica Dunton

Chiara Trento

Screenwriter:

Erica Dunton

Cinematographer:

Steve Thompson

Editor:

Les Butler

Music:

Michael Tremante

Cast:

Joe Anderson

Dave Emrich

James Forgey

Alexie Gilmore

David Sherrill

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source: JDC

Selected Filmography:

Find Love (2006)

RedMeansGo (2005)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Daring to upend conventional expectations, American Son is a portrait of military life that leaves the Iraq war and its consequences to simmer in the background. Instead, the film marches the familial and romantic concerns of its youthful protagonist. With 96 hours leave, Marine Pvt. Mike Holland heads back to his mother’s house in Bakersfield for Thanksgiving. Longing for the comforts of home as a respite before being shipped overseas, Holland is plunged into the thick of family strife. An older brother’s drug habit has him flirting with serious jail time and an absent father’s shadow still looms over the household. Even a blossoming romance with a fellow traveler needs to skirt minefields when the girl’s Latino family proves less than pleased to learn her new boyfriend is African-American. While the film doesn’t turn a blind eye to the downsides of soldiering in a time of war—as is made clear in Holland’s pained, awkward visit with a disabled vet—it eschews hamfisted politicking in favor of a quietly empathic study of the brave young men whose lives are determined by events half a world away. Tracing the diverse lineages that influenced the innately-honorable Holland, an effort made incalculably easier by Nick Cannon’s restrained, revelatory performance, American Son demonstrates that even before landing in the “Suck,” every soldier and everyone on the home front, must warily tread numerous battlegrounds.

USA 2008

Director:

Neil Abramson

Producers:

Danielle Renfrew

Michael Roiff

Screenwriters:

Eric Schmid

Neil Abramson

Cinematographer:

Kristian Kachikis

Editor:

Karen Schmeer

Music:

Tim Boland

Sam Retzer

Cast:

Nick Cannon

Melonie Diaz

Jay Hernandez

Matt O’Leary

Tom Sizemore

Running Time:

87 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Map Point Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Bob Smith U.S.A. (2005)

Defining Maggie (2002)

Ringmaster (1998)

Without Air (1995)

The Bluetooth Virgin World Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 1:30 PM

In his second feature, writer-director Russell Brown nails the deep-seeded need for validation that drives so many screenwriters. Money and fame offer plenty of allure, but the confirmation of self-worth keeps some of the least successful toiling away for years. Working in such a competitive field presents obvious challenges, like rejection and humiliation, but maintaining a friendship with others proves equally difficult. For David, a Los Angeles magazine editor, the trouble begins when his TV writer friend, Sam, lets him read the script for Bluetooth Virgin, a “characterdriven thriller.” To David, Sam’s attempt to mate the psychological complexity of Klute with the pretzel logic of Twin Peaks makes no sense. So he does what most people in his situation would do—he lies. When his friend pushes him for specifics, David breaks down and tells the truth. Sam’s wife, Rebecca, takes a similar tack. Despite the turbulence in his personal life, Sam remains convinced his screenplay has promise, so he visits script consultant Zena (Karen Black), while David seeks advice from his plainspoken therapist. Brown introduces each scene with music from Scott Joplin (performed by Richard Zimmerman) and well-considered quotes, like W. Somerset Maugham’s “It’s very hard to be a gentleman and a writer.” For David and Sam, the task just might prove impossible.

Preceded by:

NORMA GRACE USA, 2007, 13 minutes, director: Laurent Morlet What do you do when Hollywood stops calling?

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA 2008

Director: Russell Brown

Producers: Russell Brown

Roni Deitz

Screenwriters: Russell Brown

Cinematographer: Marlo Fargnoli

Editors:

Christopher Murch

Curtis Clayton

Music:

Scott Joplin

Cast: Austin Peck

Bryce Johnson

Karen Black

Roma Maffia

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Film Website: www.bluetoothvirgin.com

Selected Filmography:

Race You To the Bottom (2005)

Dream Boy

US Premiere

SUNDAY MAY 25 6:30 PM

HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY MAY 26 1:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Dream Boy is tender story of gay adolescent love set in rural Louisiana. Nathan, the new kid in town, is taken under the wing of the older Roy, a hunky but sensitive farm boy (played by Max Roeg). Roy lives next door to Nathan, which puts the two in perfect proximity when he needs help with his algebra homework. Their friendship becomes a sanctuary for Nathan, who must dodge the sexual advances of his drunken father at home (played by Thomas Jay Ryan) and the homophobic jocks at school (Randy Wayne, Owen Beckman). Nathan’s mother lives in a state of denial and so he spends an increasing amount of time away from his family. Furtive glances and innocent touches presage a deepening and sexual relationship between Roy and Nathan, but this too is overshadowed by Nathan’s father’s abuse. When Roy is invited to go on an overnight camping trip with two boys from school, he invites a reluctant Nathan. Their secret relationship is in danger of being revealed as after lights out, and Roy’s buddies begin to suspect the truth. Directed by James Bolton and adapted from the novel by Jim Grimsley, Dream Boy is a cross-pollination between a gay bildungsroman and a Southern gothic ghost story.

USA 2008

Director:

James Bolton

Producers: James Bolton

Herb Hamsher

Screenwriter:

James Bolton based on the novel by Jim Grimsley

Cinematographer: Sarah Levy

Editors: Annette Davey

Chris Houghton

Music: Richard Buckner

Cast: Stephan Bender

Max Roeg

Thomas Jay Ryan

Diana Scarwid

Randy Wayne

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Mettray Reformatory

Pictures

Print Source: Mettray Reformatory

Pictures

Film Website: www.dreamboythemovie. com

Selected Filmography:

Graffiti Artist (2005)

Eban and Charley (2001)

World Premiere

SATURDAY JUNE 14 6:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 1:30 PM

Josh and Amanda meet through a website, and as befits a relationship that starts in relative anonymity, each knows little about the other, though they share an instinctual mutual attraction. Meeting face-to-face for the first time when Amanda (or ‘Em’, as Josh comes to call her) flies to San Francisco almost on a whim, the two form an instant rapport. Their initial awkward exchanges soon blossom into a deeper emotional attachment, leading to a decision to share a home and each other’s lives. Deeply enamored of the seemingly-spontaneous Em, Tony can’t help but notice that she also occasionally acts in erratic ways, sometimes verging on the irrational. As her behavior becomes increasingly unpredictable, he’s forced to confront the fact that his “perfect mate” may be far more of an emotional handful than he’d anticipated. Writer-director Tony Barbieri, who won the SIFF 2000 New American Cinema Award for his haunting crowd favorite, The Magic of Marciano, has created another exquisitely subtle, indelibly moving portrait of human frailty and emotional yearning with this, his third feature film. Em provides further vivid proof that Barbieri is one of the most gifted storytellers working in American independent filmmaking today.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA

2008

Director:

Tony Barbieri

Producers:

Jim Jermanok

Harry Gregson-Williams

Jesse Biltz

Britt Napier

Screenwriter:

Tony Barbieri

Cinematographer:

Keith Dunkerly

Editor:

Jason Brodkey

Music:

Harry Gregson-Williams

Cast:

Nathan Wetherington

Stef Willen

Sean Kaysen

Bre Blair

Running Time:

93 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

Print Source:

Command Performance

Productions

Film Website: www.myspace.com/ emthefilm

Selected Filmography:

The Magic of Marciano (2000)

One (1998)

My Effortless Brilliance

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:30 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton (We Go Way Back) directs this funny and all-too-true ode to the complexities of broken friendships. After self-absorbed novelist Eric Lambert Jones (Sean Nelson) is unceremoniously dumped by his lifelong buddy Dylan (Basil Harris), he decides to reconnect by dropping in unannounced at Dylan’s cabin in the backwoods of western Washington. The two former friends attempt to navigate their way around the wreckage of their relationship, but tension inches to the surface with the addition of Dylan’s enigmatic new likeable yet slightly creepy friend Jim (Calvin Reeder). Over the course of the weekend, they work through their differences as only guys can: by drinking, joking, arguing, and eventually embarking on an impromptu, late night, booze-inspired pursuit of danger in the woods. The odd and often witty conversations of this unlikely trio traverse topics from Bukowski to body parts, but it’s the awkward silences that speak volumes. Shelton’s organic and intimate approach makes the film naturalistic and moving. The writer-director worked in close collaboration with her small, talented cast and crew, allowing effortless and assured improvisation to emerge from the actors and gifted cinematographer Ben Kasulke. By turns humorous and sad, simple and complex, ugly and beautiful, outrageous and delicately human, My Effortless Brilliance deftly taps the unspoken intricacies of male friendship in a way seldom seen on screen.

USA

2008

Director:

Lynn Shelton

Producer:

Lynn Shelton

Screenwriters:

Lynn Shelton

Sean Nelson

Basil Harris

Calvin Reeder

Cinematographer:

Ben Kasulke

Editor:

Lynn Shelton

Cast:

Sean Nelson

Basil Harris

Calvin Reeder

Jeanette Maus

Running Time:

79 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

SeaShel Pictures

Film Website: www.myeffortlessbrilliance.com

Selected Filmography: We Go Way Back (2006)

Mysteries of Pittsburgh

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 2:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set in Pittsburgh in the early 1980s, Mysteries of Pittsburgh chronicles the last true summer of Art Bechstein’s youth. Stuck in a dead-end job working for his eccentric sometime-girlfriend Phlox (Mena Suvari), and forced into an endless series of airless dinners with his mobster father (Nick Nolte), Art begins to believe that perhaps he doesn’t exist at all. What begins as a mundane summer is quickly interrupted when he meets a beautiful debutante (Sienna Miller) and her lusty hoodlum boyfriend Cleveland (Peter Sarsgaard). Together they reveal a side of Art that he has never known. As the summer boils on and their adventures darken, Art decides to risk everything to preserve his newfound paradise. He thrusts himself headlong into the blurring boundaries of family, friendship, and love. Writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber and his immensely gifted cast bring author Michael Chabon’s pages to life with passion, humor, and pathos. The film wholly captures the joys and pains that come with encountering people who change your life forever. A stunning study of human interaction and liberation, Mysteries of Pittsburgh is for anyone who has ever been rocked for a moment or for a lifetime by someone truly extraordinary.

USA

2008

Director:

Rawson Marshall Thurber

Producers:

Michael London

Jason Ajax Mercer

Thor Benander

Rawson Marshall Thurber

Screenwriter:

Rawson Marshall Thurber

based on the novel by Michael Chabon

Cinematographer: Michael Barrett

Editor:

Barbara Tulliver

Music:

Theodore Shapiro

Cast: Jon Foster

Sienna Miller

Peter Sarsgaard

Mena Suvari

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Groundswell Productions

Film Website: www.mysteriesofpittsburgh.com

Selected Filmography: Dodgeball (2006)

Visioneers

World Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In this skewed vision of present day America (or its not too distant future), everyone works for the Jeffers Corporation whose philosophy of happiness through mindless productivity has made it the largest company in history and has allowed it to permeate all facets of society. Even the President endorses, “The Jeffers way is the way.” But amidst the bliss, there’s a growing epidemic of people literally exploding from unhappiness. The first symptom: dreaming. Other warning signs include impotence, depression, and fantasies of living in another place and time. When George Winsterhammerman (Zach Galifianakis) realizes he’s prone to all of these, he reluctantly sees a doctor and personal trainer, but sees no improvement. His only ray of hope is friendly co-worker, Charisma (Mia Maestro), with whom he’s talked but never seen. As the explosion death toll increases, panic ensues and the Jeffers Corporation institutes a number of ridiculous practices to inhibit combustion-causing thoughts. While his wife (Judy Greer) blindly follows a self-help book to improve her empty life, and his brother (James Legros) seeks enlightenment through pole vaulting, George makes his way to a small town in search of the mystery woman who has been popping up in his dreams. Written and directed by native Washingtonians Brandon and Jared Drake, and shot in Seattle and the Snoqualmie area, Visioneers is a funny and smart satire of corporate culture and society’s willing sacrifice of individualism. With Galifianakis’ brilliant performance as our sympathetic hero and original music by Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter, this world of side-splitting exaggerations becomes a touching fable about following one’s true vision.

USA

2008

Director:

Jared Drake

Producers:

Jory Weitz

Henry Capanna

James Henney

Screenwriter:

Brandon Drake

Cinematographer:

Dino Parks

Editor:

Justine Halliday

Music:

Tim DeLaughter

Cast:

Zach Galifianakis

Judy Greer

Missi Pyle

Mia Maestro

James LeGros

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Mayfly Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Jury

Ken Eisen

Ken Eisen is one of the original six founders of the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1978, the Cinema was rebuilt in 1994 due to an electrical fire, and celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Eisen is the president of the Railroad Square Cinema and a co-founder/co-programmer of the Maine International Film Festival. Eisen’s involvement in the Railroad Square Cinema led him to create Shadow Distribution, a small film distribution company. He teaches film at Colby College and the University of Maine at Augusta. Eisen is also a contributing writer for Grist Magazine, Film Quarterly, and Cineaste

Julie Goldman

Julie Goldman has more than 15 years of experience as a producer specializing in raising financing for documentary films. Goldman is a founding partner of Cactus Three, a New York-based company that executive produces high-end documentary films and non-fiction programming. Goldman has produced an award-winning slate of films working with a line-up of talented and acclaimed filmmakers, including the SXSW Audience Award winner, Cat Dancers and the 2007 Sundance Audience Award winner In the Shadow of the Moon. Other recent feature documentaries include Once in a Lifetime, Sydney Pollack’s Sketches of Frank Gehry, and BAFTA-nominated Black Sun; What Remain

Steven Raphael

Steven Raphael founded Required Viewing, an independent film representation and marketing agency, in 2004. Since it’s inception, Required Viewing specializes in overseeing theatrical marketing and distribution for quality films. Raphael has worked on several high profile Academy campaigns including La vie en rose and Pan’s Labyrinth. Prior to founding Required Viewing, Raphael was senior vice president of acquisitions and co-productions at USA Films (now Focus Features) where he implemented marketing/publicity campaigns on films such as Being John Malkovich and Traffic. Prior to USA Films, Raphael was senior vice president of publicity and marketing at Gramercy Pictures (PolyGram) where he was responsible for National Campaigns on Four Weddings and a Funeral, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Dead Man Walking, and Fargo

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The earliest motion pictures were, by definition, documentaries.

Filmmakers captured images of life as it was. However, as the art form has developed, filmmakers are exploring cinema’s potential to not only observe, but also comment on reality and challenge audiences to find meaning in what they see. From intimate portraits to global investigations of social and political issues, documentary films continue to awaken, inspire, and educate. They reflect our histories. They shine their light on the unseen and they enrich our understanding of the world in a way no other medium does. SIFF is proud to present these eight films in this year’s documentary competition, which represent a diverse cross-section of all that non-fiction cinema has to offer. They do more than chronicle; documentary films invite us along on the existential journey of our ongoing self-creation. The winner of the documentary competition will receive a oneyear subscription to FilmTracker from Baseline Studio Systems as well as a $5000 cash prize. The winner will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards brunch at the end of the Festival.

FILMS

Accelerating America (USA, 2007)

Directed by Timothy Hotchner

Combalimon (France, 2007)

Directed by Raphaël Mathié

Derek (United Kingdom, 2008)

Directed by Isaac Julien

Fairytale of Kathmandu (United Kingdom, 2007)

Directed by Neasa Ní Chianáin

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (United Kingdom, 2007)

Directed by Kim Longinotto

In Search of Kennedy (USA, 2008)

Directed by Chuck Workman

Shadow of the Holy Book (Finland, 2007)

Directed by Arto Halonen

Trouble the Water (USA, 2008)

Directed by Tia Lessin, Carl Deal

Shadow of the Holy Book

Accelerating America

World Premiere Combalimon

FRIDAY JUNE 13 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 1:30 PM

In 1989 as national dropout rates skyrocketed, a revolutionary public school opened in Rhode Island. The Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program represents a unique effort to target students who’ve been held back a grade and give them a chance to catch up by completing two years’ academic work in one. Without UCAP’s intervention, more than 80 percent of these failing students would drop out of school altogether by the age of 16. Accelerating America profiles this school’s remarkable principal, Robert DeBlois, and two of his most challenging students, America and Jasmine, as the girls struggle to turn their lives around. DeBlois, who is quadriplegic, observes his students’ experience of abandonment, poverty, chaotic home lives, and troubled pasts. He says, “Their world in a lot of ways is more challenging and difficult than mine.” Still, America and Jasmine clearly have tremendous potential, which is partly what inspires DeBlois and his dedicated staff as they fight to save their students from drugs, gangs, and jail. Writer-director Tim Hotchner became involved with UCAP through volunteer work while a student at Brown University in 1992. In his first feature-length documentary, he offers a riveting portrait of young people in need of a second chance, and the place that offers them that chance over the course of a year that could change everything.

HARVARD EXIT

SIFF CINEMA

USA 2008

Director:

Timothy Hotchner

Producers: Timothy Hotchner

Bill Haney

Cinematographer: Timothy Hotchner

Editor:

Jack Haigis

Music:

Mario Grigorov

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source: Parrot Hill Productions, LLC

Film Website: www.acceleratingamerica.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

MONDAY JUNE 9 9:15 PM

TUESDAY JUNE 10 4:30 PM

Jean is an irascible old French bachelor at the end of a line of family farmers. Nearing retirement and without heirs, he’s forced to contemplate the unspeakable—saying goodbye to his beloved farm, Combalimon. As it gets harder for him to do simple chores and take care of his cows, Jean plans for the inevitable, commiserates with his old friend on the phone, and takes stock of his assets. In an attempt to hold on to his life on the farm a bit longer, he even goes so far as to marry a younger African woman who quickly tires of the rustic life. The film gives a sense of the difficult economic reality for family farmers in the European Union as we see Jean laboring over his subsidy application forms. When he finally decides to sell his cows he doggedly haggles over the price. Jean is a stubborn and complex man, and Raphaël Mathie pays him the respect of honoring that. “We are stupid fools,” Jean tells a friend. Mathie’s elegiac film documents Jean’s predicament without voiceover, letting the stunning framed images communicate the rhythms of a life lived in nature. Combalimon has the look and feel of an elegantly crafted narrative in its humanistic portrait of a vanishing life, but it never belies its nonfiction core.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

France 2007

Director: Raphaël Mathié

Producer: Anthony Trihan

Screenwriter: Raphaël Mathié

Cinematographer: Raphaël Mathié

Editors: Benoît Alavoine

Veronique Bruque

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Insomnia World Sales

Print Source:

Insomnia World Sales

Selected Filmography: Bitter Lands (2007)

Derek

THURSDAY JUNE 5 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:30 PM

Tilda Swinton narrates this moving memorial to her friend, British filmmaker Derek Jarman, which is at once elegy, documentary, and meditation on an artistic legacy of enduring importance. In a previously unseen interview shot in 1991 not long before his death, Jarman guides the viewer through his life and work. His chronology begins with a childhood spent in Catholic and then public schools, followed closely by a powerful antidote—London in the swinging ‘60s, where Jarman quickly became a significant figure in the city’s underground gay arts scene. At his Warholesque Bankside Studio, he made short, experimental films documenting his studio life and the people who passed through it, including David Hockney, Ken Russell, and Tennessee Williams. In the 1970s, Jarman began to make the homoerotic and experimental films for which he is best known, films in which he employed various historical periods and narratives in the service of contemporary critique. Deeply influenced by Thatcher-era social conservatism, Jarman became even more politically active in both his life and his work with the rise of the AIDS epidemic and his own HIV-positive diagnosis in 1986. Director Isaac Julien deftly weaves together archival footage, rarely seen home movies, excerpts from Jarman’s feature films, pop promos, and super-8 work to create a portrait that is at once a melancholy and celebratory depiction of a remarkable artist’s life and work.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

United Kingdom

2008

Director:

Isaac Julien

Producers:

Eliza Mellor

Colin MacCabe

Isaac Julien

Cinematographer:

Nina Kellgren

Editors:

Tilda Swinton

James Mackay

Music:

Simon Fisher Turner

Narrator:

Tilda Swinton

Running Time:

76 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta

International Sales:

The Film Sales Company

Print Source:

The Film Sales Company

Selected Filmography:

Frantz Fanon:

Black Skin, White Mask (1996)

The Darker Side of Black (1993)

Young Soul Rebels (1991)

Looking for Langston (1988)

Fairytale of Kathmandu

North American Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY JUNE 14 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

When filmmaker Neasa Ní Chianáin first met poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh, she was immediately enchanted by him. Ó Searcaigh’s lifestyle as an openly gay man in conservative, rural Ireland and his dark and brooding poetry—composed exclusively in Irish about love lost and loneliness—deeply moved Ní Chianáin, and the two became friends. Years later, when Ó Searcaigh invited her to accompany him on his annual trip to Nepal, his self-proclaimed spiritual home, Ní Chianáin agreed to go along and, in the process, shoots a documentary about her friend’s humanitarian acts within the impoverished country. Upon arrival in Nepal, everything meets Ní Chianáin’s expectations: Ó Searcaigh is greeted warmly by the country’s people, and is genuinely beloved by all who know him. Through generous contributions, Ó Searcaigh aids a number of young men in their education—providing them not only with stipends and school fees, but also with bicycles, housing, and clothing. However, as she travels further with Ó Searcaigh, Ní Chianáin captures several unsettling encounters between him and various young men. Slowly, she begins to believe Ó Searcaigh’s benevolence may also serve to feed his darker appetites. As more young men come forward, Ní Chianáin must make the difficult decision about whether to protect or confront her longtime friend, leading to the film’s revelatory climax. One of the most discussed films at last year’s International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, Fairytale of Kathmandu is a complex portrait about how love, loyalty, and exploitation intersect and diverge.

Preceded by:

TAG! Sweden, 2007, 28 minutes, director: Anders Skog

An

United Kingdom/ Ireland

2007

Director:

Neasa Ní Chianáin

Producer: David Rane

Cinematographer: Tristan Monbureau

Editor:

Úna Ní Dhongháile

Music:

Arnaud Ruest

Running Time: 60 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Gaelic, English, and Nepali, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Vinegar Hill Production NI

Film Website: www.fairytaleofkathmandu.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

African malaria researcher and his family travel to Sweden for a conference, only to be caught up in a bizarre game of tag.

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go

TUESDAY JUNE 10 6:45 PM

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 9:30 PM

Writhing, hitting, and spitting their way through a blighted childhood, four troubled but surprisingly charming boys have one more chance to turn their lives around and re-enter the regular school system. That chance is the Mulberry Bush boarding school. The Mulberry Bush boarding school for emotionally traumatized, violent children has a staff-to-student ratio of 108 to 40, but even this generous ratio hardly seems enough. The children are virtually uncontrollable and are filled with a feral anger that makes the work of the impossibly patient teachers seem positively heroic. The school’s staff is trained not to raise their voices and they never punish the children. Instead, they safely restrain and console the children until the students regain composure. This film takes a breathless ride through an unhinged world and makes us witnesses to the tremendous influence adults have—for better or worse—on growing children. Director Kim Longinotto is one of the most acclaimed, prolific, and perceptive practitioners of cinema verité. In making this film, she spent a year superbly capturing the humanity of the pupils, their families, and the teachers with her steady, unobtrusive camera. Harrowing at one moment and heartwarming the next, her combat-style cinematography combines uncompromised integrity, sensitivity, and compassion with edge-of-the seat drama. Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go is an intimate and unforgettable tale of the human capacity to hurt and to heal.

United Kingdom 2007

Director:

Kim Longinotto

Producers:

Roger Graef

Richard Klein

Cinematographer: Kim Longinotto

Editor: Ollie Huddleston

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: BetaSP

International Sales:

Fortissimo Film Sales

Print Source: Women Make Movies

Selected Filmography: Sisters in Law (2005)

The Day I Will Never Forget (2002) Runaway (2001)

Divorce Iranian Style (1998)

The Good Wife of Tokyo (1992)

Underage (1982)

In Search of Kennedy

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 7:00 PM

Forty-five years after his assassination, John F. Kennedy still inspires admiration and argument. His hold on the public imagination is strong at home and around the world. His name is still invoked by presidential candidates of both parties, and pictures of him adorn bars and homes from Boston to Berlin. Often ranked among the greatest presidents despite his short tenure, his legacy borders on mythic. In light of the intervening years of disillusionment and failed presidencies, debate continues to rage about how the world might be different today had he lived longer. Academy Award–winning director Chuck Workman takes a 21st century look back at the most charismatic and controversial president of the 20th century. Through a great amount of archival footage, this documentary explores Kennedy’s supreme achievements and tragic failures, his style and charm, his precarious health, his scandalous private life, and the trauma of his premature death. Interviews with ordinary people and notable personalities— including Ted Kennedy, Martin Sheen, Norman Mailer, Tom Hayden, Clark Clifford, Garrison Keillor, and Arianna Huffington—cast a light on Kennedy’s enduring influence on politics and people’s personal lives. The film is supplemented by dramatic readings from Alec Baldwin and Elizabeth Peña, and it features portions of a faux documentary ostensibly made at the end of Kennedy’s second term in office. In this surprising political season, the bittersweet In Search of Kennedy echoes with particular relevance.

USA/Germany/ Venezuela/Sierra

Leone 2008

Director:

Chuck Workman

Producers:

Steve Kern

Chuck Workman

Paul Puskar

Screenwriter:

Chuck Workman

Cinematographer:

Chuck Workman

Editor:

Chuck Workman

Music:

Chuck Workman

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

Print Source:

Calliope Films

Film Website: www.insearchofkennedy.com

Selected Filmography:

Visions of Cody (2004)

A House on a Hill (2003)

The Source (1999)

Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990)

Stoogemania (1986)

Cuba Crossing (1980)

The Money (1976)

US Premiere

HARVARD EXIT

SIFF CINEMA

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SIFF CINEMA

PYHÄN KIRJAN VARJO

Shadow of the Holy Book

US Premiere

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY JUNE 2 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Reading like a demented chapter ripped from Borat’s diary, the real-life story of Turkmenistan strains belief. The collapse of the Soviet Union set the stage for the ascendancy of dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, who quickly consolidated his power as president of the newly independent nation and declared himself “Leader of all Turkmen.” The eccentric strongman made good newspaper copy as he set about nurturing a cult of personality—renaming a meteorite after himself, and months and days of the week after members of his family. In 2001, Niyazov published his national epic, “Ruhnama,” or “Book of the Soul.” A blend of skewed history, rules of conduct, and self-aggrandizing propaganda, hardbound in a garish pink and green cover emblazoned with Niyazov’s gilded image, “Ruhnama” became compulsory reading for all citizens, supplanting all other literature as the basis for Turkmen arts and culture. Director Arto Halonen’s film takes up this bizarre document and exposes Western complicity in propping up Niyazov’s brutally repressive regime. Turkmenistan possesses huge oil and gas reserves, and in exchange for multimillion-dollar contracts, international companies translate “Ruhnama” into their own languages. But far from harmlessly humoring a madman, these translations give tacit support to the government’s subjugation of human rights and free speech. The film follows lawyer/author Kevin Frazier and director Halonen on a quixotic search for corporate executives willing to talk about the situation. At times absurdly comical, Shadow of the Holy Book has a deadly serious subject— the capacity of greed to overwhelm concern for human rights.

Trouble the Water

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 4:30 PM

Finland/ Switzerland/Denmark 2007

Director:

Arto Halonen

Producer:

Arto Halonen

Screenwriter: Arto Halonen

Cinematographers: Hannu Vitikainen

Arto Halonen

Editor: Samu Heikkilä

Music:

Timo Peltola

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, Russian, Czech, Finnish, Turkish, Turkmen and English, with English subtitles

International Sales: Films Transit International

Print Source:

Finnish Film Foundation

Film Website: www.shadowoftheholybook.com

Selected Filmography: Pavlov’s Dogs (2006) Conquistadors of Cuba (2005)

The Stars Caravan (2000) Karmapa (1998)

A Dreamer and the Dreamtribe (1998)

HARVARD EXIT

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Kimberly Roberts bought her video camera to earn some money recording the sunny domestic celebrations of her friends and neighbors—weddings, birthdays, and similar joyous gatherings. Within days of her purchase, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans. Kimberly, her husband Scott, and their fellow Ninth Warders soon found themselves at the mercy of forces much more mercurial and frustrating than the weather. National Guardsmen sometimes came off as brusquely indifferent to the plight of the people they were purportedly serving. Aid dribbled out from bureaucracies more concerned with paperwork and labyrinthine regulations than human beings. Even the government failed at every level while callously shoving ever-greater burdens on Katrina’s greatest victims. The footage Roberts captured of those nightmarish days—riveting, immediate, horrifying—is skillfully interwoven by directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. They interlace Roberts’ many subsequent frustrations, and small but noteworthy triumphs as she attempts to untangle FEMA red tape and relocate to Memphis. Roberts emerges as our perfect guide to the events. She is an unforced heroine, precise and measured in her anger, honorably frank in highlighting her past failings, both curious and grateful for the altruism that managed to rise up even in those worst of times. Highlighting an individual, ground-level journey ironically gives us more understanding and enlightenment about a tragedy that, on its actual scale, threatens to overwhelm our capacity to process it.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Grand Jury Prize)

USA 2008

Directors: Tia Lessin

Carl Deal

Producers: Tia Lessin

Carl Deal

Cinematographers: PJ Raval

Nadia Hallgren

Kimberly Roberts

Editor: T. Woody Richman

Music:

Davidge/Del Naja

Black Kold Madina

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

Film Website:

www.elsewherefilms.org

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS

This section of the Festival celebrates the unique, artistic atmosphere that flourishes here in the Pacific Northwest.

Perhaps this creativity is inspired by our distinct independence or the fact that, whether in a cabin in the woods or on the bustling streets of Seattle, we are surrounded by the natural beauty of water, forests, mountains, and grand skies. SIFF proudly puts the spotlight on the sights, sounds, stories, and sensibilities of this area by showcasing extraordinary new films made in the Seattle area and connected with our region. The five narrative features explore life using this uniquely Northwest approach but also set their stories here—from Seattle to Snohomish, from the San Juan Islands to Centralia. We also have a range of documentary features exploring local issues and profiling fascinating true stories. This year’s non-fiction offerings put us beside those struggling on the city streets, dancing burlesque on stage, farming, glassblowing, and much more. The Northwest Connections program also features our annual Fly Filmmaking program, which continues to commission the creation of eclectic short films made by local filmmakers. We invite you to join us for these special screenings, to meet the players in our thriving filmmaking community.

Every year, SIFF supports Northwest filmmakers with the Seattle Filmmakers Initiative, providing northwest filmmakers access to industry events, press screenings, and select Festival Forums. In addition, to encourage filmmakers to shoot in Washington and submit their films to SIFF, we waive submission fees for films shot in Washington State.

FILMS

Ask Not (USA, 2008)

Directed by Johnny Symons

Butterfly Dreaming (USA, 2008)

Directed by Rufus Williams

Creative Nature (USA, 2008)

Directed by John Andres

The Dark Horse (USA, 2008)

Directed by Cornelia Duryé Moore

Good Food (USA, 2008)

Directed by Melissa Young, Mark Dworkin

Great Speeches From a Dying World (USA, 2008)

Directed by Linas Phillips

Mr. Big (Canada, 2007)

Directed by Tiffany Burns

My Effortless Brilliance (USA, 2008)

Directed by Lynn Shelton

Sweet Thing (USA, 2008)

Directed by Joe Lia

A Wink and a Smile (USA, 2008)

Directed by Deirdre Timmons

Visioneers (USA, 2008)

Directed by Jared Drake

The Dark Horse

Ask Not

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

FRIDAY MAY 30 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

As the United States military faces chronic recruiting shortfalls and the loss of highly skilled service members, politicians and pundits have begun to re-evaluate the controversial policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” that precludes homosexuals from serving openly in the military. Of the 26 countries in the NATO alliance, only Portugal, Greece, Turkey, and the United States ban gays from serving in the military, while openly gay personnel from allied nations serve alongside American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ask Not looks at these Americans as they risk their lives for a country that criminalizes the act of “coming out.” Current and veteran gay soldiers tell how the policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” affects them during their tours of duty as they struggle to serve their country and maintain a double life—including Seattle local Alan Steinman, co-founder of the Puget Sound chapter of the American Veterans for Equal Rights. Ask Not also follows gay veterans and youth organizers as they engage in civil activism in an attempt to overturn this controversial policy. From a national speaking tour of conservative universities, to protests at military recruitment offices, these public events question the dichotomy of a military protecting democracy while at the same time denying one segment of the population the right to serve. Ask Not is a provocative portrait of bravery amid a culture of exclusion.

USA/Iraq/France/ United Kingdom

2008

Director:

Johnny Symons

Producers:

Johnny Symons

Leah Wolchok

Cinematographers:

S. Leo Chiang

Peter LoGreco

Andy Schocken

Editor:

Andrew Gersh

Music:

Norman Arnold

Running Time:

73 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta, in Arabic and English, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Persistent Visions

Film Website:

www.asknotfilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Beyond Conception (2006) Daddy and Papa (2002)

Butterfly Dreaming

World Premiere

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

In the wake of the recent loss of his wife, Rob’s mind scrambles along the line between his anxious dreams and his paranoid reality. What truly happened to his wife? Is he a murderer or just a man addicted to temptation? As his memory unravels, so does his sanity. Filmed in Seattle, Butterfly Dreaming explains the power of the mind to take traumatic experiences and shape the memories into fabricated realities. At the peak of Rob’s madness, his dreams become smeared into his waking life and they twist the truth about what really happened that fateful night. Did Rob’s wife commit suicide, or did he murder her? With the loss of his wife, a gambling addiction that’s put him deep into debt, and a beautiful, blonde mistress waiting in the wings, the truth is out of reach. Daydreams and bouts of paranoid obsession take audiences along on Rob’s tortured road of uncertainty and culminate with a shocking conclusion.

USA 2008

Director:

Rufus Williams

Producers:

Keith Goodwill

Susan England

Rene Haynes

Scott J. Schneid

Kathy Amundson

Screenwriter:

Rufus Williams

Cinematographer:

Kev Robertson

Editor:

Meg Decker

Music:

Matthew McGaughey

Cast:

Andrew Bowen

Missy Crider

James McDaniel

Tony Doupe

Rachel Pate

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Private Universe Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Creative Nature

World Premiere

FRIDAY MAY 30 7:00 PM

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:30 PM

William Morris’ fantastical glass creations have secured him a reputation in the field second only to his mentor Dale Chihuly. Morris earned his way into Pilchuck studios acting as a driver, eventually rising to Chihuly’s master glassblower. Striking out on his own, Morris proved no less a visionary in his own right. Whether roughhewn and mottled as some archeological curio or elegantly organic as a long stem rose, Morris’ works breathe with a vibrant tactility uniquely his own. This engaging portrait of the man and his work offers up the expected testimonials as friends, collaborators, and admirers provide history, praise, and discuss Morris’ love of craftsmanship and history. But it is in Morris’ engagement with the environment where the artist finds his greatest inspiration. His work year is divided between the studio and the wilderness, hiking or paragliding, motorcycling or deep sea diving. Creative Nature follows him in these endeavors, and it’s in these beautifully captured communions with the natural world that the clearest sense of the artist emerges. Floating above the earth or drifting along with sharks off the coast of Hawaii, Morris seems no more or less serene or in control than he does drawing molten glass from a blasting furnace, and sculpting something beautiful and alive.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA 2008

Director:

John Andres

Producer: Rick Edrich

Screenwriter: John Andres

Cinematographer: Christopher Bierlein

Editor: Keith Lustofin

Music:

James Lavino

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

Print Source: Spot Creative, Inc. Film Website: www.creativenaturefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Dark Horse

World Premiere

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY JUNE 7 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Northwest filmmaker Cornelia Moore’s featurelength debut is a thoughtful, dramatic story of the ties that bind, between both human and animal. Upon learning of her father’s deepening mental illness, Seattle ballet teacher Dana returns to her childhood home on Orcas Island. Once there, she discovers a myriad of troubling cracks running through the veneer of her memories, including the threat of foreclosure on the family farm, conflicts between once placid neighbors, and an escalating feud between her volatile brothers. Just when all appears lost, the possibility of salvation appears in the form of her mother’s magnificent, dangerously-spirited Fresian horse. As Dana quickly attempts to tame the mercurial creature in order to compete in the year’s biggest dressage competition, she begins a journey that holds the potential to heal the rifts that both surround and consume her. Utilizing the naturally stunning scenery of the Northwest and the remarkably gifted local talent behind and before the lens, writer-director Moore delivers a warm, resolutely clear-eyed tale of growth and redemption.

USA 2008

Director:

Cornelia Duryé Moore

Producer:

Larry Estes

Screenwriter:

Cornelia Duryé Moore

Cinematographer: Neil Holcomb

Editor:

Ben Dobyns

Cast:

Carol Roscoe

Sean Griffin

Kathryn Mesney

Haynes Brooke

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Leap of Faith Productions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Good Food

World Premiere

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 7:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

While so many documentaries catalogue the errors and arrogance that contribute to the problems facing our planet, Good Food offers a celebration of those working to turn things around and make them right. The film provides a lively tour of various Washington State farms and ranches (independent, cooperative, even University-affiliated) that have adopted healthier organic methods in raising their products. Though small and devoted to local markets, this new breed is far more pragmatic than communal experiments of years past. Rather than fizzle out on their high ideals, each understands, as one puts it, that such enterprises must now prove both “economically…and socially viable.” An equal part of the story, and the credit, is shared with the distributors, retailers, and restaurants that have specifically sought out such food providers, taking the extra effort to obtain the best options for their customers. Informative without becoming pedantic, Good Food lays out several lucid arguments in favor of smaller, more efficient farms, and purchasing locally grown crops. Still, nothing is as convincing as the marvelous bounty laid before our eyes: vibrant and crisp green beans, carrots as thick as a baby’s leg, pinwheels of peppers exploding in rainbow colors, beautifully coated cattle nimbly wandering their free range. A delectable array that, aside from the political and ethical merits of its production, is a mouthwatering temptation.

USA 2008

Directors:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Producers:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Screenwriters:

Melissa Young

Mark Dworkin

Cinematographer: Mark Dworkin

Editor: Mark Dworkin

Music:

Jami Sieber

Mark Graham

Los Emocionantes

Running Time: 72 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

Print Source:

Moving Images

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Great Speeches From a Dying World

SUNDAY JUNE 1 4:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

TUESDAY JUNE 3 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Filmmaker Linas Phillips spent nearly two years getting to know a handful of Seattle’s homeless. The result is a unique and compassionate exploration of the hard luck, wrong turns, and broken dreams that reside on our city’s streets. This film uncovers circumstances that have landed (and kept) these people lost and penniless—most involving abuse, addiction, and mental illness. But it also finds kindness and hope. Tomey, whom we get to know best, remains positive despite his struggles with HIV and drug addiction. Each of the subjects was asked to recite a famous speech from history that they felt related to their lives. The words of Shakespeare, Lincoln, JFK, and others are reinvested with meaning as they’re tied to these personal stories. From atop the Space Needle, high above the parking garage in which she lives, Deborah delivers a speech by former slave Sojourner Truth asking, “Ain’t I a woman?” Between panhandling with a “smile” sign, Jonas recites Chief Sealth’s plea for fair treatment of his people and warning that in the future when city streets seem deserted, they will not be. Jose’s recitation poses a question that most in the film have pondered: whether it is nobler to suffer outrageous fortune or to die. We’re reminded that the authors of these canonized speeches, the downtrodden folks reciting them, and each of us are all part of the same human endeavor. With beautiful photography and a musical score by Lori Goldston, Great Speeches is one of the most intimate encounters with homelessness on film and a moving meditation on the fragility of life.

USA 2008

Director:

Linas Phillips

Producer:

Linas Phillips

Screenwriter:

Linas Phillips

Cinematographer:

Linas Phillips

Editor:

Linas Phillips

Music:

Lori Goldston

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Linas Films

Film Website: www.greatspeechesmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Walking to Werner (2006)

Mr. Big

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

A creation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, “Mr. Big,” takes human form, but this multi-player sting operation wears many faces— all belonging to cops. In her startling documentary, Vancouver news reporter-turned-director Tiffany Burns shines a light on their undercover activities. Her impetus is the imprisonment of her brother, Sebastian Burns, for the 1994 slaying of Bellevue’s Rafay family (the RCMP claims he and Atif Rafay hatched the plan in Canada). While she finds it difficult to get specific information about the program from the Mounties, criminologists, journalists, and other experts testify to the troubling issues Mr. Big raises regarding intimidation, entrapment, and coercion—issues that render the program’s results inadmissible in the United States and the United Kingdom. Participants pose as criminals and do whatever it takes— plying suspects with money and alcohol—to obtain confessions and pave the way for convictions. Burns concentrates on a few of Mr. Big’s falsely accused victims. One subject, Jason Dix, was the focus of a 13-month sting during which he never confessed to murder, but did make incriminating statements under duress. Those statements led to two years in prison before the court dismissed his case. Dix proceeded to sue for malicious prosecution and won, but a pattern emerges in the film: our northern neighbor’s most vulnerable (or at least naïve) citizens make for ideal targets. Burns creates a chilling portrait of a criminal justice system run amok.

Canada

2007

Director:

Tiffany Burns

Producer:

Tiffany Burns

Screenwriter:

Tiffany Burns

Cinematographer:

Tiffany Burns

Editor:

Alec MacNeill Richardson

Music: Jeff Tymoschuk

Featuring: Sebastian Burns

Atif Rafay

Kyle Unger

Clayton George

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

International Sales:

Mercury Media

Print Source: Eagle Harbour

Entertainment

Film Website: www.mrbigthemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

My Effortless Brilliance

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

MONDAY MAY 26 4:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton (We Go Way Back) directs this funny and all-too-true ode to the complexities of broken friendships. After self-absorbed novelist Eric Lambert Jones (Sean Nelson) is unceremoniously dumped by his lifelong buddy Dylan (Basil Harris), he decides to reconnect by dropping in unannounced at Dylan’s cabin in the backwoods of western Washington. The two former friends attempt to navigate their way around the wreckage of their relationship, but tension inches to the surface with the addition of Dylan’s enigmatic new likeable yet slightly creepy friend Jim (Calvin Reeder). Over the course of the weekend, they work through their differences as only guys can: by drinking, joking, arguing, and eventually embarking on an impromptu, late night, booze-inspired pursuit of danger in the woods. The odd and often witty conversations of this unlikely trio traverse topics from Bukowski to body parts, but it’s the awkward silences that speak volumes. Shelton’s organic and intimate approach makes the film naturalistic and moving. The writer-director worked in close collaboration with her small, talented cast and crew, allowing effortless and assured improvisation to emerge from the actors and gifted cinematographer Ben Kasulke. By turns humorous and sad, simple and complex, ugly and beautiful, outrageous and delicately human, My Effortless Brilliance deftly taps the unspoken intricacies of male friendship in a way seldom seen on screen.

USA

2008

Director:

Lynn Shelton

Producer:

Lynn Shelton

Screenwriters:

Lynn Shelton

Sean Nelson

Basil Harris

Calvin Reeder

Cinematographer:

Ben Kasulke

Editor: Lynn Shelton

Cast:

Sean Nelson

Basil Harris

Calvin Reeder

Jeanette Maus

Running Time: 79 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

SeaShel Pictures

Film Website:

wwwmyeffortlessbrilliance.com

Selected Filmography: We Go Way Back (2006)

Sweet Thing

World Premiere

SATURDAY JUNE 7 9:00 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 4:30 PM

Nineteen-year-old free spirit Liz is on a mission to find love. Between her shifts working at an espresso drive-thru, she parties with friends and soon finds herself in an exciting yet ultimately strained relationship with budding artist Brendan. Meanwhile, young drifter Jody lives across town, escaping the trials of life by getting high. Reluctantly, she goes home to live with her parents for the summer and work at her father’s office at the shipyard. But she soon ditches her job shuffling papers in favor of starting her own more relaxed business selling ice cream to the kids around the neighborhood. One afternoon, after playing with her “clientele” all day, Jody pulls her funky green ice cream truck up to Liz’s coffee stand. The two become fast friends and embark on a summer of driving around, wasting time, and generally avoiding responsibility together. While it looks as though they might have the time of their lives, both Jody and Liz are lost and struggling. As they grow closer, their lives become more complicated and issues of love, sex, and meaning bubble to the surface. Filmed in Seattle and on Whidbey Island, director Joe Lia’s feature debut Sweet Thing is a charming indie film that explores both the joys and complexities of youth.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA

2008

Director:

Joe Lia

Producers:

Joe Lia

Matt McUsic

Guillermo Rodriguez

Screenwriter:

Joe Lia

Cinematographer:

Matt McUsic

Editor:

Guillermo Rodriguez

Music:

Patrick Kirst

Cast:

Beth Ison

Jennipher Foster

Tara Slinden

Michael McFadden

Patrica Haines-Ainsworth

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: HDCAM

Film Website: www.myspace.com/ sweetthingmovie

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Visioneers

World Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In this skewed vision of present day America (or its not too distant future), everyone works for the Jeffers Corporation whose philosophy of happiness through mindless productivity has made it the largest company in history and has allowed it to permeate all facets of society. Even the President endorses, “The Jeffers way is the way.” But amidst the bliss, there’s a growing epidemic of people literally exploding from unhappiness. The first symptom: dreaming. Other warning signs include impotence, depression, and fantasies of living in another place and time. When George Winsterhammerman (Zach Galifianakis) realizes he’s prone to all of these, he reluctantly sees a doctor and personal trainer, but sees no improvement. His only ray of hope is friendly co-worker, Charisma (Mia Maestro), with whom he’s talked but never seen. As the explosion death toll increases, panic ensues and the Jeffers Corporation institutes a number of ridiculous practices to inhibit combustion-causing thoughts. While his wife (Judy Greer) blindly follows a self-help book to improve her empty life, and his brother (James Legros) seeks enlightenment through pole vaulting, George makes his way to a small town in search of the mystery woman who has been popping up in his dreams. Written and directed by native Washingtonians Brandon and Jared Drake, and shot in Seattle and the Snoqualmie area, Visioneers is a funny and smart satire of corporate culture and society’s willing sacrifice of individualism. With Galifianakis’ brilliant performance as our sympathetic hero and original music by Polyphonic Spree’s Tim DeLaughter, this world of side-splitting exaggerations becomes a touching fable about following one’s true vision.

USA

2008

Director:

Jared Drake

Producers:

Jory Weitz

Henry Capanna

James Henney

Screenwriter:

Brandon Drake

Cinematographer:

Dino Parks

Editor:

Justine Halliday

Music:

Tim DeLaughter

Cast:

Zach Galifianakis

Judy Greer

Missi Pyle

Mia Maestro

James LeGros

Running Time:

94 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Mayfly Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Northwest Connections Shorts

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History

USA, 2008, 32 minutes, director: Terence Brown

An in-depth biography of the controversial building that became a pillar of the Seattle community.

As part of the Short Film Program Gay Lives Page 135

A Wink and a Smile

World Premiere

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:30 PM

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Local filmmaker Deirdre Allen Timmons swings a spotlight across a glittering stage to shine a light on one of the many fascinating pocket industries that keeps Seattle interesting: Miss Indigo Blue’s Academy of Burlesque, where anyone of any background or body type can find instruction in the art of striptease. Tassel twirling, sure, that’s covered, but we learn there’s much more involved as we follow ten students through their introductory course. A sense of knowing nostalgia and good, dirty fun pervade as we learn the ins and outs of taking it off. The tantalizing end results are ably demonstrated throughout by a series of professional performances interlaced with the beginner troupe’s continuing education. A flash of thigh-high stockings or the enticing flutter of a feathered fan, the pose that lures you in and the grin that knocks you out, the crowd’s whistles and the music’s slithery bump‘n’grind are all part of the show. As Blue takes the ladies through their paces, she has them shedding more than just their clothes. We follow these students with empathy and mounting joy as they strip off selfdoubts, hang-ups, and societal-imposed stereotypes to strut and shimmy across the stage, enticingly confident that they’ve earned the right to have every eye on them. Blue emphasizes and embodies the great burlesque tradition of combining the erotic and the comedic as she seduces us through humor in A Wink and a Smile

USA 2008

Director:

Deirdre Timmons

Producer:

Deirdre Timmons

Cinematographers: Peter Waweru

Marie-Joëlle Rizk

Editors:

Deirdre Timmons

Peter Waweru

Music: Orchestra L’Pow! Circus Contraption Miles and Karina

3 Leg Torso

Featuring: Miss Indigo Blue

The Shanghai Pearl

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source: Golden Echo Films, LLC

Film Website: www.goldenechofilms.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY MAY 31 6:30 PM

Bookie

USA, 2007, 18 minutes, director: Bao Tran

SIFF CINEMA

A bookie makes a risky wager in order to help a downtrodden waitress break her professional and private ties to her employer.

Plays before The End Page 166

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT

Dry Rain

USA, 2008, 23 minutes, director: Matthew J. Clark

Father and son are on a road trip in Canada when the question arises, “Is this a vacation?”

As part of the Short Film Program All In the Family Page135

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Interpretive Site: Kosmos

USA, 2008, 6 minutes, director Karn Junkinsmith

A town swallowed by a river in 1968 reemerges barren. Rediscovery begins with Frisbees and a native dancer.

As part of the Short Film Program The Past and the Present Page146

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

The Iron Forest

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Robert Stevenson

A highly frenetic yet sensual exploration of the Seattle skyline as it passes from day into night.

As part of the Short Film Program Waking Dreams Page137

SUNDAY JUNE 1 3:45 PM SIFF CINEMA

The Production and Decay of Strange Particles

USA, 2008, 7 minutes, director: Jon Beherens

This film experiments with the film’s emulsion and image bleaching before using the bleached film as a canvas for the short filmic poem about the abstract history of cinema.

As part of the Short Film Program The Past and the Present Page 146

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Shiny Things

USA, 2008, 5 minutes, director: Salise Hughes

Seattle filmmaker Hughes uses found footage to give Neil Young’s classic “Heart of Gold” a re-orchestration.

As part of the Short Film Program The Past and the Present Page 146

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

The Strange Hunger

USA, 2008 6 minutes, director: Sean Pecknold

Theodore becomes an unlikely hero when sounds of distant screaming in the cold North Sea urges him out into unknown dangers.

As part of the Short Film Program Truth or Consequences Page 133

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Third Days Child

USA, 2008, 8 minutes, director: SJ Chiro

In the near future, not all of your children will be everyday children.

As part of the Short Film Program Strange Days Page 131

FRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Tits and Blood

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Brady Hall

What more could you ask for in a horror film? Except, perhaps, a little twist…

As part of the Short Film Program Wild Bunch Page 136

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Yellow

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Semih Tareen

A romantic evening turns fatal in this all-out homage to Mario Bava and the giallo genre.

As part of the Short Film Program Wild Bunch Page 136

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SIFF SHORTSFEST WEEKEND

Some of the most extraordinary work in cinema today is produced in increments of less than 30 minutes. Working outside the constraints (or the rewards) of the commercial film industry, short-film makers have the freedom to flout the conventional and create works that vibrate with originality. The best shorts are fueled by artistic expression—the filmmaker has something to say and the craft and talent to carry it off—the results can be dazzling. Shorts can reinvigorate our love of movies and remind us of the transcendent possibilities of the medium. There is another reward—the thrill of discovery. Many brilliant filmmakers, including Jane Campion, Michel Gondry, Todd Haynes, Jason Reitman, and Martin Scorsese, to name a few, started as short-film makers. We’ve scoured the world to select this remarkable collection of films, and we’re thrilled to present the first SIFF ShortsFest Weekend—a festival within the Festival—at our lovely, state-of-the-art SIFF Cinema. Now it’s up to you, the audience, to predict tomorrow’s rising stars.

Every short film at the Seattle International Film Festival is eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and the Jury Award. The Golden Space Needle prize will be determined by audience balloting. The winner will receive the latest Apple Intel 15-inch laptop computer, completely loaded with the Final Cut Pro Suite of products from IrisInk and The Mac Store, as well as a $1,000 certificate for Color Negative Motion Picture Film from the Eastman Kodak Company’s Entertainment Imaging Division. Our Shorts Competition jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each first-prize winner will receive $2,500 and a one-year subscription to FilmTracker from Baseline Studio Systems.

Jury

Scilla Andreen

An award-winning producer, Emmynominated costume designer, and CEO and co-founder of IndieFlix.com, Scilla Andreen is also a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a popular panelist, and a tireless champion of independent film. Scilla and producing partner Carlo Scandiuzzi created IndieFlix, an independent film distribution and discovery site founded on the principles of community, promotion, syndication, and transparency to help independent filmmakers monetize their work.

Jeff Shannon

Born in Seattle and raised in Edmonds, Jeff Shannon has been reviewing films in Seattle since 1985 for the Seattle Post Intelligencer and The Seattle Times. After serving as assistant editor of Microsoft’s Cinemania CDROM and website, he was the original editor of Amazon.com’s DVD store, and continues to write DVD reviews for the library trade magazine Video Librarian. Disabled since 1979, Jeff is a passionate advocate for disability rights, and is a regular contributor to New Mobility, the nation’s leading disability lifestyle magazine. While continuing to pursue his life-long passion for movies, he is currently serving his first term on the Washington State Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment.

Douglas Horn

With sharp, evocative dialog and striking visual flair, writer-director Douglas Horn’s work has quickly gained a following among film audiences. His short and feature films have earned recognition at film festivals and beyond. Horn’s comedy Full Disclosure won the 2006 SIFF Golden Space Needle Award for Best Short Film. His debut feature film, Entry Level, starring DB Sweeney and Missi Pyle won Best Feature and Best Screenplay in New York City’s 2007 VisionFest Film Festival. He just completed an independent family film The No-Sit List. While Douglas actively works in Los Angeles and elsewhere, he and his family live in North Bend, Washington, where he dreams of bringing more film projects to the Seattle area.

Opening Night ProgramThe Look of Love

It is our great pleasure to open our ShortsFest Weekend with this collection of superb films from around the world that exemplify the art of storytelling in all its variety. Narrative and documentary, comedy and drama, live action and animation—these films prove that short is truly sweet. (104 minutes)

Weiss

Germany, 2008, 5 minutes, director: Florian Grolig

Graphically stunning in black and white, this animation dances between positive and negative, figure and shadow.

Coffee & Allah

New Zealand, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Sima Urale

A Muslim immigrant to New Zealand finds her insular world challenged by badminton and trips to the local coffee shop.

Mapping

Israel, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Asaf Saban

Memorial Day, Israel: A siren reminds two surveyors working on the “Wall of Separation” that the past is always present.

On the Line

Germany/Switzerland, 2007, 30 minutes, director: Reto Caffi

A department store security guard is racked by guilt after not helping a man being attacked in the subway. Grand Prize winner, Clermont-Ferrand.

Salim Baba

USA, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Tim Sternberg

This beautifully photographed, Oscar-nominated short follows an itinerant projectionist through the streets of North Kolkata, India.

New Boy

Ireland, 2007, 11 minutes, director: Steph Green

Based on a Roddy Doyle short story, a young African immigrant struggles to make a place for himself during his first day at an Irish school.

Taua

New Zealand, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Tearepa Kahi

With the enemy leader bound to the stern of their war canoe, a Maori war party carries the canoe through the forest to elude their pursuers.

Love can occur in many forms—here are a few stories that highlight the facets of loving relationships in all their glorious complexity. (92 minutes)

John and Karen

United Kingdom, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Matthew Walker

John the polar bear apologizes to Karen the penguin after an argument, and then they have tea.

Scoring

Ireland, 2007, 3 minutes, directors: Ken Wardrop

A beautiful meditation upon the sensual art of kissing.

Animal Bloom

France, 2007, 17 minutes, director: Helene Guetary

Lonely Susan enrolls in a pharmaceutical test program to super-charge her pheromones, only to find her new allure works on all the wrong men.

Gravity France, 2007, 6 minutes, director: Nicolas Provost

A stroboscopic collage of famous cinematographic kisses induces an intoxicating vertigo.

Ocean Boulevard

France, 2007, 20 minutes, director: Céline Novel

As brilliantly winsome as Miranda July, director Novel scripts and stars in this elegant comedy about a lonely woman on holiday.

Days of Love

Norway, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Eric Magnusson

The droll story of Nora and Hjalmar, a married couple who have a problem communicating.

Revelations

Ireland, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Jane Lee

An elegantly told tale of the beginning and end of a relationship, simply drawn and beautifully animated.

Cave Flower

USA, 2007, 19 minutes, director: Sam Fleischner

An exquisite urban fable about a young man living on the margins—until one day he encounters a lovely woman in red...

Medium Rare

United Kingdom, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Stefan Stuckert

On the run from thugs, Carl finds an unexpected hiding place where desire lays its own subtle snare.

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMAFRIDAY MAY 30 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

Friends & Lovers Strange Days

FRIDAY MAY 30 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMAFRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM

Relationships are never simple, whether they are between relatives, friends, or even animals. (93 minutes)

Peter and Ben

United Kingdom, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Pinny Grylls

Two friends leave the flock, so to speak, and form an unconventional yet touching friendship.

The Ladies

USA, 2007, 13 minutes, director: Christina Voros

Two sisters tell the story of rebuilding a life together in the U.S. after escaping from a Russian work camp.

Wine and Cupcakes

USA, 2007, 12 minutes, director: Bruce Weber

Singer Angela McCluskey and composer Paul Cantelon take a walk through Central Park to the strains of “Autumn in New York.”

Elephant Girl

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: David Lobser

A film about “sisters” who enjoy more than just sisterhood.

Stuff

Canada, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Karl R. Hearne

When a man asks his girlfriend to move in, he has one condition—no new stuff.

Congratulations Daisy Graham

Canada, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Cassandra Nicolaou

The day before a big celebration in her honor, Daisy has only one question, “What good is a gun without bullets?”

The Pearce Sisters

United Kingdom, 9 minutes, director: Luis Cook

When the sea offers up a handsome but half-drowned man, the ghoulish Pearce sisters do their best to resuscitate him.

Train Town

USA, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Keith Bearden

The same goofy sensibility that made Raftsman’s Razor ring true informs this showdown between two cultural antagonists at their model train shop.

Struck

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Taron Lexton

When Joel is accidentally struck by an arrow, he resolves to go about his search for love despite his odd affliction.

SIFF CINEMA

Between the bizarre and the beautiful is a world filled with dreams, desires, and delusions. (95 minutes)

Safari

USA, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Catherine Chalmers

A bug’s life as you’ve never seen it before.

Hirsute

Canada, 2007, 14 minutes, director: A.J. Bond

A scientist exploring the mysteries of time travel meets his future (and less hairy) self.

Cherries

United Kingdom, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Tom Harper

A classroom of high school lads are about to have a lesson about the New World that they will never forget.

I Love Sarah Jane

Australia, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Spencer Susser

Alas, what to do when the zombie apocalypse comes between you and your first crush?

Rewind

India, 2007, 9 minutes, director: Atul Taishete

A blind man rewinds through a situation that left his fellow robbers dead and the loot in his possession.

Third Days Child

USA, 2008, 8 minutes, director: S.J. Chiro

In the near future, not all of your children will be everyday children.

Teat Beat of Sex

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Signe Baumane

Sometimes the nature of sexuality almost demands animation.

Fawn

Austria, 2007, 6 minutes, director: Christoph Rainer

From contours and shadows, the indistinct impression of a girl emerges from faint, inchoate images that bode ill.

Dog Altogether

Scotland, 2007, 17 minutes, director: Paddy Considine

As Joseph flees from his own rage and inner demons, he takes a wrong turn that just might lead him to redemption. BAFTA Award, Best Short Film 2008.

The Family Picture Show

SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM

Herzog and the Monsters

Scotland, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Lesley Barnes In stunning collage animation, Herzog creates a strange, new world constructed from books and letters.

Sleeping Betty

Canada, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Isabelle Au Bois Dormant

Princess Betty is asleep and nothing can wake her, so her father summons the nearest prince, but what to do in the meantime?

Lavatory Love Story

Russia, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Konstantin Bronzit A bathroom attendant searches frantically for her secret admirer in a love story that can’t be stalled.

Anita’s Africa

Uganda, 2007, 18 minutes, director: Beverley Reid

A pen-pal letter from a girl in Uganda becomes a visual postcard of her daily life.

The Inquisitive Snail

Canada, 2007, 1 minute, director: Flemish Beauty

A new twist on “food for thought.”

Flutterby

Australia, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Jack Perry A spider and butterfly engage in a symphonic survival of the species.

Zoologic

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Nicole Mitchell A fussy zookeeper goes about his daily routine but must contend with a very uncooperative little penguin.

Miranda & Gordon

Canada, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Graeme Lynch Banished from tea time with the adults, a young girl chats with a man on the stairs, learning information that warms her grandmother’s heart.

The Watchman and the Little Girl

Germany, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Christoph Englert A security guard rediscovers the art around him when he follows a little girl with a red balloon around the museum.

Absolutely Afro

Netherlands, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Dorothée van den Berghe

Twelve-year-old, adopted Hanneke has a big, beautiful afro, but lives in a world where straight, blonde hair rules.

Triple Concerto in D Minor

Australia, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Daniel Mitchell Rebecca navigates the ups and downs of life as an aspiring orchestral triangle player.

Jeu

Canada, 2006, 4 minutes, director: Georges Schwizgebel An Escher-esque piece of nine cycles of paintings that destroy and reconstruct themselves.

Truth or Consequences

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:30 PM

These shorts show that there are certain consequences to truth, and an inherent truth in consequences. (92 minutes)

An Introduction to Lucid Dream Exploration

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: John Grigsby A man steps onto the subway only to be confronted by his subconscious as rendered by an Etch-a-Sketch.

If a Body Meet a Body

USA, 2007, 20 minutes, director: Brian Davis The real CSI—this short documentary explores the lives and jobs of three individuals working in the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: Come Wander With Me

USA, 2008, 3 minutes, director: Phillip Van In the wandering, she was home. In the finding, she was lost.

“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy

USA, 2008, 11 minutes, director: Rebecca Dreyfus A rare film portrait of one of the world’s greatest living photographers, Sylvia Plachy, who is, ironically, camera shy. The result is a soulful and slightly eccentric look into her private world.

The Apology Line

United Kingdom, 2007, 10 minutes, director: James Lees What happens when the desire for redemption meets an answering machine?

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being

Scotland, 2007 13 minutes, director: Faisal Aziz An eye-opening glimpse into the world of the Asian skin lightening cream industry that follows two sibling entrepreneurs as they pursue their big distribution deal.

Bully Beef

Belgium, 2007, 6 minutes, director: Wendy Morris An exquisite black and white pencil-drawn animation that portrays historical events in a powerfully expressionistic way.

Home

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Kim Slate A young boy struggles to overcome the horrors of his past and adjust to a new life.

Walnut

Australia, 2007, 13 minutes, director: Amy Gebhardt The death of the family dog causes a teenage boy to reexamine the emotional ties within his own life.

The Last Time in Clerkenwell

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Alex Budovsky This delirious black and white animation is another chapter in the adventures of the Royal Legion of Birds in which their empire expands beyond Earth’s boundaries.

The Strange Hunger

USA, 2008 6 minutes, director: Sean Pecknold Theodore becomes an unlikely hero when sounds of distant screaming in the cold North Sea urge him out into unknown dangers.

The many facets of youthful creativity are celebrated in this lively collection of the finest family shorts from around the world. (92 minutes)

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

Gay Lives All in The Family

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:00 PM

Shorts that made the hit parade … Auds like us we had it made … those were the days. (93 minutes)

Dry Rain

USA, 2008, 23 minutes, director: Matthew J. Clark

Father and son are on a road trip in Canada when the question arises, “Is this a vacation?”

Crossbow

Australia, 2007, 14 minutes, director: David Michôd

A kid. His mum and dad. The sex and drugs. And the boy next door who watched the whole thing unravel.

Sindiswa

South Africa, 2007, 12 minutes, director: Grant Angus

Sindiswa must stand up to her controlling mother-in-law to get modern medical help for her sick son.

1977

United Kingdom, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Peque Varela

A lovely, fluidly animated story of one girl’s search for identity.

The Kolaborator

Australia, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Chris Bessounian

During the Balkan conflict a soldier is forced to choose between his own life and the life of an old friend.

My Mother’s Daughter

Scotland, 2007, 11 minutes, director: Saleyha Ahsan

When Scottish journalist Yvonne Ridley converted to Islam as an adult, she could not fathom how it would affect her relationship with her mother.

A Little Night Fright

USA, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Mischa Livingstone

One brother teases the other at night as a tentacled monster comes out from under the bed. Good thing it is all in his head…or is it?

My, My, Hey, Hey: A Let’s Talk-u-mentary

USA, 2008, 7 minutes, director: Shannon Hart-Reed

The day that Jimi Hendrix played the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock split a father and son apart.

SATURDAY MAY 31 6:30 PM

Mates who just want to know what it feels like, teenage sports, sexuality, the history of Seattle’s Bailey-Boushay House—all of these and more make up our gay lives. (98 minutes)

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History

USA, 2008, 32 minutes, director: Terence Brown

An in-depth biography of the controversial building that became a pillar of the Seattle community.

Just

USA, 2007, 12 minutes, director: David Maurice Gil

After two strangers meet online, they discover that their hook-up is anything but casual.

A Mate

Finland, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Teemu Nikki

Pera wants to try something different and his mate is happy to oblige. What are friends for?

Dolls

USA, 2008, 10 minutes, director: Randy Caspersen

When a garage sale turns violent, a mother reluctantly comes to terms with her teenage son’s sexuality.

Wrestling

Finland, 2007, 20 minutes, director: Grimur Hakonarson

Two gay wrestlers living in rural Iceland grapple with their love for one another.

