42nd Seattle International Film Festival (2016)

TRIUMPH BAR

FROM SIFF’S FESTIVAL DIRECTOR & CHIEF CURATOR

There is a reason that going to the movies is an enduring tradition throughout the world. The cinema provides an experience unparalleled by any other medium or art form. At SIFF we go beyond presenting extraordinary films—we create experiences that allow us to discover films together from rich and vibrant communities.

I’m delighted we’ve received recognition of our impact as the largest film festival in the country with continued support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (the Oscars®), along with so many other individuals and organizations from our community. Thanks to this generosity and support, we are able to provide thousands of experiences each year at the Festival (263 features, 680 screenings, 150,000 admissions) and our year-round cinema programs (121 feature engagements, 136 special events, 26 festivals, 170,000 admissions).

For the 2016 edition of the Seattle International Film Festival, the foundation of our Festival remains strong, with new explorations with China Stars, the beginning of an annual spotlight on Chinese cinema, and SIFFX, a new technology and VR festival within the fest. We have also expanded our footprint within and outside Seattle with the addition of the Majestic Bay and Ark Lodge Cinemas in Seattle and to the north in Shoreline.

While it is a personal loss for many of us that the Festival’s co-founder, film director and producer Dan Ireland, recently passed away, the Festival and organization he helped create is a fitting tribute and enduring legacy that will continue well beyond the four decades of all things SIFF.

Whether this is your first Festival or your 42nd, whether you plan to see one film or one hundred, I am delighted you will join us and look forward to the very bright future of film.

Carl Spence Chief Curator & Festival Director

REMEMBERING DAN IRELAND

Dan and I were emotional and intellectual Siamese twins for most of our lives. We used to sneak out of classes in grade 7 to watch movies together, then came back together as best friends when he moved back to Vancouver in the early ’70s and we ran into each other in a bar. We moved to Seattle together to refurbish and open the Moore Egyptian in 1975 and started SIFF in 1976. The truth is that Dan’s boundless ambition, dedication to talent, refusal to take “no” for an answer and ability to bring anyone “outside the fold” on-side is what made our success possible. Though our professional paths diverged somewhat a decade later when he moved to L.A. to pursue his real passion—making great movies—we were never less than cosmic lovers, and remained as close as close can be for the next 30 years. His legacy—best exemplified by his body of work and the enduring love of his huge circle of friends—is a testament to the unique sensibility and incredibly positive energy Dan brought to everything in his life. But that’s not what I will miss forever—as rare a trait as that constant positive energy is. It’s that positivity, and Dan’s unique twisted sense of humor, I will forever miss. Nobody on Earth will ever take his place where either of those elements are concerned. I’ll miss him madly, and pray he has access to making the movies he cares about in Heaven. —Darryl

Macdonald, Festival co-founder

The sweetest angel left us. Called his voicemail just to hear his voice once more. I’ll miss you, baby. —Jessica Chastain

A

great film is

more than

entertainment. It’s a chance to see the world from a different perspective.

For over 40 years, SIFF has challenged, stimulated, and served our audiences by bringing them a vast variety of films from around the world. What’s more, we offer classes, panels, and special events to help create and strengthen a community of cinema enthusiasts who are more informed, aware, and alive.

SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

SIFF is the largest film festival in the United States, with more than 150,000 people attending each year. The 25-day event is also the region’s most accessible and critically acclaimed festival, renowned for presenting over 400 features, short films, and documentaries gathered from more than 80 countries.

SIFF CINEMA

Over 175,000 people attend SIFF Cinema each year to see the best new feature films, one-of-a-kind special events, and mini-festivals celebrating cinema from around the world, including the beloved Noir City Film Festival, which returns in July 2016.

Our two classic movie houses, SIFF Cinema Egyptian and SIFF Cinema Uptown, are the perfect venues for movie lovers who enjoy a wide array of studio and independent films, foreign-language cinema, documentaries, and restored classics. Recent favorites include Jeff Nichols' sci-fi adventure Midnight Special, the Oscar®-nominated Embrace of the Serpent, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet, the new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa's Ran, and a career-spanning retrospective of the work of Wim Wenders. The SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center is an intimate, state-of-the-art single-screen cinema showcasing new discoveries from around the world and community programs, and is also the home of SIFF’s education programs.

SIFF Cinema also features unique programs that take you beyond the screen with filmmaker and panel discussions, “Stage to Screen” theater events, live music with silent films, monthly screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and interactive events like The Clueless Make-Over Party and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in Smell-O-Vision. That’s right! Smell-O-Vision!

SIFF EDUCATION

Our education programs are designed to train and strengthen the community of Seattle film lovers and filmmakers. FutureWave provides free access to films and filmmakers, hands-on training, and exceptional cinematic experiences for more than 13,000 students and educators a year. The Catalyst program offers training, forums, and workshops for aspiring filmmakers. Film4All offers informative and enlightening behind-the-scenes discussions and classes for cinema lovers of any age.

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GREETINGS

FROM SIFF’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of SIFF, welcome to the 42nd Seattle International Film Festival. Our mission at SIFF is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world, and nothing does that better than our annual Festival. Over the next 25 days, the 42nd Festival will screen more than 400 features, documentaries, and shorts from over 80 countries, bringing the best of the world of cinema to the Puget Sound area, along with many of the filmmakers themselves. The Festival also includes educational programs, filmmaker panels, special events, and (of course) parties, and we encourage you to take advantage of all these diverse opportunities over the next few weeks.

This year SIFF is pleased to welcome three new venues to the Festival rotation: Shoreline Community College, the Ark Lodge Cinemas in Columbia City, and the Majestic Bay Theatres in Ballard. We welcome these neighborhood cinemas and their local communities to the Festival experience, along with returning venues at the Kirkland Performance Center, the Lincoln Square Cinemark Theatres in Bellevue, the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, AMC Pacific Place, and of course SIFF Cinema’s own theaters at the Uptown, the Egyptian, and the Film Center. It is with your generous support that SIFF is able to produce our annual Festival, the largest film festival in the United States both in terms of length and the number of films we screen. All of us at SIFF are very grateful to our sponsors, our donors, and our nearly 7,000 members for their continuing support of the organization and the Festival. We are also very thankful for the many volunteers who help us produce the Festival throughout the year; during the past year over 670 people volunteered for SIFF and together donated over 24,500 hours of time to SIFF events.

While the Festival is our flagship event, SIFF also offers year-round programming across the five screens we operate as SIFF Cinema. Programming at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, the Egyptian, and the Film Center mirrors that of the Festival itself, and last year more than 300,000 patrons attended SIFF screenings during the Festival and throughout the year at SIFF Cinema. After the 42nd Festival concludes, we look forward to welcoming you throughout the year at SIFF Cinema to continue to discover extraordinary films.

Have a great Festival and I’ll see you at the movies!

Brian A. LaMacchia President, SIFF Board of Directors

OFFICERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

HONORARY BOARD

William Affleck-Asch

Sherman Alexie

Russell Bennett

Mrs. Robert R. Braun, Jr.

BeBe Burns

Paul Canniff

Ricardo Ceja

Deb Clark

Allen Cohn

Conrad Denke

Virginia Callison Dolan

Elva Gonzalez

Carrie Gorringe

Bruce Hawley

Paula & Mike Hlastala

Steve Kelly

June Krumpotick

Stephen McCandless

Judith Mercer

David Nyberg

Deborah Parsons

BOARD EMERITI

Jeff Parsons

Mina Person

J. McLaren Peters

Kevin Phaup

Jessica Prince

Robin Reynolds Wilt

Daniel Roben

Rosie Saunders

Jane Suzick

Sylvester Thomas III

Joe Welinske

Ken Williams

Bagley Wright

Brian LaMacchia, President

Lynn Hubbard, Vice President

Ian MacNeil, Vice President

Katherine De Bruyn, Secretary

Richard von Riesen, Treasurer

James Angelo Mary Bass

William Belickis Sharon Conner Christopher Conrad

Rich Fassio Craig Friedson

Donna James Scott Lipsky Darryl Macdonald

Mary Metastasio Richard Meyer

Billy O’Neill Michelle Quisenberry Rick Rasmussen

Mark Rosencrantz Keith Simanton

Carl Tostevin Edwin Weihe Sheree Wen

Deborah Person Tom Skerritt Rick Stevenson

FROM THE GOVERNOR

I am pleased to extend warm greetings to all those attending the 42nd annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). For those of you visiting us, it is a privilege to welcome you to the beautiful Evergreen State.

At 25 days, SIFF is the largest film festival in the United States, offering more than 400 feature films, shorts, and documentaries from over 80 countries. Attracting many visitors from around the world, SIFF’s attendance continues to grow each year.

Cinema is more than entertainment; it is also a wonderful medium for exploring the human condition and the world around us. This celebration of the international language of film can only serve to enlighten us and enhance the diversity of our people, and I applaud the participating filmmakers and the many SIFF organizers and volunteers who work hard to make this special event possible.

Thank you for coming, and please accept my best wishes for a memorable festival and many years of continued success.

Very truly yours,

Jay Inslee Governor

FROM THE MAYOR

Friends,

On behalf of the City of Seattle, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival!

Every year SIFF attracts filmmakers and fans from all over the world to celebrate the creativity and diversity of cinema at the largest and most highly attended film festival in the nation. Thanks to the impressive work of the festival’s volunteers, filmmakers, and staff, this festival celebrates cinema and affirms the value of a film festival in today’s society.

In addition to enjoying the over 400 films from 80 countries featured this year at SIFF, I encourage you to take advantage of the festival’s speaker panels, forums, and discussions. Also be sure to enjoy SIFF’s programming year-round at the SIFF Film Center, Uptown, and Egyptian Theatres.

I am proud to be Mayor of a city with such an outstanding film festival and film community. Thank you for joining SIFF and the entire city during the best weeks of film all year. Enjoy!

Edward B. Murray Mayor of Seattle

FROM THE MAYOR OF RENTON

Welcome to the sixth annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) held in Renton. We are pleased to host SIFF for what will be yet another great festival of captivating films from around the world. Renton is proud to celebrate the diversity in our city, and hosting SIFF gives us the opportunity to showcase Renton’s thriving arts and culture scene and foster cross-cultural understanding.

SIFF-Renton is hosting a week of screenings at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, May 26 through June 1, 2016. Whether you like action flicks, dramas, thrillers, or anything in between, the film screenings at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center are sure to catch your eye.

SIFF is the longest-running, largest, and most highly attended film festival in the United States. The City of Renton has hosted SIFF for six years, and each year it has been a great success. SIFF provides us an opportunity to enjoy arts and cultures from the region and around the world through mediums of creativity and innovation.

I would like to thank SIFF, our community partners, Renton’s hard-working city staff, our event volunteers, and the generous donors; these individuals go out of their way to contribute their time, talent, and experience to make this festival the success that it is. We hope you will take advantage of Renton’s affordable hotels, diverse dining opportunities, entertainment, and shopping options while you are here. For more information about exploring Renton, the city that is “Ahead of the Curve,” please visit rentonwa.gov.

So, as they say in the movies . . . Lights! Camera! Action!

FROM THE MAYOR OF KIRKLAND

Kirkland is pleased to host the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) for the eighth year. Our community and Eastside neighbors look forward to a “night on the town” in downtown Kirkland with a treasure trove of entertaining and provocative films. This city prides itself on its art, cultural, and educational offerings, and the film festival is always a mainstay of our art-filled year. As always, Kirkland is pleased to accommodate SIFF at our own downtown Kirkland Performance Center, which provides an intimate and comfortable setting for film watching.

While in Kirkland enjoying great movies, I encourage you to explore our vibrant downtown with a blend of outdoor recreation, art, dining, and boutique shopping. The newly renovated Parklane has an outdoor sculpture gallery with works for sale by major regional artists.

Within walking distance is an array of fine dining experiences, representative of a variety of cuisines— from Italian to Indian to Peruvian to Mexican. Visit www.explorekirkland.com to check out dining and also nearby hotel accommodations, such as The Heathman Hotel and The Woodmark Hotel and Still Spa for those interested in overnight stays.

My best wishes for an enjoyable visit.

Sincerely,

Amy Walen Mayor of Kirkland

Denis Law Mayor of Renton

GREETINGS

FROM THE MAYOR OF SHORELINE

The City of Shoreline is excited to partner with Shoreline Community College in welcoming the Seattle International Film Festival to Shoreline! Shoreline is a diverse community with a long history of celebrating the arts and cross-cultural understanding. Hosting the Seattle International Film Festival is a natural fit for us.

Bringing the festival to Shoreline is part of the City and Community College’s ongoing collaboration to grow our media production industry. Launched in 2013, the Shoreline Film Office is growing a local film industry—and the talent to support it—by providing affordable resources to film professionals willing to create in an educational context.

Its mission is to make Shoreline a recognized hub of the media industry by providing world-class venues and professional education and training. The Film Office acts as a broker for services, incentives, venues, and production support for local film, gaming, theater, and sound professionals.

Located on the College campus, the Shoreline Film Office includes collaboration space and black-box rehearsal space. Those willing to provide opportunities for students during their production can, with an educational agreement in place, use film students, equipment, venues, and facilities for filming and post-production at little or no additional cost.

To learn more about the Shoreline Film Office, call (206) 546-5829 or email filmoffice@shorelinewa.gov.

And for those of you who are coming to Shoreline for the first time or who are unfamiliar with the area, I encourage you to take some time to explore our great city. We have fantastic parks, unique shops, a wide variety of eateries, and a warm, diverse, and welcoming community to offer—and all less than 30 minutes from most everywhere. To learn more, visit www.surprisedbyshoreline.com.

Thank you for visiting and enjoy the show!

Sincerely,

Chris Roberts Mayor of Shoreline

FROM THE MAYOR OF BELLEVUE

On behalf of the City Council and residents of Bellevue, we are happy to welcome the return of the Seattle International Film Festival to the Lincoln Square Cinemas, May 20-June 2, 2016.

Hosting SIFF gives us the opportunity to showcase Bellevue’s thriving arts and culture scene and a diverse community that fosters crosscultural understanding.

Bellevue is a vibrant, modern and growing city that offers great shopping, dining, and cultural attractions, all within easy strolling distance of the movie theaters downtown. For example, less than two blocks south of the cinemas is the Bellevue Arts Museum, one of the finest museums of art, craft, and design in the nation.

I also encourage you to get out and explore Bellevue’s natural beauty: our many parks and the public art located throughout the city. A short walk from Lincoln Square is Bellevue’s Downtown Park. It’s a great place to get away from the bustle of meetings, walk a half-mile loop, or just enjoy people-watching, with the sound in the background of a waterfall splashing into a large pool.

I hope you enjoy this great festival, and return to Bellevue to enjoy its many other attractions.

vantage of Renton’s affordable hotels, diverse dining opport

John Stokes Mayor of Bellevue

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INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORTERS

OFFICIAL TELEVISION PARTNER OF SIFF

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Ace Parking Inc

African Studies Program UW

American Iranian Business Council

American Romanian Cultural Society

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BCSR Computer Rentals, Inc.

Canada-America Society

Canadian Studies Center UW

Center for Global Studies UW

Center for Human Rights UW

Center for West European Studies UW

Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest San Francisco

Consulate General of Poland in Los Angeles

East Asia Center UW

Ellison Center UW

Gamma Ray Games

HOSPITALITY SPONSORS

Agave Cocina & Tequilas

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Facility, Inc.

Fran’s Chocolates

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AlphaGraphics

Art Access

Bellevue Reporter

Beth Crook

Corner Film Productions

Honorary Consulate of Spain in Seattle

Istituto Italiano di Cultura San Francisco

Kamiar and Afsaneh Karimi

Latin American and Caribbean Studies UW

LAWDESK Computers

Naini Family Foundation

Michael and Neda Nassirian

Sinikka and Babak Parviz

Québec Government Office in Los Angeles

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Seattle-Christchurch Sister City Association

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Seattle-Reykjavik Sister City Association

Jones Soda Co.

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Greater Seattle Business Association

Issaquah Press, Inc.

Pacific Publishing Company

Red Element Studios

Seattle Center Monorail

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Seattle Film Institute

Seattle Polish Film Festival

Seattle Works

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Southeast Asia Center UW

SubSeattle Tour

TheFilmSchool

Underground Paranormal Experience

Underground Tour

Underworld Tour

UW Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Persian and Iranian Studies Group

UW Iranian-American Faculty

Video Equipment Rental

Write Brothers

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SAM Taste Restaurant

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Walkers Shortbread

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Woodland Park Zoo

Renton Reporter

The Seattle Globalist

Stephen Mellander and Daniel Herda

Substantial

Thomas Creative Solutions

Three Imaginary Girls

THANK YOU to all our donors for making the art of film so vital in Seattle.

SIFF donors make the festival the first-rate annual event we all love. They provide thought-provoking programming year-round through SIFF Cinema, and create a vibrant community for filmmaking and student learning.

YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS. You help SIFF share the very best in world film culture and education throughout the region. Great storytelling is vital to our community, connecting us one story at a time.

To make a donation today, please contact supporters@siff.net or (206) 464-5830.

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Look for these special issues in 2016

SUMMER GUIDE Throughout June

BEST OF SEATTLE August 3

FALL ARTS August 31

GIVING GUIDES November & December

YEAR IN REVIEW December 31

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Martin Shore

Eugene Shvets

Pamela Silimperi

Janna Silverstein

Greg Simmons & Jeanette Brynn

John Simmons

Melinda Simon

Jonas Simonis & Jillian Barron

Elizabeth Simpson-Kuhlmann

Patricia Singer

Clint Skullerud

Kuper Slechta

Nathan Slingerland

Erin Smith

Ruth Smith & Edward Telcs

Anna Smoak

Don Sneesby

John Snider

Mary Sobczyk

Dustin Somers

Judi Sorensen

Rachel Speaks

Daron Spektor

Russell Spence

Cole Spicer

Kelly Springer

Amanda Sproule

Jeff St. Clair

Jon Staenberg

Ali Stalarow

Bradley Steele

Betsy Steinke

Christopher & Mirose Stewart

Daniel Stockman

Paula Stokes

Brion & Kristin Stone

Matt Storm

Poppy Storm

Kate Stratton

Anne Suen

Jessica Sullivan

Michael Sullivan

Michele Sullivan

Shelly Sundberg

Vivika Sundqvist

Wannapa Suprasert

Susan Susor

Erin Sutter

Bronson Swanson

Judy Swanson

Terri Swier

Susan Swope

Raymond Takeuchi

Erdal Taner

Amy Taylor

Mac Taylor

Molly Taylor

Susan Taylor

Michael Taylor-Judd

Sonya Teele

Mike Teeny

Donald Thompson

Jack Thompson

Taylor Thornton

Sarah Threlkeld

Rajani Thykkuttathil

Caroline Tobin

Laurie Tolson

Tim Tomlinson

Carlos Torres

Patrick Tousignant

Christine Tran

Janis Traven

Tim Tribble

Philip Tse

Mary Tudor

Barbara & Paul Tytler

Brian Uber & Mollie Wirtz

Lisa Upshaw

Nancy Uscher

Sean Usibelli

Karin Valenzona

Jenna van Rijn

Carol Vangelos

Youri Vater

Stafford Vaughan

Jeri Vaughn

Alan & Laura Veigel

Gavin Verhey

Eunice

MEET THE PROGRAMMERS

SIFF is more than just an annual festival of world’s greatest films; it’s a community of creating passionate people who live and breathe cinema. This section is dedicated to our talented team of 24 programmers. These are the people who work and watch movies all year long to prepare the best films possible for the continually growing Seattle festival. This year, we asked them to tell us about a guilty pleasure—a film they hesitate to admit they enjoy. Some were brave enough to confess:

CARL SPENCE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

’70s Disney movies. I love all of them—in particular any with actors Ruth Buzzi and Jodie Foster. Top fave is probably Freaky Friday, but there’s also The North Avenue Irregulars, No Deposit, No Return, Candleshoe, and Escape to Witch Mountain Discovering films at SIFF was my Technicolor Wizard of Oz awakening to a whole new world of movies.

BETH BARRETT DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING

Starship Troopers—Paul Verhoeven’s misunderstood classic satire of right-wing militarism is all the better for the multitudes of exploding carapaces.

ANGELO ACERBI FILM PROGRAMMER

My guilty pleasure film is The First Wives Club: the funniest feminist comic romp, filled with enjoyable camp moments, songs and dance and queerness. Three great actresses make the most unlikely bunch of vindictive gals against masculine stupidity and age obsession. A flawless and eternal pick-me-up.

MARYNA AJAJA FILM PROGRAMMER

I have yet to reach a point in my life where I rewatch films that I love or that I get a guilty pleasure from viewing. However, I will confess that I get pleasure from viewing “Teletubbies” dubbed in Russian.

JUSTINE BARDA FILM PROGRAMMER

So I can’t say I feel especially guilty about it, but I could happily watch The Sound of Music on a loop. When the Sound of Music singalongs took off a few years back, I had a Maria costume that got some pretty heavy wear…

CLARE CANZONERI FILM PROGRAMMER

I rarely watch movies more than once or twice, but I watched Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion maybe 30 times in high school and made a Geocities fan page about it…Because, you know, they invented Post-its and what’s better than that?

DAN DOODY FILM PROGRAMMER

While I don’t feel particularly guilty about it, I do enjoy British rom-coms like Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and Pride & Prejudice Jane Austen films in general, really, which might come as something of a surprise given my past Midnight Connections. I can also watch Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy and its sequel quite happily. And yet I find the addition of zombies, sea monsters, and other creatures of the night to Ms. Austen’s work to be quite tiresome. So there you go—can’t judge a book by its cover, I guess.

CRAIG DOWNING SHORT FILM PROGRAMMER

My guilty pleasure is Lord of War. Yes, it has Nicolas Cage. Yes, I think he’s amazing in it. Yes, I’m embarrassed about this. There goes all my street cred :)

LAURA GOOD FILM PROGRAMMER

I may have worn out my VHS of Dirty Dancing [Insert GIF of “the lift.”]

RUTH HAYLER FILM PROGRAMMER

The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in a then-popular knights-in-shining-armor actioner. Seeing it as a child I was entranced, but what turns it into a guilty pleasure today is Tony’s thick Bronx accent, hilariously out of place in Merrie Olde England.

DUSTIN KASPAR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS MANAGER

Dream Lover. Madchen Amick gives a smoldering performance in this psychological relationship thriller in which she ties James Spader in a web of lies.

MEGAN LEONARD PROGRAMMING COORDINATOR

Although I wouldn’t say I feel all that guilty about it, most people would probably frown upon my appreciation of Don Juan De Marco. I can’t help but love every moment of J-Depp’s lover boy.

CLINTON MCCLUNG SIFF CINEMA PROGRAMMER

My guiltiest pleasure is my inability not to cry during romantic comedies. When Harry Met Sally, The Lonely Guy, Obvious Child, Eternal Sunshine . . . they all set off the water works. The big exception is Pretty in Pink, which just makes me mad because it gets the end all wrong!

DALE NASH FILM PROGRAMMER

Any Douglas Sirk movie. Each is an astounding look at ’50s American life.

GALEN ROSENTHAL FILM PROGRAMMER

As a child of the ’90s, I would have to go with Not Another Teen Movie. Yes, it shovels together the best moments from all ’90s teen comedies and romances into a nice pile of manure. But you know what? You can’t grow a great oak without a little manure. So suck on that. Peace out!

STAN SHIELDS FILM PROGRAMMER

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Don’t come here for historical accuracy, but instead for a visually inventive director and a great cast who know exactly what kind of movie they’re in. I’m going to watch it again right now.

SADIA RAO PROGRAMMING ASSISTANT

Guilty pleasure is synonymous with Cruel Intentions. Having watched this awesomeness multiple times, I empathized with the trials and tribulations of teenage-hood, or what I imagined them to be. Plus the soundtrack includes “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and my first heartbreak song: “Colorblind” by Counting Crows.

ANDY SPLETZER FILM PROGRAMMER

I must be a cinematic sociopath because I don’t feel guilty about any film I’ve enjoyed. That said, Cabin Boy is an overlooked masterpiece and Fifty Shades of Grey is an entertainingly odd movie about contract negotiations.

SHRUTI SWAMINATHAN PROGRAMMING ASSISTANT

It’s too difficult to pick just one! Award-winning indies and dramas are great, but I’m a sucker for romantic comedies. Some Meg Ryan/Jennifer Aniston/ Katherine Heigl film, microwave popcorn, and red wine is my recipe for “Turn Your Brain Off” nights. Special mention: He’s Just Not That Into You. Who doesn’t love celebrities in their faces every second minute?”

HEBE TABACHNIK WORLD CINEMA PROGRAMMER

I watch films for a living. I watch hundreds of them— features, docs, dramas, tragic stories happening every minute somewhere in the world. So from time to time my mind just needs to float away, think of nothing, and have some welcome laughs. That is when network TV has a gift for me: The Legally Blonde saga is on and I can binge for a full afternoon. It never fails; at the end I am ready again to take over the world . . . one film at the time. FYI, I would totally love to have the Premium DVD collection if available.

ANDY VOLK PROGRAMMING ASSISTANT TRON: Legacy (2010) is a visually dazzling sci-fi world that feels so real it’s easy to get lost inside it. It’s packed with awesome action sequences and a fantastic electronic soundtrack by Daft Punk, plus you get a showdown between Jeff Bridges and Jeff Bridges.

BRAD WILKE FILM PROGRAMMER

When it comes to B-pictures, Joe Dante’s Piranha takes the cake. It has everything you could ask for, and even throws in some stop-motion animation and a great score by Pino Donaggio for good measure. What’s more, it has a strong environmental stewardship theme and was one of the first films to expertly blend horror and comedy, which would become one of Dante’s trademarks. Lots of fun and never boring: the perfect guilty pleasure.

MIRIAM YACOUBI PROGRAMMING ASSISTANT

I guess I would have to go with the 1995 Pride and Prejudice BBC version . . . but it technically isn’t a film, so I’ll also pick Mamma Mia (2008)—and yes, both star Colin Firth. Coincidence? I think not!

PRESENTS:

TWO PLUMBERS GIVE EARTH ONE LAST PUSH FOR HOPE

WARPDOOKIE starring manni schitz, rick tum, ANITA PLUMBER Directed by: C. MOORE BUTTS

Produced by: MISTY BOTTOMS story by: “JOHN”STALLS screenplay by: IVANA KRAPP color by: PORCELAIN THRONE

A giant chunk of space doody is hurtling towards Earth and only a couple of roughneck waste management employees can save our world. Look, when your business is named WONGDOODY, a movie called WARPDOOKIE doesn’t seem so ridiculous. So clench tight, brace against the stall walls and visit us at WONGDOODY.COM/WONGMOVIE.

WHAT SORT OF FILM DO I FEEL LIKE SEEING TONIGHT?

QUICK GUIDE TO MOODS

With our handy moods groupings, we’ve made it easy to find the type of cinematic experience you’re in the mood for. Instead of using traditional categories, we’ve aimed to connect films with you, the audience, by organizing them into eight areas that match your mood.

Romance and love in all its forms, pleasures, and idiosyncrasies.

Films that make you chuckle and tickle your funny bone.

The exploration of artistic endeavors from all disciplines: music, literature, cooking, film, art, dance, and performance.

Suspense, thrills, and action—films with a faster pace that might also surprise you when you least expect it!

Revealing films and documentaries revolving around history, politics, and contemporary events from around the world.

Prepare to be taken to another place—from exotic, far-off lands to vibrant experiences outside of everyday life.

The most outrageous, mind-blowing, and unexpected tales in genre filmmaking that will stimulate your brain, keep you up at night, or simply leave you happily exclaiming "WTF?!"

Mesmerizing dramas and documentaries that explore provocative questions, realities, and topics.

A living legacy of community support

Wells Fargo Private Bank is proud to continue our tradition of strong community partnership by saluting Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Wells Private Bank is proud to continue our tradition of strong community partnership saluting Seattle International Film Festival.

Since 1852, Wells Fargo has helped families build, manage, preserve and transition their wealth. To learn more about how The Private Bank can help you achieve your financial goals, contact Marco Abbruzzese, Regional Managing Director at (206) 340-4647.

Director: Woody Allen

Producers: Letty Aronson

Stephen Tenenbaum

Edward Walson

Screenwriter: Woody Allen

Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro

Editor: Alisa Lepseiter

Cast: Jeannie Berlin

Steve Carell

Jesse Eisenberg

Blake Lively

Parker Posey

Kristen Stewart

Corey Stoll

Ken Stott

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

FilmNation

Entertainment

Print Source: Lionsgate Films

Selected Filmography:

Irrational Man (2015)

Blue Jasmine (2013)

To Rome With Love (2012)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008)

Cassandra’s Dream (2007)

Match Point (2005)

Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Hollywood Ending (2002)

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)

Small Time Crooks (2000)

Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

Celebrity (1998)

Deconstructing Harry (1997)

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

Husbands and Wives (1992)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Another Woman (1988)

September (1987)

Radio Days (1987)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982)

Stardust Memories (1980)

Manhattan (1979)

Annie Hall (1977)

Love and Death (1975)

Sleeper (1973)

Everything You Always Wanted to Know

About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)

Bananas (1971)

Take the Money and Run (1969)

What’s Up, Tiger Lily? (1966)

Café Society USA 2016

North American Premiere

THURSDAY, MAY 19 7:00 PM MARION OLIVER MCCAW HALL

Café Society follows Bronx-born Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) to Hollywood, where he falls in love, and back to New York, where he is swept up in the vibrant world of high-society nightclub life. Centering on events in the lives of Bobby’s colorful Bronx family, the film is a glittering valentine to the movie stars, socialites, playboys, debutantes, politicians, and gangsters who epitomized the excitement and glamour of the age. Poignant, and often hilarious, Café Society, a film with a novel’s sweep, takes us on a journey from pastel-clad dealmakers in plush Hollywood mansions to the quarrels and tribulations of a humble Bronx family, from the rough-andtumble violence of New York gangsters to the sparkling surfaces and secret scandals of Manhattan high life. Woody Allen conjures up a 1930s world that has passed to tell a deeply romantic tale of dreams that never die. Café Society is notable for the director’s first-time collaboration with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, known for epics such as Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emperor. This also marks Allen’s first foray into digital filmmaking, using a Sony CineAlta F65 camera.

Director: Clay Tweel

Producers: Seth Gordon

Kimi Culp Kevin Lake

Screenwriter: Clay Tweel

Cinematographers: Ty Minton-Small David Lee

Editor: Clay Tweel

Music: Dan Romer

Saul Simon MacWilliams

Featuring: Steve Gleason Michel Gleason

Rivers Gleason

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Amazon Studios

Film Website: thegleasonproject.com

Selected Filmography: Finders Keepers (Doc, 2015) Print the Legend (Doc, 2014) Make Believe (Doc, 2010)

Gleason USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

ENCORE SCREENING: SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In September 2007, with tens of thousands of fans screaming him on, Steve Gleason became a New Orleans folk hero after blocking an Atlanta Falcons punt for the Saints in their first home opener after Hurricane Katrina. Just a few years later, Steve was diagnosed with ALS at age 34 while trying to conceive his first child. Gleason is an emotionally charged documentary that documents his family’s journey since the diagnosis. Director Clay Tweel (Finders Keepers) pushes the boundaries of typical inspirational-living-through-tribulations documentaries, and Gleason himself, who courageously filmed the worst parts of his debilitating disorder for the public eye, shot much of the footage. Throughout the film, which spans years of Steve’s life, his condition deteriorates until he can no longer perform basic functions or hold his son Rivers, yet Steve and family maintain a bold sense of humor about their predicament, echoing the film’s battle cry of the human spirit. This intimate portrait of a family refusing to give in to despair and meeting their challenges head-on will move you to tears and inspire hope for the human condition.