Lloyd Neck

USA, 2007, 16 minutes, director: Benedict Campbell

Alex has a crush on her brother’s friend Jesse, but he likes Alex’s brother Taylor.

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

Ties That Bind Wild Bunch

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM

Join a band of cinematic outlaws as they revel in fear, loathing, and mayhem. (85 minutes)

Hot Dog

USA, 2008, 6 minutes, director: Bill Plympton

In the newest Plymptoon, an enthusiastic pup will do anything to become the fire station’s resident pooch.

Advantage

Australia, 2007, 11 minutes, director: Sean Byrne A young drunken couple getting frisky on the tennis courts discover that they are not alone...

Piñata’s Revenge

USA, 2007, 2 minutes, director: Delaney Bishop

What happens when everyone’s favorite candy-filled papier-mâchés seek vengeance upon their oppressors—oh, you’ll find out.

Twenty One

USA, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Jacob Hensberry A young woman’s twenty-first birthday party attracts a variety of human monsters.

Fringe

USA, 2007, 6 minutes, director: Tate Lown Madeline’s mother doesn’t believe there’s a man in the dark, so she sets out to prove it with her Polaroid camera.

Tits and Blood

USA, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Brady Hall

What more could you ask for in a horror film? Except, perhaps, a little twist…

Yellow

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Semih Tareen A romantic evening turns fatal in this all-out homage to Mario Bava and the giallo genre.

Spider

Australia, 2007, 9 minutes, director: Nash Edgerton

It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

Night Light

USA, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Mark Mollenkamp

Sitting in a dimly lit room, a man retells how he survived a chilling incident by overcoming his darkest childhood fears.

Louis & Anne

France, 2007, 9 minutes, director: Austin Alward

Past and present intertwine when Louis returns to Paris to reconcile with Anne on the eve of the world’s end.

On the Assassination of the President

USA, 2008, 6 minutes, director: Adam Keker

A top-secret government file, to be viewed only in the event of the president’s assassination.

SUNDAY JUNE 1 11:00 AM

Six shorts explore the strange and powerful ways we are bound to each other and to the world. (96 minutes)

Suspension

Belgium, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Nicolas Provost Metamorphosing implosions of mesmerizing beauty.

Beginning Filmmaking

USA, 2008, 23 minutes, director: Jay Rosenblatt

Director Rosenblatt chronicles a year of trying to teach his precocious preschooler the fundamentals of filmmaking, during which he learns a great deal.

Glory at Sea

USA, 2008, 26 minutes, director: Benh Zeitlin

A group of New Orleans mourners band together to rescue their lost loved ones, trapped beneath the sea.

Son

UK, 2007, 17 minutes, director: Daniel Mulloy

Mother and son work together on an underground film shoot, but nothing is as it seems as the narrative twists and twists and….

Fish

Russia, 2008, 14 minutes, director: Alexander Kott

This lyrical, visually stunning film depicts a quiet, icy landscape in which a young boy finds enchantment.

Voice Messages

Spain, 2007, 11 minutes, director: Fernando Franco

Marta returns to live with Luis in Madrid but over the course of a pivotal week, their missed connections relay more about their relationship than any conversation.

SIFF CINEMA

SIFF CINEMA

Waking Dreams Art of Memory

SUNDAY

A lyrical look at the past experiences that shape our futures. (89 minutes)

Run

New Zealand, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Mark Albiston

A Samoan brother and sister living in a conservative beach town stand up to their dictatorial father. Special Mention winner, Cannes Film Festival.

My Olympic Summer

USA, 2007, 12 minutes, director: Daniel Robin

A filmmaker looks at home movies of his parents hoping to understand his own relationships.

Milk Teeth

UK, 2007, 11 minutes, director: Tibor Bànoczki

A young boy in his sister’s charge finds his own world as she meets a boy of her own.

Felix

Germany, 20 minutes, director: Andreas Uttas

Ten-year-old Felix befriends a deaf girl over the Internet, but trying to win her heart may expose the one secret he has kept from her.

Sainte Barbe

Canada, 8 minutes, director: Cédric Louis

Beautiful puppet animation tells the moving story of the relationship of a grandson and grandfather, and the importance of hair.

Last Day of December

Romania, 16 minutes, director: Bogdan Apetri

A man revisits his childhood home and recalls the fateful day in the snow that changed his life forever.

Tongue Tied

Ireland, 3 minutes, director: Ken Wardrop

A young boy learns to interact with his grumpy neighbors in a most surprising fashion.

3 Minute Masterpieces Winners

USA, 4 minutes

The winning 1 and 3 minute films from the 2008 Seattle Times 3 Minute Masterpieces contest.

There is no artistic medium better than film for expressing the dreamy, the fantastic, and the absurd. Give yourself over to the magic of light and shadow. (96 minutes)

Energie!

Germany, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Thorsten Fleisch

An uncontrolled discharge of 30,000 volts creates a spectacular display that dazzles the eye.

Night Vision

Canada, 2007, 24 minutes, director: Phillip Barker

Images of sublime surrealism conjure places beyond the surface of the natural world. Picture yourself on a boat on a river…

The Tourists

Canada, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Malcolm Sutherland

A wry and wonderful animated day at the beach.

Around

Japan, 2007, 3 minutes, director: Ryu Kato

A chain of dizzying images illustrate a day in an imaginary town as seen through the eyes of a boy.

Doxology

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Michael Langan

Surreal? How about floating carrots, mysteriously recurring tennis balls, and a man tangoing with an Oldsmobile?

Bulb

Scotland, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Arlene Cullum

As a struggling artist named Jill fights her way home through a city in electronic meltdown, her sculpture takes on a life of its own.

Hezurbeltzak, A Common Grave

Spain, 2007, 5 minutes, director: Izibene Oñederra

Powerful and raw, this animated film illustrates the invented Basque word “hezurbeltzak”—a term describing the socially invisible.

5:55

Mexico, 2007, 9 minutes, directors: Javier Aguilera, Jorge Aguilera

When his muse and model Ana disappears one morning, Alex, a young photographer, follows the clues to her whereabouts in a frenetic race across Europe.

The Iron Forest

USA, 2007, 4 minutes, director: Robert Stevenson

A highly frenetic yet sensual exploration of the Seattle skyline as it passes from day into night.

Far Away From Ural

Finland, 2008, 27 minutes, director: Katariina Lillqvist

This gorgeous puppet animation fantasy portrays a real-life Finnish Civil War general who takes a young Kirghiz man as his valet and lover.

SIFF CINEMA

Rare Gems from Pilot Animation Studio Once Upon a Time…

No matter how the story begins, it’s a long and complicated road to happily ever after. (85 minutes)

Sikumi

USA, 2008, 15 minutes, director: Andrew MacLean

An Inuit takes his dog team out onto the frozen Arctic Ocean hunting for seals only to inadvertently stumble upon a murder.

The Ice Plant

Scotland, 2007, 10 minutes, director: Kate Burton

Ina works happily alone at an ice cube factory, but the arrival of a new colleague threatens to disrupt her perfect routine.

Victory

Ireland, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Sonya Gildea

A young girl drives her horse at full gallop, but when, if ever, will she reach freedom?

Catching Rats

Ecuador, 2007, 14 minutes, director: Vero ShamoGarcia

Thirteen-year-old Anita and her younger brother Pablo join a band of revolutionary guerillas but when their loyalties become divided, which bonds will survive?

Alexandra

USA, 2007, 25 minutes, director: Radu Jude

When her father comes to repair her bicycle, Alexandra learns the bike is not the only thing in her life that is in disrepair.

Un certain regard

France, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Geraldine Maillet

An afternoon in the park, and love at first sight beckons.

Aleksandr Tatarskiy (1950-2007) co-founded Pilot Studio, the first private animation studio in new Russia. The great director, producer, and teacher developed Pilot into one of the world’s leading animation studios, winning many awards, and mentoring decades of animators. Aleksandr Tatarskiy

Lift 3

Russia, 1991, 9 minutes, directors: Igor Kovalyov, Mikhail Aldashin, Aleksandr Tatarskiy, Vladimir Sakov, Rinat Gazizov

From a series of six, this great vehicle shows off Pilot’s animators: Ear for Junk, Astronauts, Little Dog, Chukchi Man.

In the meantime, about birds…

Soviet Union, 1974, 12 minutes, directors: Aleksandr Tatarskiy, Igor Kovalyov

Rarely seen first film by founders of Pilot Studio, made in Kiev illegally, without state sponsorship, by using an old X-ray machine as an animation device.

Hypnerotomahia

Russia, 1992, 8 minutes, director: Andrey Svislotsky Not for children—a mixture of interconnecting dreams and nightmares of a man, woman, and dog.

Ball

Russia, 2001, 3 minutes, director: Mickael Tumelya

A ball under the influence of Mozart. Tumelya is a Belorussian animator and collaborator with Pilot studio who worked with Alexandr Petrov, Oscar winner and four-time nominee for Academy Awards.

The Opposite Side of the Moon

Russia, 1994, 10 minutes, director: Aleksandr Tatarskiy

Animation about Georgian hospitality that received many awards. This is Tatarskiy’s favorite original creation.

Pacifier

Russia, 1993, 1 minute, director: Konstantin Bronzit

Early work of Bronzit whom Tatarskiy considered one of his best students.

Neighbors

Russia, 2001, 7 minutes, director: Stepan Biryukov

Diploma project that won Biryukov respect from his colleagues and multiple awards at international festivals.

Gone with the Wind

Russia, 1999, 11 minutes, director: Aleksandr Tatarskiy A true story of a former chicken who tries to bring back his past.

The Other Side

Russia, 1993, 8 minutes, director: Mikhael Aldashin Worms in love in the big, mysterious scary world.

Gagarin

Russia, 1994, 4 minutes, director: Aleksey Kharitidi 1995 Cannes Film Festival winner about a caterpillar that’s too dizzy to fly.

I Will Let You Know

Russia, 1996, 5 minutes, directors: Aleksandr Tatarskiy, Andrey Kuzneov Music video of legendary Russian Moscow band, Time Machine.

5/4

Russia, 1996, 8 minutes, director: Ivan Maximov Surreal animated fantasy based on Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five.”

Many thanks to: Pilot Studio’s Igor Gelashvili, Eduard Nazarov, Olga Zhuravleva, and Natalia Berezovaya; Alex Budovsky, and tech support Valeri Ajaja.

SUNDAY JUNE 1 6:15 PM

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SUNDAY JUNE 1 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

THREE-MINUTE MASTERPIECES

MONDAY MAY 26 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA

How hard could it be to make a three-minute film? We challenge you to find out.

For three years the Seattle International Film Festival has teamed with the Seattle Times and put the power of film in your hands.

Here’s how it works: Use your digital-video camera to make a film on any subject you like, as long as it’s family-friendly. (That means no sex, violence, or profanity.) The film must be three minutes or less. If it includes music, it must either be your original score or you must have permission to use it. After you create your masterpiece, upload it to YouTube, and e-mail the link to The Seattle Times along with your name, phone number, age (if under 18), and the film’s title. Then the only thing left to do is wait for the contest’s results (often the hardest part). If selected as a finalist, we’ll contact you about providing a higher-resolution version of your film.

This year we brought back the J. Michael Rima award for filmmakers under 18 years old and we have a new category, the One-Minute Masterpiece, for films one minute or less.

Winning masterpieces are shown on The Seattle Times website and at the Seattle International Film Festival. The grand-prize winner receives two full-series passes to this year’s Festival. The J. Michael Award is a special prize presented by the Rima family, and the One-Minute Masterpiece winner gets weeklong passes to the Festival. The Seattle Film Institute also provides free film classes for the top winners.

Last year we received more than 100 entries and were once again blown away by what people can do with three minutes and a little imagination.

The 2008 finalists include:

Annies First Dates

directors: Michael Gaston & Brooke Montgomery

Blood, Sweat and Wool director: Ben Hasko

Customs at PQ Int’l director: Ken Perrine

Die, Demon Die director: Devin Cochran

(Ex)roommate? director: Emek Erarslan

A Friendly Game director: Ben Kadie

The Laboratory director: Andrew Inaba

Mit der Kraft director: Nikki Mull

PB&J, A Love Story director: Katie Raynolds

Walk It Off director: Terese Cuff

You Think This is Just a Game? director: Nik Perleros

SHORTS BEFORE FEATURES

Smells Like Teen Spirit

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Jem Cohen

A portrait of Patti Smith and her son, William Blake’s death mask, Kurt Cobain, and cats as household saints as America moves from guitars to dirty dishes. plays before Patti Smith: Dream of Life Page 92 and as part of The Past and the Present Page 146

Norma Grace

USA, 2007, 13 minutes, director: Laurent Morlet

What do you do when Hollywood stops calling? plays before The Bluetooth Virgin Page 111

Tag!

Sweden, 2007, 28 minutes, director: Anders Skog

An African malaria researcher and his family travel to Sweden for a conference, only to be caught up in a bizarre game of tag.

plays before Fairytale of Kathmandu Page 118

Bookie

USA, 2007, 18 minutes, director: Bao Tran

A bookie makes a risky wager in order to help a downtrodden waitress break her professional and private ties to her employer. plays before The End Page 166

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project

Singapore, 2006, 7 minutes, director: Tzu Nyen Ho

With a script based entirely on Freddie Mercury’s lyrics, this production is a deliriously faithful rendering of Queen’s rock opera.

plays before Hair: Let The Sun Shine In Page 169

Shake Off

Netherlands, 2007, 9 minutes, director: Hans Beenhakker

This single, continuous shot follows a gifted dancer as he moves magically through different times and spaces, luring the viewer into a dynamic world teetering between the impossible and the real.

plays before Hair: Let The Sun Shine In Page 169

The Tailor

Spain, 2007, 32 minutes, director: Oscar Perez

Winner of the Silver Cub Prize at the prestigious International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam, this bittersweet comedy profiles an ill-tempered Pakistani tailor in Barcelona and his Indian employee. plays before Lakshmi and Me Page 170

Two Women and a Man

Israel, 16 minutes, director: Roee Rosen

A stretching exercise for gender, indecency, and reality itself, this faux TV documentary profiles Rosen’s imaginary alter-ego: an anti-Zionist Jew and occasional lesbian who grosses out other surrealist artists with her anti-Semitic erotica and pornographic Hebrew alphabet.

plays before Stalags — Holocaust and Pornography in Israel Page 171

Hamdi and Maria

Germany, 2007, 19 minutes, director: Timor Britva

The heartwrenching story of a Palestinian man caring for his paralyzed daughter after an Israeli missile attack. plays before This Way Up Page 174

The Second Line

USA, 2007, 20 minutes, director: John Magary

His savings stolen from his FEMA trailer, MacArthur and his cousin take a job gutting a house. plays before Tulia, Texas Page 174

We salute the filmmakers of the Seattle International Film Festival...

May the stories presented here give your audiences a new view on the world around them!

WWW . VULCAN . COM

Swing by the SIFF Lounge at Moe Bar any night of the Festival for cocktails, post-film conversation, and fun.

10th and Pike Street on Capitol Hill

ALTERNATE CINEMA

Incorporating experimental and avant-garde elements, these films engage you on an intellectual as well as emotional level.

Your typical movie aims to engage your emotions through storytelling in such a way that the filmmaking becomes invisible. Alternate Cinema is different. Incorporating experimental and avantgarde elements, these films engage you on an intellectual as well as emotional level; often by making you aware that you’re watching a film. Czech director Ivo Trajkov achieves this effect by making his 8mm feature Movie, or An Introduction To the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making both a road movie and an independent filmmaker’s manual of advice. Other filmmakers hold their shots for long periods of time, shifting your attention from story to shot composition and encouraging you to examine motion pictures as though they were paintings, as in Milky Way or Casting a Glance. Because themes and stories aren’t spoon-fed, audiences must work to decipher a thru-line, such as the colonial self-criticism found in Eat, For This is My Body or the city symphony of human foibles that is You, the Living. Then there’s the alternate documentaries like Marie Losier’s unconventional short films about experimental artists, Hartmut Bitomsky’s philosophical essay about life, death, and tiny particles, Dust, and Alina Marazzi’s exquisitely edited archival films for the post-feminist We Want Roses Too. Heinz Emigholz’s chronological look at modernist buildings of Adolf Loos, is given without commentary and the architecture itself becomes autobiography, in Loos Ornamental. This year, we have all this and shorts, too! We invite all adventurous filmgoers to take a look at the movies that exist in the realm of Alternate Cinema.

Co-presented by the Northwest Film Forum.

FEATURE FILMS

Casting a Glance (USA, 2007)

Directed byJames Benning

Dust (Germany, 2007)

Directed by Hartmut Bitomsky

Eat, For This is My Body (Haiti, 2007)

Directed by Michelange Quay

Loos Ornamental (Austria, 2008)

Directed by Heinz Emigholz

Milky Way (Hungary, 2007)

Directed by Benedek Fliegauf

Movie, or An Introduction To The Philosophy Of Auteur Film Making (Czech Republic, 2007)

Directed by Ivo Trajkov

We Want Roses Too (Italy, 2007)

Directed by Alina Marazzi

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? (Austria, 2008)

Directed by Barbara Caspar

You, the Living (Sweden, 2007)

Directed by Roy Andersson

SHORT FILM PROGRAMS

Portraits in Cinema

The Past and The Present

You, the Living

Shorts Program

The Past and the Present

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

A look at place and space, past and present, personal and impersonal, literal and figurative, intentional and unintentional. (95 minutes)

What the Water Said, Nos 4-6

USA, 2007, 17 minutes, director: David Gatten Encased in crab traps, fragmented filmstrips harbor mystical messages from the underwater world.

Smells Like Teen Spirit

USA, 2007, 7 minutes, director: Jem Cohen A portrait of Patti Smith and her son, William Blake’s death mask, Kurt Cobain, and cats as household saints as America moves from guitars to dirty dishes.

Shiny Things

USA, 2008, 5 minutes, director: Salise Hughes Seattle filmmaker Hughes uses found footage to give Neil Young’s classic “Heart of Gold” a re-orchestration.

Interpretive Site: Kosmos

USA, 2008, 6 minutes, director: Karn Junkinsmith A town swallowed by a river in 1968 reemerges barren. Rediscovery is begins with Frisbees and a native dancer.

Portraits In Cinema

The Production and Decay of Strange Particles

USA, 2008, 8 minutes, director: Jon Beherens This film experiments with the film’s emulsion and image bleaching before using the bleached film as a canvas for the short filmic poem about the abstract history of cinema.

Beirut Outtakes

USA, 2007, 8 minutes, director: Peggy Ahwesh Film found in the cellars of a longsince closed classic cinema in Beirut become a true time machine with an eloquent montage of old Lebanese dramas and western action films.

Between 2 Deaths

USA, 2006, 7 minutes, director: Wago Kreider Singular tension emerges between the familiar Vertigo images shot in 1957 and images from the cemetery of Mission Dolores in San Francisco that remains almost unchanged today.

FRIDAY MAY 23 7:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Specializing in unique short 16mm film portraits, director Marie Losier gets intimate with people by recording their performances, inserting herself into their worlds, or by inviting them to participate auspiciously in hers. (69 min)

DreaMinimalist

USA, 2008, 27 minutes, with Tony Conrad Two years of Conrad’s life playing with costumes, practicing his violin, cooking pickled films, performing at Tonics in NYC, and his involvement with Flaming Creature.

Snow Beard

USA, 2007, 3 minutes, with Mike Kuchar In-camera edited, a 3-minute dance with Mike Kuchar as the snow falls and his beard turns into a snow tree.

Manuelle Labor

USA, 2007, 10 minutes, a collaboration between Marie Losier and Guy Maddin Two sisters, five brothers, a doctor, two nurses, and the miraculous birth of a pair of hands ... but whose hands are they?

Eat My Makeup!

USA, 2005, 6 minutes, with George Kuchar Five winsome damsels picnic on the roof of a warehouse in charming Long Island City, but when a swarm of flies interrupts their feast, the young ladies run amok.

Electrocute Your Stars

The Boy Who Died

Canada, 2007, 7 minutes, director: John Price Impressions of Saskatchewan after hearing that one a documentary film’s subjects barely managed to survive a devastating skidoo accident. Her friend who was driving was not as lucky.

Observando el Cielo

USA, 2007, 19 minutes, director: Jeanne Liotta Seven years of celestial field recordings gathered from the chaos. This work is neither a metaphor nor a symbol, but is feeling towards a fact in the midst of perception, which time flows through.

Metorites

Thailand, 2007, 15 minutes, director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Meteorites is made as a gift for the auspicious occasion on the Eightieth Birthday Anniversary of His Majesty King of Thailand.

Jaye Lady Jaye

USA, 2008, 15 min with Genesis

USA, 2004, 8 minutes, with George Kuchar Kuchar travels through snow confetti, strobe flashes, and artificial wind in this dream-portrait that includes Janet Leigh in the shower, a red raincoat, and comic books.

P-Orridge Lady Jaye The pandrogynous partners share their home, a visit to the MoMA, and their tour with Thee Majesty and Throbbing Gristle. A work-in-progress in celebration of the life of Lady Jaye, who died suddenly October 9, 2007.

Casting a Glance

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Filmed over a period of several years, Casting a Glance could be called a cine-meditation. The film focuses on Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty, one of the most recognizable and celebrated markers of late 20th century art erected in Utah’s Great Salt Lake in 1970. Benning claims, “In order to experience the Jetty one must go often. It is a barometer for both daily and yearly cycles. From morning to night its allusive, shifting appearance (radical or subtle) may be the result of a passing weather system or simply the changing angle of the sun. The water may appear blue, red, purple, green, brown, silver, or gold. The sound may come from a navy jet, passing geese, converging thunderstorms, a few crickets, or a silence so still you can hear the blood moving through the veins in your ears.” The film, however, is a testament to Benning’s heroic persistence as an artist: the fact that, during the years in which the jetty was submerged he kept going back to it. His persistence and faith were ultimately rewarded when the jetty unexpectedly reappeared thanks to global warming. In this regard, Casting a Glance engages us in slippages of time and the transcendence of the very reality in which it partakes.

USA 2007

Director: James Benning

Producer: James Benning

Cinematographer: James Benning

Editor: James Benning

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: 16mm

Print Source: Calarts/Film

Selected Filmography: One Way Boogie

Woogie/27 Years Later (2005)

Ten Skies (2004) 13 Lakes (2004)

STAUB

Dust

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:30 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

MONDAY MAY 26 5:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Just see if you don’t become hyper-aware of dust while watching this film. Look at the tiny specks that float between the projector and the screen. Notice the particles that have embedded themselves into the 35mm film somewhere between the creation of the print and its projection. Imagine the clouds of dust that billowed up when everyone around you sat down. In Dust, Helmut Bitomsky crafted more than just a documentary about the little flakes that stick to your TV and land on your side tables. He made a philosophical essay about life and death. Christians tell us that God formed man from the dust of the Earth. Scientists tell us the universe was formed out of space dust. Meteorologists tell us that raindrops and snowflakes form around a particle of dust. On the flipside, dust is also a destructive element. The Dust Bowl in the ’30s destroyed farms and families. Asbestos and uranium give off particles that invade and mutate our bodies. For some, the aesthetics of dust are the most important. Whole industries have popped up to remove dust from museums and residences. It’s a futile and neverending process, which parallels some people’s take on life. Through it all, Bitomsky’s meticulously omniscient narrator pulls us through, sounding like the gravelly disembodied voice from any number of Godard films. Perhaps the ’70s band Kansas said it best when they sang, “All we are is dust in the wind.”

Germany/ Switzerland 2007

Director:

Hartmut Bitomsky

Producers:

Heino Deckert

Werner Schweizer

Hartmut Bitomsky

Screenwriter:

Hartmut Bitomsky

Cinematographer: Kolja Raschke

Editor: Theo Bromin

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Deckert Distribution

Print Source:

First Run/Icarus Features

Selected Filmography: B-52 (2001)

Imaginare Achitektur-

Der Baumeister Hans Scharoun (1995)

Die UFA (1992)

Das Kino und der Wind und die Photographie (1991)

Das Kino und der Tod (1988)

By Hook or by Crook (1976)

www.woollymammothshoes.com

SIFF is one of the most highly attended film festivals in the nation with attendance for 2007 topping 160,000. Noted by Variety as being one of the few film festivals “integral to their home community,” SIFF reaches a portion of that audience through community outreach. Each year SIFF grows its film-going audience, and the awareness of film as an art form by distributing free tickets to under-served communities throughout the Pacific Northwest. Groups benefiting from these tickets have included: youth in middle or high school; college or university students; low-income youth; social service agencies; economically disadvantaged and homeless people; low-income artists; people with health issues or disabilities; immigrant workers; refugees; English as a second language groups; single parent groups; and Native American organizations. These efforts have lead many people to discover new experiences and perspectives through film.

Eat, For This Is My Body

SATURDAY MAY 24 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Michelange Quay’s extraordinary first feature invites us to abandon the rules of traditional storytelling and embrace his poetic cinematic language. Eat, For This Is My Body is a political and allegorical pamphlet about Haiti, the fatherland of Quay’s parents. It’s a film populated by archetypes where an individual can represent a people, a caste, a mode of archaic thought, or a paradigm shift. Quay creates a context in which defining someone by the color of their skin is not only appropriate but also necessary for narrative purposes. Scenes of religious ceremonies, turntable DJs, cake-devouring schoolchildren, and bodies bathing in a vat of milk possess a haunting, dreamlike quality that evokes vanguard filmmakers David Lynch and Claire Denis. The film begins and ends with slow, deliberate montages depicting contemporary Haitian life. A sea of black faces in a marketplace lead to a pregnant woman sweating in a slum, and on to a late night dance party. It looks like ethnography with the nameless subjects suspiciously eyeing the camera, and it’s clearly delineated from the main story of the film, which takes place in a massive mansion, home to a middle-aged white woman (Sylvie Testud), her aging, ailing mother, and their black servant. Quay’s shockingly audacious visionary film is unmistakably powerful and contains lyrical surrealism.

Haiti/France 2007

Director:

Michelange Quay

Producer:

Tom Dercourt

Screenwriter:

Michelange Quay

Cinematographer:

Thomas Ozoux

Editor:

Jean-Marie Lengellé

Music:

Magic Malik

Cast:

Sylvie Testud

Hans Dacosta Saint-Val

Catherine Samie

Jean Noël Pierre

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Memento Films

International

Print Source:

Memento Films

International

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Loos Ornamental

SUNDAY MAY 25 5:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

TUESDAY MAY 27 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

In his 1908 essay “Ornament and Crime,” Austrian architect Adolf Loos decried the unnecessary use of ornamentation as not just a waste of time and money, but something immoral. He also noted it was ornamentation that caused objects to go out of style and become obsolete, proclaiming, “The evolution of culture marches with the elimination of ornament from useful objects.” The essay helped define Modernist architecture. Loos was not just a critic nor a teacher (acclaimed architects Rudolph Schindler and Richard Neutra studied with him), he was also an incredible architect himself. Instead of making a TV-styled documentary about the man, German director Heinz Emigholz allows the work to speak for itself. The result is something akin to architecture as autobiography. With almost no commentary outside of composition and sound design, Emigholz shot the interiors and exteriors of Loos’ surviving buildings on 35mm film and presents them in chronological order of their construction. It turns out to be fascinating, even for those who never studied architecture. Just because the spaces he designed are functional, that doesn’t mean they’re not beautiful. Plus, it’s fun to watch his style define itself through the repeated use of grained wood or veined marble set off against white walls and ceilings or in the grids of tiny windows. The movie plays like a game, encouraging viewers to make connections, judge design choices, and chart the growth of this amazing artist.

Austria 2008

Director:

Heinz Emigholz

Producers: Heinz Emigholz

Alexander DumreicherIvanceanu

Gabriele Krazelbinder

Screenwriter:

Heinz Emigholz

Cinematographer: Heinz Emigholz

Editor: Heinz Emigholz

Running Time:

72 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales: Austrian Film Commission

Print Source: Austrian Film Commission

Film Website: www.adolf-loos-film.com

Selected Filmography: Schindlers Häuser (2007)

D’Annunzios Höhle (2005)

MANGE

SATURDAY MAY 24 5:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

MONDAY MAY 26 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Milky Way, the new offering from Hungarian director Benedek Fliegauf, consists of ten static shots of life on earth. It is has been likened to avant-garde psychedelia, poetic minimalism, and cartoonesque sketch. No matter what you call it, the film shows the actions of human figures from an outsider’s perspective within scenery that is eternal, motionless, and vast. The action develops through minuscule changes, often in a comic direction. The hidden main character is the atmosphere and planet Earth itself, or in a wider sense, our very own galaxy, the Milky Way. We watch the events and mysteries from afar–each episode is shown only for the length of time it takes for our imaginations to get rolling. Fliegauf calls this approach the “orbital point of view” that allows the viewers “to see the place where we live for what it really is: one planet in an infinite universe.” In this film there are no countries, cities, or political conflicts. Instead we see the biosphere, timeless landscapes, and the curious and mysterious beings living in them … ourselves. Milky Way is a unique nature film, where instead of giraffes and penguins, we see humans. Like a cross between Herzog’s Fata Morgana, Kiarostami’s Five and the tableaux of Roy Andersson (with hints of Béla Tarr, Otar Iosseliani and David Lynch thrown in for good measure), Milky Way is a distinctively original look at the modern world.

Awards: Hungarian Film Week 2008 (Best Cinematographer, Best Sound, Special Prize)

Hungary/ Germany 2007

Director:

Benedek Fliegauf

Producers: Mónika Mécs

Ernö Mesterházy András Muhi

Screenwriter:

Benedek Fliegauf

Cinematographers: Ádám Fillenz

Gergely Pohárnok

Editors:

Katalin Mészáros

Sara Czira

Music:

Benedek Fliegauf

Raptor’s Kollektiva

Cast:

Péter Balázs

Barbara Balogh

Sandor Balogh

László Benedek

Jeno Bodrogi

János Breckl

Running Time:

82 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Hungarian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Magyar Filmunio

Print Source:

Magyar Filmunio

Selected Filmography:

Dealer (2004)

Forest (2003)

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM SUNDAY MAY 25 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

“A bankrupt film director secretly borrows a car from his former girlfriend and runs away with an envelope full of somebody else’s money. He picks up a hitchhiker who happens to be a guide to the transcendental. They stop at a motel and cross paths with the demon girl.” This plot synopsis does not come from any press kit but, instead, is spoken in voiceover by the main character, who also happens to be the director. Before this gets any more confusing, let’s pull back a little. Mixing confessional documentary with narrative fiction, Ivo Trajkov made a film about making the film that we’re watching, shot on silent 8mm film, and augmented with sound effects and voiceover narration. Is that any clearer? As a framing device, Trajkov claims to be illustrating an instructional manual for filmmakers who want to skip film school altogether: “Make your film without any professional experience! Our publication will advise you how.” Throughout the film he gives advice about creating characters, crafting plot twists, and keeping audiences interested. Luckily, he follows his own advice. Somehow, after confessing to any number of shallow relationships and one-night-stands, the movie becomes a relatively sincere story of his lost love–his ex whose car he steals at the beginning of the film. Far from academic, this is the best introduction to auteur film philosophy out there.

Czech Republic/ Republic of Macedonia

Director:

Ivo Trajkov

Producers:

Vladimir Chrenovsky

Ivo Trajkov

Robert Jazadziski

Screenwriter:

Ivo Trajkov

Cinematographer: Micheal Cerny

Editor:

Ivo Trajkov

Music:

Toni Kitanovski

Cast:

Ivo Trajkov

Karel Zima

Madla Zimová

Miroslav Táborsk

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Czech, Macedonian and English, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Taskovski Films

Selected Filmography: Josefova cesta (2008)

VOGLIAMO ANCHE LE ROSE

We Want Roses Too

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM

NORTHWEST

FILM FORUM

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM NORTHWEST FILM

Using gorgeous archival footage, director Alina Marazzi has pulled together fantastic old Italian interviews, advertisements, and animation from the ’60s and ’70s that capture not just the look but also the spirit of the time. If We Want Roses Too was just an effort to capture the fashion and joy of the age, the film would be a raging success, but Marazzi has another agenda. The opening of the movie presents a ’60s woman in a bright yellow dress walking through a stylized shopping environment. She stops at a crystal ball and is horrified by what she sees. Through Marazzi’s manipulation, what she sees is a naked hippie chick dancing. Like the remainder of the film, the scene is smart, funny, and playful, with smart editing and a strong point of view. The clips that follow capture a feminine passivity and masculine swagger that are soon called into question by the upcoming sexual revolution. On top of this, she layers the voiceover of diary entries from three different women who struggled with issues surrounding gender, relationships, and the growing momentum toward sexual equality. Surprisingly and refreshingly, the movie never preaches right and wrong. Instead, it is happy to show the attitudes of years gone by and allows us to judge for ourselves how much things have changed.

FORUM

Italy/Switzerland 2007

Director:

Alina Marazzi

Producers:

Gianfilippo Pedote

Francesco Virga

Screenwriter: Alina Marazzi

Cinematographer:

Mario Masini

Editor:

Ilaria Fraioli

Music: Ronin

Featuring the Voices of:

Anita Caprioli

Teresa Saponangelo

Valentina Carnelutti

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Italian, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Women Make Movies

Film Website: www.vogliamoanchelerose.it

Selected Filmography: Per sempre (2005) Un ‘ora sola ti vorrei, Un’ (2002)

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker?

Rejecting her wealthy New York upbringing, experimental author Kathy Acker embraced the dirt, grit, and passion of life on the streets. As with most artists and authors, her experiences informed her writing, but many have also said that the pro-sex feminist characters she created informed her behavior and her life. Combining the influences of punk rock with William S. Burroughs, she embraced a healthy disregard for the status quo. Her first book was published in 1972, but she didn’t start getting critical attention until the release of her version of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” in 1982. The 1984 release of “Blood and Guts in High School” established her reputation both in the United States and in England, even as it was banned in Germany and South Africa. Just as Acker blended fact and fiction, biography and dreams, sex and satire to goose a reaction from her audience, director Barbara Caspar incorporates interviews of Acker’s friends and colleagues with archival photos, television interview footage, and animated adaptations of Acker’s work. Caspar even includes footage from casting tapes recorded when Acker looked for actors to play the girls in the animated sequences. Acker passed away in Tijuana, Mexico in 1997 at age 50 after her battle with breast cancer, but her legacy and inspiration live on. SUNDAY MAY 25 9:00 PM NORTHWEST

Austria/Germany 2008

Director:

Barbara Caspar

Producers:

Annette Pisacane

Barbara Caspar

Andrew Standen-Raz

Markus Fischer

Screenwriters:

Barbara Caspar

Andrew Standen-Raz

Cinematographer:

Marco Zimprich

Editors:

Karina Ressler

Claudia Nussbaumer

Markus Bader

Music:

Roland Hackl

Running Time:

80 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

International Sales:

Women Make Movies

Print Source:

Women Make Movies

Film Website:

www.ackerfilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

FILM FORUM

DU LEVANDE

You, the Living

MONDAY JUNE 2 9:30 PM

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

It would seem churlish to complain that Swedish master stylist Roy Andersson kept us waiting seven long years for this follow-up to the acclaimed Songs from the Second Floor, since the latter appeared some 25 years after its predecessor, but when it comes to such a uniquely gifted filmmaker, we just want more. Suffice it to say, a simple plot synopsis is out of the question for Andersson’s 50-segment ode to human fallibility. A girl has a desperate crush on a rock guitarist, a dog drags around an old man with a walker, a psychiatrist moans about his finances while straddled by his helmet-clad but otherwise naked wife, etc. The meticulously constructed tableaux vivants brim with awkward encounters, beguiling non-sequiturs, and dry Nordic wit as a procession of businessmen, housewives, criminals, and drunks (all played by warts-and-all non-professionals) partake in a morosely comic symphony about the ostensible meaning (or meaninglessness) of life. Each segment veers off in unexpected directions, occasionally to laughout-loud hilarious effect. Further enriched by a deliberately grimy yet stunning visual palette, and a plethora of musical grace notes in an array of styles—a punk guitarist, a solitary tuba player, and a Louisiana jazz band—You, The Living is a triumph of tragic comedy from one of the cinema’s most sardonic imaginations.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film) Gothenburg Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

Chicago International Film Festival 2007 (Silver Hugo for Direction) Flanders International Film Festival 2007 (Georges Delerue

Sweden/France/ Germany/ Denmark/Norway/ Japan

2007

Director:

Roy Andersson

Producers:

Roy Andersson

Pernilla Sandström

Philippe Bober

Susanne Marian

Carsten Brandt

Hakon Overas

Screenwriter:

Roy Andersson

Cinematographer:

Gustav Danielsson

Editor:

Anna Marta Waern

Music:

Robert Hefter

Cast:

Bjorn Englund

Jessika Lundberg

Elisabet Helander

Leif Larsson

Ollie Olson

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Swedish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

The Coproduction Office

Print Source:

Tartan Films USA

Film Website:

www.royandersson.com/ dulevande

Selected Filmography:

Songs From the Second Floor (2000)

Giliap (1985)

A Swedish Love Story (1970)

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Chrysalis

FRIDAY JUNE 13 MIDNIGHT EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY JUNE 14 10:00 PM CINERAMA

In his gritty feature film debut, director Julian Leclercq crafts a superb sci-fi policier that will take audiences on a hard-boiled thrill-ride. Lieutenant David Hoffman has been a loner on the Parisian police force since the death of his wife and former partner five years ago. When he’s finally paired with new partner, Marie Becker, their first case together follows a disturbing course. Assigned to a murder inquiry, Hoffman uncovers a link between the victim, an illegal immigrant found with mysterious scarring around her eyes, and notorious human trafficker Dimitri Nicolov–his wife’s murderer. The partners’ investigation leads to an exclusive, state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinic run by Doctor Brügen. Within the clinic, Brügen’s own daughter Manon is a patient and is still recuperating from injuries suffered in a horrendous automobile accident. She is virtually confined to the clinic and the subject of numerous cutting-edge therapies and bewildering tests. Connections soon emerge between Brügen’s treatments, Nicolov, and a bizarre black market operation, all of which revolve around the enigmatic device known only as the Chrysalis. Fans of such recent cyberpunk-influenced French films as Renaissance and Banlieue 13 (SIFF ‘05) should not miss Chrysalis. A visual marvel, Leclercq’s film brilliantly draws upon disparate elements from Blade Runner, A Clockwork Orange, and Franju’s Les yeux sans visage to fashion a chilling future-noir exploring the strange disjuncture between our physical and mental identities.

France 2007

Director:

Julian Leclercq

Producer:

Franck Chorot

Screenwriters:

Julien Leclercq

Franck Philippon

Nicolas Peufaillit

Aude Py

Cinematographer:

Thomas Hardmeier

Editor:

Thierry Hoss

Music:

François Roy

Jean-Jacques Hertz

Cast:

Albert Dupontel

Estelle Lefébure

Marie Guillard

Marthe Keller

Mélanie Thierry

Running Time:

91 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Gaumont International

Print Source:

Gaumont International

Film Website: www.chrysalis-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

The Disappeared

SATURDAY MAY 31 MIDNIGHT EGYPTIAN THEATRE WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

With his feature film debut, director Johnny Kevorkian crafts a disturbing, supernatural thriller reminiscent of Don’t Look Now and The Dead Zone. After years spent in a psychological ward following the disappearance of his younger brother Tom, Matthew returns home to live with his father Jake. Devastated by Tom’s abduction, Jake nurses a thinly-veiled contempt for his remaining son, whose failure to watch Tom during a booze-filled party precipitated the tragedy. Finding himself a pariah among his neighbors, Matthew receives some solace from his old mate Simon, the local minister Adrian Ballan, and the fragile, yet troubled Amy. One day Matthew discovers his father’s trove of videotapes filled with the media coverage surrounding Tom’s disappearance. While watching one cassette, he hears his brother’s ghostly voice, “You never came for me!” But when he replays the tape for his father, and later for Simon, there is no voice. With his sanity once again in question, Matthew seeks the help of a local medium. Meanwhile children began to disappear again, including Simon’s sister Sophie. With Tom’s voice haunting him, and now a suspect himself in the newest spate of child disappearances, Matthew undertakes a horrific journey to uncover his brother’s fate. With its mix of classic English ghost story and modern gothic chiller, The Disappeared is the perfect midnightmarish treat.

United Kingdom 2008

Director:

Johnny Kevorkian

Producers:

Johnny Kevorkian

Neil Murphy

Screenwriters:

Johnny Kevorkian

Neil Murphy

Cinematographer:

Diego Rodriguez

Editor:

Celia Haining

Cast:

Harry Treadaway

Greg Wise

Alex Jennings

Tom Felton

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta

Print Source:

Los Tribe Productions

Film Website:

www.

thedisappearedthemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Donkey Punch

SATURDAY JUNE 14 MIDNIGHT EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 15 9:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Perhaps nothing has done more to ruin European tourism, aside from the weak dollar, than the recent slate of horror films. Both Hostel films, as well as last year’s Severance, explode the myth of the continent as a genteel getaway destination. Watch Olly Blackburn’s shocking Donkey Punch, and the family trip to Delaware will continue to look better and better. No such luck for our heroines—Lisa, Kim, and Tammi leave behind rainy Leeds for sun-soaked Malorca. Game for just about anything, the girls meet three fellow British boys working on a local yacht. With the ship’s owner away, they accept an invitation to party on-board and, shortly afterward, find themselves out to sea. Fueled by booze and drugs, two of the girls go down below deck and become involved in a very explicit, five-way orgy. That’s when everything goes horribly, horribly wrong— one of the participants gets over-excited and the film’s eponymous maneuver is performed. What follows next is a white-knuckle, high seas thriller in the tradition of Knife in the Water and Dead Calm. Blackburn manages to infuse high tension into his film by carefully developing his characters and their motivations. As things go from bad to worse, to even worse still, their underlying humanity evokes squeamish sympathy from the audience even as the fabled azure Mediterranean turns bloody red.

United Kingdom 2008

Director:

Olly Blackburn

Producers:

Angus Lamont

Mark Herbert

Robin Gutch

Screenwriters:

Olly Blackburn

David Bloom

Cinematographer:

Nanu Segal

Editor:

Kate Evans

Music:

François-Eudes Chanfrault

Cast:

Julian Morris

Jaime Winstone

Tom Burke

Nichola Burley

Robert Boulter

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Lumina Films

Print Source:

Magnet Releasing

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY MAY 24 MIDNIGHT EGYPTIAN THEATRE

For Asian horror fans lamenting the genre’s steady decline into tiresome clichés, Epitaph provides a frighteningly original respite. As the film opens, elderly doctor Park Jung-Nam lectures to a class of medical students, showing them archival footage of an early brain surgery procedure. Afterwards, a messenger delivers an old photo album from the soon-to-be-demolished hospital where the doctor once studied medicine. As Jung-Nam thumbs through the album that evening, the narrative flashes back to the 1942 Japanese occupation of Korea. From here the film divides itself into three loosely interwoven stories. The first focuses on the young JungNam, a promising medical student engaged to the hospital administrator’s daughter. However, after being assigned morgue duty, he soon becomes obsessed with the corpse of a young woman, an apparent suicide drowned in an icy river, whose body refuses to decay. In the second tale, psychiatrist Soo-In treats Asako, an eightyear-old car crash survivor. Physically unharmed but nearly catatonic, she suffers from horrifying dreams of her dead parents that soon invade her waking life. The final installment follows married surgeons In-Young and Dong-Won as they are charged with performing autopsies on several murdered Japanese soldiers—each the victim of a mysterious serial killer. Dong-Won tentatively begins to believe his wife may be involved, but then makes an even more bizarre discovery about her. A Korean counterpart to Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom, the Jung Brothers’ feature film debut is an eerily atmospheric chiller in which the restless dead balefully lay siege to the haunted living.

South Korea 2007

Directors:

Jung Brothers

Producer:

Jang So-Jung

Screenwriters:

Jung Bum-sik

Sik Jung

Cinematographer:

Yun Nam-joo

Editor: Kim Sang-beom

Cast: Kim Tae-woo

Kim Bo-kyung

Jin Goo

Lee Dong-kyu

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Korean, with English subtitles

International Sales: Studio 2.0

Print Source:

TLA Releasing

Film Website: www.gidam.kr

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Mirageman

FRIDAY MAY 30 MIDNIGHT

TUESDAY JUNE 3 9:15 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Long the home to many terrible social injustices, Chile is a country badly in need of a superhero. Enter Mirageman! Santiago’s very own masked crime-fighter—villains beware! Orphaned as a young man when his parents were killed in a violent attack that also left his brother institutionalized, Maco spends nearly every free moment mastering the martial arts. One night as he returns home from the grocery store, he notices a suspicious van and three men wearing ski masks outside a posh home. Incapacitating one of the men and donning his mask, Maco uses his superior kung fu to knock out the other intruders saving the young, pretty homeowner, who just happens to be intrepid TV reporter Carol Valdivieso. When Valdivieso praises her anonymous savior over the airwaves, Maco ignores the media coverage, until he discovers the story has inspired marked improvement in his brother’s condition. While visions of spandex-clad vigilantes fill his brother’s sketchbooks, Maco adopts the alter-ego Mirageman to defend the defenseless and rid Santiago of criminals and miscreants everywhere. Soon his exploits attract a wannabe sidekick and an arch-nemesis, all the while he must elude Valdivieso’s media-frenzied crusade to reveal his secret identity. A huge hit in its native Chile and at other festivals, Mirageman stars Marko Zaror, formerly The Rock’s stunt double, in a fun-fueled, kick-ass motion-picture comic book.

Chile/USA 2007

Director:

Ernesto Díaz Espinoza

Producer:

Derek Rundell

Screenwriter:

Ernesto Diaz Espinoza

Cinematographer:

Nicolás Ibieta

Editor:

Ernesto Diaz Espinoza

Music:

Rocco

Cast:

Marko Zaror

María Elena Swett

Ariel Mateluna

Mauricio Pesutic

Iván Jara

Running Time:

80 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Magnet Releasing

Selected Filmography: Kiltro (2006)

LA TERZA MADRE

The Mother of Tears

FRIDAY MAY 23 MIDNIGHT

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

When Dario Argento’s Suspiria first appeared in 1977, with its lush, vibrant colors and gory, garish death sequences, fans and critics alike hailed it as a masterpiece of horror filmmaking. Three years later, Argento produced Inferno, a thematic sequel and the second entry in a trilogy he dubbed The Three Mothers, which referred to a triumvirate of evil witches who wreak havoc upon the world wielding powers of sorrow, darkness, and tears. Now 30 years after it began, Argento finally delivers the long-promised third installment, The Mother of Tears. When a priest discovers an enigmatic sealed urn in a secret, unconsecrated grave, he sends the discovery to the Roman Museum of Ancient Art. Once there, the museum’s associate director Giselle and her intern Sarah (Asia Argento) foolishly open the bizarre artifact. Within minutes demons attack Giselle and kill her, while Sarah narrowly manages to escape. With Mater Lacrimarum—the cruelest and most powerful of the legendary three mothers—free from her prison, witches from around the world congregate in Rome to pay homage to their newly reborn queen. Meanwhile, madness, suicides, and random acts of violence all escalate, in both numbers and magnitude, throughout the city. Pursued by vile evil, Sarah must discover the Mater Lachriarum’s whereabouts and destroy her, or else see the world descend into a new age of darkness. Filled with all the director’s trademarks—lurid sex, visceral gore, and baroque set pieces—The Mother of Tears closes Argento’s famed trilogy with a chilling brilliance.

Italy/USA

2007

Director:

Dario Argento

Producers:

Dario Argento

Claudio Argento

Screenwriters:

Dario Argento

Jace Anderson

Adam Gierasch

Cinematographer:

Frederic Fasano

Editor:

Walter Fasano

Music:

Claudio Simonetti

Cast:

Asia Argento

Udo Kier

Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni

Daria Nicolodi

Cristian Solimeno

Adam James

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Myriad Pictures

Print Source:

Myriad Pictures

Film Website:

www.laterzamadre.net

Selected Filmography:

Giallo (2008)

The Stendhal Syndrome (1996)

Inferno (1980)

Suspiria (1977)

The Bird with Crystal Plumage (1970)

Otto; or, Up With Dead People

FRIDAY JUNE 6 MIDNIGHT

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY JUNE 7 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Cinematic provocateur Bruce LaBruce returns with a startlingly original entry into the zombie genre that cleverly mixes visceral thrills with social satire. As the film begins, Otto, recently risen from the grave, finds himself wandering along a desolate highway with no memory of his past life. He soon finds himself in Berlin, eating roadkill and living in an abandoned amusement park. Then one day, he spots an advertisement for a zombie film audition where he meets self-proclaimed revolutionary filmmaker Medea Yarn, who immediately sees him as the perfect embodiment of the effects of advanced capitalism on the individual. With the assistance of her girlfriend Hella Bent, and brother Adolf, she begins to film a documentary about Otto while simultaneously finishing her dissertation film, Up with Dead People—a “politico-porno-zombie”

film that uses the plight of the undead as a metaphor for being gay in contemporary consumerist society…or something like that. She convinces the star of the latter film, Fritz Fritze, to allow Otto to stay in his guest bedroom. But as Medea begins to shoot the orgiastic climax of her dissertation, Otto finds an artifact of his past life and, soon afterward, is plagued by memories of his pre-zombie life with ex-boyfriend Rudolf. As Otto struggles to regain his lost humanity, he arranges for one last meeting with him. Filled with explicit scenes of sex and gore, Otto; or, Up With Dead People is a slyly crafted necro-porno that cleverly explores themes of alienation, consumerism, and sexuality.

Germany/Canada 2008

Director:

Bruce LaBruce

Producers: Jurgen Bruning

Bruce LaBruce

Jorn Hartmann

Jennifer Jonas

Michael Huber

Screenwriter:

Bruce LaBruce

Cinematographer: James Carman

Editor:

Jorn Hartmann

Music:

Mikael Karlsson

Cast: Jey Crisfar

Marcel Schlutt

Nicholas Fox

Ricciardi

Keith Boehm

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in English, German, with English

subtitles

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Film Website:

www.ottothezombie.de

Selected Filmography:

The Raspberry Reich (2004)

Gang of Skins (1999)

Hustler White (1996)

Super 8 1/2 (1993)

No Skin Off My Ass (1991)

Sukiyaki Western Django

SATURDAY JUNE 7 MIDNIGHT EGYPTIAN THEATRE MONDAY JUNE 9 9:45 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

It’s established cinema history that Sergio Leone’s first spaghetti western, A Fistful of Dollars, was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai tale Yojimbo Both are undisputed classics in their respective genres but exist worlds apart…until now in Takashi Miike’s newest film—a hyper-stylized, bombastic mash-up of East and West. After the discovery of gold in Yuta, Nevada (a small mining town oddly dominated by Japanese pagodas) two rival clans invade: the red-clad Heike clan, led by the mad Kiyomori, who has a penchant for Shakespeare’s Henry VI; and the whiteclad Genji clan, who follow glam-cool, epicene Yoshitsune. The town’s population flees leaving behind a motley collection of townsfolk, including an ineffectual sheriff who is loosely aligned to the Heike clan, Ruriko—the old woman who runs the general store, her grandson, and her daughterin-law—a dancer in the Genji-run saloon whose husband was murdered by the Heike. Into this divided town rides a black-clad gunslinger who alternately aligns himself with each clan, playing one side against the other amid a continually rising body count. Much criticism has been leveled against the prolific Miike for the large volume of cheap, fast work he produces. However, Sukiyaki Western Django is a lush, campy, virtuosic epic that flamboyantly displays his full cinematic talents and visually alludes to nearly every major Western and Samurai film. If you’re looking for even more enticement, watch for the gloriously loopy cameo from Miike-fan Quentin Tarantino.

Japan

2007

Director:

Takeshi Miike

Producers:

Toshiaki Nakazawa

Nobuyuki Tohya

Hirotsugu Yoshida

Toshinori Yamaguchi

Screenwriters:

Masaru Nakamura

Takashi Miike

Cinematographer:

Toyomichi Kurita

Editor:

Taiji Shimamura

Music:

Koji Endo

Cast:

Hideaki Ito

Koichi Sato

Yusuke Iseya

Masanobu Ando

Takaaki Ishibashi

Running Time: 121 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

First Look Pictures

Film Website: www.django-movie.com

Selected Filmography:

Big Bang Love (2006)

The Great Yokai War (2005) Izo (2004)

The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

Ichi the Killer (2001)

The City of Lost Souls (2000)

Dead or Alive (1999)

Audition (1999)

In July of 2005 the websites of the Robinson Newspapers had 5000 pageviews per month. In March of 2008 that number had risen to 406,000 per month! If you live in any of these communities take a look at the best source for local news, your local Robinson Newspaper website.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

Since the invention of moving pictures, some of the most talented filmmakers have devoted their energies to documentary films.

Documentary filmmakers have produced an astonishing range of work, chronicling the full spectrum of human endeavor, and today we’re reaping the benefits as more filmmakers continue to enter this burgeoning field. SIFF’s documentary selection is a leading example of the documentarian’s craft, featuring the best personal expressions, political investigations, intimate portraits, and cultural explorations. Documentary films are not just records of the past, but are also uniquely personal pieces in the mosaic of the human story. They inform and provoke. They take the audience through the screen and inside the minds of strangers halfway across the globe or halfway across town. They honor our triumphs and expose our tragedies. They put us beside the forgotten and overlooked with an immediacy no other form can rival. This year, SIFF invites you to follow a team of lawyers uncovering the truth behind what would have been one of the biggest drug busts in Texas history, talk about America’s addiction to oil, look at Israel’s “Wall of Separation” from the old age home across the street, and try to answer the question of a 21-year-old maid in Mumbai who wonders “What sin did I commit to be born a woman?” Come share in this dazzling overview of contemporary non-fiction cinema.

FILMS

Be Like Others (United Kingdom, 2008)

Directed by Tanaz Eshaghian

Bigger Stronger Faster* (USA, 2008)

Directed by Christopher Bell

Call Me Troy (USA, 2007)

Directed by Scott Bloom

Chris & Don: A Love Story (USA, 2007)

Directed by Guido Santi, Tina Mascara

Encounters at the End of the World (USA, 2007)

Directed by Werner Herzog

The End (USA, 2008)

Directed by Nicola Collins

Faces (Netherlands, 2007)

Directed by Gmax

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes (USA, 2008)

Directed by Peter Rosen

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (USA, 2008)

Directed by Alex Gibney

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In (USA, 2007)

Directed by Pola Rapaport, Wolfgang Held

Lakshmi and Me (India, 2007)

Directed by Nishtha Jain

The Order of Myths (USA, 2008)

Directed by Margaret Brown

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema (USA, 2007)

Directed by Todd McCarthy

Directed by Ari Libsker

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel (Israel, 2007)

Directed by Gonzalo Arijon

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains (France, 2007)

Theater of War (USA, 2008)

Directed by John Walter

This Way Up (France, 2007)

Directed by Georgi Lazarevski

Tulia, Texas (USA, 2008)

Directed by Cassandra Herrman, Kelly Whalen

Walt & El Grupo (USA, 2007)

Directed by Theodore Thomas

Chris & Don: A Love Story

Be Like Others

FRIDAY JUNE 6 9:15 PM

HARVARD EXIT

SATURDAY JUNE 7 1:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Be Like Others is a gratifyingly un-dogmatic film on the topic of gender reassignment in a country where homosexuality is punishable by death. Unable to live out their love, or go out together in public for fear of verbal and physical abuse, many gay individuals in religious fundamentalist Iran choose to undergo the difficult and painful surgery that allows them to be part of a socially sanctioned couple. Some 450 sex changes per year have been performed in the 20 years since the Ayatollah Khomeini legalized transsexuality. Set largely at the sex-change clinic of the boundlessly sympathetic Dr. Bahram Mehrjalali, U.S.based director Tanaz Eshaghian enables some of the young men who have opted for gender reassignment to discuss their personal lives and voice their feelings about the drastic action. It is clear some of these men are working out the transition in front of the camera. Naturally, not all the stories have happy endings. One of the post-operatives bitterly regrets the alienation from her family that is the result of her actions, and another finds her boyfriend losing interest as the date of the procedure nears. Still, for the majority, the result is a release from the deep insecurities that have dogged them all their lives, trapped in bodies they can barely relate to and considered sick and perverse under a rigid system of morals.

Awards:

Berlin Film Festival 2008 (Teddy Award)

Thessaloniki Film Festival 2008 (FIPRESCI)

United Kingdom/ Canada/USA/Iran 2008

Director:

Tanaz Eshaghian

Producer: Tanaz Eshaghian

Cinematographer: Amir Hosseini

Editor:

Jay Freund

Music:

Henning Lohner

Running Time: 74 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Farsi, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Wolfe Releasing

Film Website: www.belikeothers.com

Selected Filmography:

Love Iranian-American Style (2006)

I Call Myself Persian (2002)

Bigger Stronger Faster*

THURSDAY MAY 29 7:00 PM PACIFIC

FRIDAY MAY 30 4:15 PM PACIFIC

We play to win in America, but at what cost?

Why are some performance enhancers such as Lasik eye surgery, beta blockers, and even Viagra given a pass? How does our drive to be the best vie with our desire to do the right thing? First-time feature filmmaker Christopher Bell’s intensely personal documentary blends investigative work, interviews, home video, news pieces, retro-styled animation, and clips of the bulgy ’80s trinity of Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Hulk Hogan into a sophisticated and entertaining argument that asks the tough questions about the roles of body perception, performance enhancement, and competition in contemporary American culture. Wrenching and revealing moments with his mother and steroid-pumping siblings (“Mad Dog,” so consumed with selfloathing that he hasn’t achieved pro wrestling stardom, and “Smelly,” a football coach who tells his students they don’t need steroids, but makes no apologies about his own use of them for weightlifting) are woven together with disarming, no-nonsense interviews. Doctors, scientists, academics and athletes, including Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson (who lost his 1988 Olympic gold medal over steroid use), and Arnold himself take the hot seat to answer Bell’s query. Subtitled “The Side Effects of Being American,” the film examines how American culture and heroes like Rocky and Rambo ultimately brainwash adolescent males to strive toward a certain type of competitive physical perfection. Surprising, solid testimony supports the view that steroids might not be as bad as we think. Bigger Stronger Faster* plumbs politics, science, and pop culture to explain what’s behind that pesky asterisk.

USA 2008

Director:

Christopher Bell

Producers:

Alexander Buono

Tamsin Rawady

Jim Czarnecki

Screenwriters:

Christopher Bell

Alexander Buono

Tamsin Rawady

Cinematographer:

Alexander Buono

Editor:

Brian Singbiel

Music:

Dave Porter

Running Time:

105 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

PLACE CINEMAS

PLACE CINEMAS

Call Me Troy

MONDAY JUNE 2 7:00 PM

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

A tribute to a hero in the fight for LGBT rights, Call Me Troy celebrates 40 years in the life of Reverend Troy Perry, the charismatic founder of the Metropolitan Community Church in Los Angeles. The film is Reverend Perry’s own account of his late-blooming, but soul-fulfilling journey to cast off his closeted life and claim a personal relationship with God. As a young Southern preacher, Perry struggled to reconcile his sexual longings with the teachings of the Baptist church. In 1962, he moved to California where he experienced an uneasy coming out and separated from his wife of five years. After spending two years in the U.S. Army, Perry returned to Los Angeles and witnessed a close friend’s arrest, an event that called him to begin his ministry. He was the first openly gay person to serve on the County Commission on Human Relations, the first person to perform a public same-sex wedding in the United States, and in 1970 he filed the firstever lawsuit seeking legal recognition for samegender marriages. From presidential advisor to outspoken advocate, Perry has been on the front lines of equal rights. Call Me Troy is a captivating overview of gay oppression during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, as well as the subsequent birth of the gay rights movement.

Awards:

Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival 2007 (Audience Award Best Film)

USA

2007

Director:

Scott Bloom

Producers: Scott Bloom

Larry Diamond

Cinematographer: Clay Westervelt

Editors:

Scott Bloom

Kevin Connally

Music: Zallen

Steven Zdroik

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta

Print Source: Frameline Distribution

Film Website: www.tragoidia.com/troy

Selected Filmography:

Original Pride: The Satyrs Motorcycle Club (2005)

Chris & Don: A Love Story

SATURDAY MAY 24 6:30 PM

SUNDAY MAY 25 1:15 PM

In 1953, Christopher Isherwood, author of the stories later adapted into Cabaret, met Don Bachardy on a beach. The attraction between them was instant and mutual. Their first kiss proved so drunkenly passionate that they stumbled and smashed into a windowpane. Even friends as open-minded as psychologist Evelyn Hooker frowned upon the three decades’ gap between Christopher and his 18-year-old lover, but the pair stayed together until Isherwood’s death in 1986. Don found in Christopher not only his soul mate but also a fine example to model himself after. The lessons learned about elegance, intelligence, and pride in self shine through clearly as Don, in fine shape and still active as a celebrated portrait artist, reminisces fondly and quite honestly about their years together. Christopher’s besotted affection for his “mouse face” young man is conveyed through his diary, sensitively narrated by Michael York. Numerous other friends and experts fill in the context. Given the times and circles in which its subjects ran, the film is able to shine a light on many fascinating stories: the movie business, the gradual acceptance of homosexuality in the mainstream, and the émigré community in ’40s Hollywood. But most important is the story that must come first, the love story of Chris and Don.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA/Ireland 2007

Directors:

Guido Santi

Tina Mascara

Producers:

Julia Scott

Tina Mascara

Guido Santi

James White

Cinematographer:

Ralph Q. Smith

Editors:

Guido Santi

Tina Mascara

Music:

Miriam Cutler

Narrated by: Michael York

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP

International Sales:

The Film Sales Company

Print Source:

Zeitgeist Films

Selected Filmography:

Tina Mascara

Asphalt Stars (2002)

Jacklight (1999)

Guido Santi

Cold Ground (1996) Concertino (1990)

Encounters at the End of the World

SATURDAY MAY 31 7:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Given Werner Herzog’s predilection for extreme conditions, and given that he is the first filmmaker to shoot a movie on all seven continents, the biggest surprise about Encounters At the End of the World is that it has taken him so long to plant his camera on Antarctica. In his first documentary since Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog was granted unprecedented access to the hidden society of men and women who conduct cuttingedge scientific research in the ultimate Down Under. Sparked by composer and Arctic diving enthusiast Henry Kaiser’s video footage, Herzog takes us to McMurdo Station, a small research establishment on Ross Island at the bottom of the world. There, scientists and assorted adventurers stumble about with buckets on their heads to simulate blizzard blindness, gad about on Ivan the Terra Bus, and chance upon new life forms. The mystery and malevolence of nature shares equal time with human endeavor as both are revealed in all their glory. As one pictorial wonder succeeds another, Herzog masterfully delivers anything but another penguin movie. His characteristically wry narration complements his unerring eye for the unusual and the eccentric, pointing up the surreal, the absurd, and the profound. After Encounters at the End of the World, the only logical place left for him to take his camera is outer space. Who wouldn’t want to make that journey with him?

USA

2007

Director:

Werner Herzog

Producers:

Erik Nelson

Dave Harding

Phil Fairclough

Julian Hobbs

Henry Kaiser

Screenwriter: Werner Herzog

Cinematographer:

Peter Zeitlinger

Editor:

Joe Bini

Music:

Henry Kaiser

David Lindley

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

International Sales:

THINKFilm

Print Source:

THINKFilm

Film Website: www.encountersfilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Rescue Dawn (2006)

The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)

Grizzly Man (2005)

My Best Friend (1999)

Little Deiter Needs to Fly (1997)

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

The End

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT

First-time filmmaker Nicola Collins turned the camera on her father and his Cockney gangster friends to produce The End, a series of interviews with underworld criminals from London’s East End who describe their crimes as well as the poor, violent upbringing that shaped them and their world. Discussing only the crimes they have been convicted of so they don’t accidentally incriminate themselves, the unapologetic men describe beatings and bank robberies, street scraps, and all-out gang warfare. All of them were united in their youth by a thirst for violence and a desire to be completely fearless, as well as an ambition to improve their circumstances by any means necessary. Collins’ intimate access to the gangsters and their stories, in addition to gritty black and white cinematography, provide a harrowing account of a bloody lifestyle dictated by violence and, in some instances, altered by redemption. The men offer an honest portrait of the gangster lifestyle, its dangers, and its code of honor. Ultimately, the film is also an odd requiem for the East End of yesterday and for their lost youth. The gangsters no longer live there and their traces have been replaced by the new stories being written by immigrants inhabiting the area. Their streets of blood, now filled with vibrant markets, exist only in the stories they have to pass on to the next generation.

Preceded by:

BOOKIE USA, 2007, 18 minutes, director: Bao Tran

A bookie makes a risky wager in order to help a downtrodden waitress break her professional and private ties to her employer.

USA

2008

Director:

Nicola Collins

Producer:

Teena Collins

Screenwriter:

Nicola Collins

Cinematographer:

Nicola Collins

Editors:

Noah Rosenstein

Jeff Roe

Music:

Nick Page

Featuring:

Les Falco

Bobby Reading

Jimmy Tibbs

Victor Dark & Collegues

Running Time: 68 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta, in English (Cockney), with English

subtitles

International Sales:

The Collective, Los Angeles

Print Source: Duckin & Divin

Productions

Film Website: www.theendthefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Faces

North American Premiere

SUNDAY MAY 25 11:00 AM

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:45 PM

Faces tells the story of French photographer and street artist JR who led a group of fellow artists in putting on the biggest, illegal photo exhibition ever. The film follows JR and other street artists as they paste giant photographs of smiling faces onto Israel’s “Wall of Separation.” The pictures include both Palestinians and Israelis in an attempt to show the underlying and universal humanity that surpass the political boundaries of man. The film’s director, Gmax, co-opts the wall as one giant canvas for his graffiti. One poignant example includes a triptych of beaming religious figures—a priest, a rabbi, and an imam, gathered in what seems to be the world’s biggest bar joke. Faces is a controversial film and stimulates conversations not only about the Wall and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but also about the role of street art in the contemporary world. Is it an instrument of social change or merely a display of self-indulgence and western privilege? Viewers are invited to decide for themselves. For another look at the “Wall of Separation,” consider This Way Up, also part of the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival.

HARVARD EXIT

SIFF CINEMA

Netherlands/ France 2007

Director:

Gmax

Producers: Marc Berrebi Pieter van Huystee

Screenwriter: Gmax

Cinematographer: Gmax

Editor:

Cedric Delport

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta, in Hebrew, French, English and Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Peter van Huystee Film

Print Source: Peter van Huystee Film

Film Website: www.face2faceproject.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes

World Premiere

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY JUNE 14 11:00 AM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In a world of glamour, style, and all that is plastic, it is hard to find entertainers where the best words to describe them are authentic and unassuming. What is behind the phenomenon that is Garrison Keillor? If you were to see him walk down the street in his red tennis shoes you wouldn’t be able to put your finger on it, but you would feel that there was … something about him. He has charisma and curiosity, combined with a quiet confidence that draws people to him. In his words, “The thing that makes Americans unique is their constant desire to share their story.” Keillor’s ability to listen and ask pointed questions gives people an outlet to do just that. In turn, he has become the voice of the people. His voice represents a certain wit, style, and tone of people who are happy. He began his one-man radio show in 1974, which exploded into “A Prairie Home Companion.” The radio show has a huge following and was recently the subject of a feature film. He runs every element of the show, from the writing to the music. When asked why they listen to his show, one man replied, “His stories are our stories.” He speaks for his people, the people he came from–everyday Americans who raise children, build homes, and simply try to keep their daily lives together. No airs, no celebrity, just life.

USA

2008

Director:

Peter Rosen

Producer: Peter Rosen

Screenwriter: Sara Lukinson

Cinematographer: Joel Shapiro

Editors:

Peter Rosen

Bob Jorissen

Music: Guy’s All-Star Show Band

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta

Print Source: Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

Film Website: www.peterrosenproductions. com

Selected Filmography: Who Gets to Call It Art? (2006) Khachaturian (2003)

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

SATURDAY MAY 24 3:45 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM

“Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide…” (The Great Shark Hunt, 1979 Dr. Hunter S. Thompson) Oscar-winning director, Alex Gibney, gives extra dimension to counterculture hero Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, in this quintessential and unflinching biopic. Thompson was the creator of “gonzo” journalism—a chemically fueled, first-person, and often fictionalized style of reporting. He became famous as much for his over-the-top antics as for his writing. The film focuses on his heyday from 1965 to 1975 when he became legendary for using his style with a focus on politics and culture. Gibney uses some documentary standards— home movies, celebrity reminiscenses, interviews with friends and foes—but spices things up with archival clips of the era. He reintroduces us to an incredible era of social history by covering major points in Thompson’s life—bikers, hippies, Vegas excess, the 1972 presidential campaign, his later years, and eventual decline. Granted unprecedented access to unpublished works by the Thompson estate, Gibney focuses on the work of the man who became so larger-than-life that he eventually felt overshadowed by his own mythos. Unafraid of showing Thompson’s darker facets, Gibney includes how Thompson’s antics affected both his work and his personal life. The film is narrated entirely by Thompson’s words from archival audiotape or read by close friend Johnny Depp. When asked if Thompson inspired him to make a less than conventional documentary, Gibney responded “I think it made it mandatory. We had to go there.”

USA

2008

Director:

Alex Gibney

Producers:

Jason Kliot

Joana Vicente

Alison Ellwood

Eva Orner

Graydon Carter

Alex Gibney

Screenwriter: Alex Gibney

Cinematographer: Maryse Alberti

Editor:

Alison Ellwood

Music: David Schwartz

Narrated by: Johnny Depp

Running Time: 118 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta

Print Source:

Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

Behind Those Eyes (2005)

The Ruling Classroom (1980)

Hair: Let the Sun Shine In

SATURDAY MAY 24 1:00 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

True art has the power to get into your soul, raise the collective consciousness, or create such discomfort that violence and destruction are the only ways for some to cope. Who ever thought a play called “Hair” from the ’60s about a crazyhaired gang of kids, singing about love, peace, war, sex, and drugs would have such an effect on America. This iconic play embodies the turmoil of the times and provides an opportunity for thousands to see, hear, and feel life through the eyes of the youth. Its power transforms not only the cast and creators, but the audience as well. The songs and characters became synonymous with the anti-war movement. What did it mean to those who brought it into existence? What inspired such a culturally, politically, and sexually charged piece of art? What really is the “Age of Aquarius”? Candid interviews with cast, director, writers, composer, and producers delve into the backstory of the movement that was “Hair.” Original black and white footage of ’60s demonstrations and war mixed with color footage of the original play to create a powerful visual portrayal of the era. This documentary gives a new appreciation for art as an expression of the people, and what an important role it can play in social movements. The film’s message is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.

Preceded by:

SHAKE OFF Netherlands, 2007, 9 minutes, director: Hans Beenhakker

This single, continuous shot follows a gifted dancer as he moves magically through different times and spaces, luring the viewer into a dynamic world teetering between the impossible and the real.

THE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY PROJECT Singapore, 2006, 7 minutes, director: Tzu Nyen Ho

With a script based entirely on Freddie Mercury’s lyrics, this production is a deliriously faithful rendering of Queen’s rock opera.

USA/France 2007

Directors:

Pola Rapaport

Wolfgang Held

Producers:

Silvie Cazin

Pola Rapaport

Screenwriter: Pola Rapaport

Cinematographer:

Wolfgang Held

Editor:

Yen Le Van

Music:

Galt MacDermot

Running Time: 55 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta

Print Source:

Cactus Three

Selected Filmography:

Story of O (2004)

Family Secret (2000)

Blind Light (1998)

SIFF CINEMA

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Lakshmi and Me

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

SUNDAY JUNE 15 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

“What sin did I commit to be born a woman?” These chilling words of 21-year-old housemaid Lakshmi reverberate throughout filmmaker Nishtha Jain’s extraordinary documentary. The cliché has it that behind every successful man stands a woman. But Jain draws back the curtain on the domestic help required to sustain successful women, as well. Lakshmi is typical of domestics in Mumbai who work ten hours a day, seven days a week for several different employers—without health care, sick leave, or vacation. Their jobs place them in intimate proximity with their middle-class employers who are often barely aware of their existence. Jain decided to turn her camera on her parttime servant to try to understand her opinions, her hopes and dreams—to get to know her as a person. The film follows Lakshmi on her daily routines at work, then home to introduce us to her family—including her ever-drunk father who disowns her when she falls in love and marries a young man from a lower caste. When Lakshmi falls ill and turns out to be pregnant, Jain helps her. But, the film is unflinching in its portrayal of the filmmaker’s own middle-class privilege in the face of Lakshmi’s overwhelming poverty. In the process of getting to know the young woman, Jain illuminates a complex relationship that flies in the face of centuries of cultural divides.

Preceded by:

TAILOR Spain, 2007, 32 minutes,

The Order of Myths

MONDAY JUNE 9 4:15 PM

India/Denmark/ Finland/USA 2007

Director:

Nishtha Jain

Producers:

Smriti Nevatia

Cinematographers: Deepti Gupta

Rakesh Haridas

Editor:

Rikke Selin Lorentzen

Music:

Mads Nordheim

Running Time:

59 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta, in English, Hindi, Marathi, and Tamil, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Deckert Distribution

Selected Filmography: 6 Yards to Democracy (2006)

City of Photos (2005)

SIFF CINEMA

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 9:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Margaret Brown walks the bold line of segregation with her documentary The Order of Myths. Set in Mobile, Alabama, proud home of the world’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration, the film takes its title from one of the secret societies that exist to fuel the pre-Lenten celebrations. Divided by race, the town has two separate Carnival coronations and parades. The programs are run by the all-white Mobile Carnival Association and the all-black Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association. As the two associations plan and execute their divided Carnival celebrations, Brown captures various residents of the town explaining why they stick with the “tradition” of two separate but equal celebrations. But are these celebrations equal? The mayor presents the white king Max Bruckmann with a key to the city, but no key is forthcoming for the black king, Joseph Roberson. As the film continues, we see that each side of the town still associates with its ancestors: the white queen Helen Meaher is descended from the last slaver to smuggle a ship into Mobile harbor, while the blacks’ queen, Stefannie Lucas, is descended from the slaves who escaped from that ship. Will the attendance of last years’ black king and queen at the white ball be a step toward integration of the two ceremonies or will the town continue with its “traditional” celebrations?

USA

2008

Director:

Margaret Brown

Producers:

Margaret Brown

Chris Mattsson

Sara Alize Cross

Cinematographer:

Brian Hubbard

Editors:

Margaret Brown

Michael Taylor

Geoffrey Richman

Featuring:

Stefannie Lucas

Joseph Roberson

Max Bruckmann

Helen Meaher

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Cinema Guild

Film Website:

www.theorderofmyths.com

Selected Filmography:

Be Here to Love Me: A Film

About Townes Van Zandt (2005)

THE

director: Oscar Perez Winner of the Silver Cub Prize at the prestigious International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam, this bittersweet comedy profiles an ill-tempered Pakistani tailor in Barcelona and his Indian employee.

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 6:45 PM

SIFF CINEMA

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

Variety’s chief film critic Todd McCarthy’s energetic, affectionate documentary focuses on one of cinema’s most enigmatic figures, Pierre Rissient. Sometimes known as the uncrowned “king” of Cannes, yet virtually unknown to the public, cinephile-obsessive Rissient served in many of the behind-the-scenes roles so crucial to the success of a film. A film programmer and critic in the early ’50s, and assistant to Godard on the epoch-making Breathless, he teamed up with friend Bertrand Tavernier as a publicist. The pair championed many American directors previously thought unworthy of serious critical consideration (Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Mann, Jules Dassin), stubbornly clinging to the tenet that it was not enough to like a film, you had to like it for the right reasons. A long association with the Cannes Film Festival led Rissient to uncover such widely varied talents as Jane Campion, Quentin Tarentino, and Hou Hsiao-hsien, while a prophetic belief in Clint Eastwood as filmmaker led to his standing as one of Eastwood’s most trusted advisors. However, Rissient’s path is also strewn with feuds with major figures from Fritz Lang to Mike Leigh, juicy anecdotes about which abound in the film. Stuffed with thrilling clips and testimonies from a legion of major industry figures who give rare insights into the workings of the Cannes Film Festival and the film world at large, Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema is an absolute must for anyone with an interest in the history of international cinema over the last 50 years.

STALAGIM SHOA VE PRONOGRAPHIA RE ’ ISRAEL

Stalags – Holocaust and Pornography in Israel

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

USA

2007

Director:

Todd McCarthy

Producer: Todd McCarthy

Cinematographers: Gary Graver

Todd McCarthy

Abbas Kiarostami

Editor:

James Taylor

Featuring:

Clint Eastwood

Werner Herzog

Abbas Kiarostami

Bertrand Tavernier

Hou Hsiao-hsien

Claude Chabrol

Running Time:

109 minutes

Presentation Format:

Video, in English, French, and Mandarin, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Deep Focus Productions

Selected Filmography:

Claudia Jennings (1995)

Visions of Light (1992)

In the early 1960s, as the horrors of Adolph Eichmann’s role in the Holocaust were revealed through shocking testimony in an Israeli courtroom, a generation of pubescent Israelis were reading pornographic fantasies of “female SS brutes in tight pants, shiny boots, and jackets stretched over blooming breasts.” This is the improbable but true story of a series of wildly popular, Nazithemed erotic pocket books whose sadistic sexual fictions permeate the Israeli consciousness to this day. Advertised alongside the weekly reports of Eichmann’s trial, Stalags gave detailed, first-person accounts of captured American and British pilots being sexually abused by lusty female SS officers. As the only erotic literature available in conservative Israel at the time, they became national bestsellers. Many believed them to be true or at least based on actual experiences, but it was later revealed that these were in fact penned and published by Israelis. Director Ari Libsker, a grandson of Holocaust survivors, sheds light on this for the first time, interviewing the men who wrote and published Stalags as well as Holocaust survivors and cultural critics. Libsker exposes all the uncomfortable truths behind this peculiar Hebrew concoction of Nazism, sex, and violence, while questioning how fantasy becomes indiscernible from historical record.

Preceded by

TWO WOMEN AND A MAN Israel, 16 minutes, director: Roee Rosen A stretching exercise for gender, indecency, and reality itself, this faux TV documentary profiles Rosen’s imaginary alter-ego: an anti-Zionist Jew and occasional lesbian who grosses out other surrealist artists with her antiSemitic erotica and pornographic Hebrew alphabet.

Israel 2007

Director:

Ari Libsker

Producers:

Barak Heymann

Ari Libsker

Screenwriter: Ari Libsker

Cinematographers: Uri Levi

Dror Lebendiger

Editor:

Morris Ben Mayor

Running Time: 62 minutes

Presentation Format: BetaSP

Selected Filmography: The Home Poem (2006)

The 2008 SIFF Catalog was designed and laid out on Apple Macintosh computers using Adobe Creative Suite 3. Huge thanks to The M ac Store and Adobe for supplying our creative team with creative tools. This year’s catalog was produced by a collaboration of Encore Me dia Group: Barb, Kristi, Robin, Rosanna, and Susan; and the SIFF PubPod: Christin e, Elana, Les, Lisa, Richard, Steve, and Vincent—supported by the dedicated and hard-working staff and volunteers of the Seattle International Film Festival. And big thanks to James and the team at Journ al Graphics.

Stranded: I’ve Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains

FRIDAY JUNE 6 9:15 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

One of the world’s greatest survival stories is finally told by the survivors themselves. In October 1972, a rugby team from Uruguay boarded a plane for a game they would never play. Their plane crashed in the Andes, and miraculously, 16 of the original 45 passengers managed to defy nature and stay alive for 72 days on a frozen glacier despite brutal conditions. How they did it became a story that shocked the world. Crafted by the survivors’ childhood friend and filmmaker, Gonzalo Arijon, the film goes beyond the lurid tale of cannibalism that swept the headlines to discover the essence of this extraordinary human drama. Eerily realistic re-enactments set the stage for an experiential journey that unlocks the truth of this amazing story. Thirty-five years later, the survivors and their children revisit the crash site known as the Valley of Tears. One by one, the survivors disclose the intimate details of their harrowing experience— including the precise moment when they realized their only hope was to eat human flesh. Recovered photos and footage of their rescue illuminate the interviews with palpable immediacy. In Gonzalo Arijon’s own words, it is a profound parable “that tells of the creation of a new society, cut off from the rest of the world, requiring the reinvention of codes and rules … a collection of personalities that are gradually revealed, which harmoniously head toward a common objective: to get out of this hell together, and return to the land of the living together.”

France

2007

Director:

Gonzalo Arijon

Producers:

Hilary Sandison

Marc Silvera

Screenwriter: Gonzalo Arijon

Cinematographers:

César Charlone

Pablo Hernan Zubizaretta

Editors:

Claudio Hughes Samuel Lajus

Alice Larry

Music:

Florencia di Concilio

Cast:

Roberto Francois Roy Harley

Nando Parrado

Antonio Vizintin

Running Time: 126 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Arte France, Paris

Print Source:

Ethan Productions

Film Website: www.strandedthefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Por Esos ojos (1997)

Theater of War

TUESDAY JUNE 10 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

THURSDAY JUNE 12 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Theater of War gives us a unique opportunity to witness the development, nurturing, and backstage drama of a star-driven, highly anticipated revival of a theatrical epic. In 2006, New York’s esteemed Public Theater presented a newly translated production of Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children.” The production’s enticing attraction was a rare stage appearance by one of the great actors of our time—Meryl Streep. Behind-the-scenes rehearsal sequences serve as a canny backdrop for an exploration of Brecht’s far-reaching influence on world theater and the profound effect that “Mother Courage” has had on audiences since its 1941 debut. In addition to the virtuosic Ms. Streep, this tribute to Brecht showcases a prestigious group of theatrical luminaries, including playwright Tony Kushner (who authored this new translation of the play), co-star Kevin Kline, and celebrated theater director George C. Wolfe. Brecht’s daughter and his friend and colleague Carl Weber give touching personal accounts of the man behind the theatrical genius. Director John Walter has crafted a revelatory documentary film in which we observe a gifted actor taking on one of the theater’s most demanding roles. He also confronts us with Brecht’s excoriating indictment of the bloody, profit-driven business of war—and the staggering price his heroine pays for survival.

USA 2008

Director:

John Walter

Producers:

Nina Santisi

Adriane Giebel

Screenwriter: John Walter

Cinematographers:

John Walter

Felix Andrews

Editor: John Walter

Music:

Robert Miller

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in English and German, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Theater Of War, LLC

Selected Filmography: How to Draw a Bunny (2003)

LE JARDIN DE JAD

This Way Up

North American Premiere

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 7:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

Just a few meters from the front door of Our Lady of Pains, a senior living community in the West Bank, construction continues on the “Wall of Separation.” Built by the Israelis in an attempt to stop suicide bombers from infiltrating the country, the wall’s steady progression gradually isolates the Palestinian residents of Our Lady of Pains from visits by their children, and creates obstacles for the staff that run the home. This Way Up profiles those who face this tragedy of division on a daily basis. Some residents are resigned to the situation and slumber in their wheelchairs. Others protest their lost freedom by shouting at the television. Some bicker and fight with each other. A hardy few linger over those simple pleasures they are allowed: coffee, cigarettes, and fruit. All gradually find their own way of acclimating to a life largely cut off from the outside world. This documentary film emphasizes the mounting sense of despair rising in the residents as the wall continues to grow. Lazarevski shot This Way Up at Our Lady of Pains on three occasions as the wall was constructed. By the end of filming, the wall was entirely finished.

Preceded by:

HAMDI AND MARIA Germany, 2007, 19 minutes, director: Timor Britva

France 2007

Director:

Georgi Lazarevski

Producer: Stéphanie Roussel

Screenwriter: Georgi Lazarevski

Cinematographer: Georgi Lazarevski

Editor:

Fabrice Salinié

Running Time: 60 minutes

Presentation Format:

Beta in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Andana Films

Print Source: Arturo Mio

Selected Filmography:

Georgi Lazarevski: Guerre et Peigne (1996)

Visages (1997)

L’un pour l’autre (1997)

Voyage en Sol Majeur (2006)

Tulia, Texas

SUNDAY JUNE 8 1:30 PM

HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY JUNE 9 7:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

July 23, 1999: undercover narcotics officer Thomas Coleman leads his drug task force on a dawn raid through the small farming town of Tulia, Texas. By the end of the day, 46 of Tulia’s residents are arrested and 39 of them are African-American. For this bold move, Coleman was named Texas Lawman of the Year. Eighteen months earlier, Coleman had transformed himself into a longhaired drifter named T.J. Dawson and worked a string of odd jobs while secretly reporting to the Sheriff on his contacts in Tulia’s drug underground. Though some in Tulia’s white community praised the move, Coleman’s arrests put more than ten percent of Tulia’s black adult population behind bars with many of them receiving 90-year prison sentences. Were the raids brilliant police work or were they a travesty of justice? The convictions set off a national debate on where the lines of small-town politics, class, and race intersect. After the trial, defense attorney Jeff Blackburn joined forces with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and began gathering evidence on Coleman, in which they discovered startling inconsistencies in his investigation. In this surprisingly nuanced documentary, filmmakers Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen avoid easy polemic and instead let the townspeople and lawyers tell their own tale. Tulia reveals the personal tolls taken on everyone involved as the War on Drugs moves from America’s cities to its rural towns.

Preceded by:

THE SECOND LINE USA, 2007, 20 minutes, director: John Magary His savings stolen from his FEMA trailer, MacArthur and his cousin take a job gutting a house.

USA

2008

Directors:

Cassandra Herrman

Kelly Whalen

Producers:

Cassandra Herrman

Kelly Whalen

Cinematographer:

Cassandra Herrman

Editors:

Linda Peckham

Kenji Yamamoto

Music:

Mike Semple

Running Time:

57 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

International Sales:

Exit 77 Films

Print Source:

Exit 77 Films

Film Website: www.tuliatexasfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The heartwrenching story of a Palestinian man caring for his paralyzed daughter after an Israeli missile attack.

Walt & El Grupo

SUNDAY JUNE 8 6:30 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 4:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

In 1941, war loomed on the horizon but Walt Disney had plenty of other things to worry about. Labor disputes threaten the financial future of his company and newly created dream studio. Then, surprisingly, the U.S. government proposed that Walt and his team take a Goodwill tour of South America, culminating in a series of Latin-American-themed Disney films. Fresh on the heels of the groundbreaking Fantasia, and little more than three years after the worldwide success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the Roosevelt administration was betting that Disney’s popularity would thwart the Axis Powers overtures to that region. Disney and “El Grupo,” as they came to name themselves, set out on a two-month tour, which would result in films such as Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros While any documentary using never-beforeseen archival footage from the Disney vault would be extraordinary, Walt & El Grupo goes further. Filmmaker Theodore Thomas—son of Disney animator (and El Grupo member) Frank Thomas—uses his familiarity and extraordinary access to augment this archival footage with excerpts from El Grupo’s personal letters and journals (read by their present-day family members), as well as with interviews with South American eyewitnesses and their descendants. Additionally, Thomas’ crew retraces the path of El Grupo’s trip through South America, contrasting the team’s 1941 footage and drawings with their modern counterparts. A film of intimacy, charm, and historical acuity, Walt & El Grupo weaves these details together to reveal a legendary artist during one of his most trying times.

USA

2008

Director:

Theodore Thomas

Producer:

Kuniko Okubo

Screenwriter:

Theodore Thomas

Cinematographer:

Shana Hagan

Editor:

Lisa Palatella

Music:

James Stemple

Featuring: Walt Disney

Cindy Garcia

Jeanette Thomas

Sheila Banani

Diane Miller

Lydia Reed

Running Time: 106 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in English,Spanish, and Portuguese, with English subtitles

Print Source: Theodore Thomas Productions

Film Website: www.waltandelgrupo.com

Selected Filmography: Frank and Ollie (1995)

Where the Toys Come From (1984)

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA

There are new discoveries waiting to be made among SIFF’s largest program, Contemporary World Cinema.

Offering extraordinary feature films from more than 50 countries, these films truly represent a global perspective of the cinematic world. Each year SIFF brings the best international writers, directors, actors, and producers to Seattle screens. Some are established giants, others are making their cinematic debut, but all represent the foremost achievement in advancing the world of film. In the following pages are recent award winners from worldwide festivals alongside filmmakers with emerging and unique visions. Whether your taste tends toward sci-fi or romantic comedies, incisive social commentary or sweeping historical epics, you’ll find all that and more in this robust bounty. Nearly half of the films in Contemporary World Cinema are by firstand second-time directors and represent strong

showings from places like Scandinavia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. Out of the thousands of films sent to SIFF this year, these are some of the most worthy of your consideration. Each are inspired and diverse views of the myriad cultures and stirring landscapes that our imaginations inhabit. We hope that you’ll see as many of these films as possible and that they give you an opulent range of new discoveries to share and discuss.

August

The Drummer

Four Women

The 3 Little Pigs

SATURDAY MAY 24 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY MAY 25 9:45 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

They huff and they puff and they tell all over the comatose body of their beloved mother. Quebecois comedian-actor-director Patrick Huard’s debut dramatic comedy was Quebec’s biggest box office hit of the year and walks the fine line between farce and seriousness. Three brothers, Mathieu, Christian, and Rémi are drawn together in the hospital room where their mother was taken after a stroke. She is now comatose and the brothers’ vigil provides a venue for them to discuss their porcine lifestyles and bawdy infidelities. Mathieu’s wife is financially bleeding him dry to fund her own business. Unwilling or unable to talk to his wife about the money, Mathieu dodges the conflict, right into the arms of the office hottie. Christian is finding his sex life at home a bust, especially since his police officer wife has found someone else to light her sirens. The oldest and most accomplished son, the bourgeoisie Rémi, seems content to dole out advice off the cuff of his tailored sleeve but he also hides a few secrets behind his stuffy exterior. Gathered at their mother’s hospital bed, the sybaritic siblings tell the same story three times, each time from their own uniquely twisted viewpoint creating a film so funny, it will blow your house down.

Canada

2007

Director:

Patrick Huard

Producers:

Pierre Gendron

Christian Larouche

Screenwriters:

Pierre Lamothe

Claude Lalonde

Cinematographer:

Bernard Couture

Editor: Jean-François Bergeron

Music:

Stéphane Dufour

Cast:

Claude Legault

Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge

Paul Doucet

France Castel

Isabel Richer

Running Time:

122 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Christal Films Distribution

Print Source:

Christal Films Distribution

Film Website: www.les3ptitscochons.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Alexandra

MONDAY JUNE 2 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

THURSDAY JUNE 5 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Not many grandmothers willingly walk into a war zone. Alexandra Nikolaevna, played by legendary opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, does just that when she visits her grandson who she hasn’t seen for seven years. She travels from Saint Petersburg, hazards officials and her own health to visit Denis, a captain at an army outpost in Chechnya (shot on location). Her strong presence at camp causes a stir for the soldiers who stare at her wistfully, maybe missing kin back home or just intimidated by her gutsy will and constant ruminations. Soon after their reunion, Denis hands her a Kalashnikov to hold. “It’s so easy,” she says, pulling the trigger. When she tries to discuss more earthly subjects with him like marriage, he asks her why women always dig around in men’s souls. Unsentimental and fearless, Vishnevskaya’s Alexandra captures the originality and timeless beauty of the film. Yet she’s also just an elderly woman with a cane sliding by monstrous manmade and ancient dust-covered sepia roads, picking her way slowly over the landscapes that seem frozen in time. “You’ve been fighting for so long,” she tells Denis’ commander. “You know how to destroy, but do you know how to build?” That is the question.

Russia/France 2007

Director:

Alexander Sokurov

Producer:

Andrei Sigle

Screenwriter:

Alexander Sokurov

Cinematographer:

Alexander Burov

Editor:

Sergei Ivanov

Music:

Andrei Sigle

Cast:

Galina Vishnevskaya

Vasily Shevtsov

Raisa Gichaeva

Running Time:

91 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Rezo Films International

Print Source:

Cinema Guild

Selected Filmography:

Elegy of Life: Rostropovich (2006)

The Sun (2005)

Father and Son (2003)

Russian Ark (2002)

Molokh (1999)

Mother and Son (1997)

WSZYSTKO BEDZIE DOBRZE

All Will Be Well

North American Premiere

SATURDAY MAY 24 11:00 AM

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:30 PM

In a small town in the Pomeranian coastal region of Northwest Poland lives Pavel (Adam Werstak). He and his older brother constantly worry about their sick mother, who relies on them for everything. The family is dirt poor with few medical options, and when the doctor at the hospital tells Pavel, (who has a face mature beyond his years) that the only help for his mother is prayer, he decides to make a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Jasna Góra, a sacrosanct place for Catholics that houses an especially powerful Madonna who cures the sick. Pavel is a talented long distance runner but racing the distance to the Sanctuary is a huge challenge. Andrzej, his physical education teacher helps him (and sometimes hinders him) by following behind the jogging Pavel in his banged-up blue car. The coach fights with alcoholism, a fight young Pavel knows only too well because his father died of it. Coach’s drunk driving leads him into a ditch, and yet he has the foresight to bring Pavel’s family situation to the attention of the public with the help of his ex-girlfriend journalist. With a fine true feel, and deep characterization, All Will Be Well is a story of an equal friendship between a grown man dealing with failure, and a young willful boy grappling with mortality and hope in this flushed out, character-driven, often humorous portrait of faith and determination.

Awards: Gdynia Film Festival 2007 (Best Director)

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

Poland

2007

Director:

Tomasz Wiszniewski

Producer: Juliusz Machulski

Screenwriters:

Robert Brutter

Rafal Szamburski

Tomasz Wiszniewski

Cinematographer: Jaroslaw Szoda

Editor:

Krzystof Szamburdki

Music:

Michal Lorenc

Cast: Adam Werstak

Robert Więckiewicz

Izabela Dabrowska

Daniel Makolski

Beata Kawka

Running Time:

96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Polish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

TVP S.A. - Telewizja Polska

Print Source:

TVP S.A. - Telewizja Polska

Selected Filmography:

Where the Eskimos Live (2002)

The Scoundrel (1990)

KUNSTEN Å TENKE NEGATIVT

The Art of Negative Thinking

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Ingvild is desperate to cheer up her wheelchairbound (and impotent) boyfriend Geirr, who has taken to drinking, isolation, and a disturbing fixation on violent movies. Her search for a solution leads her to invite a local “Positivity” group into their home. The group’s leader, Tori, hopes to turn her stock platitudes into a book and is surrounded by a circle of ever-cheerful acolytes. First among them is Lillemor, an older, bitter divorcee whose silver platter life has ended up on a paper plate. Asbjørn is speechless after a stroke, but perhaps it is the paraplegic-but-grinning Marte who is holding the most in. After all, it was her narcissistic boyfriend Gard who forgot to tie off the climbing rope when she fell. It doesn’t take long for Geirr’s fresh bitterness to tip the scale of the entire group. Together they enter into a long, dark night of the soul where, free of the panacea of positivism, they are at last able to confront the issues behind their smiles. For audiences who’re sick of “The Secret,” done with Dyer, over “The Power of Now,” and feeling robbed by Robbins, The Art of Negative Thinking skewers the entire pop-therapy movement.

Awards:

Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2007 (Best Director)

Amanda Awards 2007 (Best Actor, Direction, Film)

Norway 2007

Director:

Bård Breien

Producer:

Dag Alveberg

Screenwriter:

Bård Breien

Cinematographer: Gaute Gunnari

Editor:

Zaklinka Stojevska

Music: Stein Berge Svendsen

Cast:

Fridtjov Såheim

Kirsti Eline Torhaug

Henrik Mestad

Marian Saastad Ottesen

Running Time: 79 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Norwegian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Nordisk Film International

Print Source:

Norwegian Film Institute

Film Website: www.maipo.no

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

August

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:15 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

MONDAY JUNE 2 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Tom Sterling (Josh Hartnett) is the magnetic young CEO of Landshark. He and his company are glittering survivors of the dot-com crash, a fact that Tom flaunts as an omen of continued success. He sports garish tattoos and cruises around town in a flashy convertible, never suspecting the approach of September 11th. His business partner is his brother, Joshua, a brilliant designer, but a cautious businessman who apologizes for Tom’s tardiness and attire when the latter arrives late at a crucial meeting in yesterday’s clothes. Unfortunately for the brothers, Landshark’s technology is too advanced and they will have to compromise themselves and the company to recoup the losses they’re beginning to sustain. Everyone from Tom’s closest advisors to his own brother wants to pursue an exit strategy, but Tom refuses. Simultaneously he tries to woo his ex-girlfriend Sarah, an architectural student, and seduce more money from his brother to maintain his untouchable façade while his tech empire crumbles. In the final weeks before the impending disaster, Tom’s continued hubris causes him to plow onward, never suspecting he is steering Landshark into its own collapse. Colorful appearances by David Bowie and Rip Torn add punch to director Austin Chick’s scathing look at an age when America thought itself untouchable.

USA

2008

Director:

Austin Chick

Producers:

Charlie Corwin

Josh Hartnett

David Guy Levy

Elisa Pugliese

Screenwriter:

Howard A. Rodman

Cinematographer: Andrij Parekh

Editor: Pete Beaudreau

Cast:

Josh Hartnett

Naomie Harris

Adam Scott

Rip Torn

David Bowie

Running Time:

88 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Contentfilm International

Print Source:

First Look Studios

Selected Filmography:

XX/XY (2002)

MALOS HABITOS Bad Habits

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:45 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 1 9:15 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

The first feature film from up-and-coming Mexican director Simón Bross, Bad Habits follows one family with a whole buffet of eating disorders. Mexico City is suffering from a wave of floods and one dedicated nun, Matilde (Jimena Ayala), is convinced that she can save the sick and stave off a second great flood—but only if she can starve herself in just the right way. Elena is an emaciated exercise addict with a penchant for demeaning weight loss programs. Meanwhile, her architect husband Gustavo is a bon vivant who’s looking for, and finds, a lover with some meat on her bones. This combination of a luscious Peruvian and his affection for food makes for a dish best served with lust. Everyone is concerned about Linda (Elisa Vicedo), a young woman with an undernourished self-esteem and a few extra pounds who is on the verge of her first communion. Bad Habits is a delicious tale of indulgence and deprivation as its characters struggle with faith, love, vanity, and leaky pipes. This engaging debut was inspired by the true story of a 17th century Mexican nun.

Awards:

Montréal World Film Festival 2007 (Best First Feature)

Mexico 2007

Director:

Simón Bross

Producers:

Juan E. García

Mónica Lozano

Albert Brosso

Screenwriters:

Ernesto Anaya

Simón Bross

Avelino Rodriguez

Cinematographer:

Eduardo Martínez Solares

Editors:

Adolfo Ibarrola

Raúl Martínez Resendez

Music:

Daniele Luppi

Cast:

Jimena Ayala

Elisa Vicedo

Elena de Haro

Marco Treviño

Aurora Cano

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Spanish, with

English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Distramax

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Baghead

SUNDAY JUNE 8 6:30 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 4:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

While directors Mark and Jay Duplass filmed their 2005 feature hit The Puffy Chair, a member of their crew raised the question “What’s the scariest thing you can think of?” The answer was Baghead: an absurdly low-concept film that’s just a little bit scary and a whole lot funny. After watching a friend’s movie catapult to bigtime notice at the Los Angeles Underground Film Festival, four actors get desperate to launch their own stalled careers. As many before them have, they decide the best way to get juicy parts is by writing their own script and casting themselves in the leading roles. Chad, Catherine, Matt, and Michelle sequester themselves in a remote cabin in Big Bear and prepare to create their masterpiece. However, too much booze and their own libido-ridden subtexts sidetrack their screenwriting ambitions. All these distractions leave them short on pages and ripe for the attentions of a creepy man…a creepy man with a bag over his head. At first, this rumpled stranger’s appearances seem like a joke, but soon his presence becomes menacing. Baghead is an offbeat examination of relationship dynamics and the eccentric culture of indie filmmaking.

USA

2008

Directors:

Mark Duplass

Jay Duplass

Producers:

John Bryant

Mark Duplass

Jay Duplass

Screenwriters:

Mark Duplass

Jay Duplass

Cinematographer:

Jay Duplass

Editor:

Jay Deuby

Cast:

Ross Partridge

Steve Zissis

Greta Gerwig

Elise Muller

Running Time:

84 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Duplass Brothers

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Selected Filmography: The Puffy Chair (2005)

Ballast

FRIDAY MAY 23 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 24 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Spare and economical, Ballast is one of those rare films that quietly but powerfully navigates the troubled topography of human grief. First-time director Lance Hammer expertly crafts a riveting portrait of three people whose lives are radically changed by a suicide in a cold Mississippi Delta town. Marlee is a single mother who struggles to make a home for herself and her embattled 12-year-old son James who is adrift in a world of poverty, violence, and drugs. Lawrence is a man mired in depression after his twin brother’s death. Forced to flee their home one night, Marlee leaps at the opportunity of a troubled shelter with Lawrence despite the fact that their proximity blows open a longstanding conflict between them. The three main characters are layered in complexity and organically produced by a cast of non-professional actors. Instead of sharing his shooting script with the performers, Hammer worked collaboratively to develop their personas. The dialogue evolved as a direct result of that process and yielded a modality of ultra-realism that emphasizes an underlying humanity in the face of sorrow.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Directing Award, Cinematography Award)

USA 2008

Director:

Lance Hammer

Producers:

Lance Hammer

Nina Parikh

Screenwriter:

Lance Hammer

Cinematographer:

Lol Crawley

Editor: Lance Hammer

Music: John Bissell

Jerry Lousteau

Cast: Michael Smith Jr. Jim Myron Ross

Tarra Riggs

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

IFC FirstTake

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

AVANT QUE J ’ OUBLIE

Before I Forget

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 15 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Jacques Nolot’s work has always taken the form of straight-shooting, pragmatic aspects of gay sex. In his latest offering, Before I Forget, he delivers a matter-of-fact appraisal of the indignities of the ageing hustler. Pierre, a former gigolo turned author, suffers from a bad case of writers’ block. He is shaken to learn that an old friend who he believed stood him up for a lunch appointment has in fact died. Pierre addresses this intimation of mortality by getting high and breaking out the drag…anything to deflect the fear of boredom that is his motivating force in life. The following days bring a run-in with the law, meetings with his few remaining bitchy acquaintances (former toy boys to a man), and one last effort to fulfill his greatest fantasies. Full of enjoyably vicious, idiomatic language, frightening honesty, and disconcertingly graphic sex for which he is renowned, Before I Forget is a caustic drama where no one grows old gracefully, least of all Pierre (played by Nolot himself with a laudable lack of personal vanity). If you’ve ever pondered how to order a round of fellatio as one orders a pizza, or wondered what gay gentlemen of a certain age talk about, this touching glimpse of faded beauty and looming decrepitude fits the bill to perfection.

France

2007

Director:

Jacques Nolot

Producer: Pauline Duhault

Screenwriter:

Jacques Nolot

Cinematographer: Josée Deshaies

Editor:

Sophie Reine

Music:

Gustav Mahler

Cast:

Jacques Nolot

Jean-Pol Dubois

Marc Rioufol

Running Time:

108 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with

English subtitles

International Sales: Colifilms Diffusion

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Selected Filmography:

Porn Theater (2002) L’Arrière pays (1998)

Before the Rains

FRIDAY MAY 23 7:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 24 11:00 AM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set in 1937 South India, Before the Rains sprawls through the misty green valleys and low-flying clouds of Munnar Hills in epic style. Against this lush display, director and cinematographer Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist) contemplates the balance of living between two worlds. British entrepreneur and colonialist Henry Moores (Linus Roache) wants to build a costly road through the hills of Kerala to enlarge his spice plantation. For his venture to be successful, Henry must finish building the road before the arrival of the monsoons. He employs a local tribesman, T.K. Neelan (Rahul Bose) as his field manager and uses him to gain the villagers’ trust and manpower. In exchange, Henry offers T.K. a partnership as well as friendship. Before his wife and son arrive from England, Henry makes a physical and spiritual connection with his Indian housekeeper, Sajani (Nandita Das). When two village boys uncover Sajani and Henry’s secret tryst, Henry demands that T.K. handle the ensuing trouble. The love affair brings the wrath of Sajani’s jealous husband and breaks the villagers’ faith in Henry. As Henry’s plans begin to unravel, T.K. is forced to either stand with his people or side with the British colonialist.

India/USA

2007

Director:

Santosh Sivan

Producers:

Doug Mankoff

Andrew Spaulding

Paul Hardart

Tom Hardart

Mark Burton

Screenwriter:

Cathy Rabin

Cinematographer:

Santosh Sivan

Editors:

Steven Cohen

A. Sreekar Prasad

Music:

Mark Kilian

Cast:

Linus Roache

Rahul Bose

Nandita Das

Jennifer Ehle

Indrajit

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Malayalam, English, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

Maximum Films

International

Print Source:

Echo Lake Productions

Selected Filmography: Anandabhadram (2005)

Asoka the Great (2001)

The Terrorist (1999)

Ben X

FRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 1 4:00 PM

In the online gaming world of Archlord, Ben X is the brave warrior who escaped the dungeons of Silancium and crossed the fearsome swamps of Ondekon. Away from the computer he’s nothing but the “jerk in the mirror,” silenced and stymied by his Asperger syndrome. Ostracized and bullied by classmates, Ben is left to fend for himself despite his sympathetic but ineffective teachers. Unable to make sense of the jarring stimuli and incomprehensible behavior that batter him in the real world, he blurs reality with his virtual gaming life. After someone plays an especially cruel prank on him, Ben starts to slip dangerously out of control. His only lifeline to calm and sanity is Scarlite, a friendly fellow gamer, but even her help might be too late. First-time director Nic Balthazar (adapting his own novel and stage play) leaps onto the field with supreme confidence. He employs a range of ingenious visual effects and a meticulous, magnificent sound design to help immerse us into Ben’s skewed, mildly autistic viewpoint. It is almost as if we are slipping into a virtual world of our own. Without sacrificing the seemingly inevitable spiral of Ben’s predicament, Balthazar infuses the film with enough hope and empathy to make clear the need for heroes and their victories in this life, not just in our fantasies.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film) Montreal World Film Festival 2007 (Grand Prize of the Americas, Most Popular, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury)

Belgium/ Netherlands 2007

Director:

Nic Balthazar

Producers:

Peter Bouckaert

Erwin Provost

Screenwriter: Nic Balthazar

based on his novel

Cinematographer: Praga Khan

Editors: Peter Flamman

Wart Wamsteker

Music:

Philippe Ravoet

Cast:

Greg Timmermans Laura Verlinden

Marijke Pinoy

Pol Goossen

Titus De Voogdt

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Flemish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Films Distribution

Print Source: Film Movement

Film Website: www.benx.be

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

MANG SHAN Blind Mountain

SUNDAY JUNE 1 9:00 PM PACIFIC

MONDAY JUNE 2 4:15 PM PACIFIC

The central theme of the sold-off bride is fairly commonplace in Chinese storytelling, but in the hands of the rigorous and socially indignant Li Yang (whose previous work was the emotionally devastating Blind Shaft), it becomes a vehicle for much more than a study of economic hardship and social backwardness. The story’s contemporary setting adds a layer of shock as perky student Bai Xuemei, on her way to a job in a remote part of northern China, is drugged and sold off to a stranger, Degui, for 7,000 yuan (a fortune for a poor family). In order to free herself, Bai must somehow repay the ridiculous amount. Held down by Degui’s parents while he forces himself upon her, she receives no encouragement from other sold-off brides in the village. A dour solidarity among the inhabitants foils Xuemei’s repeated efforts to escape. Forced to bide her time, she adapts to the status quo and befriends a kindly young teacher who represents the best hope of escape. But while their friendship turns into something more, it soon transpires that the two have separate agendas. Attractively shot by Taiwanese cinematographer Lin Jong (Eat, Drink, Man, Woman), Blind Mountain recalls many of the hard-hitting mainland Chinese dramas produced over the last 20 years.

China/Germany/ Hong Kong 2007

Director:

Li Yang

Producers:

Li Yang

Sun Alexandra

Screenwriter:

Li Yang

Cinematographer:

Lin Jong

Editors:

Li Yang

Mary Stephen

Cast:

Huang Lu

Yang Youan

Zhang Yuling

He Yunle

Running Time:

102 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Mandarin, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Studio Canal

Print Source:

Kino International

Selected Filmography: Blind Shaft (2003)

PLACE CINEMAS

PLACE CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

MUTLULUK Bliss

SATURDAY JUNE 7 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 8 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

When a young Turkish girl Meryem (Ozgu Namal), is returned unconscious to her family, they fear that both her chastity and the family honor are in jeopardy. Her refusal to talk about the event convinces them of her shame and they turn to her cousin Ali Riza Amca (Mustafa Avkiran) for help.

Ali orders his son Cemal, who recently returned from military service, to take Meryem away to Istanbul. The trip is ostensibly to deliver Meryem to an arranged marriage with another of Ali’s son’s, Yakup. In truth, Cemal has instructions to quietly murder the girl along the way, but his increasingly modern attitudes (helped along by Yakup) put him at odds with the ancient customs of the village. The cousins find themselves in a state of suspension. Cemal is unable to go through with the murder and so both are unable to return to the village. While hiding out at a remote hatchery, their fortunes change when the pair meet the avuncular Irfan (Talat Bulut), a wealthy sociology professor in the midst of a mid-life crisis. The three sail off on Irfan’s luxury yacht, blissfully adrift in each other’s attentions but unaware that Ali Reza’s men are hot in pursuit.

Awards:

Miami International Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

Cinemafest Puerto Rico 2007 (Audience Award)

Turkey 2007

Director:

Abdullah Oguz

Producers: Abdullah Oguz

Yorgos Lykiardopoulos

Screenwriters:

Kubilay Tuncer

Abdullah Oguz

Elif Ayan

based on the novel by Zulfu Livaneli

Cinematographer: Mirsad Herovic

Editors:

Levent Celebi

Abdullah Oguz

Music:

Omer Zulfu Livaneli

Cast: Talat Bulut

Ozgu Namal

Murat Han

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Turkish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Intramovies

Print Source: ANS

Selected Filmography:

O simdi mahkum (2005)

Asmali konak: Hayat (2003)

TIANTANG KOU

Blood Brothers

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

THURSDAY MAY 29 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

The Chinese gangster movie takes a break from the mean streets of contemporary Hong Kong with newcomer Alexi Tan’s dazzling homage to the mob films of old, set against the backdrop of the glamorous vice den of 1930s Shanghai. A dramatic tale of unbridled greed, unrequited love and fraternal betrayal, the film traces the fortunes of small town boy Kang, his younger brother Xiao Hu, and their best friend Fung as they drift into the city and become inexorably caught up in the criminal underworld. Kang soon becomes main enforcer to the notorious Boss Hong, who orders him to kill Hong’s lovely though cheating girlfriend, the chanteuse Lulu, and her secret lover, ice-cool hitman Mark. This causes deep conflict in Kang, who has clandestinely befriended Mark, on top of which Fung is smitten with Lulu. Naturally mayhem quickly ensues. The film shows its debt to producer John Woo and his veneration of all things Sergio Leone in the epic aspects of the production, but Tan’s affection for the three friends reflects another Italian master, Visconti, and his film Rocco and His Brothers. Not that Tan’s lively direction gives much time for reflection, other than perhaps of the sheer gorgeousness of the costumes, décor, and a stellar cast of surpassing attractiveness that includes Daniel Wu, Chang Chen, and Shu Qi, (the latter pair re-teamed as lovers after their Tour-de-Force triple whammy in Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Three Times).

Taiwan/China/ Hong Kong

2007

Director:

Alexi Tan

Producers: John Woo

Terence Chang

Screenwriters: Alexi Tan

Jiang Dan

Tony Chan

Cinematographer: Michel Taburiaux

Editor: Cheng Long

Music: Daniel Belardinelli

Cast:

Daniel Wu

Shu Qi

Lie Ye

Tony Yang

Sun Honglei

Chang Chen

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Taiwanese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Film Website: www.bloodbrothersthemovie. com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Boy A

SATURDAY MAY 24 7:00 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 11:00 AM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Irish-born director John Crowley more than fulfills the promise of his explosive debut Intermission with Boy A, one of the year’s most compelling dramas, loosely based on a notorious real-life child murder case in Britain some 15 years ago. The film is the story of “Jack,” a young man paroled after spending his teenage years incarcerated for a terrible crime and forced to hide his true identity upon release due to enduring public outrage at his crime. Initially all goes well: the shy young man is liked by his co-workers in the Manchester factory where he finds a job, and he even attracts the romantic interest of the lusty Michelle with whom he soon moves in. But when an act of heroism sees him praised in the local newspaper, the identity he has worked so hard to forge and protect is threatened with exposure, and his new life starts to unravel. The film initially echoes the realism of a Ken Loach drama, not least due to the presence of the ever-dependable Peter Mullan (My Name Is Joe) as Jack’s caseworker Terry, a man with secrets from his own past. As Crowley skillfully unspools the narrative, judiciously employing flashbacks to ramp up the horror of the casually brutal crime, the tension becomes tangible in this striking and distinctly powerful film.

United Kingdom 2007

Director:

John Crowley

Producer:

Lynn Horsford

Screenwriter:

Mark O’Rowe based on the novel by Jonathan Trigell

Cinematographer:

Rob Hardy

Editor: Lucia Zucchetti

Music:

Paddy Cunneen

Cast:

Peter Mullan

Andrew Garfield

Katie Lyons

Shaun Evans

Running Time:

100 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

The Weinstein Company

Selected Filmography:

Intermission (2003)

CHUECATOWN

Boystown

THURSDAY JUNE 5 9:15 PM HARVARD EXIT SUNDAY JUNE 8 4:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

Victor is a well-groomed real estate agent in Madrid’s Chueca district with a dirty little secret. He is murdering little old ladies and buying up their apartments in pursuit of his dream of building an ideal gay neighborhood where the poor and portly need not apply. His latest victim happens to be the next-door neighbor to Leo and Rey, a pair of comic book loving gay “bears,” who are thrilled to learn they’ve inherited the apartment. While most of the police believe the deaths are suicides, the omni-phobic Inspector Mila suspects something more sinister. The boys have their hands full when Mila starts nosing around the Cheuca for clues and her son Luis starts questioning more than suspects. To make matters even worse, Rey’s harpy of a mother Antonia moves in and ruthlessly schemes to push Leo out of the picture. Rey’s ex-boyfriend is also on the prowl. Just when it looks like all is lost, Leo finds an unlikely ally in Victor and soon the neighborhood of Chueca is bubbling with comic mishaps, sexy seductions, and bodies. Spanish director Juan Flahn’s farce combines rapid-fire dialogue, refreshingly crisp characterization, and high production values to make Boystown one of the best in its class.

Spain 2007

Director:

Juan Flahn

Producers:

Marivi de Villanueva

Julio Fernandez

Fernando Monje

Screenwriters:

Felix Sabroso

Dunia Ayaso

Juan Flahn

Félix Sabroso based on the comic book by Rafa

Cinematographer: Juan Carlos Lausin

Editor:

Ascen Marchena

Music:

David San José

Joan Crossas

Cast:

Pablo Puyol

Concha Velasco

Rosa Maria Sarda

Pepon Nieto

Mariola Fuentes

Running Time:

93 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source:

TLA Releasing

Film Website:

www.tlareleasing.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Breakfast with Scot Brick Lane

MONDAY MAY 26 6:30 PM

TUESDAY MAY 27 4:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Sam, a former pro-hockey player turned sports broadcaster, lives with his partner of four years Ed, who is also the lawyer for Sam’s old hockey team. Much to Ed’s chagrin, Sam takes excruciating care to keep their long-term relationship under wraps in the homophobic sports industry. When the two men temporarily become guardians of Ed’s nephew Scot, they find themselves and their relationship in the spotlight. Scot enrolls in a local school and Sam becomes worried that the flamboyant 11-year-old’s love of knitting, feather boas, and show tunes will lead to his own outing as well as make trouble at school. After learning that Scot figure skates, Sam signs him up for hockey. The hilarity that follows brings him to realize that change can be both unexpected and undeniable. The screenplay was adapted by Sean Reycraft from the novel of the same name by Tufts University professor Michael Downing and was directed by Laurie Lynd (Queer as Folk). Tom Cavanagh (Ed) and Ben Shenkman (Angels in America) make a good match as Sam and Ed respectively, but it is the precocious Noah Bernett as Scot who steals the show. Wide-eyed with incomprehension at the ways of the world and yet surprisingly resourceful, Bernett endows this film with a poignant charm.

Canada

2007

Director:

Laurie Lynd

Producer: Paul Brown

Screenwriter: Sean Reycraft based on the novel by Michael Downing

Cinematographer: David Makin

Editor: Susan Shipton

Music: Robert Carli

Cast: Tom Cavanagh

Ben Shenkman

Noah Bernett

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Miracle Pictures Inc.

Film Website: www.caprifilms.com/ breakfastwithscot

Selected Filmography: House (1996)

THURSDAY JUNE 5 7:00 PM

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

From Monica Ali’s award-winning, controversial novel, this startling film transforms the text into rich, seductive images layered onto a refreshingly accessible plot. Brick Lane is the story of Nazneen (Tannishta Chatterjee), a beautiful young Bangladeshi woman who leaves her family and home for an arranged marriage in 1980s London. Trapped in a loveless marriage and struggling to cope with her mother’s suicide, Nazneen has much to endure. She is estranged from both her savvy teenage daughter and her doltish husband Chanu, a comedic wannabe who is heavy-handed as a father, clumsy as a lover, and unemployed after he resigns his job in a fit of pique. When Nazneen is forced to work as a seamstress in order to pay the family’s bills, adventure comes knocking in the shape of the handsome entrepreneur Karim (Christopher Simpson) who draws her into an affair. Through their relationship, Nazneen begins to experience a blossoming sense of personal freedom for the first time since arriving in the United Kingdom. However, after Karim is drawn into the more radical Muslim elements of the local community in the wake of September 11th, Nazneen is forced to reassess her relationship to both her family and the exciting young man who threatens its stability.

United Kingdom 2007

Director:

Sarah Gavron

Producers:

Alison Owen

Christopher Collins

Screenwriters:

Abi Morgan

Laura Jones

based on the novel by Monica Ali

Cinematographer:

Robbie Ryan

Editor:

Melanie Oliver

Music:

Jocelyn Pook

Cast:

Tannishtha Chatterjee Satish Kaushik

Christopher Simpson

Running Time:

101 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in English and Bengali, with English subtitles

International Sales: The Works

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Film Website: www.sonyclassics.com/ bricklane

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

BUDA AS SHARM FORU RIKHT

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame

MONDAY JUNE 9 9:15 PM

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame is the first feature from Hana Makhmalbaf who, at 18, is the youngest member of master director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s filmmaking family. Set in Bamian, a town in central Afghanistan where two monumental sixth-century statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. Baktay is a six-year-old Afghan girl challenged by a neighbor boy to go to a school for girls that opened across the river. She accepts the challenge but faces a formidable series of obstacles. First, despite her family’s extreme poverty, she must find a pencil and a notebook. Then she must make her way through a no-man’s land where the other boys play war games, mimicing the violence that defines their lives. Baktay provides a new target and is “captured” each time she passes. The boys want to stone her, to blow her up like the Buddhas, or to shoot her in an imitation of the Americans during the U.S. invasion. Hana’s father Mohsen gave the film its title, which Hana explains this way: “Even a statue can be ashamed of witnessing all this violence and harshness happening to these innocent people and, therefore, collapse.” This film is a devastating comparison of the destruction of cultural icons and of how violence refracts in the minds of children.

Awards:

San Sebastian Film Festival 2007 (Special Jury Prize)

Montreal World Film Festival 2007 (Innovation Prize)

Iran/France 2007

Director:

Hana Makhmalbaf

Producer:

Maysam Makhmalbaf

Screenwriter: Marziyeh Meshkini

Cinematographer:

Ostad Ali

Editor:

Mastaneh Mohajer

Music:

Tolib Khan Shahidi

Cast:

Nikbakht Noruz

Abdolali Hoseinali

Abbas Alijome

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Farsi, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Wild Bunch

Print Source:

Wild Bunch

Film Website: www.lecahier-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

California Dreamin’ (Endless)

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:15 PM

HARVARD EXIT

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Inspired by an actual incident during the Kosovo war, California Dreamin’ (Endless) is a dark comedy about a NATO train stopped in a small Romanian village because it’s traveling without customs papers. In the sweltering Balkan summer of 1999, a platoon of American Marines led by Captain Jones (Armand Assante), and Sergeant McLaren, is supposed to supervise the railway transport of a radar system to the Serbian border. The stationmaster Doiaru is a small-time gangster with some ideas about enrichment, but the villagers are nurturing larger questions of American intervention. Captain Jones finds his platoon and equipment stuck at this odd intersection of politics and people, and he must decide whether to enjoy the mayor’s hospitality or to dutifully maintain the perimeter around the transport. Set amidst the complicated history and misunderstandings of Romanian-U.S. relations, which are still dominated by the memory of World War II, the film casts a stern eye on both bureaucratic corruption in Eastern Europe and the ambivalent blessings of being a superpower. First-time director Cristian Nemescu tragically died in a car accident at the age of 27, ending what was sure to be a luminous career.

Awards:

Cannes Film Festival 2007 (Best Film, Un Certain Regard)

Romania 2007

Director:

Cristian Nemescu

Producer:

Andrei Boncea

Screenwriters:

Tudor Voican

Cristian Nemescu

Cinematographer:

Liviu Marghidan

Editor: Catalin Cristutiu

Cast:

Armand Assante

Razvan Vasilescu

Jamie Elman

Maria Dinulescu

Ion Sapdaru

Running Time:

155 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Romanian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

MediaPro Distribution

Print Source:

IFC Films

Film Website: www.californiadreaminendless. com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Captain Abu Raed

SUNDAY JUNE 1 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 4:30 PM

The first independent film from Jordan, and the first Jordanian feature produced in 50 years, Captain Abu Raed tells the story of a lonely airport janitor, Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha), who dreams of seeing the world but can’t afford to travel. After donning an airline captain’s hat that he finds in the garbage, Abu is assumed to be a pilot by local boy Tareq (Udey Al-Qiddissi). The next day a group of poor children in Abu’s apartment complex turn up and beg for stories from the outside world. After some initial reluctance, Abu complies, feeding their imaginations from his own daydreams. Out of this exchange, friendships are formed. Even after an older boy, Murad (Hussein Al-Sous), discovers the truth and exposes Abu scrubbing floors, the children maintain a connection with Abu that gradually transforms them all. While the story and its characters offer a tip of the hat to Truffaut, Captain Abu Raed provides a rich and diverse portrait of Amman, Jordan, and its citizens the likes of which is rarely seen on film.

Awards:

Dubai Film Festival 2007 (Best Actor)

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

Jordan/USA 2007

Director:

Amin Matalqa

Producer: David Pritchard

Screenwriter: Amin Matalqa

Cinematographer: Reinhart Peschke

Editor:

Laith Majali

Music:

Austin Wintory

Cast:

Nadim Sawalha

Rana Sultan

Ghandi Saber

Udey Al-Qiddissi

Hussein Al-Sous

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Arabic, with English subtitles

Print Source: Gigapix Studios

Film Website: www.captainaburaed.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

KIRSCHBLÜTEN - HANAMI

Cherry BlossomsHanami

FRIDAY JUNE 13 6:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 NOON CINERAMA

An elegant bow from one master filmmaker to another, Cherry Blossoms – Hanami finds Doris Dörrie remolding Ozu’s Tokyo Story into her own, more worldly, and expansive creation. The result is no less intimately moving despite its larger palate. When Trudi discovers that her loving but stick-inthe-mud husband Rudi is dying, she resolves to keep the secret from him, at least long enough to persuade him life is worth shaking up. She finally demands they take their long-delayed visit to their son Karl in Japan. A stop in Berlin to see their other children offers only brusque dismissal. A visit to the Baltic Sea seems to be more promising, and slightly awakens Rudi’s long-buried sense of excitement. But tragedy tosses in an ironic wrench when Trudi dies quietly in her sleep. Rudi, still too reserved to properly understand his grief let alone express it, opts to continue his wife’s planned journey. At first, his son Karl is too harried to offer his father the connection he needs, so Rudi wanders out among the streets of Tokyo and scrapes together some solace from the perambulations of the crowds, the natural wonders of Mount Fuji, and the attentions of Yu, a young, homeless butoh dancer who pays the sad old man more attention than his hectic son. Returning to the country and gentle rhythms of her previous Enlightenment Guaranteed, Dörrie crafts a lovely ode to the consoling grace of fresh discovery even if, like the breathtaking flowering of her title, its beauty is necessarily short lived.

Germany 2008

Director:

Doris Dörrie

Producers:

Molly von Fürstenberg

Harald Kügler

Screenwriter: Doris Dörrie

Cinematographer: Hanno Lentz

Editors:

Inez Regnier

Frank Müller

Music: Claus Bantzer

Cast:

Elmar Wepper

Hannelore Elsner

Aya Irizuki

Nadja Uhl

Maximilian Brückner

Running Time:

122 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German and Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Bavaria Film International

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Selected Filmography: How to Cook Your Life (2007)

The Fisherman and His Wife (2005)

Naked (2002)

Am I Beautiful? (1998)

Happy Birthday, Türke! (1992)

Men... (1985)

UPTOWN CINEMAS

CINEMAS

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Queen

Wallingford 1618 North 45th

The Children of Huang Shi

SATURDAY MAY 24 6:30 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 1:30 PM

Queen Anne Hill . 12 Boston Street

206-284-6671

Madison Valley . 2801 East Madison Street

206-323-0171

Wallingford 1618 North 45th Street

206-633-1160

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set in the midst of war-torn 1930s China, The Children of Huang Shi is a stirring tale based on real events. The film centers on young English journalist George Hogg (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors), whose experiences in China lead him to perform an act that was more courageous and heroic than any fighting he could do. After meeting under desperate and unexpected circumstances, he is assisted on his journey by an Australian nurse (Radha Mitchell, Melinda and Melinda) and the leader of a Chinese partisan group (Chow Yun-Fat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Together they rescue 60 orphaned children and lead them on an extraordinary journey across the Liu Pan Shan Mountains to safety on the edge of the Mongolian border. They traverse the ancient Silk Road and cross hundreds of miles of treacherous terrain through snowcovered mountains and an unforgiving desert. Along the way they discover the true meaning of love, responsibility, and courage. Director Roger Spottiswoode and screenwriter James MacManus founded this project on the ideal that it be about character and personal strength, and not about politics or the ability to make a statement through film. Securing support from the Chinese government, they were able to bring the story to its full splendor on the screen. They filmed almost entirely on location, and in the end, they were extremely fortunate to secure some of the most famous national monuments and hauntingly beautiful locations in China.

Australia/China 2008

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Producers:

Arthur Cohn

Wieland Schulz-Keil

Peter Loehr

Jonathan Shteinman

Martin Hagemann

Screenwriters:

Jane Hawksley

James MacManus

Cinematographer:

Xiaoding Zhao

Editor:

Geoffrey Lamb

Music:

David Hirschfelder

Cast:

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Chow Yun-Fat

Radha Mitchell

Michelle Yeoh

Guang Wen Li

Running Time:

125 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Mandarin and English, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Hyde Park International

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Film Website:

www.childrenofhuangshi.com

Selected Filmography:

Shake Hands with the Devil (2007)

Ripley Under Ground (2005)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Air America (1990)

Turner & Hooch (1989)

Shoot to Kill (1988)

sushi bar & asian grill

Choke

THURSDAY JUNE 5 9:15 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 7 4:00 PM

UPTOWN

Self-proclaimed sex addict, medical school dropout, and direct descendant of Jesus Christ, Victor Mancini works with his dim-witted best friend Denny in a colonial theme park where folks dress up like it’s more or less the year 1800. Victor makes little money at the park and has even less passion for his work, so he devises an indigestible scam to pay for his Alzheimer’s-afflicted mother’s medical bills—he goes into pricey restaurants and fakes choking on his food. After allowing himself to be “saved” by his heroic fellow diners, Victor follows up with maudlin letters about the many bills he claims to be unable to pay. The Good Samaritans feel so sorry for him that they continue to send him money long after Victor has moved on to his next swindle. When he’s not committing these culinary cons, Victor divides his time between fishing for other sex addicts at recovery meetings and seeking out the stifled truth behind his own history. Best friend Danny’s compulsive-masturbating adds to this light-hearted, filthy-minded farce loaded with delightful performances based on Chuck Palahniuk’s novel of the same name.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Special Jury Prize)

USA

2008

Director:

Clark Gregg

Producers:

Beau Flynn

Tripp Vinson

Johnathan Dorfman

Temple Fennell

Screenwriter:

Clark Gregg based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

Cinematographer: Tim Orr

Editor:

Joe Klotz

Cast: Sam Rockwell

Anjelica Huston

Brad William Henke

Kelly Macdonald

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source:

Fox Searchlight

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

CRISTÓVÃO COLOMBO – O ENIGMA

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

FRIDAY JUNE 6 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

In the year that Manoel de Oliveira celebrates his centenary as the world’s oldest working film director, we are delighted to present his latest work, a playful dramatization of the 50-year love story of Manuel Luciano da Silva and his wife Silvia, and their long quest into the enigma of the origins of Christopher Columbus. Supposedly born in Genoa, now in Italy but in the 15th century under the hegemony of Castille, Columbus made his world-changing explorations in the name of Spain. But the da Silvas have turned up evidence that Columbus may have been Portuguese, possibly born in the town of Cuba (the name he bestowed on his largest island discovery) in Portugal’s Alentejo region. De Oliveira and his real-life wife Maria Isabel play Manuel and Silvia in the contemporary scenes, signaling his nationalistic solidarity with the quest as they intrepidly scour locations for evidence on both sides of the Atlantic, from the Sagres promontory where the explorers’ ships were launched, to a mysterious old tower in Newport, R.I., that bears a strong resemblance to an ancient Portuguese monument. Accurately describing his film as “neither scientific, nor historical, nor truly biographical in nature, but a form of romanticized fiction,” de Oliveira has produced an entertaining work of intellectual curiosity that few could match even if they also live to attain their centennial.

Portugal/France 2007

Director:

Manoel de Oliveira

Producer: François d’Artemare

Screenwriter: Manoel de Oliveira based on the book by Manuel Luciano da Silva and Sílvia Jorge de Silva

Cinematographer: Sabine Lancelin

Editor:

Valérie Loiseleux

Music:

Jose Luis Borges Coelho

Cast: Ricardo Trêpa

Leonor Baldaque

Manoel de Oliveira

Maria Isabel de Oliveira

Running Time:

77 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Portuguese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

REZO

Print Source:

REZO

Selected Filmography:

Belle Toujours (2006)

The Fifth Empire (2004)

A Talking Picture (2003)

I’m Goiing Home (2001)

The Letter (1999)

Valley of Abraham (1993)

Doomed Love (1978)

Past and Present (1971)

Aniki-Bóbó (1942)

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

CINEMAS

Continental, a Film Without Guns

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 24 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Continental, A Film Without Guns is the outstanding Canadian film of the year and marks a stunning debut for Montreal-based Stéphane Lafleur. The film is book-ended by a minor mystery. A middle-aged businessman vanishes after taking a bus to a remote forest and leaves his wife in limbo. Unsure if he’s dead or alive, she can do nothing except dance the Continental in the lonely company of strangers after posting “missing” signs on telephone poles as if he were a cat. A hotel clerk leaves cryptic telephone messages to herself. An insurance salesman fights loneliness and sexual frustration. Everybody’s lost in this black comedy about alienation and loneliness as Lafleur incisively and compassionately dissects the way our desires make us vulnerable. The title is a double-barreled irony: the Continental is a dance where everyone moves in unison but never touches, and a film without guns has no targets or bullets. However, this film is not aimless or firing blanks. On the contrary, Lafleur brilliantly depicts a bleak urban environment that is instantly recognizable. It could be Canada… it could be anywhere. Aided by Sara Mishara’s evocative cinematography, the film has a unique, “otherworldly” feel that lingers long after the end credits fade to black.