Awards: SXSW 2016 (Audience Award) Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Special Jury Prize)

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Producer: Sue Maslin

Screenwriter: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Cinematographer: Don McAlpine

Editor: Jill Bilcock

Music: David Hirschfelder

Cast: Kate Winslet

Liam Hemsworth

Judy Davis

Hugo Weaving

Running Time: 118 minutes

Presentation

Format: DCP

International Sales: Embankment Films

Print Source: Amazon Studios

Film Website: thedressmakermovie.com.au

Selected Filmography: Unconditional Love (2002)

A Thousand Acres (1997) How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Proof (1991) Pavane (1983)

The Dressmaker Australia 2015

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM CINERAMA

Based on Rosalie Ham’s debut novel of the same name, The Dressmaker is director Jocelyn Moorhouse’s (Proof, A Thousand Acres) vengeful return to cinema. The film follows the journey of Myrtle Dunnage (Kate Winslet, Titanic, The Reader) to her small Australian hometown, 25 years after she was exiled after being accused of the murder of a young schoolboy. Now back to care for her aging mother Molly (Judy Davis, My Brilliant Career), Myrtle, under the new alias “Tilly,” creates havoc in the town, due partly to her extravagant fashion and dressmaking profession and partly to a series of coincidental events. She falls in love with Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth, The Hunger Games), and the two set out to solve the quarter-century-old crime to which Myrtle had been the only witness. The Dressmaker is a manic murder mystery, packed with humor and exorbitant fashion, leaving the audience giggling and captivated at the edge of their seats.

Awards: Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards 2016 (Best Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Costume Design, People’s Choice Award for Favorite Australian Film)

Director: James Schamus

Producers: Anthony Bregman

James Schamus

Rodrigo Teixeira

Screenwriter: James Schamus

Cinematographer: Christopher Blauvelt

Editor: Andrew Marcus

Music: Jay Wadley

Cast: Logan Lerman

Sarah Gadon

Tracy Letts

Linda Emond

Danny Burstein

Ben Rosenfield

Running Time: 109 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Indignation USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

ENCORE SCREENING: SUNDAY, MAY 22 3:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE CINEMAS

James Schamus—frequent Ang Lee collaborator, Columbia University film professor, and co-founder/former CEO of Focus Features—makes his directorial debut with a beautifully realized, emotionally soaring adaptation of Philip Roth’s 29th novel. It’s 1951, and New Jersey teenager Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is the newest student at Winesburg College in Ohio, his enrollment keeping him out of the Korean War and in his kosher butcher father’s good graces. But now a self-proclaimed atheist and one of the few Jewishraised students at the Lutheran school, the principled Marcus immediately locks ideological horns with roommates, teachers, and deans alike, and not even his romance with comely Winesburg legacy Olivia (Sarah Gadon, “11.22.63”) can seem to shake him of his increasing cynicism. As a war rages on overseas, Marcus fights his own battles, both within himself and against the institutions that threaten to suffocate and silence him. Featuring ferocious supporting performances from playwright Tracy Letts (“August, Osage County”), as well as Danny Burstein and Linda Emond (both Tony nominees for the 2014 revival of “Cabaret”) as Marcus’ parents, this thinly fictionalized version of Roth’s college years also stands as the best cinematic adaptation of his decades-spanning body of work.

Director: Sophie Goodhart

Producers: Tyler Davidson

Tory Tunnell

Screenwriter: Sophie Goodhart

Cinematographer: Eric Lin

Editor: Jennifer Lee

Music: Ian Hultquist

Cast: Adam Scott

Nick Kroll

Jenny Slate

Zoe Kazan

Charlie Hewson

Maryann Nagel

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: Starz

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

My Blind Brother USA 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26 7:00 PM IKEA

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

ENCORE SCREENING:

FRIDAY, MAY 27

7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”) stars as Robbie, a blind athlete who’s handsome, successful, and more than a little arrogant. He regularly participates in marathons and charity runs as a way of raising money for other blind people, an act of kindness perhaps somewhat diminished by how often he brags about and flaunts his athletic prowess. He’s also a local celebrity, adored by fans and broadcast news reporters alike. Meanwhile, Robbie’s sighted brother Bill (Nick Kroll, “Kroll Show”) stays by Robbie’s side every step of the way, acting as his eyes during marathons and other athletic events. Despite Bill’s own accomplishments, he tends to get overlooked—a consequence of standing in the shadow of his successful blind brother. Feeling resentful and jealous, Bill heads out to drown his sorrows, only to get sidetracked when he inadvertently crashes a wake taking place at the bar. There he meets Rose (Jenny Slate, Obvious Child), the ex-girlfriend of the deceased, whom she dumped right before his untimely death. Bill and Rose bond over a shared sense of guilt and shame, and Bill quickly falls for her. Unfortunately for him, Rose soon begins dating Robbie. Now Bill has to decide whether to stand by his brother’s side as usual or finally stand up to his brother and go after the girl of his dreams.

Awards: SXSW 2016 (Gamechanger Award)

Director: Clea DuVall

Producers: Paul Bernon

Sam Slater

Sev Ohanian

Mel Eslyn

Screenwriter: Clea DuVall

Cinematographer: Polly Morgan

Editor: Tamara Meem

Music: Sara Quin

Cast: Melanie Lynskey

Cobie Smulders

Alia Shawkat

Clea DuVall

Natasha Lyonne

Ben Schwartz

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: ICM

Print Source: Samuel Goldwyn FilmsFilm

Website: burnlater.com/the-intervention/

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Intervention USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28

6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

ENCORE SCREENING: SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:30 PM SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Actress Clea Duvall (But I’m a Cheerleader, The Faculty) makes her directorial debut in this relationship dramedy analogous to reunion films like Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill. Annie (Melanie Lynskey, Heavenly Creatures, Hello I Must Be Going) gathers a group of her long-term friends to meet at a lakeside cabin for what seems to be a regular annual get-together. In reality, Annie and her friends are staging an intervention for one couple, Ruby (Cobie Smulders) and Peter (Vincent Piazza), and their intolerable marriage. Convinced they’re the only ones who can knock some sense into the constantly bickering pair, the friends—played by an all-star indie cast including Natasha Lyonne, Alia Shawkat, Jason Ritter, and Ben Schwartz—sit them down to try to persuade them to end their marriage. Over the course of an evening, the friends must confront their own personal flaws and learn what it takes to be in a working relationship—whatever that means. Delivered with authenticity and a constant flow of humorous dialogue from an exceptionally funny and talented cast, The Intervention is a touching and comic look at the willpower of love and friendship, and when it’s necessary to butt in.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Dramatic Individual Performance Award: Melanie Lynskey)

Director: François Bouvier

Producers: André Rouleau

Valérie d’Auteuil

Nathalie Brigitte Bustos

Karine Vanasse

Screenwriter: François Bouvier

Cinematographer: Steve Asselin

Editor: Michel Arcand

Music: Benoít Charest

Cast: François Létourneau

Gilbert Sicotte

Julie Le Breton

Louise Portal

Shanti Corbeil-Gauvreau

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Seville International

Film Website: paulaquebeclefilm.com

Paul à Québec Canada (Québec) 2015 US

Premiere

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 8:00 PM KIRKLAND PERFORMANCE CENTER

ENCORE SCREENINGS: SATURDAY, JUNE 4 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SUNDAY, JUNE 5 5:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Paul, the alter ego of celebrated Canadian cartoonist Michel Rabagliati, receives a perfect cinematic translation in Paul à Québec, a charming and wryly funny adaptation of his semi-autobiographical graphic novel “The Song of Roland.” It’s 1999. Paul (award-winning actor and playwright François Létourneau, “Série Noire”) is a graphic designer who lives in Montreal with his girlfriend Lucie (Julie LeBreton, SIFF 2012’s Starbuck) and young daughter Rose. Every June they travel to Saint-Nicolas near Québec City to spend Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day weekend with Lucie’s extended family. This year, however, comes with some bad news: Her retired father Roland (Gilbert Sicotte, The Salesman) has cancer, and though mother Lisette (Louise Portal, The Decline of the American Empire) insists the disease is manageable, it’s not long before it’s revealed he hasn’t long to live. As everybody comes together for the patriarch’s final days, Paul learns more about his father-in-law, from his troubled childhood to his emotionally complicated present, and is thus inspired to tell Roland’s story the only way he knows how—through comics. A tragicomedy of enormous power, Paul à Québec sidesteps maudlin melodrama by using deeply rooted empathy and a marvelous sense of humor to underscore what it means to be human, blemishes and all.

Director: André Téchiné

Producers: Olivier Delbosc

Marc Missonnier

Screenwriters: Céline Sciamma

André Téchiné

Cinematographer: Julien Hirsch

Editor: Albertine Lastera

Music: Alexis Rault

Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain

Kacey Mottet Klein

Corentin Fila

Alexis Loret

Running Time: 116 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Elle Driver

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: elledriver.fr/being-17

Selected Filmography:

In the Name of My Daughter (2014)

Unforgivable (2011)

The Girl on the Train (2009)

The Witnesses (2007)

Changing Times (2004) Strayed (2003)

Far (2001)

Alice and Martin (1998)

Thieves (1996)

Wild Reeds (1994)

My Favorite Season (1993)

I Don’t Kiss (1991)

The Innocents (1987)

The Scene of the Crime (1986)

Rendez-Vous (1985)

La Matiouette (1983)

Hotel America (1981)

The Bronte Sisters (1979)

Barocco (1976)

French Provincial (1975)

Paulina Is Leaving (1969)

Being 17 France 2016

North American Premiere

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

ENCORE SCREENING: SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

When Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) first meets Thomas (Corentin Fila, in his screen debut), they inexplicably cannot stand each other, and their verbal sparring simmers intermittently with explosive physical altercations—yet at the same time they could just as easily have been great friends. When Thomas’ mother takes ill and is cared for by Damien’s country doctor mother, Thomas is invited to stay at their house, forcing the boys to live under the same roof. Under this awkward arrangement, Damien and Thomas begin warming to each other and find some common ground. An adopted son of Maghrebi descent, Thomas feels out of place in the nearly all-white world of the Pyrenees, while Damien and his mother struggle with the absence of his jet-pilot father, who spends most of his life away from home. As time passes and tensions build, Damien and Thomas’ relationship vacillates between disdain and mutual attraction, and slowly they realize the root of their hostility is based on deeply hidden feelings that neither fully understands. Directed by prolific filmmaker André Téchiné and co-written by Céline Sciamma, director of several other films dealing with the emotional development of adolescents (Water Lilies, Tomboy, Girlhood), this coming-of-age drama is a refreshingly honest portrait of the ambiguity of teenage love—representing humanity in its most vulnerable and transitory state.

Director: Matthew Ross

Producers: John Baker

Jay Van Hoy

Lars Knudsen

Christopher Ramirez

Screenwriter: Matthew Ross

Cinematographer: Eric Koretz

Editors: Jennifer Lilly

Rebecca Rodriguez

Music: Daniel Bensi

Saunder Jurriaans

Cast: Michael Shannon

Imogen Poots

Michael Nyqvist

Justin Long

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Preferred Content

Print Source: Parts and Labor

Film Website: frankandlolamovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Frank & Lola USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

ENCORE SCREENING: SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PERFORMANCE CENTER

In this tense neo-noir turned psychosexual drama, down-and-out chef Frank (Michael Shannon, “Boardwalk Empire,” Midnight Special) heads to Las Vegas with his girlfriend Lola (Imogen Poots, That Awkward Moment) to take a promising job opportunity. Lola is also taking advantage of the move and attempting to kick off a career as a fashion designer, although Frank is not exactly supportive. Suspicious that Lola’s new employer (Justin Long, Tusk, Drag Me to Hell) might have romantic feelings for her, and dealing with the surprise arrival of one of her ex-lovers from Paris, Frank’s discomfort morphs into a rabid jealousy that begins to take over his life. Director Matthew Ross’s first feature film is a character study that recalls the work of Polanski and De Palma, boasting a stylish and sophisticated look, and a quietly unnerving performance by Michael Shannon as a Las Vegas chef who can’t shake himself out of a spiral of distrust that he may have just imagined. Frank & Lola is a seductive and meticulously paced debut that dives deep into the themes of romantic suspicion and sexual obsession.

Director: Xu Haofeng

Producers: Luo Xiaoxi

Zhang Li

Hu Xiaofeng

Lisa Li

Screenwriter: Xu Haofeng

Cinematographer: Wang Tianlin

Editors: He Sisi

Xu Haofeng

Music: An Wei

Cast: Liao Fan

Song Jia

Jiang Wenli

Jin Shijie

Song Yang

Running Time: 109 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Chinese, with English subtitles

Print Source: United Entertainment Partners

Film Website: facebook.com/thefinalmaster

Selected Filmography: Judge Archer (2012)

The Sword Identity (2011)

The Final Master

China 2015

North American Premiere

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:30 PM SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

MONDAY, MAY 30 5:30 PM RENTON IKEA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The city of Tianjin is considered the birthplace of martial arts in northern China. On the eve of World War II, Chen (Liao Fan, Black Coal, Thin Ice, SIFF 2015), a skilled expert in the southern China-based martial-arts form Wing Chun, comes to Tianjin intending to open a school to keep the promise he made to his late master. The local masters of the eight martial-arts schools, however, are openly opposed to his plan, so with no other recourse, Chen secretly challenges the masters to prove the power of his skills. But what Chen doesn’t realize is he’s being turned into a pawn in the schools’ struggle for supreme dominance. Chen will have to kick ass, break faces, and shatter multiple bones not only to keep his dream alive, but just to stay alive. Based on the bestseller by Xu Haofeng (screenwriter of Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster), The Final Master delivers the ass-busting, knucklecrunching goods that prove who the real master is.

Awards: Golden Horse Awards 2015 (Best Action Choreography)

Director: Megan Griffiths

Producers: Alisa Tager

Matthew R. Brady

Screenwriter: Megan Griffiths

Cinematographer: Quyen Tran

Editor: Celia Beasley

Music: St Kilda

Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips

Bellamy Young

Chelle Sherrill

Benjamin Barrett

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: MRB Productions

Selected Filmography: Lucky Them (2013)

Eden (2012)

The Off Hours (2011)

First Aid for Choking (2003)

The Night Stalker USA 2016

World Premiere

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE CINEMAS

Megan Griffiths (Eden, Lucky Them) combines her always-compelling direction as well as her personal, fearful memories of actual events in this Los Angeles true-crime thriller. Based on the real, notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker follows a female attorney desperately trying to obtain a confession from the murderer, currently sitting on death row in San Quentin. By the time he was 25, Ramirez was responsible for at least 13 murders from 1984 to 1985, breaking into homes late at night to assault and kill his victims, earning him the appropriate nickname “The Night Stalker” from the Los Angeles Times. He eventually died from lymphoma as he awaited his execution in 2013. This psychological thriller focuses on both characters, Kit (Bellamy Young, “Scandal”) and Ramirez (Lou Diamond Phillips, “Longmire”), and their impact on one another as Kit dives into Ramirez’s past, and confronts her own, in order to secure a confession and save an innocent man from death row.

Director: Susanna White

Producers: Simon Cornwell

Stephen Cornwell

Gail Egan

Screenwriter: Hossein Amini

Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle

Editors: Tariq Anwar

Lucia Zucchetti

Music: Marcelo Zarvos

Cast: Ewan McGregor

Naomie Harris

Damian Lewis

Stellan Skarsgärd

Running Time: 107 minutes

Presentation

Format: DCP, in English

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Film Website: inkfactoryfilms.com/projects/ our-kind-of-traitor

Selected Filmography: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010)

Our Kind of Traitor

United Kingdom 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 7:15 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 30 2:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In the wake of the Panama Papers leak comes this timely thriller based on the novel by John Le Carré, bestselling author of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” On a holiday to Morocco, Peter and Gail (Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris) make the acquaintance of Dima (Stellan Skarsgärd), a boisterous, charismatic Russian who unexpectedly befriends the couple. However, Dima harbors a dangerous secret: He is the Russian Mafia’s #1 money-launderer, whose new boss, known only as “The Prince,” wants him and his family dead. His only hope for survival is to expose the mob’s network of corruption that runs from Moscow across Europe into the heart of London’s financial markets. The couple agrees to deliver a flash drive to the British Secret Service, who in turn enlist their aid in securing Dima’s defection to the UK. Soon, Peter and Gail find themselves on a precarious journey from Britain through Paris to an isolated safe house in the Swiss Alps, helpless pawns in a sinister game of government agencies, oligarchs, and multinational corporations. Exquisitely directed by Susanna White (“Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House”), Our Kind of Traitor is a compelling, suspenseful indictment of greed and power.

Director: Cesc Gay

Producers: Marta Esteban Diego Dubcovsky

Screenwriters: Cesc Gay Tomás Aragay

Cinematographer: Andreu Rebés

Editor: Pablo Barbieri

Music: Nico Cota

Toti Soler

Cast: Ricardo Darín

Javier Cámara

Dolores Fonzi

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Filmax International

Print Source: FilmRise

Film Website: trumanfilm.com

Selected Filmography: A Gun in Each Hand (2012) V.O.S. (2009) Fiction (2006)

In the City (2003) Nico and Dani (2000) Hotel Room (1998)

Truman Spain/Argentina 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:00 PM SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Thoughtful and reserved, family man Tomas (Javier Cámara, Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed) takes a break from his life in Canada to travel to Madrid. It’s not a completely happy vacation, however, as he’s there to spend a few days with his lifelong best friend Julian (Ricardo Darín, The Secret in Their Eyes), an actor whose messy, complicated life has taken a darker turn in the form of a grim cancer prognosis. With Julian’s beloved dog Truman in tow and four days to spend together, the pair travel through the city, taking unexpected detours and reflecting on loves, losses, triumphs, and regrets. Winner of five Goya Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor, writer/director Cesc Gay’s beautiful new film is a wise and tender ode to friendship, emotionally rich and honest without being cloying. Supported by a terrific turn by Dolores Fonzi as Julian’s deeply concerned sister, Truman is like a warm afternoon spent with old friends.

Awards:

Goya Awards 2016 (Best Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay)

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 (Silver Shell for Best Actor, Zinemaldia Feroz Award for Best Film)

Sonic Evolution: This Is Indie!

FRIDAY, MAY 13, 8:00 PM BENAROYA HALL CO-PRESENTED WITH THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY

Indie filmmaker Bill Morrison, known for his riveting collages of archaic footage with original scores, joins forces with famed Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon for a one-of-a-kind evening. Morrison uses archival footage from Seattle’s history as a backdrop for Gordon’s electrified concerto for virtuoso pianist and multimedia artist Tomoko Mukaiyama. Then Brooklyn-based composer William Brittelle offers a new work that features his intoxicating blend of classical artistry and indie-pop charm, and Seattle artists Fly Moon Royalty perform their unique mix of blues, hip-hop, and electronica with new orchestral backdrops.

Oh, You Pretty Things! A David Bowie and Glam Rock dance party

FRIDAY, MAY 27, 9:00 PM–1:00 AM NEPTUNE THEATRE

Celebrate the work of rock icon (and movie star!) David Bowie and his legendary creation Ziggy Stardust as SIFF transports the Neptune Theatre back to the glory days of the glam-rock era—complete with sing-along music videos, Bowie-inspired burlesque, a live performance by tribute band BowieVision, and nonstop dancing to the best music of the gender-bending, hard-rocking ’70s.

The Prince Sing Along

SUNDAY, MAY 29, MIDNIGHT SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In tribute to the life and musical legacy of His Purple Highness, join us for a very special sing-along featuring the best of Prince, as well as some surprise cameos from his protégés and musical allies. Prince’s music and groundbreaking visual style transformed the culture, and his iconic music videos presented the best of both worlds. Whether crooning about his Dirty Mind in bikini bottoms and a trench coat or slowly emerging from the bathtub while contemplating crying doves, showing us how to party like the world is about to end or praising the virtues of Batman, he was an artist who knew how to deliver the goods! Sing along, celebrate Prince, and don’t ever let the elevator bring you down!

Dale and Leslie Chihuly congratulate SIFF and all of the 2016 award recipients. Thank you to the SIFF team for bringing thousands of fabulous films from around the world to our community for 42 years.

Dale Chihuly, Silvered Piccolo Venetian with Ripple Blue Handles, 2015, 12 x 10 x

A TRIBUTE TO VIGGO MORTENSEN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

An actor, painter, and poet, Viggo Mortensen’s combination of rugged exterior and reflective interior have infused his wide range of film roles with equal parts gravitas and compassion— from criminals to cowboys, lovers to lieutenants, post-apocalyptic survivors to sagacious psychoanalysts, and the rightful king of Gondor.

Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. was born in Manhattan on October 20, 1958 to Viggo Sr. and Grace Gamble, a Danish agricultural manager and an American Embassy employee who met in Norway. Viggo, with his two younger brothers Charles and Walter, lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving to Venezuela and then Denmark before settling in Argentina. By age 11, his parents had divorced, and Grace moved back to upstate New York with her children in tow.

After graduating from Saint Lawrence University in 1980 with degrees in Spanish studies and government, the restless Mortensen moved to Denmark, where he subsisted on many an odd job—dock worker, flower seller, truck driver—as he pursued a writing career. Shortly thereafter, he moved back to the States, waiting tables in New York City between writing

poetry and short stories and taking acting lessons from instructor Warren Robertson’s Theatre Workshop.

Now living in Los Angeles, he booked the occasional television guest spot (including on the long-running CBS soap opera “Search for Tomorrow”) and garnered a Dramalogue Critics’ Award for playing a sadistic Nazi captain in Martin Sherman’s play “Bent.” After being cut from the Woody Allen film The Purple Rose of Cairo, Mortensen made his official film debut in Peter Weir’s Oscar®-winning thriller Witness (1985), starring Harrison Ford. (Initially a minor character, Weir was so impressed with the 26-year-old actor that he expanded his role to a speaking part.)

Mortensen carved out a niche for the next several years as a go-to bad guy, often playing hooligans in mostly supporting roles—a violent ex-con in Sean Penn’s The Indian Runner (1991); a double-crossing paraplegic in Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993); Lucifer himself in the Christopher Walken-starring horror fantasy The Prophecy (1995)—with later well-lauded turns in military dramas Crimson Tide (1995) and G.I. Jane (1997).

In 1998, Mortensen was able to expand his reach beyond villains and military personnel, appearing in two Hitchcock adaptations in the same year. While his Sam Loomis in Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake of Psycho was overshadowed by the film’s poor critical reception, he had much better luck as the “other man” in Andrew Davis’ A Perfect Murder, a restaging of Dial M for Murder that earned him solid notices as a blackmailed lover and also featured his own paintings. He would go full sex symbol in Tony Goldwyn’s “Summer of ’69” drama A Walk on the Moon (1999), playing the free-spirited “blouse man” who has a torrid affair with Diane Lane.

In 1999, Mortensen’s life would change forever when he was cast as Aragorn II Elessar, the gallant warrior hiding his true regal identity, in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. Mortensen was not Peter Jackson’s first choice, but after he and actor Stuart Townsend parted ways over creative differences, he turned to Viggo, asking him to get on a plane the next day and head to New Zealand for the grueling three-film, 16-month shoot. Mortensen was

Captain Fantastic USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 1:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 2:30 PM

initially hesitant to take the role, but his J.R.R. Tolkienobsessed son convinced him otherwise. Jackson’s fantasy saga would end up raking in nearly three billion dollars worldwide during its three-year run and earn 17 Academy Awards®, including the 2003 Oscar® for Best Picture, and make Mortensen a household name.

Aside from starring in the horse-race adventure film Hidalgo (2004), Mortensen capitalized on his newfound fame by choosing projects that interested him intellectually, putting him in the orbit of Canadian director David Cronenberg, a filmmaker known mainly for such disturbing, psychologically shattering bodyhorror films as Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, and Dead Ringers. Together the pair built a new dramatic arc for both their careers with 2005’s A History of Violence, 2007’s Eastern Promises (earning Mortensen an Oscar® nomination for Best Actor), and 2011’s A Dangerous Method (in which the actor played Sigmund Freud). And in arguably the finest role of his career, he teamed with director John Hillcoat for The Road, the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer-winning post-apocalyptic novel.

In addition to his many artistic skills, Mortensen is also a photographer, jazz musician, and founder of Perceval Press, a Santa Monica-based independent publishing house. He is fascinatingly multilingual; fluent in English, Danish, and Spanish, he is also conversational in French and Italian, understands Norwegian and Swedish, and dabbles in Maori and Catalan. Mortensen currently lives in Madrid.

Viggo Mortensen stars in a heartfelt story of unconventional family values as the devoted father of a brood of six who live off the grid in the wilds of Washington state, until events lead them back to the outside world for the first time in decades.

(d: Matt Ross c: Viggo Mortensen, Steve Zahn, Missi Pyle, Kathryn Hahn, George MacKay, Frank Langella, USA 2016, 120 min)

FILMOGRAPHY SELECTED

Witness (1985)

Salvation! (1987)

Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III (1990)

Young Guns II (1990)

The Indian Runner (1991)

Deception (1992)

Boiling Point (1993)

Carlito’s Way (1993)

American Yakuza (1993)

Gospel According to Harry (1994)

The Crew (1994)

The Prophecy (1995)

Crimson Tide (1995)

The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

Albino Alligator (1996)

Daylight (1996)

G.I. Jane (1997)

A Perfect Murder (1998)

Psycho (1998)

A Walk on the Moon (1999)

28 Days (2000)

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Hidalgo (2004)

A History of Violence (2005)

Alatriste (2006)

Eastern Promises (2007)

Appaloosa (2008)

The Road (2009)

A Dangerous Method (2011)

On the Road (2012)

The Two Faces of January (2014)

Jauja (2014)

Far From Men (2014)

Captain Fantastic (2016)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Viggo Mortensen re-teamed with director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) to give a daringly violent, emotionally nuanced, and critically praised performance as a bodyguard for a Russian crime family.

(d: David Cronenberg c: Viggo Mortensen, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, 101 min)

A Walk on the Moon

Peter Jackson’s landmark Lord of the Rings trilogy comes to a rousing conclusion, as the remaining members of the Fellowship converge upon Minas Tirith and Mount Doom for the final battle to destroy the One Ring. Winner of 11 Academy Awards®.

(d: Peter Jackson c: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, 201 min)

With an all-star cast including Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber, and Anna Paquin, director Tony Goldwyn’s romantic drama takes place over the summer of 1969 against the backdrop of the impending moon landing and Woodstock.

(d: Tony Goldwyn c: Viggo Mortensen, Diane Lane, Anna Paquin, Liev Schreiber, 107 min)

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 11:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 11:00 AM

SIFF CINEMA 0UPTOWN

AN AFTERNOON WITH MOLLY SHANNON

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Molly Shannon’s penchant for theatrical comedy inspired some of “Saturday Night Live”’s most famous characters from 1995-2001, including Mary Catherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley. Shannon went on to appear in several films such as Superstar, Wet Hot American Summer, Marie Antoinette, last year’s SIFF favorite Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and the TV series “Glee” and “Enlightened.” Her ability to shift seamlessly from comic characters to more nuanced dramatic roles is something not many can match. Tonight, SIFF will welcome her to the stage for an interview featuring film clips from her career, foillowed by a screening of one of Shannon’s latest films, Other People, directed by Chris Kelly. There will also be an opportunity for audience questions following the screening.

Other People

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 4:30 PM, SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

ENCORE SCREENING MONDAY, MAY 23, 4:30 PM, SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

A struggling gay comedy writer (Jesse Plemons) returns to his childhood home, and his eccentric family, to care for his ailing mother (Molly Shannon) in an emotional story of everyday life and death from “Saturday Night Live” and “Broad City” scribe Chris Kelly.

(d: Chris Kelly c: Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, June Squibb, Maude Apatow, Zach Woods, Paul Dooley, USA 2016, 97 min)

Miles

SATURDAY, MAY 21, 7:00 PM, SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 1:30 PM, SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

High-school senior Miles Walton, whose mother (Molly Shannon) is left broke after his father passes away, causes an uproar in his small Illinois town when he discovers an unusual college scholarship opportunity through a loophole that allows him to join the girls’ volleyball team.

WORLD PREMIERE

(d: Nathan Adloff c: Molly Shannon, Tim Boardman, Annie Golden, Paul Reiser, Ethan Phillips, USA 2016, 90 min)

SIFF + TRUE PRODUCTIONS DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS GRANT PROGRAM

Two $50,000 filmmaking grants have been awarded in the 2015 SIFF + True Productions Documentary Filmmakers Grant program: Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday’s film Big Sonia and Kate Dandel’s film Gold Balls

True Productions founder Dwayne Clark and his wife Terese Clark have generously pledged to underwrite an annual $50,000 grant for three years and helped secure an additional $50,000 award from Áegis Living for the 2015 and 2016 funding cycles.

Reflecting on the first year of the program, Dwayne Clark says, “I am truly touched and impressed by the quantity and quality of entries. It moved me to get Áegis Living involved and make a second grant available to inspire and nurture the spirits of seniors and storytellers throughout the Seattle area.”

SIFF has long supported the filmmaking ecosystem by providing a platform for filmmakers to debut their work from around the world. We are humbled by the generosity of Dwayne and Terese Clark, True Productions, and Áegis Living and their commitment to nurture filmmakers with the vital financial support these grants will provide. Exceptional films now have the opportunity to be fully realized and to be successfully launched into the world.

ABOUT THE 2016 GRANTING CYCLE:

In 2016, with the support of the Clark Family Legacy Foundation and Áegis Living, two grants of $50,000 each will be awarded through the SIFF + True Productions Documentary Filmmakers Grant program. One grant will be awarded to a film dealing with issues of immigration, another to a film dealing with heroin use by young people.These grants will significantly assist filmmakers working on these challenging topics to bring their work to the public eye.

More information about the 2016 granting cycle will begin in July and can be found on SIFF.net.

Big Sonia work-in-progress

Diva. Enigma. Holocaust survivor. Work in progress. Meet 90-year-old Kansas City tailorshop owner Sonia Warshawski. She may be just shy of five feet tall, but her enormous, sparkling personality and stirring stories of survival have earned her the nickname “Big Sonia.” (d: Leah Warshawski, Todd Soliday f: Sonia Warshawski, USA 2016, 90 min)

SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 6:00 PM SHORELINE CC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5, 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Gold Balls world premiere

A growing group of active seniors are taking the sport of tennis to the next level with Ultra Senior tennis, where octogenarians train like young pros, travel like itinerant rock bands, and vie for the prize of the “Gold Ball” trophy, illustrating the agelessness of the human spirit. (d: Kate Dandel, USA 2016, 85 min)

SATURDAY, MAY 21, 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 22, 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

With work spanning the world from Australia to Ukraine, the themes and perspectives of SIFF’s inaugural Official Competition travel the gamut of emotion and place. From an Australian love story (Holding the Man) to the tale of Ukraine’s most famous female sharpshooter (Battle of Sevastopol), the 12 films in the Official Competition highlight the power of individuals finding their place in the world.

Including Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s return to unsettling filmmaking with Creepy and a Bonnie and Clyde-style road trip through the Swedish countryside (Eternal Summer), these films, all making a premiere here in Seattle, represent some of the Festival’s best, and should be at the top of your movie-watching lists.

Juried by a team of international industry members, the winner of the Official Competition will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards and receive a cash prize of $5,000.

Battle of Sevastopol

Ukraine/Russia 2015

north american premiere

Director: Sergey Mokritskiy

Burn Burn Burn

United Kingdom 2015

north american premiere

Director: Chanya Button

Creepy

Japan 2016 north american premiere

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Eternal Summer

Sweden 2015

north american premiere

Director: Andreas Öhman

Girl Asleep

Australia 2016

north american premiere

Director: Rosemary Myers

Holding the Man

Australia 2015

north american premiere

Director: Neil Armfield

Moon in the 12th House

Israel 2016 world premiere

Director: Dorit Hakim

News From Planet Mars

France/Belgium 2016 us premiere

Director: Dominik Moll

Radio Dreams

Iran/USA 2016

Director: Babak Jalali

The Scent of Mandarin

France 2015

north american premiere

Director: Gilles Legrand

The Sound of Trees

Canada (Québec) 2015

us premiere

Director: François Péloquin

Welcome to Norway!

Norway 2016

north american premiere

Director: Rune Denstad Langlo

NEW AMERICAN CINEMA COMPETITION

When we begin the film selection process in the fall, each film lover on SIFF’s programming team leaves the office with bags and hard disks full of film screeners, each containing the hopes and dreams of filmmakers, casts, and crews from around the world. By far we receive the largest volume of submissions from independent American filmmakers, and, each Festival, we are able to select only a fraction of those that we love. However, the films we’ve chosen this year represent the collective output of U.S. independents we love very much, and hope that you will too.

Each of these films—many of which are world premieres!—has found a champion on the programming team: someone who fought to have this or that particular film included in the group that we would eventually present to our audience as the best and brightest work of U.S. filmmakers. Spanning a range of genres and employing innovative storytelling devices, these are the films you’ll be talking about long after the Festival has come to an end; the ones you’ll share with your friends to allow them to experience the same sense of wonder that accompanied your discovery of the character, story, or emotion that first spoke to you from the screen. Join us on our voyage into storytelling in its most modern, dynamic, and engaging form: the moving image.

The New American Cinema jury consists of members of the FIPRESCI. The winner will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards and receive a cash prize of $5,000.

11:55

USA 2016

Directors: Ari Issler, Ben Snyder

All the Birds Have Flown South

USA 2016

world premiere

Directors: Joshua H. Miller, Miles B. Miller

Americana

USA 2016

world premiere

Director: Zachary Shedd

The Architect

USA 2016

world premiere

Director: Jonathan Parker

As You Are

USA 2016

Director: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Claire in Motion

USA 2016

Directors: Lisa Robinson, Annie J. Howell

Free In Deed

USA/New Zealand 2015

Director: Jake Mahaffy

Middle Man

USA 2016

world premiere

Director: Ned Crowley

The Night Stalker

USA 2016

world premiere

Director: Megan Griffiths

Transpecos

USA 2016

Director: Greg Kwedar

NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION

Be at the cutting edge of world cinema and take a little risk in your viewing. This year, 12 new international voices have been selected for SIFF’s New Directors Competition. To qualify, the films must be dramatic features, a director’s debut or second feature, and without U.S. distribution at the time of SIFF selection. The films are selected for their original scripts, innovative cinematography, and unique insights into people, places, and story.

The New Directors jury comprises film industry professionals and journalists who will choose the winning filmmaker during the Festival’s final weekend. The winner will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards and receive a cash prize of $5,000.

Antonia

Italy/Greece 2015

north american premiere

Director: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino

Before the Streets

Canada (Québec) 2016

us premiere

Director: Chloé Leriche

Coconut Hero

Germany/Canada 2015

north american premiere

Director: Florian Cossen

Family Film

Czech Republic/Germany/Slovenia/France/

Slovakia 2015 north american premiere

Director: Olmo Omerzu

The Lure

Poland 2015

Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska

Nakom

Ghana/USA 2016

Directors: Kelly Daniela Norris, TW Pittman

The Paradise Suite

Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria 2015

Director: Joost van Ginkel

Rara

Chile/Argentina 2016

north american premiere

Director: Pepa San Martín

Sand Storm

Israel 2016

Director: Elite Zexer

Sparrows

Iceland/Denmark/Croatia 2015

Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson

The Violators

United Kingdom 2015

Director: Helen Walsh

Where Have All the Good Men

Gone

Denmark 2016 world premiere

Director: René Frelle Petersen

IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION

2016 marks the beginning of a new and exciting initiative at SIFF: the Ibero-American Competition, which aims to highlight the increasing power, creativity, and influence of storytelling in the region.

The ongoing emergence of new talent paired with a steady rise in film production have made films from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal travel farther across the world, receiving increased media attention, numerous awards, and critical acclaim. These films win the hearts and imaginations of a diverse global audience that in turn has become more and more knowledgeable about Ibero-Americans’ past and present, their individual and collective stories, and their unique perspectives on the world.

It is to recognize this tremendous cinematic energy and creativity that SIFF is starting the Ibero-American Competition for films having their U.S. premiere during the Festival and without U.S. distribution. Eight feature and documentary films from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Colombia, Uruguay, and Spain have been selected for this inaugural edition.

The Ibero-American jury comprises renowned film industry professionals and journalists who will select the winning film. The winner will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards and receive a cash prize of $5,000.

Awaiting

Spain/Lithuania 2015

north american premiere

Director: Daniela Fejerman

Deconstructing Dani García

Spain 2015

north american premiere

Directors: Iñigo Ruiz, Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas

How Most Things Work

Argentina 2015

us premiere

Director: Fernando Salem

Nueva Venecia

Uruguay/Colombia/Mexico 2016

us premiere

Director: Emiliano Mazza de Luca

The Pretty Ones

Argentina 2016

north american premiere

Director: Melisa Liebenthal

Red Gringo

Chile 2016

north american premiere

Director: Miguel Ángel Vidaurre

Warehoused

Mexico 2015

us premiere

Director: Jack Zagha

You’ll Never Be Alone

Chile 2016

us premiere

Director: Alex Anwandter

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

For the documentarian, the world around us provides a seemingly inexhaustible source of material. Music, dance, art, sports, history, politics, the natural world—all these offer an infinite number of stories that we’ve never heard, or think we know well but that might require another look. These stories expand our horizons and deepen our understanding of the world we live in and the people and creatures we live among.

From the ridiculous to the sublime and everything in between, documentary art is about showing the world how it is, how it was, and how it could be. SIFF is proud to present the 12 films in this year’s Documentary Competition, which explore everything from food (Tsukiji Wonderland) to world-renowned artists (Mr. Gaga, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin) and from the downside of technology (Death by Design) to political activism both local (We the People 2.0) and abroad (Action Comandante, The Queen of Ireland, The Revolution Won’t Be Televised).

The winner will be announced at the Golden Space Needle Awards and receive a cash prize of $5,000.

The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

France 2015 us premiere

Director: Yves Montmayeur

Action Comandante

South Africa/Lesotho 2016 world premiere

Director: Nadine Angel Cloete

Death By a Thousand Cuts

Dominican Republic/Haiti/USA 2016 us premiere

Directors: Juan Mejia Botero, Jake Kheel

Death by Design

China/Ireland 2016 world premiere

Director: Sue Williams

Finding Babel

USA/Ukraine/Russia/France 2015 world premiere

Director: David Novack

The IF Project

USA 2016 world premiere

Director: Kathlyn Horan

Mr. Gaga

Israel/Sweden/Germany/Netherlands 2015

Director: Tomer Heymann

Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale USA/Botswana 2016

world premiere

Directors: Ben Bowie, Geoff Luck

The Queen of Ireland

Ireland 2015

north american premiere

Director: Conor Horgan

The Revolution Won’t Be Televised

Senegal 2016 us premiere

Director: Rama Thiaw

Tsukiji Wonderland

Japan 2016 world premiere

Director: Naotaro Endo

We the People 2.0

USA 2016 world premiere

Director: Leila Conners

SHORT FILMS COMPETITION

Limited in length but never in creativity, short films have their very own energy, far removed from the financial constraints of a feature film and often the rules of cinema itself. Whether they embody the start of an idea or the crystallization of one, shorts are one of the most consistently intriguing cinematic forms, a fascinating world unto themselves.

Each year, SIFF is proud to present a collection of short films we believe best represent the limitless imaginative possibilities of the form. While these films may be onscreen for mere moments, they make lasting impressions.

Every short film at the Seattle International Film Festival is eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and the Grand Jury Award.

Our Shorts Competition jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each Grand Jury Prize winner will receive $2,500; winners may also qualify to enter their respective Short Film category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without the theatrical run.

2015 GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE & JURY AWARDS

LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION

Frame by Frame

Afghanistan | 2014 | 85 minutes | Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, taking a photo was a crime. Since then, four Afghan photojournalists have worked to reframe their country and build a free press. What will happen as foreign troops and media withdraw?

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD | Best Film | Best Actor: Cliff Curtis

The Dark Horse

New Zealand | 2014 | 124 minutes | James Napier Robertson. Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider) gives a stunning and inspirational performance as New Zealand legend Genesis Potini, a bipolar speed-chess champion who helps turn around the lives of some 15,000 Maori children by teaching them the intricacies of the game.

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD | Best Documentary

Romeo Is Bleeding

USA | 2015 | 93 minutes | Jason Zeldes. A compelling documentary about Donté Clark, a young Bay Area poet who is determined to put together an updated version of Romeo & Juliet set in Richmond and portraying his city’s violent gang wars.

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD | Best Director

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

USA | 2015 | 104 minutes | Alfonso Gomez-Rejon. Two aspiring filmmakers who excel in goofy Criterion film parodies find there is more to life when they befriend a girl with a potentially fatal disease. This Sundance audience and grand jury prize-winning film will tickle your funny bone and tug at your heart.

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD | Best Actress: Nina Hoss

Phoenix

Germany | 2014 | 98 minutes | Christian Petzold. In this gripping thriller, Holocaust survivor Nelly Lenz emerges from the war with a reconstructed face and a new appreciation of the forces which may still threaten her survival. A spectacular turn from Nina Hoss (Barbara).

GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD | Best Short Film

Even the Walls

USA | 2015 | 27 minutes | Sarah Kuck, Saman Maydání. An elegiac journey inside the homes and memories of nine Yesler Terrace residents as they wait to see what will become of their neighborhood.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | New Directors Competition

Liza, the Fox-Fairy

Hungary | 2015 | 98 minutes | Károly Ujj-Mészáros. Blending Japanese folklore with Amélie-inspired artistic direction, this dark fairy tale follows Liza, a young woman looking for love who may or may not be a fox-fairy, an evil demon who sucks the souls out of the men she meets.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | New American Cinema Award

Chatty Catties

USA | 2015 | 85 minutes | Pablo Valencia. Meet sassy tabby Leonard and his emotional wreck of an owner, in a world where domesticated cats are able to communicate with people and pass judgment on their all-too-human foibles. Hard-of-hearing actors provide the feline voices in this hilarious black comedy.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | Documentary Award

The Great Alone

USA | 2015 | 84 minutes | Greg Kohs. This inspiring documentary tells the saga of Lance Mackey, an Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion many times over, who attempts a comeback in the punishing 1,200-mile ordeal after surviving a life-threatening disease.

FUTUREWAVE YOUTH JURY AWARD

Seoul Searching

USA | 2015 | 105 minutes | Benson Lee. A love letter to the John Hughes high-school flicks of the ’80s and a rare focus on Asian teen culture, Seoul Searching is a clever comedy about cultural identity at a Korean teen summer camp.

FILMS4FAMILIES YOUTH JURY AWARD

When Marnie Was There

Japan | 2014 | 103 minutes | Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Miyazaki protégé Yonebayashi adds Studio Ghibli magic to Joan G. Robinson’s classic ghost story of a shy teenage tomboy who befriends a young blonde girl who may not be of this world.

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AWARD

Minimum Max

USA | 2014 | 4 minutes | Joshua Ovalle. Max navigates through the world of ADD and all the medications that come along with it.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | Best Short: Live Action

The Chicken

Croatia | 2014 | 15 minutes | Una Gunjak. When 6-year-old Selma gets a chicken for her birthday, she must save her “pet” from becoming dinner.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | Best Short: Documentary

Bihttoš

Canada | 2014 | 15 minutes | Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. Bihttoš is an unconventional documentary that explores the complex relationship between a father and daughter.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | Best Short: Animation

The Mill at Calder’s End

USA | 2014 | 14 minutes | Kevin McTurk. Nicholas Grimshaw returns to his childhood home intent on breaking a generations-old family curse. Featuring the voices of Barbara Steele and Jason Flemyng.

GRAND JURY PRIZE | Wavemaker Award

Audio Input

USA | 2015 | 7 minutes | Sho Schrock-Manabe, Piper Phillips, Duncan Boszko, Jack O’Neal. Local Seattle podcasters share their experiences with podcasting and audience feedback.

AFRICAN PICTURES

African Pictures showcases the best filmmaking happening in and about Africa today. This program, made possible through the generous support of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will bring shorts and features, documentaries and fiction films to American audiences who might never have the chance to see them otherwise. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to experience innovative and inspiring filmmaking from across the continent.

In the wake of the Arab Spring, the north of the continent has seen an upsurge in filmmaking as political and social critique. Nabil Ayouch, winner of the 2013 Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director (Horses of God), is back with Much Loved, a controversial exposé of sex work in Marrakech. Also focused on the lives of women is Leila Bouzid’s terrific debut feature from Tunisia, As I Open My Eyes, about a young woman’s personal revolution unfolding against the backdrop of her country’s larger struggle. On the documentary side, there’s Checks and Balances, a thrilling must-see for anyone who believes that a free press is the essence of democracy.

Sub-Saharan African countries continue to produce extraordinary and diverse cinema. At SIFF 2016 audiences will be treated to two documentary portraits of youth activism, with the world premiere of Action Comandante, exploring the life and tragic death of anti-apartheid activist Ashley Kriel, and the U.S. premiere of The Revolution Won’t Be Televised, capturing the “We Are Fed Up” movement led by three rappers advocating for political change in Senegal. Also featured will be a rare feature film from the island of Cape Verde (Atlantic Heart), and exceptional socially conscious dramas from Tanzania (Aisha), Burkina Faso (Eye of the Storm), Ethiopia (Lamb), and Ghana (Nakom).

Best of all, we’re bringing many of these filmmakers to the festival with their work. So come and meet them, see their films, and hear them talk about this new international hotspot of exciting filmmaking activity.

Action Comandante

Aisha

As I Open My Eyes

Atlantic Heart

Checks and Balances

Eye of the Storm

Lamb

Much Loved

Nakom

Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale

The Revolution Won’t Be Televised

ALTERNATE CINEMA

With a festival the size of SIFF, you can watch movies from all over the world and see so much you’d otherwise never have a chance to see. That said, no matter how varied the content, the movies themselves tend to have a more traditional structure; documentaries follow a person or an issue to a logical conclusion, and the same goes for the setup and payoff of narrative shorts and features.

The one section where the form is as adventurous as the content is Alternate Cinema. Take, for example, Dead Slow Ahead, a majestic feature shot aboard the cargo ship Fair Lady as it crosses the Atlantic. In his debut feature, director Mauro Herce captures the massive scale of the ship against the even larger expanse of the ocean, but with a sound design that gives it a sci-fi feel. Though it’s slowly paced, it’s always moving forward; there’s always another gorgeous shot of the ocean or the ship around the corner, and it’s always fascinating. Though more traditional in structure, The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin is a playful documentary portrait of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin centered around his exhibit at the Pompidou Center in Paris, where he held seances to summon silent films that were destroyed or never made, then made them himself. With a generous amount of clips from his decades of filmmaking, you will see the world in a slightly different way once you leave the theater. Then there’s I am Belfast, where cinema essayist Mark Cousins (The Story of Film: An Odyssey) teamed with the visual stylings of cinematographer Christopher Doyle (In the Mood for Love) to capture the essence of Belfast.

For those who want to immerse themselves in a sampling platter of offbeat cinema, don’t miss the ALT Shorts program, in which experimental films from local artists (Jon Behrens, Caryn Cline, Drew Christie, Salise Hughes, Reed O’Beirne, and Brian Short) merge perfectly with those of world-renowned filmmakers like Bill Morrison and Peter Tscherkassky. When you look at the films of Alternate Cinema, you’re sure to see something different and new.

The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

Dead Slow Ahead

I am Belfast

ALT Shorts: Absent Clockworks

The Colors of Boulder in the Summer Ektacy

Election Year

Emperor of Time

The Exquisite Corpus Human Heart (Overture)

Little Orphant Annie

A Long Way From Home Pattern for Survival

Phantom Limbs

solidobjectsinwhich TRACK

ARCHIVAL FILMS

Time travel may still just be a dream in the scientific world, but in cinema it is practically inevitable, as every film captures several distinct moments in time: the period of the story, the era of the film’s creation, and the instance of discovery and even rediscovery by the filmgoer.

The General, Buster Keaton’s iconic 1926 slapstick comedy of an engineer who must pursue his beloved locomotive straight through enemy lines during the Civil War, is presented in a new 4K restoration with an original symphonic score from Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Also in the comedy world, the Film Foundation has painstakingly refurbished Ernst Lubitsch’s 1943 Heaven Can Wait, an enchanting and witty Technicolor comedy in which a recently deceased lothario (Don Ameche) recounts his life and misdeeds to a bemused Satan. Orson Welles’ long-unavailable Chimes at Midnight (1966), a groundbreaking adaptation that blends five Shakespeare plays into a single gritty tale, will burst onto SIFF screens with a bellow much like Welles’ central performance as the drunken rapscallion Falstaff. And Douglas Sirk’s 1946 A Scandal in Paris is a rare period piece, equal parts whodunit and romance, from the director known for his lush, later melodramas.

From overseas, we have two offerings from China: King Hu’s Dragon Inn (1967), considered one of the most influential and magnificent Chinese wuxia films of all time; and Sun Yu’s silent epic The Big Road (1935), accompanied by a live score performed by Donald Sosin. Like your past films to be more thrilling? Try The Bitter Stems (1956), an Argentinian classic thriller curated by Eddie Muller of the Film Noir Foundation.

The Big Road

The Bitter Stems

Chimes at Midnight

Dragon Inn

The General

Heaven Can Wait

A Scandal in Paris

Where East meets West

Our city is a fusion of East and West. Now, youngsters, both Chinese and Western are embracing one of the oldest performing arts: Cantonese Opera. A packed calendar of diverse cultural activities and events showcases our creative, cosmopolitan and innovative spirit.

This is OUR HONG KONG. Why not make it yours?

Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, San Francisco

www.hketosf.gov.hk

My Hong Kong

“With a French father and Chinese mother, I live the cultures of East and West. I am fascinated by the art and theatre of Cantonese Opera - not just its rich heritage but also the makeup, costumes and drama.”

Chloe Ng Brossard Student of Cantonese Opera

ASIAN CROSSROADS

For this year’s Asian Crossroads, we at SIFF decided to shake things up. It was decided that a six-person programming team would travel across 12 Asian countries on foot for six months and select films for the program based on what we witnessed.

Our journey began in Kazakhstan, where we met a nomad who lived in the mountains. He escaped to the mountains to evade Soviet oppression (Stranger), and, after the fall of the USSR, decided to stay on. We purchased three mules from him and made our way down through the Hindu Kush mountains into the Indian state of Goa. There we got caught up with the youth protest for equal rights for women (Angry Indian Goddesses). Escaping the subcontinental heat, we trekked back up into Nepal to the foothills of the Himalayas. We were waylaid in a village for a couple of weeks while government forces battled the insurgent Maoists (The Black Hen). Selling our mules, we hired two sherpas to guide us up and over the Himalayas into Tibet. Once they smuggled us across the border (we didn’t have the proper visas), we joined up with a group of pilgrims on a “bowing” trek to the holy city of Lhasa (Paths of the Soul). Reaching Lhasa, we boarded a train for the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, birthplace of the martial-arts style of Wing Chun (The Final Master). Studying under Master Chen, we became black belts. (Don’t believe me? Try me, I dare you.)

I could tell you many more stories, but I’m already over my word count. Needless to say, after traveling thousands of miles we arrived back in Seattle exhausted, our bags laden with films, and shy one programmer. (He was arrested in the Philippines for some church scam he was pulling; please watch Honor Thy Father for more details.) So for your viewing pleasure, we present to you our journey across Asia. Each film has been selected with our blood, sweat, and tears. We hope you enjoy.

Alone

Angry Indian Goddesses

The Bacchus Lady

The Big Road (Archival)

The Black Hen

The Bodyguard

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle

A Copy of My Mind

Creepy

Death by Design

Dragon Inn (Archival)

The Final Master

Honor Thy Father

The Island Funeral Kingdom of Clay Subjects

The Lovers and the Despot

The Mobfathers

Mountains May Depart

Murmur of the Hearts

Our Little Sister

Paths of the Soul

Stranger

Tag

Thithi

Trivisa

Tsukiji Wonderland

Under the Sun

While the Women Are Sleeping

Whistleblower

Zud

CATALYST

Each year, the SIFF Catalyst program presents some of the most distinctive narrative feature films produced by American filmmakers. Pushing beyond the typical indie fare vetted by major festivals earlier in the year, SIFF Catalyst has a mandate to take curatorial risks and make adventurous programming choices. And this year, the program’s fifth, may just be its most adventurous yet.

Not only are three of this year’s Catalyst films world premieres, but we also have four directors making their feature-film debuts, which means you’ll have a frontrow seat for the next wave of U.S. film directors right here in Seattle. As the network of Catalyst alums with films playing on screens of all sizes continues to grow, our program is fast becoming a launch pad for U.S. indie film.

In addition to the five films listed here, we also have a full day of panels covering everything you need to know about current trends in independent cinema.

Up with #indiefilm! Up with #SIFFCatalyst!

11:55

All the Birds Have Flown South Americana

Claire in Motion Middle Man

CHINA STARS

SIFF is proud to launch the China Stars Showcase series in Seattle during the 42nd annual Seattle International Film Festival, with support from WASA North America Group and Hainan Airlines.

With the purpose of fostering cross-cultural exchange and artistic vision, SIFF has collaborated with WASA North America Group to select five wonderful feature films from mainland China to screen as part of the 2016 showcase series. These films will screen before audiences in Seattle, Renton, Shoreline, and on the Eastside at Bellevue’s Lincoln Square.

In future years, SIFF and WASA intend to expand the program to include more “emerging directors” and brand-new films from China, as well as to honor filmmakers with significant careers. China Stars Awards will be presented beginning in 2017 to filmmakers attending the Festival.

Hainan Airlines is proud to partner with SIFF this year and welcomes you to enjoy its world-class service to visit China. Flying nonstop to Beijing and Shanghai, Hainan Airlines can take you all over China. Smiles greet you as you board, then dine on Western or Chinese cuisine and enjoy personalized in-flight entertainment. Businessclass passengers have the option to dine when they wish, request bed turn-down service, or sample a selection of brewed coffees or teas—and relax in Hainan Airlines’ private limo service in Seattle and in China. And everyone can accrue or redeem Alaska MileagePlus™ elite-qualifying miles when flying Hainan.

The SIFF team will visit China over the next year to foster the relationship and begin to curate the program for 2017.

The Big Road (Archival)

Death by Design

The Final Master

Mountains May Depart

Paths of the Soul

CULINARY CINEMA

Popcorn is no longer king as the phenomenon of food culture has exploded into cinema. We’ve selected 9 extraordinary films that explore different aspects of taste and the senses for the cinematically inclined.

Meet some of the best chefs around the world, starting with Dani García, awardee of two Michelin stars, as he faces the challenges in opening a new, more accessible haute cuisine restaurant in New York in Deconstructing Dani García. Next, learn of the innovative life and tragic end of Chicago’s Homaro Cantu, who revolutionized molecular gastronomy and used his fame to tackle obesity, in Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story.

Take a bite out of a film that will show you how food has the ability to bridge religion and generations in Hummus, a documentary about the universally loved chickpea-and-tahini spread, and examine the cultural and sociopolitical aspects of ceviche, a simple yet delicious raw-fish dish, in Ceviche’s DNA. Speaking of raw seafood: Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max charts the Food Network star’s explosion into fame with his ever-popular Poké food trucks—recently arriving in our very own Seattle. Yum!

Amid these savory, mouth-watering documentaries, there are always a few funky food faves that might appeal to the more adventurous taste buds out there. In Ants on a Shrimp, we learn about Copenhagen-based restaurant NOMA and its penchant for daring dishes, such as the titular meal, as well as fried fish sperm. And Bugs introduces us to three young men on a research team called the Nordic Food Lab, whose Edible Insect Project sends them around the world exploring different cultures, pushing boundaries, and of course eating bugs.

Bon appétit!

Ants on a Shrimp

Bugs

Ceviche’s DNA

Deconstructing Dani García

Hummus

Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story

Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max (plays with Harlem on My Plate)

Sustainable

Tsukiji Wonderland

EMOCIÓN PURA: CINEMA FROM SPAIN

Spain, forever fascinating, tragic, and seductive, comes back to SIFF with an incredible collection of features, documentaries, and art-house films, including a sensuous adaptation of one of the country’s greatest plays by García Lorca; an uproarious spoof of classic secret-agent films; and a lyrical Basque drama—as well as unforgettable films about the power of friendships, world-class restaurants and mouthwatering food, and inspiring muses.

Cherry-picked from one of the most prolific years in Spanish cinema ever, new voices like Asier Altuna, Paula Ortiz, and Daniela Féjerman take their places alongside seasoned directors such as José Luis Guerín, Icíar Bollaín, Julio Medem, and Cesc Guy, once again proving why we fall in love with the work of these maestros: rich, deeply drawn characters caught up in sensual love affairs, their maddening obsessions, and their rich social, cultural, and culinary traditions. Memorable performances make up these timeless stories, allowing us to live with them and through them—the whole expression of the human dramedy.

Spain is a treasure chest and these films are the jewels, waiting for SIFF audiences to fall in love again and again and again.

The Academy of Muses

AMAMA: When a Tree Falls

Awaiting

The Bride

Corto y Maravilloso (Short Film Program)

Dead Slow Ahead

Deconstructing Dani García

Ma Ma

The Olive Tree

Spy Time

Truman

FACE THE MUSIC

Four out of five SIFF programmers agree that regular exposure to music and film are essential to your overall well-being. With that in mind, this year’s Face the Music program has been specifically designed to provide a holistic regimen for your audio-visual health.

Take a spa day with Concerto - A Beethoven Journey, and relax in the capable hands of Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes as he finds all the pressure points during his deep-tissue dive into a legendary composer. Submerge yourself in the sound and vision of two singular spectacles: David Byrne’s celebration of the pageantry of an underappreciated art form in Contemporary Color, and Miguel Ángel Vidaurre’s kaleidoscopic appraisal of Dean Reed, the U.S. pop sensation who became Chile’s Red Gringo. Let Yo-Yo Ma and his charismatic band of musical missionaries in The Music of Strangers realign your chakras, then take a time-out to talk through your feelings with your new bestie in Presenting Princess Shaw. Looking to cleanse yourself of past traumas? Journey back to your earliest memories in BANG! The Bert Berns Story to unearth the archives of one of the most influential American songwriters. Advanced learners will study with “Austin City Limits,” master Folk Healers in A Song for You, and have the heavy-metal gods of We Are X teach you how to use acupuncture to block your pain centers. Taken together, these remedies are guaranteed to expand your visual and sonic parameters, as well as set you on the righteous path to living a more audio-visually conscious lifestyle, with optimal aural performance.

BANG! The Bert Berns Story

Concerto - A Beethoven Journey

Contemporary Color

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

Oh, You Pretty Things! A David Bowie Glam-Rock Dance Party

Presenting Princess Shaw

The Prince Sing Along

Red Gringo

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story

We Are X

SPECIALTY LINEN | GLASSWARE

SPECIALTY LINEN |

TABLES | CHINA | CUTLERY

TABLES | CHINA | CUTLERY

CHAIRCOVERS | DESIGNER CHAIRS

CHAIRCOVERS | DESIGNER CHAIRS

CATERING EQUIPMENT

CATERING EQUIPMENT

UNIQUE TABLETOP ITEMS

UNIQUE

LATIN-AMERICAN CINEMA

Latin America, a vast region of ever-changing geographies, enchanting rhythms, and provocative stories, is at once both young and old, forever timeless in its treasuring of traditions and celebration of diversity.

This year’s Latin-American films give us a rich cinematic look across age, gender, and an array of socially diverse characters and subjects. Love and family, and the individual and collective commitments that come with them, are put to the test with stunning and poetic results. Young filmmakers join established storytellers to bring to the screen urgent, reflective, and highly entertaining stories that have been winning both critical and audience recognition all over the world.

Films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Perú, Uruguay, and Venezuela, many having their U.S. or North American premieres, create a road map to the hearts of their people, throw light onto their often-unsettled pasts, and time and again surprise us with their very universal experiences.

Embark on a journey of discovery where the imaginary is real, the mundane extraordinary, and nothing is off limits.

Between Sea and Land

Beyond My Grandfather Allende

The Bitter Stems (Archival)

Ceviche’s DNA

From Afar

Horizons

How Most Things Work

A Monster With a Thousand Heads

Nueva Venecia

The Pretty Ones

Rara

Red Gringo

The Tenth Man

The Violin Teacher

Warehoused

The Weekend Sailor

You’ll Never Be Alone

Zoom

NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS

Seattleites see more films per capita than the residents of any other American city, and a growing number of these selections have their roots in the fertile Pacific Northwest film community. Each year, SIFF honors the many ways in which the Puget Sound region contributes to the world of cinema, whether as an evocative location for outside filmmakers or as inspiration for local filmmakers ready to strut their stuff.

Open your eyes to the struggles and triumphs experienced by Kim, a local Seattle man who begins the journey toward gender reassignment and finds support, community, and, most important, his real self in Finding Kim. Revisit Erin “Tiny” Blackwell, a star of Streetwise, the Oscar®-nominated 1984 documentary about homeless youths in the streets of Seattle, in a new documentary taking place 30 years later (Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell). Are you a sports fan? Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story tells of the unbelievable rise to fame of the NBA legend and former Seattle Supersonics star through archival footage, newspaper headlines, and interviews.

Some people go to the movies to escape reality, and for you, we have tons of stories, several of which are filmed or set in our beautiful Pacific Northwest. A journalist with a lead on a make-or-break story meets a woman with pertinent but dangerous information in If There’s a Hell Below. Experience the incredible suspense and mystery of Paralytic, the story of a man caught up in, betrayed by, and hunted by a ruthless drug cartel. And in Captain Fantastic, meet a family living in isolation in the Washington state woods as they are forced to leave their paradise and re-enter the modern world.