Canada 2007

Director:

Stéphane Lafleur

Producers:

Luc Déry

Kim McCraw

Screenwriter: Stéphane LaFleur

Cinematographer:

Sara Mishara

Editor: Sophie Leblond

Music:

Stéphane Lafleur

Hugo Lavoie

Cast:

Marie-Ginette Guay

Gilbert Sicotte

Fanny Mallette

Réal Bossé

Running Time:

103 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Christal Films Distribution

Print Source:

Christal Films Distribution

Film Website:

continental-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

GIORNI E NUVOLE

Days and Clouds

TUESDAY JUNE 10 7:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 1:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Silvio Soldini’s new film is the flip-side of his earlier success, Bread and Tulips, in which a discontented housewife spread her wings to find love and happiness. Once more he has fashioned a film with a female central protagonist with rare empathy, but here she finds her wings clipped.

Elsa (Margherita Buy), a well-adjusted married woman looking forward to a comfortable middleage, has returned to school to study as an art historian, when suddenly the rug is pulled from under her. The day after her lavish birthday party, her husband, Michele (Antonio Albanese), announces he’s been out of work for months and that they will have to reduce their luxurious lifestyle. Husband and wife react differently to this crisis, and Soldini minutely documents the subtle changes that undermine the characters’ relationship as the altered economic circumstances begin to gnaw at their family. Their plight is increasingly common predicament in a market that favors youth, and would be merely banal in the hands of a lesser artist. However, Soldini and his two outstanding principal actors are transcendent as they demarcate a series of small victories and disappointments that add up to an absorbing, deliberate drama.

Italy/Switzerland 2007

Director:

Silvio Soldini

Producer:

Lionello Cerri

Screenwriters:

Doriana Leondeff

Francesco Piccolo

Federica Pontremoli

Silvio Soldin

Cinematographer: Ramiro Civita

Editor:

Carlotta Cristiani

Music:

Giovanni Venosta

Cast:

Margherita Buy

Antonio Albanese

Giuseppe Battiston

Alba Rohrwacher

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Adriana Chiesa

Enterprises

Print Source:

Film Movement

Selected Filmography:

Agatha and the Storm (2004)

Burning the Wind (2002)

Bread and Tulips (2000)

The Acrobat (1997)

A Soul Split in Two (1993)

The Peaceful Air of the West (1990)

JIN GWU

The Drummer

THURSDAY JUNE 5 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 7 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Gorgeous mountain landscapes, Zen practices, and gangsters may seem like an unlikely combination, but director Kenneth Bi explores each of these worlds in this rite-of-passage film about a gangster’s son who transitions from his life as a brash teenager to being an enlightened Zen drummer. Sid is a gangster’s son who plays drums in a rock band and takes nothing seriously, an impatient and pompous teenager who thinks the world is in his hands. His arrogance leads him to first, sleep with a rival gang boss’ girl and then worse, insult the boss in front of his men. The boss is predictably furious and demands that Sid’s own father chop off the teenager’s hands and bring them to him on a platter. To stay would spell certain death for Sid so, after administering the boy a few black and blue marks of his own, his father sends him into hiding in the mountains. After Sid harasses a child on the street, a beautiful female drummer attacks him. Despite their rocky meeting, she introduces him to a Zen drumming group (played by Taiwan troupe U Theater) that lives on the mountain and spends its days drumming, meditating, and practicing martial arts. Sid is intrigued by the heartbeat-like rhythms and asks to join, which starts him on a series of training exercises on his journey to inner peace and tranquility.

Awards: Golden Horse Film Festival 2007 (Best Supporting Actor)

Hong Kong/ Taiwan 2007

Director:

Kenneth Bi

Producers:

Albert Yeung

William Fu

Albert Lee

Rosa Li

Screenwriter:

Kenneth Bi

Cinematographer:

Sam Koa

Editors:

Isabel Meier

Kenneth Bi

Music:

Andre Matthias

Cast: Jaycee Chan

Tony Leung Ka Fai

Lee Sinje

Roy Cheung

Josie Ho

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Mandarin and Cantonese, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

The Match Factory

Print Source:

The Match Factory

Film Website: www.thedrummer.emp.hk

Selected Filmography:

Rice Rhapsody (2004)

A Small Miracle (2000)

TROPA DE ELITE Elite Squad

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 24 1:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

José Padilha seems to have the Midas touch, having won a slew of awards for the harrowing documentary Bus 174 Elite Squad is already garnering praise for this, his first narrative feature, described as the flip side of City of God (Fernando Mereilles’ powerful account of faveladwelling drug dealers) as it looks at the subject from the side of the forces of law. Set in Rio de Janeiro in 1997, the story revolves around Officer Nascimento, leader of an elite rapid response unit. Having promised his wife he would avoid personal danger on account of the imminent birth of their child, he is on the lookout for a successor. Since no obvious candidates present themselves, he is forced to take the lead when the unit is ordered to raid a particularly bothersome favela gang. Meanwhile, rookie cops Neto and Matias are sent on an ostensible suicide mission by their superior, who frankly hoped to see the end of them. Nascimento masterminds a rescue of such brilliant tactical efficiency that Neto and Matias promptly switch units to the elite squad, displaying such promise that Nascimento starts to believe he may have finally found a successor. Boldly, Padilha never attempts to sanitize the fact that there is a tough job to be done and maintains the direction at breathtaking intensity with a visceral shooting style and dark, saturated colors in keeping with the general air of danger and militaristic cool.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (Golden Bear, Best Film)

São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards 2008 (Best Director, Best Editing)

Brazil

2007

Director:

José Padilha

Producers: Marcos Prado

José Padilha

Screenwriters: José Padilha

Rodrigo Pimentel

Bráulio Mantovani

Cinematographer: Lula Carvalho

Editor: Daniel Rezende

Music:

Pedro Bromfman

Cast:

Wagner Moura

Andre Ramiro

Caio Junqueria

Running Time:

118 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Portugese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

The Weinstein Company

Print Source:

The Weinstein Company

Film Website: www.tropadeeliteofilme. com.br

Selected Filmography: Bus 174 (2002)

VRATNÉ LAHVE

Empties

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:00 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 7:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Josef (played by the director’s father, screenwriter-actor Zdenek Svĕrák) is a curmudgeonly high school literature teacher who finds that he no longer understands his students. This prompts him to quit teaching, which displeases his wife of 30 years, Eliska (Daniela Kolárová), who finds his constant presence and peevish attitude quite irritating. But Josef isn’t done with the world and sets out to find new work. Job-hunting at any age is often quite the trick and Josef catapults from employer to employer—including a stint as Prague’s oldest bike messenger—until finally landing a part-time job at the bottle return window of the local supermarket. There he begins to realize that the most valuable lessons are not those found in books but in the university of life. With this in mind he decides to solve the problems of people around him, usually by flirting with the customers and meddling in their love lives. After these tendencies toward monkey business nearly get him into trouble with his wife, he resolves to put the spark back into his marriage with a hot air balloon ride. What could be more romantic than that? Described as a “comedy of substance,” Empties is a story of the illusions we hold at any age and leaves the audience feeling full.

Awards:

Karlovy Vary 2007 (Audience Award, Special Jury Mention)

Czech Republic/ UK 2007

Director:

Jan Svěrák

Producers: Jan Svěrák

Eric Abraham

Screenwriter:

Zdeněk Svěrák

Cinematographer:

Vladimír Smutný

Editor:

Alois Fišárek

Music:

Ondřej Soukup

Cast:

Zdeněrk Svěrák

Daniela Kolářová

Tatiana Vilhelmová

Robin Soudek

Jiří Macháělek

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Czech, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Fandango Portobello

Sales

Print Source:

Fandango Portobello

Sales

Film Website: www.vratnelahve.cz

Selected Filmography:

Dark Blue World (2001)

Kolya (1996)

The Ride (1994)

Accumulator 1 (1994)

The Elementary School (1991)

Encarnación

SUNDAY JUNE 8 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

MONDAY JUNE 9 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Erni, an aging actress now mostly reduced to doing commercials, is regarded with scorn by most of her family, considered snooty, superficial, and too obsessed with her status and looks. To her beloved niece Ana, however, Erni is a splash of color in a monotonous life. When Erni visits on the occasion of Ana’s 15th birthday, the pair spends time bonding at the hotel where Erni is staying, lazing around by the pool, singing, and attracting the attention of Robert, the hotel manager. Ana wants to emulate Erni, who gets up when she wants to, eats what she feels like, and sleeps with whomever she pleases. She soon finds that the result of these choices—a life alone because Erni likes it that way, not because she can’t find a man—might be a hard road to follow. Anahí Berneri’s subtle second feature may be light years away from her first, the hard-hitting AIDS drama A Year Without Love (SIFF ’05), but it succeeds on its own terms as a finely observed, stunningly well-directed film about choice. Silvia Pérez gives a tour-de-force performance as Erni, unflinchingly submitting to the scrutiny of her excessively tanned body by a pitiless camera, wonderfully portraying a woman whose lifestyle and pursuit of independence goes against the grain of everything society dictates for her.

Awards:

Toronto International Film Festival 2007 (Innovation Award)

Argentina 2007

Director:

Anahí Berneri

Producers:

Diego Dubcovsky

Daniel Burman

Screenwriters:

Anahí Berneri

Sergio Wolf

Gustavo Malajovich

Mariana Dolores Espeja

Cinematographer:

Diego Poleri

Editor:

Alejandro Parysow

Music:

Nico Cota

Cast:

Silvia Pérez

Martina Juncadella

Luciano Cáceres

Inés Saavedra

Fabián Arenillas

Running Time:

93 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Bavaria Film International

Print Source:

Bavaria Film International

Selected Filmography:

A Year Without Love (2005)

ERIK NIETZSCHE DE UNGE AR

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years

SATURDAY JUNE 7 9:00 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 8 4:15 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Written and narrated by Lars von Trier, this semiautobiographical creation pays profane tribute to his nation’s film industry—and to frustrated film students worldwide. A dreamy lad, Erik Nietzsche, grows up filming the trees and birds that surround him (excerpts from early von Trier shorts play throughout the picture). In 1979, he leaves the countryside for the Danish Film School where the intensity of his instructors and classmates overwhelms him. The moon-faced redhead just wants to make movies. To his surprise, Erik survives his first year, even enjoying a fling with a lovely co-ed. When he gets the chance to assist a famous filmmaker, Erik feels as if he’s died and gone to heaven. More than anything, he’s fascinated by Sammy, the worldly grip who commands the dolly. For Erik, beautiful women and expensive equipment hold equal appeal. Then it’s back to school for more petty rules, pretty co-eds, and pretentious teachers. Now sporting a cravat, a fresh coat of assertiveness, and a delight in the failure of others, Erik evolves into a real filmmaker and a complete egotist. Director Jacob Thuesen, who edited The Kingdom (among other Danish productions) hasn’t made a happy film, but in depicting the transformation of “an honest and friendly person” into an enfant terrible, he’s made a painfully funny one.

Denmark 2007

Director:

Jacob Thuesen

Producers:

Sisse Graum Jørgensen

Marie Gade

Screenwriter: Lars von Trier

Cinematographer:

Sebastian Blenkov

Editor:

Per K. Kirkegaard

Music: Vincent D’Hondt

Cast:

Jens Albinus

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

David Dencik

Jonatan Spang

Malin Brolin-Tani

Running Time:

91 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Danish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Trust Film Sales

Print Source:

Danish Film Institute

Selected Filmography:

Freeway (2005)

Accused (2005)

Under New York (1997)

The Fall

FRIDAY MAY 23 4:30 PM

SUNDAY MAY 25 6:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

With his second feature, director Tarsem Singh crafts a vast cinematic tapestry that weaves a touching human drama into the fabric of a fantastic adventure epic. After a brief black-and-white prologue filmed with operatic grandeur, The Fall opens in the children’s ward of a Los Angeles hospital “a long, long time ago.” Alexandria meets a bedridden former stuntman named Roy Walker while convalescing from a broken arm. Paralyzed from the waist down, Roy befriends Alexandria and soon their visits are spent with Roy spinning surreal tales of five men abandoned on a desert island—African slave Otta Benga, an Indian mystic, explosives expert Luigi, English naturalist Charles Darwin, and the masked Black Bandit. (Imagined by Alexandria, every character within Roy’s epic story is portrayed, as in The Wizard of Oz, by familiar faces from her hospital life.) Each man has vowed vengeance upon General Odious, the architect of their individual suffering. They band together to achieve their common goal. Through the course of a number of adventures, our dauntless heroes draw closer and closer to General Odious, eventually kidnapping the general’s beautiful fiancé. Meanwhile, in between story installments, Roy secures a naïve promise from Alexandria that threatens to destroy the dream world they’ve created together. Deliberately evoking the lush, vibrant scope of Hollywood’s classic epics without using the back lot—in fact, the production was shot on location in 23 countries—the film elegantly explores cinema’s sublime ability to seamlessly splice reality with imagination.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2007 (Special Mention)

Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival 2007 (Best Film)

USA/UK/India 2007

Director:

Tarsem Singh

Producer:

Tarsem Singh

Screenwriters:

Dan Gilroy

Nico Soultanakis

Tarsem Singh

Cinematographer:

Colin Watkinson

Editor:

Robert Duffy

Music:

Krishna Levy

Cast:

Lee Pace

Catinca Untaru

Justine Waddell

Daniel Caltagirone

Running Time:

116 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Googly Films

Print Source:

Roadside Attractions

Film Website: www.thefallthemovie.com

Selected Filmography: The Cell (2000)

FANTASTIC JA - SAL - SO - DONG

Fantastic Parasuicides

SUNDAY MAY 25 9:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

MONDAY MAY 26 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

This omnibus film features a trio of very inventive, entertaining spins on the common theme of suicide from three fresh young South Korean directors. In the first, Park Soo-Young’s Hang Tough, a despondent schoolgirl flunks an exam, jumps off a roof and miraculously comes to no harm. In Jo Chang-ho’s Fly Away, Chicken!, a failed cop heads for a beach to end it all. Accidentally witnessing the sexual molestation of a woman, he realizes he has the means to avenge it and redeem himself. The last story, Kim Sung-ho’s Happy Birthday, has a lonely pensioner attempting to off himself on his 70th birthday who instead becomes entangled with a young man with a big bag of cash who is hot-footing it from a pack of vicious gangsters. All three tales of thwarted intentions are by turn touching, amusing, and thought provoking. Endowed with the highest production values, this film is above all, a testament to the depth of talent in South Korean filmmaking. The names of the three directors responsible for the film may be new to the international film festival circuit but it won’t be long before they appear alongside those of their more esteemed compatriots such as Park Chanwook and Kim Ki-duk at cinema events around the world.

South Korea 2007

Directors:

Kim Seong-ho

Park Soo-yeong

Jo Chang-ho

Producer:

Stanley Kwak

Screenwriters:

Kim Seong-ho

Park Soo-yeong

Jo Chang-ho

Cinematographers:

Na Hee-seok

Kim Young-min

Music:

Jeong Jae-hwan

Choi Hyeon-suk

Kim Myeong-jong

Cast:

Han Yeo-reum

Tablo

Kim Ga-yeon

Park Hwi-soon

Jeong Jae-jin

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Korean, with

English subtitles

International Sales:

Indiestory Inc.

Print Source:

Indiestory Inc.

Film Website:

www.fantastic2007.com

Selected Filmography:

One Shining Day (2006)

Into the Mirror (2003)

LES FEMMES DE L ’ OMBRE

Female Agents

FRIDAY JUNE 13 6:30 PM CINERAMA

SUNDAY JUNE 15 3:00 PM CINERAMA

A high-octane, French blockbuster action film with an all-star international cast. During World War II, Allied plans to retake the continent hang by a thread and only an unusual group of secret agents can snatch victory from the jaws of fascism. The fictional main character, Louise Desfontaines (inspired by the true-life partisan leader Lise Villmeur), is recruited by a British spymaster and ordered to assemble a very special team. All of them must be experts. All of them must be women. The first operative Louise recruits is a rough-and-tumble prostitute named Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), followed by a blonde bombshell of an explosives expert named Gaelle. The last is a glitzy showgirl who is also the former lover of a Nazi officer. Their mission is to rescue a wounded British geologist from occupied France before the Gestapo can find him and force him to reveal information about the impending D-Day invasion. Determined to achieve their mission, the female agents parachute into France where they rendezvous with the last member of their tenacious quintet, the Jewish Countess Maria Luzzato. Working against them is the Nazi Colonel Heindrich (2001 Golden Space Needle award-winner, Moritz Bleibtreu) who will stop at nothing to thwart the allied invasion. This fictionalized account honors a group of often-unsung Resistance heroines, Female Agents is a sumptuously costumed and designed adventure shot in the high-style of World War II-era color newsreels.

France 2008

Director:

Jean-Paul Salomé

Producer:

Éric Névé

Screenwriters:

Jean-Paul Salomé Laurent Vachaud

Cinematographer:

Pascal Ridao

Editor:

Marie-Pierre Renaud

Music:

Bruno Coulais

Cast:

Sophie Marceau

Julie Depardieu

Marie Gillain

Moritz Bleibtreu

Déborah François

Running Time:

121 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

TF1 International

Print Source:

TF1 International

Film Website: www.lesfemmesdelombre.com

Selected Filmography:

Arsène Lupin (2004) Belphégor-The Phantom of the Louvre (2001)

Foster Child

SATURDAY MAY 24 1:30 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 7:00 PM

Brillante Mendoza’s Foster Child and Slingshot, (his fourth and fifth features, respectively), are among this year’s cinematic highlights. Both make good use of “real time” filming, giving the feel of cinema verité. In fact, they are anything but that. Mendoza workshops his storylines and staging to perfection, drawing astonishing performances out of some very fine actors. However, that is where the similarity between the two films ends (see separate entry for Slingshot). In Foster Child, Thelma (the awesome Cherry Pie Picache) lives with her carpenter husband Dado and two teenage sons in a close-knit Manila slum community. An experienced foster-mother, she is hired by the local authorities to care for abandoned babies pending their formal adoption. When word comes that her latest charge, 3-year-old John-John, is to be adopted by a wealthy American family, every moment becomes precious. The drama of the hand-over will take place in the suite of a fivestar hotel, highlighting the contrast between the world John-John has grown up in and that into which he is about to be absorbed—this might as well be foreign territory to the unsophisticated but big-hearted Thelma. Mendoza takes neo-realism to new heights in this very timely film (in the light of recent celebrity adoptions), auditioning 3,000 children before chancing on the adorable Kier Segundo for the crucial role of John-John.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

Philippines

2007

Director:

Brillante Mendoza

Producer:

Robbie Tan

Screenwriters:

Ralston Jover

Joel Jover

Cinematographer:

Odyssey Flores

Editor:

Charliebebs Gohettia

Music:

Jerrold Tarog

Cast:

Cherry Pie Picache

Eugene Domingo

Jiro Manio

Kier Alonzo

Kier Segundo

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Tagalog, English, and Visayan, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Ignatius Films Canada

Print Source:

Ignatius Films Canada

Selected Filmography:

Slingshot (2007)

The Professor (2006)

Summer Heat (2006)

The Masseur (2005)

NAALU PENNUNGAL Four Women

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 7 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Veteran director Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Rat Trap, Shadow Kill) bases his new film on four elemental female characters from the stories of Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai. Like Gopalakrishnan, Pillai sets his work in the beautiful, teeming south Indian state of Kerala. The characters are The Prostitute, The Virgin, The Housewife, and The Spinster. Through them, the director delivers universal truths as each woman endures a socially defined role not of her own choosing. In the first, a prostitute gives up her profession after a marriage proposal and ironically finds herself prosecuted for obscenity. The Virgin is Kumari, married off to a pig of a man who leaves her with the only thing he was expected to take, her maidenhood. The Housewife, in turn, fails to produce a child yet worries over the likely consequences and moral implications when an old friend offers herself as a surrogate. In the last story, Nandita Das is outstanding as The Spinster who is put in a socially untenable position when her younger sister marries before her. Each tale offers a paradox of freedom and bondage. Skillfully handled by Gopalakrishnan, clever narrative strokes and delicate characterization make this a film that will resonate as long as women’s standing in society is open to question.

India

2007

Director:

Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Producers: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Benzy Martin

Screenwriter: Adoor Gopalakrishnan, based on the short story by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai

Cinematographer: M.J. Radhakrishnan

Editor: Ajith Kujmar

Music:

Isaac Thomas

Cast: Nandita Das

Padmapriya

Geetu Mohandas

Manju Pillai

Murali

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Malayalam, with English subtitles

International Sales: Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Productions

Print Source: Directorat of Film Festivals

Film Website: www.adoorgopalakrishnan.in

Selected Filmography: Shadow Kill (2002)

Man of the Story (1996)

The Servile (1994)

The Walls (1990) Monologue (1987)

Face to Face (1984) Ascent (1977)

Frozen River

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

One of the most highly acclaimed features at Sundance, Frozen River finds upstate New York dollar-store worker and mother of two Ray Eddy in a royal fix just days before Christmas: her husband has walked out on her, but not before gambling away the family’s meager savings. Unable to make her house payments and struggling even to buy groceries, Ray encounters a tough, savvy Mohawk woman, Lila, who resourcefully comes up with an unlikely solution to her own financial woes—smuggling in illegal immigrants from Canada. The tribal council, frowning on her nefarious activities, blocks access to a car, but this is the one asset Ray can provide. Together the two women bury their mutual mistrust and jump into Ray’s Dodge Spirit on a hazardous run across the frozen expanse of the St. Lawrence River. As Ray, Melissa Leo (21 Grams, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada) proves she can carry a movie, but it is director Courtney Hunt’s sheer good luck that Misty Upham, as the outwardly hostile Lila, matches her move for move in this auspicious debut full of atmosphere and heart that looks realistically at the world of human trafficking and the difficult choices facing single mothers.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Dramatic Grand Jury Prize)

USA

2008

Director:

Courtney Hunt

Producers:

Heather Rae

Chip Hourihan

Screenwriter:

Courtney Hunt

Cinematographer:

Reed Dawson Morano

Editor:

Kate Willams

Music:

Peter Golub

Shahzad Ali Ismaily

Cast:

Melissa Leo

Misty Upham

Michael O’Keefe

Mark Boone Junior

Charlie McDermott

Running Time:

97 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Fim

Garage

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 7 11:00 AM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Director Lenny Abrahamson’s sophomore feature—following the well-received Adam & Paul—is a minimalist gem of a comedy that unflinchingly depicts the desolate nature of rural life, while mining its intrinsically mordant humor. Gentle misfit Josie (beautifully played by noted Irish comedian Pat Shortt) works as a mechanic in a crumbling gas station on the periphery of a small town. Seen as the village idiot by a community that shamelessly exploits him, whether it be for unpaid hours worked or as the butt of cruel jokes, Josie is solitary yet somehow content, his face always wide in a beatific smile. When 15-year-old David (Conor Ryan) is hired part-time at the garage, Josie cheerfully welcomes a new companion for his chief pastimes: drinking beer and watching porn. The two form an uncommon bond. Josie remains blissfully unaware that society considers the boy’s age a no-no when it comes to such activities. As his world starts to unravel, Abrahamson and screenwriter Mark O’Halloran display genius in the calibration of the tiny ticks as the story slowly and almost imperceptibly turns from comedy into tragedy. With judicious touches of slapstick and a spare, wrenching score, Garage sweeps us along in the film’s shattering emotional wake.

Ireland

2007

Director:

Lenny Abrahamson

Producer:

Ed Guiney

Screenwriter:

Mark O’Halloran

Cinematographer:

Peter Robertson

Editor:

Isobel Stephenson

Music:

Stephen Rennicks

Cast:

Pat Shortt

Anne-Marie Duff

Conor J. Ryan

Don Wycherley

Andrew Bennett

Running Time:

85 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

MK2 International

Print Source:

MK2 International

Film Website: www.garagethefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Adam & Paul (2004)

Garden Party World Premiere

FRIDAY MAY 30 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

“You see, ya can’t please everyone, so you got to please yourself.”—Taking inspiration from the eponymous song, Garden Party follows the intertwined lives of five characters tantalized by hope and hardship in the City of Angels. Fifteen-yearold April lives with her creepy stepfather while her mother, a cocktail waitress and stripper, works in Las Vegas. Tired of his leering advances, April embarks on a meandering journey through L.A., trying to make her own place in life without having to compromise her integrity (or take her clothes off). Then there’s Sammy, a flat broke drifter with a gift for singing and songwriting who manages to land an audition with an up-and-coming band on the eve of their first gig. On his way home from the audition, he hitches a ride from Nathan, a pothead dreamer and general screw-up who works for devious real estate agent Sally St. Clair. Meanwhile, Sally’s life takes a kinky turn when she meets the charming but obsessive Todd. The pair soon embark upon a plan that simultaneously fulfills both their fantasies. While many recent American indie films depict Los Angeles as a dark pit of moral corruption that inevitably either swallows whole or spits out its citizenry, Jason Freeland’s second feature nimbly steers clear of such clichés. Instead, Garden Party gives a warmer, more nuanced portrait of the city—one where life’s inevitable pitfalls can just as easily lead to salvation rather than damnation.

USA

2008

Director:

Jason Freeland

Producer:

Tim Youd

Screenwriter:

Jason Freeland

Cinematographer:

Robert Benevides

Editor: Daniel R. Padgett

Music:

John Swihart

Cast:

Vinessa Shaw

Willa Holland

Richard Gunn

Patrick Fischler

Erik Scott Smith

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DigiBeta

Print Source:

Roadside Attractions

Film Website: gardenpartymovie.com

Selected Filmography: Brown’s Requiem (1998)

LA RAGAZZA DEL LAGO

The Girl by the Lake

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 9:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 7:15 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Norwegian crime fiction author Karin Fossum’s award-winning novel Don’t Look Back is adapted to modern Italy in Andrea Molaioli’s debut feature. Set in a provincial Italian town, Inspector Giovanni Sanzio is brought in to solve the shocking murder of the young and attractive Anna whose body is found nude on the side of a lake. Soon however, the life of the victim proves as mysterious as her death. Suspects begin to pile up and everyone seems to have an opinion. Many of the townsfolk are wary of Mario, the village simpleton. Others speculate the criminal might be the divorced neighbor Carrado Canali or Anna’s boyfriend Roberto. Suspicion even touches the girl’s father Davide whose home movies hint at more than a parental interest in his shapely daughter. The more the Inspector digs, the more he finds himself butting up against his own personal issues, including his wife’s Alzheimer’s disease and the travails of raising his own teenage daughter. Molaioli imbues his characters with the cold essence of their surroundings and successfully suggests deeper mysteries moving beneath the picturesque mountain setting. A classic whodunit in the European style, put over ice by a Scandinavian master, Girl by the Lake, is a powerful debut.

Awards:

Venice Film Festival 2008 (Isvema, Pasinetti)

David di Donatello Awards 2008 (Best Film, Director, New Director, Actor, Screenplay, Producer, Cinematographer, and Editor)

Italy 2007

Director:

Andrea Molaioli

Producers:

Nicola Guiliano

Francesca Cina

Screenwriter: Sandro Petraglia

Cinematographer: Ramiro Civita

Editor: Giorgio Franchini

Music: Teho Teardo

Cast:

Tony Servilo

Valeria Golino

Anna Bonaiuto

Fabrizio Gifuni

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Intramovies

Print Source:

Intramovies

Film Website: www.indigofilm.it

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

CINEMAS

LA FILLE COUPEE EN DEAUX

A Girl Cut in Two

FRIDAY JUNE 6 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 8 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

French master Claude Chabrol’s best work has always reveled in the human foibles of his deeply flawed but all too recognizable characters. This wicked and beautifully realized tale set in the lush hinterlands of Lyons is no exception. Gabrielle (Ludivine Sagnier, Swimming Pool), a perky and popular TV weather reporter, finds herself drawn into the orbit of the super wealthy and pursued by two very different but equally troubling lovers. The first is successful author Charles, a married man some 30 years her senior who is prone to infidelity. The second is Paul (Benoît Magimel, The Piano Teacher), the handsome heir to a pharmaceutical fortune who is egotistical, spoiled rotten, and possibly even a bit insane. The two suitors have a long history of mutual antipathy, and Gabrielle is tossed back and forth between them with little regard. Skewering social paradigms, Chabrol follows the convoluted twists of this battle of old money versus new with the crackling energy of his early films and is well served by a superb cast. Magimel in particular pulls out all the stops, boosted by flashy clothes and a wild haircut, to razor-sharp comic effect. That razor has a dark edge as well. The screenplay was inspired by the 1906 murder of libertine and womanizer Stanford White.

Awards:

Venice Film Festival 2007 (Filmcritica Award)

France 2007

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Producer:

Patrick Godeau

Screenwriters:

Claude Chabrol

Cécile Maistre

Cinematographer:

Eduardo Serra

Editor:

Monique Fardoulis

Music:

Matthieu Chabrol

Cast:

Ludivine Sagnier

François Berléand

Benoît Magimel

Mathilda May

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source: IFC Films

Film Website: www.lafillecoupeeendeux. com

Selected Filmography:

The Comedy of Power (2006)

The Bridesmaid (2004)

The Flower of Evil (2003)

Nightcap (2000)

The Eye of Victory (1993)

Madame Bovary (1991)

Story of Women (1988)

Alice (1977)

Dirty Hands (1975)

The Butcher (1970)

The Unfaithful Wife (1969)

Bad Girls (1968)

Girl Sparks

North American Premiere

TUESDAY JUNE 3 9:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

One of three features made in rapid succession by prolific Japanese indie director Ishii Yuya, Girl Sparks may initially look like an ordinary film about an ordinary schoolgirl in an ordinary world. However, it is nothing of the kind, as Yuya quickly reveals a taste for the fantastic and the absurd that transforms ostensibly banal material into winsome entertainment. “The world is so sickening!” shouts Saeko. Always angry about something, she is as bored and alienated as teenagers the world over are supposed to be, but she is basically a good-hearted girl who wants to help save her father’s failing screw factory from seemingly inevitable bankruptcy. Their relationship is ambivalent to say the least. On one hand, he can be a tough disciplinarian and runs the factory with an iron hand. On the other, he’s not averse to donning a dress and glamming up to act as the mother Saeko so badly needs. Infused in the scenes of daily life are flying rockets made with parts from her father’s factory and Olympic races (to get to school). This is about the least surreal aspect of the Saeko’s life, played infectiously by charming newcomer Ikawa Ayuko.

Japan 2007

Director:

Ishii Yuya

Producer:

Ishii Yuya

Screenwriters:

Ishii Yuya

Toyine Yuichi

Cinematographer:

Matsui Hiroki

Editor:

Ishii Yuya

Music:

Imamura Yusuke

Tanabe Toshino

Cast:

Ikawa Ayuko

Inomata Toshiaki

Nakamura Mukau

Katsura Tombo

Ninomiya Rumi

Running Time:

94 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

PIA Film Festival

Print Source:

PIA Film Festival

Selected Filmography:

Rebel, Jiro’s Love (2006)

Bare-assed Japan (2005)

MA SALAMA JAMIL

Go With Peace Jamil

North American Premiere

SUNDAY JUNE 1 9:00 PM

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 9:15 PM

HARVARD EXIT

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

A deadly Sunni-Shiite feud takes on Shakespearean overtones in Palestinian-Danish writer-director Omar Shargawi’s Go With Peace Jamil. Jamil lives in Copenhagen’s hyper-macho Arab community where he is caught up in a bitter cycle of vendetta killings. The victims already include his mother, and his enemies show no sign of slowing their punches. After Jamil kills the brother of Mahmoud in revenge for his mother’s murder, he hastens to get his remaining family out of the country before they too are swept up in the tit-for-tat clash. Caught between the hatred and his desire for reconciliation, Jamil’s gentlespirited father fails to convince his son to end the killing. After Jamil’s best friend Omar is killed and his young son Adam is kidnapped, all hopes of peace are shattered. A gritty study in violence, Go With Peace Jamil is Shargawi’s first film as he treads the balance between tension and affection. The film’s strong acting and direction of largely unknown actors impressed juries at the Rotterdam Film Festival who gave the film one of three coveted Tiger Awards.

Awards:

Denmark 2008

Director:

Omar Shargawi

Producer:

Meta Louise Foldager

Screenwriters:

Omar Shargawi

Mogens Rukov

Cinematographer:

Aske Alexander Foss

Editors:

Per Sandholt

Anders Refn

Henrik Vincent Thiesen

Music:

Anders Christensen

Lasse Mosegaard Jensen

Cast:

Dar Salim

Khalid Al- Subeihi

Munir Shargawi

Elias al-Subehi

Amira Helene Helene

Larsen

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Trust Film Sales

Print Source:

Danish Film Institute

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

LA QUESTION HUMAINE Heartbeat

Detector

SATURDAY MAY 24 10:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

MONDAY MAY 26 1:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

For the past seven years, Simon (Mathieu Amalric) has relished his work as a corporate psychologist in the Paris offices of the German petrochemical firm, FC Farb. He is calm, assured, and sleazy. For the most part, his life divides evenly between corporate interviews and sexual quickies with his office-mate Isabelle (Delphine Chuillot), an arrangement that suits him just fine. However, something is amiss at the company, most noticeably in their venerable CEO, Mathias Jüst (Michael Lonsdale), who can’t stop staring off into space. The concerned assistant director, Karl Rose (JeanPierre Kalfon), assigns Simon to determine if the CEO is actually losing his mind. Sinister questions pile up as Simon penetrates deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of money, history, and power. His calm assurance begins to falter and his ability to find flaws in the system plunges Simon down an unexpected path regarding the firm’s role in World War II. Heartbeat Detector follows director Nicolas Klotz’s films Pariah and The Wound in the most chilling installment of his loose trilogy. Here he works again with writer Elisabeth Perceval to rework François Emmanuel’s book “La Question humaine” and create a Byzantine corporate thriller that examines how the ghosts of the past continue to haunt the present.

France 2007

Director:

Nicolas Klotz

Producers:

Sophie Dulac

Michel Zana

Screenwriter: Elisabeth Perceval based on the novel by François Emmanuel

Cinematographer:

Josée Deshaies

Editor:

Rose Marie Lausson

Music:

Syd Matters

Cast:

Mathieu Amalric

Michael Lonsdale

Jean-Pierre Kalfon

Delphine Chuillot

Edith Scob

Lou Castel

Running Time: 143 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Films Distribution

Print Source:

New Yorker Films

Selected Filmography:

The Wound (2004)

Pariah (2000)

Chants of Sand and Stars (1996)

Bengali Night (1988)

Rotterdam Film Festival 2008 (Tiger Award)

Göteborg International Film Festival 2008 (FIPRESCI Prize)

FRIDAY JUNE 13 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Expertly acted by a first-rate cast, Hidden Face explores the toll that secrets can take on even the strongest of relationships. To judge by appearances, pianist and woodworker François (actordirector Bernard Campan, The Man of My Life, SIFF ’07) and artist Isabelle (Karin Viard, The Role of Her Life, SIFF ’05) enjoy a happy union, but four weekends with the Belgian couple reveals a marriage in disarray. Though François also benefits from a lasting friendship with photographer Xavier (Jean-Hugues Anglade), he battles regularly with insecurity, suspicion, and fears of mortality—then again, that describes a lot of men in their late-30s. Similarly, Isabelle seems just as ordinary, if anything, she’s more forgetful, unpredictable, and prone to bouts of melancholy. While François tries to figure out why their marriage looks so right and feels so wrong, Xavier makes plans for his second trip down the aisle. Soon, Xavier’s doubts collide with François’, threatening a friendship that has sustained the two since boyhood. Gradually, the filmmaker reveals the “hidden face” one of these three individuals has been desperately struggling to hide. In his fourth feature, Campan eschews the stylistic staples of melodrama, like convenient plot devices, portentous music, and over-the-top acting. Along the way, he coaxes from the magnificent Viard one of her finest performances to date.

France/Belgium 2007

Director:

Bernard Campan

Producers:

Philippe Godeau

Jaco van Dormael

Screenwriter:

Bernard Campan

Cinematographer:

Matthieu Poirot-Delpech

Editors:

Philippe Bourgueil

Marc Bastien

Music:

Laurent Bertaud

Cast: Bernard Campan

Karen Viard

Jean-Hughes Anglade

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pan-Européenne

Print Source:

Pan-Européenne

Film Website: www.lafacecachee-lefilm. com

Selected Filmography:

The Three Kings (2001)

Le Pari (1997)

The Three Brothers (1995)

The Home Song Stories

SATURDAY MAY 24 4:00 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:15 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Tony Ayres’ follow-up to his widely-praised debut, Walking on Water, draws from his own childhood years as an immigrant in the straight-laced milieu of suburban Melbourne of the early 1970s. Joan Chen gives a tour-de-force performance as Rose, the willful former Singapore nightclub singer who turns up with her two young children in tow to take up the marriage proposal of Bill, an unprepossessing Australian serviceman. Inevitably this is not naturally fertile soil for the exotic bloom that is Rose, and within a week she leaves Bill and heads for Sydney. She careens from bad to worse situations while dragging along the bewildered kids from one Chinese uncle to another until she is forced back to Melbourne to be bailed out by the highly forbearing Bill. The fearless and radiant Chen does not shy away from playing an un-empathetic character as revealed through the maturing eyes of her 10-year-old son Tom. As his erratic mother’s trips to the emergency room become increasingly frequent, Tom and his sister become de facto guardians to their parent. The pitch-perfect period setting and décor of this tale of Chinese diaspora successfully invokes a finely drawn drama, revealing Ayres in his sophomore outing to be a director of real stature.

Awards:

Australian Film Institute 2007 (Best Film, Direction, Editing, Actress, Music, Production, Screenplay)

Golden Horse Film Festival 2007 (Best Actress, Screenplay)

Hawaii International Film Festival 2007 (Best Film)

Torino International Festival of Young Cinema 2007 (Best Female Performance)

Australia/ Singapore 2007

Director:

Tony Ayres

Producers:

Liz Watts

Michael McMahon

Screenwriter:

Tony Ayres

Cinematographer:

Nigel Bluck

Editor:

Denise Haratzis

Music:

Antony Partos

Cast: Joan Chen

Qi Yuwu

Joel Lok

Irene Chen

Steven Vidler

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Film Website:

www.homesongstories.com

Selected Filmography: Walking on Water (2002) Sadness (1999)

North American Premiere

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Rasa lives with his alcoholic father, and tries to make ends meet by giving literature lessons to teenage girls and hosting a local radio program. His regular morning of strong coffee and a smoke is interrupted by his neighbor, Ivan—a timid young man with a history of neurosis and involvement in various occult groups. Rasa’s lover and sexy teenage student, Milla, arrives for her private “class” about “Hamlet.” Suddenly, the phone rings and Rasa is surprised to hear his close friend, Igor, is coming back to town after ten years of living in the small English town of Huddersfield. That evening, Rasa, Ivan, Igor, and their wannabe-yuppie friend Doole meet up at Rasa’s apartment. What starts out as a cheerful high school reunion, turns into an emotional roller coaster of reminiscing and grim soul searching. Some of the authentic pagan rituals that Rasa worries have disappeared are still going strong as the men drink and talk up a storm in the small apartment. “Serbia doesn’t play by rules,” Rasa says as he offends everyone. Huddersfield is adapted from a popular play by Ugljesa Sajtinac. It’s the first Serbian play ever to be produced in Britain, and is still performed today in Belgrade. It deals with the universal generation gap and shows us what we already know deep down—that we are our own worst enemy. Post-war Serbia has left a heavy burden on an entire generation. Will they stagnate or stand up and move forward?

Serbia/BosniaHerzegovina 2007

Director:

Ivan Zivkovic

Producers:

Goran Susljik

Nebojsa Glogovac

Screenwriters: Ugljesa Sajtimac

Ivan Zivkovic

Cinematographer:

Vladan Pavic

Editor:

Marko Glusac

Music:

Irina Decermic

Cast:

Goran Susljik

Nebojsa Glogovac

Vojin Cetkovic

Josif Tatic

Damjan Kecojevic

Running Time:

95 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Serbian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Taskovski Films

Print Source:

Taskovski Films

Film Website:

www.taskovskifilms.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Idiots and Angels

FRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM

SATURDAY MAY 31 4:00 PM

Is there a filmmaker working today with a more distinctive style than Academy Award-nominated Bill Plympton? His signature animations, or “Plymptoons,” are unmistakable when compared to anything else in cinema, both in their artistic and narrative brilliance. His newest feature-length film—a dark, sardonic fable—is no exception. The film’s “hero” is an unnamed, morally bankrupt man who spends his days at a dead-end job and his nights in an unfriendly dive bar sparring with the bartender, and lusting after the waitress. Too often his anger, lust, and other anti-social urges get the best of him, which makes for a series of hilarious, black-humored encounters: some real, some imagined, but all too delicious to reveal. One morning, he wakes up with a pair of wings growing out of his back. At first, he clips the nuisance plumage only to find they grow back faster and larger than before. He soon discovers, however, wings have obvious advantages and begins using them for his own gain. That is until a devious surgeon discovers a method to give another, even less scrupulous person wings as well. Suddenly on the wrong end of the dastardly deeds he used to commit, our hero sets about to…er, let’s just say rectify the situation. Filled with Plympton’s trademark weirdness and dazzling visual fluidity, Idiots and Angels is a surreal masterpiece.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

USA

2008

Director:

Bill Plympton

Producer:

Biljana Labovic

Screenwriter:

Bill Plympton

Editor:

Kevin Palmer

Featuring the Music of:

Tom Waits

Pink Martini

Corey A. Jackson

Hank Bones

Maureen McElheron

Nicole Renaud

Running Time:

80 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM

Print Source:

Plymptoons

Film Website: www.idiotsandangels.com

Selected Filmography:

Hair High (2004)

Mutant Aliens (2001)

I Married a Strange Person! (1997)

Mondo Plympton (1997)

The Tune (1992)

LIAN XI QU

Island Etude

MONDAY JUNE 2 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

TUESDAY JUNE 3 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Taiwanese filmmaker Chen Huai-en is best known for his cinematography work with filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien (A City of Sadness, Good Men, Good Women), but takes the director’s chair for the first time with this simple and lyrical episodic story about Ming (Darren Chiang Chunjui), a college student in Taiwan who takes off on his bike for a seven-day trek around the island. Random encounters and the spirit of adventure pervade the film, as Ming, who can only hear a tiny bit with the help of a hearing aid, runs into a variety of friendly strangers. From a hip fellow biker who wants to try on his hearing aid to see what it sounds like, to an art teacher who allows him to sleep in her classroom one night, strangers offer their stories and share small moments amid the backdrop of the beautiful mountains and beaches of Taiwan. The film is a love letter to Taiwan and its inhabitants but is also a universal road movie that highlights a romantic and carefree time in life before the pressures of jobs and mortgages set in—when one is still free to roam and seek adventure.

Taiwan 2007

Director:

Chen Huai-en

Producers:

Wang Keng-yu

Yang Li-yin

Screenwriter:

Chen Huai-en

Cinematographer:

Chen Huai-en

Editor:

Chen Po-wen

Music:

Lee Cincin

Cast:

Darren Chiang Chun-jui

Hsu Hsiao-shun

Saya

Tung Ming-hsiang

Wang Chien-ho

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Mandarin, with English subtitles

International Sales: Arclight Films

Print Source:

Arclight Films

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

It’s Hard to Be Nice MYRIN Jar City

MONDAY JUNE 9 9:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 11:00 AM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set in Sarajevo, It’s Hard to Be Nice is a bittersweet drama about a kind but downtrodden loser trying to change his destiny. Fudo (Sasa Petrovic) doesn’t earn very much money as a taxi driver in Sarajevo so he makes a bit extra on the side by dabbling in the local crime syndicate and is often called upon in the middle of the night to help with these “deals.” After he is badly beaten by a violent gangster, his wife Azra (Daria Lorenco) decides she has had enough of his nefarious sidelining, takes their infant son, and goes to stay with her mother. The ever-optimistic Fudo resolves to get straight and win her back. To do this, he foolishly borrows money from Sejo (Emir Hadzihafizbegovic), the taxi “boss,” and buys a fancy, new French Renault van. Srdjan Vuletiç’s It’s Hard to Be Nice portrays a gentler, kinder image of a changing Bosnia. Living in the corrupt, post-war world of Balkan capitalism does make it “hard to be nice” and survive, but Fudo manages to give it a try.

Awards: Sarajevo Film Festival 2007 (Heart of Sarajevo)

BosniaHerzegovina/ Germany/ UK/Serbia/ Montenegro/ Slovenia

2007

Director:

Srdjan Vuletiç

Producers:

Ademir Kenovic

Peter Spengler

Michael Eckelt

Screenwriters:

Miroslav Mandic

Srdjan Vuletiç

Cinematographer: Slobodan Trninic

Editors: Almir Kenovic

Andrija Zafranovic

Music:

Srdjan Kurpjel

Sasa Losic

Cast:

Sasa Petrovic

Senad Basic

Emir Hadzihafizbegovic

Daria Lorenci

Jasna Zalica

Running Time:

102 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Serbo-Croatian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Selected Filmography: Summer in the Golden Valley (2003)

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:45 PM SIFF CINEMA

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:00 PM EGYPTIAN

As with all great detective fiction, actor-writerdirector Baltasar Kormákur endows this noirthriller with tense atmospherics that are just as memorable as the solution to the central crime that the hard-bitten, late-career detective Erlender describes as “a typical Icelandic murder…messy and pointless.” After slobbish loner Holberg is found dead in his hovel of an apartment, Erlender and his squad turn to the national DNA database. The clues they find soon lead them to a decadesold mystery involving a dead little girl, allegations of rape, and corrupt cops. Meanwhile, Erlender is facing tough decisions at home. His own daughter, a pregnant junkie named Eva, begs him to be let back into his apartment as stories about the cop with a druggie daughter spread among Iceland’s criminal element. Kormákur’s no-nonsense approach to police procedure and his confident direction of a drum-taut script gives the film wide appeal beyond the confines of the crime genre. Woven into its tight storytelling, the film explores more substantial issues: ethics, parental responsibility, and the hot-button topic of genetics. In a country of only 300,000 people, discussions of the National DNA Database stoke controversy about who has the right to control personal histories.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film) Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2007 (Grand Prize)

Iceland 2007

Director:

Baltasar Kormákur

Producers:

Agnes Johansen

Baltasar Kormákur

Lilja Palmadottir

Screenwriter: Baltasar Kormákur

based on the novel by Arnaldur Indriŏason

Cinematographer: Bergsteinn Bjorgulfsson

Editor:

Elisabet Ronaldsdottir

Music:

Mugison

Cast:

Atli Rafn Sigurosson

Ingvar E. Sigurosson

Elma Lísa Gunnarsdóttir

Agusta Eva Erlendsdóttir

Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson

Running Time:

93 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Icelandic, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Trust Film Sales

Print Source:

IFC Films

Selected Filmography: White Night Wedding (2008)

A Little Trip to Heaven (2005)

The Sea (2002)

101 Reykjavik (2000)

THEATRE

TESKO JE BITI FIN

Juju Factory

TUESDAY MAY 27 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Juju Factory is a story about a writer and his editor who are both Africans living in Belgium. The writer Kongo Congo (Diudonné Kabongo Bashila) finds himself living in Brussels’ African neighborhood called Matonge Village. He is hired to write a book about the area by editor Joseph Désiré who at first enthusiastically encourages Kongo. However, on reading Kongo’s writing, Joseph realizes that this uppity writer delves way too deep into too many dark places. This makes editor Joseph uncomfortable and so he begins to avoid Kongo and tries to wriggle out of their contract. With a repo man threatening to take away all his belongings, relatives in his homeland depending on him to send money, and a need to express his own feelings about his roots, Kongo tries to keep his head above disaster and finish his book. He is inspired by his beautiful, loyal, calm, and intelligent Beatrice (Carole Karemera) as well as his complex vision of African souls that cross every corner of his life while he tracks the invisible wires that connect the Congo to Belgium. Writer-director Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda explains that “juju” is a talisman, a charm of supernatural powers that protects against evil. People believe that whoever has “juju” is shielded from evil. Juju Factory is a powerful tale about finding the mythical heart of Africa in Belgium and the story of exile.

Awards:

Innsbruck Film Festival 2007 (The Tyrol Award Best Film) Zanzibar Film Festival 2007 (Golden Dhow Award Best Film) Kenya Film Festival 2007 (Best Film)

Democratic Republic of Congo/France/ Belgium

2007

Director:

Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda

Producer:

Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda

Screenwriter:

Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda

Cinematographer:

Olivier Pulinckx

Editor:

Didier Ranz

Music:

So Kalmery

Cast:

Diudonné Kabongo

Bashila

Carole Karemera

Emile Abossolo Mbo

Stéphane Bissot

Aline Bosuma

Tshilombo Imhoteo

Running Time:

97 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Dipanda Yo!

Film Website:

www.jujufactory.com

Selected Filmography:

Afro@digital (2002)

Balangwa Nzembo (1999)

Katyń

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SATURDAY MAY 31 1:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In a forest named Katyń, near Smolensk in the Soviet Union, more than 4,000 Polish prisoners of war were methodically killed during World War II with a bullet to the back of the neck. The mass graves were discovered in 1943 but no one believed at the time that they held so many dead. For 50 years the executions were hushed up or blamed on Germany. In turn, Germany blamed the Soviets, however, the question of responsibility remained unresolved, even in the West. This film follows four Polish families on the homefront as some beg their loved ones to flee with them before the invasion. Others wait in vain for news from the front. All are trapped in a web of lies, denial, and murder. Finally, in 1990, Russia formally expressed “profound regret” and admitted that the Soviet secret police carried out the order to rid Poland of any high-level military personnel who might oppose the Communization of the country. “I see my film as a story of a family separated forever,” said director Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds, Man of Marble) whose father was probably one of the victims. This film is a struggle for memory and truth as it helps close a grisly page in Polish and Russian history.

Awards:

Academy Award Nomination 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Poland 2007

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Producer:

Michael Kwiecinski

Screenwriters:

Andrzej Wadja

Wladyslaw Pasikowski

Przemyslaw Nowakowski

based on the novel by Andrzej Mularczyk

Cinematographer:

Pawel Edelman

Editor:

Milenia Fielder

Music:

Krzysztof Penderecki

Cast:

Maja Ostaszewska

Artur Zmijewski

Andrzej Chyra

Jan Englert

Danuta Stenka

Running Time:

118 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Polish, Russian, German, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

TVP S.A. - Telewizja Polska

Print Source:

TVP S.A. - Telewizja Polska

Film Website: postmortem.netino.pl

Selected Filmography:

The Revenge (2002)

Korczak (1990)

Man of Iron (1981)

The Girl from Wilko (1979)

Man of Marble (1977)

Land of Promise (1975)

Everything for Sale (1969)

Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

A Generation (1955)

King of Ping Pong Lady Jane

SUNDAY MAY 25 6:45 PM SIFF CINEMA

MONDAY MAY 26 1:15 PM SIFF CINEMA

Hulking 16-year-old Rille hasn’t got a lot going for him. Plump and sullen, he’s the regular butt of his classmates’ jokes, is bested at every turn by his cuter, younger brother, Erik, and is going absolutely nowhere in the girlfriend sphere. But put a ping pong paddle in his hand, and Rille is a king. He exacts his pompous revenge through the tough coaching he inflicts on the school ping pong team. When his charming but undependable father returns from a long absence on an oil rig, the status quo at home, where mom is dating a nerdy sports store owner, is upset and family secrets are disclosed, setting Rille and Erik on an emotional collision course. As his world teeters on the edge of calamity in his pained progress toward the chaotic adult world, Rille occasionally catches a glimpse of survival and of a thriving future. Swedish director Jens Jonsson directs this prize-winning feature debut with finesse and a highly stylized palate that conveys the chilly Nordic setting to perfection. Even so, the film truly belongs to Jerry Johansson for allowing himself to be photographed so unflatteringly as the splendidly awkward and self-conscious Rille.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Jury Prize, Cinematography Award)

Sweden

2007

Director:

Jens Jonsson

Producer:

Jan Blomgren

Screenwriters:

Jens Jonsson

Hans Gunnarson

Cinematographer:

Askild Vik Edvardsen

Editor:

Kristofer Nordin

Music:

Martin Willert

Cast:

Jerry Johansson

Hampus Johansson

Ann-Sofie Nurmi

Georgi Staykov

Frederick Nilsson

Running Time:

107 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Swedish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Swedish Film institute

Print Source: Swedish Film institute

Film Website: www.pingpongkingen.se

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

THURSDAY JUNE 12 4:15 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Muriel, François, and René share a dirty secret from way back when—a crime spree they undertook as young adults in the working class neighborhood of Marseilles where they grew up together. After a jeweler was killed during one of their exploits, the trio decided to cool it and go straight. Now a respectable cosmetic store owner, Muriel’s life couldn’t be more different, but her past catches up with her in a nasty way. Her son is kidnapped and she can’t raise the huge ransom by herself or even with her two old friends. There doesn’t seem to be any way to find the money except through the kind of nefarious activity they thought they had kissed goodbye. Lady Jane is a throwback to the golden age of French detective thrillers and would be a natural for the great Jean Gabin were he working today. Diffused with the acidic sunlight of director Robert Guédiguian’s native Marseilles, the setting for most his work, the film is nevertheless noir to it’s amoral core. Moreover, Guédiguian’s regular ensemble cast players, Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, and Gérard Meylan as the three leads, display the kind of on-screen camaraderie born of frequent collaboration seen in Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic Policiers, which should attract wider audiences for a filmmaker whose previous work has largely been confined to art houses outside France.

France 2007

Director:

Robert Guédiguian

Producer: Robert Guédiguian

Screenwriters:

Robert Guédiguian

Jean-Louis Milesi

Cinematographer:

Pierre Milon

Editor: Bernard Sasia

Cast: Ariane Ascaride

Jean-Pierre Darroussin

Gérard Meylan

Pascale Roberts

Jacques Boudet

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Films Distribution

Print Source:

Films Distribution

Selected Filmography: The Last Mitterand (2005)

La France

THURSDAY JUNE 5 9:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 14 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

With most able-bodied men far away on the front lines of World War I, Camille (Sylvie Testud) lives for her husband’s letters. One day she receives a short, shocking note from him, saying he won’t ever write to her again and that she needs to forget him. Undaunted by this epistolary rejection, the strong-willed Camille disguises herself as a man and heads off to the front lines in the Autumn of 1917. Her disguise, less like an able-bodied soldier than a slightly androgynous young lad, fails to convince a wayward platoon of soldiers to let her (as a him) join their troop. When she insists on following them anyway, the lieutenant (Pascal Greggory) fires a warning shot that hits Camille in the hand. The wound causes the lieutenant to relent and Camille soon becomes an indispensable part of the French war machine. Director Serge Bozon deftly avoids the cliché trenches of cross-dressing romantic war movies and steers La France into a refreshing journey where, among other surprises, the characters occasionally break into song. La France has already won the prestigious Jean Vigo award for Best First Feature and scores high points for its creative, non-realistic use of photography.

Awards:

Prix Jean Vigo 2007 (Best Feature Film)

France

2007

Director:

Serge Bozon

Producers:

David Thion

Philippe Martin

Screenwriter:

Axelle Ropert

Cinematographer:

Céline Bozon

Editor:

François Quiqueré

Music:

Benjamin Esdraffo

Laurent Talon

Mehdi Zannad

Cast:

Sylvie Testud

Pascal Greggory

Guillaume Verdier

Benjamin Esdraffo

Mehdi Zannad

Guillaume Depardieu

Running Time:

102 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pyramide International

Print Source:

Pyramide International

Film Website:

www.lafrance-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Mods (2003)

L’Amité (1998)

UN VIEILLE MAITRESSE

The Last Mistress

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY MAY 25 4:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Catherine Breillat has done it again! The French agente provocatrice delivers another fascinating, fearless investigation into the nexus of gender, sex, and power. For her first adaptation, she has chosen the eponymous novel by dandy and man-of-letters Jules-Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly —a novel that was attacked on charges of immorality upon its publication. The story takes place in 19th-century Normandy where Ryno de Marigny (Fu’ad Äit Aattou), a womanizer who has run out of money, is about to marry the virtuous and wealthy Hermangarde (Roxanne Mesquida). Such is his devotion that he has even decided to end his ten-year affair with the tempestuous Spanish courtesan, Vellini (Asia Argento). Mais pas si vite mon vieux… La Vellini has other ideas. “There will be no end to what exists between M. de Marigny and me,” she declares. The situation provides endless fodder for the prurient gossip of the bride-to-be’s grandmother, the Marquise de Flers (Claude Sarraute), and her friends, the Comtesse d’Artelles (Yolande Moreau) and the Vicomte de Prony (Michael Lonsdale). Argento is ravishing as Vellini, commanding the viewer’s attention as effectively as Vellini does her lover’s. There’s plenty of aesthetic pleasure to be had in this sumptuous costume—and occasionally uncostumed—drama. The Last Mistress is both a period piece and a modern reminder that, when it comes to love and war, la plus ça change…

France/Italy 2007

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Producer:

Jean-François Lepetit

Screenwriter:

Catherine Breillat

Cinematographer:

Yorgos Arvanitis

Editor:

Pascal Chavance

Cast:

Asia Argento

Fu’ad Äit Aattou

Roxanne Mesquida

Claude Sarraute

Anne Parillaud

Running Time:

114 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pyramide International

Print Source:

IFC Films

Selected Filmography:

Anatomy of Hell (2004)

Sex Is Comedy (2002)

Fat Girl (2001)

Romance (1999)

36 Fillette (1988)

DIE HERBSTZEITLOSEN

Late Bloomers

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 4:30 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 7 6:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

What if Victoria’s secret is that she’s 80 years old? Set in a conservative Swiss village, this film tells the story of 80-year-old widow Martha, who’s fallen into a depression following her fusty husband’s death. To pull her out of her funk, her friends rally around to help Martha realize her long-held dream of turning her dull grocery into a lingerie boutique. However some of the staid villagers are shaken to their foundations—her son Walter, the local vicar, especially seems to have his panties in a twist. Before long, it’s not just Martha who’s recouping her zest for life. Her friends and neighbors are also pulling themselves up by their bra straps and slipping on a new selfconfidence. Soon, no one in town is quite sure what anyone else has got going on under their clothes. Oberli has crafted the most successful film in Swiss history and made a cinema star of 87-year-old leading lady Stephanie Glaser, already a veteran TV performer, in her first major movie role. In our youth-oriented movie culture, this film serves as a refreshing reminder that life definitely does not end at retirement age. For some, it’s just beginning.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Switzerland 2007

Director:

Bettina Oberli

Producer: Alfi Sinniger

Screenwriters:

Sabine Pochhammer

Bettina Oberli

Cinematographer:

Stéphany Kuthy

Editor: Michael Schaerer

Music: Luc Zimmermann

Stubenmusig Rechsteiner

Cast:

Stephanie Glaser

Annemarie Düringer

Heidi Maria Glössner

Monica Gubser

Hanspeter MüllerDrossaart

Running Time: 86 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Telepool GmbH

Print Source:

Catpics Coproductions

Film Website:

www.latebloomersthemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Im Nordwind (2004)

LAT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN

Let the Right One In

THURSDAY MAY 29 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Let the Right One In is a genre-busting gem from an artist with no time for boundaries. Calling to mind the writings of Anne Rice and Steven King, Tomas Alfredson expertly breathes new life into the age-old vampire theme in the unlikely setting of early 1980s Stockholm, throwing romance and fantasy into a very heady brew. While a plague of ritual murders afflicts his quiet suburb, 12-yearold misfit Oscar, who keeps a knife under his bed and makes secret notes about heinous crimes, could use some help coping with bullies. Help duly arrives in the form of new neighbors, including oddball daughter Eli, who is equally as lonely as Oskar. The two quickly become soul mates. Still, Oskar is puzzled by Eli, who materializes only at night, doesn’t feel the cold, and gives off a strange odor. The film is sometimes gruesome, shocking, and even scary, but overall it is an atmospheric, intelligent fable about growing up, friendship, and rejection. Let the Right One In borrows its title from Morrissey’s song “Let the Right One Slip In” and is an adaptation of Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist’s bestseller, which Alfredson interpreted with elegantly composed visuals and a clever soundtrack that conveys the horror without flashy editing, or special effects. His accomplishments can all be appreciated individually, but together they add up to something very special indeed.

Awards: Tribeca Film Festival 2008 (Founders Award, Best Narrative Feature)

Sweden 2008

Director:

Tomas Alfredson

Producer:

Carl Molinder

Screenwriter: John Ajvide Lindqvist

Cinematographer:

Hoyte van Hoytema

Editor:

Dino Jonsäter

Music: Johan Söderqvist

Cast:

Kåre Hedebrant

Lina Leandersson

Per Ragnar Henrik Dahl

Karin Bergquist

Running Time: 114 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Swedish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Bavaria Film International

Print Source:

Magnet Releasing

Selected Filmography:

Four Shades of Brown (2004)

Kontorstid (2003)

Bert: The Last Virgin (1995)

Letting Go of God

FRIDAY JUNE 13 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SUNDAY JUNE 15 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA

Fans of Julia Sweeney’s last film God Said ‘Ha!’ (winner of the 1998 Golden Space Needle award) are in for a treat. In her latest work, Sweeney, a life-long Catholic, undertakes an investigation of her own religious faith. One day two Mormon missionaries arrive on her doorstep and ask Sweeney a seemingly simple question: Does she believe that God loves her? They unwittingly precipitate a soul search of cosmic proportions. She’s almost sorry they asked, but can’t help but follow the question and those that ensue to their logical conclusion. The result is a rigorous quest for an adult understanding of the religion she’s known since childhood. Sweeney begins by enrolling in a Bible-study class, which only serves to further her doubts. It is not Catholicism alone that is questioned. Sweeney is an equalopportunity skeptic, interrogating belief systems and figures from Deism to Deepak Chopra. With honesty and humor, she guides the audience through each step of her journey away from faith, through confusion and fear to hard-earned peace of mind. Letting Go of God is a friendly, funny chronicle of a conversion to atheism. When an excerpt from the film played recently on This American Life, it was the most popular story in the history of the show. Don’t miss the chance to see it on the big screen.

USA

2008

Director:

Julia Sweeney

Producer:

Maria Burton

Screenwriter: Julia Sweeney

Cinematographer: Nancy Schreiber

Editor:

Tony Cammarata

Music: Jill Sobule

Cast: Julia Sweeney

Running Time: 130 minutes

Presentation Format:

HD CAM

Film Website: www.juliasweeney.com/ letting_go_mini

Selected Filmography: God Said ‘Ha!’ (1998)

UN HOMME PERDU

A Lost Man

TUESDAY JUNE 3 9:15 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:15 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

In her first feature-length production since In the Battlefields, Danielle Arbid’s film is about getting lost in both artistic and human revelations. Deeply influenced by Antoine D’ Agata, a talented French photographer and set designer for Arbid, the story shares in the indulgent journey to the Middle East by French photographer, Thomas Koré (Melvil Poupaud). While crossing the border of Jordan, Thomas crosses paths with Fouad Saleh (Alexander Siddig), a reticent Arab who Thomas hires as an interpreter. Thomas is a predatory artist and soon involves Fouad in his fixation with being photographed while having sex with a local prostitute (Yasmine Lafitte). Under the photographer’s lens, the twin taboos of nudity and prostitution are expressions of Thomas’ foreignness, his lack of respect and his thirst for raw experience. The combination results in violence that only seems to feed his hunger. His curiosity also begins to focus on his companion Fouad, a man with a bloody past who disappeared from Beirut 17 years ago and never returned. Intrigued, Thomas tries to find out more of the history of this “lost man.” It’s a journey that changes the photographer more than he ever thought possible.

Lebanon/France 2007

Director:

Danielle Arbid

Producers:

Marin Karmitz

Nathanael Karmitz

Charles Gilbert

Screenwriter:

Danielle Arbid

Cinematographer

Celine Bozon

Editor:

Nelly Quetier

Cast:

Melvil Poupaud

Alexander Siddig

Darina al-Joundi

Yasmine Lafitte

Sarah Warde

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, Arabic, and English, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

MK2 International

Print Source:

MK2 International

Film Website: www.mk2.com/datamk2/ sitesfilms/unhommeperdu

Selected Filmography:

In the Battlefields (2004)

On Borders (2002) Alone With War (2000)

BUSHI NO ICHIBUN

Love and Honor

SATURDAY MAY 24 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

SUNDAY MAY 25 1:15 PM SIFF CINEMA

With Love and Honor, veteran director Yôji Yamada brings his samurai trilogy, which includes The Twilight Samuari (SIFF ’04) and The Hidden Blade (SIFF ‘06), to a stunningly graceful conclusion. A lower-level samurai, Shinnojo serves as poison taster for the shogun but dreams of leaving his service to open a kendo dojo that would recruit students regardless of their caste. His dream all but dies when he consumes ill-prepared sashimi and wakes up three days later to find the shellfish poison has left him blind. Unable to support his dutiful wife Kayo and their servant Tokuhei, Shinnojo grows suicidal. Kayo prevents him from taking his life but in doing so leaves herself vulnerable to Toya Shimada, a high-ranking samurai and the clan’s chief duty officer. Eventually, she succumbs to his advances in order to secure a lifetime stipend for her husband. However, her affair does not go unnoticed, and when Shinnojo hears the rumors, he orders Tokuhei to follow her. Soon, the true nature of his wife’s infidelities and Shimada’s duplicity stand revealed, leaving Shinnojo with no choice but to restore his honor by challenging his rival to a duel. Filled with the same pristine production design and sumptuous cinematography of the previous two installments, Love and Honor is an elegant depiction of loyalty, sacrifice, and redemption.