Feature Films

The Architect

Big Sonia

Captain Fantastic

Finding Kim

Finding October

Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story

Gold Balls

The IF Project

If There’s a Hell Below

The Memory of Fish

A New High

Paralytic

Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max

Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

Vintage Tomorrows

Short Film Programs

3 Minute Masterpieces

Northern Tales

Short Films

Breathe

Cab Elvis

The Colors of Boulder in the Summer

The Commute

Dear Klara

Ektacy

Election Year

Emperor of Time

Escape

A Happy Ending Housekeeper

Incoming!

Kill Cash Cow Kill

Last Refuge of the Troublemaker

M.O.P.Z.

Oh, I Get It

Phantom Limbs

The Procedure

The Ruxpins

Sable Mire

The School of Life Project: Meet Darius

The Smell of Cedars Steeped in Rain solidobjectsinwhich

Superfan

These C*cksucking Tears

Trapped

WILD, TITILLATING, FANTASTIC LATE NIGHTS!

Every Friday and Saturday, stay up late for chilling genre delights, unforgettable cult classics, hilarious live comedy, and visionary films that promise to have you exclaiming, “Wild! Titillating! Fantastic!” and also leave you simply wondering, “WTF?!?!”

For late-night laughs, join our favorite mad scientists, Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu from “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” who provide live comedy riffs on the incomparable Ed Wood, Jr.’s Glen or Glenda. Or grab a card and join in with B-Movie Bingo—you’re invited to play for prizes while howling along with the best crap-tastic action films of the VHS era. If you like a dose of the chills, then spend the night haunted by malevolent spirits in a war-torn apartment complex with Under the Shadow; trapped in the desert with the crazed sharpshooter of Carnage Park; or facing down poltergeists, and an even more disturbing ghost hunter, in Another Evil. And mere words cannot prepare you for the nonstop insanity of Japanese gonzo filmmaker Sion Sono’s blood-soaked, torso-riddled schoolgirl epic Tag, or the ultimate in disgusting, tasteless, vulgar, and disco-fueled mania brought forth by The Greasy Strangler.

Another Evil B-Movie Bingo presents Rambu: The Intruder

Carnage Park

The Greasy Strangler

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Mads Are Back: Glen or Glenda

The Prince Sing Along

Tag

Under the Shadow

THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE SECRET FESTIVAL

Many have attended SIFF’s Secret Festival over the years, though few are aware of its dark and troubling origins. Six years ago, Professor Randolph Carter III, a noted anthropologist and film historian at Miskatonic University, went missing while researching the Secret Festival; his office in Arkham, Mass., vandalized; his papers destroyed. Nevertheless, a hitherto unknown cache of his writings was recently discovered among the personal effects of a deceased University of Washington professor, and these documents make for fascinating reading.

While the Secret Festival “began” at SIFF in 1983, Carter uncovered startling evidence that its foundations extend back into antiquity. More specifically, an early version of the Secret Festival is described in the pages of an obscure grimoire, the Cinenomicon1, a volume of esoteric and forbidden knowledge, supposedly written by a French thaumaturgical scholar, Zoetropos, about whom almost nothing is known. This early version of the Secret Festival, like its contemporary one, promised its attendees delirious revelries of ecstatic euphoria, sensory delights not found in the natural world, and other hidden but no less spectacular wonders to astonish the mind, body, and soul.

Much like the modern version of the Secret Festival, the deliverance of those promised delights hinged upon the attendees signing oaths of silence; however, in the ancient rite described, such oaths were marked in blood2. Participants who broke their blood vows invariably came to bizarre and horrendous ends.

Here, despite Professor Carter’s expert scholarship, his record offers only anecdotal evidence as to the punitive consequences meted. His papers relate, in grisly detail, horrifying accounts of supernatural retribution. For example, one unlucky individual was “ …seized by an invisible monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a large number of fright-frozen witnesses”; another account describes a hapless oath-breaker found turned to stone in a Gorgon-like manner, a look of sheer terror contorting his petrified features. Many more such incidents are described—all too gruesome to recount here.

Although Carter’s skepticism regarding such “superstitious nonsense” is palatable, his writings do show a considerable concern that the Secret Festival was too well-steeped in primeval occult traditions—a conflict within his brilliant mind of the “ …more things in heaven and earth” variety. His papers make clear an intent to resolve this tension by joining the Secret Festival and, in turn, testing its foremost taboo.

Initiation into the Secret Festival can be secured by purchasing a pass for either $55 (SIFF members) or $60 (non-members). Skeptics and believers alike should be extremely wary of revealing anything that they have seen; it is an entreaty I wish Professor Carter had observed himself.

1 Evidence has recently been uncovered that the Lumière Brothers consulted this curious volume in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris while developing their cinematograph.

2 According to Carter’s papers, SIFF stopped requiring blood oaths after the 1988 festival.

EDUCATION

Get to know the world of SIFF Education.

FUTUREWAVE CAMPS & YOUTH PROGRAMS

School Break Camps

SIFF Education hosts filmmaking camps for young filmmakers of all experience levels during select school breaks. Each multi-day camp is taught by a master film educator and multiple supporting mentors.

SIFF Youth Juries

SIFF Education annually selects seven children (ages 8-12) for our Films4Families Jury and seven teenagers (ages 13-18) for our FutureWave Jury.

Crash Kids & Crash Student

Crash Kids (ages 9-12) affords beginning to advanced youth the opportunity to work with a professional media educator for a day-long experience in filmmaking. In Crash Student (ages 13+), young filmmakers are assigned an experienced peer filmmaker from NFFTY and SIFF to produce a short film using randomly chosen creative elements.

FILM4ALL

CINEMA EDUCATION FOR FILM LOVERS

Cinema Dissection

Cinema Dissection is a monthly event that affords film lovers an exciting opportunity to dig deeper into the films they love. Over six hours, an expert facilitator will share the stage with audience observations as they work scene by scene through a great film.

Appreciation Classes

At SIFF, film experts (often professors and critics) expand film experiences with a deeper appreciation of a wide variety of film-related topics. These classes may be single or multi-day opportunities to explore the films of specific filmmakers, genres, countries/continents, or historical periods.

Crash Filmmaking Challenge

SIFF Crash Cinema is a bi-monthly, non-competitive filmmaking challenge, taking participants (beginning to experienced) from concept to screening in eight hours. It is about having fun, making a movie, and seeing it on the big screen. Come with a team or find a team at SIFF.

CATALYST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR FILMMAKERS

Master Classes

Designed for industry insiders and other professionals, SIFF hosts visiting and local filmmakers for master classes that illuminate and inspire.

First Draft

First Draft is a free series that offers audiences a glimpse into the first stage of the creative development process via a live table read performed by professional Seattle actors.

FILMS4FAMILIES FEATURES AND PROGRAMS

Join SIFF each weekend morning throughout the Festival for extraordinary matinees of both international and new American films created for children and the young-at-heart.

Films4Families is a celebration of the whole family coming together to share the moviegoing and filmmaking experience at SIFF. We are proud to present our outstanding 2016 lineup, featuring some of the best children’s features and shorts from around the world. Seattle families will be among the first audiences to enjoy a select few of these creative treasures.

SIFF is also delighted to have the Films4Families Youth Jury back for SIFF 2016. Comprising five elementary and middle-school youth, the jury will watch all the features to determine their favorite, and crown the winner with the Youth Jury Award for Best Films4Families Feature at the Golden Space Needle Awards on June 12, 2016.

Films4Families Jury: Aaditya Rao, Caroline Madrid, Eliot Aguera y Arcus, Galia Zaldivar, Justin Clark Bonney, Lexie Drummond, and Sienna Stiefel.

*Belle and Sebastian, the Adventure Continues

France 2015

Directed by Christian Duguay

In French with English subtitles. Recommended for ages 7+ (Includes limited foul language; some scenes (including large-scale forest fires) may be scary; plane crash, threatening animals)

The Family Picture Show

Bring the whole family to the cinema for a playful set of animated, live-action, and documentary short films curated for the young and the young at heart.

See page 141.

The General USA 1926

Directed by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman

Silent with English intertitles. Recommended for all ages.

*Long Way North

France/Denmark 2015

Directed by Remi Chaye

In English. Recommended for ages 6+ (Includes mild foul language; girl finds a man frozen to death offscreen)

*Oddball

Australia 2015

Directed by Stuart McDonald

In English. Recommended for ages 5+

*Phantom Boy

France/Belgium 2015

Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol

In French with English subtitles. Recommended for ages 8+ (Animated comic book violence; guns and gunplay; explosions; brief scene in adultentertainment club; brief scene of dog knocked out)

*Rainbow

India 2015

Directed by Nagesh Kukunoor

In Hindi with English subtitles. Recommended for ages 9+ (Includes discussion of parental death, adults smoking and drinking, sleeping pills administered to children without their knowledge, foul language; physical violence depicted and threatened)

*Seasons

France/Germany 2015

Directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud

Minimal French narration with English subtitles. Recommended for ages 5+

(Includes scenes of animals feeding on other animals depicted very tastefully)

*Eligible for the Films4Families Jury Award.

FUTUREWAVE FEATURES

FutureWave is the perfect way for high school and college students to access the Festival. Amid hundreds of possible films to see, we have curated the perfect starting point for new audiences to explore something that may seem familiar but has surprising depth or unique creativity. Many of the films are stories about youth, told with a vitality and style that will be a stepping stone to exploring more extraordinary films across the Festival.

SIFF is a participating TeenTix venue. TeenTix are available on the day of any regularly priced film in the Festival as well as at SIFF Cinema throughout the year.

For its eighth year, SIFF has selected a jury of seven high school students to view eight of the FutureWave feature films and award their favorite with the Youth Jury Award for Best FutureWave Feature.

FutureWave Jury: Hannah Baker, Max Beaulieu, Natasha Vhugen, Rachel Wheeler, Stafford Vaughan, Tiffany Zheng, and Zoe Rogan

*As I Open My Eyes

Tunisia, 2015

Directed by Leyla Bouzid

Appropriate for teens 15 and up. Contains brief nudity and language.

As You Are

USA, 2016

Directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Appropriate for teens 13 and up.

*Before the Streets

Canada (Quebec), 2016

Directed by Chloé Leriche

Appropriate for teens 15 and up. Contains language and violence.

*First Girl I Loved USA, 2016

Directed by Kerem Sanga

Appropriate for teens 13 and up.

*Girl Asleep Australia, 2016

Directed by Rosemary Myers

Appropriate for teens 15 and up. Contains sexuality and mild language.

*Hunt for the Wilderpeople

New Zealand, 2016

Directed by Taika Waititi

Appropriate for teens 13 and up. Contains language.

The Land USA, 2016

Directed by Steven Caple, Jr.

Appropriate for teens 15 and up.

*Microbe and Gasoline

France, 2015

Directed by Michel Gondry

Appropriate for teens 13 and up. Contains language.

*Morris From America

USA, 2016

Directed by Chad Hartigan

Appropriate for teens 13 and up.

*Other Girls

Finland, 2015

Directed by Esa Illi

Appropriate for teens 13 and up. Contains language and sexuality.

Slash USA, 2016

Directed by Clay Liford

Appropriate for teens 17 and up. Contains strong language and graphic descriptions of sexuality.

*Eligible for the FutureWave Jury Award.

dynamic community of active , working composers

seattlecomposers.org

We’re proud to sponsor and celebrate the 42nd Annual Seattle Film Festival, which has been honoring a roster of acclaimed films from around the world for over four decades.

shop.ep.com

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AND BEST OF NFFTY

SIFF is proud to present FutureWave Shorts 2016, a program of new films created by talented filmmakers younger than 19 years old who celebrate the art form’s creative possibilities.

3 Minute Masterpieces Youth Winner

USA, 2016, 3 minutes

How hard could it be to make a threeminute film? We challenged you to find out.

The Archer Hadley Story

USA, 2015, 4 minutes

Director: Ben Root

A high-school student with cerebral palsy eternally alters his local community through his activism.

Are You Ready

USA, 2016, 2 minutes

Directors: Ben Riley, Reese Owens, Eli Leibow

A young man mentally and physically pumps himself up well beyond his threshold.

Beti

India, 2015, 4 minutes

Director: Shivain Arora

Three girls in a rural Indian village reveal the beauty of their daily lives, their dreams for the future, and the passions that motivate them.

Children

Jordan, 2015, 5 minutes

Director: Marah Al Hassan

An intimate glimpse inside a Jordanian refugee camp through the eyes of the children who live there.

For the fourth year, we are also showcasing a selection of the best films from the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), the largest youth film festival in the world, which is presented annually in Seattle.

These inspiring original short films represent some of the best short filmmaking from around the world. Also included in the program will be the J. Michael Rima Award winner from The Seattle Times’ 3 Minute Masterpieces digital film contest.

The WaveMaker Award for Excellence in Youth Filmmaking will be presented to a film chosen in recognition of its artistic and technical achievement. In addition to the recognition award, The Prodigy Camp will also provide a full scholarship to their weeklong immersive overnight film camp for youth aged 12-18, held in July.

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Domar: To Tame

Uruguay, 2015, 7 minutes

Director: Benjamin Ades

A portrait of a horse tamer from Uruguay and his lifelong passion for taming.

For Your Eyes Only

Bulgaria, 2015, 2 minutes

Director: Alia Traychova

How one small walk in the park may turn into an intergalactic travel experience.

He, She

USA, 2016, 4 minutes

Director: Maia Liebeskind

How do gender roles in American culture affect the trajectories of our destinies?

Hey Deer*

Hungary, 2016, 7 minutes

Director: Örs Bárczy

This adorable deer is eager to keep a tidy house and shovel the new-fallen snow each day . . . only to be undone every night.

hiphopstar37

South Africa, 2016, 9 minutes

Director: Jack Markovitz

The harsh reality of internet commenting is examined through eager YouTuber hiphopstar37’s failed attempts at online fame.

Lady of Paint Creek

USA, 2015, 5 minutes

Director: Alexia Salingaros

A woman trapped in a society of mindless ritual and minimal emotion must find it in herself to escape—and face the consequences.

Sable Mire

USA, 2015, 9 minutes

Directors: Bogui Adjorlolo, Isaac Pauls After an adopted son’s mother dies, the family falls into a constant loop of abuse. He has to find a way out of the domestic hell.

Smoke That Travels*

USA, 2015, 14 minutes

Director: Kayla Briët

What happens when a story is forgotten?

Trapped

USA, 2015, 5 minutes

Director: Long Tran

A young transgender candidly reveals how she came to accept herself.

The Working Dead

USA, 2015, 5 minutes

Directors: Caroline Cox, Karson Monger, Saunder Boyle, Brynn Jefferson, Becca Meaney

A recently deceased employee returns to work after his “post-mortem revival” procedure to mixed reaction from his colleagues.

*denotes Best of NFFTY selection.

FUTUREWAVE: IN SCHOOL AND BEYOND…

FutureWave offers youth and educators a direct link to both the festival and the local filmmaking community. Celebrating two complementary activities—film viewing and filmmaking—FutureWave includes compelling, relevant, and enjoyable films alongside meaningful workshops for youth. Together these components advance SIFF’s leadership role in creating an audience that is more informed, aware, and alive.

For more information on any of these programs, visit siff.net/education or e-mail education@siff.net.

Filmmaker Visits:

SIFF sees the arrival of more than 200 international filmmakers to the Festival and throughout the school year. SIFF brings many of these artists into classrooms across the Puget Sound area to share their real-world experience.

School Screenings:

Films are carefully selected across a broad range of content areas and learning levels to engage students and teachers. Screenings may occur at SIFF Cinema, and films are occasionally screened in a theatrical setting at schools.

Filmmakers in the Schools:

SIFF Education provides two- through six-week filmmaking workshops to schools and community-based organizations throughout Seattle in a program designed to bolster academic classwork and student involvement.

Teacher Trainings:

SIFF Education provides technical trainings to educators throughout Washington. In addition, we collaborate with other youth-media education organizations to provide year-round media-literacy workshops and support to teachers.

Crash Kids / Crash Student:

SIFF Crash Kids is a movie production challenge, taking participants from concept to screening in one day. Crash Kids / Crash Student is open to anyone age 9 to 24, and each group of five students is connected with a more experienced mentor. The objective of the Crash program for young filmmakers is to engage local schools, youth, and their families in a more meaningful and hands-on way with cinema.

School Break Camps:

SIFF Education hosts many camps during spring and summer breaks. Each week-long camp held expands students’ skills in crafts across the filmmaking spectrum. Taught by a master film educator and four supporting mentors, students receive a fun-filled week with multiple diverse film projects to share with family and friends.

4TH WORLD PROGRAM –INDIGENOUS MEDIA LAB

4TH WORLD – INDIGENOUS MEDIA LAB AND EVENTS

For Indigenous communities, media-making can be many things: a form of self-expression, a method of empowerment, an education in leadership and teamwork, a way of learning about and preserving their own culture, a way of connecting with their communities and their elders, and a skill that can lead to a satisfying career in the media industries. Indigenous media adds a new voice to the debate on Native, First Nations, and Indigenous issues— what some call “diversifying dialogue.” In partnership with Longhouse Media, the Sundance Institute, the Muckleshoot Tribe, the Squaxin Island Tribe, De la Plume à l’Écran, and Mechanical Dreams, we are in the second year of our training program for emerging and early-stage adult filmmakers which will connect them to industry professionals and one another via a cohort model: 4th World - Indigenous Media Lab.

SIFF has a long history of supporting innovative Indigenous film, education, and workshops, and have remained committed to nurturing and highlighting diverse talent with 4th World - Indigenous Media Lab by showcasing and strengthening the film talent across the borders within First People communities. In our second year of programming, we are happy to say that five of our 10 fellows are in full production. Steven Paul Judd will premiere a short stopmotion animation film in this year’s festival. New this year, we will lead four of our fellows into the world of Virtual Reality. Our mission is to help our 4th World Fellows realize their productions and take their skills to the next level.

The 2016 Fellows are: Gisella Bustillos, Paul Collins, Lulu DeBoer, Kahlil Hudson, Nahaan, Steven Paul Judd, Crysta Perak, Shaun Peterson, Dallas Pinkham, and Melissa Woodrow.

Virtual Reality Filmmakers’ Training

May 23-June 5, 2016

In this second annual cohort training, our filmmakers join together in this new platform of VR.

Folklife Festival - Flag Pavilion Gallery

May 27-30, 2016, all day

We will feature the multimedia work of 4th World Lab Fellow Steven Paul Judd. Join us for community art workshops and filmmaker discussions with Steven throughout the weekend in the Flag Pavilion Gallery.

SIFFX

June 2-5, 2016

4th World Lab Fellows will endeavor in their first-ever Indigenous virtual-reality project. Join us for the premiere!

Indigenous Film Party

June 4, 2016

Join us at Vermillion Gallery and Bar to celebrate SIFF’s 10+-year commitment to Indigenous programming!

INDIGENOUS FILMS AT SIFF 2016

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

(d: Taika Waititi, New Zealand 2016, 93 min)

Mekko

(d: Sterlin Harjo, USA 2015, 87 min)

Screens with Mekko:

First Contact (d: Steven Paul Judd, USA 2015, 2 min)

Before the Streets

US PREMIERE

(d: Chloé Leriche, Canada (Québec) 2016, 97 min)

Screens with Before the Streets: Mobilize (d: Caroline Monnet, Canada (Québec) 2015, 4 min)

Screens in FutureWave Shorts / Best of NFFTY: Smoke That Travels (d: Kayla Briët, USA 2016, 14 min)

FESTIVAL FORUMS

Our Festival Forums set the stage for engaging discussions, extraordinary demonstrations, and hands-on workshops for a variety of ages and experience levels. Don’t miss these great opportunities to deepen your connection to the art of cinema!

All panels are $10/$5 for SIFF members unless stated otherwise. Visit SIFF.net for expanded descriptions and panelist announcements.

SATURDAY, MAY 21

Getting It Done: Taking Documentaries from Seed to Completion

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

SIFF 2016 documentary filmmakers ring in on their challenges and successes as they took a film from a moment of creative inspiration to presenting it on the big screen.

SATURDAY, MAY 21

Master Class With James Schamus

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

James Schamus shares his knowledge of the film industry as a producer, studio head, sales agent, and now director.

SATURDAY, MAY 21

Producing: Balancing Art and Commerce

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

A panel of feature-film producers examine the challenge of creating artistic content while satisfying the commerce required in the film industry.

SUNDAY, MAY 22

Scoring the New Storytelling Frontier

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

A panel of film composers explore the changing face of composing for the variety of new storytelling platforms.

SUNDAY, MAY 22

Light the Set Up: Cinematography Panel

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Women in Film Seattle presents an illuminating panel of professionals representing the variety of jobs on a cinematography crew.

FESTIVAL FORUMS

FRIDAY, MAY 27

Short Film Happy Hour and Networking Panel

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Make the most of SIFF 2016—and any other festivals you attend—by learning techniques from seasoned filmmakers and industry professionals on how to connect with other filmmakers and audiences across the Festival.

SATURDAY, MAY 28

State of the Short With Kathleen McInnis

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

From her unique worldview, Strategic Publicist and Festival Programmer Kathleen McInnis will proffer five key elements (and dozens of lesser ones) to emerging filmmakers on building their mythology, crafting a unique brand, establishing a workable business model, and succeeding relatively unscathed as a visual storyteller and artist in today’s global film industry.

SUNDAY, MAY 29

The Art of Writing a Short

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Experienced screenwriters share their knowledge about taking the narrative foundation of your future short to the next level or amplifying your short into a feature.

MONDAY, MAY 30

Developing Audience on Social Media

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Meeting your audience where they exist on social media is always changing. Stay ahead of the game with this panel of innovative publicists and experienced short filmmakers.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Catalyst Filmmaker Panel

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

All five SIFF 2016 Catalyst directors divulge the experiences that brought their films to the big screen.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Who Should Release My Movie?

11:15 AM - 12:15 AM

All filmmakers dream of reaching an audience. Sometimes that audience is in the theater, but these days they’re just as likely to stay home. In an age defined by on-demand viewing habits and a golden age of television, what’s the best way for movies to find their way into the world?

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Can Critics Save the Movies?

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

It can be easy to assume that everyone’s a critic. Gone are the days in which two thumbs could determine the fate of any single movie. At the same time, there is a greater need than ever for a signal in the noise that defines today’s media landscape. We’ll gather some of the best working critics today for a spirited debate about the future of the profession, as well as the medium of cinema itself.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Catalyst Keynote

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM

Catalyst will be graced by a TBA presenter for a special keynote about the realities of independent filmmaking.

SATURDAY, JUNE 11

Catalyst Screenplay Competition Winner

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Local and visiting actors perform a live reading of the winning Catalyst Screenplay Competition script.

SEA WA

JUNE 2-5 — SIFFX.NET

YOU HAD TO BE THERE

People have been trying to convey what experiences feel like since the first humans picked up shards of charcoal to draw cave paintings. This is what the running herd of bison look like; this is the thrill of the hunt. The advent of language was a major assist, as oral storytelling carried us away with well-told tales. Then technology stepped in, with game-changing tools such as the printing press. And yet we wanted more—a way to capture the images in our memory and our mind’s eye. Enter the pinhole camera, photography, film, 3D movies, and a funny little stereoscopic device called the ViewMaster, originally intended for sharing 3D scenic postcards. This is what the Grand Canyon looks like; this is how your heart races upon peering into its depths. And now, our experiences are more relatable than ever, thanks to Virtual Reality technology, which plunges viewers into previously unknown worlds. Don a headset and get a 360° view of the surroundings—and a fullbody sense of what it’s like to be there.

LOOK UP

Join us on June 2 for Opening Night in the immersive splendor of the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome, where you’ll lay back and sink into screenings of short films shot in 360°.

JOIN THE FUTURE, ALREADY IN PROGRESS

Virtual Reality has moved beyond gaming and into the domain of filmmakers, artists, and activists. But what is it exactly? And how is it different from Augmented Reality and 360° films? Take all three technologies for a spin at SIFFX, Seattle’s first festival devoted entirely to exploring these new frontiers of immersive storytelling.

Mayor Ed Mur ray is proud to present the

2

commission and production incentive programs, and whose mission is to create economic

six television projects, and 54 commercial productions, resulting in over $299 million in economic impact to Washington state and $170 million to the Seattle region.

advocates for the creative economy at the federal, state, and local levels Through funding and programs like the Innovation Lab and Commercialize Seattle, Washington Filmworks

WASHINGTON FILMWORKS SELECTION OF FUNDED PROJECTS

FEATURE FILM

Captain Fantastic

Eden

Fat Kid Rules The World

Laggies

Love Happens

World’s Greatest Dad

TELEVISION

Dear Lemon Lima

Letter to Bill Gates

Thunderballs

Tr ue Adolescents

Z Nation

COMMERCIAL Chevrolet Coors

Microsoft Toyota

WA Lotter y

INNOVATION LAB

Automata

Box Walk

Sugar plum

Rocketmen

Strowlers

the 2016 nomination.

SCHEDULE

Opening Night Screening at Pacific Science Center Laser Dome — Thu 6/2

Experience eye-poppingxqxa360º films created by RYOT, the LA-based content studio recently purchased by The Huffington Post, which specializes in documentary-style Virtual Reality films. Among the videos premiering for the first time in 360º projection is The Crossing, Susan Sarandon’s immersive video diary about the Syrian refugee rescue effort in Lesbos. Films will be shown consecutively on cardboard headsets and on the majestic expanse of the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome. RYOT co-founder and Academy Award®nominee Bryn Mooser will be in attendance.

Pluto in the Dome — Fri 6/3

Built as the Spacearium for the 1962 World’s Fair, the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome was originally a futuristic semi-sphere where Ffair visitors could watch wide-angle movies about space. The historic structure returns to its roots on Friday night, with more 360° screenings, including Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart, a new VR exploration of the Pluto system and the New Horizons spacecraft (The New York Times).

Keynote Speaker: Nonny de la Peña — Sat 6/4

Hear the journalist and “‘Godmother of Virtual Reality”’ speak on the massive potential of VR for immersive journalism, and its power as an empathy device for conveying the sights, sounds, and visceral feelings of the news. In the X Gallery, view the first retrospective of her work, including her first piece, Hunger in Los Angeles, for which her young intern, Palmer Luckey, created a prototype headset—which later became the Oculus Rift.

X Academy — Fri 6/3 - Sun 6/5

Engage in presentations with the national and local Virtual Reality vanguard as they explore current questions surrounding the advent of accessible VR technology—including VR 101, what this means for the future of cinema and linear storytelling, whether VR can make us “more human,”; and issues from the aesthetic to the ethical. Learn 360º workflow (cinematography, stitching, and projection) with examples presented in 360º projection at the Pacific Science Center Laser Dome. Review the timeline of VR and immersive storytelling through the lens of previous historic collaborations between the tech and art worlds.

X Gallery — Fri 6/3 - Sun 6/5

Explore local, national, and international VR / AR projects that showcase a range of new technologies and illustrate how artists are bending the tech to tell their own stories. Featured projects with attending artists include: fabulous wonder.land, a 4D VR take on Alice in Wonderland, created by Toby Coffee of the UK National Theater; The Visitor, a VR house of mirrors created by filmmakers James Kaelen and Eve M. Cohen; and Giant, a VR memoir of sorts in which director Milica Zec captures the experience of growing up in a war zone.

UNIVERSITY

African Studies Program

Canadian Studies Center

Center for Global Studies

Center for Human Rights

Center for West European Studies

East Asia Center

Latin

Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asia Studies

South Asia Center

Southeast Asia Center

The best way to predict the future is to design it.

— Buckminster Fuller

Immersive storytelling by way of Virtual Reality means individual experiences can be felt more universally. Which also means the possibilities for increasing empathy are immense. Stepping inside a VR documentary about a war-torn region changes your ability to understand the place and its people. This is what the Syrian refugees look like; this is what it feels like to pull up on a foreign beach in a leaky raft. In the same way, VR offers a giant leap forward in ways to experience cinema, dance, theater, literature, music—all manner of art forms, from entertaining to educational. At SIFFX, we will explore how we can shape the purpose, use, and language of this new medium at a pivotal moment in the history of human storytelling. You have to be here.

IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING 360° — VR — AR LEARN MORE ABOUT PROGRAM AND TICKET PACKAGES AT SIFFX.NET

SHORTSFEST WEEKEND SHORT FILMS

Too often, short films are viewed as apprentice works—a practical workshop for a filmmaker to ply his or her craft before embarking upon a career in feature films. And while there is certainly some truth to this observation, it belies the fact that features and short films are two very different cinematic forms. With short films, the filmmaker is freed from most, if not all, commercial constraints. Indeed, the only constraint is time—less than 30 minutes, please. In exchange for this freedom, short-film practitioners must distill their creative vision to its most vital essence, without wasting a single frame of film, and take deliberate care to achieve a certain unique, singular effect. Year after year, the most original cinematic work emerges in these fleeting, yet no less intense, flashes of inspiration.

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 prizewinner will be determined by audience balloting. Our Shorts Competition will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each jury winner will receive $2,500 and also qualify to enter their respective Short Film category for the Academy Awards®.

ALT Shorts ShortsFest Opening Night

THURSDAY, MAY 26 7:00 PM

Breathe

USA 2016, 5 minutes, Director: Chris Volckmann

World Premiere

A father takes his daughter on a road trip to the ocean for a day playing in the surf.

The Bullet

USA 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Jordan Bahat

A portrait of David “The Bullet” Smith Jr., the world’s greatest human cannonball.

Ellis

USA 2015, 15 minutes, Director: J R

Robert De Niro narrates the early years of Ellis Island, recounting the experiences of one immigrant’s arrival in America.

Incoming!

USA 2015, 12 minutes, Director: Ryan Printz

A rookie forest ranger gets more than he bargained for when he encounters a mysterious visitor.

Mother(s)

France 2015, 21 minutes, Director: Maïmouna Doucouré

Eight-year-old Aida lives in an apartment in a Parisian suburb. The daily life of Aida and her whole family is overwhelmed when her father comes back from Senegal, their country of origin, and he does not come back alone.

Overpass

Canada (Québec) 2015, 19 minutes, Director: Patrice Laliberté

A deeply moving family drama capturing the power of self-expression amid upheaval in a teenager’s life.

Take Your Partners

United Kingdom 2016, 11 minutes, Director: Siri Rodnes

Ollie, 8, who is crazy about football and the gunslingers of the Wild West, categorically refuses to accept conventional gender roles when it comes time to get ready for the traditional Easter parade at school.

Well Groomed

USA 2015, 9 minutes, Director: Rebecca Stern

A psychedelically hued journey into the colorful world of competitive creative dog grooming.

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:15 PM

History is taken out of context and the present is abstracted in this collection of shorts from the other side of cinema.

Absent Australia/Bolivia/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Croatia/Germany/ Mexico/Spain 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Nikki Schuster

An animated odyssey through labyrinths of decay in abandoned buildings.

Clockworks

Netherlands 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Gideon van der Stelt

North American Premiere

The dream city inside of a clock becomes the late-night location for a woman to hang out.

The Colors of Boulder in the Summer

USA 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Jon Behrens

Layers of super-saturated color film shot during a Stan Brakhage salon 20 years ago.

Ektacy

USA 2016, 2 minutes,

Director: Caryn Cline

Short and sweet bits of homemovie footage from 1958, with rich Ektachrome images and a jazzy score.

Election Year

USA 2015, 4 minutes,

Director: Salise Hughes

Nixon and Kennedy speak in looping catchphrases for a split-screen debate.

Emperor of Time

USA 2015, 6 minutes,

Director: Drew Christie

An unreliable narrator talks about how his father, Eadweard Muybridge, was the first man to look at time and say “Stop!”

The Exquisite Corpus

Austria 2015, 19 minutes,

Director: Peter Tscherkassky

Human Heart (Overture)

USA 2016, 5 minutes,

Director: Kelly Wittenberg

World Premiere

Expressions of the human heart, from nostalgia to surgery to mechanical pumps and back again.

Little Orphant Annie

USA 2016, 7 minutes,

Director: Bill Morrison

World Premiere

To the dream-child come old friends from Slumberland, in this decayed and reconstituted film from 1918.

A Long Way From Home

USA 2015, 4 minutes,

Director: Jay Rosenblatt

Sometimes Jesus Himself feels like a motherless child.

Pattern for Survival

USA 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Kelly Sears

The Army Survival Manual is illustrated with old industrial films and exercise videos.

Phantom Limbs

USA 2015, 3 minutes,

Director: Reed O’Beirne

A peaceful, abstract short built from MRI images and a lovely song from St. Kilda.

solidobjectsinwhich

USA 2016, 5 minutes,

Director: Brian Short

World Premiere

Dark and driving music propels this time-lapsed look at weeds and clouds and grass and more.

TRACK

Japan 2015, 4 minutes,

Director: TOCHKA

Sponsored by Christopher Newell

An expertly edited collage of ’60s (and later) erotica is cut together to create a surrealist’s wet dream.

Freaking cool movie full of temporary graffiti made with flashlights.

SIFF’S annual celebration of the short subject kicks off with a dynamically varied program examining the breezy joy and tremendous complexity found in the best short films.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Animation4Adults

SUNDAY, MAY 29 9:00 PM

Arrival: A Short Film by Alex Myung

USA 2015, 22 minutes, Director: Alex Myung

North American Premiere

A young man struggles to face the truth, and share it with the person he loves most.

Carlo

Italy 2015, 12 minutes, Director: Ago Panini

US Premiere

Will Carlo’s newfound love for his office colleague mean the end of the world?

Cassette Girl

Japan 2015, 8 minutes, Director: Hiroyasu Kobayashi

Cassette Girl will need all of her “Beta type” weapons to win her battle against the Media Police.

Chateau de Sable

France 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Quentin Deleau

A team of soldiers guard a marvelous pearl in the middle of a desert, but a huge creature is coming to steal it.

Edmond

United Kingdom 2015, 9 minutes, Director: Nina Gantz

Edmond’s impulse for love and intimacy is strong—maybe too strong.

Glove

USA 2016, 6 minutes, Directors: Alexa Lim Haas, Bernardo Britto

The true story of a glove that’s been floating in space since 1968.

Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’

Australia 2015, 14 minutes, Directors: Del Kathryn Barton, Brendan Fletcher

A nightingale embarks on a perilous quest to find a single red rose for her beloved. But such a gift comes at a chilling price.

Uncanny Valley

Austria/France 2015, 14 minutes, Director: Paul Wenninger

US Premiere

A WWI recreation like you’ve never seen, and won’t soon forget.

Coming of Age

FRIDAY, MAY 27 4:30 PM

There is always a point in life when you choose a path to follow.

Chelem

Canada 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Charles Grenier

A girl, torn between her deep desire to be “one of the boys” and her feelings for her best friend, is confronted by a violence that she didn’t know she had in her.

Dear Klara

USA 2016, 4 minutes, Director: Eric Becker

World Premiere

A letter to a daughter from a woman living wild.

Eggplant

USA 2015, 8 minutes, Director: Yangzi She

Durian was born with facial expressions opposite of everyone else’s, which becomes increasingly challenging as this little boy grows into a young adult.

New Eyes

France/Great Britain 2015, 12 minutes, Director: Hiwot Admasu

US Premiere

In a bustling village near Addis Ababa, an Ethiopian girl becomes aware of strange new feelings that are both discomfiting and exciting.

Picnic

Croatia 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Jure Pavlovic

Emil attends a weekend picnic with his father, who happens to reside in a semiopen penitentiary.

Pink Boy

USA 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Eric Rockey

Pink Boy is an intimate portrait of a gender-creative boy growing up in conservative rural Florida and his mother, in one sense opposites but united by a determination to be who they truly are.

Son of the Wolf

France 2015, 24 minutes, Director: Lola Quivoron

North American Premiere

In a former army fort, young Johnny learns to train and command Iron, his first attack dog.

This year’s animated package travels space and time to bring you bold, startling new visions.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

The Devil’s Brood Corto y Maravilloso

Friends. Enemies. Lovers. The Virgin Mary. Olé!

23rd of May

Spain 2016, 14 minutes, Director: David Martín de los Santos

North American Premiere

The voices of two women and the remains of a house stuck in time rescue the memory of those who lived there, while we are witnesses to the transformation of the property.

Araan

Spain 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Jorge Dayas

While two enemies fight each other on the battlefield’s front lines, their respective daughters await their homecoming.

Eden Hostel

Spain 2016, 13 minutes, Director: Gonzaga Manso

North American Premiere

An icon of the Virgin Mary recounts its life and times in the seedy Eden Hostel.

El Adiós

Spain/USA 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Clara Roquet

A Bolivian maid attempts to honor her late mistress’s last wishes.

Jingle

Spain 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Marta Aledo

US Premiere

Oscar and Fon are friends and war reporters. They have been kidnapped, and are now in a basement in a foreign country, over 3,000 miles from home.

On the Roof

Spain 2015, 11 minutes, Director: Damià Serra

North American Premiere

When a group of boys on a roof start peeping on a woman sunbathing, one boy’s gaze begins to drift elsewhere.

Travel by Feet

Spain 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Khris Cembe

North American Premiere

What would you be willing to do in order to have a peaceful night’s journey?

From Hell itself, miniature masterpieces of terror, suspense, and the supernatural.

20 Matches

USA 2015, 9 minutes, Director: Mark Tapio Kines

Illuminated only by match light, a young woman recounts a harrowing true story.

Blight Ireland 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Brian Deane

A young priest is dispatched to battle dark supernatural forces threatening a remote Island community.

Demonoid 1971

Mexico/USA 2016, 16 minutes, Director: Juan F. Moctezuma II

World Premiere

A group of campers in the Mexican jungle must fight the Aztec demon Itzpapalotl to save themselves and the world.

Manoman

United Kingdom 2015, 11 minutes, Director: Simon Cartwright

Desperate to tap into his masculinity, Glen attends a primal-scream therapy session.

Nasty

United Kingdom 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Prano Bailey-Bond

Twelve-year-old Doug is drawn into the lurid world of VHS horror as he explores the mysterious disappearance of his father.

The Puppet Man

USA 2016, 10 minutes, Director: Jacqueline Castel

A supernatural killer stalks a young woman and her friends in a seedy, neon-lit dive bar, featuring the music of John Carpenter (Halloween).

Strangers in the Night

Ireland 2016, 12 minutes, Director: Conor MacMahon

North American Premiere

Granny Fitzgerald has heard the dreaded scream of the banshee, but when her grandson Damien catches the spirit’s fancy, something unexpected happens.

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 5:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Extremely Awkward and Incredibly Funny

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM

Berlin Metanoia

Germany 2016, 15 minutes, Director: Erik Schmitt

North American Premiere

A bear escapes and the whole city goes mad, yet Kore has a completely different problem haunting her.

The Champion

Italy/Japan 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Boming Jiang

US Premiere

Some dads will do anything for their son . . . even to try and win them a sex doll.

Curmudgeons

USA 2016, 17 minutes, Director: Danny DeVito

Two potty-mouthed old men find a new relationship in their old age.

How to Lose Weight in 4 Easy Steps

USA 2016, 7 minutes, Director: Ben Berman

Losing weight and getting fit has never been easier!

Killer

USA 2016, 20 minutes, Director: Matt Kazman

When Dusty masturbates for the first time, something terrible happens . . .

A Reasonable Request

USA 2015, 9 minutes, Director: Andrew Laurich

A desperate son attempts to reconnect with his estranged father in order to ask a simple favor.

Thunder Road

USA 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Jim Cummings

Officer Arnaud loved his mother, and she loved the Boss.

The Family Picture Show

SATURDAY, MAY 28 11:30 AM

Bring the whole family to the cinema for a playful set of animated, live-action, and documentary short films curated for the young and the young at heart.

Awa’s Dream

Senegal 2015, 5 minutes, Directors: Zena Zeidan, Yancouba Dième

US Premiere

A young girl fought to become a happy and empowered woman; despite obstacles, she knew how to make her dreams come true.

Daisy Chain

Australia 2015, 5 minutes,

Director: Galvin Scott Davis

A little girl falls victim to a gang of shadowy bullies . . . until she discovers that her love of daisy chains unlocks a power that will bring light to the darkness of the playground.

The Girl Who Spoke Cat

United Kingdom/Poland 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Dotty Kultys In a dull, organized world, a curious girl longs for some color and joy. When she follows a strange cat, she discovers a boisterous underground filled with colorful music, life, and fun.

Lili Loves Presents

Denmark/United Kingdom 2016, 4 minutes, Director: Siri Melchior

North American Premiere

As long as the bow is large, the wrapping paper pretty, and the box big, Lili couldn’t care less about the contents of her presents!

The Little Seed

France/Switzerland 2015, 10 minutes,

Director: Chaïtane Conversat

US Premiere

A little girl catches floral patterns with a magic cloth and uses them to make her own pretty dresses.

Moom

Japan/USA 2016, 15 minutes,

Directors: Robert Kondo, Daisuke

“Dice” Tsutsumi

Every forgotten object has a memory with its previous owner still attached. One day Moom meets another memory stuck in this world just like him.

An Object at Rest

USA 2015, 6 minutes,

Director: Seth Boyden

We follow the life of a stone as it travels over the course of millennia, facing nature’s greatest obstacle: human civilization.

Perfect Piggies

USA 2015, 4 minutes,

Director: Sandra Boynton

Five harmonizing pigs sing a lively a cappella swing song about their own perfect selves.

Quincy Australia 2016, 6 minutes,

Directors: Sean Slobodan, James Winegar

World Premiere

Pushed onto a wave when she was only 4, Quincy took to surfing like a fish takes to water.

Some Thing

Germany 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Elena Walf

Is it really that bad to have something strange inside of you?

Stems

United Kingdom 2015, 3 minutes,

Director: Ainslie Henderson

A rag-tag group of puppets form to jam out together.

Taking Flight

USA 2015, 6 minutes,

Director: Brandon Oldenburg

A boring day with Grandpa turns into a larger-than-life journey in this ode to the Radio Flyer red wagon.

Thunderstruck

South Africa 2016, 5 minutes,

Director: Brent Dawes

Life takes on electrifying new dimensions when a lightning storm starts overhead and, unfortunately, Giraffe is the tallest thing around.

An awkwardly awesome program of shorts with stories that would almost be embarrassing if they weren’t so ridiculously hilarious.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FutureWave/Best of NFFTY Growing Up Gay

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:30 PM

The next generation of filmmakers have extraordinary talent and share their own unique voices. These international shorts from filmmakers 18 and under point the way to an exceptional cinematic tomorrow.

3 Minute Masterpieces Youth Winner

2016, 3 minutes

The Youth Winner of the 2016 3 Minute Masterpieces competition.

The Archer Hadley Story

USA 2015, 4 minutes,

Directors: Ben Root, Alex Treviño

A high-school student with cerebral palsy eternally alters his local community through his activism.

Are You Ready

USA 2016, 2 minutes,

Directors:

Ben Riley, Reese Owens, Eli Leibow

A young man mentally and physically pumps himself up well beyond his threshold.

Beti

India 2016, 4 minutes,

Director: Shivain Arora

Three girls in a rural Indian village reveal the beauty of their daily lives, their dreams for the future, and the passions that motivate them.

Children

Jordan 2015, 5 minutes,

Director: Marah Al Hassan

An intimate glimpse inside a Jordanian refugee camp through the eyes of the children who live there.

Domar: To Tame

Uruguay 2015, 7 minutes,

Director: Benjamin Ades

A portrait of a horse tamer from Uruguay and his lifelong passion for taming.

For Your Eyes Only

Bulgaria 2015, 2 minutes,

Director: Alia Traychova

How one small walk in the park may turn into an intergalactic travel experience.

He, She

USA 2016, 4 minutes,

Director: Maia Liebeskind

How do gender roles in American culture affect the trajectories of our destinies?

Hey Deer!

Hungary 2016, 7 minutes,

Director: Örs Bárczy

This adorable deer is eager to keep a tidy house and shovel the new-fallen snow each day . . . only to be undone every night.

hiphopstar37

South Africa 2016, 9 minutes,

Director: Jack Markovitz

The harsh reality of internet commenting is examined through eager YouTuber hiphopstar37’s failed attempts at online fame.

Lady of Paint Creek

USA 2015, 5 minutes,

Director: Alexia Salingaros

A woman, trapped in a society of mindless ritual and minimal emotion, must find it in herself to escape—and face the consequences.

Sable Mire

USA 2015, 9 minutes,

Directors: Bogui Adjorlolo, Isaac Pauls

After an adopted son’s mother dies, the family falls into a constant loop of abuse. He has to find a way out of the domestic hell.

Smoke That Travels

USA 2015, 14 minutes,

Director: Kayla Briët

What happens when a story is forgotten?

Trapped

USA 2015, 5 minutes,

Director: Long Tran

A young transwoman candidly reveals how she came to accept herself.

The Working Dead

USA 2015, 5 minutes,

Directors: Caroline Cox, Karson Monger, Saunder Boyle, Brynn Jefferson, Becca Meaney

A recently deceased employee returns to work after his “post-mortem revival” procedure, to mixed reaction from his colleagues.

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:30 PM

From bullies to discos, tender first love to decades-old gay anthems, there is always a point of no return.

1985

USA 2016, 8 minutes, Director: Yen Tan

A dying man prepares to move in with his estranged mother. He makes an appointment with a beauty consultant to hide his symptoms.

Change in the Weather

Ireland 2015, 17 minutes, Director: Muiris Crowley

North American Premiere

Michael, a young man living in rural Ireland, struggles to adjust to a sudden change in his furtive lifestyle.

Colours

United Kingdom 2015, 25 minutes, Director: Peter Lee Scott

In the aggressive and often-hostile world of youth soccer leagues, Adam faces an ultimatum from the team captain, Mike, when they discover Adam’s best friend Tom is gay.

Dinner With Jeffrey

USA 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Sam Greisman

North American Premiere

Oliver has just come out and is nervous about where he fits in. He hopes that his older gay uncle, Jeffrey, will be a source of comfort, but little does he know that Jeffrey has a whole different kind of night planned for his nephew.

Goodbye, My Big Cat

USA 2016, 12 minutes, Director: Oates Yinchao Wu

World Premiere

Harry, a young Chinese man, travels to America in an attempt to reunite with his first lover, Sam. Harry and Sam met a year prior during an exchange in China, and Harry hopes to relive the love and intimacy they once shared.

These C*cksucking Tears

USA 2016, 16 minutes, Director: Dan Taberski

The gritty, uncompromising voice behind the first openly gay country music album—40 years after its release.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Peace in the Middle East Northern Tales

SUNDAY, MAY 29 11:30 AM

3 Minute Masterpieces Winner

2016, 3 minutes

The overall winner of the 2016

3 Minute Masterpieces competition.

Cab Elvis

USA 2016, 11 minutes,

Director: Andrew Franks

World Premiere

A glimpse into one cab driver’s legal and personal struggle to share the King himself with Seattle, one karaoke-filled taxi ride at a time.

Escape

USA 2015, 13 minutes,

Director: Lacey Leavitt

Returning to her family home on Orcas Island, broken-hearted urbanite Rebecca braces herself for a barrage of questions about her life. But before the inquisition, she stumbles upon a mysterious Bookseller who sells her a novel, promising that it will provide the escape she seeks.

A Happy Ending

USA 2016, 6 minutes,

Director: Lindy Boustedt

World Premiere

Memories and life lessons. Children, marriage, and regrets. My grandmother’s poetic journey through womanhood and her constant search for happiness.

Housekeeper

USA 2016, 6 minutes,

Director: Lane Stroud

World Premiere

The relationship between housekeeper and employer is a fine balance . . .

Kill Cash Cow Kill

USA 2016, 8 minutes,

Director: Mischa Jakupcak

World Premiere

Clyde, a con man, offers advice to a mysterious friend.

Last Refuge of the Troublemaker

USA 2015, 5 minutes,

Director: Shannon Snider

In the Pacific Northwest, communities are surrounded by majestic trees, which can become a way of life and essential to their livelihood. Meet Steve Backus, a second-generation woodcarver who is equal parts lumberjack, artist, and troublemaker.

Oh, I Get It

USA 2015, 9 minutes, Directors: Sara McCaslin, Danny Tayara

Two queer female standup comedians in Seattle paint a picture of oppressive comedy culture and what we can do to change it.

The Ruxpins

USA 2016, 21 minutes,

Director: Mike Chilson

US Premiere

Thoughts about relationships, maturity, and what it means to become a better person, through the eyes . . . er, mouths of toys.

The School of Life Project: Meet Darius

USA 2016, 16 minutes,

Directors: Rick Stevenson, Kevin Klar

World Premiere

Founded in 2001 by multi-awardwinning filmmaker Rick Stevenson, The School of Life Project currently interviews 300 kids from 12 countries around the world on an annual basis. Darius joined the project in 2007 and is currently a freshman in high school in Seattle.

THURSDAY, MAY 26 3:30 PM

The exodus of Syrian and Iraqi refugees comes with lessons of cultural integration and acceptance. This program gives a glimpse into the sociopolitical issues riddling this region. From films made by refugees to sexuality in diverse Middle Eastern societies, these eclectic stories by Middle Eastern directors will grip your senses.

American Baghdad

USA 2016, 18 minutes, Director: Ron Najor

World Premiere

El Cajon, a city in San Diego County, CA, hosts one of the largest numbers of Iraqi refugees in the United States. This is the story of these residents and their assimilation into American culture, their dreams, hopes and memories.

Another Kind of Girl

Jordan 2015, 10 minutes, Director: Khaldiya Jibawi

Khaldiya is a Syrian refugee living in a Jordanian refugee camp. At 17, she films the upsetting turn her life has taken and the following process of reconciliation.

Battalion to My Beat

USA/Algeria/Western Sahara 2016, 14 minutes, Director: Eimi Imanishi Frustrated with the discriminatory gender roles at a Sahrawi refugee camp, Mina longs to become a soldier. This coming-of-age film offers a new, inspirational take on the lives of refugees.

Hope

Morocco 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Aïda Senna

North American Premiere

While Sonia and Hicham prepare for their wedding celebrations, they seem to be hiding a secret about their relationship. Touching on topics of gender and sexuality in a conservative Moroccan society, the story truly embodies the spirit of “Amal”— in English, hope.

The Society

Germany/Iraq 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Osama Rasheed

Alternating between documentary and narrative styles, The Society portrays the status of homosexuality in Iraq, as well as the trauma faced by homosexual men and the pressure of over-assertive masculinity on young Iraqi men.

Teddy bears to taxis, grandmothers to growing up—these shorts from Seattle have it all.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Tipping Point Things We Do for Love

SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:00 PM

From hilarious to heartbreaking, never underestimate the power of the things we do for love.

Beneath the Spaceship

Sweden 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Caroline Ingvarsson

US Premiere

A nuanced look at the delicate borders of friendship between a young girl and an older man.

Brix and the Bitch

USA 2015, 10 minutes, Director: Nico Raineau

Trapped in a seedy and illegal fight club, one woman’s only chance for escape is to win a gruesome brawl against the one person she refuses to harm.

Cuddle Party

USA 2015, 14 minutes, Director: Matthew Irving Epstein

Skeptical of couples’ therapy, Jane and Drew decide to work out their less-thanfuzzy feelings at a cuddle party (it’s exactly what it sounds like).

Her Friend Adam

Canada 2015, 17 minutes, Director: Ben Petrie

A boyfriend’s jealous prodding triggers a meltdown of epic proportions.

Love Comes Later

USA/India 2015, 10 minutes, Director: Sonejuhi Sinha

An unexpected discovery forces an undocumented motel employee to make a life-changing decision.

Twisted Australia 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Stuart Bowen

School reunions are strange for anyone, but especially our socially awkward hero. What can he do to win over his middle-school dream girl? Balloon battle!

Wildfire

USA 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Adam Meeks

A dangerous forest fire threatens the faith and safety of a religious community in the Rocky Mountains.

SATURDAY, MAY 28 3:30 PM

An impactful collection of shorts that will engage you with their deep emotional insight as they explore critical historical events and powerful cultural stories.

The Black Belt

USA 2016, 11 minutes, Director: Margaret Brown

Follow the debate as Alabama closes critical public offices that are mostly in the heartland of many African-American communities.

Concerned Student 1950

USA 2016, 32 minutes, Directors: Adam Dietrich, Varun Bajaj

Three University of Missouri student filmmakers take an intimate look inside the protests that led to the resignation of President Tim Wolfe.

The Dean Scream

USA 2016, 10 minutes, Director: Bryan Storkel

Explore the political flight of Howard Dean’s historic battle cry and its timeless effect on his presidential bid.

Emory Douglas: The Art of the Black Panthers

USA 2015, 8 minutes, Directors: Andre Andreev, Dan Covert

Archival footage and in-depth interviews illuminate the story of Emory Douglas, a revolutionary artist and Minister of Culture for the Black Panther Party.

Life Smartphone

China 2015, 3 minutes, Director: Chenglin Xie

Smartphone addiction is taken to the extreme as we watch humans race towards isolation.

Speaking Is Difficult

USA 2016, 15 minutes, Director: AJ Schnack

A scene of tragedy unfolds, accompanied by fear, chaos, and disbelief. As the film rewinds into the past, retracing our memories, it tells a story about a cumulative history that is both unbearable and inevitable.

You Can Go

USA 2015, 10 minutes, Director: Christine Turner

A school administrator takes an emotional risk as she tries to reach out to a troubled student.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Uncharted Territories WTF?!

MONDAY, MAY 30 11:30 AM

From as far as South Africa to as close as your parent’s backyard, these films cross boundaries in surprising ways.

Alive & Kicking: The Soccer Grannies of South Africa

USA/South Africa 2016, 20 minutes, Director: Lara-Ann de Wet

Watch as this village’s elderly women lace up their cleats and start kicking their way to a better life.

Benjamin

Canada 2015, 17 minutes, Director: Sherren Lee

US Premiere

When a surrogate pregnancy ends in a stillbirth, two gay couples are faced with an impossible decision.

Dollhouse

USA 2016, 8 minutes, Director: Terri Timely

Creepy or lovable? Watch an obsessed baby-doll maker discuss her very unique craft.

Icebox

USA 2016, 27 minutes, Director: Daniel Sawka

World Premiere

Fleeing gang violence, a young boy from Honduras is arrested crossing the U.S. border and sent to an immigrant detention facility.

The Lasting Persimmon

Japan 2015, 15 minutes, Director: Kei Chikaura Risaki returns to her country home to experience the seemingly unchanging snowy lives of her beloved family.

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:30 PM

Think you know where you’re going? Guess again. These quick flicks will make you ask WTF?!

Beemus, It’ll End In Tears

USA 2016, 12 minutes, Director: Lauren Wolkstein

After receiving an eruptive vision of doom, a gym teacher attempts to prepare his PE students for their fate, but struggles to maintain control when an unlikely student leads them all to the last place anyone would think to seek refuge.

Bitchboy

Sweden 2016, 15 minutes, Director: Måns Berthas

World Premiere

Lukas, a young, dedicated metalhead, visits his recently departed grandfather at the hospital. His secret mission? Revenge.

The Boombox Saints

USA 2016, 12 minutes, Director: Taylor Gade

World Premiere

When JD’s best friend, Bill, a magical talking boom box, loses his ability to play music, the two go on a whirlwind adventure to get the music back.

Don’t Tell Mom

Japan 2015, 5 minutes, Director: Sawako Kabuki

An animated journey into human sexuality.

MeTube 2: August Sings Carmina Burana

Austria 2016, 6 minutes, Director: Daniel Moshel

The biggest, boldest, and sexiest operatic flash mob the internet has ever witnessed!

The Procedure

USA 2016, 4 minutes, Director: Calvin Lee Reeder

A man is captured and forced to endure a strange experiment.

Sumo Road ~The Musical~

Japan 2015, 25 minutes, Director: Ken Ochiai

An overweight exchange student with no friends decides to join the sumo team at a Japanese university, and must find a way to embrace the spirit of sumo.

Tampoon

USA 2015, 7 minutes, Director: Jeanne Jo

When Miranda makes bad decisions about her love life, a possessed tampon slips in to take care of business.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

ShortsFest Closing Night

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:30 PM

CINEMA UPTOWN

IIt is our great pleasure to wrap up our ShortsFest weekend with this collection of superb short films from around the world that exemplify the art of storytelling in all its variety. Comedy and drama, live action and animation—these films prove that short is truly sweet.

The Apartment

Israel 2015, 9 minutes, Director: Yotam Wax

After his girlfriend dumps him, Yotam shows their once-shared apartment to potential tenants in this comedic short.

Blue Borsalino

United Kingdom 2015, 16 minutes, Director: Mark Lobatto

When his client awakens from a coma, a retired private investigator reveals a hidden secret.

Hi How Are You Daniel Johnston

USA 2015, 16 minutes, Director: Gabriel Sunday

The iconic musician stars in this psychedelic short, revealing bittersweet truths about his dreams of yesteryear.

My Home

France 2015, 12 minutes, Director: Phuong Mai Nguyen

After his mother returns home, 12-year-old Hugo awakens to find black feathers all over his house.

Offline Dating

United Kingdom 2015, 6 minutes, Director: Samuel Abrahams

North American Premiere

Newly single Tom is challenged by a friend to find his next date IRL.

The Saint of Dry Creek

USA 2015, 4 minutes, Director: Julie Zammarchi

Patrick Haggerty recalls the day in rural 1950s Dry Creek, Washington, that he came out to his father.

Single Room Occupancy

USA 2016, 12 minutes, Directors: Alexander Lewis, Artemis Shaw

World Premiere

When the tide of gentrification reaches her Harlem tenement building, a former Bond Girl documents her mission to save it.

With Love

Chile/USA 2016, 15 minutes, Director: Stephen Cole Webley

World Premiere

A single mother is faced with a difficult decision that will define who she is—and how she loves.

SIFF

From breaking news to movie reviews and award-winning journalism,

The Seattle Times reflects the incredible variety of life in the Northwest. And now, you can try a digital subscription for just $1 FOR THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS ($3.99 a week thereafter).

On your computer, tablet and smartphone, seattletimes.com lets you stay in touch with the stories that matter. So take a few minutes during intermission to take advantage of this special SIFF deal, and start enjoying everything seattletimes.com has to offer.

Visit seattletimes.com/subscribe and use offer code SIFF2016 to subscribe now.

Shorts Before Features

The Big Dam

Switzerland/USA 2015, 14 minutes, Director: Samuel Grandchamp

A boy of 10 sets off on a weekend trip with his father to explore the largest dam in Europe. Screens before The Sound of Trees

The Commute

USA 2015, 14 minutes, Director: MIlla Prince

A movie about love, goats, and Volvos. Oh, and totally a social commentary on gentrification, small community dynamics, and Tolstoy’s place in the Western canon. Winner at the 2015 Orcas Island Film Festival. Screens before Finding

October

Driftwood Dustmites

Australia 2015, 10 minutes, Director: Malina Maria Mackiewicz

A girl sees her father kiss his new love for the first time since her mother’s death. Unable to sleep, she wakes up her younger sister for company.

Screens before Girl Asleep

First Contact

USA 2015, 2 minutes, Directors: Steven Paul Judd, Ryan Redcorn

Two Indigenous fellows debate whether to let visitors from across the big water come ashore. Screens before Mekko

Harlem on My Plate

USA 2015, 26 minutes, Directors: Rochelle Brown-Johnson, Sonia Armstead-Pittman

A cultural food journey from the Great Migration through the Harlem Renaissance to today. Screens before Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max

M.O.P.Z.

USA 2016, 11 minutes, Director: Todd Rohal

World Premiere

A lazy janitor builds a robot to do his dirty work. Screens before Another Evil.

Mobilize

Canada (Québec) 2015, 4 minutes, Director: Caroline Monnet

An energetic interplay of the traditional and modern lifestyles that Native American cultures maneuver every day. Screens before Before the Streets

Olympic Favela

Brazil/USA 2016, 17 minutes, Director: Marc Ohrem-Leclef

World Premiere

A poetic reflection on the places favela residents in Rio de Janeiro called home before the city government implemented policies of evictions and forced removals in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games. Screens before Red Gringo

Reborn

United Kingdom 2015, 5 minutes, Director: Andrew Margetson

A portrait of a star dancer coming back from a career-threatening injury.

Screens before Horizons

Simon’s Cat: Off to the Vet

United Kingdom 2015, 13 minutes, Director: Simon Tofield

Simon’s cat goes to great lengths to avoid an imminent visit to the vet.

Screens before Kedi

The Smell of Cedars Steeped in Rain

USA 2015, 12 minutes, Director: Eliza Goode

A love letter to Olympic National Park, to the Pacific Northwest, to the experience of letting yourself be immersed in nature and finding renewal.

Screens before The Memory of Fish

Superfan

USA 2016, 7 minutes, Director: Leigh Burmesch

World Premiere

The story of a diehard Seattle SuperSonics fan and his quest to bring NBA basketball back to Seattle. Screens before Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story.

SIFF is pleased to once again partner with The Seattle Times for the 10th annual 3 Minute Masterpiece contest.

SATURDAY, MAY 21 10:00 AM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Each year we challenge filmmakers around Seattle to create short, family-friendly films that last no longer than a mere three minutes, Any subject matter may be explored as long as there are no sex, violence, or obscenities.

There are several opportunities for awards and recognition for contest participants. Filmmakers under 18 are eligible for the J. Michael Rima Award, celebrating young Seattle directors. The winner of this award will have his or her film featured during the Festival’s FutureWave Shorts Program. Other winning films will be featured on The Seattle Times’ website as well as at the Festival. The Grand Prize winner will also receive one Full Series pass to this year’s Festival.