Japan 2007

Director:

Yôji Yamada

Producers:

Hiroshi Fukazawa

Ichirô Yamamoto

Screenwriters: Yôji Yamada

Emiko Hiramatsu

Ichirô Yamamoto

Cinematographer: Mutsuo Naganuma

Editor: Iwao Ishii

Music:

Isao Tomita

Cast:

Takuya Kimura

Rei Dan

Mitsugoro Bando

Kaori Momoi

Running Time:

121 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Japanese, with

English subtitles

International Sales: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Print Source: Eleven Arts, Inc.

Selected Filmography:

KABEI- Our Mother (2007)

The Hidden Blade (2004)

The Twilight Samurai (2002)

A Class to Remember (1993)

My Sons (1991)

Final Take: The Golden Age of Movies (1986)

The Village (1975)

Home from the Sea (1972)

Tora San Our Lovable Tramp (1969)

LIEBE UND ANDERE VERBRECHEN

Love and Other Crimes

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 9:15 PM

Sick of the wretched concrete tower block she calls home in dreary New Belgrade and seeing no prospects in life or in love, Anica hatches a plan to steal money from her racketeer boyfriend Milutin’s safe, leave the country, and never, ever come back. On the last day of her escape she embarks on a discreet farewell tour of her nearest and dearest, offering little gifts and gestures of affection without raising suspicion. She is ruffled, however, by the sensitive Stanislav, one of Milutin’s henchmen, who reveals he has been in love with her for years. Taken aback, she allows Stanislav to accompany her on her tour. Much to her surprise, she quickly develops feelings for him. Should she stay for his sake or take him with her? Tough question when there are only a few hours to decide. Tightly scripted and artfully acted, the bittersweet action picks up momentum and suspense as the ominous day progresses. Anica’s adventure is loaded with wickedly funny running jokes about how nothing works— the metaphor for Stefan Arsensijevic’s confident feature debut’s real subject, post-war Serbia’s difficult transition from small-time criminality to big business-controlled consumerism.

Awards:

Sofia Film Festival 2008 (Best Director)

SIFF CINEMA

HARVARD EXIT

Germany/Serbia/ Austria/Slovenia 2007

Director:

Stefan Arsenijevic

Producers:

Herbert Schwering

Miroslav Mogorovic

Screenwriters:

Stefan Arsenijevic

Bojan Vuletic

Srdan Koljevic

Cinematographer:

Simon Tansek

Editor:

Andrew Bird

Music:

Naked Lunch

Cast:

Anica Dobra

Vuk Kostic

Fedja Stojanovic

Milena Dravic

Hanna Schwamborn

Running Time:

106 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Serbo-Croatian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

The Match Factory

Print Source:

The Match Factory

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Mad Detective

MONDAY JUNE 2 4:00 PM

TUESDAY JUNE 3 7:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Johnnie To and Wei Ka-Fai, the directing duo behind such past SIFF favorites as Running on Karma and Turn Left Turn Right, return with an intriguing portrait of crime and madness. Bun, the titular character, is a brilliant but unorthodox maverick on the Hong Kong police force, not because his methods are extreme but, well, too bizarre. Claiming he can see a person’s inner personality, he solves cases through extraordinary jumps of intuition coupled with unconventional practices. He solves one early case by placing himself in a suitcase and then having a subordinate chuck it down a staircase repeatedly until the answer comes to him. Forced into early retirement, Bun spends his days in seclusion until a former colleague, Inspector Ho, seeks his aid on a case involving missing police officer Wong, whose gun is used in a number of recent robberies and murders. Wong’s partner Ko Chi-wai is the obvious suspect, but no evidence exists to implicate him. When Bun and Ho follow Chi-wai into a restaurant, Bun immediately senses something’s wrong, which complicates the case and sends the pair to the original scene of the crime. As the case grows more convoluted, Ho begins to wonder whether Bun is truly psychic or just plain psychotic. Imagine The Sixth Sense as written by Raymond Chandler, throw in To’s outré blend of humor and tightly paced action-sequences, all of which combine to create an unsettling yet fascinatingly original neo-noir.

Hong Kong/China 2007

Directors:

Johnnie To

Wai Ka-Fai

Producers:

Johnnie To Wai Ka-Fai

Screenwriters: Wai Ka-Fai

Au Kin Yee

Cinematographer: Cheng Siu-Keung

Editor:

Tina Baz

Music:

Xavier Jamaux

Cast:

Lau Ching-Wan

Andy On

Lam Ka-Tung

Kelly Lin

Lee Kwok-Lun

Running Time:

89 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

IFC Films

Selected Filmography:

Sparrow (2008)

Triangle (2007)

Exiled (2007)

Triad Election (2006) Election (2005)

Turn Left Turn Right (2003)

Running on Karma (2003)

Full Time Hitman (2001)

© 2008 FileMaker, Inc. All rights reserved. FileMaker and the file folder logo

MONDAY JUNE 2 7:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 9:30 PM SIFF

Magnus, a strikingly handsome young man (played by Estonian pop star, Kristjan Kasearu), lives in angst. Although he has all the necessary comforts, Magnus lacks the one basic thing everyone wants, love. His parents have always been preoccupied with their own lives. His father is a pornographer and shamelessly self-indulges in his world of sex and drugs. His mother runs a female model agency and has never had much use for Magnus. “He thinks he’s better than everyone,” she says. His closest friend is his sister— to whom he is maybe a little too close. Magnus suffers from a potentially fatal lung disease and he plays bizarre head games to cheat death, making each day a gamble. In his life of quiet desperation, Magnus does everything to push himself to the edge. Realizing that he’s been remiss in his fatherly duties, Magnus’ dad makes a last ditch effort to save his son. He takes Magnus home to live with him but is unable to give up his lifestyle of self-destruction. Visually innovative, this first feature from 26-year-old author and DJ, Kadri Kõusaar, is a profound, honest, and emotionally charged film with frank and humorous characters who prevent Magnus’ story from being a morose impasse.

CINEMA

Estonia/UK 2007

Director:

Kadri Kõusaar

Producers:

Donal Fernandes

Kadri Kõussar

Screenwriter: Kadri Kõusaar

Cinematographer:

Pawel Sobczyk

Editor:

Kaspar Kallas

Music: Set Fire to Flames

Cast:

Mart Laisk

Kristjan Kasearu

Merle Jäager

Kerli Toim

Ruuben Rekkor

Running Time: 86 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Estonian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Onoma

Print Source:

Donus Films Limited

Film Website: www.magnusfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY JUNE 7 6:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

SUNDAY JUNE 8 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

With his romantic, educational, and familial lives all nearing implosion, self-absorbed 21-year-old student Santi casts his responsibilities aside and plans a road trip to the Peruvian beach town of Máncora. Moments before liftoff, his plans are complicated by the appearance of his older stepsister (smoldering Telemundo star Elsa Pataky) and her endlessly nitpicky husband. As the uneasy trio hits the road in the battered Mercedes belonging to Santi’s late father, the already uneasy atmosphere is further complicated by the arrival of a woozy Brazilian hitchhiker bent on expanding the hedonistic horizons of his travel companions, which threatens to dissolve the impromptu party even before arriving at their destination. Once there, however, the allure of the town’s hard-partying residents, to say nothing of the overpowering beauty of the surroundings, force Santi to revisit desires and ambitions long since repressed. Emitting a palpable heat and a surprisingly deep grasp of human nature, director Ricardo de Montreuil’s follow-up to My Brother’s Wife is a disarming combination of a sensitive coming-of-age story and an almost indecently lush travelogue. Blending an intoxicating sense of style with an intriguing, open-ended sense of character, de Montreuil’s serious, and seriously hot film is a road movie that somehow manages to find a new destination.

Spain/Peru 2008

Director:

Ricardo de Montreuil

Producer:

Diego Ojeda

Screenwriters:

Oscar Orlando Torres

Angel Ibarguren

Juan Luis Nugent

Cinematographer:

Leandro Filloy

Editors:

Luis Carballa

Ricardo de Montreuil

Music:

Angelo Milli

Cast:

Elsa Pataky

Jason Day

Enrique Murciano

Phellipe Haagensen

Liz Gallardo

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Cinetic Media

Print Source: Hispa Films

Film Website: www.mancorafilm.com

Selected Filmography:

My Brother’s Wife (2005)

Magnus North American Premiere Máncora

A Man’s Job

SATURDAY MAY 24 11:00 AM

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM

EGYPTIAN

UPTOWN

Director Aleksi Salmenperä (Producing Adults) takes a potentially salacious story of a down-onhis-luck man drawn into male prostitution and turns it into an absorbing character study that touches on bigger issues such as sexual stereotyping, yet wisely stays focused on the human issues involved. When he is laid off from his work as a stonemason, father of three Juha finds himself with few career options. A caring husband to his clinically depressed wife, Juha struggles to maintain the delicate balance in his home life. He leaves the house every morning as if he had a job to go to. One day, while trying his hand as an odd job man, a female client suggests he come to her bedroom, undress, and help her relax. Handsomely rewarded for his services, Juha confides in his friend Olli who, far from being shocked, takes it upon himself to find more clients for the virile Juha (powerfully played by Tommi Korpela). Soon the money is rolling in. The clients have many and varying needs, and Juha is surprised to find that understanding their needs helps him become a better husband and father. All is well until, inevitably, the cat is let out of the bag when his young son stumbles upon incriminating evidence, and Juha has to deal with the impact of the revelation upon his nearest and dearest. Treating his subjects with dignity and compassion, and rendering each scene of the sometimes sensitive and explicit material with the appropriate emotional tone, Salmenperä delivers a banquet of food for thought that a lesser hand would have served up as mere exploitation.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film) Valencia International Film Festival 2007 (Best Feature) Marrakech International Film Festival 2007 (Best Actor)

Michou d’Auber

THEATRE

CINEMAS

Finland 2007

Director:

Aleksi Salmenperä

Producers:

Petri Jokiranta

Tero Kaukomaa

Screenwriter:

Aleksi Salmenperä

Cinematographer:

Tuomo Hutri

Editor:

Samu Heikkilä

Music:

Ville A. Tanttu

Cast:

Tommi Korpela

Maria Heiskanen

Jani Volanen

Stan Saanila

Running Time:

103 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Finnish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

MDC International GmbH

Print Source:

Finnish Film Foundation

Film Website:

www.miehentyo.fi

Selected Filmography:

Producing Adults (2004) Jäänmurtajat (2001)

TUESDAY MAY 27 4:00 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 6:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set in France during the struggle for Algerian independence, Michou d’Auber tells the story of Messaoud, a nine-year-old boy put into foster care when his mother falls terminally ill, and his Algerian-born father who works long hours at the local factory can no longer care for him. Forced to leave his Parisian suburb of Aubervilliers, Messaoud is taken in by Gisèle (Nathalie Baye), who, acutely aware of the anti-Arab sentiments of her neighbors and Gaullist ex-military husband Georges (Gérard Depardieu), sets out to conceal the boy’s Arabic origins. She renames him Michel (Michou for short), dyes his hair blond, and teaches him to pass as a Catholic. But the changes soon begin to go both ways. Georges, who believes passionately that Algeria belongs to France by right, can’t help his growing affection for Michou, even as he begins to suspect the boy’s true origins. Gisèle, for her part, longs for a wider world but feels trapped in her small village. When Michou’s lovesick teacher (Mathieu Amalric), gives her a copy of “L’ Etranger” by Albert Camus (also of Algerian origin) she worries that “as a simple woman,” she won’t understand it. Under Thomas Gilou’s thoughtful direction, this story of a small family’s experience becomes a portrait in miniature of their country’s larger struggle to come to terms with a changing and everdiverse world.

France 2007

Director:

Thomas Gilou

Producers:

Michel Feller

Pierre-Ange Le Pogam

Screenwriters:

Jean Cosmos

Thomas Gilou

Messaoud Hattou

Cinematographer:

Robert Alazraki

Editor:

Francine Sandberg

Music:

Alexandre Desplat

Cast:

Gérard Depardieu

Mathieu Amalric

Nathalie Baye

Samy Seghir

Running Time:

124 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Europacorp

Print Source:

Europacorp

Selected Filmography:

Would I Lie To You? (2001)

Chili con Carne (1999)

Black Mic Mac (1996) Rai (1995)

Momma’s Man

MONDAY JUNE 9 7:15 PM

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 4:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

It’s one thing not wanting to leave the family nest, it’s quite another wanting to climb back in. This is the predicament of 30-something Los Angeles resident Mikey, who pays a visit home to his parents in New York only to find himself inexplicably unable to get on the plane back to his wife and small child in California. At first, his doting mother is all too happy to support his procrastination as Mikey surrounds himself with souvenirs of his childhood and reestablishes contact with old friends and acquaintances. But as time goes by, the situation becomes problematic for all concerned and Mikey has to choose between the life he had then and the life he has now. Writerdirector Azazel Jacobs mines his own personal history, setting the film in the apartment where he grew up and casting his own parents (his father is the celebrated experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs), to rewarding effect. Beautifully evocative grainy camerawork explores the nooks and crannies of a unique family home and a remarkably un-gentrified part of New York. The result is an altogether original, finely-crafted film that is both humorous and heartbreaking. This profoundly humane account of the frailty of the human spirit shows how the strength one draws from ones family can also be a tie that binds.

USA

2008

Director:

Azazel Jacobs

Producers:

Alex Orlovsky

Hunter Gray

Screenwriter: Azazel Jacobs

Cinematographer:

Tobias Datum

Editor: Darrin Navarro

Music: Mandy Hoffman

Cast:

Matt Boren

Flo Jacobs

Ken Jacobs

Dana Varon

Richard Edson

Running Time:

94 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

THINKFilm

Print Source:

THINKFilm

Film Website: www.mommasman.com

Selected Filmography:

The GoodTimesKid (2005)

Nobody Needs to Know (2003)

Mongol

TUESDAY MAY 27 6:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

THURSDAY MAY 29 4:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Encompassing shifting tribal alliances, a love story for the ages, and a sworn friendship transformed into enmity, Mongol traces the formative years of legendary warrior Genghis Khan. Spanning his life from age nine through 34 when the feuding nomadic clans united under his leadership, this Central Asia-set historical epic from Russian director Sergei Bodrov (Nomad) boasts breathtaking landscapes, dazzling cinematography, bloody battles, and unique traditions. Shot on locations in Kazakhstan and the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, Mongol captures the nomadic lifestyle of the 12th century, the harsh climate, and varying terrain of the Mongolian steppe—a place where a man is not a man without a horse. It also introduces the strong, resourceful female character Borte, first wife and lifelong adviser to the man born as Temudgin. Japanese megastar Tadanobu Asano smolders as the maverick Temudgin, while charismatic Chinese actor Honglei Sun brings some welcome humor to the role of his blood brother turned enemy. Spectacular production design and vivid folkloric costumes keep the film easy on the eyes, while the lush score is hauntingly supplemented by the ethno-folk stylings of Mongolian band Altan Urgan.

Awards:

Academy Award Nomination 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Nika Award 2008 (Best Director, Best Film, Best Cinematography) Russian Golden Eagle Awards 2007 (Golden Eagle)

Kazakhstan/ Germany/Russia

2007

Director:

Sergei Bodrov

Producers:

Sergei Bodrov

Sergei Selyanov

Anton Melnik

Bulat Galimgereyev

Screenwriters:

Arif Aliyev

Sergei Bodrov

Cinematographers: Sergei Trofimov

Rogier Stoffers

Editors:

Zach Staenberg

Valdís Óskarsdóttir

Music:

Altan Urgan

Cast:

Tadanobu Asano

Honglei Sun

Khulan Chuluun

Odnyam Odsuren

Running Time: 125 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Mongolian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Beta Cinema

Print Source:

PictureHouse

Film Website: www.mongolmovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Nomad (2005)

Bear’s Kiss (2002)

The Quickie (2001)

Running Free (1999)

Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)

Freedom Is Paradise (1989)

Newcastle

SATURDAY MAY 31 6:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 1 1:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In a departure from his previous documentary film, Zona Rosa which profiled strippers in Mexico’s gay clubs, director Dan Castle now gives audiences a narrative film set on the sun-drenched beaches of Newcastle, New South Wales in Australia. Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor who tried and failed to become surfing’s next big thing. Yet Jesse still dreams of breaking out and taking his own shot at success. He knows he has the natural skills to surf his way out of his blue-collar life and onto the international circuit, but struggles to overcome his self-sabotaging habits. During what is supposed to be a carefree weekend away with his friends, a devastating tragedy occurs. Jesse must now face the biggest wave of his life and find the courage to hold on to his dreams. Offering rich and stunning surfing cinematography that rivals previous surf movies like Point Break, Newcastle immerses viewers in the lives of teenage surfers (played by an ensemble of real-life athletes) as they ride out new loves and personal tragedies.

Australia 2008

Director:

Dan Castle

Producer:

Naomi Wenck

Screenwriter:

Dan Castle

Cinematographer:

Richard Michalak

Editor: Rodrigo Balart

Music:

Michael Yezerski

Cast: Lachlan Buchanan

Xavier Samuel

Shane Jacobson

Reshad Strik

Kirk Jenkins

Running Time: 117 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Icon Entertainment

International

Film Website: www.newcastlemovie. com

Selected Filmography: Zona Rosa (2005)

CENTOCHIODI

One Hundred Nails

THURSDAY MAY 29 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 1 7:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Acclaimed director Ermanno Olmi announced that this is his last narrative feature and he will focus his future efforts on documentaries. This movie is Olmi’s examination of the means by which personal faith flourishes in spite of written dogma. It is also his attack on the way books are used to enforce the concepts of power and hegemony. An Italian professor (Raz Degan), whose name is deliberately withheld by Olmi, undergoes a crisis of conscience that compels him to mutilate a trove of 100 priceless religious manuscripts. Fleeing the city, he drives into the Italian countryside, ditches his car, and loses himself in a small village on the banks of the Po River. He finds an abandoned hut, burns the manuscript of his own book, and begins a new, simpler life as a recluse. When the former professor ventures into town he is surprised by the genuine nature of the villagers and allows himself to be drawn into their idyllic life. However, when developers threaten the local community center, the townsfolk begin to elevate the professor into something more Christ-like than he anticipated. Rich with Christian themes, this story harkens back to Olmi’s early work, displayed in sensual locations and his ultra-realistic use of non-professional actors.

Awards:

David di Donatello Awards 2007 (Critics Award)

Italy 2007

Director:

Ermanno Olmi

Producers:

Luigi Musini

Roberto Cicutto

Screenwriter: Ermanno Olmi

Cinematographer: Fabio Olmi

Editor:

Paolo Cottingnola

Music:

Fabio Vacchi

Cast:

Raz Degan

Luna Bendandi

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Intramovies

Print Source:

Intramovies

Selected Filmography:

The Profession of Arms (2001)

The Legend of the Holy Drinker (1988)

The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)

One Fine Day (1968)

Il Posto (1961)

On the Wings of Dreams

TUESDAY MAY 27 9:15 PM

FRIDAY MAY 30 4:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Fazlu and his 10-year-old son Ratan frequently travel far from their home in the Barendra Bhumi region of Bangladesh selling ointments and herbal medicines but seem to have learned little of the world. One evening father and son return from a particularly successful trip with a pair of second-hand trousers they bought for the boy. When Fazlu’s wife washes the pants, the whole family celebrates after she discovers a wad of foreign currency in the pocket. No one in the illiterate family recognizes the banknotes’ country of origin so they turn to Fazlu’s childhood friend Siraj, the neighborhood bigwig who has connections in the city. While they wait to learn the true extent of their windfall fortune, the family falls prey to opportunistic friends, gold-digging relatives, and the treacherous optimism of their own dreams. The channels of communication are slow in rural Bangladesh, and before long greed and ambition start tearing this once peaceful family apart. Golam Rabbany Biplob’s poignant and humanistic film is told simply with great sensitivity to character, recalling the early work of the great Satyajit Ray.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Shanghai International Film Festival 2007 (Best Director)

Bangledesh 2007

Director:

Golam Rabbany Biplob

Producers:

Faridur Reza Sagar

Ebne Hasan Khan

Screenwriters: Golam Rabbany Biplob

Anisul Huque

Cinematographer:

Mahfooz Ur Rahman Khan

Editor:

Junaid Halim

Music:

Golam Rabbany Biplob

Bappa Mozumder

Cast:

Mahmuduzzaman Babu

Rokeya Prachy

Fazlur Rahman Babu

Momena Choudhury

Shamima Islam Tusti

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Bengali, with English subtitles

International Sales:

MDC International GmbH

Print Source: International Film Festival

Bangladesh

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

OPIUM – EGY ELMEBETEG NÖ NAPLÓJA

Opium – Diary of a Madwoman

FRIDAY MAY 23 7:00 PM

HARVARD EXIT

SUNDAY MAY 25 4:15 PM SIFF CINEMA

Director János Szász and co-screenwriter András Szekér draw inspiration from the unfinished diaries of a Hungarian neurologist for this twisted story of a drug-addicted doctor with writer’s block at the turn of the 20th century. Hedonistic and undisciplined, Dr. Jozsef Brenner (Ulrich Thomsen) becomes convinced that he could recover his inspiration with a sufficient supply of morphine. When he travels to an isolated asylum for women and claims that he needs the drugs for a medical study, his plans run afoul of the clinic director Moravcsik who looks suspiciously at the newcomer’s modern methods. He also meets a beautiful but profoundly disturbed female patient (Kirsti Stubø) who believes her soul is lost to the devil and begs for a lobotomy. Jozsef’s professional detachment degrades into a destructive mix of lust and jealousy when he discovers that the woman is also a compulsive diarist and has filled dozens of books with writing. This forbidden attraction finally consummates in a sexual act, which is grossly unethical but also effective in treating both their conditions. With its gallery of medieval-looking surgical tools and unflinching performances from Thomsen and Stubo, Opium – Diary of a Madwoman is an unnerving blend of intellectual cinema and gut-grinding horror.

Hungary/ Germany 2007

Director:

János Szász

Producers: Andras Hamori

Pál Sándor

Screenwriters: András Szekér

János Szász

Cinematographer: Tibor Máthé

Editor:

Anna Kornis

Cast:

Ulrich Thomsen

Kirsti Stubø

Zsolt László

Running Time:

109 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Hungarian and English, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

Magyar Filmunio

Print Source:

Magyar Filmunio

Selected Filmography:

Eyes of the Holocaust (2000)

The Witman Boys (1997)

SWOPNODANAY

SI C ’ ÉTAIT LUI

Perfect Match... US Premiere

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 7:00 PM

THURSDAY JUNE 12 9:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Carole Bouquet stars as Helene, a successful writer who’s made a career of studying prejudice and social inequality. She lives with her young son Jeremy in an elegant apartment in a trendy part of Paris. But prejudice and social inequality take on a whole new meaning when Valentin, an outof-work, previously-homeless man moves in next door. Squatting in his uncle’s apartment for a few months, all Valentin wants is to be left alone as he tries to put his life back together. Jeremy has other ideas, and takes a shine to Valentin right away, spending most of his time at Valentin’s place. When Helene comes in search of her son, she and Valentin are drawn to one another in spite of themselves. Neither is looking for a relationship. He’s a contentedly-single loner fresh from a nasty divorce, whose worldly possessions fit into a duffle bag, while she’s a tightly-wound, type-A personality who jogs up five flights to her apartment every day. Add to that the typical tensions between neighbors (loud music, a wayward cat), and it’s clear the odds are against them. But you know what they say about opposites. Perfect Match… is a testament to finding happiness in the most unlikely places…and people.

France 2007

Director:

Anne-Marie Étienne

Producer: Christine Gozlan

Screenwriter:

Anne-Marie Étienne

Cinematographer:

Gilles Henry

Editor:

Christophe Pinel

Music:

Christophe Julien

Cast:

Carole Bouquet

Marc Lavoine

Florence Foresti

Jean Senejoux

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Roissy Films

Print Source:

Roissy Films

Selected Filmography: Sooner or Later (1999) Un été après l’autre (1994)

Phoebe in Wonderland

FRIDAY JUNE 6 7:00 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 8 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

First time writer-director Daniel Barnz brings us an imaginative tale about a young girl struggling to find her place in the world. Elle Fanning (younger sister of Dakota Fanning) stars as Phoebe, an intelligent and creative 9-year-old with a passion for “Alice in Wonderland.” Phoebe’s also dealing with some behavioral issues that seem to have a life of their own. She is prone to inappropriate outbursts and obsessive-compulsive behavior, which means that she finds herself in trouble at school more often than not. Her parents (Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman) are torn between the desire to support and preserve Phoebe’s individuality, and their recognition of the cost of not fitting in. They seek professional advice, but resist a diagnosis they fear might confine and marginalize their daughter. And then there’s Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson), an eccentric drama teacher in whom Phoebe finds a kindred spirit. Empathetic and inspiring, the drama teacher understands how people often suffer for being different. Phoebe is cast as Alice in the school production of “Alice in Wonderland,” but as real life becomes increasingly complicated, she retreats further into the refuge offered by her fantasy world. Fanning captivates as the gifted and troubled girl. Her performance is enhanced by creative cinematography and fanciful production design, which combine to draw the viewer into Phoebe’s frustrating, fascinating world.

USA

2008

Director:

Daniel Barnz

Producers:

Lynette Howell

Ben Barnz

Screenwriter: Daniel Barnz

Cinematographer:

Bobby Bukowski

Editor: Robert Hoffman

Music:

Christophe Beck

Cast:

Elle Fanning

Felicity Huffman

Patricia Clarkson

Bill Pullman

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

THINKFilm

Print Source:

THINKFilm

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SATURDAY MAY 31 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Festival favorite and SIFF 2004 Emerging Master

Pen-ek Ratanaruang (Last Life in the Universe, Invisible Waves) is the sole author of Ploy, a story of the coruscating effects of jealousy on an already worn-out marriage. Primarily set in the anonymity of a Bangkok hotel suite, the film has Wit and his wife arriving from their home in the U.S. for a funeral. The tensions of the flight have gotten to Wit, so he heads for the bar seeking a little personal space. There he finds the engaging teenage waif Ploy, awaiting the arrival of her mother from Sweden. His inconsiderate invitation to Ploy to relax in the suite provokes Dang beyond endurance and so she runs off, naively landing herself in danger as a result of her former celebrity status. Set in the gray-suffused, dreamlike hours of early morning, the action has an illusory quality emphasized by sequences that may or may not be the protagonists’ fantasies, including a bout of no-holds-barred sex between the bartender and a chambermaid. In contrast, the couple’s sharp-eyed discussion on the state of their marriage deliberately feels more real than any of the action between them in this witty and perceptive drama of marital disintegration told with elliptical elegance that marks a strong return to form for this industrious and versatile director.

Thailand 2007

Director:

Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Producer:

Rewat Vorarat

Screenwriter:

Pen-ek Ratanaruang

Cinematographer: Charnkit

Chamniwikaipong

Editor:

Patamanadda Yukol

Music:

Hualampong Riddim

Koichi Shimizu

Cast:

Lalita Panyopas

Pornwut Sarasin

Ananda Everingham

Apinya Sakuljaroensuk

Phorntip Papanai

Running Time:

107 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Thai and English, with English

subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Film Website: www.ploythemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Invisible Waves (2006)

Last Life in the Universe (2003)

Transistor Love Story (2001)

6ixtynin9 (1999)

EL BAÑO DEL PAPA

The Pope’s Toilet

FRIDAY MAY 23 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

TUESDAY MAY 27 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

The shabby Uruguayan border town of Melo is counting on hordes of Brazilian pilgrims to descend and add some material salvation to the spiritual variety during Pope John Paul II’s 1988 visit. Hoping to cash in on the event, smalltime smuggler Beto hatches a scheme that involves less effort than churning out mountains of burgers or brewing lakes of beer: he’ll build a private washroom where people can relieve themselves after the festivities. To finance this enterprise (and a new scooter he’s been eyeing) he filches the money his wife Carmen set aside for their daughter’s sewing lessons. Sadly, the scheme is constipated by the whims of an ornery patrol officer and inevitably collapses; leaving everyone praying for a miracle while the basically goodhearted Beto ponders his own moral dyspepsia. Shot in a gritty pseudo-documentary style with a judicious mix of professional and non-professional actors, first-time directors Enrique Fernández and César Charlone create an absorbing tale that is a metaphor for the grinding cycle of poverty that afflicts many of their compatriots, while keeping alight the beacon of Uruguayan talent last seen in the 2004 film Whiskey

Awards:

San Sebastian Film Festival 2007 (Horizontes Award)

Gramado Film Festival 2007 (Audience Award, Golden Kikito, Kikito Critics)

Huelva Latin American Film Festival 2007 (Best Screenplay)

São Paulo International Film Festival 2007 (International Jury)

Uruguay 2007

Directors:

Enrique Fernandez

César Charlone

Producers:

Andrea Barata

Ribeiro Bel Berlinck

Serge Catoire

Fernando Meirelles

Elena Roux

Screenwriters:

César Charlone

Enrique Fernández

Cinematographer:

César Charlone

Editor:

Gustavo Gianni

Music:

Luciano Supervielle

Gabriel Casacuberta

Cast:

César Troncoso

Virginia Méndez

Mario Silva

Virginia Ruíz

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Bavaria Film International

Print Source:

Film Movement

Film Website:

www.elbanodelpapa.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Fun Bar Karaoke (1997)

PVC-1

FRIDAY MAY 23 4:30 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 9:00 PM

Life is ruled by time and we cannot alter that. PVC-1 is a thriller inspired by a true story of a woman and her family who are victims of an unusual act of terrorism. In 2000, Elvia Cortez, her husband Solomon and their children are terrorized in their own home. The perpetrators demanded a ransom of $7,000 or they will blow up a Polyvinyl Chloride pipe casting they wrap around Elvira’s neck. Filmed in the town of Villeta, Cundinamarca, Colombia by Greek-born, Colombian-raised filmmaker, Spiros Stathoulopoulos, PVC-1 is shot in one, 85-minute continuous take. It took the director three months of training to get physically fit in order to operate the steadicam that was strapped to his body, allowing him maximum mobility. He and his team carefully planned every aspect of the production with Stathoulopoulos, operating the steadycam for more than four days of shooting that covered more than a mile of rough terrain. Realizing the limitation of this feat on 35mm film, he decided to make it entirely on miniDV. “We wanted to create a compelling and valuable independent film and use it as a vehicle to highlight the problem of terrorism to a global audience. We chose to tell the story of one mother to represent all the innocents who randomly find themselves the victims of sinister forces.” A knock out of a film that is realistic from the get-go, fluid, gripping, and makes for both a breathtaking and audacious debut.

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

Colombia 2007

Director:

Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Producers:

Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Jason Hall

Screenwriters:

Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Dwight Istanbulian

Cinematographer:

Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Music:

Pascal Tiger

Reinaldo Duarte

Juan Piedra

Cast:

Merida Urquia

Daniel Paez

Alberto Sornoza

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source: IFC Films

Film Website: www.pvc-1themovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Ramchand Pakistani

FRIDAY JUNE 6 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY JUNE 7 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

One day a sweet but spoiled little boy, Ramchand, makes a fateful mistake. While running and playing in the open fields he crosses the ill-defined border between Pakistan and India. His games quickly spiral into reality. Ramchand’s father Shankar goes looking for his missing son and also crosses the border. At home, Ramchand’s mother waits frantically feeling something is wrong. Unfortunately she has a long wait ahead of her. Adapted from actual events, Ramchand Pakistani depicts how an accidental crossing of the Pakistani-Indian border dramatically affects the lives of a poor Pakistani Hindu untouchable family. Made by father-daughter filmmaking team Javed Jabbar and Mehreen Jabbar. Javed is the film’s writer-producer, an ex-Senator, Pakistan Minister, lawyer, conservationist, and author. His daughter Mehreen is a prolific 14-year TV and short film director-producer with a fresh voice, who focuses her original style and themes on the everyday lives and dilemmas of women in Pakistan. Her debut feature is not just a portrait of a young boy’s journey to adulthood, but also a view of a woman’s struggle for survival played fiercely by Indian star Nandita Das. As the narrative unfolds on both sides of the border, people of different faiths, castes, loyalties, and circumstances intersect as they are forced to share a prison cell as well as their geography.

Pakistan/United States

2007

Director:

Mehreen Jabbar

Producer: Javed Jabbar

Screenwriters:

Mohammad Ahmed

Javed Jabbar

Cinematographer: Sofian Khan

Editors:

Aseem Sinha

Mehreen Jabbar

Music:

Debojyoti Mishra

Cast:

Nandita Das

Maria Wasti

Noman Ijaz

Rashid Farooqi

Fazal Hussain

Running Time:

105 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Urdu, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Namak Films

Film Website:

www.ramchandpakistani.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Salawati, based on a real-life incident, is the story of a 12-year-old Singaporean-Malay girl who witnesses the death of her older brother. Her life in the teeming multi-cultural Singapore metropolis intersects with a group of loutish Indian couriers and a troubled Chinese family, all of who seem to have played some role the boy’s death. Salawati’s mother tries to hold the family together while her father struggles to control his misdirected anger, even as he seeks refuge in Islam. Simply stated, Salawati is a story of survival. It highlights the fragile nature of human relationships and addresses the notions of morality, mercy and ultimately, forgiveness. However, American-born director Marc X. Grigoroff also delivers a clear-eyed examination of the nature of faith, sorely tested in the floundering protagonists after the loss of their loved one, and bravely deals with how death explodes into peoples’ lives, generating agonizing and irreversible transformations. With a touching performance from young Siti Aisyah Masgot as the eponymous heroine, this surprising film moves fluidly between moments of raucous behavior and silent grieving, ultimately imparting a feeling of quiet melancholy that anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to.

Singapore 2008

Director:

Marc X. Grigoroff

Producers:

Freddy Kee

Farhana Mustapha

Screenwriter: Marc X. Grigoroff

Cinematographer:

Roszali Samad

Editors:

Sean Ashley

Joyce Tok

Music:

Pindar Plifner

Belinda Foo

Cast:

Mastura Ahmad

Siti Aisyah Masgot

Zaidi Irbrahim

Running Time:

82 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Mandarin,Tamil, English and Malay, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Lost Cause Pictures

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

FRIDAY JUNE 6 9:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 8 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

In modern Rome, an uncommon family gathers around the kitchen table of a gay couple. The hosts are Davide, who writes children books, and his strapping lover Lorenzo. They are joined by a motley group that includes Angelica, a lonely psychologist with a smoking problem; her spiritually bankrupt financier husband Antonio; Neval, a Turkish translator who interprets more than is comfortable; and Roberto, a policeman with a chronic stutter. Rounding out the ensemble is the semi-employed yet narcotically cheerful Roberta, David’s vitriolic ex-boyfriend Sergio and just for fun, Paolo, a bisexual nursing literary ambitions. But just how strong are the bonds binding these oddly-matched friends? The handsome Lorenzo proves to be more than a pretty face—his presence proves to be the keystone in the group’s construction. When he inexplicably falls into a coma one night, the friends find themselves nearing a state of collapse. The sudden arrival of Lorenzo’s estranged father (who has yet to reconcile himself to his son’s homosexuality) complicates matters further, especially when it triggers a series of new revelations. Director Ferzan Ozpetek (Steam: the Turkish Bath and SIFF Golden Space Needle award winner Facing Windows) packs in an interlaced variety of stories accessible for all orientations but also includes a timely tie-in to the issue of legalized gay marriage.

Awards: David di Donatello Awards 2007 (Best Supporting Actress)

Italy

2007

Director:

Ferzan Ozpetek

Producers:

Tilde Corsi

Gianni Romoli

Screenwriters:

Ferzan Ozpetek

Gianni Romoli

Cinematographer:

Gianfilippo Corticelli

Editor:

Patrizio Marone

Music:

Giovanni Pellini

Cast:

Pierfrancesco Favino

Stefano Accorsi

Margherita Buy

Serra Yilmaz

Ennio Fantastichini

Ambra Angiolini

Luca Argentero

Isabella Ferrari

Running Time:

110 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Italian, with

English subtitles

International Sales:

Films Distribution

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Film Website:

www.saturnocontro.com

Selected Filmography:

Sacred Heart (2005)

Facing Windows (2003)

The Ignorant Fairies (2001)

Harem Suarè (1999)

Steam: The Turkish Bath (1997)

Savage Grace

FRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 1 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

In his long-awaited follow-up to 1992’s Swoon, Tom Kalin once again portrays a true crime story in this cautionary tale of decadence and dysfunction. Savage Grace is based on the scandalous story of Barbara Daly (Julianne Moore), a former actress who married above her station to become the wife of Brooks Baekeland, heir to the Bakelite plastics fortune. Alluring and charismatic, yet an unabashed social climber, Barbara becomes an embarrassment to her well-bred husband as they crisscross the globe, rapaciously grasping at the good life. The birth of their only child, Tony, pushes their already rocky marriage over the edge. When it becomes clear that Tony is homosexual, Brooks rejects him and the stage is set for tragedy as Barbara does everything in her power to promote her son’s interests in society as proof of her own hard-won standing. Filmmaker Kalin and screenwriter Howard Rodman wisely avoid melodrama despite a storyline Douglas Sirk would envy. Buoyed by stunning European locations and propelled by a ferociously daring performance by Moore, Savage Grace culminates in a shocking climax.

USA/Spain 2007

Director:

Tom Kalin

Producers:

Iker Monfort

Katie Roumel

Pamela Koffler

Christine Vachon

Screenwriter:

Howard A. Rodman

Cinematographer: Juanmi Azpiroz

Editors: Tom Kalin

John F. Lyons

Enara Goicoetxea

Cast: Julianne Moore

Stephen Dillane

Hugh Dancy

Eddie Redmayne

Running Time:

96 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

IFC Films

Print Source: IFC Films

Selected Filmography: Swoon (1992)

A Secret

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:00 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

SATURDAY JUNE 7 9:00 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

A Jewish family living in post-World War II Paris has a big secret and the young François pieces it all together. The film is set in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation of France when fear and shame polluted many lives and families underwent shattering traumas beyond their control. François feels there’s something strange about his family and he interprets this to mean there’s something wrong with him. Though his mother Tania (Cecile de France) and father Maxime (Patrick Bruel) are both striking and athletic, François is shy and awkward. When he turns 15 years old, a dear family friend and his physical therapist, Louise (Julie Depardieu), tells him a new story about his parents’ past that changes his life forever. When François finally understands the secret, it becomes less important than the manner in which it’s lived, and the lies it caused along the way. Adapted from Philippe Grimbert’s 2004 novel, Un Secret, the film is a spare and remarkable work that starts off with the sentence, “Although an only child, for many years I had a brother…” “The unspoken,” as novelist Grimbert evokes it, “is a key actor in a child’s life. This is how wartime persecutors continue to triumph even after they have been defeated.”

Awards:

Montreal World Film Festival 2007 (Grand Prize)

César Awards 2008 (Best Supporting Actress)

France

2007

Director:

Claude Miller

Producer:

Yves Marmion

Screenwriters:

Claude Miller

Natalie Carter based on the novel by Philippe Grimbert

Cinematographer: Gérard de Battista

Editor:

Véronique Lange

Music:

Zbigniew Preisner

Cast:

Cécile de France

Ludivine Sagnier

Mathieu Amalric

Julie Depardieu

Patrick Bruel

Running Time:

105 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

Print Source:

Strand Releasing

Film Website: www.unsecret-lefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Little Lili (2003)

Betty Fisher and Other

Stories (2001)

The Little Thief (1998)

Charlotte and Lulu (1985)

The Best Way to Walk (1976)

UN BAISER S ’ IL VOUS PLAIT

Shall We Kiss? Sleep Dealer

SUNDAY JUNE 1 9:00 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

MONDAY JUNE 2 9:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

After spending an enjoyable evening together, Gabriel (Michael Cohen) asks Emilie (Julie Gayet) for a kiss. Emilie isn’t sure this is a good idea. To explain her reluctance, she tells a story that demonstrates how kissing, however innocent, can have unintended consequences. This story within a story is told in flashbacks centering on two characters: Nicolas and his best friend Judith (Virginie Ledoyen). Newly single after a breakup, Nicolas finds that he’s become so starved for intimacy that he’s unable to begin a new relationship. The jump-start he needs? A kiss. Bashfully, he seeks Judith’s help. Since they are old friends, not lovers, they agree one kiss shouldn’t be a big deal and it might not have been, were it not for two other characters: Caline, Nicolas’ former girlfriend, and Judith’s husband Claudio. Complications, misunderstandings, and machinations inevitably ensue on a grand scale, but director Emmanuel Mouret has never been content with farce. Shall We Kiss? contains a lovely streak of melancholy running through it, a nostalgia for courtship, and an engagement with the moral questions of love—none of which ever quite distract us from the matter of whether Gabriel and Emilie will kiss after all.

France 2007

Director:

Emmanuel Mouret

Producer:

Frédéric Niedermayer

Screenwriter:

Emmanuel Mouret

Cinematographer:

Laurent Desmet

Editors:

Martial Salomon

François Mereux

Cast:

Virginie Ledoyen

Emmanuel Mouret

Julie Gayet

Michaël Cohen

Stefano Accorsi

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

TF1 International

Print Source:

TF1 International

Selected Filmography:

Change of Address (2006)

Venus and Fleur (2004)

Laissons Lucie faire! (2000)

SATURDAY JUNE 14 9:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 15 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

In a not-to-distant future, the world is even more sharply divided between the haves and the havenots, borders are sealed, corporations hold water hostage, and the global War on Terror continues unabated. A high-speed network connects the entire world allowing three characters: a farmer, a writer, and a soldier, to each plug their minds directly into the Internet. The first, Memo Cruz, is a Mexican farmer who dreams of a life outside his parched village. This dream is bitterly realized after he is driven from his home by an attack of remote-controlled American weapons. He flees to Tijuana and finds a grueling job as a “nodeworker.” Instead of physically crossing the U.S.Mexican border, workers pay “coyoteks” to jack them into “info-maquila” controlling worker drones far from their physical bodies. There, Memo, like many others, works long hours to build and maintain cities he will never visit or enjoy. Memo also meets the writer, Luz, who records her memories and sells them—straight from her brain—to a cyberspace audience. The two are drawn into a romance but their destiny is troubled. Luz has uploaded Memo’s story onto the Internet where Rudy Gaeta, the soldier who destroyed the farmer’s home, finds it. Director Alex Rivera’s speculative film grapples with contemporary issues of immigration, outsourcing, terrorism, and the perhaps prescient idea that the more connected we become, the more we are divided.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Screenwriting Award, Alfred Sloan Award)

USA/Mexico 2008

Director:

Alex Rivera

Producer:

Anthony Bregman

Screenwriters:

Alex Rivera

David Riker

Cinematographer:

Lisa Rinzler

Editor:

Alex Rivera

Music:

Tomandandy

Cast:

Luis Fernando Peña

Leonor Varela

Jacob Vargas

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Likely Story

Film Website:

www.sleepdealer.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY MAY 24 4:00 PM

WEDNESDAY MAY 28 9:30 PM

Director Brillante Mendoza makes an audacious attempt to impose a fictional narrative onto the sprawling life of the Manila squatter neighborhood of Quiapo. The film opens with a breathtaking, frenetic police raid on the labyrinth, as the guilty and not-so-guilty are indiscriminately herded out into the open. It is a bravura sequence that the likes of Paul Greengrass and Alfonso Cuaron have attempted in recent and much more expensive films. Real-time sequences introduce us to the denizens of this low-life barrio, where stealing is vital for survival and drugs are a way of life. The many intersecting storylines, filmed in real-time sequences, come together at a massive nighttime political rally. There, votes go to the highest bidder as the poor and wretched unwittingly sell off their future for not much more than the proverbial mess of potage. As in much of his other work, Mendoza workshopped his storylines and staging to perfection making the line between art and reality merely notional. Burnishing his impressively-shot digi-cam footage with a sepia tint— necessary to remind us we are watching art and not real life—Mendoza displays a Dickensian eye for the nuances of human behavior and a heart full of indignation at rampant social injustice.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (Caligari Film Award)

Marrakech International Film Festival 2007 (Special Jury Award)

HARVARD EXIT

HARVARD EXIT

Philippines/ Canada 2007

Director:

Brillante Mendoza

Producers:

Fernando Lapuz

Renato Esguerra

Antonio del Rosario

Screenwriter:

Ralston Joel Jover

Cinematographers:

Brillante Mendoza

Julius Villanueva

Jeffrey dela Cruz

Gary Tria

Editor:

Charliebebs Gohetia

Music:

Teresa Barrozo

Cast:

Jiro Manio

Kristoffer King

Coco Martin

Nathan Lopez

Jaclyn Jose

Running Time:

86 minutes

Presentation Format:

DigiBeta, in Tagalog, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Ignatius Films Canada

Print Source:

Ignatius Films Canada

Selected Filmography:

Foster Child (2007)

The Professor (2006)

Summer Heat (2006)

The Masseur (2005)

FRIDAY JUNE 13 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 4:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Salvatore Mereu’s second feature tells a comingof-age story that chronicles Sardinia’s history from 1927 up to 1953. Twelve-year old Zuanne is forced to tend the family’s sheep after his father is unjustly imprisoned. At 18, an insult by a rival escalates into violence, causing Zuanne to run away from the home he shared with his loving grandfather Cicerone. At 25, living outside the law and surviving by his wits, Zuanne faces grave danger to return to see Maddalena, the girl he has loved all his life. Seamlessly blending the elegiacism of Terrence Malick with the neo-realistic savagery of Pasolini, Mereu’s direction leaves enough for space viewers to fill in the blanks for themselves. He marks the passing of time in mere details (we know it’s 1953 when a snatch of “Singin’ In The Rain” is heard) as he paints on a canvas of rustic hues evoking a former idyll. One of the year’s true discoveries, Sonetàula’s chief pleasures include the unfamiliar but fascinating Sardinian dialect, and the performance of the starkly compelling Francesco Falchetto as Zuanne. As mesmerizing as any of Pasolini’s street boys, Zuanne is the cornerstone of this stunning reflection of a centuries-old existence being crushed by an ambivalent, encroaching modernity.

Italy/France/ Belgium 2008

Director:

Salvatore Mereu

Producers:

Andrea Occhipinti

Gianluca Arcopinto

Screenwriters: Salvatore Mereu

Vittorio Omodei

Zorini

Vladan Radovic

Ivan Casagrandi from the novel by Guiseppe Fiori

Cinematographer: Massimo Foletti

Editors:

Paola Freddi

Stefano Campus

Music:

Enzo Favata

Cast: Francesco Falchetto

Manuela Martelli

Antonio Crisponi

Serafino Spiggia

Running Time:

157 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Sardinian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

Celluloid Dreams

Selected Filmography: Three-step Dance (2003)

AVAZE GONJESHK - HA

The Song of Sparrows US Premiere

TUESDAY MAY 27 7:00 PM

TUESDAY JUNE 3 4:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Karim’s life with his wife Narges, two daughters, and a young son in a village west of Tehran is turned upside down when a particulary ornery ostrich escapes his care at work. When Karim can’t find the feathery fugitive, he is held responsible and fired from his job. Desperate for a job and concerned about putting food on his family’s table, Karim travels daily through the city on his motorbike looking for work, especially since his oldest daughter needs a new hearing aid. In the city, Karim accidentally finds himself embarking on a profitable new career giving lifts to big-city types and hauling goods. Gradually, contact with the city and its people begins to change Karim— reflected in the transformation of his lovely village house as it fills up with junk he stores and covets. Song of the Sparrows is a deeply humanistic story of a poor man who is tempted by capitalism and technology. While director Majid Majidi (Children of Heaven) steers us toward the ordinary problems that create small disasters in life, he pulls us off the bumpy road just in time and turns iffy fates into daily triumphs. Actor Reza Najie made film history this year by winning the Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival for Best Actor, a first for an Iranian actor.

Awards:

Berlin International Film Festival 2008 (Best Actor)

Iran 2008

Director:

Majid Majidi

Producer:

Majid Majidi

Screenwriters:

Majid Majidi

Mehran Kashni

Seyed Nasser

Hashemzadeh

Cinematographer:

Tooraj Mansouri

Editor: Hassan Hassandoost

Music:

Hossein Alsizadeh

Cast:

Reza Najie

Maryam Akbari

Kamran Dehghan

Hossein Aghazi

Running Time:

96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Farsi, with

English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Selected Filmography:

The Willow Tree (2005)

Baran (2001)

The Color of Paradise (1999)

The Children of Paradise (1997)

The Father (1996)

Son of a Lion

US Premiere

SATURDAY MAY 31 6:30 PM

HARVARD EXIT

SUNDAY JUNE 1 11:00 AM HARVARD EXIT

In the tribal region of Northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, 11-year-old Niaz dreams of attending school. His widower father is proud of the fact that he fought with the mujahideen in Afghanistan against Soviet invaders and wants Niaz to follow in the family business of making guns. He’s raising Niaz according to strict Islamic laws. Niaz is a sweet and dutiful boy who helps his father run errands. He even buys hashish for his grandfather. Niaz’s ardent desire to study is fueled by his uncle and cousin, and one day in desperation he runs away from home to the city where his relatives live. First-time Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour wrote Son of a Lion in collaboration with the people of Kohat and Darra Adam Khel. Captivated by the locals when he traveled there pre-September 11, he was horrified by post-September 11 Western media images. Despite the area being off limits to foreigners, Gilmour decided to go back secretly and make a film. He grew a beard, tried to blend in, and even changed the way he walked. Despite possible dangers, the cast insisted on helping in the project and wanted to share their lives with the outside world. They saw nothing in Son of a Lion that was insulting to Islam. Though a simple story, Gilmour and crew weave it with craft and plenty of humor. The result is a sensitive portrayal of the Pashtun people that feels as real as a documentary and is authentic in every way.

Australia

2007

Director:

Benjamin Gilmour

Producer:

Carolyn Johnson

Screenwriter:

Benjamin Gilmour

Cinematographers:

Benjamin Gilmour

Haroon John

Editor:

Alison Croft

Music:

Amanda Brown

Cast:

Sher Alam Miskeen Ustad

Niaz Khan Shinwari

Baktiyar Ahmed Afridi

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Pashtu, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

MAN JEUK

Sparrow

US Premiere

MONDAY JUNE 2 9:00 PM

WEDNESDAY JUNE 4 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

UPTOWN CINEMAS

In Hong Kong street slang “Sparrow” refers to a pickpocket, alluding to the nimble dexterity necessary to free wallets and watches from passersby. It also speaks to the necessity of fluttering away quickly should one be uncovered by a potential mark. Kei and his three partners—Bo, Sak, and Mac—make a nice living for themselves as sparrows in Hong Kong’s crowded urban canyons. When not going about business as usual, Kei rides about the city on his bicycle photographing street scenes with his Rolleiflex camera. One day, the gorgeous Chung Chun-lei flits across his lens only to disappear just as suddenly. In turn, she approaches the other member’s of Fei’s gang, beguiling and frustrating each one. Fascinated by this femme mystérieux, the gang agrees to meet her shadowy patron, Mr. Fu, with whom they have their own score to settle, and agree to an elaborate gamble in order to free Chun-lei from his grasp. But, this being a Johnnie To pic, complications soon arise with the arrival of the shy tycoon Mr. Yen. With his third SIFF film of the year, To crafts a jazzy, romantic-crime caper, in which his talents for both genres perfectly blend together during the film’s grandstanding finale: a Donen-esque duel of pickpockets played out beneath umbrellas on a rainy night.

Hong Kong/China 2007

Director:

Johnnie To

Producer:

Johnnie To

Screenwriters:

Kin Chung Chan Chi Keung Fung

Cinematographer: Siu-keung Cheng

Editor: David M. Richardson

Music:

Fred Avril

Xavier Jamaux

Cast:

Simon Yam

Kelly Lin

Lam Ka Tung

Lo Hoi Pang

Running Time:

87 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Universe Films

Distribution

Selected Filmography:

Mad Detective (2007)

Triangle (2007)

Exiled (2007)

Triad Election (2006)

Election (2005)

Breaking News (2004)

Full Time Hitman (2001)

The Mission (1999)

The Heroic Trio (1993)

SANXIA HAOREN

Still Life

FRIDAY MAY 23 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA MONDAY MAY 26 4:15 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke gratifyingly followed his Emerging Master award at SIFF 2005 with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for his fourth feature, Still Life. Originally titled, “The Good People of the Three Gorges,” the film follows the parallel stories of a man and a woman searching to reconnect with their partners against the backdrop of the massive hydroelectric dam project. Han Sanming, a miner, and Shen Hong, a nurse, hunt for their loved ones in this atmosphere of total disruption. It has taken Sanming 16 years to track down his ex-wife, Missy, who he believes will lead him to their daughter in the about-to be inundated town of Yichang while Hong’s husband Guo Bin has been missing for the last two years. As their search progresses, each face the treacherous hopes and disappointments of reunion as their lives are permanently changed. Jia’s film features compositions of breathtaking beauty and is illuminated by the underlying sense of disturbance that accompanies China’s progress.

Awards:

Venice International Film Festival 2006 (Golden Lion)

China/Hong Kong 2007

Director:

Jia Zhang-ke

Producers:

Xu Pengie

Wang Tianyun

Zhu Jiong

Screenwriter:

Jia Zhang-ke

Cinematographer:

Yu Likwai

Editor:

Kong Jinlei

Music:

Lim Giong

Cast:

Zhao Tao

Han Sanming

Running Time:

108 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Mandarin, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Memento Films

International

Print Source:

New Yorker Films

Selected Filmography:

Dong (2006)

The World (2004)

Unknown Pleasures (2002)

Platform (2000)

Xiao Wu (1998)

Still Orangutans

SUNDAY JUNE 8 9:00 PM

TUESDAY JUNE 10 9:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

It’s the hottest day of the year in Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil. Nothing is going smoothly, starting with the heatstroke death of a Japanese tourist on a train into town. From there the film seamlessly transitions from character to character, story to story, and sometimes back again. Even more impressive than the flow of the film is the fact that it was all shot in one take. You read that right. What could have been a gimmick turns into a fascinating film that spreads across the city. Here are the stats: one day, 14 hours, 15 characters, nine miles, six takes, 81 minutes, one single shot, no cuts. Preparation was the key to its success. First-time director Gustavo Spolidoro spent one month blocking the scenes and figuring out where everything would take place, and then spent another month rehearsing. They shot the film six times over six days and ended up using the second take. Or maybe it was the fourth. Those who are familiar with Brazilian music will place the film in the mid-1980s, but for the rest of us it’s timeless. Spolidoro once teamed up with novelist Paolo Scott to create the award-winning short film, The Beginning of the End. For his debut feature, Spolidoro called up Scott again, and together they adapted six stories from Scott’s book Still Orangutans into this one-shot wonder.

Brazil 2007

Director:

Gustavo Spolidoro

Producers:

Cristiane Oliviera

Fabiano de Souza

Gilson Vargas

Gustavo Spolidero

Milton Do Prado

Screenwriters:

Gibran Dipp

Gustavo Spolidero based on the novel by Paulo Scott

Cinematographer:

Juliano Lopes Fortes

Cast:

Karina Kazuê

Lindon Shimizu

Kayode da Silva

Janaína Kremer

Renata de Lélis

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Portuguese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Clube Silencio

Print Source:

Clube Silencio

Film Website:

www.aindaorangotangos.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

ZARIM Strangers

SUNDAY JUNE 1 6:30 PM

MONDAY JUNE 2 4:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

It’s pure serendipity when two strangers, who are in Berlin for the 2006 World Cup finals, accidentally exchange bags on the subway. Once they realize their mistake and meet to correct it, the pair finds that they are irresistibly drawn to one another, and they spend a passionate few days watching soccer and falling in love. But there are complications in this realist romance from Guy Nattiv and Erez Tadmor. Eyal is from Israel and Rana is a Palestinian originally from Ramallah, now living in Paris. As they get to know one another they’re forced to grapple with the political histories they each carry. The complications multiply when Eyal follows Rana back to Paris. There, he meets her ill son, Rashid, and encounters the anti-Israel sentiments of her friends. Matters come to a head when Israel invades Lebanon and Eyal is called up to fight. The film was shot over a week in Berlin during the World Cup and a week in Paris during the 2006 war, imbuing the backdrops with a compelling authenticity. Levo and Azabal have great chemistry and give pitchperfect performances as the star-crossed lovers. What makes this film truly remarkable though, is the script’s intelligent and complex treatment of the relationship between the people and their politics as well as the thoughtful balance between fatalism and hope.

Israel 2007

Directors:

Erez Tadmor

Guy Nattiv

Producers:

Chilik Michaeli

Tami Leon

Avraham Pirchi

Screenwriters:

Erez Tadmor

Guy Nattiv

Cinematographer: Ram Shweky

Editor:

Yuval Orr

Music:

Eyel Leon Katzav

Cast:

Liron Levo

Lubna Azabal

Abdalla El Akal

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in English, Hebrew, French, and Arabic, with English

subtitles

Print Source:

IFC Films

Film Website: www.strangers.co.il

Selected Filmography: All Is Well by Me (2005)

THURSDAY JUNE 12 7:00 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 14 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Radiant Dutch actress and SIFF favorite Monique van de Ven first burst upon the international movie scene with her stunning performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Oscar-nominated Turkish Delight (SIFF 1975), based upon Jan Wolkers’ bestselling novel. She went on to star in a number of the most acclaimed films of the Dutch New Wave—most notable among them Kathy Tippel (SIFF 1976), also directed by Paul Verhoeven, and Fons Rademakers’ Oscar-winning The Assault (SIFF 1986). With Summer Heat, van de Ven returns to the screen in the director’s chair, adapting Wolkers’ final book in a stunning directorial debut, which invests a haunting love story with the elements of a taut, moody thriller. Starting with a prologue set in an unnamed Middle-Eastern county, the film introduces us to Bob and his girlfriend Jara, an aid worker whom he is accompanying out of the strife-torn country when the two find themselves in the thick of a terrorist incident. The story then segues to one year later, finding Bob on an idyllic Dutch island in the North Sea where he has come on a photographic assignment from a nature magazine. In the course of his assignment, Bob encounters a mysterious beauty and soon he finds himself the unwitting pawn in a labyrinthine plot involving this enchanting young woman and the nefarious characters she falls in love with. Ms. van de Ven’s leap from actress to director is extraordinary. Her command of camera, storytelling, and achieving performances from her extremely attractive cast is something to behold.

Netherlands 2008

Director:

Monique van de Ven

Producer:

Ate de Jong

Screenwriter:

Edwin de Vries based on the novel by Jan Wolkers

Cinematographer:

Lex Brand

Editor:

Job ter Burg

Music:

Christian Henson

Cast:

Sophie Hilbrand

Waldemar Torenstra

Jeroen Willems

Johan Leysen

Running Time:

96 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Dutch, with English subtitles

International Sales:

High Point Media Group

Print Source:

Mulholland Pictures BV

Film Website:

zomerhittedefilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

TBS (Nothing to Lose)

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 1 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

In the Netherlands, three letters strike fear into its citizens: TBS (Ter Beschikking Stelling). This abbreviation stands for the worst penalty under Dutch law–the sentence and rehabilitation program for those who commit heinous crimes against others and are declared mentally unstable. Convicted murderer and sex-offender Johan, imprisoned and in treatment for 14 years for the killing of his father and sister, claims that his father was the perpetrator. When his request for parole is denied and he discovers his imminent move to a long-term care facility, Johan manages to escape. He searches frantically for his mother, the only person who can corroborate his story and potentially set him free. Along the way, he kidnaps a 13-year-old girl to use as a human shield. Director Pieter Kuijpers keeps the audience aware of Johan’s natural brutality. Even from the beginning, Johan is obviously capable of committing the crimes he stands accused of. As Johan searches for his mother, his experiences along the way raise more questions about his self-proclaimed innocence. It is a taut thriller with the tension building strong enough to give white knuckles and a sinking feeling in the stomach.

Awards: Golden and Platin Film, Netherlands 2008 (Golden Film)

Netherlands 2008

Director:

Pieter Kuijpers

Producers:

Sander van Meurs

Andre Teelen

Pieter Kuijpers

Screenwriters:

Paul Jan Nellissen

Pieter Kuijpers

Cinematographer:

Bert Pot

Editor:

Annelien van Wijnbergen

Music:

Het Paleis van Boem

Cast:

Theo Maassen

Lisa Smit

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Dutch, with English subtitles

International Sales:

High Point Media Group

Print Source:

High Point Media Group

Film Website: www.tbsdefilm.nl

Selected Filmography:

Dennis P. (2006)

Offscreen (2005)

Teddy Bear

TUESDAY JUNE 3 9:15 PM

MONDAY JUNE 9 9:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

“Water is stronger than stone, soft is stronger than hard, and the female principle is stronger than the male,” begins this romantic Czech comedy. Director Jan Hřebejk (Cozy Dens, Divided We Fall) examines human relationships, affairs of the heart, and gives us a Czech take on marriage and infidelity. The Czech equivalent of The Big Chill, Teddy Bear follows an ensemble cast of married couples played by some of the best actors in the Czech Republic: Jiří Macháček, Aňa Geislerová, Ivan Trojan, just to name a few. Roman and his wife Anna appear to be happily married, trying to conceive, but another woman gets between them. Jirka and Vanda have a young daughter, but their love is waning. Ivan and Johana are members of the diplomatic community in Rome, and live a marriage of appearances, rather than a relationship that allows their true feelings to surface. They are joined halfway through the film by Jiří Menzel (Closely Observed Trains) and Vĕra Křesadlová, as Roman’s parents. This last pair steals the show with their side-splitting dialogue about love and infidelity. As all six protagonists’ personal secrets start to cause major changes, they all begin to accept that things may not be as they appear. There may be more than one truth, and there may be many kinds of love. As the story progresses and time shifts, we come to understand that each person is a mystery.

Czech Republic 2007

Director:

Jan Hřebejk

Producer:

Ondrej Trojan

Screenwriter: Petr Jarchovsky

Cinematographer:

Jan Malir

Editor: Vladimir Barak

Cast: Ańa Geislerová

Tana Vilhelmova

Natasa Burger

Jiří Macháček

Ivan Trojan

Jiří Menzel

Vĕra Křesadlová

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Czech, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Menemsha Films

Print Source:

Menemsha Films

Selected Filmography: Beauty in Trouble (2006) Up and Down (2004)

Divided We Fall (2000) Cozy Dens (1999)

LOS CRONOCRÍMENES Timecrimes

SATURDAY JUNE 7 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 7:00 PM

In his feature film debut, writer-director Nacho Vigalondo—whose past short film 7:35 In the Morning was nominated for an Academy Award— creates a smart, time-twisting thriller reminiscent of past SIFF hit Primer. As Timecrimes opens, Hector is enjoying a weekend in the country with his wife Clara. Exhausted from an earlier trip into town, he relaxes in his backyard with a pair of binoculars, hoping to enjoy some bird watching. But just as his wife leaves to get dinner, he catches sight of a naked, unconscious woman in the neighboring woods. When he investigates the situation, a man whose head is wrapped in grotesque pink bandages attacks him. Pursued through the forest by this sinister figure, Hector finds refuge in a nearby mansion, which also happens to be an undercover research lab. There he meets a scientist, who offers to hide Hector in a large pod-like contraption. With his pursuer just outside, Hector enters the scientist’s invention only to emerge from it on the same day hours earlier! Needless to say, it’s going to be one long Saturday for Hector as he attempts to set events right through multiple time frames without unraveling the entire space-time continuum. Filled with subversive and ironic humor, Vigalondo’s tightly plotted, intricately structured film is a rip-roaring affair that effortlessly blends cerebral sci-fi and relentless action in a singular, dynamic style.

Awards: Fantastic Fest 2007 (Grand Prize)

Spain 2007

Director:

Nacho Vigalondo

Producers:

Eduardo Carneros

Jorge Gómez

Screenwriter: Nacho Vigalondo

Cinematographer:

Flavio Martínez Labiano

Editor:

Jose Luis Romeu

Music:

Eugenio Mira

Cast:

Karra Elejalde

Candela Fernández

Bárbara Goenaga

Juan Inciarte

Running Time:

88 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Magnolia Pictures

Film Website:

www.loscronocrimenes.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE MEDVIDEK

PORA UMIERAC

Time to Die

FRIDAY MAY 30 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 1 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Living in a villa of faded grandeur in Warsaw, refined, independent-minded Aniela and her faithful, clever canine companion Phila find themselves sandwiched between a rundown music club for children and a nouveau-riche couple in a McMansion who are in cahoots with Aniela’s cold-hearted son to acquire her property. From the beginning, it’s apparent that feisty, Aniela is no pushover. Spying on her neighbors reveals their true intentions, so she is always ahead of the game. Although she is clear-minded about the future, memories of the past often intrude: Aniela remembers herself as a beautiful young woman dancing with her handsome husband and conjures images of her young son as a soft-faced lad with tender eyes. These reveries of impressionistic visual poetry are shot through the uneven glazing of the many glass windows in the house, blurring and distorting the images like the edges of a cloud. The film was created as a showcase for the extraordinarily accomplished 91-year-old Danuta Szaflarska, who gives life to its strong center in a remarkable performance of intelligence, grace, and beauty. Shot in luminous black and white with baroquely detailed camerawork, this charming and wise film also features Poland’s best-trained, most photogenic dog.