Here is a list of last year’s winners:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

Rhys Kroehler for Some Things Just Can’t Be Replaced

J. MICHAEL RIMA WINNER

Ryan Cass for Stand Up for Yourself

OTHER WINNERS

Batman Reigns, directed by Alicia Dejoie and Jim DeJoie

Chinese Takeout for One, directed by Phillip Nelson

Creative Process, directed by Andrea StuartLehalle

The Letter, directed by Kristina Colleen

Salaryman, directed by Andrew Franks

Stop Motion Piano, created by Christopher Richardson

when ori met gami, created by Alexander Lu

The Worthy James, filmed by Ben Ibale

FEATURE FILMS FROM A TO Z

For 42 years, SIFF has had the honor of curating films from around the world, giving Seattle audiences the international cinematic experience they crave. This is the power of film, where an audience can be transported from a darkened theater in the Pacific Northwest to anywhere on Earth in just a few minutes. All you need is a ticket, a place to sit, and an open mind.

Elsewhere in this catalog, we have broken down our feature film listings by genre (see Moods, page 31) and grouped them in traditional subject categories (see Film Programs, beginning on page 85). On the following pages, however, we’re offering you the whole world of cinema at once with our alphabetized list of feature films.

With a program that literally spans the globe, each page allows you to discover worlds both familiar and unknown, from getting up close and personal with some pachyderms at a Botswanan elephant rescue camp to escaping into the thick wilderness of the New Zealand countryside. Time-travel back to high school in the ’90s, or see how a simple dish of hummus can bridge religious and political differences. Hop on a bike and join the all-grrrl bike gang the Ovarian Psycos as they ride to fight oppression in Los Angeles, and sit down with musical legend David Byrne as he facilitates a strange spin on a color-guard competition in Brooklyn. Escape to a glitzy Warsaw nightclub and try not to fall under the spell of the main act: two siren sisters who would rather eat you than sing “Part of Your World.” And if you’re yearning for simpler times, ask how many middle-schoolers know who Slenderman is, and then be sure not to follow them into the woods.

With more than 260 films from 85 countries for 25 days every spring (and more year-round at SIFF Cinema!), we bring you the whole wide wonderful world, from A to Z!

FILMMAKER? WHAT MAKES A

The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 9:00 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 8:30 PM

The most prolific maker of 19th- and early 20th-century-style films still lives today. Over the years, director Guy Maddin has charmed and sometimes confused SIFF audiences by blending the earnest naiveté of cinema’s earliest decades with a bemused absurdism. The result is a series of movies unlike anything made before or since. French documentarian Yves Montmayeur caught up with him at Maddin’s 2012 installation, Seances, at the Pompidou Center in Paris, where he worked with actors like Udo Kier, Geraldine Chaplin, and Maria de Medeiros to summon lost films that were either destroyed or never made. (Note: Seattle cinematographer and frequent Maddin collaborator Ben Kasulke can be seen several times.) Along with Kier, actress Isabella Rossellini and others talk about what it’s like to work with this mad filmmaker from Winnipeg, while John Waters speaks in admiration of his filmmaking and fetishes, as seen in movies like Sissy-Boy Slap Party or the seemingly proincest themes in Careful. Montmayeur gets Maddin to talk not only about the inspiration of historical films, but his own history of growing up in a “gynocracy” of women in his mom’s beauty salon. The 1,000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin is perfect for those who already know his films as well as those who’d like to know more about them.

Awards: Venice International Film Festival 2015 (Venezia Classici Award for Best Documentary on Cinema)

11:55

USA 2016

SIFF FILM CENTER

SIFF FILM CENTER

Director: Yves Montmayeur

Producer: Thierry Tripod

Screenwriter: Yves Montmayeur

Cinematographer: Yves Montmayeur

Editor: Fabien Bouillaud

Music: Manorexia

J.G. Thirlwell

Featuring: Guy Maddin

Udo Kier

Stephen Quay

Timothy Quay

Isabella Rossellini

Running Time: 65 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Taskovski Films

Print Source: Taskovski Films

Film Website: taskovskifilms. com/?film=the1000-eyes-of-dr-maddin

Selected Filmography:

Michael H. Profession: Director (Doc, 2013)

L’incertitude des Choses (Doc, 2013)

Pinku Eiga: Inside the Pleasure Dome of Japanese Erotic Cinema (Doc, 2011)

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 5:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 2:00 PM

Nelson (Victor Almanzar, “Empire”) is a Marine returning home to Holyoke, Massachusetts, following his deployment. Change is in the air: His younger sister is now a teenager and the rest of his family seems to be back on their feet. His homecoming begins a new chapter for everyone in their community, from his close friends to his beloved girlfriend Livvy. As he readjusts to the pace of civilian life, we realize many of the issues he thought were buried have now come back to haunt him, including his involvement in a drug-related crime. In 11:55, audiences are invited to follow Nelson’s first day back from his morning arrival to what could be the final minutes of his life, facing those who are seeking vengeance. Is Nelson able to confront his enemies while also living up to the positive image that he brought back with him to erase his past? Almanzar leads a stellar cast, including a powerful performance by Elizabeth Rodriguez (“Orange Is the New Black”) that will leave audiences on edge until the clock strikes 11:55pm.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Directors:

Ari Issler

Ben Snyder

Producers: Danny Mendoza

Joshua Blum

Gia Walsh

Kara Baker

Matthew Thurm

Screenwriters: Ari Issler

Ben Snyder

Victor Almanzar

Cinematographer: Tim Gillis

Editor: Ray Hubley

Music:

H. Scott Salinas

Cast: Victor Almanzar

Shirley Rumierk

Elizabeth Rodriguez

David Zayas

Julia Stiles

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source: Danny Mendoza

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

13 Minutes

GERMANY 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 7:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 23 6:30 PM

With 13 Minutes, director Oliver Hirschbiegel and screenwriter Fred Breinersdorfer return to the era that brought them international acclaim, having previously recounted the Holocaust with, respectively, the Oscarnominated films Downfall and Sophie Scholl

On November 6, 1939, German musician, carpenter, and pacifist Georg Elser (Christian Friedel, The White Ribbon) painstakingly sets a bomb underneath the lectern at the Bürgerbräukeller, a beer hall in Munich, then flees for Switzerland. Two days later, Adolf Hitler gives a rousing speech there, mere feet away from the explosive device. The bomb detonates 13 minutes after the Führer leaves, leveling the building and killing several innocent people. When Elser finds out his assassination attempt has failed, he is already in custody, having been arrested at the Swiss border with detailed schematics on his person. The Nazis waste no time brutally interrogating the man, intent on revealing a wider conspiracy despite Elser’s truthful insistence he acted alone. Cutting between his incarceration at the hands of the Gestapo and flashbacks to his life in the early 1930s, where EIser witnessed his bucolic surroundings being swallowed up by the encroachment of the Third Reich, we witness the machinations that stirred an apolitical man to activism and the agonizing aftermath of a plan gone wrong.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

LINCOLN SQUARE

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Producers:

Boris Ausserer

Oliver Schündler

Fred Breinersdorfer

Screenwriters: Fred Breinersdorfer

Léonie-Claire

Breinersdorfer

Cinematographer: Judith Kaufmann

Editor:

Alexander Dittner

Music:

David Holmes

Cast: Christian Friedel

Katharina Schüttler

Burghart Klaussner

Johann von Bülow

Felix Eitner

David Zimmerschied

Rüdiger Klink

Running Time:

108 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Beta Cinema

Print Source:

Sony Pictures Classics

Film Website: betacinema. com/13minutes

Selected Filmography:

Diana (2013)

Five Minutes of Heaven (2009)

The Invasion (2007)

Downfall (2004)

The Experiment (2001)

3000 Nights

PALESTINE/FRANCE/SWITZERLAND 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

TUESDAY, MAY 24 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN 3000

A simple good deed leads to an unimaginable nightmare for a young, newly-married Palestinian schoolteacher, when, in the middle of the night, she is arrested in the occupied West Bank. Her crime: giving a ride to a wounded teenage boy, who, unbeknownst to her, went on to execute an attack on a military checkpoint. Despite the pleading advice from her husband and lawyer, the woman, Layal, refuses to testify against the boy in court, not being able to lie and say he violently threatened her. Sentenced to eight years in a highsecurity Israeli prison housing both Palestinian political prisoners and Israeli criminals, Layal finds out that she’s pregnant. Choosing to have the baby and raise him while she’s incarcerated becomes a beacon of hope in the midst of a dismal situation. Shot in a military prison in Jordan and the first narrative feature by Palestinian documentarian Mai Masri (Beirut Diaries), 3000 Nights is a gripping tale of injustice and betrayal, as well as empowerment and the triumph of the human spirit.

Awards: Valladolid Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director: Mai Masri

Producers: Sabine Sidawi

Mai Masri

Charlotte Uzu

Screenwriter: Mai Masri

Cinematographer: Gilles Porte

Editor:

Michele Tyan

Cast:

Maisa Abd Elhadi

Nadera Omran

Raida Adon

Karim Saleh

Abir Haddad

Rakeen Saad

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Intramovies

Print Source: Intramovies

Film Website: intramovies.com

Selected Filmography:

Beirut Diaries: Truth, Lies and Videos (Doc, 2006)

L’ACCADEMIA DELLE MUSE

The Academy of Muses

SPAIN 2015

MONDAY, JUNE 6 9:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 4:30 PM

At turns playful and profound, the latest film from Spanish master José Luis Guerín (In the City of Sylvia, Guest) is a witty, exquisite mixture of high-minded intellectual discourse nestled in a playpen of earthy desires. University of Barcelona philology professor Raffaele Pinto introduces his largely female class, including the fierce, defensive Emanuela, sensitive Mireia, and freewheeling poet Carolina, to his concept of the importance of muses through the ages—their role in the creation of art and culture, music and poetry. Seeing through the professor’s tricks of using high-minded academic discourse in the pursuit of more carnal longings, his no-nonsense wife, fellow professor Rosa Delor Muns, quickly calls him out, leading to a fresh, funny, and energetic discourse on the nature of power, language, and desire. A lively, formally daring blend of fiction and documentary, The Academy of Muses is a most improbable romantic comedy, dense with ideas yet lighthearted throughout. Developed with and performed by real-life professors and their students, this sublime and sexy triumph stimulates the mind and the heart in equal measure.

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: José Luis Guerín

Producer: José Luis Guerín

Screenwriter: José Luis Guerín

Cinematographer: José Luis Guerín

Editor: José Luis Guerín

Music:

Marisol Nievas

Cast: Raffaele Pinto

Emanuela Forgetta

Rosa Delor Muns

Mireia Iniesta

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Perspective Films

Print Source: Grasshopper Films

Selected Filmography: Memories of a Morning (Doc, 2011)

Correspondences: Jonas

Mekas - J. L. Guerín (Doc, 2011)

Guest (Doc, 2010)

Unas fotos en la ciudad de Sylvia (Doc, 2007)

En construcción (2001)

Tren de sombras (1997)

Innisfree (Doc, 1990)

City Life (Doc, 1990)

Berta’s Motives (1985)

ACTION KOMMANDANT

Action Comandante

SOUTH AFRICA/LESOTHO 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 12:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

“Don’t mourn for me. Organize.” Ashley Kriel sings these words in a haunting final recording made days before his murder at the hands of South African police in July 1987. Kriel, a 20-year-old anti-apartheid activist and protest leader, was known as the “Che Guevara of Bonteheuwel” and was one of the freedom fighters mentioned by name in Nelson Mandela’s speech upon his release from prison in 1990. In addition to Kriel’s life—told through the voices of his family and a variety of fellow freedom fighters who fought alongside him— Action Comandante also scrutinizes the South African Truth and Reconciliation trials, especially the contentious testimony by the officer who admitted to killing Kriel. Director Nadine Angel Cloete brings her youthful vitality to this portrait with energetic editing and propulsive musical transitions, amplifying Kriel’s intense speeches and the dangerous stories of activism in a country desperately trying to hold onto its antiquated values. It is surprising that, almost 30 years after his death, this is the first feature film to examine his cultural importance and place in South African history. Still, it is an important lesson for all who seek to be inspired by someone who saw injustice and fought to make the world a better place.

Director: Nadine Angel Cloete

Producer: Nadine Angel Cloete

Screenwriters: Zulfah Otto-Sallies

Muneera Sallies

Jarryn Katia

Nadine Angel Cloete

Cinematographers: Christopher Wessels

Dylan Valley

Eeb Hajee

JJ Harris

Kurt Orderson

Editor: Khalid Shamis

Music:

Kyle Shepherd

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: BluRay

Print Source: Ma’engere Film Productions

Film Website: actionkommandant.co.za

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Aisha

TANZANIA 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 24 4:00 PM

TUESDAY, MAY 31 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

RENTON IKEA PAC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 6:00 PM ARK LODGE

Returning home to her village for her sister’s wedding, city businesswoman Aisha looks forward to revisiting family and friends from her youth. Her new status makes her stick out within the community, but she is happy that her childhood sweetheart wants to reconnect. Their intended rendezvous is the gossip of the town, and, though both are now married to others, it becomes apparent that her former flame expects more than a night of reminiscing. When she rejects his advances, he retaliates brutally, and Aisha must find the strength within to fight for justice in a social system that can only see that she was “asking for it.” Aisha is an exceptional debut from director Chande Omar, who has captured a star-making turn from Godliver Gordian in the title role; Aisha’s character arc requires Gordian to journey from naive outsider through hopelessness to, ultimately, empowered determination without striking a false note. Supported by gorgeous cinematography of urban and rural Tanzania, Aisha is a moving and socially conscious feminist tale that raises the bar for Tanzanian film production.

Director:

Chande Omar

Producer:

Amil Shivji

Screenwriter: Hamadu Mwapachu

Cinematographer: Takura Maurayi

Editor:

Momose Cheyo

Music:

Vital Maembe

Julian Gordon-hastings

Cast:

Godliver Gordian

Adarusi Walii

Flora Nicholas

Juma Madenge

Running Time: 112 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Swahili, with English subtitles

Print Source: Uzikwasa

Selected Filmography: Chukua Pipi (2010) Mwari Kavunja Ungo (Doc, 2006)

All the Birds Have Flown South

WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 11:30 AM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Stephen’s (Paul Sparks, “Boardwalk Empire,” Midnight Special) mother has just passed away, and he spends his time roaming through her untouched house full of pink bedspreads and porcelain dolls, fondling her dentures, and driving her classic car around town. His dull despondence is interrupted when he spots a chain-smoking waitress named Tonya (Joey Lauren Adams, Chasing Amy, Mallrats) working at the local diner and gives her a ride home. Instantly obsessed and wanting to be closer to her, Stephen even offers to help Tonya take care of her sick and abusive husband—giving them rides to the hospital and staying with him at the shoddy motel they live in. At first hesitant, Tonya eventually begins to accept this awkward stranger’s help—after all, with a bad drug habit, a sick husband, and a low-paying job, she can use all the help she can get. But as Stephen’s unsettling delusions of love deepen, Tonya’s struggle with addiction and poverty become more and more intense, until all three lives begin to rapidly spiral toward tragedy. This gritty Southern psychological thriller delivers a profoundly ominous tone, with sparse dialogue, a suspense-building score, and raw performances by both Adams and Sparks.

Directors:

Joshua H. Miller

Miles B. Miller

Producer:

Kathryn Francis Tucker

Screenwriters: Joshua H. Miller

Miles B. Miller

Cinematographer: Gabe Mayhan

Editors:

Les Galusha

Russ Galusha

Music:

Joey Santiago

Cast:

Paul Sparks

Joey Lauren Adams

Dallas Roberts

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: broke down south

Film Website: facebook.com/allthebirds

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

HON-JA

Alone

SOUTH KOREA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 9:00 PM

TUESDAY, MAY 31 8:30 PM

MONDAY, JUNE 6 4:00 PM

Su-min has had a strange day. After witnessing and taking long-lens photos of a vicious attack on the rooftop across from his, he was hunted down by the criminals and bludgeoned to death with a hammer. But that’s not even the strangest part—the weird thing is he woke up, physically fine, naked, and in the center of town. Su-min finds himself wandering through a rambling, decaying cityscape, filled with stairways to nowhere, twisted alleyways, and unfamiliar houses, until his perpetrators inevitably find him and murder him again. And again. And again. Each time he wakes up in a different area of this maze-like neighborhood, questioning his never-ending existence, running into characters from different periods of his life, and unable to wake up from this incessant nightmare. Filmed in an underdeveloped part of Seoul and using dynamic long takes, Alone achieves a genuinely unsettling dreamlike atmosphere, with optic twists and turns akin to the art of M.C. Escher. South Korean director Park Hong-min delivers a mind-altering psycho-thriller, pushed along by a unique narrative structure and a beautifully claustrophobic visual style that tangles the viewer in one man’s descent into paranoia.

PACIFIC PLACE

RENTON IKEA PAC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Park Hong-min

Producer: Cha Hye-jin

Screenwriters: Cha Hye-jin

Cinematographer: Kim Byeong-jung

Editor: Park Hong-min

Music:

Oh Su-jin

Cast:

Lee Ju-won

Song You-hyun

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Korean, with English subtitles

International Sales: M-Line Distribution

Print Source: M-Line Distribution

Film Website: mline-distribution.com

Selected Filmography: A Fish (2011)

AMAMA: When a Tree Falls

SPAIN 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 9:00 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

When a Basque family’s eldest son opts not to take over the family farm, sensitive daughter Amaia (Iraiá Eliás) steps in to convince their controlling father Tomás (Kandido Uranga) of the inevitability of change. A film of rare lyricism and visual poetry, writer/director Asier Altuna’s first solo dramatic feature is a sumptuous and deeply felt exploration of the struggle to maintain the customs that form identity against the inevitability of change. Symbolically rich and rooted in tremendous performances by a largely non-professional cast, AMAMA is steeped in Basque tradition but tells a universal tale of ancestry, generational divide, and the demands of progress.

Awards: San Sebastian Film Festival 2015 (Irizar Award)

Director: Asier Altuna

Producer: Marian Fernández

Screenwriter: Asier Altuna

Cinematographer: Javi Aguirre

Editor: Laurent Dufreche

Music: Javi P3z

Mursego

Cast: Iraiá Eliás

Kandido Uranga

Amparo Badiola

Klara Badiola

Ander Lipus

Nagore Aranburu

Manu Uranga

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Basque, with English subtitles

International Sales: Atera Films

Print Source: Atera Films

Film Website: aterafilms.com/en/ amama-when-a-tree-falls

Selected Filmography: Bertsolari (2011) Aupa Etxebeste! (2005)

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 6:00 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 4:00 PM

Avery Wells (David Call, James White) wakes up in a strange house, head throbbing due to a forced detox session, unsure of where he is. Once a sought-after film editor, he has spent an untold amount of years destroying his life with rampant alcohol and substance abuse. A familiar voice emanates from the other side of the room: Caleb (Jack Davenport, Kingsman: The Secret Service), a San Francisco film producer, has brought Avery to San Francisco to complete the edit on a film stuck in postproduction, a drama called Americana starring Avery’s estranged sister Kate (Kelli Garner, “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe”). Avery now has a chance to stay clean and reconnect with family, but he soon starts receiving menacing calls from a mysterious stranger threatening to reveal the darkest of Avery’s secrets—threats impossible to ignore when Kate is murdered after a boozy party. As Avery searches for an answer for why his sister was killed, and as he allows his addiction to cloud his judgment more and more, he begins to realize that his search may just be a reaction to the lies he’s told since falling off the wagon. Inspired by the paranoid nail-biters of the 1970s and set against the foggy skies, claustrophobic rooms, and twisty streets of the City by the Bay, Americana is a tense indie thriller about facing the consequences of an ugly past.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Zachary Shedd

Producers:

Matthew Petock

Lisa Kjerulff

Daniel Patrick Carbone

Zachary Shedd

Screenwriter: Zachary Shedd

Cinematographer: Justin Foster

Editor:

Saela Davis

Music:

Jeremy Turner

Cast: David Call

Jack Davenport

Kelli Garner

Peter Coyote

Frank Mosley

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source: Flies Collective

Film Website: fliescollective.com/#/ americana

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Angry Indian Goddesses

INDIA 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, MAY 27 6:00 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

Frieda (Sarah Jane Dias), a successful photographer, is getting married. On the eve of her wedding, she gathers her friends living all across India to a ramshackle beachside villa in the state of Goa. The diverse group includes a businesswoman, an aspiring actress, a housewife, a singer/songwriter, and the house servant. There’s only one problem: She won’t say who her fiancé is. Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette party that lasts not a night, but a full week. Through the festivities, the group discusses everything from the benefits of a super-hot (shirtless) next-door neighbor to the daily sexual harassment they face. No subject is off limits as these women depict, frankly and sometimes humorously, what it means to be a woman in this rapidly changing country. Their bond of friendship brought them all together, and by the end of the week it will take them to extreme lengths. Director Pan Nalin has crafted a film, derived entirely from the actor’s improvisations, that turns the tables on the Bollywood cliché of damsels in distress. Cranking the amp up to 11, these goddesses scream, “Grrl power!”

Awards:

Rome International Film Festival 2015 (BNL People’s Choice Award, Best Feature Film)

Toronto International Film Festival 2015 (First Runner Up, Grolsch People’s Choice Award, Feature Film)

Director: Pan Nalin

Producers: Gaurav Dhingra

Pan Nalin

Screenwriters: Pan Nalin

Subhadra Mahajan

Dilip Shankar

Arsala Qureishi

Cinematographer: Swapnil S. Sonawane

Editor: Shreyas Beltangdy

Music: Cyril Morin

Cast: Sarah Jane Dias

Amrit Maghera

Rajshri Deshpande

Pavleen Gujral

Sandhya Mridul

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English and Hindi, with English subtitles

International Sales: Mongrel International

Print Source: Jungle Book Entertainment

Film Website: aigthefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Faith Connections (Doc, 2013)

Valley of Flowers (2006)

Ayurveda : Art of Being (Doc, 2001)

Samsara (2001)

Amazing World India (Doc, 1999)

The Devadasi (Doc, 1997)

Kaal (1996)

The Nagas (Doc, 1994)

The Tulkus (1993)

Another Evil USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28 MIDNIGHT

MONDAY, JUNE 6 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Director Carson Mell takes on the horrorcomedy genre in his feature debut. After a tense family game of charades with their 20-year-old son, married couple Dan (Steve Zisiss, “Togetherness”) and Mary (Jennifer Irwin, “Eastbound & Down”) discover a seemingly malevolent supernatural force in their spacious summerhouse. When their first consultation with a ghost-hunter results in nothing more than some empty cans of Arizona Iced Tea and a shrug of the shoulders, Dan secretly hires Os (Mark Proksch, “The Office”), an offbeat exorcist who promises to rid their house of two spirits he deems as “EFD”: Evil Fully Determined. With his family away for a while, Dan and Os develop a strange friendship based on beer, ghosthunting, and incredible self-esteem issues. When the hunting gets a bit too over-the-top, Dan begins to think that the real evil here is the stranger he invited in, and things quickly get out of hand. Zisiss and Proksch’s comedic chemistry is completely satisfying in a film more Shaun of the Dead than Paranormal Activity—with, at one point, Proksch’s character going from drunkenly telling the story of an intimate encounter with Satan in a red leather dress to crying about cat-hoarding and his recent divorce.

PRECEDED BY:

M.O.P.Z.

USA 2016, 11 minutes. Director: Todd Rohal World Premiere

A lazy janitor builds a robot to do his dirty work.

Director: Carson D. Mell

Producers: Sebastian Pardo

Riel Roch-Decter

Screenwriter: Carson D. Mell

Cinematographer: Drew Bienemann

Editor: Alex O’Flinn

Music:

White Dove

Cast: Steve Zissis

Mark Proksch

Jennifer Irwin

Dax Flame

Steve Little

Dan Bakkedahl

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: UTA

Print Source: Bec Smith

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Antonia

ITALY/GREECE 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 6:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 2:30 PM

“And then—if it happens I go away—/there’ll remain something/of me/in my world.” Antonia Pozzi was just a young woman when she passed away by her own hand at age 26. An extremely talented poetess, her work was soft, sensual, and strangely prophetic when it came to her own mortality. Published only posthumously, Pozzi’s work has since become highly celebrated. Director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s dreamy biopic chronicles the last decade of the young poet’s life, observing her first romantic infatuation with her high-school professor, her struggle to find her own voice, her passion for nature and rock-climbing in the Dolomites, and the overwhelming languor and depression that soon fell over her. Alternating between shots of her hand-scrawled diaries and poems to significant moments in her short life, we’re taken on the same journey from metaphor to reality and back again that Pozzi had been on since she began writing. Stylishly filmed to capture the essence of wealthy Milan in the 1930s, with costuming by the Italian luxury designer Fendi and impeccably detailed set design, the lush atmosphere of Antonia mimics to a T the amorous and wistful tone of Pozzi’s poetry.

Awards:

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015 (Special Jury Mention, Best Feature Film)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Ferdinando Cito

Filomarino

Producers: Luca Guadagnino

Marco Morabito

Screenwriters: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino

Carlo Salsa

Cinematographer: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom

Editor: Walter Fasano

Cast: Linda Caridi

Filippo Dini

Alessio Praticó

Luca Lo Monaco

Perla Ambrosini

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Curator Films

Print Source: Curator Films

Film Website: curator-films.com/ antonia.html

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Ants on a Shrimp

NETHERLANDS 2016 US PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

MONDAY, MAY 23 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Ants on a Shrimp takes its title from one of the several unique dishes served at master chef René Redzepi’s new restaurant: literally raw jumbo prawns covered in tiny black ants. This documentary follows Redzepi as he relocates his Copenhagen-based restaurant, Noma, and its entire staff to Tokyo. Noma, a twoMichelin-star establishment, has been named “Best Restaurant in the World” by “Restaurant Magazine” in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014. Director Maurice Dekkers observes the struggles and triumphs of Noma and Redzepi as he attempts to incorporate his philosophy of using only local ingredients in an entirely new environment. His team must work with elements that they are completely unfamiliar with in order to create a brand-new 14-course menu that still feels consonant with Noma’s Denmark location. One particularly odd new item on the menu is a dish consisting of deepfried fish sperm, which Redzepi claims “tastes better than fish” itself. Although that particular meal might be only for the bolder palates among us, Ants on a Shrimp—the movie, not the dish—is sure to be a tasty snack for all who watch.

Director: Maurice Dekkers

Producers:

Nelsje Musch-Elzinga

Dan Blazer

Screenwriter: Maurice Dekkers

Cinematographer: Hans Bouma

Editor: Pelle Asselbergs

Music:

Nicolas Jaar

Featuring: René Redzepi

Lars Williams

Rosio Sanchez

Thomas Frebel

Dan Giusti

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in English and Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Fortissimo Films

Print Source:

Sundance Selects

Film Website: fortissimofilms.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Architect

USA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE SATURDAY, MAY 21 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Shot in and around Seattle, The Architect is a comedy about the many challenges of making a good home. Drew (Parker Posey, Best in Show) and Colin (Eric McCormack, “Will & Grace”) are a married couple going through the stress of buying a new house. She is artistically inclined and prefers more vintage properties, while he is practical and leans more toward new construction. They do find one they can agree on, but, this being a comedy, the day after they close a freak windstorm destroys it. They ask their friends for recommendations for an architect to build a new home on the old land, and end up with Miles Moss (James Frain), a modernist architect with unconventional methods. Drew loves that he asks the couple about feelings and inspirations, but Colin doesn’t see the point. As the married couple fights about what should go into their dream home, they come together in the realization that Miles may be making his dream house instead of theirs. Posey is a complete delight as Drew as she struggles to figure out what exactly she wants in a home that would distinguish it from being just a house. Meanwhile, McCormack brings a charming fastidiousness and efficiency to Colin that will please more than just fans of “Will & Grace.” The Architect is the fourth film from Jonathan Parker, who started strong in his filmmaking career with the Crispin Glover indie hit Bartleby (2001).

Director: Jonathan Parker

Producers:

Catherine di Napoli

Jonathan Parker

Deborah Parker

Patrick Peach

Screenwriters:

Jonathan Parker

Catherine di Napoli

Cinematographer: Svetlana Cvetko

Editor: David Scott Smith

Music: Niels Bye Nielson

Jonathan Parker

Cast: Parker Posey

Eric McCormack

James Frain

John Carroll Lynch

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Artist View Entertainment

Print Source: Parker Film Company

Film Website: architect-movie.com

Selected Filmography: (Untitled) (2008)

The Californians (2005) Bartleby (2001

Arianna

ITALY 2015

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 5:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Arianna was born three times: once at the beginning of her life, again a few years later as a little girl, and once more at age 19. Director Carlo Lavagna’s first feature tells the story of a young woman who, as she becomes more aware of her body and sexuality, also becomes more aware that something may be amiss. Arianna spends a great deal of time comparing herself to other girls her age—she has to wear a hormone patch to help the development of her breasts and, hopefully, bring on her first period. After telling her parents to leave her behind at her childhood lake house over the summer to study, that’s exactly what Arianna does: She studies her body, her strengths and weaknesses when it comes to her sexuality, and even investigates her medical records to solve the mystery of herself. Lavagna’s belated coming-of-age film is a gentle and introspective look at the subject of intersexuality and the emotional isolation one woman faces on her journey of self-discovery.

Awards:

Dallas International Film Festival 2016 (Jury Prize for Acting)

Director: Carlo Lavagna

Producers: Tommaso Bertani

Carlo Lavagna

Screenwriters: Carlo Lavagna

Carlo Salsa

Chiara Barzani

Cinematographer: Helénè Louvart

Editor: Lizi Gelber

Music: Emanuele de Raymondi

Cast: Ondina Quadri

Massimo Popolizio

Valentina Carnelutti

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Rai Com

Print Source: Uncork’d Entertainment

Film Website: uncorkedentertainment. com/film/arianna/

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

A PEINE J’OUVRE LES YEUX

As I Open My Eyes

TUNISIA/FRANCE/BELGIUM/UNITED

FRIDAY, MAY 20 6:30 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 21 1:30 PM

On the eve of the 2010 uprising that toppled Tunisia’s longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Farah is going through some turmoil of her own. Her family is thrilled that she’s been accepted to medical school, but Farah would rather study music. The lead singer in a politically charged rock band that’s just beginning to get noticed, she’s enthralled by the success of their first few gigs. Meanwhile her mother, Heyet, sees something of her rebellious younger self in her daughter and, recognizing the dangers to which Farah is oblivious, is determined to protect her. But the fact is there are limits to the protection she can offer, as well as larger questions about the insidious way that regimes enlist people in their own oppression. In the six years since the Jasmine Revolution, fictional reenactments of the events that catalyzed the Arab Spring have come into their own. Leyla Bouzid’s impressive debut, featuring a captivating performance by Baya Medhaffer as Farah and a fantastic soundtrack that fuses traditional Arab mezwed music with pop, is a powerful coming-of-age story that’s also about the awakening of a nation.

Awards:

Dubai International Film Festival 2015 (Best Fiction Film)

Venice International Film Festival 2015 (People’s Choice Award, Europa Cinemas Label Award)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Leyla Bouzid

Producers: Sandra Da Fonseca

Imed Marzouk

Screenwriters: Leyla Bouzid

Marie-Sophie Chambon

Cinematographer: Sebastien Goepfert

Editor: Lilian Corbeille

Music: Khyam Allami

Cast: Baya Medhaffer

Ghalia Benali

Montassar Ayari

Aymen Omrani

Lassaad Jamoussi

Running Time: 102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Doc & Film International

Print Source: Kino Lorber

Film Website: kinolorber.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

CORAÇÃO ATLÂNTICO

As You Are USA 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:00 PM

FRIDAY, MAY 27 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Set within the framework of a police investigation, As You Are is a tale of confused adolescence and yearning in ’90s upstate New York. Jack (Owen Campbell, “The Americans”) is a loner who keeps to himself—never fitting in and never really wanting to—spending his time skateboarding down the streets of his neighborhood. When his mom (Mary Stuart Masterson, Fried Green Tomatoes) begins dating Tom (Scott Cohen, “Gilmore Girls”), an ex-military security guard, Jack is forced into a friendship with his son, charismatic and rebellious Mark (Charlie Heaton), and they eventually all move in together. Sarah (Amandla Stenberg, The Hunger Games) joins the mix when she gets in the middle of a squabble between the boys and some bullies at a local diner, and the three become instantly inseparable, spending their days skipping school, getting stoned, listening to music, and pretending to ignore the sexual tension building around them. However, the increasingly controlling and violent behavior of Mark’s dad soon threatens the group’s comfortable friendship, and complications give way to tragedy. The relationship among the three and the mysterious events that led up to one fateful day in the woods are pieced together through interrogation videos and flashbacks in a self-assured directorial debut by 23-yearold Miles Joris-Peyrafitte.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize)

Director:

Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Producers:

Brent Stiefel

Sean Burke

Justin Lothrop

Joseph Mastantuono

Screenwriters: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Madison Harrison

Cinematographer: Caleb Heymann

Editor:

Abbi Jutkowitz

Music:

Patrick Higgins

Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

Cast:

Owen Campbell

Charlie Heaton

Amandla Stenberg

Mary Stuart Masterson

Scott Cohen

Running Time:

105 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: Votiv

Film Website: asyouare.movie

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Atlantic Heart

CAPE VERDE/UNITED KINGDOM 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 6:00 PM

MONDAY, JUNE 6 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

An exotic island off the coast of West Africa with a rich colonial past, Cape Verde is the home of Lucas and Telma, two teen siblings of a largely absent alcoholic father who are scraping by any way they can. While Telma is largely absent with her new boyfriend, Lucas finds himself on a life-altering journey as he struggles to find a puppy he has inherited. The Carnival celebration is about to begin and the authorities are rounding up and killing all the feral dogs in the city, which sends Lucas frantically searching every favela and street market to find the puppy and get him a collar. Throughout his odyssey, he will encounter his gambling father, be surreally accosted by a gang of painted “natives,” and uncover that his sister has fallen into a challenging situation much more serious than she comprehends. Writer/director Robbie McCallum captures the seedy underbelly of paradise with an engrossing story told with tremendous authenticity and community collaboration. Featuring wonderfully naturalistic performances from his young performers, Atlantic Heart is a view of a culture seldom seen and not easily forgotten.

Director: Robbie McCallum

Producers: Sue Ferguson

Sarah Wilby

Screenwriter: Robbie McCallum

Cinematographer: PJ Palomaki

Editor: John MacDonald

Music:

The Insects

Cast:

Elton Medina

Aurizania Monteiro

Julio Brito

Christian Neves

José “Bana” Delgado

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Kriolu, with English subtitles

Print Source: The Brighton Brothers

Film Website: atlanticheart.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Author: The JT LeRoy Story USA 2016

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:00 PM

SHORELINE CC

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In 1999, Jeremiah “Terminator” LeRoy burst into the American literary consciousness. His highly accomplished and critically acclaimed first novel, “Sarah,” purported to be a roman á clef of the author’s tragic early life—the HIV-positive child of a lot-lizard prostitute who’d pimped out the cross-dressed LeRoy at truck stops throughout the South. Adding to LeRoy’s mystique was his own reclusiveness, refusing to attend his own public readings; when he eventually did begin to make appearances, he was always dressed in a heavy blond wig, hat, and sunglasses. However, LeRoy’s reputation crumbled when an October 2005 article in “New York” magazine revealed he didn’t exist at all—he was just the fever-dream creation of Laura Albert, a 40-year-old San Francisco punk rocker and phone-sex operator. Director Jeff Feuerzeig (The Devil and Daniel Johnston) brings LeRoy/ Albert’s astonishing story to film, featuring extensive interviews with Albert as she recounts the journey from JT LeRoy’s inception during a crisis-hotline phone call to the dizzying heights of celebrity, during which she recruited her sister-in-law to be the reallife stand-in for LeRoy. Author: The JT Leroy Story is a fascinating dissection of the fame, sensationalism, and outrage that surrounded the literary “avatar”—some say hoax—Albert created.

LA ADOPCIÓN

Awaiting

SPAIN/LITHUANIA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 8:30 PM

Director: Jeff Feuerzeig

Producers: Jeff Feuerzeig

Danny Gabai

Jim Czarnecki

Molly Thompson

Brett Ratner

Screenwriter: Jeff Feuerzeig

Cinematographer: Richard Henkels

Editor: Michelle M. Witten

Featuring: Laura Albert

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography: The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Doc, 2005)

Half Japanese: The Band

That Would Be King (Doc, 1993)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Well-heeled and eager to create a family, Spanish couple Natalia (Nora Navas, Goya Award-winning actress for Black Bread) and Daniel (Francesc Garrido, The Sea Inside) travel to Lithuania to realize their dreams of becoming adoptive parents. Things don’t work out as smoothly as anticipated, and they find themselves unknowingly stepping into a nightmarish world of thwarted expectations, unending shakedowns, and the whims of an indifferent government. With the clock ticking and an unbearable pressure exposing the cracks in their marriage, Daniel and Natalia must navigate a cold and brutal bureaucracy in order to survive as a couple, and hopefully make it out as a family. Writer (along with Alejo Flah) and director Daniela Fejerman (My Mother Likes Women) crafts this tense, absorbing emotional roller-coaster rooted in her own personal experience threading through the maze of international adoption. Bolstered with a terrific turn by Larisa Kalpokaite as a bureaucrat whose intentions are never clear, Awaiting is at once a searing family drama and a truly unforgettable thriller.

Director: Daniela Fejerman

Producers: Gerardo Herrero

Ramunas Skikas

Screenwriters: Daniela Fejerman

Alejo Flah

Cinematographer: Juan Carlos Gómez

Editor:

Teresa Font

Music: Xavier Capellas

Cast: Nora Navas

Francesc Garrido

Larissa Kalpokaite

Vytautas Kaniušonis

Šarūnas Puidokas

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish and Catalan, with English subtitles

International Sales: Latido Films

Print Source: Latido Films

Film Website: latidofilms.com/awaiting

Selected Filmography: La espera (2013)

7 Minutes (2009)

Semen, A Love Story (2005)

My Mother Likes Women (2002)

JUG-YEO-JU-NEUN YEO-JA

The Bacchus Lady

SOUTH KOREA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 8:30 PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 4:15 PM

“How many more autumns will we live to see?”

It sounds like the start of a melancholy conversation about the passage of time, especially coming from a 65-year-old woman in a park on a lovely fall day. But to So-young, it’s a pickup line finely calibrated for attracting elderly johns. So-young (played with vigor and dignity by Youn Yuh-jung) is an elderly Korean prostitute who spends most of her days wandering parks in the wealthy neighborhoods of Seoul, hawking an energy drink called Bacchus, and arranging quickie motel trysts with her customers to make ends meet. It sounds like an absurd plot device, but it is a real and growing underground industry in South Korea. As many as 400 of these bagkaseu halmeoni (literally “Bacchus grannies”) perform these services every day in Seoul’s Jongno Park. Director E J-yong projects a litany of awkward social issues onto So-young: child custody, euthanasia, depression, and racism. But the veteran actress embodies So-young as a resourceful, strong, fully formed character, who develops connections with her regulars. Without a trace of sentimentality or exploitation, The Bacchus Lady shines a light on the darker side of Korean industrialization while depicting an older woman on the fringes of society not as a victim but as a sympathetic person determined to get through life on her own terms.

BANG! The Bert Berns Story

USA 2016

MONDAY, MAY 30 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: E J-yong

Producer: Suh Dong-hyun

Screenwriter: E J-yong

Cinematographer: Kim Young-no

Editor: Hahm Sung-won

Music:

Jang Young-gyu

Cast:

Youn Yuh-jung

Chon Moo-song

Yoon Kye-sang

An A-zu

Choi Hyun-jun

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Korean, with English subtitles

International Sales: M-Line Distribution

Print Source: M-Line Distribution

Selected Filmography:

My Brilliant Life (2014) Behind the Camera (2013)

Actresses (2009)

Dasepo Naughty Girls (2006)

You may not have heart of Bert Berns, but you’ve definitely heard his music. As a songwriter and record producer, he lodged 51 pop/R&B chart singles during his seven-year heyday, including “Twist and Shout,” “Cry Baby,” “Under the Boardwalk,” “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” “I Want Candy,” “Hang On Sloopy,” “Brown-Eyed Girl,” and “Cherry, Cherry,” earning the #64 spot on the “Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time” list. Born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in the Bronx, Berns contracted pneumatic fever at a young age, leading to a chronic heart condition whose effects informed every one of his emotionally raw, shout-to-theheavens songs. Obsessed with the mambo craze of the 1950s, he spent time in Havana before Castro rose to power, and his subsequent fixation on infusing music with AfroCuban rhythm changed American pop culture forever. Narrated by musician Steven Van Zandt (co-producer of the Broadway-bound jukebox musical “Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story”), Bang! charts Berns’ besieged path through the record industry from multiple perspectives, courtesy of interviews with Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Solomon Burke, Ben E. King, Betty Harris, and Ronald Isley, as well as no-holds-barred revelations from record executives, songwriters, and even mob-connected artist managers.

Directors: Brett Berns

Bob Sarles

Producers: Michael B. Borofsky

Brooks Arthur

Leo Feroleto

Cinematographers: Aaron Medick

Gil Gilbert

Editor:

Bob Sarles

Music:

Barry Goldberg

Joshua Meltzer

Featuring: Paul McCartney

Van Morrison

Ronald Isley

Solomon Burke

Ben E. King

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: HCTN, LLC

Film Website: bangthebertbernsstory. com

Selected Filmography:

Sweet Blues: A Film About Mike Bloomfield (2013)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

Battledream Chronicle

MARTINIQUE 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:00 PM

SHORELINE CC

MONDAY, JUNE 6 6:30 PM ARK LODGE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 9:45 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In 2100, the Empire of Mortemonde has colonized nearly every nation on earth and forced their populations into slavery. These slaves are forced to earn 1000XP coins each month by competing in Battledream, a video game in which the winners must return to fight every month for all eternity, and the losers will die in real life. Battledream Chronicle tells the story of Syanna Meridian, a young female slave from Martinique, who stumbles upon a hidden vault in the game that contains a secret weapon. Ignoring her mother’s warnings, she and her best friend Alytha Mercuri, together known as The Mermaids of Fire, decide to fight the Empire to regain their freedom. To complete their quest, they will have to join the only remaining team of free citizens before the Mortemonde inquisitors realize what they’re planning. Martiniquais Alain Bidard proves himself a rare quintuple threat here by writing, directing, animating, editing, and scoring Battledream Chronicle, his debut feature. Working over the course of five years, he has woven together online gaming, Caribbean folklore, and Martinique’s complicated colonial history to create a new kind of hero’s tale, one brimming with creativity, patriotism, and most important, hope.

Director: Alain Bidard

Producers: Jose Nerain Camille Bedard

Screenwriter: Alain Bidard

Cinematographer: Alain Bidard

Editor: Alain Bidard

Music: Alain Bidard

Voices: Yna Boulange Jacques Olivier Ensfelder Steffy Glissant

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Magwill Entertainment

Print Source: Pagod Films

Film Website: battledream.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Battle of Sevastopol

UKRAINE/RUSSIA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 3:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 3:30 PM ARK LODGE

A joint production between Russia and Ukraine, Battle of Sevastopol is a blockbuster war biopic that immediately topped the box offices in former Soviet territories upon its release last year. Lyudmila Mikhaylovna Pavlichenko (Yulia Peresild), also known as Luda, was born one year before the 1917 Russian Revolution in Odessa. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a law-enforcement major for the Soviet Union. Luda is a serious woman with a fascinating past. She defended Odessa and Sevastopol against the Germans and quickly became the best female sharpshooter in history. In 1942, Joseph Stalin sent her to the U.S. to attempt to convince Roosevelt to join the war. She ends up piquing the interest of Eleanor Roosevelt (Joan Blackham), who is curious to know more about this beautiful young girl known to the Germans as “Lady Death,” and who takes her under her wing, forming an unexpected friendship. Battle of Sevastopol was filmed on location in the Crimean cities of Sevastopol, Balaklava, Kiev, and Odessa. The production started a year before current conflicts between the two countries, which of course threatened the project.

“Despite the complicated period in the relationship between Russia and Ukraine, we simply excluded politics from our work,” says director Sergey Mokritsky. “For me this film is part of our joint history.”

Awards:

Beijing International Film Festival 2015 (Tiantan Award for Best Actress)

Golden Eagle Awards 2015 (Best Actress, Cinematography) Marbella International Russian Film Festival 2016 (Best Actress, Director)

Director: Sergey Mokristky

Producers: Mila Rozanova

Egor Olesov

Screenwriters: Sergei Mokritsky

Egor Olesov

Maxim Dankevich

Cinematographer: Yuriy Korol

Editor: Viktor Onysko

Music: Evgueni Galperine

Cast: Yulia Peresild

Joan Blackham

Eugeniy Tsiganov

Vitaly Linetsky

Polina Pakhomova

Nikita Tarasov

Running Time: 122 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Loco Films

Print Source: Loco Films

Film Website: nezlamna.com

Selected Filmography: Protest Day (2012)

Four Ages of Love (2008)

BITVA ZA SEVASTOPOL

Before the Streets

CANADA (QUÉBEC) 2016

US PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Created in collaboration with Québec’s three Atikamekw communities, Chloé Leriche’s first feature is an engrossing character drama that explores the spectrum of guilt and redemption. Shawnouk (brilliantly played by Rykko Bellamare), a young man who lacks motivation, has lost the way of his people; he is at odds with his mother’s new policeman boyfriend despite the fact that he appears to be a positive addition to their family. One night his friend invites him along on a robbery that ends in tragedy, and Shawnouk quickly goes into hiding. Soon his family discovers that he is wanted for questioning by government authorities, and the First Nations community must race to find him and set him back on the right path before he is incarcerated. Raw, naturalistic performances, spectacular sound design (particularly in the nighttime sequences), and breathtaking camerawork weave Shawnouk’s story into an emotional knot that only he has the power to untie. The first dramatic feature filmed in the Atikamekw language, Before the Streets is a exceptional vision of a culture rarely represented in cinema and a powerful story of a community’s involvement in helping its young find their path.

PRECEDED BY:

Mobilize

Canada (Québec) 2015, 4 minutes, Director: Caroline Monnet

An energetic interplay of the traditional and modern lifestyles that Native American cultures maneuver everyday.

QUAND ON A 17 ANS

Being 17

FRANCE 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Chloé Leriche

Producer:

Chloé Leriche

Screenwriter: Chloé Leriche

Cinematographer: Glauco Bermudez

Editor: Chloé Leriche

Music:

Robert Marcel Lepage

Cast:

Rykko Bellemare

Jacques Newashish

Kwena Bellemare Boivin

Martin Dubreuil

Janis Ottawa

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Atikamekw and French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source:

Wide Management

Film Website: widemanagement.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

When Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) first meets Thomas (Corentin Fila, in his screen debut), they inexplicably cannot stand each other, and their verbal sparring simmers intermittently with explosive physical altercations—yet at the same time they could just as easily have been great friends. When Thomas’ mother takes ill and is cared for by Damien’s country doctor mother, Thomas is invited to stay at their house, forcing the boys to live under the same roof. Under this awkward arrangement, Damien and Thomas begin warming to each other and find some common ground. An adopted son of Maghrebi descent, Thomas feels out of place in the nearly all-white world of the Pyrenees, while Damien and his mother struggle with the absence of his jet-pilot father, who spends most of his life away from home. As time passes and tensions build, Damien and Thomas’ relationship vacillates between disdain and mutual attraction, and slowly they realize the root of their hostility is based on deeply hidden feelings that neither fully understands. Directed by prolific filmmaker André Téchiné and co-written by Céline Sciamma, director of several other films dealing with the emotional development of adolescents (Water Lilies, Tomboy, Girlhood), this comingof-age drama is a refreshingly honest portrait of the ambiguity of teenage love—representing humanity in its most vulnerable and transitory state.

Director: André Téchiné

Producers: Olivier Delbosc

Marc Missonnier

Screenwriters: Céline Sciamma

André Téchiné

Cinematographer: Julien Hirsch

Editor: Albertine Lastera

Music: Alexis Rault

Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain

Kacey Mottet Klein

Corentin Fila

Alexis Loret

Running Time: 116 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Elle Driver

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: elledriver.fr/being-17

Selected Filmography:

In the Name of My Daughter (2014)

Unforgivable (2011)

The Girl on the Train (2009)

The Witnesses (2007)

Changing Times (2004)

Strayed (2003)

Far (2001)

Alice and Martin (1998)

Thieves (1996)

Wild Reeds (1994)

My Favorite Season (1993)

I Don’t Kiss (1991)

The Innocents (1987)

Rendez-Vous (1985)

The Bronte Sisters (1979)

Paulina Is Leaving (1969)

BELLE ET SÉBASTIEN,

Belle and Sebastian, the Adventure Continues

FRANCE 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

SUNDAY, MAY 22 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 1:00 PM SHORELINE CC

After defying the Nazis from the remote heights of the French Alps in the charming 2013 film Belle and Sebastian, the boy-and-his-dog duo is back for new escapades in this charming family classic series. Belle and Sebastian, the Adventure Continues begins two years later, at the close of the war. The orphaned Sebastian (Felix Bossuet) and his white Pyrenean mountain dog remain inseparable friends in a tiny Alpine village, where they live with the elderly César (veteran character actor Tchéky Karyo), who has become the boy’s caretaker. All eagerly await the return of César’s daughter, Angelina (Margaux Chatelier), from her stint with the French Resistance. Sebastian and César, however, are devastated to hear that her plane has gone down in a dense forest near the Italian border. Unable to accept that Angelina may be gone, Sebastian and his four-legged friend embark on an epic journey to rescue her, battling forest fires, treacherous terrain, and hungry grizzly bears along the way. Screenwriters Juliette Sales and Fabrien Suarez have returned to adapt this follow-up to the French box-office smash, based on the novel by Cécile Aubry. With breathtaking scenery, pulse-pounding excitement, and a simple, elemental sweetness not found in many family-themed films today, Belle and Sebastian, the Adventure Continues is a story of heroism, courage, and friendship that lives up to its title.

LA CIÉNAGA — ENTRE EL MAR Y LA TIERRA Between Sea and Land

COLOMBIA 2016

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 6:00 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 4:00 PM

Director: Christian Duguay

Producers: Clément Miserez

Matthieu Warter

Frédéric Brillion

Gilles Legrand

Sidonie Dumas

Screenwriters: Juliette Sales

Fabrien Suarez

Cinematographer: Christophe Graillot

Editor: Olivier Gajan

Music: Armand Amar

Cast:

Félix Bossuet

Tchéky Karyo

Thierry Neuvic

Margaux Chatelier

Thylane Blondeau

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Gaumont

Print Source: Gaumont

Film Website: gaumont.fr/en/film/Belleet-Sebastien-l-aventurecontinue.html

Selected Filmography: Jappeloup (2013)

Boot Camp (2008)

Extreme Ops (2002)

The Art of War (2000)

The Assignment (1997)

Screamers (1995)

Scanners III: The Takeover (1992)

Live Wire (1992)

Scanners II: The New Order (1991

Afflicted with dystonia, a rare condition that degrades the body’s muscles, Alberto (filmmaker Manolo Cruz in a fearless performance) has lain bedridden for most of his 28 years. Cared for by his doting, protective mother Rosa (Vicky Hernandez) in their small shack perched above Colombia’s Caribbean coast, his few connections to the world are a small mirror used to look outside, and cherished visits from his beautiful childhood friend Giselle (Viviana Serna). When Giselle’s efforts to get Alberto medical attention through her job at a local NGO threaten Rosa’s caretaker role, the mother’s fiercely protective instincts take over, leading to a desperate and devastating resolution. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance World Cinema dramatic competition, as well as a Special Jury Prize for acting for both Cruz and Hernandez, Cruz and director Carlos del Castillo offer a tour de force that is a profound and powerful meditation on the strength of a mother’s love, gorgeously lensed using natural light by Robespierre Rodriguez and grounded with two of the most committed onscreen performances in recent memory.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (World Cinema Dramatic Acting Award, Audience Award)

Sonoma Valley Film Festival 2016 (Best Film Award, Audience Award)

Director: Carlos del Castillo

Producers: Manolo Cruz

Carlos Del Castillo

Screenwriter: Manolo Cruz

Cinematographer: Robespierre Rodriguez

Editor: German A. Duarte

Music: David Murillo R.

Cast: Manolo Cruz

Vicky Hernandez

Viviana Serna

Jorge Cao

Mile Vergara

Javier Saenz

Rafael Rubio

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Global Screen GmbH

Print Source: Global Screen GmbH

Film Website: globalscreen.de/content/ show/913790

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Beware the Slenderman

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 12:30 PM SHORELINE CC

MONDAY, MAY 30 12:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

A tall, faceless creature hovers in the background of countless photographs posted online. Wearing a black suit and tie, his thin, abnormally long limbs seem to be ready to snatch up children at any second. This character is known as the Slenderman, and he first hit the internet—and in turn, young people’s nightmares—via a blog forum in 2009. Since then, the folklore of this mysterious creature has exploded with deranged popularity, his backstory rapidly evolving through socialmedia games, message boards, blogs, and photo apps like Instagram. Slenderman quickly became the millennial monster-underthe-bed, the digital phantom on every child’s screen. And in May 2014, two 12-year-old girls proved that he was more real than anyone wanted to believe—he convinced them to attempt murder. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Irene Brodsky, Beware the Slenderman is a gripping, heartbreaking true-crime documentary that explores what happened one morning in Waukesha, Wisconsin, when two preteen girls stabbed their best friend 19 times before taking off in search of the Slenderman’s mansion in the woods.

Director:

Irene Taylor Brodsky

Producers:

Irene Taylor Brodsky

Sophie Harris

Cinematographer: Nick Midwig

Editor: Gladys Mae Murphy

Music: Benoit Charest

Running Time: 114 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: HBO

Print Source: Vermilion Films

Selected Filmography: Open Your Eyes (2016) Hear and Now (2007)

ALLENDE MI ABUELO ALLENDE

Beyond My Grandfather Allende

CHILE/MEXICO 2015

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 6:30 PM SIFF FILM CENTER

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 6:00 PM SIFF FILM CENTER

Using personal interviews and never-beforeseen archival footage to good effect, Marcia Tambutti Allende’s film goes beyond family historiography to become a work of uncommon depth and relevance. The granddaughter of one of Latin America’s most revered and tragic political figures, former Chilean president Salvador Allende, Tambutti Allende grew up knowing precious little of her “Chicho”; the deep emotional wounds felt not only by his widow Hortensia, but their surviving children, often made personal information hard to come by. Armed with a keen insight, a natural curiosity, and an abiding love of family, Tambutti gently opens the Allende family memory bank to offer a priceless glimpse into the personal life of the legendary leader. Winner of the new L’Oeil d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival, first-time director Marcia Tambutti Allende’s touching, heartfelt documentary is more than just a look at the grandfather she hardly knew; this moving, often surprising film is also an honest look at the intergenerational nature of mourning, the importance of courage, and the strength of family bonds.

Awards: Cannes Film Festival 2015 (Best Documentary)

Director: Marcia Tambutti Allende

Producer: Paola Castillo Villagrán

Screenwriters: Paola Castillo

Bruni Burres

Valeria Vargas

Marcia Tambutti Allende

Cinematographers: David Bravo

Eduardo Cruz-Coke

Editors: Coti Donoso

Titi Viera Gallo

Music: Leonardo Heimblum

Jacobo Lieberman

Featuring: Salvador Allende

Mercedes Hortensia Bussi

Soto de Allende

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Doc & Film International

Print Source: Icarus Films

Film Website: icarusfilms.com/ new2016/myg.html

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Big Road

TUESDAY, MAY 31 7:00 PM

This 1935 classic of Chinese silent cinema dives into the lives of several construction workers as they busy themselves building a highway for the Chinese army. Unable to find consistent work in the city of Shanghai, a group of workers—played by all of China’s biggest stars at the time and led by the goodlooking and ever popular actor Jin Yan—travel the country doing road construction. Each worker has his own unique personality and gritty past. They get through their days by forming genuine friendships with one another, even breaking out into song as they work, and later going out to a local restaurant and flirting with the waitresses. The Big Road was a production meant not only to celebrate male heroic strength and vigor, but also to lift the country’s patriotic spirit and promote China’s perseverance in the face of a nameless enemy (the Japanese). The film’s progressive nature is exemplified by its reversal of gender angles (viewing men skinny-dipping and constantly bare-chested through the eyes of the narrative’s only two female characters), its musical interludes and sound design inserted in postproduction, and its particularly tragic, tearjerking, and seriously haunting finale. This screening of The Big Road is accompanied with a live score performed by Donald Sosin.

Director: Sun Yu

Producer: Lu Hang-zhang

Screenwriter: Sun Yu

Cinematographer: Hong Weilie

Cast: Chen Yanyan

Zheng Junli

Li Lili

Liu Qiong

Jin Yan

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Mandarin, with English intertitles

International Sales: China Film Archive

Print Source: China Film Archive

Selected Filmography: The Legend of Lu Ban (1958)

Brave the Wind and Waves (1957)

Song Jingshi (1955)

The Life of Wu Xun (1950)

Spring Arrives Everywhere (1937)

Madman’s Rhapsody (1937)

Back to Nature (1936)

Queen of Sports (1934)

Little Toys (1933)

Daybreak (1933)

Loving Blood of the Volcano (1932)

Facing the National Crisis (1932)

Wild Rose (1932)

Wild Flowers (1930)

Spring Dream of an Old Capital (1930)

A Romantic Swordsman (1928)

Big Sonia USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 6:00 PM

SHORELINE CC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

At 4’8”, Sonia Warshawski can barely see over the leopard-skin-patterned steering wheel of her Oldsmobile. But at age 90, she has a personality that towers over her Kansas City community, where she has tirelessly run her late husband’s tailoring business for decades. The shop, John’s Tailoring, is the last business left operating in a lonely corner of a dying shopping mall, but for Sonia it’s the vibrant center of her long, eventful life. Every day she faces the threat of eviction, but Sonia has had experience with escaping finality: As one of the last remaining Holocaust survivors in Kansas City, she witnessed the unspeakable horror of her mother disappearing behind the doors of a Nazi gas chamber; after being force-marched from one death camp to another, Sonia was finally liberated only to be shot accidentally through the chest—and yet she survived. Today she still dispenses positive life lessons (known as “Soniaisms”) to anyone who’ll listen, and also speaks to local churches, schools, and prisons about the atrocities she endured as a teenager. Husband-and-wife filmmakers Todd Soliday and Leah Warshawski (Sonia’s granddaughter) tell Sonia’s story in this moving and uplifting documentary that interweaves first-person narratives with memories from family and friends. “Big Sonia” may struggle to face her latest daunting challenge—retirement—but she’s certainly doing it in style.

Directors: Leah Warshawski

Todd Soliday

Producer: Leah Warshawski

Cinematographer: Todd Soliday

Editors:

Todd Soliday

Doug Loviska Eric Frith

Music: Bradley Anthony Laina

Featuring: Sonia Warshawski

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: BluRay

Print Source: Inflatable Film

Film Website: bigsonia.com

Selected Filmography: WARSHAWSKI: Finding Hillywood (Doc, 2013)

SOLIDAY: Platinum (Doc, 2005)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

LOS TALLOS AMARGOS

The Bitter Stems

ARGENTINA 1956

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 2:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

A down-and-out Buenos Aires newspaper reporter looking to turn his fortunes around runs into a shady Hungarian expat who lures him into a scheme to start a fraudulent journalism correspondence course. While at first the money is good, the two men begin to suspect each other’s motivations, and escalating tensions eventually lead to murder. Could it be the perfect crime, or will gnawing guilt unravel their best-laid plans? Based on the novel “Los Tallos Amargos” by real-life journalist Adolfo Jasca, the film was a big hit in Argentina upon its release, winning the Silver Condor award as the country’s best picture in 1957 and earning best-director honors for Fernando Ayala for only his second feature. But for the last halfcentury, this film-noir gem has gone criminally unrecognized virtually everywhere else—until now. In this special presentation of a recently restored 35mm print, SIFF-goers will discover why The Bitter Stems, shot by prolific Chilean cinematographer Ricardo Younis, has been called one of the “50 Best Photographed Films of All Time” by “American Cinematographer.” Be sure not to miss this rare chance to see an almost-forgotten, noir-drenched classic in all its big-screen glory.

Introduced by the “Czar of Noir,” Eddie Muller from The Film Noir Foundation. 35mm restored print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.

Funding provided by the Film Noir Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Charitable Trust.

Director:

Fernando Ayala

Producers:

Hector Olivera

Fernando Ayala

Screenwriter: Sergio Leonardo from the novel by Adolfo Jasca

Cinematographer: Ricardo Younis

Editors:

Gerardo Rinaldi

Antonio Ripoll

Music: Astor Piazzolla

Cast: Carlos Cores

Aída Luz

Julia Sandoval

Vassili Lambrinos

Running Time: 90 minutes

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

Print Source: Film Noir Foundation collection at UCLA Film & Television Archive

Selected Filmography:

The Night of the Pencils (1987)

The Deal (1983)

From the Abyss (1979)

The Tango Tells Its Story (1976)

Triangle of Four (1975)

Argentinísima (1972)

El professor patagónico (1970)

La fiaca (1969)

The Hippie Professor (1969)

Viaje de una noche de verano (1965)

Paula cautiva (1963)

El jefe (1958)

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

USA/CANADA 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 8:30 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In The Blackcoat’s Daughter, horror is cold: There are wintry scenes of desolation, and blood is spilled on the ice and snow. This sinister thriller is written and directed by Osgood Perkins, son of Psycho star Anthony Perkins, and whose brother, Elvis Perkins, provides an ominous atonal score. The opening centers on Kat (Kiernan Shipka, “Mad Men”’s Sally Draper) and Rose (Lucy Boynton), two students left alone at their prep school, Bramford, over winter break when their parents mysteriously fail to pick them up. While the isolated, imperiled girls try to settle in, the film cuts to another story: Joan (Emma Roberts), a troubled young woman on the road, is determined to get to Bramford as fast as she can. As Joan gets closer to the school, Kat is plagued by progressively intense and horrifying visions, with Rose doing her best to help her new friend as she slips further and further into the grasp of an unseen evil force. The movie builds to the moment when the two stories finally intersect, setting the stage for a shocking and unforgettable climax.