Poland 2007

Director:

Dorota Kędzierzawska

Producers:

Arthur Reinhart

Piotr Miklaszewski

Wojciech Maryanski

Screenwriter:

Dorota Kędzierzawska

Cinematographers:

Arthur Reinhart

Dorota Kędzierzawska

Arthur Reinhart

Editors:

Dorota Kędzierzawska

Arthur Reinhart

Music:

Włodek Pawlik

Cast:

Danuta Szaflarska

Krzysztof Globisz

Patrycja Szewczyk

Kamil Bitau

Robert Tomaszewski

Running Time:

104 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Polish, with

English subtitles

International Sales:

Kid Film

Print Source: Kid Film

Film Website: www.kidfilm.pl/timetodie

Selected Filmography: I Am (2005)

Nothing (1998)

The Crows (1994)

The Devils, the Devils (1991)

Towelhead

SATURDAY JUNE 14 6:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 15 1:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) makes his feature directorial debut with this adaptation of Alicia Erian’s 2005 novel about a 13-year-old girl bounced between her American mother (Maria Bello) and Lebanese father, set against the backdrop of the first Gulf War. Satirical and poignant, the film is reminiscent of American Beauty (which Ball wrote) in its unflinching exploration of the perversions and hypocrisies of suburbia. Jasira is in the first throes of puberty and trying to make sense of her own sexuality as well as that of those around her. As the film opens, she’s is being thrown out of her Syracuse home after allowing her mom’s boyfriend to shave her pubic hair. She’s sent to Houston to live with her father, Rifat, who routinely slaps her for wearing revealing outfits. Jasira’s confused, by the behavior of her parents, as well as by the societal messages about sex she encounters, and she longs for love and acceptance. It is under these circumstances that she meets the neighbor, Mr. Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart). An Army reservist waiting to be called up, he recognizes Jasira’s longing and exploits it, feeling both desire and distaste for this half–Middle Eastern child on the eve of Operation Desert Storm. With Towelhead, Ball has created an affecting, darkly comic portrait of the racial and sexual alienation of our time.

USA

2007

Director:

Alan Ball

Producers:

Ted Hope

Steven Rales

Alan Ball

Screenwriter:

Alan Ball

based on the novel by

Alicia Erian

Cinematographer:

Newton Thomas Sigel

Editor:

Andy Keir

Music:

Thomas Newman

Cast:

Aaron Eckhart

Toni Collette

Maria Bello

Peter Macdissi

Summer Bishil

Eugene Jones

Running Time:

124 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source:

Warner Independent

Pictures

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

Transsiberian

SATURDAY MAY 24 9:30 PM

MONDAY MAY 26 1:30 PM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Set on the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway that links Russia with Mongolia and China. What promises to be a simple train journey, soon turns into a dark thriller in which no one is who they seem to be. Sir Ben Kingsley plays a penetrating Russian investigator, detective Grinko, who rides the railway out of Siberia after working on an unsolved drug case. Meanwhile, a married American couple, Roy and Jessie (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer), begin a once-ina-lifetime adventure after finishing their missionary stint in China. They seem like a regular couple on a normal holiday. Along the way, another pair joins them in their train compartment, Carlos and Abby (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara). Abby is a little Goth and Carlos is a wizard at peeling back people’s defenses, especially Jessie’s. Magnificent cinematography reflects the grim beauty of winter landscapes shot in Lithuania, Russia, and Beijing, making Transsiberian a perfect blend of travel and intrigue while drawing us into a country buried beneath six feet of corruption. What becomes apparent in director Brad Anderson’s hallmark world of deceptive motives and murder are the lengths people go to keep their secret selves intact and the actions they are capable of when they lose control.

United Kingdom/ Germany/Spain/

Lithuania/China 2008

Director:

Brad Anderson

Producer: Julio Fernández

Screenwriters:

Brad Anderson

Will Conroy

Cinematographer: Xavi Giménez

Editor:

Jaume Martí

Music:

Alfonso De Vilallonga

Cast:

Woody Harrelson

Sir Ben Kingsley

Emily Mortimer

Kate Mara

Thomas Kretschmann

Eduardo Noriega

Running Time: 111 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

International Sales:

Filmax International

Print Source:

First Look Studios

Selected Filmography:

The Machinist (2004)

Session 9 (2001)

Happy Accidents (1999)

Next Stop Wonderland (1998)

TIE SAAM GOK

Triangle

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:00 PM CINERAMA

SUNDAY JUNE 15 9:00 PM CINERAMA

Three giants of Hong Kong crime cinema—Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam, and Johnnie To—join forces in Triangle, creating one of the most unique films at this year’s Festival. Though the film is a continuous narrative, it is told in Exquisite Corpsefashion, where each director filmed a segment of the film then passed it along to the next. This results not only in a sensational collaboration between colleagues, but also a friendly battle of one-upmanship as each subsequent director tries to out-do his predecessor. Tsui Hark directs the first segment: longtime friends Bo-Sam, Mok, and taxi driver Fai have all fallen on hard times. Fai proposes they take part in a jewelry store heist planned in part by the local crime boss, and in part by corrupt cop Wen, who unknown to Fai is having an affair with Bo-Sam’s wife, and who hopes to eliminate him in the course of the robbery. But before this plan can be implemented, a mysterious gentleman approaches the three friends, and offers them a clue that leads to a treasure buried beneath the Hong Kong Legislative Council building. Following Tsui’s complex set-up, Lam’s following 30 minutes streamlines each narrative thread together into a tense race to claim the unearthed treasure. All of which leads into To’s trademark hyper-kinetic denouement where the three friends must dodge Wen, criminal hoods, and bullets as they are chased through the marshes outside Hong Kong. Flashy and fun, Triangle is a triptych of frenetic cinema at its best.

Hong Kong/China 2007

Directors:

Tsui Hark

Johnnie To Ringo Lam

Producers:

Tsui Hark

Johnnie To Ringo Lam

Screenwriters:

Half Leisure

Kenny Kan

Sharon Chung

Yau Nai-hoi

Au Kin-yee

Yip Tin-shing

Cinematographer:

Cheng Siu-Keung

Editor:

David Richardson

Music:

Guy Zerafa

Cast: Louis Koo

Simon Yam

Sun Hong Lei

Lam Ka Tung

Kelly Lin

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source: Magnet Releasing

Film Website: www.trianglethemovie.com

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SOUS LES BOMBES

Under the Bombs

MONDAY JUNE 9 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

TUESDAY JUNE 10 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Under the Bombs is a striking and moving thriller that takes place shortly after the 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, a 33-day siege that left 1,189 men and women dead and created more than a million refugees. Director Philippe Aractingi, in a kind of on-the-scene-style of guerrilla filmmaking, began shooting ten days after the conflict. He used just two professional actors. All others in the film play themselves. The story centers on beautiful Zeina, a Lebanese woman who’s been living in Dubai. She returns to Lebanon in a panic looking for her son Karim whom she left with her sister for the summer. As everyone is fleeing from southern Lebanon, Zeina arrives on a boat from Turkey. Wearing an inappropriate aquamarine wraparound dress and carrying only a purse, she desperately searches for a taxi to take her towards the war zone. Taxi driver Tony, a dubious lover-boy, agrees to take her south because she has “beautiful eyes.” As Zeina and Tony travel, collapsed roads, bombed bridges, ruined gas stations, and ghostly, shell-shocked people hamper their journey. This film started without producers and without a script. Philippe Aractingi, who has made more than 40 documentaries, said “I wanted to make a film on the war and the only way for me was to get involved in its reality and work inside the natural set.”

Lebanon/France/ UK/Belgium 2007

Director:

Philippe Aractingi

Producers:

Philippe Aractingi

Hervé Chabalier

Françios Cohen-Séat

Paul Raphael

Screenwriters:

Philippe Aractingi

Michel Léviant

Cinematographer:

Nidal Abdel Khalek

Editor:

Deena Charara

Music:

René Aubry

Cast:

Bshara Atallah

Rawia El Chab

Nada Abou Farhat

Georges Khabbaz

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format:

HDCAM, in Lebanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Memento Films

International

Print Source: Memento Films

International

Film Website: www.underthebombs.com

Selected Filmography: Bosta (2005)

Unfinished Sky

TUESDAY MAY 27 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM UPTOWN CINEMAS

Unfinished Sky is a loose remake of the acclaimed 1998 Dutch film The Polish Bride (SIFF 2000), with actress Monic Hendrickx re-working her role from the earlier film. John Waldring is a widowed farmer of regular habits with an irascible temperament roughened by solitude. One morning, a badly battered woman staggers on to his property. John carries her into his house and cares for her, although she is clearly terrified of him and speaks a language he does not know. Instinctively assessing the situation, he hides her from visitors and doesn’t call the police, despite her severe injuries. As the woman, Tahmeena, heals over time and picks up a little English, the two reach a tentative understanding and have some amusing exchanges as he tries to educate her on the finer points of Aussie Rules football and she puts him straight about what constitutes a square meal. A political naïf, John comes to learn that Tahmeena, an Afghani refugee, is just one of thousands in the country living without protection of the law and decides to make a positive contribution by caring for just this one person. Then the outside world starts to intrude, and everything they have come to mean to each other is threatened. Equal parts social commentary, thriller, and love story, Unfinished Sky deals with the distances between things, places, and people, which director Peter Duncan has made into a complex and engrossing drama that aims to bridge them.

Australia 2007

Director:

Peter Duncan

Producers:

Cathy Overett

Anton Smit

Screenwriter:

Peter Duncan based on the screenplay

De Poolse Bruid by Kees

van der Hulst

Cinematographer: Robert Humphreys

Editor:

Suresh Ayyar Ase

Music:

Antony Partos

Cast:

William McInnes

Monic Hendrickx

Bille Brown

Christopher Sommers

David Field

Running Time:

91 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in English and Dari, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Fortissimo Films

Selected Filmography:

Passion (1999)

A Little Bit of Soul (1998)

Children of the Revolution (1996)

LA SCONOSCIUTA

The Unknown Woman

FRIDAY JUNE 13 1:00 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 8:30 PM

CINERAMA

UPTOWN CINEMAS

The latest film from celebrated director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso, Malèna) adroitly balances its populist and artistic aims, working as both a stylish thriller and an unflinching examination of the Eastern European illegal sex trade. Irena is a Ukrainian émigré who finds employment as a cleaning woman for a luxury apartment building. She soon manages to insinuate herself into the lives of the wealthy Adacher family, particularly bonding with Gina, the nanny to the Adacher’s 4-year-old daughter Tea. That closeness, and the fortunate presence of a spiral staircase, brings Irena into the home once and for all. As her plans and schemes regarding her new employers begin to unfold, the now brunette Irena is haunted by searing, shockingly brutal flashbacks of her previously blonde past in which she led a hellish existence as a prostitute at the mercy of her vicious pimp Muffa. Attempting to instruct the waifish, defenseless Tea in the art of fighting back, Irena grows ever closer to her ward. However, her menacing past bullies its way through Italy and edges ever closer. Tornatore’s elegant manipulation of suspense tropes has earned him many comparisons to Hitchcock but it is his harrowing indictment of sexual exploitation that truly makes the heart race.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2007 (Best Foreign Language Film)

Italy 2007

Director:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Producer:

Laura Fattori

Screenwriter: Guiseppe Tornatore

Cinematographer: Fabio Zamarion

Editor:

Massimo Quaglia

Music: Ennio Morricone

Cast:

Xenia Rappaport

Michele Placido

Claudia Gerini

Margherita Buy

Pierfrancesco Favino

Running Time: 120 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Adriana Chiesa Enterprises

Print Source:

Outsider Pictures

Film Website: www.theunknownwoman. com

Selected Filmography:

Malèna (2000)

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Vexille

FRIDAY MAY 23 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY MAY 25 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

One of the most highly anticipated animé films of the year, Vexille is a visually dazzling sci-fi epic that, like its predecessor Appleseed, pushes CGI artistry into exhilarating new territory. Set in the near future, robotic research and development reaches unparalleled levels of sophistication, but when it begins to be applied to the human body, it becomes a source of international controversy. Just as with nuclear power and biotechnology previously, the United Nations proposes strict regulations to limit its application. Under the behest of the Daiwa Corporation, the world leader in robotic technology, Japan fiercely resists these sanctions and eventually becomes an isolationist state in 2067. With its borders sealed beneath an advanced magnetic shield that blocks communication and surveillance, Japan is an enigma to the rest of the world. Ten years later, a raid by S.W.O.R.D.—a U.N. Special Forces unit that polices treaty violations—of a secret Daiwa conference retrieves a disturbing artifact that so perfectly blends human tissue with bio-metal it is neither fully human nor robotic. In response to this new threat, S.W.O.R.D. agents Vexille and her unit are ordered to infiltrate Japan and discover how far Daiwa’s unsanctioned technology has progressed. Once inside the shield, Vexille joins a small band of rebels, which leads her to discover the truly monstrous scope of Daiwa’s achievements. With music by DJ Paul Oakenfold, Vexille is a marvelous mélange of sci-fi influences that explores the controversies surrounding technology’s potential to either suppress or transcend humanity.

Japan 2007

Director:

Fumihiko Sori

Producers:

Kazuya Hamana

Toshiaki Nakazawa

Ichirô Takase

Yumiko Yoshihara

Screenwriters:

Haruka Handa

Fumihiko Sori

Editor:

Fumihiko Sori

Music:

Paul Oakenfold

Michael McEvoy

Featuring the Voices of:

Meisa Kuroki

Shosuke Tanihara

Yasuko Matsuyuki

Takahiro Sakurai

Romi Paku

Running Time:

109 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Print Source:

Funimation

Film Website: www.vexille.jp

Filmography: Ping Pong (2002)

SATURDAY JUNE 14 9:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 11:00 AM

UPTOWN CINEMAS

UPTOWN CINEMAS

Young and ambitious Denis Orlov lives in the southern provincial city of Rostov-on-Don and dreams of the big time. Working as a DJ Denis has it all: good looks, a rich smart beautiful girlfriend, a place to live, talent and friends. But naïveté and arrogance force him to overplay his abilities and get involved with drug dealing. Like so many young inexperienced people out in the work force of New Russia, he falls pray to the more experienced. Enter Igor Werner, a nonconformist crime boss who’s charming, practical, violent, and terribly loyal when it comes to his reclusive sister. On the other side of the law, there’s the dedicated police investigator Dudaitis who chain-smokes and drinks his way to revenge. Vice uses the common devices of cop films, complete with shootouts, yet breaks the mold of Russian cinema. It’s more Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, than Tarkovsky. Composed of energetic cinematography and dynamic editing, the film’s extended ending even offers up a few surprises. Director-producer Valery Todorovsky won SIFF’s New Director Award in 1998 for Land of the Deaf. His films are keenly incisive observations of current Russian realities and are stylish, humanistic, and accomplished.

Russia

2007

Director:

Valery Todorovsky

Producers:

Valery Todorovsky

Vadim Goryanov

Leonid Yarmolnik

Screenwriters:

Oleg Malovichko

Valery Todorovsky

Cinematographer:

Roman Vasyanov

Editor:

Alla Urazbaeva

Music:

Aleksandr Andreev

Vladimir Eglitis

Cast:

Maxim Matveev

Fedor Bondarchuk

Aleksey Serebryakov

Yevgenia Khirivskaya

Running Time:

126 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Cinemotion Group

Print Source:

Red Arrow Motion Picture

Company

Film Website: www.tiskifilm.ru

Selected Filmography:

My Step-Brother

Frankenstein (2004)

The Lover (2002)

Land of the Deaf (1998)

Katya Ismailova (1994) Love (1991)

Villa Jasmin

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 9:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE SUNDAY JUNE 15 9:00 PM HARVARD EXIT

After being away for twenty years, Henry and his pregnant wife Jeanne, arrive from France at La Goulette, the port of Tunis, capital of Tunisia, a paradisiacal city smelling of jasmine. The first place Henry goes to visit is his father and mother’s grave in an overgrown cemetery. This begins the flashback and forth that eventually leads to the meeting of the dead Serge Boccara with his son, Henry. Serge was married to ravishing Odette and was a man of many talents and persuasions: theatre director, journalist, activist, socialist, and man about town. He also came from a long line of aristocratic, Tuscan Jews who were, as his mother said, “the chicest Jews of the Mediterranean.” Henry and Jeanne certainly appear up to these standards as they walk about the city reconstructing Henry’s past. When he’s on his own exploring, Henry has conversations with his dead father, sometimes even face-toface in which they discuss family, Serge’s fall from grace with the Vichy, his problems with German authorities, the concentration camp he was in, and about the meaning of resistance. Based on Serge Moati’s novel, Villa Jasmin, the film is a powerful drama about the historical upheavals of the 1930s and 1940s and their effects on one Tunisian family.

Tunisia 2008

Director:

Férid Boughedir

Screenwriter:

Luc Béraud based on the novel by Serge Moati

Cast: Clément Sibony

Judith Davis

Arnaud Giovaninetti

Eric Laugérias

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format:

BetaSP, in Tunisan, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Kino International

Selected Filmography: Halfaouine (1991)

The Wackness

FRIDAY JUNE 13 6:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 15 6:00 PM

Sir Ben Kingsley gives The Wackness big, glorious life in Jonathan Levine’s quirky, bittersweet coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of the sweltering summer of 1994, when Rudy Giuliani cracked down on New York City and hip-hop permeated white youth culture. Luke Shapiro’s problems seemed to be echoed and amplified by everyone around him. His family lives under the constant threat of eviction, his parents fight relentlessly, and he’s stuck in a scorching Manhattan with few friends, depressed, and lonely. He spends his days selling marijuana to stoners in Central Park and crushing on Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby), the hottest girl in school. But he finds his closest and most reliable friendship by trading weed for therapy with Stephanie’s stepfather, Dr. Squires, a man with issues of his own. It happens that the oddball doctor’s marriage is crumbling, so the two—one in late adolescence, the other in late middle-age—embark on messy passages into new life stages. Levine creates a new kind of tale about teenage identity, exposing a lifestyle that is messy and complicated but still filled with wonderment, romance, and new understandings of the world and one’s place in it. Director Jonathan Levine (All the Boys Love Mandy Lane) benefits from the appealing performances of his younger cast members, but it’s the dazzlingly funny Sir Ben Kingsley as the doped-up doctor who truly astonishes, turns the film on its end, proving that no matter how young or old, some men are always sadly, and hilariously, in need of growing up.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2008 (Audience Award)

DIE WELLE

The Wave

FRIDAY JUNE 6 6:30 PM

SATURDAY JUNE 7 1:30 PM

USA

2008

Director:

Jonathan Levine

Producers: Joe Neurauter

Keith Calder

Felipe Marino

Screenwriter:

Jonathan Levine

Cinematographer:

Petra Korner

Editor: Josh Noyes

Music:

David Torn

Cast:

Sir Ben Kingsley

Josh Peck

Famke Janssen

Olivia Thirlby

Mary-Kate Olsen

Running Time:

110 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Film Website: www.sonyclassics.com/ thewackness

Selected Filmography:

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2007)

When Rainer Wegner, a popular high school teacher, finds himself relegated to teaching autocracy as part of the school’s project week, he’s less than enthusiastic. So are his students, who greet the prospect of studying fascism yet again with apathetic grumbling, “The Nazis sucked. We get it.” Struck by the teenagers’ complacency and unwitting arrogance, Rainer devises an unorthodox experiment. His lessons start small, such as saying “good morning” in unison at the start of class, but once he’s got their attention things escalate quickly. Fascism has traditionally taken hold among underprivileged, alienated populations, and who are more alienated than high school students? Much to their surprise, the students enjoy the power of unity. They even take to dressing in crisp white shirts as they are empowered by the group. Within a couple of days, they name themselves “The Wave,” create a logo, and a secret handshake reminiscent of a Nazi salute. Initial ideas about social equality and the will of the people are appealing until they go too far. As in the rise of the Nazis, unstable and disturbed individuals latch on and feel powerful for the first time, no longer outsiders. Based on a real 1967 event in a Palo Alto high school and transposed to contemporary Germany, The Wave is a cautionary tale about the terrifying irony that these students may welcome the very things they denounce.

Germany 2008

Director:

Dennis Gansel

Producers:

Christina Becker

Nina Maag

David Groenewold

Screenwriters:

Dennis Gansel

Peter Thorwart based on the novel by Todd Strasser

Cinematographer: Torsten Breuer

Editor:

Ueli Christen

Music:

Heiko Maile

Cast: Jürgen Vogel

Frederick Lau

Max Riemelt

Jennifer Ulrich

Christiane Paul

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Celluloid Dreams

Print Source: Celluloid Dreams

Selected Filmography: Before the Fall (Napola) (2004)

Girls on Top (2001)

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

CINERAMA

When Did You Last See Your Father? Wonderful

Town

SATURDAY JUNE 7 6:30 PM

SUNDAY JUNE 8 4:00 PM

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

EGYPTIAN THEATRE

Taking its title from W. F. Yeames’ famous painting of the interrogation of a Royalist family scion during the English Civil War, Anand Tucker’s hard-hitting meditation about the powerful bond between fathers and sons will not disappoint admirers of his earlier Hilary and Jackie. However much they try to avoid becoming their fathers, most fully-grown men have to come to terms with the fact that, in many ways, they have. Who better to tackle this dilemma than that nonpareil portrayer of introverted self-doubt, Colin Firth? As Blake attempts to make peace with his monumentally egotistical father, Arthur (another towering performance from the estimable Jim Broadbent), the latter is struck down by cancer. Blake resigns himself to their unequal relationship until a series of unbidden memories of his tortured childhood in the buttoned-down England of the 1950s slowly reveal that, in his own perverse way, his father was doing his best to show his son he loved him. Simultaneously tender and heart-rending, the plot and themes of When Did You Last See Your Father? may be simple, but they are not necessarily easy, and Tucker does a fine job of deftly moving along scenes that a lesser director would bludgeon to death.

United Kingdom

2007

Director:

Anand Tucker

Producers:

Stephen Woolley

Elizabeth Karlsen

Screenwriter: David Nicholls based on the memoir by Blake Morrison

Cinematographer: Howard Atherton

Editor: Trevor Waite

Music:

Barrington Pheloung

Cast: Colin Firth

Jim Broadbent

Juliet Stevenson

Gina McKee

Claire Skinner

Running Time:

92 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

Intandem Films, London

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Selected Filmography:

Shopgirl (2005)

Hilary and Jackie (1998)

Saint-Ex (1996)

WEDNESDAY JUNE 11 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

SUNDAY JUNE 15 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Filmed on location in southern Thailand at a spot where the 2004 tsunami claimed some 8,000 lives, Wonderful Town focuses on a traumatized community still in recovery long after the physical shockwaves of disaster have subsided. Bangkok-based architect Ton goes to Takua Pa to supervise a reconstruction project. The only guest in a spartan boarding house, he spends his days at the building site, which is ominously adjacent to an abandoned temple. Gradually, he falls for quiet, sensitive Na, manager of the boarding house much to the chagrin of her surly brother Wit who, feeling himself to be a hopeless case, resents Na’s newfound happiness. Umpornpol Yugala’s impressive cinematography, which captures the desolate village almost as an actual protagonist of the film, merits special mention, as does the lovely, yearning score of Zai Kuning and Koichi Shimizu. Debut director Aditya Assarat injects a cathartic aspect into his poignant narrative reflection of the devastation suffered in the tsunami. Assarat also displays great skill in gradually introducing drama and violence in a slow burn to create a fragile, beautiful film that has deservedly won a number of significant prizes for its talented director.

Awards:

Rotterdam Film Festival 2008 (Tiger Award) Hong Kong Film Festival 2008 (FIPRESCI Prize)

Thailand 2007

Director:

Aditya Assarat

Producers: Soros Sukhum

Jetnipith Teerakulchanyut

Screenwriter: Aditya Assarat

Cinematographer: Umpornpol Yugala

Editor: Lee Chatametikool

Music:

Zai Kuning

Koichi Shimizu

Cast:

Anchalee Saisoontorn

Supphasit Kansen

Dul Yaambunying

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm, in Thai, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Memento Films

Print Source:

Kino International

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY JUNE 8 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

TUESDAY JUNE 10 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

The psychological damage caused by inappropriate gender assignation is sensitively explored in newcomer Lucia Puenzo’s brave study of teen angst. Born a hermaphrodite and raised as a girl, 15-year-old Alex is nudged by her parents towards making a choice that will impact her entire future. Ultimately well intentioned, the parents even invite a surgeon acquaintance to help with this painful process. But after feisty Alex manages to fend off a gang of taunting teenage boys, an intimate encounter with the surgeon’s son Alvaro (who has gender identity issues of his own), unleashes a torrent of interference from those who think they have Alex’s best interests at heart. Set against atmospheric wind-swept beach scenes, neophyte Ines Efron and Argentinean star Ricardo Darín (El Aura, Nine Queens) deliver strong performances as Alex and her father. Director Lucia Puenzo cites influences from both the cinematic work of Haneke, Bruno Dumont, and Cassavetes as well as the literature of Cheever and Nabokov. Based on a short story called “Cinismo”, from the Argentine writer Sergio Bizzio, XXY is an accomplished, non-judgmental plea for tolerance and a reminder that gender identity should never be arbitrarily imposed.

Awards:

Montreal World Film Festival 2007 (Jury Award)

Argentina/Spain/ France

2007

Director:

Lucia Puenzo

Producers:

Luis Puenzo

Jose María Morales

Screenwriter: Lucía Puenzo

based on the short story

“Cinismo” by Sergio Bizzio

Cinematographer:

Natasha Braier

Editors:

Alex Zito

Hugo Primero

Music:

Andrés Goldstein

Daniel Tarrab

Cast:

Ricardo Darín

Valeria Bertuccelli

Germán Palacios

Carolina Peleritti

Martín Piroyansky

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pyramide International

Print Source:

Film Movement

Film Website: www.xxylapelicula. puenzo.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Young People Fucking

SATURDAY MAY 31 9:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

SUNDAY JUNE 1 4:30 PM EGYPTIAN THEATRE

With such a high-concept title, one might think there would be little left to actually describe the film itself. What you see is what you get, right? Well, yes, but there’s certainly more to it. Played out in six sections—Prelude, Foreplay, Sex, Interlude, Orgasm, and Afterglow—the film follows five couples as they prepare for an evening of sensual delights. First, there’s Matt and Kris, long-time best friends who decide to sleep together after a series of depressing, failed relationships. Office player Ken attempts another by-the-numbers first date seduction of his co-worker, the naïve Jaime. Married-couple Andrew and Abby’s stale domestic bliss prompts Abby to propose a new way to expand their tired repertoire. Mia and Eric used to be a couple but have now gone their separate ways, though they have time for one last hook-up. And finally, there’s Dave, whose quiet Tuesday night is disturbed when his roommate Gord and his “impossibly hot” girlfriend Inez recruit him for a threesome. Writer-director Martin Gero’s smart and sexy debut feature is endlessly inventive. While it comes as no surprise that each couple (or threesome) encounters unforeseen complications, the film refuses to fall into clichés. Instead it honestly and hilariously spins every awkward moment into ribald gold. Ultimately, Young People Fucking is a warmly comic celebration of the act that Woody Allen once called “the most fun you can have without laughing”— but, please feel free to laugh, if you like.

Awards: Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award 2008 (Best Supporting Actress)

Canada

2007

Director:

Martin Gero

Producers:

Aaron Abrams

Steven Hoban

Tracey Boulton

Screenwriters:

Martin Gero

Aaron Abrams

Cinematographer:

Arthur E. Cooper

Editor: Mike Banas

Music:

Todor Kobakov

Cast:

Carly Pope

Callum Blue

Diora Baird

Aaron Abrams

Sonja Bennett

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

35mm

International Sales:

THINKFilm

Print Source:

THINKFilm

Film Website:

www.ypfthemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

IMY FESTIVAL

n 1895, when the Lumiere Brothers projected their first motion picture of a train arrival at La Ciotat for Parisian audiences, people fled from the screen fearing they would be run over. Now, thanks to web 2.0 and SIFF’s MyFestival website sponsored by IndieFlix, you can just click your mouse and save your computer monitor the heartbreak of a potential train derailment. MyFestival is a first-time offering at SIFF 2008, wherein we will stream ten feature-length films and ten short films at myfestival.siff.net between May 23rd and June 8th. Via this website, our audience will be able to watch the films and then vote for their favorites. The winning feature and short will then screen on the final day of SIFF, 6:30 pm, June 15, at the Harvard Exit. Just think, here are 20 more films you can add to your SIFF tally during those wee hours of the morning when our venues are closed. To access this new way to “festival,” visit myfestival.siff.net, log in, watch the films, and vote! It’s easier than fleeing the approach of an onscreen train.

The Eternal City

Feature Films

Maidenhead

Italy/USA

2008

Directors:

Jason Goodman

Arianna De Giorgi

Producers:

Jason Goodman

Arianna De Giorgi

Cast:

Jason Goodman

Joe Lacovino

Giulia Steigerwalt

For those tired of Paris’ claim on the title “City of Love,” try Rome. When Jonny arrives from Philadelphia searching for his girlfriend, his destiny becomes intertwined with a filmmaker from New York, a pianist obsessed with her dreams, and a nine-fingered piano tuner. Shot in glittering black and white, The Eternal City is an effervescent Roman holiday.

Pablo Gasparri

Running Time: 90 minutes

Print Source:

Eternal City Films

USA

2008

Director:

Jim Spanos

Producer:

Martin Fuller is a young man trying desperately to have a social life while attending to the strange needs of his bed-ridden and seemingly demented father. But one day he happens upon the naive but lovable church girl Meredith, who makes Martin feel as if there might be a chance for him to have a real life…until she learns his father’s secret.

SUNDAY JUNE 15 6:30 PM HARVARD EXIT

Perfect Sport

Anthony O’Brien takes high school drama to the mat. He stars as high school wrestler Lee Bishop who must compete against his sister Tina’s natural talent when she decides to join the boy’s team, before personal demons and bigger issues threaten to destroy him. Also starring Jessica Rose (Lonelygirl15) and Harvey Keitel’s daughter Stella.

Screw Cupid

Jim Spanos

Cast:

Michael Parks

A.J. Bowen

Lorri Hamm-Wilson

Brandon Smith

Zoe Simpson

Running Time:

82 minutes

Print Source:

Maidenhead Movie Co. LLC.

USA

2007

Director:

Anthony O’Brien

Producers:

Dion Emery

Mark Sayre

Zach Mann

Chai Mann

Anthony O’Brien

Cast:

Anthony O’Brien

Gary Hudson

Jessica Lee Rose

Stella Keitel

Running Time:

86 minutes

Print Source: Building Block Pictures

USA

2007

Director:

Sanjeev Sirpal

Producers:

Sanjeev Sirpal

Amita Balla

Cast: Chris Boyd

Mircea Monroe

Amita Balla

Taylor Polvar believes love should happen like it does in the movies. But when his girlfriend leaves him for a pseudo-Australian soap star, he’s forced to navigate the stormy romantic seas of personal ads and dating agencies. Then he meets Swain Holly, who might just be the girl of his dreams, if only she believed love actually existed.

Shea Curry

Innis Casey

Running Time: 113 minutes

Print Source: Screw Cupid, LLC

Writer-director

Special People

Based on the award-winning comedic short, Special People follows Jasper, a pretentious filmmaker, whose new project leads him to teach a filmmaking class to a group of cynical, disabled teens at the local community centre. But when he takes the group to a mountain to craft his “visual poem” on adversity, his students just might push him over the edge.

United Kingdom

2007

Director:

Justin Edgar

Producers:

Kielder Kids

Justin Edgar

Cast:

Dominic Coleman

Robyn Frampton

Jamie McKay

Tally Annie Pears

Running Time: 80 minutes

Print Source: 104 films

Documentary Features

Frontrunner

In the aftermath of September 11, America’s military might set the stage for democratic elections in the formerly oppressed nation of Afghanistan. With new freedoms and opportunities available, Dr. Massouda Jalai, a medical doctor and mother of three, became the first woman to run for her country’s presidency since the ouster of the Taliban.

The Last Word

In this engaging documentary about Church and State, crime and punishment, director Jesse Quackenbus investigates the infamous Johnny Frank Garrett case, in which a 17-year-old mentally-handicapped boy was arrested, and ultimately executed, for the rape and murder of Sister Tadea Benz.

Afghanistan/USA/ Argentina

2007

Director:

Virginia Williams

Producer:

Virginia Williams

Featuring: Dr. Massouda Jalai

Running Time: 90 minutes

Print Source: New View Films, LLC

Making the River

Raised as a ward of the State of Oregon, Jimi Dexter Simmons grew up ill-prepared for adulthood, and eventually ended up in the Washington State Penitentiary. To make matters worse, he would later be accused and convicted of murdering a prison guard, and placed in solitary confinement for more than two years. Making the River is the story of Simmons’ quest for freedom.

Needle Through Brick

As the world’s focus turns to China for this year’s Summer Olympics, Needle Through Brick examines the struggle for survival that traditional Chinese Kung Fu faces in its home country’s rapidly changing and modernizing society.

DIUMENGE A LES CINC Sunday at Five

USA 2007

Director:

Jesse Quackenbush

Producer:

Cinco Rosas

Narrated by: Tom Kane

Running Time: 90 minutes

Print Source:

Cinco Rosas Productions

Taking its key subjects from both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict—Séanna Walsh, a former IRA member, and Billy McQuiston, a member of the loyalist UDA—Sunday at Five explores with uncompromising acuity the complex role prisoners undertook to effect a lasting peace within their country.

USA

2007

Director: Sarah Del Seronde

Producer: Paul Stoll

Featuring: Jimi Simmons

Running Time: 75 minutes

Print Source: Paul Stoll, Filmmaker

Malaysia/USA 2008

Director:

Patrick Daly

Producers: Joel Fendelman

James Adolphus

Patrick Daly

Featuring: Eric Ling

Running Time: 70 minutes

Print Source: Season of Light Pictures

Spain/ United Kingdom 2008

Director: Joan López Lloret

Executive Producer: Albert Jordana

Featuring: Billy McQuiston

Séanna Walsh

Running Time: 57 minutes

Print Source: BATABAT SCCL

My Festival Shorts

Buried

USA, 2007, 6 minutes

Directed by John Dion

Over-protective parents do more harm than good when three icons of childhood come to call.

Hot Wind: America’s Fallout Casualties

USA, 2007, 30 minutes

Directed by Kirsten Alaqidy

In this harrowing short documentary, director Kirsten Alaqidy investigates the era of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site as experienced by the downwind residents of Parowan, Utah.

The Lost Coast

USA, 2007, 14 minutes

Directed by Timothy Plain

Two friends take a hike along the coast in a naturalistic mood study about the significance of humanity on earth.

Mr. Miller Dahl

USA, 2007, 8 minutes

Directed by Will Wernick

Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Miller Dahl prepares for a job interview.

Nana

USA, 2008, 3 minutes

Directed by Lincoln Lewis, Ben Medina

An elderly couple enjoys an evening on the couch reading; what more could happen?

Robbie’s Withdrawal

USA, 2007, 8 minutes

Directed by John Burish

When Marcus backs out of Robbie’s big day with the baby, she’s forced to go it alone.

Sick Sex

USA, 2008, 12 minutes

Directed by Justin Nowell

Amanda has a fever. Ken is horny.

Simulacra

USA, 2007, 5 minutes

Directed by Tatchapon Lertwirojkul

In a world of robots, the discovery of a single flower leads to a hyper-kinetic race to obtain the bloom.

The Temerity of Zim

USA, 2008, 10 minutes

Directed by Joshua Kopple

When brash Zim gets caught with another woman by his girlfriend, her mom, her dad, and her dad’s hunting rifle, he’ll need to decide what’s truly important.

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting

Taiwan, 2007, 6 minutes

Directed by Shih-Yung Lin

On a long, hot summer’s day an artist’s wooden model masters Kung Fu.

Salutes the 34th Annual Seattle International Film Festival

MARTIN

Billy O Wines proceeds benefit the following non-profit organizations:

THE ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION HOPEHEART THE MOYER FOUNDATION

DREAMCATCHERS AN EVENING FOR ERIN WATER 1ST INTERNATIONAL

RBI CLUB-TOYS FOR KIDS THE DETLEF SCHREMPF FOUNDATION SIFF

PONCHO BRIAN KEAY BENEFIT GILDA’S CLUB OF SEATTLE SAVE MOSES

RELIEF FUND SENIORS MAKING ART SEATTLE AQUARIUM SPLASH!

www.billyowines.com

MAZIE CHARDONNAY

SIFF News takes you behind the scenes to the folks who make it all happen—hear more from Festival staffers, programmers, and featured filmmakers who give you exclusive insights! Subscribe to the podcast to have the latest videocasts delivered directly to your computer!

At Babelgum.com you will find the new SIFF Channel, screening many of the 2008 SIFF short films and SIFF’s Fly Films from 2004–2007, our annual filmmakers’ competition in which we give participants five days to shoot and five days to edit a ten-minute short film. Babelgum is the new web TV portal intended to feed web users’ passion for independent film-making.

IndieFlix—Your Source for Independent Film—is pleased to host SIFF’s first MyFestival online! SIFF will present an online juried contest of ten feature-length films and ten short films —and YOU’RE THE JURY!

Go to http://myfestival.siff.net , log in, watch films, and vote! The winning feature and winning short will be screened on the final day of the Festival, June 15, 2008 at 7:00pm at our flagship venue, SIFF Cinema. MyFestival online begins Friday, May 23 and runs until Sunday, June 8.

Visit Film.com throughout the Festival to watch the free short film of the day, and for continued coverage of the Festival. Film.com is your home for finding out what’s happening in movies, entertainment, television, DVDs, independent films, celebrity gossip, and more.

RealNetworks is the proud host for all the 2008 SIFF feature film trailers, available on the film information pages of www.siff.net. RealNetworks, Inc. is a leading creator of digital media services and software such as Rhapsody, RealArcade, and RealPlayer.

SIFF brings you 24/7 access to MORE FILMS, MORE FUN, and MORE FESTIVAL online at www.siff.net. Check out SIFF News online for behind-the-scenes interviews and on-the-scene coverage of the Festival.

2008

has worked in independent film in Seattle for more than a decade as both a curator and film producer. Since 1996 he has worked at Northwest Film Forum, a Seattle film arts organization which has two cinemas, workshops, production gear, commissions new work and aids more than 150 artists a year. Seiwerath has held the position of Executive Director since 2001.

During his tenure, Seiwerath guided the cinematheque and filmmaking center through a decade of consistent growth, including the expansion from two small venues with limited staff, to a specially-designed 8,000 square foot space housing two cinemas, editing suites, classroom space, and filmmaker offices.

His leadership helped the organization establish a reputation as a premier film exhibition space in Seattle and the heart of artistic filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest. Nearly 1,000 members strong, NWFF has grown to currently aide 625 filmmakers in the production of more than 100 films annually, screen more than 200 programs and offer more than 60 workshops each year. Seiwerath's dedication to the innovative Start-to-Finish grant program, which partners the resources of NWFF with a local artist to produce a feature length film, using both non-profit and for-profit funding, established the program as a model unique in the non-profit world. The film Police Beat, which Seiwerath produced, premiered in Dramatic Competition at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and has played to great acclaim at festivals worldwide. His current feature, David Russo’s The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, is in post-production.

The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle

Police Beat

Hedda Gabler

Buffalo Bill’s Defunct: Stories from the New West

Under his leadership, NWFF completed a capital campaign for the build-out of its current home, helped raise over one million dollars for the production of local films and grew the organizational budget by 80%. During this time, NWFF has increased its national presence, distributing films and putting together its first international touring film retrospective and growing two film festivals. He has long been interested in the intersection of cinema with other art forms, and is a tireless advocate for northwest films.

In 2005, he was the recipient for the Stranger Genius Award for Film

He will be moving on from Northwest Film Forum in August 2008, but looks forward to remaining active in the filmmaking community. Born in Tacoma, Seiwerath has spent nearly his entire life in the Puget Sound region. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Rachel Kessler, a poet and performer, and their two kids, Ruby and Iris.

The Northwest Film Forum has been crucial in giving voice to Seattle’s vibrant film community.

The Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film is made to an individual or entity which has raised the profile of the City of Seattle and its film industry through an outstanding film-related achievement, or major contribution to the growth, advancement and reputation of Seattle as a filmmaking city. The five Seattle film industry representatives on the Nomination and Selection Committee reached a unanimous decision on the 2008 nomination.

FESTIVAL FORUMS

The Festival Forums are often referred to as the voice of SIFF.

In fact, they contain many more voices than just our own, staging lively discussion, insight, and conversation between diverse artists. Intimate, informative, and enlightening, these forums are a rare opportunity for audiences to participate in conversations with exceptional filmmakers and other artists who are passionate about cinematic arts, and who help guide the medium into its future.

FLY FILMS

TALKING PICTURES

This year’s lineup will inspire cineastes of every kind. We are excited to present the third annual Talking Pictures Series, for which we turned over the programming reins to local personalities who will join us at the screenings along with our host Nancy Guppy. New this year, we’ve added a special Talking Picture with an out-of-town guest in partnership with Seattle Arts & Lectures: provocateur and iconoclast filmmaker, John Waters. In addition, there will be opportunities to participate in the Northwest Production Summit Forums, an exciting new initiative launched this Festival.

With something on the table for everyone, we look forward to seeing you at these special events, and hope they offer insight and inspiration to those who make the movies as well as the film fan in us all.

John Waters presents Cecil B. DeMented (France/USA, 2000), directed by John Waters page 49

Stephanie Shine, Artistic Director of Seattle Shakespeare Company, presents Romeo and Juliet (United Kingdom, 1968), directed by Franco Zeffirelli page 51

FORUMS

Howard Patterson, an original member of The Flying Karamazov Brothers, presents The Young Master (Hong Kong, 1980), directed by Jackie Chan page 53

Northwest Production Summit Forums Show Me the Money

Pitch Slam

So You Want to be an Independent Producer

An Afternoon with F. Murray Abraham

SIFF Classrooms

Digital Media Lab

The 2008 Festival Forums Presented in Association with

E RITECOFFEE

FLY FILMMAKING

This year’s Fly Filmmaking Challenge takes us back to our roots and is truly a mad dash to the big screen!

Reminiscent of the program circa 1994, the Festival tore a page from the history book and filmmakers flashed back to tighter timelines and sleepless nights.

In March of this year our three narrative filmmakers arrived at a secret location and were given just one hour to find the inspiration for their ten-minute film. And our behind-the-scenes documentary crew was on site to catch all the drama from pre-production to production, and from post to premiere. Come witness creativity take flight at the premiere of the 2008 Fly Filmmaking Challenge!

Team Timelines

1 hour to choose a location

7 days to write the script 4 short days to prep the film 3 days to shoot 5 days to edit

Creativity in Context

Welcome to Creativity in Context, part of a documentary series exploring the full range of creative endeavor as expressed by humanity from pole to pole. Our film crew gets a behind-the-scenes look at the Seattle International Film Festival’s Fly Filmmaking Challenge, an ongoing experiment in “making art” under seemingly harsh restrictions. Does setting maniacal limits help or hinder creativity? Find out from the stressed-out filmmakers themselves, plus the usual phalanx of experts with advanced degrees.

Cheryl Slean

Cheryl Slean is an award-winning writer, director, and educator with a background in science and technology. She has written and directed four short films which have screened at dozens of film festivals. Her most recent film, Diggers, received the IFP/Seattle Spotlight award, premiered at SIFF 2007, and has upcoming screenings in England, Egypt, and Miami Beach. Cheryl has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington and teaches writing at the UW, Seattle University, and the Hugo House.

MOVING

Leah prepares once again for an oft-postponed cross-country move with the help of her sister’s family. But when her plans begin to fall apart, she must make a decision that will impact more than just her own future.

Megan Griffiths

For the past eight years, Megan Griffiths has been an active member of the Northwest film community. She has worked as an editor, a cinematographer, and a first assistant director on numerous independent projects, and wrote and directed her debut feature First Aid for Choking in 2002. Currently, Megan is working with a talented team on her latest feature The Off Hours, which tells the story of three lost souls who live and work at night in a small, truck stop town. The Off Hours is set to star Alicia Silverstone and Aidan Quinn (schedule dependent) and will shoot in Seattle in 2008.

SHUT EYE

END ZONE

Rob Cunningham

Rob Cunningham started making short films the day after his fifth grade birthday party on a rented Betamax camera and a set made of Legos. He’s been making strange little films ever since. In 2000 he won first prize for a short from the Stranger’s First (and only) Annual Film and Video competition. His latest short film, Gustav Braustache and the Auto-Debilitator, is the result of several years of work, many blown fuses, and a forfeited damage deposit. The film, which he co-wrote and co-directed, was recently awarded Best Short Narrative at the New Beijing International Movie Festival.

Joe Shapiro

Joe Shapiro is a self-described recovering computer geek. After a successful career in software, he returned to one of his earlier passions—acting. Some years later he caught the editing bug and has edited five independent features. Of those, four have won awards, three won top honors, two were in competition at Sundance, and one (Zoo) was in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Like all good editors, Joe has a passion for story. Unlike most, he loves being on set and has directed several award-winning shorts.

Andy McCone

Andy McCone’s first film Rent’s Due, a poetic black and white eccentric silent film, has traveled the world and charmed audiences other than his family. Other films, too few to mention, have won awards and caught audiences by surprise. Andy’s five year stint in the Peace Corps from ages 2 to 7 prepared him for a life rich in story. His early travels to Borneo, Sierra Leone, and Malawai informed his aesthetic and moral compass. Currently Andy and his film partner Joe Shapiro are looking to direct their first feature.

A robot plays chess against Death over coffee. Death does not compute.

“To sleep, perchance to dream…” But not when Fatal Familial Insomnia (FFI) makes sleep and reality distant memories for a young man who tries to piece together what remains of his life.

Northwest Production Summit

The Seattle International Film Festival, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Film and Music, WashingtonFilmWorks, and the Washington State Film Office, is launching the First Annual Northwest Production Summit at the 2008 Festival.

Held June 12 through June 15, this Summit is designed to help secure the position of SIFF and Washington State as an industry destination where creativity flourishes and valuable business is conducted.

Washington State is a convergence zone of technology, film, and music. SIFF and Washington film agencies want to expose the unique attributes that make working in this state an enjoyable and wise decision. From pre-production to production, post to premiere, Washington has the expertise and tools needed for extraordinary and creative filmmaking.

The centerpiece of the Summit will be an intimate, invitation-only, three-day symposium designed to introduce industry leaders in the independent film world, including the creative minds of directors and producers, and the business savvy of agents, financiers, and entertainment lawyers, to Washington’s triple threat.

The exclusive gathering will include work sessions dedicated to exploring the intersection of film, music, and technology. Executives from some of Washington’s leading creative businesses will offer an insider’s look at their operations and upcoming creative ventures, introducing our guests to the leading edge of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

In addition to the symposium, the summit will include opportunities for the local filmmaking community. In partnership with IFP/Seattle, there will be a mentorship program in which five filmmakers (selected through a competitive process) will be included in some of the symposium events, as well as have one-on-one time with our guests to ask questions, talk about projects, and gain valuable advice from these industry leaders.

Local filmmakers will also be able to witness the creative and savvy industry guests in action when they participate in public forum panels on the business of film, which will be open to the public, including a Pitch Slam presented in partnership with IFP/Seattle and the Northwest Screenwriters Guild.

We are excited about this launch and hope you will join us at the panels.

Show Me the Money

FRIDAY JUNE 13 3:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

As the models for financing independent features continue to evolve, what do you need to know to get the most out of this elusive marketplace? How can you take advantage of incentives and tax credits? What do you need to know in order to talk with investors? How about hedge funds? Come listen to packaging agents, independent producers, and financiers discuss their success stories, challenges, and the financial realities present in the world of independent production.

So You Want to Be an Independent Producer?

FRIDAY JUNE 13 4:30PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Richard Zanuck once stated, “The producer is like the conductor of an orchestra. Maybe he can’t play every instrument, but he knows what every instrument should sound like.” So besides having an ear for film, what does being a producer really mean? Learn about the process of taking material from story to screen from one of the most experienced and prolific producers working today. Highlights will include choosing the right project, development, financing, and selling your film.

PANELS

The Pitch Slam

SATURDAY JUNE 14 4:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Pitching is hell. The screenwriter enters with five minutes to tell a feature-length story to studio execs who listen to stories all day. While the screenwriter talks, the suits check e-mail, stock quotes, and dinner reservations. When done, should the screenwriter fail, they’ll never work in this town again. If successful, the suits hand over a wad of cash and send the writer home to rewrite the screenplay to make it the same...only different. Join us, our partners from IFP/Seattle, and the Northwest Screenwriters Guild for an exciting live competition where filmmakers pitch their projects to visiting film industry professionals. The event is a culmination of prior workshops and competitions. This final, live round gives the finalists and audience an insider’s look at the world of the fabled pitch meeting.

AN AFTERNOON WITH F. MURRAY ABRAHAM

MONDAY MAY 26 2:00PM NORTHWEST FILM FORUM

Join us for an afternoon with Academy Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham in a conversation about his rich and varied acting career. As the review of his performance as Shylock in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice reveals, “…with his stillness utterly compelling, and working like a cinematic close-up so that all eyes were focused on him, on every eye movement and muscle twitch, with ears tuned to every syllable, word, and sentence. Such was his power that no one in the audience coughed or moved…It was another Oscar-winning performance.” He is a master at the top of his game on the boards or on the screen. Come listen to an expertly moderated discussion with this master actor about his insights into developing a performance for both stage and screen and his advice to the players.

Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham has appeared in more than 80 films, including Amadeus, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as Golden Globe and L.A. Film Critics Awards. He also has an established reputation for his powerful and sensitive work in the genre of spoken word with music. He has performed under the batons of some of the greatest conductors in America and Europe, and made his New York Philharmonic debut in May 2005 as the Narrator in Stravinsky’s L’histoire Du soldat. A veteran of the theater stage, Mr. Abraham has appeared in more than 90 plays, most recently starring in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta in New York for the Theatre for a New Audience, and later at Stratford-upon-Avon as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “All of Shakespeare” cycle. Faber and Faber recently published Mr. Abraham’s book, titled A Midsummer Night’s Dream, about Shakespeare’s play of that name.

F. Murray Abraham will narrate the Genesis Suite, a musical depiction of the Book of Genesis co-written by seven of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century, with Maestro Gerard Schwarz and Seattle Symphony in the Suite’s first live performance in more than 60 years. May 29 and 31. For tickets and information about Genesis Suite, visit www.seattlesymphony.org.

SIFF Classroom: Digital Media Lab

June 5 and 6

IrisInk and The Seattle Mac Store will present classes on various aspects of digital filmmaking and editing–not only for the experienced filmmaker, but also for the novice, aspiring director, or anyone looking for a way to realize their cinematic vision. We are proud to partner with these outstanding innovators in the world of digital technology for our hands-on, interactive filmmaker classrooms. These classes are free but ticketed reservations are available through the SIFF Box Office. Seating is limited.

This comprehensive series of seminars includes the basics of digital film editing, encoding, and how to turn your film into a DVD once you are finished using Apple’s Final Cut Studio. Classes run the gamut from beginning to intermediate use of the applications.

Introduction to Final Cut Pro

THURSDAY JUNE 5 10:00 AM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

FRIDAY JUNE 6 10:00 AM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

Final Cut Pro has created a paradigm shift in the worlds of video and film post-production. This session will provide an overview of video formats and standards, a primer of post-production basics, and a walk-through of Final Cut Pro, from importing and editing to transitions, audio mixing, and titling. No video experience is necessary.

Instructor: Kris Boustedt

Advanced Techniques in Final Cut Pro

THURSDAY JUNE 5 11:30 AM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

FRIDAY JUNE 6 11:30 AM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

This session will focus on topics such as color keying, color correction, and audio finishing. Also learn how to utilize Photoshop files in your video projects, as well as export for DVD and web distribution.

Instructor: Kris Boustedt

DVD Authoring with DVD Studio Pro

THURSDAY JUNE 5 1:00 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

FRIDAY JUNE 6 1:00 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

DVD Studio Pro integrates seamlessly with Final Cut Pro for a complete DVD delivery workflow. This session will introduce the foundations of DVD technology like disc structure and MPEG encoding, then show you how to create content with Final Cut Pro and Photoshop. Finally, the session will delve into DVD Studio Pro, where you will learn about compression, menu design, interactive programming, Dolby Digital audio tracks, and DVD-ROM material.

Instructor: Kris Boustedt

Introduction to Final Cut Studio

THURSDAY JUNE 5 3:00 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

FRIDAY JUNE 6 3:00 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

Final Cut Studio is a post-production factory in a box. Edit your films with Final Cut Pro, create professional DVDs in DVD Studio Pro, compose music and fix audio problems with Soundtrack Pro, colorcorrect your project with Color, utilize the enterprise-level encoding technology in Compressor, and create 2D and 3D effects in Motion! In this session, you’ll get a taste for how these programs work together and how you can maximize your skill sets.

Instructor: Kris Boustedt

Encoding

THURSDAY JUNE 5 4:30 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

FRIDAY JUNE 6 4:30 PM (1 hour)

AT THE BROADWAY PERFORMANCE HALL, ROOM 306

Instructor: Kris Boustedt

With hundreds (if not thousands) of combinations of codecs (compressor/decompressor), finding the best option for your film can be painful. In this lecture, we will cover the different encoding methods for web and DVD, and you will learn how to make your film look its best. If you need to export your films digitally, this session is for you.

New

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Teegarden/Nash Collection

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On March 8, 2008, SIFF lost one of its own, Brian Blue— longtime festival fan, employee, programmer, and selfproclaimed film geek. Growing up, he used to dream of seeing films from such luminaries as David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, and Akira Kurosawa that neither screened nor were even available at the video stores in his Illinois hometown. Movieloving Seattle soon beckoned, where Brian ended up working for two icons of our city’s rich cinema culture—first at Scarecrow Video, where he zealously shared his love and knowledge of film with patrons and employees alike, and then at SIFF, originally serving as Assistant Volunteer Coordinator in 2000. Two years later, he joined the programming team. Legions of midnight movie aficionados will remember him for his eclectic and energizing taste in late-night fare. Brian left the Festival in 2006, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer, which claimed his life at the too-young age of 37. He is, and always will be, terribly missed.

“…[D]eath is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.”—Rossiter

Worthington Raymond

Nadja Tennstedt

Terry Hines and Associates

Medwin Textor

Mike Thomas

Gudrun Edda Thorhannesdottir

Kyle Thorpe

Karsten Tietz

Valery Todorvosky

Helen du Toit

Hedy Tong

WingYan Tong

Jen Trotter

Fred Tsui

Chuck Tucci

James Tune

Jim Tuohey

Denis Turcotte

Debra Twersky

Minrou Uchida

Gal Uchovsky

Benjamin Ullom

Helen Underwood

Mark Urman

Nancy Utley

Sean Uyehara

Katalin Vajda

Todd Van Cise

Lamar Van Dyke

Steve Van Til

Marnix Van Wijk

James VanNess

Nate Vaughn

Jayne Vidheecharoen

Gisela Viehoever

Michael Vollman

Huong Vu

Janet Wainwright

Tom Waldman

Geoffrey Walker

Tim Walker

Jeannine Wallach

Monkey Watson

Michael Weber

Cruz Webster

Dani Weinstein

Rob Wells

Ruby Wells

Michael Werner

Ryan Werner

Erin West

Julie Whang

David Wheeler

Teri White

Sam Whiting

Brian Whitish

David Whitlock

Caleb Whitmore

Amanda Williams

Lorna Williams

Ryan Williams

Tessa Williams

Rusty Willoughby

Jeffrey Winter

Seymour Wishman

Elizabeth Wolfe

JoAnn Wolfe

Joy Wong

Victor “White Rabbit” Wong

Monika Wong

Wong Doody

Meghan Wurtz

Nick Yanity

Rebecca Yeldham

Claire Zambaux

Karin Zaugg

Stephanie Zeitler

Olga Zhuravleva

Tony Zimney

Mark Zoelllmer

Dennis Zook

1-800-RID-OF-IT........................................276

911 Media Arts Center ..............................256

Adobe Systems...........................................68

Air France....................................................78

Alaska Airlines .............................................64

Alaska Distributors ......................................38

Alpha Cine ....................................................1

American Airlines ........................................31

American Apparel ......................................162

Babelgum ..................................................130

Bad Animals ..............................................256

Ballet Restaurant ......................................230

Bank Of New York Mellon ............................24

Baseline Studio Systems ............................40

BCSR

The Big Print ..............................................314

Billy O Wines ..............................................246

Bombay Sapphire/Bacardi USA ....................2

The Broadway Grill ......................................36

Brotherton Cadillac Buick

Pontiac GMC ..................Inside Front Cover

Bumbershoot / One Reel ............................44

Caffe Vita ..................................................290

Central Cinema ..........................................184

Chihuly Studios ...........................................50

China Airlines .............................................134

Chinoise ....................................................190

Cinema On The Lawn ...............................282

Cinerama

Classical KING FM 98.1 ..............................80

Clearwire

ColorsNW

Comcast

Crave ........................................................202

Crossroads

Crow

Davis Wright Tremaine ................................40

Dawson Plumbing Showroom...................168

Day Wireless Systems ...............................286

Digital Forest .............................................304

Digital Kitchen ..............................................18

Dilettante

DISH

Film.com/RealNetworks

Seattle

Inc. .....................................176

Tup Tim Thai .............................................285

Turgeon Raine Jewellers .....Inside Back Cover

University Preparatory .................................80

UW At Bothell............................................280

UW Educational Outreach.........................282

UW World Series at Meany Hall .................316

Uwajimaya..................................................184

Vasectomy Clinic.......................................220

Veer Lofts ..................................................289

Venice Magazine ........................................312

Verite Coffee/Cupcake Royale ..................250

The Victory Studios ....................................172

Volterra Restaurant ...................................296

Vulcan, Inc. Real Estate .......................42, 142

W Seattle Hotel .............................................6

WashingtonFilmWorks ..............................254

Washington State Film Office ....................254

Whrrl/Pelago ...............................................22

Women In Film ..........................................250

WongDoody ..................................................8

Woolly Mammoth .......................................148

Write Bros ..................................................132

Zone Perfect ...............................................85

Because of your support: SIFF creates opportunities for discovery for filmgoers of all ages.

PRINT SOURCES

www.highpointfilms.com

Hispa Films

Diego Ojeda 801 Brickell Bay Dr., #870 Miami, FL 33181

Tel: 786-200-4581 diego.ojeda@mancorafilm.com www.mancorafilm.com

Hyde Park Entertainment

14958 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 100

Sherman Oaks CA 91403

Tel: 818-670-7150

Fax: 818-783-6319

Icon Entertainment International Ali Yap 34 Lennox Street

Newtown NSW 2042 Australia

Tel: 61-2-8594-9030

Fax: 61-2-8594-9031 aliy@beckers.com.au www.beckerfilms.com.au

IFC Films

Ryan Werner 11 Penn Plaza, 15th floor New York, NY 10001

Tel: 646-273-7220 www.ifcfilms.com

Ignatius Films Canada

Ferdinand Lapuz 5141 Palomar Crescent Mississauga ON L5R 2X1 Canada

Tel: 905-272-8123

Fax: 905-272-8123

ignatiusfilmscanada@yahoo.ca

Independent Film Sales

Sarah Goodwin 32 Tavistock Street London N12 8QJ

United Kingdom

Tel: 44-20-7257-8734

Fax: 44-20-7240-9029

sarah@independentfilmcompany.com www.independentfilmcompany.com

Indiestory Inc.

Kay Kwak 5fl. boljae Bldg. 228 TongIn-dong, JongRoh-gu Seoul 110-280 Korea

Tel: 82-2-743-6051

Fax: 82-2-742-6051 indiestory@indiestory.com www.indiestory.com

Insomnia World Sales Stéphanie Roux 50 Bis, rue de la mare Paris 75020 France

Tel: 33-1-4358-0804

Fax: 33-1-4358-0932 contact2@insomnia-sales.com www.insomnia-sales.com

Intandem Films

Michel Shane 22 Soho Square London W1D 4NS, UK

Tel: 44-20-7851-3800

Fax: 44-20-7851-3830 michel@intandemfilms.com www.intandemfilms.com

International Film Festival

Bangladesh Golam Rabbany Biplob

Eastern Commercial Complex Suite: 7/9, 73 Kakrail (7th Floor)

Dhaka 1000 Bangladesh

Tel: 88-02-936-0982 director@iffb.us

Intramovies

Jef Nuyts

Federica Mei

Via E. Manfredi 15 Rome, 00197 Italy

Tel: 39-06-807-6157

Fax: 39-06-807-6156 j.nuyts@intramovies.com f.mei@intramovies.com www.intramovies.com

JDC

Erica Dunton 905 N 23rd St, JDC Wilmington, NC 28405 Tel: 910-343-1089 ericadunton@gmail.com

Just Media

Henry Ansbacher 1536 Wynkoop, Ste. 201 Denver, CO 80202

Tel: 303-871-9015

Fax: 303-871-9085 info@just-media.org

Kid Film

Arthur Reinhart Orzechowskiego 19 Warsaw 04-824 Poland

Tel: 48-22-615-7223

Fax: 48-22-615-7223 mail@kidfilm.pl

Kino International

Gary Palmucci 333 West 39th Street Suite 503 New York, NY 10018

Tel: 212-629-6880

Fax: 212-714-0871 gpalmucci@kino.com www.kino.com

LakeShore Entertainment

David Dinerstein 9268 W. Third Street Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Tel: 310-867-8070

Fax: 310-300-3015 ddinerstein@ lakeshoreentertainment.com www.lakeshoreentertainment.com

Leap of Faith Productions

Cornelia Moore 6519 NE 61st St Seattle WA 98115

Tel: 206-729-7985

Fax: 206-729-8076 sillymoore@earthlink.net

Joseph Lia 315 E. 8th St. #1201 Los Angeles, CA 90014

Tel: 425-478-8995

Fax: 310-903-5501 josephlia@gmail.com

Library of Congress Mike Mashon 19053 Mt Pony Rd. Culpeper, VA 22701

Tel: 202-707-5698

Fax: 202-707-0848 mima@loc.gov

Likely Story

Anthony Bregman

161 Sixth Avenue, 11th Fl. New York, NY 10013

Tel: 212-627-1662 ab@likely-story.com www.likely-story.com

Linas Films

Linas Phillips 915 31 Ave Seattle, WA 98122

Tel: 718-637-4711 linas@linasfilms.com www.linasfilms.com

Linger On Filmproduction

Inigo & Alexandra Westmeier Roennestrasse 8 Berlin 14057 Germany

Tel: 49-30-3398-9223

Fax: 49-179-127-8056 info@lingeron.com www.lingeron.com

The Little Film Company Ellen Little 12930 Ventura Blvd. #822 Studio City, CA 91604

Tel: 818-762-6199 ellen@thelittlefilmcompany.com

Lost Tribe Productions

Johnny Kevorkian Riverbank House, One Putney Bridge Approach London SW6 3JD United Kingdom

Tel: 44-20-7731-7200 losttribeproductions@gmail.com

Lost Cause Pictures

Marc X Grigoroff 67 Jalan Kelabu Asap Singapore 278260

Singapore

Tel: 65-6479-0624

Fax: 65-6479-5192 marcx@singnet.com.sg

Lumina Films

Samantha Howley

1A Adpar St, 3rd Floor London W2 1DE United Kingdom

Tel: 44.20.7535.6722

Fax: 44.20.7653.7283 samantha@lumina-films.com www.lumina-films.com

Lunchbox Entertainment

Denny Tedesco 22640 Califa Street Woodland Hills, CA 91367 dennyted@mac.com

Magnet Releasing

Matt Cowal

49 West 27th Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10001

Tel: 212-924-6701

Fax: 212-924-6742 MCowal@magpictures.com www.magpictures.com

Magnolia Pictures

Matt Cowal

49 West 27th Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10001

Tel: 212-924-6701

Fax: 212-924-6742 MCowal@magpictures.com www.magpictures.com

Magnum Studios

Asya Freidkina

13/1 Prechistenskaya Embankment Moscow 119034 Russia

Tel: 7-095-777-1786

Fax: 7-095-749-5670 asya@centpart.ru www.centpart.ru

Magyar Filmunio

Katalin Vajda

Varosligeti Fasor 38 Budapest 1068

Hungary

Tel: 04-92-19-3000

Fax: 04-92-19-3009 kati.vajda@filmunio.hu

Map Point Pictures

Danielle Renfrew 603 N Plymouth Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004 danielle@map-point.com www.map-point.com

The Match Factory

Brigitte Suarez Balthasarstr. 79-81 Cologne 50670

Germany

Tel: 49-221-539-7090

Fax: 49-221-539-70910 brigitte.suarez@matchfactory.de www.matchfactory.de

Maximum Films International

Charlotte Mickie 9 Price Street

Toronto ON M4W 121 Canada

Tel: 416-967-7078

Fax: 416-931-8463 charlotte@maximumfilms.ca www.maximumfilms.ca

Mayfly Films

Kurt A. Dalton

1271 North Wilton Place Los Angeles, CA 90038

Tel: 323-572-0607

Fax: 303-572-0608 kurt.dalton@gmail.com

MDC International GmbH

Marei Bauer

Schillerstrasse 7a Berlin D-10625

Germany

Tel: 49-30-2649-7900

Fax: 49-30-2649-7910 festivals@mdc-int.de www.mdc-int.de

MediaPro Distribution

Raluca Soare

7-9 Professor Doctor Dimitrie Gerota St., 2nd District Budapest 020027 Romania

Tel: 40-74-823-4247 raluca.soare@mediasat.ro

Memento Films International

Yann Kerloc’h

6 cité Paradis

Paris 75010 France

Tel: 33-1-5334-9020

Fax: 33-1-4247-1124 yann@memento-films.com www.memento-films.com

Menemsha Films

Neil Friedman

213 Rose Avenue, 2nd Floor Venice, CA 90291

Tel: 310-712-3720

Fax: 310-277-6602 neilf@menemshafilms.com www.menemshafilms.com

Mettray Reformatory Pictures

James Bolton

49 Bogart Street #47 Brooklyn, NY11206

Tel: 917-628-7234 bolton.james@gmail.com

Miracle Pictures Inc.

Paul Brown

10632 Fifth Line R.R.#2 Rockwood ON N0B 2K0

Canada

Tel: 905-854-4447

Fax: 905-854-4448 miraclepictures@earthlink.net

MK2 International

Birgit Kemner

55 Rue Traversiere Paris 75012 France

Tel: 33-1-4467-3018

Fax: 33-1-4341-3230 birgit.kemner@mk2.com www.mk2.com

Mountainside Films Ltd.

Suzanne Chisholm PO Box 2781

Sidney BC V8L 5Y9 Canada

Tel: 250-217-7573 sjchisholm@aol.com

Moving Images

Melissa Young 2408 East Valley Street Seattle, WA 98112

Tel: 360-341-1269 melissa@movingimages.org

Mulholland Pictures BV Ate De Jong Keizersgracht 649 Amsterdam Netherlands dejong@mulhollandpictures.com www.mulhollandpictures.com

Myriad Pictures

405 S. Beverly Drive, 5th Floor Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Tel: 310-279-4000

Fax: 310-789-4545 info@myriadpictures.com www.myriadpictures.com

Namak Films

Mehreen Jabbar 379 Washington Avenue, Suite 7F Brooklyn, NY 11238

Tel: 646-436-9187 mehreenjabbar@hotmail.com

Haya Nastouici

6 Shlomo Hamelach St

Tel Aviv, 64377

Israel

Tel: 972-54-591-8908 nasto@netvision.net.il

National Film Board of Canada

John Sirabella

350 Fifth Ave #4820

New York, NY 10118

Tel: 212-629-8890

Fax: 212-629-8502 j.sirabella@nfb.ca

New Dog Inc.

Sandy Tung 1244 Alvira Street

Los Angeles, CA 90035

Tel: 323-932-6325

Fax: 323-931-3611 tungsandy@aol.com

New Yorker Films

Jonathan Howell

21 West 38th Street, 14th floor New York, NY 10018

Tel: 212-645-4600 x213 jonathan.howell@newyorkerfilms.com www.newyorkerfilms.com

Next Turn Productions

Riva Yares

3625 N. Bishop Lane Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Tel: 480-947-3251 Fax: 480-947-4251 film@nextturn.us

Nina Paley Productions

Nina Paley

415 West 44th Street, #20 New York, NY 10036

Tel: 212-757-7786 nina@ninapaley.com www.sitasingstheblues.com

Norwegian Film Institute

Stine Oppegaard

Dronningens Gate 16 PO Box 482 Sentrum Oslo N-0105 Norway

Tel: 47-22-47-4570 Fax: 47-22-47-4597 stine.oppegaard@nfi.no www.nfi.no

Ondamax Films

Ariane Buzanello 1360 Monad Terrace - Suite #1 Miami Beach, FL 33139 Tel: 305-535-3577 ariane@ondamaxfilms.com www.ondamaxfilms.com

Onoma

Sandrine Frantz

4 rue de Miromesnil Paris 75008 France

Tel: 33-1-5818-3493

Fax: 33-1-4525-9970 sandrine.frantz@onomainternational. com www.onomainternational.com

Outsider Pictures

Paul Hudson 1127 9th Street #104 Santa Monica, CA 90403

Tel: 310-951-0878 info@outsiderpictures.us www.outsiderpictures.us

Palm Pictures

Ed Arentz 76 Ninth Ave, Suite 1110 New York, NY 10011

Tel: 212-320-3678

Fax: 240-266-6247 ed.arentz@palmpictures.com www.palmpictures.com

Pan-Européenne

Melanie Lescoeur 10 rue Lincoln Paris 75008 France

Tel: 33-1-5310-4239

Fax: 33-1-5310-4249 lescoeur@pan-europeenne.com www.pan-europeenne.com

Paramount Motion Picture

Distribution

Emily Horn 15260 Ventura Blvd., #1140 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Tel: 818-380-7833

Fax: 818-380-7853 ehorn@paramount.com

Paramount Pictures

5555 Melrose Ave. Hollywood, CA 90038

Tel: 213-956-5824

Fax: 213-862-8456

Paramount Vantage

Aurora Dennis 5555 Melrose Avenue, Chevalier 220 Hollywood, CA 90038

Tel: 323-956-2340

Fax: 323-862-1012 Aurora.Dennis@paramountvantage.com www.paramountvantage.com

Parrot Hill Productions, LLC Timothy Hotchner 403 West 21st Street, #4W New York, NY 10011

Tel: 646-918-7144 thotchner@aol.com

Pathé Pictures International

Mike Runagall

Kent House 14-17 London W1W BAR United Kingdom

Tel: 44-20-7462-4427

Fax: 44-20-7436-7891 mike.runagall@pathe-uk.com www.pathe.co.uk

Pathé Distribution (Paris)

Catherine Montouchet 2 rue Lamennais Paris 75008 France

Tel: 33-1-7172-3305

Fax: 33-1-7172-3310

Catherine.Montouchet@pathe.com www.patheinternational.fr

Persistent Visions

Eva Moss 2703 7th Street, Suite 233 Berkeley, CA 94710

Tel: 510-665-5888 eva@daddyandpapa.com

Peter Rosen Productions, Inc.

Peter Rosen

9 East 78th Street, Suite 5A New York, NY 10021

Tel: 212-535-8927

Fax: 212-517-5337 rosenprod@aol.com

PIA Film Festival

Miki Ohi

5-19-Sanban-Cho Chiyoda Ku Tokyo 102-0075 Japan

Tel: 81-3-3265-1425

Fax: 81-3-3265-5659 international@pff.jp

PictureHouse

Jennifer Stott 597 Fifth Ave., 4th Floor New York, NY 10017

Tel: 212-303-1735

Fax: 212-956-1942

jennifer.stott@picturehouse.com www.picturehouse.com

Pieter van Huystee Film

Pieter van Huystee

Noordermarkt 37-39 Amsterdam 1015 NA

The Netherlands Tel: 31-20-421-0606 info@pvhfilm.nl

Plymptoons

Bill Plympton 153 West 27th St. #1005 New York, NY 10001 Tel: 212-741-0322

Fax: 212-741-5522

plymptoons@aol.com

Porchlight Entertainment 11777 Mississippi Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90025

Tel: 310-477-8400

Fax: 310-477-5555

zreeder@porchlight.com

Private Universe Films

Rufus Williams 817 11th St. #8 Santa Monica, CA 90403

Tel: 310-980-1115

rufus@privateuniversefilms.com

www.privateuniversefilms.com

Pyramide International

Paul Richer 5, rue du Chevalier de Saint George Paris 75008 France

Tel: 33-1-4296-0220

Fax: 33.1.4020.0551

pricher@pyramidefilms.com

www.pyramidefilms.com

Red Arrow Motion Picture Company

Vadim Gorainov

Krzhizhanovskogo Street Bld. 6, Ap.480

Moscow 117292 Russia

Tel: 7-49-5987-0076

Fax: 7-495-725-7305

vgorainov@gmail.com

Redwood Palms Pictures

Brandon Houston 605 Coolidge Drive, Suite 110 Folsom, CA 95630

Tel: 866-602-9594

Fax: 866-397-8250

bhouston@redwoodpalms.com

www.redwoodpalms.com

Regent Releasing

Helene Nielsen Beal 10990 Wilshire Blvd. #1800 Los Angeles, CA 90024

Tel: 310-806-4279

Fax: 310-806-4268 hnb@regentreleasing.com www.regentreleasing.com

REZO

Marie Herault-Delanoe 29, rue du Faubourg Poissonniere Paris 75009 France

Tel: 33-1-4246-4630

Fax: 33-1-4246-4082 festival@rezofilms.com www.rezofilms.com

Rialto Pictures

Eric Di Bernardo

45 E. 72nd Street, #16A New York, NY 10021

Tel: 212-966-0730

Fax: 212-226-3568 rialto.sales@verizon.net

Roadside Attractions

Meghann Burns 7920 Sunset Blvd., Suite 402 Los Angeles, CA 90046

Tel: 323-785-3090

Fax: 323-882-8493 meghannb@roadsideattractions.com www.roadsideattractions.com

Roissy Films 58 rue Pierre Charron Paris 75008 France

Tel: 33-1-5353-5050

Fax: 33-1-42 89 2693 contact@roissyfilms.com www.roissyfilms.com

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Mimi Guethe 9570 West Pico Blvd - #400 Los Angeles, CA 90035

Tel: 310-860-3126 mimi@idpfilm.com www.idpfilm.com

SeaShel Pictures

Lynn Shelton 342 N.W. 84th St. Seattle, WA 98117

Tel: 206-841-7693

Fax: 206-706-7693 lynn@lynnshelton.net

Seville Pictures

Pascale Langlois

147 St Paul St West, 2nd Floor Montreal QC H2Y 1Z5 Canada

Tel: 514-841-1910

Fax: 514-841-8030 pascalel@sevillepictures.com www.sevillepictures.com

Shochiku Co., Ltd. 4-1-1 Tsukiji, Togeki Bldg. 12F, Chuo-Ku Tokyo 104-8422

Japan

Tel: 81-3-5550-1623

Fax: 81-3-5550-1654 info@shochiku.co.jp www.shochiku.co.jp

Sirin Films Limited Y Chan 15 Hall Street Chelmsford CM20HG UK

Tel: 44-79-6489-4227 ychanfilm@yahoo.co.uk

Six Sales Cesar Rubio

Serrano 30, 4dcha Madrid 28001 Spain

Tel: 34-91-781-7301

Fax: 34-91-781-7322 cesar@6sales.es

Snoot Entertainment

Keith Calder 5225 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 218 Los Angeles, CA 90036

Tel: 323-937-0808

Fax: 323-937-0550 keith@snoot.com

Sony Pictures Classics

Michael Piaker

550 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, NY 10022

Tel: 212-833-8846

Fax: 212-833-4190

Michael_Piaker@spe.sony.com www.sonyclassics.com

Spot Creative, Inc.

John Andres

43 West 24th Street, 12th floor New York, NY10010

Tel: 212-989-8333

Fax: 212-989-8488

john@creativenaturefilm.com

Strand Releasing

David Bowlds

6140 W. Washington Blvd Culver City, CA 90232

Tel: 310-836-7500

david@strandreleasing.com www.strandreleasing.com

Studio 2.0

Nahie Kim

6F, Mediacorp Building, 997-10

Daechi-dong Seoul 135-502 Korea

Tel: 822-2107-5495

Fax: 822-562-5943 nahie@studio2.co.kr www.studio2.co.kr

Studio Canal

1, Place du Spectacle Issy Les Moulineaux Cedex 9 92863 France

Tel: 33-1-7135-1055

Fax: 33-1-7135-1198

muriel.sauzay@canal-plus.com www.studiocanal.com

Swedish Film Institute

Gunnar Almer

Box 27126

Stockholm S-102 52

Sweden

Tel: 46-8-665-1100

Fax: 46-8-8661-1820 gunnar.almer@sfi.se www.sfi.se

Julia Sweeney

570 N. Arden Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90004

Tel: 323-465-6767 mee@juliasweeney.com

Tartan Films USA

Debbi Berlin 8322 Beverly Blvd. Suite 300 Los Angeles, CA 90048

Tel: 323-655-9300

Fax: 323-655-9301 dberlin@tartanfilmsusa.com www.tartanfilmsusa.com

Taskovski Films

Amy Broadfoot Korunovacni 32

Prague 170 00

Czech Republic

Tel: 42-02-3331-3839 festivals@taskovskifilms.com www.taskovskifilms.com

Taskovski Films

4B Wentworth Street London E1 7TF

United Kingdom

Tel: 44.20.7247.0238

Fax: 44.20.7247.0238 info@taskovskifilms.com www.taskovskifilms.com

Telepool GmbH

Somnenstr.21 Munich, D-80331 Germany

Tel: 49-89-558-7600 telepool@telepool.de www.telepool.de

TF1 International

Alicia Siffrein-Blanc

Immeuble Central Park - 9, rue

Maurice Mallet

Issy-les-Moulineaux 92130 France

Tel: 33-1-4141-2609

Fax: 33-1-4141-3160 festival@tf1.fr www.tf1.fr

The54

Giordano Giulivi via pizzo morronto 8/c

Anguillara S. Rome 00061 Italy

Tel: 39-6-999-4818 watari@alice.it

Theater Of War, LLC

Adriane Giebel

511 Sixth Ave., #113 New York, NY 10011

Tel: 917-951-1449

cinematic@gmail.com

Theodore Thomas Productions

Kuniko Okubo 2115 Holly Drive Los Angeles, CA 90068

Tel: 323-465-0212

Fax: 323-465-0217 kuniko@smilingdogs.net

Paul Thiltgies Distributions 45 Boulevard Pierre Frieden Luxembourg, L-1543 Luxembourg

Tel: 352-44-7070-4628 info@ptd.lu www.ptd.lu

THINKFilm

Erin Owens 72 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor New York, NY 10016

Tel: 212-444-7900

Fax: 212-444-7901 eowens@thinkfilmcompany.com www.thinkfilmcompany.com

TLA Releasing Jennifer Arndt-Johns 234 Market Street, 5th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19106

Tel: 612-338-2800

Fax: 215-338-2805 jennifera@tlareleasing.com www.tlareleasing.com

Tomato Pictures Thomas Saignes 5144, Esplanade Montreal QC H2T 2Z3 Canada

Tel: 514-513-3323 thomas.saignes@gmail.com

TVP S.A. - Telewizja Polska Aleksandra Biernacka 17 J.P. Woronicza str. Warsaw 00-999 Poland

Tel: 48-22-547-6774

Fax: 48-22-547-8070 aleksandra.biernacka@waw.tvp.pl

Trust Film Sales

Annakarin Wolfsberg Filmbyen 12 Hvidovre, DK-2650, Denmark

Tel: 45-3686-8706

Fax: 45-3677-4448

annakarin@trust-film.dk www.trust-film.dk

UCLA Film and Television Archive

Todd Wiener 1015 North Cahuenga Blvd. Hollywood, CA 90038

Tel: 323-462-4921 x40

Fax: 323-469-9055

twiener@ucla.edu

Universe Films Distribution

Ellius Leung 18/F Wyler Centre Phase 2, 192-200

Tai Lin Pat Rd

Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, China

Tel: 85-2-2437-2601

Fax: 85-2-2414-7207

ellius_leung@uih.com.hk

Vice Films

Brian Orce 97 North 10th Street, Suite 204 Brooklyn, NY 11211

Tel: 718-233-6518

Fax: 646-390-7241

brian@VBS.tv

Vinegar Hill Production NI

David Rane

The Nerve Cnentre, 7-8 Magazine Street

Derry BT4 86HJ

Northern Ireland

Tel: 353-74-9180-8730

david@vinegarhill.com

Voltage Pictures

6360 Deep Dell Place

Los Angeles, CA 90068

Tel: 310-890-4199

Fax: 323-464-8362

sales@voltagepictures.com

Wan Ji Communications

High Tech Exhibit Center Bldg

1A-19CD

Beijing Hai Dian District 100086 China

Tel: 86-10-6216-1307

Fax: 86-20-8251-2697 caishangjun@yahoo.com.cn

Warner Independent Pictures

Valerie de le Pena

4000 Warner Blvd, Bldg 81 Rm 200 Burbank, CA 91522

Tel: 818-954-5765 valerie.delapena@warnerbros.com www.warnerbros.com

Washington Square Films

Robert Levi

310 Bowery, 2nd floor New York, NY 10012

Tel: 917-334-9610 robert.levi@verizon.net

The Weinstein Company

Adam Bourcier

375 Greenwich Street 4th Floor New York, NY 10013

Tel: 646-862-3810

Fax: 917-368-7059 Adam.Bourcier@weinsteinco.com www.weinsteinco.com

Wicked Delicate Films

Curt Ellis 3652 SE Stark St. #26 Portland, OR 97214

Tel: 503-522-1334

Fax: 212-202-3663 Curt@wickedelicate.com

Wide Management

Camille Rousselet

40, rue Sainte-Anne Paris 75002 France

Tel: 33-1-5395-0464

Fax: 33-1-5395-0465 cr@widemanagement.com www.widemanagement.com

Wild Bunch

Esther Devos

99 rue de la Verrerie Paris 75004 France

Tel: 33-1-5301-5022

Fax: 33-1-5301-5049 edevos@exception-wb.com www.wildbunch.biz

Wolfe Releasing

Jeffrey Winter 21640 Almaden Road San Jose, CA 95120

Tel: 323-466-3536

Fax: 408-323-2267 jeffrey@newamericanvision.com

Women Make Movies

Julie Whang 462 Broadway #501 New York, NY 10013

Tel: 212-925-0606

Fax: 212-925-2052 jwhang@wmm.com / www.wmm.com

The Works

Gareth Tennant Portland House London W1W 8QJ, UK

Tel: 44-20-7612-1080

Fax: 44-20-7612-1081 gareth@theworkmediagroup.com www.theworkmediagroup.com Zeitgeist Films

Nadja Tennstedt 247 Centre Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10013

Tel: 212-274-1989

Fax: 212-274-1644 nadja@zeitgeistfilms.com www.zeitgeistfilms.com

SHORT FILM PRINT SOURCES

1977 gavin@quarkfilms.com

5:55

Distrito Films

Silvia Urban Tel: 52-3003-2150 surban@distritofilms.com

5/4 Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Absolutely Afro Sander van Meurs sander@pupkin.com

Advantage Plus Films

Donna McCrum

Tel: 61-4-1209-1130 donna@plusnet.com.au

Alexandra Hi Film Productions Ioana Draghici office@hifilm.ro

Animal Bloom Magali Films Magali Potier Tel: 33-1-4082-7373 contact@magalifilms.com

Anita’s Africa Coming Home Films Beverley Reid

Tel: 604-928-5094 cominghome@gulfislands.com www.cominghomefilms.com

The Apology Line

The Hobo Film Company James Lees Tel: 44-779-911-5959 lees.james@gmail.com

Around Gauguins International Inc. Hiroko Onoe Tel: 33-6-0747-5160 hiroko@gauguins.com

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History Slantyhouse Productions, LLC Terence Brown Tel: 206-234-5477 terence@slantyhouseproductions.com

Ball Pilot Animation Studio Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Beginning Filmmaking Locomotion Films

Jay Rosenblatt Tel: 415-641-8220 jay@jayrosenblattfilms.com

Beirut Outtakes Peggy Ahwesh peggy@echonyc.com

Between 2 Deaths Wago Kreider wagokreider@earthlink.net

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project Tzu Nyen Ho Tel: 65-9-836-7131 tzulogy@gmail.com

Bookie

Persistence of Vision Films

Bao Tran Tel: 206-910-6219 info@pov-films.com

The Boy Who Died John Price john@filmdiary.org

Bulb

Glasgow Media Access Centre Karen O’Hare Tel: 44-141-553-2620 karen@g-mac.co.uk

Bully Beef Vertigo Productions

Wendy Morris

Tel: 32-5677-6252 wendy.morris@fulladsl.be bullybeef07@gmail.be

Catching Rats

Vero Shamo-Garcia

Tel: 818-254-7459 verogarciausc@hotmail.com

Cave Flower Sam Fleischner sfleischner@gmail.com

Cherries

Free Range Films

Lisa Williams

Tel: 44-20-7292-4702 williamslisa@aol.com

Coffee & Allah NZ Film Commission

Tory Whanau

Tel: 64-4-382-7688 tory@nzfilm.co.nz

Congratulations Daisy Graham

Intrepid Film Arts Inc. Larissa Giroux Tel: 416-894-0679 lgiroux@canadafilm.com www.intrepidfilmarts.com

Creativity in Context

SIFF Fly Films 2008 beth@siff.net

Crossbow Aquarius Films Polly Staniford polly.staniford@gmail.com

Days of Love Norwegian Film Institute Toril Simonsen

Tel: 47-900-380-86 ts@nfi.no www.nfi.no

Dog Altogether Diarmid Scrimshaw diarmid@warpfilms.com

Dolls Columbia College Chicago

Randy Caspersen Tel: 213-618-0065 randyugh@yahoo.com

Doxology Upper Playground

Michael Langan

Tel: 334-220-5805 mlangan@risd.edu

Dry Rain

StraightEIGHT Films

Matthew J. Clark

Tel: 206-200-3621 mjc@STR8.cl

Eat My Makeup!

Marie Losier

Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

Electrocute Your Stars Marie Losier

Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

Elephant Girl

David Lobser

Tel: 646-645-1782 davidlobser@yahoo.com www.dlobser.com

End Zone

SIFF Fly Films 2008 beth@siff.net

Energie!

Thorsten Fleisch

Tel: 49-30-4502-3072 snuff@fleischfilm.com

Far Away From Ural Camera Cagliostro jyrki@cameracagliostro.fi Fawn Christoph Rainer

Tel: 43-680-300-4019 christoph.rainer@umkehrfilm.com

Felix Jumping Horse Film GbR

Marina Kemler

Tel: 49-5-1130-05237 info@jumpinghorsefilm.de

Fish Pilotazh Studio

Vladislav Scherpin pilotazh@gorkyfilm.ru

Flutterby

Parry Studios

Jack Parry

Tel: 61-3-9571-3679 info@parrystudios.com

Fringe Thalicer

John Galanis

Tel: 414-732-4171 johngalanis@thalicer.com

Gagarin Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Glory At Sea Court 13 International

Josh Penn Tel: 347-743-0929 josh@court13.com

Gone With the Wind Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Gravity Nicolas Provost Tel: 32-497-555-115 provost@online.no

Hamdi and Maria Timor Britva

Tel: 97-277-300-4008 timor.britva@gmail.com

Herzog And The Monsters Lesley Barnes

Tel: 44-141-334-5780 LesleyToast@aol.com

Hezurbeltzak, a Common Grave Euskadiko Filmategia Txema Muñoz

Tel: 34-94-311-5511 kimuak@filmotecavasca.com www.kimuak.com

Hirsute

The Siblings

A.J. Bond Tel: 604-760-9766 ajbond@gmail.com

Home Kim Slate Tel: 661-713-1213 kslate@alum.calarts.edu

Hot Dog Plymptoons

John Holderried Tel: 212-741-0322 plymptoons@aol.com

Hypnerotomahia

Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

The Ice Plant Glasgow Media Arts Centre Kate Burton Tel: 44-141-553-2620 kateburton@yahoo.com

If a Body Meet a Body Brian Davis Tel: 917-627-9492 darthmauldavis@hotmail.com

I Love Sarah Jane Aquarius Films

Angie Fielder

Tel: 61-4-0381-9644 angiefielder@iinet.net.au

The Inquisitive Snail

Infinite Divergence Film

Howard Ng

Tel: 416-828-2534 howardng@sympatico.ca

Interpretive Site: Kosmos popjunk productions

Karn Junkinsmith

Tel: 206-546-8526 kjunkinsmith@yahoo.com

In the Mean Time, About Birds Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

An Introduction to Lucid Dream Exploration Grigsby cartoons/ area postrema John Grigsby

Tel: 303-949-2778 johnpgrigsby@gmail.com

The Iron Forest Robert Stevenson

Tel: 206-818-1275 robert@robertstevenson.com

I Will Let You Know Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Jaye Lady Jaye Marie Losier

Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

Jeu National Film Board of Canada Madeleine Belisle Tel: 514-283-9805/06 festivals@nfb.ca www.nfb.ca

John and Karen Arthur Cox Ltd. Candi Smith

Tel: 44-117-953-9788 info@worldofarthurcox.com

Just Edward Gunawan Tel: 323-842-9874 edwardgunawan@gmail.com

The Kolaborator out of exile films Chris Bessounian Tel: 818-279-3427 chris@outofexile.com

The Ladies Ruby Cab Films Christina Voros Tel: 617-501-6595 christinavoros@hotmail.com

Last Day of December Bogdan George Apetri Tel: 646-267-4823 bogdangeorgepetrie@@gmail.com

Last Time in Clerkenwell Figli Migli Productions Alex Budovskiy Tel: 917-547-4179 budovskiy@yahoo.com

Lavatory Lovestory festivals@melnitsa.com

Lift 3 Pilot Animation Studio Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: Come Wander With Me Little Minx Rhea Scott

Tel: 310-659-1577 rhea@littleminx.tv

A Little Night Fright Mischa Livingstone Tel: 323-868-9644 mclivingstone@hotmail.com

Lloyd Neck Benedict Campbell

Tel: 631-897-8881 lloyd.neck@gmail.com

Louis & Anne Austin Alward Tel: 323-899-6154 austinalward@gmail.com

Manuelle Labor

Marie Losier

Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

Mapping

Beit Berl College, School of Arts – Film Dept

Ellie Zigdon

Tel: 9-72-9747-8737 sharona@beitberl.ac.il festivals@beitberl.ac.il

A Mate Finnish Film Foundation

Niko Liinamaa

Tel: 358-9-622-0300 teemu.nikki@itsalive.fi

Medium Rare

Finger Store Films Ltd

Deborah Young

Tel: 44-79-7692-4845 debbieyoung14@hotmail.com

METEORITES

Nuanvan Daraswasdi Cultural Officer Office of Contemporary Art and Culture, Ministry of Culture

Tel: 66-2-422-8819

Fax: 66-2-42-882 babemoon@gmail.com

Milk Teeth

National Film and Television School Hemant Sharda hsharda@nfts.co.uk www.nftsfilm-tv.ac.uk

Miranda & Gordon Spruce Street Pictures Inc.

Kerry Young

Tel: 416-888-2226 jkerryyoun@gmail.com

Moving SIFF Fly Films 2008, beth@siff.net

My Mother’s Daughter

Scottish Documentary Institute

Sonja Henrici

Tel: 44-131-221-6125 f.pretsell@eca.ec.uk

My, My, Hey,Hey; A Let’s Talk-u-mentary Collaborative Pictures

Shannon Hart-Reed shannon@collaborativepictures.com

My Olympic Summer neighborhoodfilms.com

Daniel Robin

Tel: 415-307-1596 dbrabinowitz@neighborhoodfilms.com

Neighbors

Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

New Boy

Zanzibar Films

Tamara Anghie

Tel: 353-1-671-9480 tamara@zanzibarfilms.net

Night Light

Mark Mollenkamp

Tel: 213-924-6021 mark@currencyfilms.com

Night Vision

The Film Farm

Sonia Hosko

Tel: 416-703-7317 sonia@thefilmfarm.ca

Norma Grace

Laurent Morlet

Tel: 310-625-9706 laurent.morlet@yahoo.fr

Observando el Cielo

Jeanne Liotta

Tel: 212-533-1320 jeanli@rcn.com

Ocean Boulevard

Pétrouchka Films

Isabelle Mathy

Tel: 33-1-6066-5730 petrouchka.film@infonie.fr

On the Assassination of the President

Adam Keker

Tel: 415-568-0694 akeker@earthlink.net

On the Line

Kunsthoschschule für Medien Köln

Academy of Media Arts

Uta Dilger

Tel: 49-221-201-889-330 filmshipper@khm.de

The Opposite Side of the Moon

Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

The Other Side

Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

Pacifier

Pilot Animation Studio

Tel: 74-955-405-707 festival@pilot-film.com

The Pearce Sisters

Aardman Animations

Maggie O’Connor

Tel: 44-117-984-8961 maggie.oconnor@aardman.com

Peter and Ben

Invisible Films

Pinny Grylls

Tel: 44-20-7-168-7173 pinny@invisiblefilms.co.uk

Piñatas Revenge

Delaney Bishop

Tel: 213-793-1381 delaneybish@mac.com

The Production and Decay of Strange Particles

Jon Behrens bolexman@msn.com www.jonbehrensfilms.com

Revelations Paper Plane Creations

Jane Lee

Tel: 35-387-766-7456 jane@paperplanecreations.com

Rewind

Ketan Gohil Productions

Ketan Gohil

Tel: 91-98-203-06732 rewindthemovie@gmail.com

Run NZ Film Commission

Tory Whanau

Tel: 64-4-382-7688 tory@nzfilm.co.nz

Safari

Catherine Chalmers

Tel: 917-327-3253 cgchalmers@hotmail.com

Sainte Barbe

National Film Board of Canada

Madeleine Belisle

Tel: 514-283-9805 festivals@nfb.ca

Salim Baba

Tim Sternberg

Tel: 718-783-7665 tsternb@gmail.com

Scoring

Venom

Andrew Freedman

Tel: 353-1-491-1954 freedman@venom.ie

The Second Line

John Magary

Tel: 917-370-1944 john.magary@gmail.com

Self Portrait with Cows Going Home and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy

Persistence Of Vision Films

Susannah Ludwig

Tel: 917-750-0031 suzlud@hotmail.com

Shake Off

Danshans

Hans Beenhakker

Tel: 31-6-2456-3233 info@danshans.com

Shiny Things Salise Hughes

Tel: 206-860-2158 shughes305@earthlink.net

Shut Eye SIFF Fly Films 2008, beth@siff.net

Sikumi Kluguya Productions

Cara Marcous

Tel: 917-494-8133 cara@langan.net www.sikumifilm.net

Sindiswa

AFDA, Oriona Kekana Orionak@filmdramaschool.co.za

Sleeping Betty National Film Board of Canada Madeline Belisle Tel: 514-283-9805 festivals@nfb.ca

Smells Like Teen Spirit Video Data Bank

Tel: 312-345-3550 distro@vdb.org

Snow Beard Marie Losier Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

Son Sister Films, Ohna Falby Tel: 44-20-7851-2000 ohna@rattlingstick.com

Spider Blue-Tongue Films Nash Edgerton spider@bluetonguefilms.com

The Strange Hunger Grandchildren Sean Pecknold Tel: 206-353-7482 sean.pecknold@gmail.com

Struck

625 Productions

Nathan Lorch

Tel: 818-355-9307 txlfestivals@gmail.com

Stuff KRH films, Karl R. Hearne Tel: 514-996-7593 info@krh.ca

Suspension Nicolas Provost Tel: 32-497-555-115 provost@online.no

Tag! Swedish Film Institute Andreas Fock

Tel: 46-08-665-1136 a.fock@sfi.se

The Tailor Oscar Perez Tel: 60-55-90845 ospera2000@yahoo.es

Taua

New Zealand Film Commission Tory Whanau Tel: 64-4-382-7688 tory@nzfilm.co.nz

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 Signe Baumane Tel: 212-577-0383 signe69@mac.com

Third Days Child Nolet Films

SJ Chiro

Tel: 206-941-5352 sjchiro@gmail.com

Tits and Blood Brady Hall Tel: 206-768-2712 bradyhall@gmail.com

Tongue Tied

Venom

Andrew Freedman

Tel: 353-1-491-1954 freedman@venom.ie www.venom.ie

Tony Conrad, DreaMinimalist

Marie Losier

Tel: 917-640-0890 marie@marielosier.net

The Tourists

Malcolm Sutherland Tel: 514-527-3623 animalcolm@yahoo.ca

Train Town Greasy Films, Keith Bearden Tel: 917-680-4158 greasyfilms@gmail.com

Triple Concerto in D Minor Steely Pictures Daniel Mitchell

Tel: 61-4-0789-4924 dan@steelypictures.com

Twenty One

Burma Jones

Jacob Hensberry Tel: 917-974-2353 jake@jacobhensberry.com

Two Women and a Man Rosenfeld Gallery Diana Dallal

Tel: 972-3-522-9044 agrosen@netvision.net.il

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Scottish Documentary Institute Sonja Henrici

Tel: 44-131-221-6125 f.pretsell@eca.ec.uk

Un certain regard Pavillon Rouge Iana Dontcheva Tel: 33-15-336-0207 iana@pavillonrouge.biz www.pavillonrouge.biz

Victory Blindside Films

Sonya Gildea

Tel: 35-38-7246-3452 blindsidefilms@aol.com

Voice Messages

Pantalla Partida Samuel Martinez Tel: 34-91-461-7151 panatallapartida@gmail.com

Walnut

AFTRS

Ruth Saunders

Tel: 61-2-9805-6455 ruth.s@aftrs.edu.au

The Watchman and the Little Girl Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München Margot Freissinge Tel: 49-89-6895-7333 margot.freissinger@hff-muc.de

Weiss Panopticom info@panopticom.eu

What the Water Said, nos 4-6 David Gatten Tel: 917-796-9089 david.gatten@gmail.com

Wine and Cupcakes

Little Bear Inc./Just Blue Films, Inc.

Eva Lindemann Tel: 212-226-0814 x 214 elindemann@littlebearinc.com

Wrestling Hark Film

Grímur Hakonarson Tel: 3-54-4554-2146 riverdisco@hotmail.com

Yellow Maki Film Semih Tareen Tel: 206-545-4548 semihtareen@yahoo.com

Zoologic Nicole Mitchell

Tel: 408-446-1812 scoopylaguna@yahoo.com

**FutureWave titles: Dustin Kaspar, SIFF, Dustin.kaspar@siff.net

We are grateful for the support from and collaboration with our fellow local film festivals.

Cinema K: Children’s Film Festival & Local Sightings Film Festival nwfilmforum.org

Hazel Wolf Evinronmental Film Festival hazelfilm.org

Independent South Asian Film Festival tasveer.org

Irish Reels Film Festival irishreels.org

Langston Hughes African American Film Festival langstonblackfilmfest.org

National Film Festival for Talented Youth nffty.org

Northwest Asian American Film Festival nwaaff.org

Port Townsend Film Festival ptfilmfest.com

Science Fiction Short Film Festival empsfm.org

Seattle Arab & Iranian Film Festival arabfilm.com

Seattle Jewish Film Festival seattlejewishfilmfestival.org

Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival seattlequeerfilm.org

Seattle Polish Film Festival polishfilms.org

INDIVIDUAL TICKET PRICES

$11 Regular screenings and Festival Forums events, except where noted

(SIFF Supporters $9, advance purchases only)

$8 Matinee screenings (1st show of the day before 5:30pm, except where noted

SIFF Supporters $7, advance purchases only)

$8 Midnight screenings

(SIFF Supporters $7, advance purchases only)

$6 Films4Families matinees

(SIFF Supporters $5, advanced purchases only)

$5 Teen Tix members can purchase regular screening (or lesser value) discounted tickets at all SIFF venues day-of-show only

SPECIAL TICKETS AND PACKAGES

Cinematic Six-Pack: $57 (SIFF Supporters $51)

Includes admission to any six films priced $11 or less, depending on availability, and limited to a maximum of one ticket per film.

Student and Senior Reel Deals: $35

Includes admission to any five films priced $11 or less, depending on availability, and limited to one ticket per film. Available to all students and seniors (65 and older) with valid ID. The Reel Deals may only be purchased in person at the SIFF Box Office.

Film Buff 20 Pack: $160

Includes admission to any 20 films priced $11 or less, depending on availability. There is a two-ticket limit per film.

Gift Certificates: Available in $25 denominations. Gift certificates are good for merchandise and tickets, and may be redeemed at the SIFF office, the Festival Box Office, or SIFF merchandise table.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening Night Gala: Battle in Seattle, $50 (SIFF Supporters $45, advanced purchases only)

Friday, May 22, 7:00pm, McCaw Hall

VIP Opening Night Experience: $200

Friday, May 22, 5:30pm, McCaw Hall

Closing Night Gala: Bottle Shock, $40 (SIFF Supporters $35, advanced purchases only)

Saturday, June 14, 6:30pm, Cinerama

Centerpiece Gala: The Great Buck Howard, $25 film and reception (SIFF Supporters $23, advance purchases only) $13 film only (SIFF Supporters $11, advance purchases only)

Friday, June 6, 7:00pm, Egyptian Theatre

Gay-la: Kiss the Bride, $25 film & reception (SIFF Supporters $23, advance purchases only) $13 film only (SIFF Supporters $11, advance purchases only)

Thursday, May 29, 7:00pm, Egyptian Theatre

Tribute to Sir Ben Kingsley: $35 (SIFF Supporters $25, advanced purchases only)

Sunday, May 25, 2:00pm, Egyptian Theatre

Face the Music: Sunrise, with original live score performed by The Album Leaf, $20 Advance/ $22 Door. Tuesday, June 13, 7:00pm (all ages) and 9:30pm (21+), The Triple Door

John Waters presents Cecil B. DeMented: $11 (SIFF Supporters $9, advanced purchases only)

Tuesday, June 3, 4:30pm Egyptian Theatre

CO-PRESENTATIONS

Seattle Arts and Lectures and SIFF present John Waters at Benaroya Hall. Purchase tickets at www.lectures.org, $25, $35, $50, $100 (Divine level includes after-party with John Waters).

Tuesday, June 3, 7:30pm Benaroya Hall

In the Land of the Headhunters, directed by Edward S. Curtis, with live score and Kwakwaka’wakw performance. Purchase tickets at www.themoore.com, $13–$18

Tuesday, June 10, 7:00pm, The Moore Theatre

Alexander Nevsky, with Sergei Prokofiev’s original score performed by the Seattle Symphony. Purchase tickets at www.seattlesymphony.org, $17–$95 June 12–14, Benaroya Hall

PASSES

A generous allotment of seats at every screening are reserved for passholders. While a pass (with the exception of “Platinum” and “Gala”) does not guarantee seating, passholders are allowed priority entry up to 20 minutes before showtime or until the passholder seat allotment is reached. Passholders are strongly encouraged to arrive 30 minutes before showtime. All passes are strictly non-transferable and photo ID must be shown at the theater.

Platinum Pass: $1,600 (SIFF Supporters $1,350)

Includes guaranteed seating to all Festival screenings (with the exception of Secret Festival), all Gala screenings and receptions, the Festival Forums, press screenings, reserved seating area at the Opening and Closing Night Galas, and an invitation for the passholder and a guest to a private Festival reception. Quantities are limited.

Platinum Plus Pass: $2,500 (SIFF Supporters $2,000) Includes all the benefits of the Platinum Pass, plus reserved seating for all screenings and concierge service during the Festival.

Full Series Pass: $850 (SIFF Supporters $750)

Includes admission to all public screenings and press screenings (except Gala screenings, Secret Festival, Festival Forums, and special events). Seating is not guaranteed. This pass requires a photo.

Weekly Pass: $325 (SIFF Supporters $275)

Includes admission to all public screenings for the specified week. (Excludes Opening Night, Gala screenings, Special Events, the Secret Festival, the Festival Forums, and Closing Night.)

Secret Festival Memberships: $53

(SIFF Supporters $43) Includes admission to the four Secret Festival Sunday morning screenings. All are required to sign an Oath of Silence promising not to disclose any information about the films shown in the series. Film titles are not announced until showtime. Admission to Secret Festival screenings is by membership only. No individual tickets sold.

SIFF Gala Pass: $105 (SIFF Supporters $90)

Includes admission to Opening Night, Closing Night Galas, and Centerpiece Gala films and receptions (except Gay-la).

ShortsFest Weekend Pass: $100

(SIFF Supporters $75) Includes admission to all ShortsFest weekend screenings at SIFF Cinema, May 29–June 1.

HOW TO FESTIVAL

BECOME A SIFF SUPPORTER!

SIFF Supporters enable us to be a premiere international film organization, supporting initiatives such as hosting filmmakers from around the globe, expanding cinema through education, and producing the largest film festival in the United States. SIFF Supporters receive invitations to free screenings, discounted tickets, and more. Visit www.siff.net and become a SIFF Supporter today!

SIFF BOX OFFICE

The box office can process passes, ticket packages, and single ticket orders.

Central Pass and Ticket Box Office:

Pacific Place, Sixth and Pine, second level (Opens for SIFF Supporters on May 8. Opens for the general public on May 11.)

Monday–Saturday, 11:00am–7:00pm.

Sundays and Memorial Day, 12 Noon–6:00pm

Charge online: www.siff.net

Charge by phone: 206.324.9996

Day-of-Show Tickets

Box offices can process advanced ticket purchases for any venue until 30 minutes before show time, subject to availability. Venues open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day and close 15 minutes after the last screening of the day begins. Seating is only guaranteed until 10 minutes prior to screening. No late seating.

Rush Tickets

When advance tickets are sold out, a limited number of rush tickets may become available at the door 5- to 10-minutes prior to the screening. Rush tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis, depending on how many seats are available. Cash only.

THE NOT-SO-FINE PRINT

All programs are subject to change without notice. No refunds or exchanges are given, except in the case of program cancellations.

Each film is shown in its original language with English subtitles, unless otherwise noted.

No babes in arms and, with the exception of the Films4Families series, no children under 6 years old. Films may not be suitable for ages 16 and under, unless otherwise noted. Parental discretion is advised.

Film length does not include introductions or Q&A sessions following the screening.

All audience members must leave the theater following each screening. Leaving belongings and saving seats between shows is not allowed.

Cameras, camera phones, and recording devices are not permitted in the theater. Please silence all cellular phones, pagers, and watches when in the theater.

Due to piracy prevention efforts by our film suppliers, you and your personal property may be subject to a physical search upon entrance to Festival venues. SIFF reserves the right to refuse service.

Action / Adventure

30 Minute Guarantee ................................77

Blood Brothers .......................................185

Bookie ....................................................166

The Fall ...................................................195

Fighter.......................................................73

The Island of Lost Souls ...........................73

Kung Fu Panda .........................................82

Mirageman..............................................159

Mongol....................................................217

Princess of the Sun ..................................83

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Terra .........................................................85

Transsiberian ..........................................235

Vexille......................................................237

Vice .........................................................238

The Young Master ....................................53

Africa

Anita’s Africa ...........................................133

Emmanuel Jal: War Child..........................91

Juju Factory ............................................206

Princess of the Sun ..................................83

Sindiswa .................................................135

Villa Jasmin .............................................238

African-American

American Son .........................................110

Ballast .....................................................181

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ..........................89

The Order of Myths.................................170

The Second Line ....................................174

Trouble the Water ...................................120

Tulia, Texas .............................................174

Animals

Flutterby..................................................133

The Inquisitive Snail ................................133

John and Karen ......................................129

Peter and Ben .........................................131

Safari ......................................................131

Saving Luna ..............................................84

Victory ....................................................139

Walnut.....................................................133

Zoologic ..................................................133

Animation

1977 ........................................................135

5/4 ..........................................................139

Around ....................................................137

Bully Beef................................................133

Disorder ....................................................77

Elephant Girl ...........................................131

Far Away From Ural ................................137

Flutterby..................................................133

Gagarin ...................................................139

Gone With the Wind ...............................139

Herzog And The Monsters .....................133

Hezurbeltzak, a Common Grave ............137

Home ......................................................133

Hot Dog ..................................................136

Hypnerotomahia .....................................139

Idiots and Angels ....................................204

The Inquisitive Snail ................................133

In the Mean Time, About Birds ...............139

An Introduction to Lucid Dream Exploration ...............................133

I Will Let You Know .................................139

Jeu ..........................................................133

John and Karen ......................................129

Kung Fu Panda .........................................82

Last Time in Clerkenwell .........................133

Lavatory Lovestory .................................133

Lift 3........................................................139

Milk Teeth ...............................................137

Neighbors ...............................................139

Nocturna ...................................................83

The Opposite Side of the Moon..............139

The Other Side .......................................139

Pacifier ....................................................139

The Pearce Sisters .................................131

Princess of the Sun ..................................83

Revelations .............................................129

Sainte Barbe ...........................................137

Shake Off ................................................169

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Sleeping Betty ........................................133

The Strange Hunger ...............................133

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 ............131

Terra .........................................................85

The Tourists ............................................137

Vexille......................................................237

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

Weiss ......................................................129

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting........................245

Zoologic ..................................................133

Archival Alexander Nevsky .....................................61

Becky Sharp .............................................65

Faces (Cassavetes) ...................................66

Gagarin ...................................................139

Gone With the Wind ...............................139

Hypnerotomahia .....................................139

In the Land of the Headhunters ................63

In the Mean Time, About Birds ...............139

It Always Rains on Sunday .......................66

I Will Let You Know .................................139

Lift 3........................................................139

Neighbors ...............................................139

Night Tide .................................................67

The Opposite Side of the Moon..............139

The Other Side .......................................139

Pacifier ....................................................139

Romeo and Juliet......................................51

The Saga of Anatahan ..............................67

Sunrise......................................................88

Art / Design

Bulb ........................................................137

Casting a Glance ....................................147

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Creative Nature .......................................123

Faces ......................................................167

The Greening of Southie ...........................98

Letting Go of God ...................................211

Loos Ornamental ....................................149

“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy .133

Some Assembly Required ........................84

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

The Watchman and the Little Girl ...........133

Weiss ......................................................129

A Wink and a Smile .................................127

Asian

Before the Rains .....................................182

Blind Mountain........................................183

Blood Brothers .......................................185

Brick Lane ..............................................187

The Children of Huang Shi......................190

The Drummer .........................................193

Epitaph ...................................................157

Fairytale of Kathmandu ..........................118

Fantastic Parasuicides ...........................196

Foster Child ............................................197

Girl Sparks ..............................................200

The Home Song Stories .........................203

Island Etude ............................................204

Just .........................................................135

Love and Honor ......................................212

Mad Detective.........................................213

Mongol....................................................217

On the Wings of Dreams ........................219

Ploy .........................................................222

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

The Red Awn ..........................................107

The Saga of Anatahan ..............................67

Salawati ..................................................224

Shadow of the Holy Book .......................120

Slingshot .................................................227

Son of a Lion...........................................228

Sparrow ..................................................229

Still Life ...................................................229

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Triangle ...................................................235

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being ......133

Vexille......................................................237

Wonderful Town......................................240

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting........................245

The Young Master ....................................53

Biopic

Derek ......................................................118

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years ...............195

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes ......................167

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ......................169

Letting Go of God ...................................211

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema ..............171

A Secret ..................................................225

Theater of War ........................................173

Black Comedy

The Art of Negative Thinking ..................179

Before I Forget ........................................182

Boystown ................................................186

Camille ......................................................72

Choke .....................................................191

Claudio The Magnificent ...........................77

Congratulations Daisy Graham...............131

Continental, a Film Without Guns ...........192

Hirsute ....................................................131

Hot Dog ..................................................136

Idiots and Angels ....................................204

I Love Sarah Jane ...................................131

The Inquisitive Snail ................................133

It’s Hard to Be Nice.................................205

John Waters Presents

Cecil B. DeMented .................................49

Medium Rare ..........................................129

Mermaid .................................................106

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ...............161

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

Robbie’s Withdrawal ...............................245

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Tits and Blood ........................................136

Tongue Tied ............................................137

Towelhead ..............................................234

Visioneers .........................................113,126

The Young Master ....................................53

You, the Living ........................................152

Buddy Picture

Garage ....................................................198

Mad Detective.........................................213

Chinese Language

Blind Mountain........................................183

Blood Brothers .......................................185

The Children of Huang Shi......................190

The Drummer .........................................193

Island Etude ............................................204

Mad Detective.........................................213

The Red Awn ..........................................107

Salawati ..................................................224

Still Life ...................................................229

Triangle ...................................................235

Up the Yangtze .........................................99

The Young Master ....................................53

Comedy

30 Minute Guarantee ................................77

The 3 Little Pigs ......................................178

Alice, Upside Down ..................................82

Animal Bloom .........................................129

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ............................89

Apollo 54 ................................................104

Beginning Filmmaking ............................136

The Bluetooth Virgin ...............................111

Bottle Shock .............................................27

Breakfast With Scot................................187

Days of Love ...........................................129

Driving To The New Age: American Automobiles And You ............................77

Eat My Makeup! ......................................146

Electrocute Your Stars ............................146

Empties...................................................194

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years ...............195

Fantastic Parasuicides ...........................196

Garden Party ..........................................199

The Great Buck Howard ...........................29

The Inquisitive Snail ................................133

John and Karen ......................................129

Just .........................................................135

Kung Fu Panda .........................................82

Late Bloomers ........................................209

Leroy .........................................................74

Letting Go of God ...................................211

Manuelle Labor .......................................146

A Mate ....................................................135

Movie, or An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making........150

My Effortless Brilliance .....................112,125

Ocean Boulevard ....................................129

Shall We Kiss? ........................................226

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

The Strange Hunger ...............................133

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Tag! .........................................................118

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 ............131

The Temerity of Zim ................................245

Train Town ..............................................131

Un certain regard....................................139

Visioneers .........................................113,126

Young People Fucking ............................241

Zoologic ..................................................133

Coming of Age

1977 ........................................................135

32A ...........................................................71

Absolutely Afro .......................................133

Accelerating America .............................117

Ain’t Scared ..............................................71

Alice, Upside Down ..................................82

All Will Be Well ........................................179

Cherries ..................................................131

Crossbow ...............................................135

Dolls ........................................................135

Dream Boy ..............................................111

Dry Rain ..................................................135

Felix ........................................................137 Fighter.......................................................73

Fish .........................................................136

Games of Love & Chance .........................57

Garden Party ..........................................199

The Great Buck Howard ...........................29

Half-Life ....................................................98

The Home Song Stories .........................203

I Love Sarah Jane ...................................131

Island Etude ............................................204

King of Ping Pong ...................................207

Last Day of December ............................137

Leroy .........................................................74

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: Come Wander With Me........................133

Lloyd Neck..............................................135

Mermaid .................................................106

Mister Foe .................................................58

Mysteries of Pittsburgh ...........................113

New Boy .................................................129

Newcastle ...............................................218

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

Revelations .............................................129

Run .........................................................137

A Secret ..................................................225

Sonetàula ...............................................227

Son of a Lion...........................................228

Sweet Thing............................................126

Third Days Child .....................................131

Tongue Tied ............................................137

Train Town ..............................................131

Twenty One.............................................136

Victory ....................................................139

Walnut.....................................................133

Cult Apollo 54 ................................................104

Baghead .................................................181

Idiots and Angels ....................................204

John Waters Presents

Cecil B. DeMented ...................................49

The Mother of Tears................................159

Movie, or An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making........150

Night Tide .................................................67

On the Assassination of the President....136

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ...............161

Piñatas Revenge .....................................136

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Third Days Child .....................................131

Tits and Blood ........................................136

Yellow .....................................................136

Dance

Café de Los Maestros ..............................91

Interpretive Site: Kosmos........................146

Shake Off ................................................169

A Wink and a Smile .................................127

Detective / Mystery 5:55.........................................................137

Butterfly Dreaming..................................122

Mad Detective.........................................213

Twenty One.............................................136

Documentary

About Water..............................................96

Accelerating America .............................117

Alone in Four Walls ...................................72

American Teen..........................................41

Anita’s Africa ...........................................133

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ............................89

The Apology Line ....................................133

Ask Not ...................................................122

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History .135

Beginning Filmmaking ............................136

Be Like Others ........................................164

Bigger Stronger Faster* ..........................164

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ..........................89

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project...........169

Café de Los Maestros ..............................91

Call Me Troy ............................................165

Casting a Glance ....................................147

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Combalimon ...........................................117

Creative Nature .......................................123

Creativity in Context ...............................251

Derek ......................................................118

Dust ........................................................147

Emmanuel Jal: War Child..........................91

Walking

Just 1

BEST THAI RESTAURANT

2005 Seattle Magazine

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SIFF Salutes

Steve Mellander and Memorial Printing!

Since 1978, Steve has donated the printing of SIFF’s Festival passes.

Steve’s 30 years of support and commitment to SIFF is an inspiration to us all!

Thank you, Steve!

Family Friendly continued

Saving Luna ..............................................84

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop ...........107

Shake Off ................................................169

A Sign Of The Times .................................77

Sleeping Betty ........................................133

Some Assembly Required ........................84

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Terra .........................................................85

Triple Concerto in D Minor ......................133

Un certain regard....................................139

The Watchman and the Little Girl ...........133

Zoologic ..................................................133

Fantasy

Ben X ......................................................183

Camille ......................................................72

The Fall ...................................................195

Fantastic Parasuicides ...........................196

Girl Sparks ..............................................200

Giving Thanks ...........................................77

The Great Buck Howard ...........................29

The Island of Lost Souls ...........................73

Let the Right One In ................................211

Like Pink Milk ............................................77

Mister Foe .................................................58

Nocturna ...................................................83

On the Assassination of the President....136

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop ...........107

The Strange Hunger ...............................133

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Terra .........................................................85

Vexille......................................................237

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting........................245

Film Related

Baghead .................................................181

Beginning Filmmaking ............................136

Between 2 Deaths ..................................146

The Bluetooth Virgin ...............................111

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Derek ......................................................118

Electrocute Your Stars ............................146

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years ...............195

Gravity ....................................................129

John Waters Presents Cecil B. DeMented .................................49

Manuelle Labor .......................................146

Movie, or An Introduction to the

Philosophy Of Auteur Film Making .......150

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema ..............171

Salim Baba .............................................129

Son .........................................................136

Tony Conrad, DreaMinimalist .................146

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

We Want Roses Too ...............................151

Food

Good Food .........................................97,124

French Language

The 3 Little Pigs ......................................178

Ain’t Scared ..............................................71

Animal Bloom .........................................129

Before I Forget ........................................182

Captain Ahab ..........................................104

Chrysalis .................................................156

Combalimon ...........................................117

Continental, a Film Without Guns ...........192

Everything is Fine....................................105

Female Agents ........................................196

Games of Love & Chance .........................57

A Girl Cut in Two .....................................200

Heartbeat Detector .................................202

Hidden Face ...........................................202

Juju Factory ............................................206

Lady Jane ...............................................207

La France ................................................208

The Last Mistress ...................................208

A Lost Man .............................................212

Louis & Anne...........................................136

Michou d’Auber ......................................216

Ocean Boulevard ....................................129

Perfect Match... ......................................221

Princess of the Sun ..................................83

A Secret ..................................................225

The Secret of the Grain.............................57

Shall We Kiss? ........................................226

Un certain regard....................................139

Villa Jasmin .............................................238

Gay / Lesbian

Ask Not ...................................................122

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History ..135

Before I Forget ........................................182

Be Like Others ........................................164

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ..........................89

Boystown ................................................186

Breakfast With Scot................................187

Call Me Troy ............................................165

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Congratulations Daisy Graham...............131

Derek ......................................................118

Dolls ........................................................135

Dream Boy ..............................................111

The Edge of Heaven .................................56

Fairytale of Kathmandu ..........................118

Far Away From Ural ................................137

Half-Life ....................................................98

Jaye Lady Jaye .......................................146

Just .........................................................135

Kiss the Bride ...........................................47

Lloyd Neck..............................................135

A Mate ....................................................135

Mysteries of Pittsburgh ...........................113

Newcastle ...............................................218

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ...............161

Saturn in Opposition ...............................224

Savage Grace .........................................225

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? .................151

Wrestling .................................................135

XXY .........................................................241

German Language

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami ....................189

The Edge of Heaven .................................56

Felix ........................................................137

Head-On ...................................................56

Late Bloomers ........................................209

Leroy .........................................................74

On the Line .............................................129

The Watchman and the Little Girl ...........133

The Wave ................................................239

History

Alexander Nevsky .....................................61

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History ..135

Becky Sharp .............................................65

Beirut Outtakes ......................................146

Bully Beef................................................133

Café de Los Maestros ..............................91

The Children of Huang Shi......................190

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma .......191

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In ......................169

In Search of Kennedy .............................119

In the Land of the Headhunters ................63

Katyń ......................................................206

La France ................................................208

Man on Wire .............................................45

Michou d’Auber ......................................216

Mongol....................................................217

Princess of the Sun ..................................83

The Saga of Anatahan ..............................67

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains ...........173

Taua ........................................................129

Theater of War ........................................173

We Want Roses Too ...............................151

Horror 4th Floor ...................................................77

Advantage ..............................................136

The Disappeared ....................................156

Elephant Girl ...........................................131

Epitaph ...................................................157

I Love Sarah Jane ...................................131

Let the Right One In ................................211

A Little Night Fright .................................135

The Mother of Tears................................159

Night Light ..............................................136

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ...............161

Piñatas Revenge .....................................136

Tits and Blood ........................................136

Yellow .....................................................136

Human Rights

About Water..............................................96

Ask Not ...................................................122

Battle in Seattle ........................................25

Be Like Others ........................................164

Blind Mountain........................................183

Bliss ........................................................185

Boy A ......................................................186

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame...........188

Catching Rats .........................................139

Emmanuel Jal: War Child..........................91

Fields of Fuel.............................................96

Four Women ...........................................197

Hamdi and Maria ....................................174

Head-On ...................................................56

Juju Factory ............................................206

Lakshmi and Me .....................................170

PVC-1 .....................................................223

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

Shadow of the Holy Book .......................120

Sindiswa .................................................135

Theater of War ........................................173

They Killed Sister Dorothy ........................99

This Way Up............................................174

Tulia, Texas .............................................174

Under the Bombs ...................................236

The Wave ................................................239

Immigration

Brick Lane ..............................................187

Chrysalis .................................................156

The Edge of Heaven .................................56

Fugitive Pieces..........................................59

Games of Love & Chance .........................57

Go With Peace Jamil ..............................201

The Home Song Stories .........................203

Love and Other Crimes...........................213

Michou d’Auber ......................................216

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

The Secret of the Grain.............................57

Sleep Dealer ...........................................226

Strangers ................................................231

Towelhead ..............................................234

Unfinished Sky ........................................236

Indian

Before the Rains .....................................182

Four Women ...........................................197

Lakshmi and Me .....................................170

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

Rewind....................................................131

The Tailor ................................................170

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being ......133

Indigenous Peoples

The Boy Who Died..................................146

Cochochi ................................................105

Coffee & Allah .........................................129

Run .........................................................137

Sikumi .....................................................139

Taua ........................................................129

They Killed Sister Dorothy ........................99

Italian Language

Apollo 54 ................................................104

Days and Clouds ....................................192

The Girl by the Lake ................................199

One Hundred Nails .................................218

Romeo and Juliet......................................51

Saturn in Opposition ...............................224

The Unknown Woman ............................237

We Want Roses Too ...............................151

Japanese

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami ....................189

The Saga of Anatahan ..............................67

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Vexille......................................................237

Japanese Language

Girl Sparks ..............................................200

Love and Honor ......................................212

Vexille......................................................237

Jewish

Female Agents ........................................196

Fugitive Pieces..........................................59

My Olympic Summer ..............................137

A Secret ..................................................225

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel .................................................171

This Way Up............................................174

Villa Jasmin .............................................238

Latin America

5:55.........................................................137

Bad Habits ..............................................180

Café de Los Maestros ..............................91

Catching Rats .........................................139

Cochochi ................................................105

Elite Squad .............................................193

Encarnación............................................194

Mirageman..............................................159

The Pope’s Toilet ....................................222

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

PVC-1 .....................................................223

They Killed Sister Dorothy ........................99

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

XXY .........................................................241

Literature

Alice, Upside Down ..................................82

Becky Sharp .............................................65

Brick Lane ..............................................187

Captain Ahab ..........................................104

Choke .....................................................191

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Dream Boy ..............................................111

Elegy .........................................................33

Fugitive Pieces..........................................59

Games of Love & Chance .........................57

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes ......................167

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ......................169

Great Speeches From A Dying World.....124

Jar City ...................................................205

Jolene .......................................................43

Juju Factory ............................................206

The Last Mistress ...................................208

Mister Foe .................................................58

Mysteries of Pittsburgh ...........................113

Romeo and Juliet......................................51

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel .................................................171

Theater of War ........................................173

Towelhead ..............................................234

When Did You Last See Your Father? ....240

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? .................151

Martial Arts

30 Minute Guarantee ................................77

Fighter.......................................................73

Kung Fu Panda .........................................82

Mirageman..............................................159

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting........................245

The Young Master ....................................53

Middle East

Be Like Others ........................................164

Bliss ........................................................185

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame...........188

Captain Abu Raed ..................................189

The Edge of Heaven .................................56

Faces ......................................................167

Hamdi and Maria ....................................174

Heavy Metal in Baghdad ..........................92

A Lost Man .............................................212

Mapping .................................................129

The Song of Sparrows ............................228

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel .................................................171

Strangers ................................................231

This Way Up............................................174

Towelhead ..............................................234

Two Women and a Man ..........................171

Under the Bombs ...................................236

Music

5/4 ..........................................................139

The 27 Club ............................................110

Alexander Nevsky .....................................61

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ............................89

Ball ..........................................................139

Be Healthy! ...............................................77

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ..........................89

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project...........169

Bookie ....................................................166

Café de Los Maestros ..............................91

The Drummer .........................................193

Emmanuel Jal: War Child..........................91

Flutterby..................................................133

Heavy Metal in Baghdad ..........................92

The Iron Forest .......................................137

Jeu ..........................................................133

Mister Foe .................................................58

My, My, Hey, Hey: A Let’s Talk-u-mentary ...135

Patti Smith: Dream of Life .........................92

Shiny Things ...........................................146

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Smells Like Teen Spirit..............................92

Song Sung Blue........................................93

Sunrise......................................................88

Triple Concerto in D Minor ......................133

The Wackness ........................................239

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

Wine and Cupcakes ...............................131

A Wink and a Smile .................................127

The Wrecking Crew ..................................93

Musical

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project...........169

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In ......................169

Herzog And The Monsters .....................133

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Walt & El Grupo ......................................175

THERE’S NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN…

…EXCEPT FOR EVERY STORY IN THE WORLD, SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF A FILMMAKER AND AN AUDIENCE.

CINERAMA SALUTES

THE SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL!

Thriller continued

Summer Heat .........................................232

Timecrimes .............................................233

Tits and Blood ........................................136

Transsiberian ..........................................235

Triangle ...................................................235

Twenty One.............................................136

The Unknown Woman ............................237

Yellow .....................................................136

War Alexander Nevsky .....................................61

Alexandra................................................178

The Children of Huang Shi......................190

Emmanuel Jal: War Child..........................91

Female Agents ........................................196

Fugitive Pieces..........................................59

Heavy Metal in Baghdad ..........................92

Katyń ......................................................206

The Kolaborator ......................................135

A Lost Man .............................................212

Mongol....................................................217

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel .................................................171

Taua ........................................................129

Theater of War ........................................173

Towelhead ..............................................234

Under the Bombs ...................................236

Western

Sukiyaki Western Django ........................161

Woman Director

The 27 Club ............................................110

32A ...........................................................71

Ain’t Scared ..............................................71

Alone in Four Walls ...................................72

American Teen..........................................41

Animal Bloom .........................................129

Anita’s Africa ...........................................133

Beirut Outtakes ......................................146

Brick Lane ..............................................187

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame...........188

Bulb ........................................................137

Bully Beef................................................133

Catching Rats .........................................139

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami ....................189

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Claudio The Magnificent ...........................77

Cochochi ................................................105

Coffee & Allah .........................................129

Congratulations Daisy Graham...............131

Disorder ....................................................77

Eat My Makeup! ......................................146

Electrocute Your Stars ............................146

Elegy .........................................................33

The End ..................................................166

Fairytale of Kathmandu ..........................118

Fighter.......................................................73

FLOW: For Love of Water ..........................97

Frozen River ............................................198

Good Food .........................................97,124

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In ......................169

Half-Life ....................................................98

Herzog And The Monsters .....................133

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go ......................119

Home ......................................................133

The Ice Plant ...........................................139

Jaye Lady Jaye .......................................146

Kick Me.....................................................77

The Ladies ..............................................131

Lakshmi and Me .....................................170

The Last Mistress ...................................208

Late Bloomers ........................................209

Letting Go of God ...................................211

A Little Night Fright .................................135

A Lost Man .............................................212

Magnus ...................................................215

Manuelle Labor .......................................146

Mermaid .................................................106

Mr. Big ....................................................125

My Effortless Brilliance .....................112,125

My Mother’s Daughter ............................135

My, My, Hey, Hey: A Let’s Talk-u-mentary ...135

New Boy .................................................129

Ocean Boulevard ....................................129

The Order of Myths.................................170

Perfect Match... ......................................221

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

Ramchand Pakistani...............................223

Revelations .............................................129

Safari ......................................................131

Save Me ....................................................77

Saving Luna ..............................................84

“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy .133

A Sign Of The Times .................................77

Sita Sings the Blues..................................74

Snow Beard ............................................146

Some Assembly Required ........................84

Summer Heat .........................................232

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 ............131

Third Days Child .....................................131

Time to Die..............................................234

Tony Conrad, DreaMinimalist .................146

Trouble the Water ...................................120

Tulia, Texas .............................................174

Un certain regard....................................139

Victory ....................................................139

Walnut.....................................................133

We Want Roses Too ...............................151

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? .................151

A Wink and a Smile .................................127

Zoologic ..................................................133

Women

1977 ........................................................135

32A ...........................................................71

Ain’t Scared ..............................................71

Becky Sharp .............................................65

Blind Mountain........................................183

Bliss ........................................................185

Brick Lane ..............................................187

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame...........188

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Argentina

Café de Los Maestros ...............................91

Encarnación ............................................194

XXY ..........................................................241

Australia

Advantage...............................................136

The Children of Huang Shi ......................190

Crossbow ...............................................135

Flutterby ..................................................133

The Home Song Stories..........................203

I Love Sarah Jane ....................................131

The Kolaborator ......................................135

Newcastle ................................................218

Son of a Lion...........................................228

Spider .....................................................136

Triple Concerto in D Minor ......................133

Unfinished Sky ........................................236

Walnut.....................................................133

Austria

About Water..............................................96

Fawn ........................................................131

Loos Ornamental ....................................149

Love and Other Crimes*...........................213

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? ..................151

Bangledesh

On the Wings of Dreams ..........................219

Belgium

Ben X ......................................................183

Bully Beef ................................................133

Hidden Face* ..........................................202

Juju Factory* ...........................................206

Ocean Boulevard* ...................................129

Sonetàula* ..............................................227

Suspension ............................................136

Under the Bombs* ..................................236

Bolivia

FLOW: For Love of Water*.........................97

The Greening of Southie* ..........................98

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Huddersfield* ..........................................203

It’s Hard to Be Nice .................................205

Brazil

Café de Los Maestros* .............................91

Elite Squad..............................................193

Still Orangutans ......................................231

Canada

The 3 Little Pigs .......................................178

Anita’s Africa ...........................................133

Be Like Others* .......................................164

Breakfast With Scot .................................187

Cochochi* ...............................................105

Congratulations Daisy Graham ................131

Continental, a Film Without Guns ...........192

Everything is Fine ....................................105

The Five Senses........................................59

Fugitive Pieces ..........................................59

Heavy Metal in Baghdad* .........................92

Hirsute .....................................................131

The Inquisitive Snail ................................133

Jeu ..........................................................133

Miranda & Gordon ..................................133

Mr. Big .....................................................125

Night Vision..............................................137

Otto; or, Up With Dead People* ...............161

Sainte Barbe ............................................137

Saving Luna ..............................................84

Sleeping Betty ........................................133

Slingshot*................................................227

Stuff .........................................................131

The Tourists .............................................137

Up the Yangtze .........................................99

Young People Fucking .............................241

Chile Mirageman ..............................................159

China

Blind Mountain ........................................183

Blood Brothers* ......................................185

The Children of Huang Shi*.....................190

Mad Detective* ........................................213

The Red Awn ..........................................107

Sparrow* .................................................229

Still Life ...................................................229

Transsiberian* .........................................235

Triangle* ..................................................235

Colombia

PVC-1 .....................................................223

Czech Republic

Empties ...................................................194

Movie, or An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making ........150

Teddy Bear .............................................233

Democratic Republic of Congo

Juju Factory ............................................206

Denmark

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years ...............195

Fighter.......................................................73

Go With Peace Jamil ..............................201

The Island of Lost Souls............................73

Lakshmi and Me* .....................................170

Shadow of the Holy Book* ......................120

You, the Living* .......................................152

Ecuador

Catching Rats .........................................139

Estonia

Magnus ....................................................215

Finland

Beginning Filmmaking* ...........................136

Far Away From Ural..................................137

Lakshmi and Me* .....................................170

A Man’s Job .............................................216

A Mate ....................................................135

Shadow of the Holy Book .......................120

France

Ain’t Scared ..............................................71

Alexandra* ...............................................178

Animal Bloom .........................................129

Ask Not* ..................................................122

Before I Forget ........................................182

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life* .........................89

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame* ..........188

Captain Ahab ..........................................104

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma* .......191

Chrysalis .................................................156

Combalimon ............................................117

Eat, For This is My Body* ........................149

Faces* .....................................................167

Female Agents ........................................196

Fields of Fuel* ...........................................96

FLOW: For Love of Water*.........................97

Games of Love & Chance .........................57

A Girl Cut in Two .....................................200

Gravity ....................................................129

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In* .....................169

Heartbeat Detector .................................202

Hidden Face ...........................................202

John Waters Presents

Cecil B. DeMented .................................49

Juju Factory* ...........................................206

Lady Jane ...............................................207

La France ................................................208

The Last Mistress ...................................208

A Lost Man* .............................................212

Louis & Anne...........................................136

Michou d’Auber .......................................216

Nocturna*..................................................83

Ocean Boulevard ....................................129

Perfect Match... ......................................221

Princess of the Sun ...................................83

A Secret ..................................................225

The Secret of the Grain .............................57

Shall We Kiss? ........................................226

Sonetàula* ..............................................227

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains ....................173

This Way Up.............................................174

Un certain regard ....................................139

Under the Bombs* ..................................236

XXY* ........................................................241

You, the Living* .......................................152

Germany

Alone in Four Walls ...................................72

Blind Mountain*.......................................183

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami.....................189

Dust .........................................................147

The Edge of Heaven .................................56

Energie! ....................................................137

Felix .........................................................137

Fields of Fuel* ...........................................96

Hamdi and Maria .....................................174

Head-On ...................................................56

In Search of Kennedy* .............................119

It’s Hard to Be Nice* ...............................205

Leroy ..........................................................74

Love and Other Crimes ............................213

Milky Way* ..............................................150

Mongol* ...................................................217

On the Line .............................................129

Opium - Diary of a Madwoman*...............219

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ................161

Transsiberian* .........................................235

The Watchman and the Little Girl............133

The Wave ................................................239

Weiss ......................................................129

Who’s Afraid of Kathy?* ...........................151

You, the Living* .......................................152

Greece

Fugitive Pieces*.........................................59

Haiti

Eat, For This is My Body .........................149

Hong Kong

Blind Mountain*.......................................183

Blood Brothers* ......................................185

The Drummer..........................................193

Mad Detective ..........................................213

Sparrow ..................................................229

Still Life* ..................................................229

Triangle ...................................................235

The Young Master.....................................53

Hungary

Milky Way................................................150

Opium - Diary of a Madwoman ................219

Princess of the Sun* .................................83

Iceland

Jar City ...................................................205

Wrestling .................................................135

India

Before the Rains .....................................182

The Fall* ..................................................195

FLOW: For Love of Water*.........................97

Four Women ............................................197

Lakshmi and Me ......................................170

Rewind .....................................................131

Iran

Be Like Others* .......................................164

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame ...........188

The Song of Sparrows ............................228

Iraq

Ask Not* ..................................................122

Ireland

32A ...........................................................71

Chris & Don: A Love Story* .....................165

Fairytale of Kathmandu* ..........................118

Garage ....................................................198

New Boy .................................................129

Revelations .............................................129

Scoring ...................................................129

Tongue Tied .............................................137

Victory.....................................................139

Israel

Mapping..................................................129

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel ...........................171

Strangers ................................................231

Two Women and a Man ...........................171

Italy

Apollo 54 ................................................104

Days and Clouds ....................................192

The Girl by the Lake ................................199

The Last Mistress* ..................................208

The Mother of Tears ................................159

One Hundred Nails ..................................218

Romeo and Juliet* ....................................51

Saturn in Opposition ...............................224

Sonetàula................................................227

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3* ............131

The Unknown Woman ............................237

We Want Roses Too ................................151

Japan

Around .....................................................137

Girl Sparks ..............................................200

Love and Honor .......................................212

The Saga of Anatahan ..............................67

Sukiyaki Western Django .........................161

Vexille ......................................................237

You, the Living* .......................................152

Jordan Captain Abu Raed ..................................189

Kazakhstan

Mongol.....................................................217

Lebanon

A Lost Man ..............................................212

Under the Bombs ...................................236

Lithuania

Transsiberian* .........................................235

Luxembourg About Water* ............................................96

Mexico

5:55..........................................................137

Bad Habits ..............................................180

Cochochi ................................................105

Sleep Dealer* ..........................................226

Netherlands

Absolutely Afro........................................133

Ben X* .....................................................183

Faces ......................................................167

Shake Off ................................................169

Summer Heat .........................................232

TBS (Nothing to Lose) .............................232

New Zealand

Coffee & Allah .........................................129

Run ..........................................................137

Taua ........................................................129

Norway

The Art of Negative Thinking....................179

Days of Love ...........................................129

You, the Living* .......................................152

Pakistan

Ramchand Pakistani ...............................223

Peru

Máncora* .................................................215

Postcards from Leningrad* .....................106

Philippines Foster Child .............................................197

Slingshot .................................................227

Poland

All Will Be Well .........................................179

Katyń ......................................................206

Time to Die..............................................234

* denotes co-production

Portugal

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma .........191

Republic of Macedonia

Movie, or An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making* .......150

Romania

California Dreamin’ (Endless) ..................188

The Kolaborator* .....................................135

Last Day of December .............................137

Russia

5/4...........................................................139

Alexandra .................................................178

Ball ..........................................................139

Fish .........................................................136

Gagarin ...................................................139

Gone With the Wind................................139

Hypnerotomahia .....................................139

In the Mean Time, About Birds ...............139

I Will Let You Know .................................139

Lavatory Lovestory .................................133

Lift 3........................................................139

Mermaid..................................................106

Mongol* ...................................................217

Neighbors ...............................................139

The Opposite Side of the Moon ..............139

The Other Side........................................139

Pacifier ....................................................139

Vice .........................................................238

Scotland

Bulb .........................................................137

Dog Altogether.........................................131

Herzog And The Monsters ......................133

The Ice Plant ...........................................139

My Mother’s Daughter ............................135

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop............107

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being ......133

Young Adam* ............................................58

Serbia

Huddersfield ...........................................203

Love and Other Crimes*...........................213

Serbia Montenegro

It’s Hard to Be Nice* ...............................205

Sierra Leone

In Search of Kennedy* .............................119

Singapore

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project ...........169

The Home Song Stories* ........................203

Salawati ..................................................224

Slovenia

It’s Hard to Be Nice* ...............................205

Love and Other Crimes*...........................213

South Africa

Sindiswa .................................................135

South Korea

Epitaph ....................................................157

Fantastic Parasuicides ............................196

Soviet Union

Alexander Nevsky .....................................61

Spain

1977* ......................................................135

Boystown ................................................186

Hezurbeltzak, a Common Grave..............137

Máncora ..................................................215

Nocturna ...................................................83

Savage Grace* ........................................225

Sexy Beast* ..............................................33

The Tailor .................................................170

Timecrimes .............................................233

Transsiberian* .........................................235

Voice Messages......................................136

XXY* ........................................................241

* denotes co-production

Sweden

Captain Ahab*.........................................104

King of Ping Pong ...................................207

Let the Right One In .................................211

Tag! ..........................................................118

You, the Living ........................................152

Switzerland

Days and Clouds* ...................................192

Dust* ........................................................147

Jeu*.........................................................133

Late Bloomers ........................................209

On the Line* ............................................129

Shadow of the Holy Book* ......................120

We Want Roses Too* ...............................151

Taiwan

Blood Brothers .......................................185

The Drummer* ........................................193

Island Etude ............................................204

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting ........................245

Thailand

Meteorites ...............................................146

Ploy .........................................................222

Wonderful Town ......................................240

Tunisia

Villa Jasmin .............................................238

Turkey

Bliss ........................................................185

The Edge of Heaven* ................................56

Head-On*..................................................56

Uganda

Anita’s Africa*..........................................133

United Kingdom

1977 ........................................................135

The Apology Line ....................................133

Ask Not* ..................................................122

Be Like Others ........................................164

Boy A ......................................................186

Brick Lane................................................187

Cherries ...................................................131

Cochochi* ...............................................105

Derek .......................................................118

The Disappeared ....................................156

Donkey Punch .........................................157

Empties* .................................................194

Fairytale of Kathmandu ............................118

The Fall* ..................................................195

Fields of Fuel* ...........................................96

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go........................119

It Always Rains on Sunday ........................66

It’s Hard to Be Nice* ...............................205

John and Karen ......................................129

The Kolaborator* .....................................135

Magnus*...................................................215

Man on Wire .............................................45

Medium Rare ..........................................129

Milk Teeth.................................................137

Mister Foe .................................................58

The Pearce Sisters...................................131

Peter and Ben ..........................................131

Romeo and Juliet ......................................51

Sexy Beast................................................33

Son .........................................................136

Transsiberian ..........................................235

Under the Bombs* ..................................236

When Did You Last See Your Father? .....240

Young Adam .............................................58

Uruguay

The Pope’s Toilet ....................................222

USA

The 27 Club .............................................110

30 Minute Guarantee ................................77

4th Floor....................................................77

Accelerating America ...............................117

Alexandra (short) .....................................139

Alice, Upside Down ..................................82

American Son ..........................................110

American Teen ...........................................41

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ............................89

Ask Not ...................................................122

August ....................................................180

Baghead ..................................................181

Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History .135

Ballast ......................................................181

Battle in Seattle.........................................25

Becky Sharp .............................................65

Before the Rains* ....................................182

Beginning Filmmaking ............................136

Be Healthy! ...............................................77

Beirut Outtakes.......................................146

Be Like Others* .......................................164

Between 2 Deaths ..................................146

Bigger Stronger Faster* ..........................164

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ..........................89

The Bluetooth Virgin ................................111

Bookie ....................................................166

Bottle Shock .............................................27

The Boy Who Died ..................................146

Butterfly Dreaming ..................................122

Café de Los Maestros* .............................91

Call Me Troy ............................................165

Camille ......................................................72

Captain Abu Raed* .................................189

Casting a Glance .....................................147

Cave Flower ............................................129

Choke ......................................................191

Chris & Don: A Love Story ......................165

Claudio The Magnificent ...........................77

Creative Nature .......................................123

Creativity in Context.................................251

The Dark Horse.......................................123

Disorder ....................................................77

Dolls ........................................................135

Doxology ..................................................137

Dream Boy ...............................................111

Driving To The New Age: American Automobiles And You.............................77

Dry Rain ..................................................135

Eat My Makeup! ......................................146

Electrocute Your Stars ............................146

Elegy .........................................................33

Elephant Girl ............................................131

Em ...........................................................112

Emmanuel Jal: War Child ..........................91

Encounters at the End of the World ........166

The End ..................................................166

End Zone ................................................253

Faces (Cassavetes) ...................................66

The Fall ...................................................195

Fields of Fuel .............................................96

FLOW: For Love of Water ..........................97

Fringe ......................................................136

Frozen River ............................................198

Garden Party ..........................................199

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes ......................167

Giving Thanks ...........................................77

Glory At Sea............................................136

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ......................169

Good Food .........................................97,124

The Great Buck Howard ...........................29

Great Speeches From A Dying World ......124

The Greening of Southie ...........................98

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In ......................169

Half-Life ....................................................98

Heavy Metal in Baghdad...........................92

Home ......................................................133

Hot Dog ..................................................136

Idiots and Angels ....................................204

If a Body Meet a Body ............................133

In Search of Kennedy...............................119

Interpretive Site: Kosmos ........................146

In the Land of the Headhunters ................63

An Introduction to Lucid

Dream Exploration ...............................133

The Iron Forest.........................................137

Jaye Lady Jaye .......................................146

John Waters Presents

Cecil B. DeMented*................................49

Jolene .......................................................43

Just .........................................................135

Kick Me .....................................................77

Kiss the Bride ...........................................47

Kung Fu Panda .........................................82

The Ladies ...............................................131

Lakshmi and Me* .....................................170

Last Day of December* ............................137

Last Time in Clerkenwell .........................133

Letting Go of God ....................................211

Like Pink Milk ............................................77

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse:

Come Wander With Me ........................133

A Little Night Fright .................................135

Lloyd Neck ..............................................135

Louis & Anne* .........................................136

Manuelle Labor .......................................146

Mirageman* ............................................159

Momma’s Man .........................................217

The Mother of Tears*...............................159

Moving ....................................................253

My Effortless Brilliance......................112,125

My, My, Hey, Hey: A Let’s Talk-u-mentary ...135

My Olympic Summer ...............................137

Mysteries of Pittsburgh ............................113

New Perspective .......................................77

Night Light ..............................................136

Night Tide .................................................67

Norma Grace ...........................................111

Observando el Cielo ...............................146

On the Assassination of the President ....136

The Order of Myths ..................................170

Patti Smith: Dream of Life .........................92

Phoebe in Wonderland ...........................221

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema ................171

Piñatas Revenge .....................................136

Portraits in Cinema .................................146

The Production and Decay of Strange Particles..................................146

Ramchand Pakistani* .............................223

Robbie’s Withdrawal ...............................245

Safari........................................................131

Salim Baba .............................................129

Savage Grace .........................................225

Save Me ....................................................77

The Second Line......................................174

“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy ..133

Shiny Things ...........................................146

Shut Eye .................................................253

Sick Sex ..................................................245

A Sign Of The Times .................................77

Sikumi .....................................................139

Sita Sings the Blues ...................................74

Sleep Dealer ...........................................226

Smells Like Teen Spirit ..............................92

Snow Beard ............................................146

Some Assembly Required ........................84

Song Sung Blue ........................................93

The Strange Hunger ...............................133

Struck ......................................................131

Sunrise......................................................88

Super Quaker ...........................................77

Sweet Thing ............................................126

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 .............131

The Temerity of Zim ................................245

Terra..........................................................85

Theater of War .........................................173

They Killed Sister Dorothy .........................99

Third Days Child.......................................131

Tits and Blood ........................................136

Tony Conrad, DreaMinimalist ..................146

Towelhead ..............................................234

Train Town................................................131

Trouble the Water....................................120

Tulia, Texas ..............................................174

Twenty One .............................................136

Visioneers .........................................113,126

The Wackness ........................................239

Walt & El Grupo .......................................175

What the Water Said, nos 4-6.................146

Wine and Cupcakes.................................131

A Wink and a Smile ..................................127

The Wrecking Crew ..................................93

Yellow .....................................................136

Zoologic ..................................................133

Venezuela

In Search of Kennedy* .............................119

Postcards from Leningrad ......................106

AMERICAN GANGSTER

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD ATONEMENT

AUGUST RUSH AWAY FROM HER

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR

THE COUNTERFEITERS

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY EASTERN PROMISES

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE ENCHANTED

GONE BABY GONE

I’M NOT THERE

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

JUNO

KATYN

THE KITE RUNNER

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL

MICHAEL CLAYTON

MONGOL

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

NO END IN SIGHT

NORBIT PERSEPOLIS

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END

RATATOUILLE

THE SAVAGES

SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

THERE WILL BE BLOOD TRANSFORMERS

12

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WHAT DO ALL THESE ACADEMY AWARD ® NOMINATED FILMS HAVE IN COMMON ?

THEY ALL WERE SHOT ON KODAK MOTION PICTURE FILM.

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Friday, May 23

Saturday, May 24

10 am 10:301111:3012 pm 12:3011:302 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 10:301111:3012 am 2 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 10:301111:3012 am

Café de los Maestros page 91 90 min. 4:30 PM CAFE2308A

The Red Awn page 107 101 min. 6:30 PM REDA2308A

Still Life page 230 108 min. 9:30 PM STIL2308A

The Fall page 195 116 min. 4:30 PM FALL2308A

Before the Rains page 182 98 min. 7:00 PM RAIN2308A

Elite Squad page 193 118 min. 9:30 PM ELIT2308A

The Pope’s Toilet page 222 90 min. 4:30 PM POPE2308A

Ballast page 181 96 min. 7:00 PM BALL2308A

Continental, A Film Without Guns page 192 103 min. 9:30 PM CONT2308A

Vexille page 237 109 min. 4:00 PM VEXI2308A

The Edge of Heaven page 56 122 min. 6:30 PM EDGE2308A

The Last Mistress page 208 114 min. 9:30 PM LAST2308A

Mother of Tears page 159 98 min. Midnight MOTH2308A

PVC-1 page 223 85 min. 4:30 PM PVC12308A

Opium — Diary of a Madwoman page 220 109 min. 7:00 PM OPIU2308A

The Wrecking Crew page 93 95 min. 9:30 PM WREC2308A

Sunday, May 25

Nocturna page 83 83 min. 11:00 AM NOCT2408A

Hair: Let the Sun Shine In page 169 71 min. 1:00 PM HAIR2408A

The Red Awn page 107 101 min. 3:30 PM REDA2408A

Love and Honor page 212 121 min. 6:30 PM HONO2408A

Heavy Metal in Baghdad page 92 84 min. 9:30 PM HEAV2408A

Before the Rains page 182 98 min. 11:00 AM RAIN2408A

Elite Squad page 193 118 min. 1:30 PM ELIT2408A

The Home Song Stories page 203 103 min. 4:00 PM HOME2408A

Boy A page 186 100 min. 7:00 PM BOYA2408A

Transsiberian page 235 111 min. 9:30 PM TRAN2408A

Continental, A Film Without Guns page 192 103 min. 11:00 AM CONT2408A

The 3 Little Pigs page 178 122 min. 1:30 PM 3LIT2408A

Ballast page 181 96 min. 4:30 PM BALL2408A

Everything is Fine page 105 118 min. 7:00 PM EVER2408A

Heartbeat Detector page 202 143 min. 10:00 PM HEAR2408A

A Man’s Job page 216 103 min. 11:00 AM MANS2408A

Mermaid page 106 114 min. 1:15 PM MERM2408A

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson page 169 118 min. 3:45 PM GONZ2408A

The Children of Huang Shi page 190 125 min. 6:30 PM CHIL2408A

All Will Be Well page 179 96 min. 11:00 AM ALLW2408A

Foster Child page 197 98 min. 1:30 PM FOST2408A

Slingshot page 227 86 min. 4:00 PM SLIN2408A

Chris & Don: A Love Story page 165 90 min. 6:30 PM CDON2408A

My Effortless Brilliance page 112/125 79 min. 9:30 PM MYEF2408A

Epitaph page 157 98 min.

Midnight EPIT2408A

Heavy Metal in Baghdad page 92 84 min. 11:00 AM HEAV2508A

Love and Honor page 212 121 min. 1:15 PM HONO2508A

Opium — Diary of a Madwoman page 220 109 min. 4:15 PM OPIU2508A

King of Ping Pong page 207 107 min. 6:45 PM KING2508A

Terra page 85 85 min. 11:00 AM TERR2508A

Sita Sings the Blues page 74 82 min. 1:30 PM SITA2508A

The

The

The

2008 Secret #1 page 37 11:00 AM SECR2508X

A Tribute to Ben Kingsley page 33 180 min. 2:00 PM TRIB2508F

Everything

INCLUDES: Elegy page 33 89 min.

Sexy Beast page 33 89 min. 6:00 PM SEXY2508A

California Dreamin’ (Endless) page 188 155 min. 9:15 PM CALI2408A

Faces page 167 85 min. 11:00 AM FACE2508A

Chris & Don: A Love Story page 165 90 min. 1:15 PM CDON2508A

It Always Rains on Sunday page 66 92 min. 4:00 PM ITAL2508A

Dream Boy page 111 90 min. 6:30 PM DREA2508A

9:30-

Vexille page 237 109 min. 9:30 PM VEXI2508A

Camille

The

Patti Smith: Dream of Life page 92 116 min. 9:00 PM PATT2508A

Fantastic Parasuicides page 196 92 min. 9:00 PM FANT2508A

Some film festivals play to thousands.

Others to an audience of one.

Magnolia Audio Video® salutes those who make and enjoy movies, big and small. With roots in Seattle, we’ve been recreating the very best cinematic experience in homes for over 54 years. Visit one of our Seattle area locations today to see how our system designers can help you turn the home theater of your dreams into the home theater in your living room. From in-home consultation to installation, you’ll experience the best. For store details and locations, visit MagnoliaAV.com.

Magnolia

Magnolia | Bringing inspiration to your space ™

Monday, May 26

11 am 11:30noon12:301 pm 1:3022:303 pm 3:30-

-

pm 5:30-

6:30-

Tuesday, May 27

Wednesday, May 28

pm 7:3088:309 pm 9:30102 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 2 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm SIFF

3-Minute Masterpieces page 141 60 min.

11:00 AM 3MIN2608Z

King of Ping Pong page 207 107 min. 1:15 PM KING2608A

Hair: Let the Sun Shine In page 169 71 min. 4:00 PM HAIR2608A

The Greening of Southie page 98 86 min. 6:30 PM GREE2608A

Café de los Maestros page 91 90 min. 9:00 PM CAFE2608A

Terra page 85 85 min. 11:00 AM TERR2608A

The Children of Huang Shi page 190 125 min. 1:30 PM CHIL2608A

Still Life page 230 108 min. 4:15 PM STIL2608A

Sita Sings the Blues page 74 82 min.

6:45 PM SITA2608A

A Man’s Job page 216 103 min. 9:00 PM MANS2608A

Nocturna

page 83 83 min.

11:00 AM NOCT2608A

Heartbeat Detector page 202 143 min. 1:00 PM HEAR2608A

Up the Yangtze page 99 93 min. 4:00 PM UPTH2608A

Cochochi page 105 87 min.

6:45 PM COCH2608A

Mermaid page 106 114 min. 9:00 PM MERM2608A

Boy A page 186 100 min. 11:00 AM BOYA2608A

Transsiberian page 235 111 min. 1:30 PM TRAN2608A

My Effortless Brilliance page 112/125 79 min. 4:00 PM MYEF2608A

Fly Filmmaking Challenge page 253 40 min. 6:30 PM FLYF2608A

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson page 169 118 min. 9:00 PM GONZ2608A

Fantastic Parasuicides page 196 92 min. 11:00 AM FANT2608A

Dream Boy page 111 90 min. 1:30 PM DREA2608A

The Wrecking Crew page 93 95 min. 4:00 PM WREC2608A

Breakfast With Scot page 187 95 min. 6:30 PM BREA2608A

PVC-1 page 223 85 min. 9:00 PM PVC12608A

Northwest Film Forum

An Afternoon with F. Murray Abraham page 257 120 min. 2:00 PM FMUR2608E

Dust page 147 90 min. 5:00 PM DUST2608A

Milky Way page 150 82 min. 7:00 PM MILK2608A

We Want Roses Too page 151 81 min. 9:00 PM WEWA2608A

Unfinished Sky page 236 91 min. 4:30 PM UNFI2708A

Romeo and Juliet page 51 138 min. 6:45 PM ROME2708A

Faces page 167 85 min. 9:45 PM FACE2708A

Michou d’Auber page 216 124 min.

4:00 PM MICH2708A

The Song of Sparrows page 228 96 min. 7:00 PM SONG2708A

The Art of Negative Thinking page 179 79 min. 9:30 PM THIN2708A

Juju Factory page 206 97 min. 4:30 PM JUJU2708A

The Pope’s Toilet page 222 90 min. 7:00 PM POPE2708A

On the Wings of Dreams page 219 84 min. 9:15 PM ONTH2708A

Breakfast With Scot page 187 95 min. 4:00 PM BREA2708A

Mongol page 217 125 min. 6:30 PM MONG2708A

Blood Brothers page 185 95 min. 9:30 PM BLOO2708A

The Greening of Southie page 98 86 min. 4:30 PM GREE2708A

They Killed Sister Dorothy page 99 90 min. 7:00 PM THEY2708A

All Will Be Well page 179 96 min. 9:30 PM ALLW2708A

Northwest Film Forum

Loos Ornamental page 149 72 min. 7:00 PM LOOS2708A

The Past and the Present page 146 85 min. 9:00 PM PAST2708A

California Dreamin’ (Endless) page 188 155 min. 4:00 PM CALI2808A

Camille page 72 91 min. 4:00 PM CAMI2808A

Michou d’Auber page 216 124 min.

Emmanuel Jal: War Child page 91 93 min. 7:15 PM WARC2808A

Jar City page 205 93 min. 9:45 PM JARC2808A

6:30 PM MICHO2808A

The Home Song Stories page 203 103 min. 9:15 PM HOME2808A

Cochochi page 105 87 min. 4:30 PM COCH2808A

Juju Factory page 206 97 min. 7:00 PM JUJU2808A

Ploy page 222 107 min. 9:30 PM PLOY2808A

Patti Smith: Dream of LIfe page 92 116 min. 4:00 PM PATT2808A

They Killed Sister Dorothy page 99 90 min. 4:30 PM THEY2808A

Katy´n page 206 118 min. 7:00 PM KATY2808A

A Wink and a Smile page 127 91 min. 9:30 PM WINK2808A

Foster Child page 197 98 min. 7:00 PM FOST2808A

Slingshot page 227 86 min. 9:30 PM SLIN2808A

Northwest Film Forum

Casting a Glance page 147 80 min. 7:00 PM CAST2808A

Eat, For This is My Body page 149 105 min. 9:00 PM EATF2808A

WHEREBUSINESSMEETSLUXURY

With luxurious, elegantly appointed, spacious guest rooms and suites, the MarQueen Hotel is conveniently located adjacent to downtown Seattle in the theater district. Featuring numerous complimentary services and premium amenities including a café, restaurant, and downtown shuttle.

Just a few blocks away from the Opera House.

206.282.7407

888.445.3076

600 Queen Anne Ave. N. Seattle, WA 98109 marqueen.com

Thursday, May 29

Friday, May 30

Saturday, May 31

11 am 11:30noon12:301 pm 1:3022:303 pm 3:3044:305 pm 5:3066:307 pm 7:3088:309 pm 9:301010:3011 pm 11:3012 am 2 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 10:301111:3012 am 2 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm

Ain’t Scared page 71 97 min. 4:30 PM AINT2908A

ShortsFest Opening Night page 129 105 min. 7:00 PM SHOR2908A

Let the Right One In page 211 114 min. 9:30 PM LETT2908A

Mongol page 217 125 min. 4:00 PM MONG2908A

Mister Foe page 58 96 min. 7:00 PM MIST2908A

August page 180 88 min. 9:15 PM AUGU2908A

One Hundred Nails page 218 92 min.

PM

Bigger Stronger Faster* page 164 105 min. 7:00 PM

The Art of Negative Thinking page 179 79 min.

Blood Brothers page 185 95 min. 4:30 PM BLOO2908A

Kiss the Bride page 47 100 min. 7:00 PM KISS2908F

Bad Habits page 180 98 min. 9:45 PM HABI2908A

Song Sung Blue page 93 87 min. 4:30 PM SUNG2908A

Ask Not page 122 73 min. 7:00 PM ASKN2908A

Butterfly Dreaming page 122 84 min. 9:15 PM BUTT2908A

Northwest Film Forum

We Want Roses Too page 151 81 min. 7:00 PM WEWA2908A

Portraits in Cinema page 146 74 min. 9:00 PM PORT2908A

The Look of Love page 129 93 min. 4:30 PM LOOK3008A

Friends & Lovers page 131 93 min. 7:00 PM FRIE3008A

Strange Days page 131 95 min. 9:30 PM STDA3008A

On the Wings of Dreams page 219 84 min. 4:30 PM ONTH3008A

Captain Ahab page 104 97 min. 7:00 PM AHAB3008A

Ben X page 183 90 min. 9:30 PM BENX3008A

Bigger Stronger Faster* page 164 105 min. 4:15 PM

Kiss the Bride page 47 100 min. 4:30 PM KISS3008A

Ask Not page 122 73 min. 4:30 PM ASKN3008A

The Family Picture Show page 133 92 min. 11:00 AM FAMI3108A

Truth or Consequences page 133 92 min. 1:30 PM TRUT3108A

All In the Family page 135 93 min. 4:00 PM ALLI3108A

Gay Lives page 135 98 min. 6:30 PM GAYL3108A

Wild Bunch page 136 85 min. 9:30 PM WILD3108A

Let the Right One In page 211 114 min. 11:00 AM LETT3108A

Young Adam page 58 98 min. 1:45 PM ADAM3108A

Mister Foe page 58 96 min. 4:15 PM MIST3108A

Encounters at the End of the World page 166 98 min. 7:00 PM ENCO3108A

Unfinished Sky page 236 91 min. 9:30 PM UNFI3108A

Garden Party page 199 90 min. 7:00 PM GARD3008A

AmericanTeen page 41 95 min. 7:00 PM TEEN3008A

Creative Nature page 123 85 min. 7:00 PM CREA3008A

Savage Grace page 225 96 min. 9:30 PM SAVA3008A

Mirageman page 159 80 min. Midnight MIRA3008A

Ploy page 222 107 min. 11:00 AM PLOY3108A

Garden Party page 199 90 min. 1:30 PM GARD3108A

32A page 71 85 min. 4:00 PM 32AA3108A

Ain’t Scared page 71 97 min. 6:30 PM AINT3108A

TBS (Nothing to Lose) page 232 90 min.

American Teen page 41 95 min. 11:00 AM TEEN3108A

Katy´n page 206 118 min. 1:30 PM KATY3108A

A Wink and a Smile page 127 91 min. 4:00 PM WINK3108A

Newcastle page 218 117 min. 6:30 PM NEWC3108A

Idiots and Angels page 204 78 min. 9:30 PM IDIO3008A

Butterfly Dreaming page 122 84 min. 11:00 AM BUTT3108A

Creative Nature page 123 85 min. 1:30 PM CREA3108A

Idiots and Angels page 204 78 min. 4:00 PM IDIO3108A

Son of a Lion page 228 92 min. 6:30 PM SONO3108A

Young People Fucking page 241 90 min. 9:30 PM YPFX3108A

The Disappeared page 156 95 min.

Midnight DISA3108A

Shadow of the Holy Book page 120 90 min. 9:00 PM SHAD3108A

Sunday, June 1

11 am

SIFF CinemaUptownPacific PlaceEgyptianHarvard ExitOther Venues

The Ties That Bind page 136 96 min.

11:00 AM TIES0108A

The Art of Memory page 137 89 min.

1:30 PM MEMO0108A

-

pm 5:30-

Waking Dreams page 137 96 min.

3:45 PM WAKI0108A

Kung Fu Panda page 82 90 min.

11:00 AM KUNG0108A

Fighter page 73 100 min. 1:30 PM FIGH0108A

Ben X page 183 90 min. 4:00 PM BENX0108A

Time

Monday, June 2

Tuesday, June 3

6:307 pm 7:3088:309 pm 9:30102 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 2 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm

Once Upon a Time... page 139 84 min. 6:15 PM ONCE0108A

Rare Gems from Pilot Animation Studios page 139 86 min. 8:30 PM PILO0108A

Strangers page 231 85 min.

6:30 PM STRA0108A

Shall We Kiss? page 226 100 min. 9:00 PM SHAL0108A

Alexandra page 178 91 min.

4:30 PM ALEX0208A

Night Tide page 67 84 min. 7:00 PM NIGH0208A

Sparrow page 229 87 min.

9:00 PM SPRR0208A

Strangers page 231 85 min.

4:30 PM STRA0208A

Magnus page 215 86 min. 7:00 PM MAGN0208A

Shall We Kiss? page 226 100 min. 9:30 PM SHAL0208A

TDIE0108A

Savage Grace page 225 96 min.

1:30 PM SAVA0108A

TBS (Nothing to Lose) page 232 90 min.

4:00 PM TBSN0108A

Captain Abu Raed page 189 95 min.

6:30 PM RAED0108A

Blind Mountain page 183 102 min. 9:00 PM MOUN0108A

2008 Secret #2 page 37 11:00 AM

Newcastle page 218 117 min. 1:30 PM NEWC0108A

Young People Fucking page 241 90 min. 4:30 PM YPFX0108A

One Hundred Nails page 218 92 min. 7:00 PM ONEH0108A

Bad Habits page 180 98 min. 9:15 PM HABI0108A

Son of A Lion page 228 92 min. 11:00 AM SONO0108A

The Saga of Anatahan page 67 92 min. 1:30 PM SAGA0108A

Great Speeches from a Dying World page 124 92 min. 4:00 PM SPEE0108A

FLOW: For Love of Water page 97 93 min. 6:30 PM FLOW0108A

Go With Peace Jamil page 201 90 min. 9:00 PM GOWI0108A

Blind Mountain page 183 102 min. 4:15 PM MOUN0208A

Island Etude page 204 108 min. 6:30 PM ETUD0208A

August page 180 88 min. 9:30 PM AUGU0208A

Mad Detective page 213 89 min. 4:00 PM MADD0208A

Song Sung Blue page 93 87 min. 7:00 PM SONG0208A

You, the Living page 152 92 min. 9:30 PM LIVI0208A

Shadow of the Holy Book page 120 90 min. 4:30 PM SHAD0208A

Call Me Troy page 165 100 min. 7:00 PM CALL0208A

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life page 89 84 min. 9:30 PM BILL0208A

Captain Ahab page 104 97 min. 4:30 PM AHAB0308A

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma page 191 77 min. 7:00 PM CHRI0308A

Girl Sparks page 200 94 min. 9:00 PM SPAR0308A

The Song of Sparrows page 228 96 min. 4:30 PM SONG0308A

32A page 71 85 min. 7:00 PM 32AA0308A

Teddy Bear page 233 98 min. 9:15 PM TEDD0308A

Island Etude page 204 108 min. 4:00 PM ETUD0308A

Fighter page 73 100 min.

7:00 PM FIGH0308A

A Lost Man page 212 99 min.

9:15 PM LOST0308A

John Waters Presents... Cecil B. DeMented page 49 87 min. 4:30 PM JOHN0308F

Mad Detective page 213 89 min. 7:00 PM MADD0308A

Mirageman page 159 80 min. 9:15 PM MIRA0308A

FLOW: For Love of Water page 97 93 min. 4:30 PM FLOW0308A

Mr. Big page 125 89 min. 7:00 PM MRBI0308A

Great Speeches From a Dying World page 124 92 min. 9:30 PM SPEE0308A

Benaroya Hall

SAL & SIFF presents John Waters page 39 7:30 PM

Limited

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In the best tailor-made Italian tradition, there are 30 wheel and brake caliper color combinations available

Create a truly unique masterpiece by choosing from over 1,600,000 leather, carpet, dash and trim combinations

Along with ten standard exterior colors, Maserati can match virtually any color or type of paint upon special request

Thursday, June 5 Friday, June 6

10 am 10:301111:3012 pm 12:3011:302 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 10:302 pm

pm

Stalags — Holocaust and Pornography in Israel page 171 78 min.

4:30 PM STAL0408A

The Dark Horse page 123 110 min.

6:30 PM DARK0408A

Magnus page 215 86 min.

9:30 PM MAGN0408A

Late Bloomers page 209 86 min.

4:30 PM LATE0408A

Four Women page 197 105 min. 7:00 PM FOUR0408A

Sparrow page 229 87 min.

9:30 PM SPRR0408A

Captain Abu Raed page 189 95 min.

4:30 PM RAED0408A

Huddersfield page 203 95 min.

7:00 PM HUDD0408A

Garage page 198 85 min.

9:30 PM GARA0408A

Encounters at the End of the World page 166 98 min. 4:30 PM ENCO0408A

Good Food page 97/124 72 min. 7:00 PM GOOD0408A

Go With Peace Jamil page 201 90 min. 9:15 PM GOWI0408A

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life page 89 84 min. 4:30 PM BILL0408A

This Way Up page 174 79 min. 7:00 PM THIS0408A

The Disappeared page 156 95 min. 9:30 PM DISA0408A

Mr. Big page 125 89 min. 4:30 PM MRBI0508A

Alexandra page 178 91 min.

7:00 PM ALEX0508A

Anvil! The Story of Anvil page 89 80 min. 9:15 PM ANVI0508A

10 am 10:301111:3012 pm 12:3011:302 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:30-

pm

Anvil! The Story of Anvil page 89 80 min. 4:30 PM ANVI0608A

Ramchand Pakistani page 223 105 min. 7:00 PM RAMC0608A

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma page 191 77 min.

9:30 PM CHRI0608A

A Secret page 225 105 min. 4:00 PM ASEC0508A

Brick Lane page 187 101 min. 7:00 PM BRIC0508A

La France page 208 102 min.

9:30 PM LAFR0508A

Huddersfield page 203 95 min.

4:30 PM HUDD0508A

The Drummer page 193 98 min.

7:00 PM DRUM0508A

About Water page 96 82 min.

9:30 PM ABOU0508A

Call Me Troy page 165 100 min. 4:00 PM CALL0508A

Man on Wire page 45 90 min. 7:00 PM MANO0508A

Choke page 191 89 min. 9:15 PM CHOK0508A

Girl Sparks page 200 94 min. 4:30 PM SPAR0508A

Derek page 118 76 min. 7:00 PM DERE0508A

Boystown page 186 100 min. 9:15 PM TOWN0508A

Digital Media Lab

Intro. to Final Cut Pro page 261 60 min.

10:00 AM FCP10508Z

Advanced Techniques in Final Cut Pro 60 min.

11:30 AM FCP20508Z

DVD Authoring with DVD Studio Pro page 261 60 min. 1:00 PM DVDS0508Z

Intro. to Final Cut Studio page 261 60 min.

3:00 PM FCSX0508Z

Encoding page 261 60 min. 4:30 PM CODI0508Z

Brick Lane page 187 101 min.

4:00 PM BRIC0608A

Phoebe in Wonderland page 221 96 min.

7:00 PM PHOE0608A

A Girl Cut in Two page 200 115 min. 9:30 PM GCUT0608A

You, The Living page 152 92 min. 4:00 PM LIVI0608A

The Wave page 239 101 min. 6:30 PM WAVE0608A

Saturn In Opposition page 224 110 min. 9:15 PM SATU0608A

Jar City page 205 93 min. 4:00 PM JARC0608A

This Way Up page 174 79 min. 4:00 PM THIS0608A

Digital Media Lab

Intro. to Final Cut Pro page 261 60 min.

10:00 AM FCP10608Z

Advanced Techniques in Final Cut Pro 60 min.

11:30 AM FCP20608Z

DVD Authoring with DVD Studio Pro page 261 60 min. 1:00 PM DVDS0608Z

Intro. to Final Cut Studio page 261 60 min. 3:00 PM FCSX0608Z

Encoding page 261 60 min. 4:30 PM CODI0608Z

The Great Buck Howard page 29 87 min. 7:00 PM BUCK0608C

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains page 173 126 min. 9:15 PM PLAN0608A

Otto; or, Up With Dead People page 161 94 min. Midnight OTTO0608A

Half-Life page 98 106 min. 6:30 PM HALF0608A

Be Like Others page 164 74 min. 9:15 PM BELI0608A

Saturday, June 7

10 am 10:301112:3012 pm 12:3011:302 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:3055:306 pm 6:3077:308 pm 8:3099:3010 pm 10:301111:3012 am

Saving Luna page 84 95 min. 11:00 AM SAVI0708A

The Dark Horse page 123 110 min. 1:30 PM DARK0708A

Good Food page 97/124 72 min. 4:30 PM GOOD0708A

Otto; or, Up With Dead People page 161 94 min. 7:00 PM OTTO0708A

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop page 107 100 min. 9:30 PM SEAC0708A

Garage page 198 85 min. 11:00 AM GARA0708A

Four Women page 197 105 min. 1:30 PM FOUR0708A

Choke page 191 89 min. 4:00 PM CHOK0708A

Late Bloomers page 209 86 min. 6:30 PM LATE0708A

Erik Nietzsche the Early Years page 195 91 min. 9:00 PM ERIK0708A

The Drummer page 193 98 min. 11:00 AM DRUM0708A

The Wave page 239 101 min. 1:30 PM WAVE0708A

About Water page 96 82 min. 4:30 PM ABOU0708A

Bliss page 185 105 min. 7:00 PM BLIS0708A

Timecrimes page 233 88 min. 9:30 PM TIME0708A

Man on Wire page 45 90 min. 11:00 AM MANO0708A

Be Like Others page 164 74 min. 1:30 PM BELI0708A

FutureWave Shorts page 77 74 min. 4:00 PM FUTU0708A

When Did You Last See Your Father? page 240 92 min. 6:30 PM WHEN0708A

A Secret page 225 105 min. 9:00 PM ASEC0708A

Sukiyaki Western Django page 161 121 min. Midnight SUKI0708A

Ramchand Pakistani page 223 105 min. 11:00 AM RAMC0708A

Half-Life page 98 106 min. 1:30 PM HALF0708A

Derek page 118 76 min. 4:30 PM DERE0708A

Mancora page 215 93 min. 6:30 PM MANC0708A

Sweet Thing page 126 80 min. 9:00 PM SWEE0708A

Sunday, June 8

10 am

10:301112:3012 pm 12:3011:302 pm 2:3033:30-

Princess of the Sun page 83 77 min. 11:00 AM PRIN0808A

Saving Luna page 84 95 min. 1:30 PM SAVI0808A

Becky Sharp page 65 84 min. 4:00 PM BECK0808A

XXY page 241 91 min. 6:30 PM XXYY0808A

pm

Stalags — Holocaust and Pornography in Israel page 171 78 min. 9:00 PM STAL0808A

The Great Buck Howard page 29 87 min. 11:00 AM BUCK0808A

A Girl Cut in Two page 200 115 min. 1:30 PM GCUT0808A

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years page 195 91 min. 4:15 PM ERIK0808A

Walt & El Grupo page 175 106 min. 6:30 PM WALT0808A

A Lost Man page 212 99 min. 9:15 PM LOST0808A

Saturn in Opposition page 224 110 min. 11:00 AM SATU0808A

Bliss page 185 105 min. 1:30 PM BLIS0808A

Alone in Four Walls page 72 85 min. 4:00 PM ALON0808A

Encarnacion page 194 93 min. 6:30 PM ENCA0808A

Still Orangutans page 231 81 min. 9:00 PM ORAN0808A

2008 Secret #3 page 37 11:00 AM

Phoebe in Wonderland page 221 96 min. 1:30 PM PHOE0808A

When Did You Last See Your Father? page 240 92 min. 4:00 PM WHEN0808A

Baghead page 181 84 min. 6:30 PM BAGH0808A

Empties page 194 103 min. 9:00 PM EMPT0808A

Mancora page 215 93 min. 11:00 AM MANC0808A

Tulia, Texas page 174 77 min. 1:30 PM TULI0808A

Boystown page 186 100 min. 4:00 PM TOWN0808A

The Young Master page 53 101 min. 6:30 PM MAST0808A

The End page 166 87 min. 9:15 PM ENDD0808A

Monday, June 9

The Order of Myths page 170 97 min. 4:15 PM ORDE0908A

Walt & El Grupo page 175 106 min. 4:30 PM WALT0908A

Encarnacion page 194 93 min. 4:30 PM ENCA0908A

Baghead page 181 84 min. 4:30 PM BAGH0908A

Sweet Thing page 126 80 min. 4:30 PM SWEE0908A

Under the Bombs page 236 98 min. 7:00 PM UNDE0908A

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame page 188 81 min. 9:15 PM BUDD0908A

Momma’s Man page 217 94 min. 7:15 PM MOMM0908A

Sukiyaki Western Django page 161 121 min. 9:45 PM SUKI0908A

Alone in Four Walls page 72 85 min. 7:00 PM ALON0908A

It’s Hard to Be Nice page 205 102 min. 9:30 PM ITSH0908A

Empties page 194 103 min. 7:00 PM EMPT0908A

Tulia, Texas page 174 77 min. 7:00 PM TULI0908A

Teddy Bear page 233 98 min. 9:30 PM TEDD0908A

Combalimon page 117 80 min. 9:15 PM COMB0908A

Tuesday, June 10

SIFF CinemaUptownPacific PlaceEgyptianHarvard ExitOther Venues

Wednesday, June 11

11 am 11:30noon12:301 pm 1:3022:303 pm 3:3044:305 pm 5:3066:307 pm 7:3088:309 pm 9:30102 pm 2:3033:304 pm 4:30-

pm

Under the Bombs page 236 98 min. 4:30 PM UNDE1008A

Theater of War page 173 95 min. 7:00 PM THEA1008A

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains page 173 126 min. 9:30 PM PLAN1008A

Princess of the Sun page 83 77 min. 4:30 PM PRIN1008A

Days and Clouds page 192 115 min. 7:00 PM DAYS1008A

Still Orangutans page 231 81 min. 9:30 PM ORAN1008A

XXY page 241 91 min. 4:30 PM XXYY1008A

Games of Love & Chance page 57 123 min. 3:30 PM GAME1008A

The Secret of the Grain page 57 151 min. 6:00 PM GRAI1008A

The Island of Lost Souls page 74 100 min. 7:00 PM SOUL1008A

Postcards From Leningrad page 106 90 min. 9:15 PM POST1008A

Lady Jane page 207 104 min. 9:30 PM LADY1008A

Combalimon page 117 80 min. 4:30 PM COMB1008A

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go page 119 100 min. 6:45 PM HOLD1008A

The End page 166 87 min. 9:15 PM ENDD1008A

The Moore Theatre

In the Land of the Headhunters page 63 47 min. 7:00 PM INTH1008W

Thursday, June 12

pm 8:3099:3010 pm

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop page 107 100 min. 4:30 PM SEAC1108A

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema page 171 109 min. 6:45 PM PIER1108A

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go page 119 100 min. 9:30 PM HOLD1108A

Momma’s Man page 217 94 min. 4:30 PM MOMM1108A

Perfect Match... page 221 89 min. 7:00 PM PERF1108A

The Girl By the Lake page 199 95 min. 9:30 PM LAKE1108A

Wonderful Town page 240 90 min. 4:30 PM WOND1108A

Salawati page 224 82 min. 7:00 PM SALA1108A

American Son page 110 87 min. 9:30 PM ASON1108A

Fly Filmmaking Challenge page 253 40 min. 4:30 PM FLYF1108A

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame page 188 81 min. 7:00 PM BUDD1108A

Villa Jasmin page 238 87 min. 9:00 PM VILL1108A

Trouble the Water page 120 90 min. 4:30 PM TROU1108A

Fields of Fuel page 96 93 min. 7:00 PM FIEL1108A

The Order of Myths page 170 97 min. 9:30 PM ORDE1108A

Theater of War page 173 95 min. 4:30 PM THEA1208A

Love and Other Crimes page 213 106 min. 7:00 PM CRIM1208A

Fairytale of Kathmandu page 118 88 min. 9:30 PM FAIR1208A

Lady Jane page 207 104 min. 4:15 PM LADY1208A

Summer Heat page 232 96 min. 7:00 PM SUMM1208A

Perfect Match... page 221 89 min. 9:30 PM PERF1208A

Postcards from Leningrad page 106 90 min. 4:30 PM POST1208A

Frozen River page 198 97 min. 7:00 PM FROZ1208A

Leroy page 74 89 min. 9:30 PM LERO1208A

The Secret of the Grain page 57 151 min. 3:30 PM GRAI1208A

Fields of Fuel page 96 93 min. 4:30 PM FIEL1208A

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio In the Red Tennis Shoes page 168 84 min. 7:00 PM GARR1208A

Visioneers page 113/126 94 min. 9:30 PM VISI1208A

The Bluetooth Virgin page 111 93 min. 7:00 PM BLUE1208A

Apollo 54 page 104 98 min. 9:30 PM APOL1208A

Benaroya Hall

Alexander Nevsky page 61 112 min. 7:30 PM NEVS1208W

pm

SIFF CinemaUptownPacific PlaceEgyptianHarvard ExitOther Venues

Some Assembly Required page 84 94 min.

4:00 PM SOME1308A

pm

Letting Go of God page 211 130 min.

6:30 PM GOGO1308A

The 27 Club page 110 94 min.

9:30 PM 27CL1308A

American Son page 110 87 min. 4:00 PM ASON1308A

Cherry Blossoms — Hanami page 189 122 min.

6:30 PM CHER1308A

Sonetaula page 227 157 min.

9:30 PM SONE1308A

Salawati page 224 82 min.

4:30 PM SALA1308A

Hidden Face page 202 93 min. 7:00 PM HIDD1308A

Before I Forget page 182 108 min. 9:30 PM FORG1308A

In Search of Kennedy page 119 87 min.

4:00 PM INSE1308A

The Wackness page 239 110 min.

6:30 PM WACK1308A

Mysteries of Pittsburgh page 114 95 min.

9:30 PM MYST1308A

Chrysalis page 156 91 min.

Midnight CHRY1308A

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema page 171 109 min.

4:00 PM PIER1308A

Accelerating America page 117 90 min.

7:00 PM ACCE1308A

Trouble the Water page 120 90 min.

9:30 PM TROU1308A

Alice, Upside Down page 82 91 min. 11:00 AM ALIC1408A

Accelerating America page 117 90 min. 1:30 PM ACCE1408A

Faces (Cassavetes) page 66 130 min. 4:00 PM CASS1408A

It’s Hard to Be Nice page 205 102 min.

11:00 AM ITSH1408A

Days and Clouds page 192 115 min. 1:30 PM DAYS1408A

Frozen River page 198 97 min. 4:30 PM FROZ1408A

In Search of Kennedy page 119 87 min.

7:00 PM INSE1408A

Emmanuel Jal: War Child page 91 93 min. 9:30 PM WARC1408A

The Girl By the Lake page 199 95 min.

7:15 PM LAKE1408A

Vice page 238 126 min. 9:30 PM VICE1408A

Fairytale of Kathmandu page 118 88 min. 11:00 AM FAIR1408A

Leroy page 74 89 min. 1:30 PM LERO1408A

Hidden Face page 202 93 min. 4:00 PM HIDD1408A

Fugitive Pieces page 59 104 min. 6:30 PM FUGI1408A

La France page 208 102 min.

PM LAFR1408A

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio In the Red Tennis Shoes page 168 84 min. 11:00 AM GARR1408A

Summer Heat page 232 96 min. 1:30 PM SUMM1408A

Visioneers page 113/126 94 min. 4:00 PM VISI1408A

Towelhead page 234 124 min. 6:30 PM TOWE1408A

The 27 Club page 110 94 min. 11:00 AM 27CL1408A

The Bluetooth Virgin page 111 93 min. 1:30 PM BLUE1408A

Lakshmi and Me page 170 91 min. 4:00 PM LAKS1408A

Em page 112 93 min. 6:30 PM EMMM1408A

Sleep Dealer page 226 90 min. 9:30 PM SLEE1408A

Donkey Punch page 157 90 min.

Midnight DONK1408A

Some Assembly Required page 84 94 min. 11:00 AM SOME1508A

Vice page 238 126 min. 11:00 AM VICE1508A

The Five Senses page 59 104 min.

AM

2008 Secret #4 page 37 11:00 AM JUNE

The Unknown Woman page 237 120 min.

1:00 PM UNKN1308A

Triangle page 93 min.

4:00 PM TRIA1308A

Female Agents page 121 min.

6:30 PM FEMA1308A

Jolene page 237 109 min.

9:30 PM JOLE1308A

Show Me the Money page 257 60 min.

3:00 PM SHOW1308D

So You want to be an Independent Producer? page 257 60 min.

4:30 PM SOYO1308D

Alexander Nevsky page 61 112 min.

7:00 PM NEVS1308W

The Album Leaf performs Sunrise Page 88 95 min.

7:00 PM SUN11308F

The Album Leaf performs Sunrise Page 88 95 min.

9:30 PM SUN21308F

The Island of Lost Souls page 74 100 min.

NOON SOUL1408A

Jolene page 43 109 min.

2:30 PM JOLE1408A

Closing Gala: Bottle Shock page 27 110 min.

Love and Other Crimes page 213 106 min. 9:15 PM CRIM1408A

6:30 PM CLOS1408B

Chrysalis page 156 91 min.

10:00 PM CHRY1408A

The Pitch Slam page 257 60 min.

4:00 PM PITC1408D

Lakshmi and Me page 170 91 min. 11:00 AM LAKS1508A

Alexander Nevsky page 61 112 min. 8:00 PM NEVS1408W

Alice, Upside Down page 82 91 min. 1:30 PM ALIC1508A

Letting Go of God page 211 130 min. 4:00 PM GOGO1508A

Mysteries of Pittsburgh page 114 95 min. 2:00 PM MYST1508A

Sonetaula page 227 157 min.

4:30 PM SONE1508A

TBA 7:00 PM TBA11508A

TBA 95 min. 9:15 PM TBA21508A

The Unknown Woman page 237 120 min. 8:30 PM UNKN1508A

Fugitive Pieces page 59 104 min.

PM

Before I Forget page 182 108 min.

PM

Wonderful Town page 240 90 min.

PM

TBA 95 min. 9:15 PM TBA31508A

Towelhead page 234 124 min. 1:30 PM TOWE1508A

Em page 112 93 min. 1:30 PM EMMM1508A

Sleep Dealer page 226 90 min. 4:30 PM SLEE1508A

Timecrimes page 233 88 min. 7:00 PM TIME1508A

Donkey Punch page 157 90 min. 9:00 PM DONK1508A

Apollo 54 page 104 98 min. 4:00 PM APOL1508A

My Festival Winner (TBA) page 244 6:30 PM MYFE1508A

Villa Jasmin page 238 87 min. 9:00 PM VILL1508A

Cherry Blossoms — Hanami page 189 122 min.

NOON CHER1508A

Female Agents page 196 121 min.

3:00 PM FEMA1508A

The Wackness page 239 110 min.

6:00 PM WACK1508A

Triangle page 235 93 min.

9:00 PM TRIA1508A

Alexander Nevsky page 61 112 min

2:00 PM NEVS1508W

FOUR DISTINCT SERIES, 23 SPELL-BINDING EVENTS FEATURING ARTISTS FROM 14 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

FILM TITLE INDEX

FEATURE FILMS

The 27 Club .......................................110

32A ......................................................71

The 3 Little Pigs .................................178

A

About Water .........................................96

Accelerating America .........................117

Ain’t Scared .........................................71

Alexander Nevsky ................................61

Alexandra ...........................................178

Alice, Upside Down ..............................82

All Will Be Well ....................................179

Alone in Four Walls ...............................72

American Son ....................................110

American Teen .....................................41

Anvil! The Story of Anvil ........................89

Apollo 54 ............................................104

The Art of Negative Thinking ..............179

Ask Not ..............................................122

August ...............................................180

B

Bad Habits .........................................180

Baghead ............................................181

Ballast ................................................181

Battle in Seattle ....................................25

Becky Sharp ........................................65

Before I Forget ...................................182

Before the Rains .................................182

Be Like Others ...................................164

Ben X .................................................183

Bigger Stronger Faster* ......................164

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life ......................89

Blind Mountain ...................................183

Bliss ...................................................185

Blood Brothers ...................................185

The Bluetooth Virgin ...........................111

Bottle Shock ........................................27

Boy A .................................................186

Boystown ...........................................186

Breakfast With Scot ...........................187

Brick Lane ..........................................187

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame.......188

Butterfly Dreaming .............................122

C

Café de Los Maestros ..........................91

California Dreamin’ (Endless) ..............188

Call Me Troy .......................................165

Camille .................................................72

Captain Abu Raed ..............................189

Captain Ahab .....................................104

Casting a Glance ................................147

Cecil B. DeMented (John Waters Presents) 49

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami ................189

The Children of Huang Shi .................190

Choke ................................................191

Chris & Don: A Love Story ..................165

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma ...191

Chrysalis ............................................156

Cochochi ...........................................105

Combalimon ......................................117

Continental,

Gonzo:

Good Food ....................................97,

Go

The Great Buck Howard ......................29

Great Speeches From A Dying World.124

The Greening of Southie ......................98

H

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In ..................169

Half-Life ................................................98

Head-On ..............................................56

Heartbeat Detector ............................202

Heavy Metal in Baghdad ......................92

Hidden Face .......................................202

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go ..................119

The Home Song Stories .....................203

Huddersfield .......................................203

I

Idiots and Angels................................204

In Search of Kennedy .........................119

In the Land of the Headhunters ............63

Island Etude .......................................204

The Island of Lost Souls .......................73

It Always Rains on Sunday ...................66

It’s Hard to Be Nice ............................205

J

Jar City...............................................205

Jolene ..................................................43

Juju Factory .......................................206

K

Katyń .................................................206

King of Ping Pong ..............................207

Kiss the Bride .......................................47

Kung Fu Panda ....................................82

L

Lady Jane ..........................................207

La France ...........................................208

Lakshmi and Me.................................170

The Last Mistress ...............................208

The Last Word ...................................244

Late Bloomers ....................................209

Leroy ..................................................209

Let the Right One In ...........................211

Letting Go of God ..............................211

Loos Ornamental ...............................149

A Lost Man.........................................212

Love and Honor .................................212

Love and Other Crimes ......................213

M

Mad Detective ....................................213

Magnus ..............................................215

Maidenhead .......................................243

Making the River ................................244

Máncora .............................................215

Man on Wire .........................................45

A Man’s Job .......................................216

Mermaid .............................................106

Michou d’Auber ..................................216

Milky Way ...........................................150

Mirageman .........................................159

Mister Foe ............................................58

Momma’s Man ...................................217

Mongol ...............................................217

The Mother of Tears ...........................159

Movie, or An Introduction to the Philosophy of Auteur Film Making.....150

Mr. Big ...............................................125

My Effortless Brilliance ................112, 125

Mysteries of Pittsburgh.......................113

N

Needle Through Brick ........................244

Newcastle ..........................................218

Night Tide ............................................67

Nocturna ..............................................83

O

One Hundred Nails .............................218

On the Wings of Dreams ....................219

Opium - Diary of a Madwoman ..........219

The Order of Myths ............................170

Otto; or, Up With Dead People ...........161

P

Patti Smith: Dream of Life .....................92

Perfect Match... ..................................221

Perfect Sport .....................................243

Phoebe in Wonderland .......................221

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema ..........171

Ploy ....................................................222

The Pope’s Toilet ................................222

Postcards from Leningrad ..................106

Princess of the Sun ..............................83

PVC-1.................................................223

R

Ramchand Pakistani ..........................223

The Red Awn .....................................107

Romeo and Juliet .................................51

S

The Saga of Anatahan..........................67

Salawati .............................................224

Saturn in Opposition ..........................224

Savage Grace ....................................225

Saving Luna .........................................84

Screw Cupid ......................................243

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop .......107

A Secret .............................................225

The Secret of the Grain ........................57

Sexy Beast ...........................................33

Shadow of the Holy Book ..................120

Shall We Kiss? ...................................226

Sita Sings the Blues .............................74

Sleep Dealer.......................................226

Slingshot ............................................227

Some Assembly Required ....................84

Sonetàula ...........................................227

The Song of Sparrows .......................228

Song Sung Blue ...................................93

Son of a Lion ......................................228

Sparrow .............................................229

Special People ...................................244

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel .............................................171

Still Life ...............................................229

Still Orangutans ..................................231

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains ........173

Strangers ...........................................231

Sukiyaki Western Django....................161

Summer Heat .....................................232

Sunday at Five....................................244

Sunrise .................................................88

Sweet Thing .......................................126

T

TBS (Nothing to Lose) ........................232

Teddy Bear.........................................233

Terra .....................................................85

Theater of War ...................................173

They Killed Sister

..................................146

Between 2 Deaths..............................146

Blood Sweat and Wool.......................141

The Bohemian Rhapsody Project .......169

Bookie................................................166

The Boy Who Died .............................146

Bulb ...................................................137

Bully Beef ...........................................133

Buried ................................................245

C

Catching Rats ....................................139

Cave Flower .......................................129

Cherries .............................................131

Claudio The Magnificent.......................77

Coffee & Allah ....................................129

Congratulations Daisy Graham ...........131

Creativity in Context ...........................251

Crossbow...........................................135

Customs at PQ International ..............141

D

Days of Love ......................................129

Die, Demon, Die .................................141

Disorder ...............................................77

Dog Altogether ...................................131

Dolls ...................................................135

Doxology ............................................137

Driving To The New Age:

American Automobiles And You .........77

Dry Rain .............................................135

E

Eat My Makeup! .................................146

Electrocute Your Stars........................146

Elephant Girl.......................................131

End Zone ...........................................253

Energie! ..............................................137

The Ex-Roommate .............................141

F

Far Away From Ural ............................137

Fawn ..................................................131

Felix....................................................137

Fish ....................................................136

Flutterby .............................................133

A Friendly Game.................................141

Fringe .................................................136

G

Gagarin ..............................................139

Giving Thanks ......................................77

Glory At Sea .......................................136

Gone With the Wind ...........................139

Gravity................................................129

H

Hamdi and Maria................................174

Herzog And The Monsters .................133

Hezurbeltzak, a Common Grave ........137

Hirsute ...............................................131

Home .................................................133

Hot Dog .............................................136

Hot Wind: America’s Fallout Casualties ... 245

Hypnerotomahia .................................139

I

The Ice Plant ......................................139

If a Body Meet a Body ........................133

I Love Sarah Jane...............................131

The Inquisitive Snail ............................133

Interpretive Site: Kosmos....................146

In the Mean Time, About Birds ...........139

An Introduction to Lucid

Dream Exploration............................133

The Iron Forest ...................................137

I Will Let You Know.............................139

J

Jaye Lady Jaye ..................................146

Jeu .....................................................133

John and Karen..................................129

Just ....................................................135

K

Kick Me ................................................77

The Kolaborator

L

S

Safari

Sainte

Salim

Save

Scoring .........................................................129

The Second Line...........................................174

“Self Portrait with Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy ..133

Shake Off ...........................................169

Shiny Things.......................................146

Shut Eye.............................................253

Sick Sex .............................................245

A Sign of the Times ..............................77

Sikumi ................................................139

Simulacra ...........................................245

Sindiswa.............................................135

Sleeping Betty ....................................133

Smells Like Teen Spirit .................92, 146

Snow Beard .......................................146

Son ....................................................136

Spider ................................................136

The Strange Hunger ...........................133

Struck ................................................131

Stuff ...................................................131

Super Quaker .......................................77

Suspension .......................................136

T

Tag! ....................................................118

The Tailor ...........................................170

Taua ...................................................129

Teat Beat of Sex, episodes 1,2,3 ........131

The Temerity of Zim............................245

Third Days Child .................................131

Tits and Blood ....................................136

Tongue Tied .......................................137

Tony Conrad, DreaMinimalist .............146

The Tourists .......................................137

Train Town ..........................................131

Triple Concerto in D Minor..................133

Twenty One ........................................136

Two Women and a Man .....................171

U

The Unbearable Whiteness of Being ..133

Un certain regard ...............................139

V

Victory ................................................139

Voice Messages .................................136

W

Walk It Off ..........................................141

Walnut ................................................133

The Watchman and the Little Girl .......133

Weiss .................................................129

What the Water Said, nos 4-6 ............146

Wine and Cupcakes ...........................131

Woodman 3 Hot Fighting ...................245

Wrestling ............................................135

Y-Z

Yellow .................................................136

You Think This Is Just a Game? .........141

Zoologic .............................................133