Director: Osgood Perkins

Producers: Rob Paris

Adrienne Biddle

Bryan Bertino

Robert Menzies

Alphonse Ghossein

Screenwriter: Osgood Perkins

Cinematographer: Julie Kirkwood

Editor: Brian Ufberg

Music: Elvis Perkins

Cast: Emma Roberts

Kiernan Shipka

Lucy Boynton

James Remar

Lauren Holly

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Highland Film Group

Print Source: A24 Films

Film Website: february.film

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

KALO POTHI

The Black Hen

NEPAL/GERMANY/FRANCE 2015

MONDAY, JUNE 6 8:30 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 9:00 PM

The year is 2001, the protracted civil war between the Nepalese government and the insurgent Maoists is winding down, and a tenuous cease-fire is enacted. In a small wartorn village in northern Nepal, this comes as a welcome relief. The village chief’s grandson, Kiran, and his best friend Prakash, the son of a servant, just want to get their chicken back. Prakash’s father sold the chicken to an old man in the next village, but the boys need it to sell its eggs, hoping to save enough to pay for Prakash’s education and break the cycle of poverty to which his family has been condemned. As they set out to retrieve their hen, the cease-fire breaks down and hostilities resume, and the boys soon find themselves sucked into the increasingly chaotic events surrounding them. Director Min Bahadur Bham brings alive his own childhood in eastern Nepal, drawing incidents and stories from his own life. The Black Hen is an evocative first film about harsh lives unraveling in a devastated land, with a deft combination of humor and tragedy.

Awards:

Venice International Film Festival 2015 (Best Film)

Director: Min Bahadur Bham

Producers: Catherine Dussart

Anna Katchko

Min Bahadur Bham

Tsering Rhitar Sherpa

Screenwriters: Min Bahadur Bham

Abinash Bikram Shah

Cinematographer: Aziz Zhambakiyev

Editors: Nimesh Shrestha

Aziz Zhambakiyev

Music: Jason Kunwor

Cast:

Khadka Raj Nepali

Sukra Raj Royaka

Jit Bahadur Malla

Hansha Khadka

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Nepalese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source: Wide Management

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

B-Movie Bingo presents Rambu: The Intruder

INDONESIA 1986

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 11:00 PM

The unique, interactive cinema experience B-Movie Bingo combines live comedy from Portland, Oregon comedy team Wolf Choir with the best in terrible action movies— screened from VHS!—for a high-stakes bingo competition in which eagle-eyed audiences compete for one-of-a-kind prizes by watching for classic B-movie clichés like “Bar Fight,” “Suspended From the Force,” and “Three Mustaches on Screen at the Same Time.” This special SIFF edition of B-Movie Bingo goes international with a classic of Indonesian trash cinema, Rambu: The Intruder. Totally action-packed and filled with bizarre dialogue (“Sometimes I lie awake at night and think about my destiny”), this movie delivers on every level, though any resemblance between Rambu and a certain ’80s action hero is totally coincidental—despite that one scene where he puts on a red bandanna, straps on a massive gun, and runs around shirtless. New Zealand-born English teacher-turned-actor Peter O’Brian stars as Rambu, an unemployed police-academy dropout who stages a private war on a pair of white-suit-wearing, cocaineguzzling, sexually deviant crime bosses. As a tug-of-war for power unfolds, Rambu takes action using his wits, martial-arts skills, greasy massages, and some truly mysterious boomerang balls. Be warned: Lives, and lots of food, will be wasted!

Director: Jopi Burnama

Producers: Dhamoo Punjabi

Gobind Punjabi

Raam Punjabi

Screenwriter: Deddy Armand

Cinematographer: Sodikin

Editor: Nasrul Syawar

Cast: Peter O’Brian

Craig Gavin

Running Time: 120 minutes

Presentation Format: VHS, in Indonesian, with English subtitles

Print Source: Wolf Choir

Film Website: bmoviebingo.com

Selected Filmography: Godaan perempuan halus (1993)

Narkoba (1992)

Bisikan Arwah (1988) Di luar batas (1984) Kamp tawanan wanita (1983)

Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters (1982) Lembah duka (1981) Nasib si miskin (1977)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

ARK LODGE

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

CIAŁO

Body

POLAND 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 6:30 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 9:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Named Best Film at the 2015 Polish National Film Festival in Gdynia, and winner of the Best Director Prize of the Berlin Film Festival, Małgorzata Szumowska’s Body is an offbeat drama about three people: a coroner, his anorexic daughter, and her therapist who can communicate with the dead. Coroner Janusz considers himself a strong man; he’s seen it all. He deals in precise, detective-like research when analyzing the most brutal crime scenes. However, he is helpless when it comes to comforting his daughter, Olga, still heavily grieving her mother’s death. Fearing that she might hurt or even kill herself, Janusz commits Olga to a clinic where he meets Anna, a psychologist who works there. Anna lives with her big dog Fredek, and feels a special connection with the dead—especially Olga’s mother, who she believes is trying to contact her. Szumowska works with witty bits of black comedy to efficiently explore the difficulties and realistic ups and downs people encounter when struggling to cope with the loss of loved ones. Her film explores simultaneous fear of and longing for intimacy, violent depression, and the hope in new relationships.

Awards:

Berlinale 2015 (Silver Bear for Best Director)

Vilnius International Film Festival 2015 (Best Actor) Polish Film Awards 2016 (Best Film)

Director: Małgorzata Szumowska

Producers: Jacek Drosio

Małgorzata Szumowska

Michał Englert

Screenwriters: Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert

Cinematographer: Michał Englert

Editor: Jacek Drosio

Cast: Janusz Gajos

Maja Ostaszewska

Justyna Suwała

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Polish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Memento Films

International

Print Source: Memento Films

International

Film Website: international.mementofilms.com/uncategorized/ body

Selected Filmography:

In the Name Of... (2013) Elles (2011)

33 Scenes From Life (2008)

Nothing to Be Scared Of (Doc, 2006)

My Father, Maciek (Doc, 2005)

Stranger (2004)

Documentary... (Doc, 2001)

A Wedding in the House of Loneliness (Doc, 2000)

Happy Man (2000)

The Bodyguard

HONG KONG/CHINA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 8:30 PM

RENTON IKEA PAC MONDAY, MAY 30 8:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Hong Kong action legend Sammo Hung directs and stars as Ding, a retired Central Security Bureau officer now living a quiet life in a small town near the Russian and North Korean borders. Suffering from the early stages of dementia, he keeps to himself—his former professional life quite literally fading away. Into his life comes a young neighbor girl, Cherry, who reminds him of his own lost granddaughter. Together the pair strike up an unlikely friendship, fishing and playing board games. However, Cherry’s father, Li (Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau) suffers from a gambling problem, endangering himself as well as his daughter by stealing a bag of jewels from the Russian mob to repay his debt to local gangster Choi. When both father and daughter disappear, Ding must call upon his long-buried skills to save his young friend’s life and maybe in the process redeem his own tragic past. Featuring tantalizing cameo performances from Tsui Hark, Yuen Wah, and Hu Jun among other Hong Kong actioncinema mainstays, The Bodyguard culminates in a frenetic climax of nail-biting intensity.

Director:

Sammo Hung

Producers:

Bill Kong

Andy Lau

Chan Pui Wah

Ivy Ho

Liu Erdong

Screenwriter: Jiang Jun

Cinematographer: Ardy Lam

Editors:

Kong Chi Leung

Alan Lo

Music: Alan Wong

Janet Yung

Cast:

Sammo Hung

Andy Lau

Zhu Yu Chen

Li Qin Qin

Jacqueline Chan

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Edko Films Limited

Print Source: Edko Films Limited

Selected Filmography:

Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)

Mr. Nice Guy (1997)

Don’t Give a Damn (1995)

Blade of Fury (1993)

Ghost Punting (1992)

Slickers Vs Killers (1991)

Pedicab Driver (1989)

Spooky, Spooky (1988)

Eastern Condors (1987)

Twinkle Twinkle Lucky

Seven Lessons of Love (Doc, 1999)

Day in the Life of Tomek Karat (Doc, 1997)

Stars (1985)

Winners and Sinners (1983)

The Prodigal Son (1981)

Enter the Fat Dragon (1978)

LE TOUT NOUVEAU TESTAMENT

The Brand New Testament

BELGIUM/FRANCE/LUXEMBOURG 2015

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 2:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

God exists. He lives in Brussels. He’s odious to his wife and daughter. We know a lot about his son, JC, but very little about his daughter. Her name is Ea and she’s 10 years old. One day she rebels against her father, hacks his computer, and texts everyone in the world the date they will die. Then she escapes to Earth, where she recruits six Apostles for a Brand New Testament. Laugh-out-loud funny, this eagerly awaited project from Jaco Van Dormael (Toto the Hero) mixes religious satire and ironic fantasy to salutary effect. No longer in thrall to God’s all-seeing eye, the general populace feels free to act on their basest instincts and hidden desires. For Catherine Deneuve, that means going to bed with a gorilla. A snarling Benoît Poelvoorde plays God as a grumpy bastard, given to managing Earth’s affairs while clad in a bathrobe and pajama bottoms. Wonderful French comedienne Yolande Moreau is his mild wife, who comes into her own when God descends to Earth to, er, try to put the fear of God back into everyone.

Awards: Official Oscar® Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

Fantastic Fest 2015 (Best Comedy)

César Awards 2016 (Best Foreign Film Nominee)

Belgian Film Critics Association 2015 (Best Film)

Biografilm Festival 2015 (Europe Audience Award)

European Film Awards 2015 (Best European Production Designer)

Haifa Film Festival 2015 (Fedeora Award)

Golden Globe Awards 2015 (Best Foreign Film Nominee)

Luxembourg Awards 2015 (Best Film in Coproduction)

The Bride

SPAIN/TURKEY/GERMANY 2015

Director: Jaco Van Dormael

Producers: Jaco Van Dormael

Olivier Rausin

Daniel Marquet

Screenwriters: Jaco Van Dormael

Thomas Gunzig

Cinematographer: Christophe Beaucarne

Editor: Hervé De Luze

Music: An Pierlé

Cast: Benoît Poelvoorde

Yolande Moreau

Catherine Deneuve

Francois Damiens

Pili Groyne

Running Time: 112 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French and German, with English subtitles

International Sales: Le Pacte

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: letoutnouveautestamentlefilm.ca

Selected Filmography:

Mr. Nobody (2009) The Eighth Day (1996) Toto the Hero (1991)

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:30 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE LA

On a windswept Spanish plain, a woman known only as “The Bride” (a stunning Inma Cuesta, Snow White, Cousinhood) prepares for marriage to a wealthy, handsome young land baron (Asier Etxeandía) as her lifelong love Leonardo, played by Álex García, pines from afar—his quiet yearning threatening to explode the fragile peace in a village once torn apart by a decades-long blood feud. As the wedding day arrives, simmering tensions bubble to the surface and erupt, forcing The Bride to choose between following obligation or challenging fate, her decision leading to an unexpected and devastating climax. Based on García Lorca’s timeless tragedy “Bodas de sangre,” writer/director Paula Ortiz’s follow up to her acclaimed debut feature, From Your Window to Mine, is a visually sumptuous, emotionally rich feast, at once a classically rendered story of the unyielding strength of love and a stirring testament to the power of women to fight to choose their own destinies.

Awards: Goya Awards 2016 (Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Paula Ortiz

Producers: Rosana Tomas

Alex Lafuente

Screenwriters: Javier García Arredondo

Paula Ortiz

Cinematographer: Migue Amoedo

Editor: Javier García Arredondo

Music: Shigeru Umebayashi

Cast: Inma Cuesta Álex García

Asier Etxeandía

Leticia Dolera

Luisa Gavasa

Carlos Álvarez

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Fortissimo Films

Print Source: Outsider Pictures

Film Website: fortissimo.nl

Selected Filmography: From Your Window to Mine (2011)

RIP VAN WINKLE NO HAYANOME

A Bride for Rip Van Winkle

JAPAN 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

THURSDAY, MAY 26 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Director Shunji Iwai (All About Lily Chou Chou, Hana and Alice) returns to SIFF with what could be his magnum opus, A Bride for Rip Van Winkle. Nanami is a struggling highschool teacher engaged to a man she met through social media. With the wedding fast approaching, and with no relatives except for her divorced parents, she needs to find guests to fill out the bride’s side of the aisle. Enter Amuro, a jack-of-all-trades who arranges to hire actors to play her family members at the wedding. Once married, Nanami gives up teaching and settles into the role of housewife, but her contented life is upended when Amuro reappears and tells her that he knows her husband is having an affair. With the sudden disintegration of her marriage, Nanami finds herself single again, and in dire need of money. Once again Amuro is there to help her with a job offer as a housekeeper at a beautiful mansion. The place is mostly empty, except for fellow housekeeper Mashiro—and a variety of poisonous sea creatures lurking in large tanks around the premises—and as time passes the pair’s relationship evolves in an unexpected direction. A Bride for Rip Van Winkle is a beautiful, deceptively complex and multilayered film, as touching as it is funny.

Director:

Shunji Iwai

Producers:

Tomoyuki Miyagawa

Aki Mizuno

Muneyuki Kii

Screenwriter:

Shunji Iwai

Cinematographer: Chigi Kanbe

Editor:

Shunji Iwai

Music:

Mako Kuwabara

Cast: Haru Kuroki

Go Ayano

Cocco

Running Time: 179 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Toei Company, Ltd.

Print Source:

Eleven Arts

Film Website: rvwbride.com

Selected Filmography:

Vampire (2011)

Friends After 3.11 (2011)

New York, I Love You (2009)

Tokyo! (2008)

The Kon Ichikawa Story (2006)

Hana and Alice (2004)

All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)

Ritual (2000)

April Story (1998)

Picnic (1996)

Love Letter (1995)

Bugs

DENMARK 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE SUNDAY, JUNE 5 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

They may be creepy and crawly, but they’re also delicious. Get ready to test your taste buds and challenge your notions of what’s edible with Bugs, a new documentary from Andreas Johnsen (Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case). In 2013, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization argued that as the global population increases, we will need to find new and more sustainable methods for producing food. Their recommendation— bugs! There are over 2,000 varieties of edible insects across the globe, after all. Bugs follows three cooks from the Nordic Food Lab—Ben Reade, Josh Evans, and Roberto Flore—as they travel the world looking for delicious new morsels to diversify their dishes. The delight of these three gastronomical explorers is infectious, and before long you’ll be eager to try Japanese wasps, African termite queens, Italian cheese made with fly larvae, and Mexican ant eggs. But it isn’t all culinary exuberance, and as the three cooks travel around the world, ethical concerns arise: Who will benefit from the increased consumption of insects? And will communities which have relied on edible insects as their primary source of nourishment be left at the bottom of the food chain yet again?

Director: Andreas Johnsen

Producer: Sigrid Dyekjær

Screenwriter: Andreas Johnsen

Cinematographer: Andreas Johnsen

Editors: Menno Boerema

Per Sandholt

Music: Spacelab

Anders AC Christensen

Mikkel Hess

Nikolaj Hess

Featuring: Ben Reade

Josh Evans

Roberto Flore

Running Time: 76 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

Autlook Filmsales

Print Source: Autlook Filmsales

Film Website: bugsfeed.com

Selected Filmography:

Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case (Doc, 2013)

Kidd Life (Doc, 2012)

A Kind of Paradise (Doc, 2011)

Murder (Doc, 2009)

Natasja (Doc, 2008)

Good Copy Bad Copy (Doc, 2007)

Curtain Raising: Musicians in East Africa (Doc, 2006)

Inside Outside (Doc, 2005)

Mr. Catra: The Faithful (Doc, 2004)

Burn Burn Burn

UNITED KINGDOM 2015

US PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 2:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

With her first feature Burn Burn Burn, director Chanya Button takes us on a delightful road trip, where Laura Carmichael (“Downton Abbey,” Madame Bovary) and Chloe Pirrie (Youth) are Seph and Alex, two friends in their late 20s who just lost their best friend Dan (Jack Farthing, The Riot Club). He was funny, charming, and the life and soul of the party, and they loved him like a brother; now all they have left is his ashes and a USB key he left them, asking them to take him on their ultimate trip to spread his remains in the places that made him the person he was. Button’s film is a hymn to friendship, love, and the possible absurdities of life—and, most important, a funny and touching homage to freedom and to the one who wrote about it best, Jack Kerouac: “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but Burn, Burn, Burn.”

Awards: British Independent Film Awards 2016 (Raindance Discovery Nominee)

Director: Chanya Button

Producers: Chanya Button

Daniel-Konrad Cooper

Tim Philllips

Screenwriter: Charlie Covell

Cinematographer: Carlos De Carvalho

Editor: Mark Trend

Music:

Candy Says

Cast: Laura Carmichael

Chloe Pirrie

Jack Farthing

Joe Dempsie

Alison Steadman

Running Time: 106 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Urban Distribution

International

Print Source: Urban Distribution

International

Film Website: urbandistrib.com/films/ burn-burn-burn/

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Café Society

USA 2016

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

THURSDAY, MAY 19 7:00 PM

Café Society follows Bronx-born Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) to Hollywood, where he falls in love, and back to New York, where he is swept up in the vibrant world of high-society nightclub life. Centering on events in the lives of Bobby’s colorful Bronx family, the film is a glittering valentine to the movie stars, socialites, playboys, debutantes, politicians, and gangsters who epitomized the excitement and glamour of the age. Poignant, and often hilarious, Café Society, a film with a novel’s sweep, takes us on a journey from pastel-clad dealmakers in plush Hollywood mansions to the quarrels and tribulations of a humble Bronx family, from the rough-andtumble violence of New York gangsters to the sparkling surfaces and secret scandals of Manhattan high life. Woody Allen conjures up a 1930s world that has passed to tell a deeply romantic tale of dreams that never die. Café Society is notable for the director’s first-time collaboration with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, known for epics such as Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emperor. This also marks Allen’s first foray into digital filmmaking, using a Sony CineAlta F65 camera.

MCCAW HALL

Director: Woody Allen

Producers: Letty Aronson

Stephen Tenenbaum

Edward Walson

Screenwriter:

Woody Allen

Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro

Editor:

Alisa Lepseiter

Cast: Jeannie Berlin

Steve Carell

Jesse Eisenberg

Blake Lively

Parker Posey

Kristen Stewart

Corey Stoll

Ken Stott

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: FilmNation Entertainment

Print Source: Lionsgate Films

Selected Filmography: Blue Jasmine (2013)

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Match Point (2005)

Small Time Crooks (2005)

Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

Husbands and Wives (1992)

Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Radio Days (1987)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Stardust Memories (1980)

Manhattan (1979)

Annie Hall (1977)

Sleeper (1973)

Bananas (1971)

Take the Money and Run (1969)

Cameraperson

USA 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson has lent her unique vision to several impactful documentaries over the years, such as This Film Is Not Yet Rated, The Oath, Darfur Now, the Oscar®winning Citizenfour, and Very Semi-Serious (SIFF 2015). After 25 years of experience traveling around the globe and studying the world, Johnson once again steps behind the camera in order to study herself and her career—using clips from her past works, behind-the-scenes footage, and even new, more personal material to craft a reflective memoir. Including a particularly touching segment that features Johnson’s mother, currently suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and struggling to retain memory, Cameraperson explores the ways in which the documentary cinematographer is able to be more than a silent witness behind a lens. Johnson’s repertoire of work is shown in snippets not identified by film title, but by location and year—creating a diary and enforcing the memoir format of her film. This intimate documentary emphasizes the importance of reviewing the past to reflect on the future of the human condition, a common theme that creates a resoundingly personal tone in all of Johnson’s work.

Awards:

Sarasota Film Festival 2016 (Grand Jury Prize)

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Tribute Award)

San Francisco International Film Festival 2016 (Grand Jury Prize)

Director:

Kirsten Johnson

Producer: Marilyn Ness

Cinematographer:

Kirsten Johnson

Editors: Nels Bangerter

Amanda Laws

Music:

Kathryn Bostic

Running Time: 102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English, Arabic, Bosnian, Dari, Hausa, and Fur, with English subtitles

International Sales: CAT&Docs

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: camerapersonfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Deadline (2004)

Captain Fantastic USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SUNDAY, JUNE 12 2:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director Matt Ross (28 Hotel Rooms) delivers a heartfelt lesson of humanity in this unique Northwest tale. Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a devoted and non-traditionalist father, Ben (Viggo Mortensen), raises his six children (Bodevan, Nai, Rellian, Zaja, Kielyr, and Vespyr) with a rigorous physical and intellectual education. When a tragedy forces them to leave their wild paradise, his family begins a journey reintegrating into society after years of isolation. Having to face the reality and conformist values of the world they separated themselves from, they learn to question and challenge the new environment around them and the changes brought to their lives. From education, literature, and love to music and pop culture, his children discover the joys and flaws of this new world they’re thrown into while their father’s previous ideas about parenthood are dramatically challenged.

Director: Matt Ross

Producers: Lynette Howell Taylor

Jamie Patricof

Shivani Rawat

Monica Levinson

Screenwriter: Matt Ross

Cinematographer: Stéphane Fontaine

Editor: Joseph Krings

Music: Alex Somers

Cast: Viggo Mortensen

Steve Zahn

Missi Pyle

Kathryn Hahn

George MacKay

Erin Moriarty

Frank Langella

Running Time: 120 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

Entertainment One

Print Source:

Bleeker Street

Film Website: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/ captainfantastic

Selected Filmography: 28 Hotel Rooms (2012)

Carnage Park

USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 MIDNIGHT SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SUNDAY, MAY 22 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

The year is 1978. Wannabe crooks “Scorpion”

Joe (James Landry Hébert) and his sidekick Lenny (Michael Villar) botch an ill-conceived bank robbery in a remote California town, making off with no money, a lone hostage named Vivian in the trunk of their car, and a gunshot wound to Lenny’s gut for their troubles. With his partner bleeding out and the local sheriff hot in pursuit, Joe takes a desperate detour onto the local back roads. Unfortunately, they’ve strayed into Carnage Park—a gruesome compound and private hunting reserve overseen by Wyatt Moss (Pat Healy, Cheap Thrills), a psychotic ex-military sniper who doesn’t take kindly to trespassers, to which a fellow hapless victim in a bear trap can attest. Thrust into a most dangerous game with a highly trained and mentally imbalanced killer, they undertake a harrowing journey through the remorseless terrain in hopes of finding salvation. Blending crime caper with survival horror into a gory thrill ride, director Mickey Keating showcases a deft touch for combining fast-paced action with terrifying set pieces in a marvelous homage to grindhouse exploitation cinema.

Director: Mickey Keating

Producers: Eric B. Fleischman

Sean Tabiban

Screenwriter: Mickey Keating

Cinematographer: Mac Fisken

Editor: Valerie Krulfeifer

Music:

Giona Ostinelli

Cast:

Ashley Bell

Pat Healy

Alan Ruck

Darby Stanchfield

James Landry Hébert

Larry Fessenden

Running Time: 86 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source: IFC Midnight

Selected Filmography:

Darling (2015)

Pod (2015)

Ritual (2013)

Ultra Violence (2011)

L’ADN DU CEVICHE

Ceviche’s DNA

CANADA/PERU 2015

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, JUNE 6 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Peru has only recently been deemed a new hot spot for cuisine, but their superstar dish, ceviche, has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. Made up of as few as five ingredients—raw fish, salt, lemon, chili pepper, and onion—ceviche is a huge part of Peruvian culture and history. Originally prepared and eaten on the wooden boats of fishermen, ceviche is now the epitome of Peru’s gastronomical evolution, and still a delicious national dish. This documentary travels from region to region, festival to farmer’s market, to see the differences in the process of making, serving, and celebrating ceviche. Interviewing top chefs, small-town cooks, families, and fishermen, director Orlando Arriagada explores not only the culinary aspects of this dish but the environmental and sociopolitical facets as well. Ceviche’s DNA illustrates how this simple yet scrumptious appetizer crosses social statuses and generations, gathering people together and strengthening Peru’s relationships among fishermen, cooks, consumers, and nature.

Director: Orlando Arriagada

Producer: Orlando Arriagada

Screenwriter: Louis-François Grenier

Cinematographers: Alain Fournier

François Léger-Savard

Editor: Guillermo Lopez-Pérez

Music: La Hacienda Creative

Featuring: José Antonio del Castillo

Victor Pimentel

Ulla Holmquist

Valentín Paso Purisaca

Santiago Uceda Castillo

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Production Pimiento Inc.

Film Website: adnceviche.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Sponsored by Thomas Zimmermann

CONTRE-POUVOIRS

Checks and Balances

ALGERIA/FRANCE 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:00 PM

Chevalier

GREECE 2015

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In Checks and Balances, Algerian documentarian Malek Bensmaïl offers an inspiring and invigorating portrait of the press at work in the form of one of his home country’s most vocal anti-establishment newspapers, El Watan. Specifically, the film chronicles the paper’s coverage of the recent electoral campaign in which opposition politician Ali Benflis sought to replace Algeria’s longest-serving ruler, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose 17-year tenure is widely attributed to his party’s control of the country’s mass media. (Benflis’ previous attempt was also documented by Bensmaïl in his 2005 film The Big Game.) In a manner reminiscent of Page One: Inside The New York Times (SIFF 2011), Bensmaïl embeds himself within the El Watan newsroom, a fly on the wall to the journalists’ arguments large and small over everything from politics to punctuation, as well as their dedication, camaraderie, and dark humor. Particularly relevant now that journalists accused of damaging “the morale of the nation” face tough new penalties in a crackdown on investigative reporting, Checks and Balances offers thrilling proof that democracy—with all the debate, dissent, and discussion it entails—is alive and well in Algeria . . . in the press at least, if not in the presidency.

Director:

Malek Bensmaïl

Producer:

Hachemi Zertal

Screenwriter:

Malek Bensmaïl

Cinematographers: Malek Bensmaïl

Ouadi Guenich

Editor:

Matthieu Bretaud

Music:

Camel Zekri

Marboeuf Phil

Featuring: Omar Belhouchet

Hacéne Ouali

Hassene Moali

Mustapha Benfodil

Ali Benyahia

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Berber, French, and Arabic, with English subtitles

Print Source: Hikayet Films

Film Website: contre-pouvoirs-le-film. com

Selected Filmography: China Is Still Far (2010)

The Big Game (Doc, 2005)

Alienations (Doc, 2004)

Despite All Holidays (Doc, 2001)

SUNDAY, MAY 22 8:00 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Leave it to a woman (Attenberg director Athina Rachel Tsangari) to make the squirm-inducing satire that machismo so richly deserves. Six relatively well-to-do, middle-aged male friends and business associates are enjoying some time away from it all on a luxury yacht in the Aegean Sea. Someone suggests a game of chevalier to while away the last couple of days. It’s a contest of manhood, in which each of them suggests a test or a trial and everyone scores his competitors on such manly qualities as IKEA flatpack assembly, sleeping, and, inevitably, erection size. They can also win or lose points for deportment, sociability, and savoir faire. If “Esquire” were a reality TV show, it might resemble Chevalier (and frankly, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone snapped up the remake rights). For the most part, though, Tsangari goes for the slow burn; this is dry, mordant observational comedy rather than gross-out slapstick or caricature. That said, there is more than enough here to mortify any male of a certain age, and delight the women who put up with him.

Awards:

London Film Festival 2015 (Best Film)

Sarajevo Film Festival 2015 (Best Ensemble)

Thessaloniki Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director:

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Producers: Maria Hatzakou

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Screenwriters: Efthimis Filippou

Athina Rachel Tsangari

Cinematographer: Christos Karamanis

Editors:

Matthew Johnson

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Cast: Yorgos Kendros

Panos Koronis

Vangelis Mourikis

Makis Papadimitriou

Yorgos Pirpassopoulos

Sakis Rouvas

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Greek, with English subtitles

International Sales: The Match Factory

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: strandreleasing.com/ films/chevalier

Selected Filmography: Attenberg (2010)

The Slow Business of Going (2000)

Chicken People USA 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 3:30 PM

Like a real-life Best in Show that exchanges barks for a hefty chorus of “ba-CAW!,” Chicken People peeks (and pecks) behind the curtain of competitive poultry. Each year, chicken breeders from around the country gather at the Ohio National Poultry Show in Columbus, where judges assess more than 10,000 chickens, geese, ducks, and other fowl based on the criteria of the American Standard of Perfection, an 1874 illustrated guide to what makes “the perfect chicken.” This quirky, eggciting documentary pals around with three “hatchaholics”: Brian Caraker, a professional performer in a cheesy 1960s-themed show in Branson, Missouri; Shari McCollough, a homemaker in Crawfordsville, Indiana, whose property is so overrun with animals it might as well be a zoo; and Brian Knox, a race engine builder in Wear, New Hampshire, who works on tractor pulls. All these subjects refuse to wing it: “I love my children,” Shari says, “but poultry is my life,” while Brian C. mourns living in a small apartment, forcing his admittedly “not chicken people” parents to tend to his poultry while he pursues his singing career. In a high-stakes world where a single broken feather can mean a shattered dream, each breeder and their bevy of birds chase the ultimate prize in competitive poultry—the Super Grand Champion trophy—and enduring glory.

Director: Nicole Lucas Haimes

Producers: Terry Leonard

Caroline Kaplan

Christopher Clements

Julie Goldman

Cinematographer: Martina Radwan

Editors: Kevin Klauber

Sara Booth

Music: Michael Hearst

Featuring: Brian Caraker Brian Knox

Shari McCollough

Running Time: 83 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Cinetic Media

Print Source: CMT

Film Website: chickenpeople.net

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Chimes at Midnight

SPAIN 1966

TUESDAY, MAY 24 7:00 PM

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,” King Henry IV mutters to himself in his eponymous play, but the quote could just as easily apply to Orson Welles. A giant in the worlds of theater and film, Welles nevertheless had a tumultuous journey through Hollywood, constantly battling studios over final cut and, in the most storied part of his career, going head-to-head with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst over the thinly fictionalized narrative of Citizen Kane. By the 1960s, Welles had little clout, going so far as to promise to direct an adaptation of “Treasure Island”—a film that never came to fruition— in order to finance his lifelong dream project, 1966’s Chimes at Midnight, now newly restored from a long-lost 35mm print. A groundbreaking and gritty adaptation that streamlines five of Shakespeare’s plays—both parts of “Henry IV,” “Richard II,” “Henry V,” and “The Merry Wives of Windsor”—Chimes refocuses the Bard’s narratives on the relationship between childhood friends Prince Hal (Keith Baxter) and the roguish Sir John Falstaff (Welles). As Falstaff assists Hal in navigating the complicated and deadly world of British royal politics, even heading into battle in one of Welles’ most triumphant directorial sequences, he is increasingly neglected and estranged, and the character once considered mere comic relief is transformed into one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragic figures.

Awards: Cannes Film Festival 1966 (20th Anniversary Prize, Technical Grand Prize)

Director: Orson Welles

Producers: Ángel Escolano

Emiliano Piedra

Harry Saltzman

Alessandro Tasca di Cuto

Screenwriter: Orson Welles

Cinematographer: Edmond Richard

Editors: Elena Jaumandreu

Fritz Muller

Music:

Angelo Francesco Lavagnino

Cast:

Orson Welles

Keith Baxter

John Gielgud

Norman Rodway

Alan Webb

Tony Beckley

Margaret Rutherford

Jeanne Moreau

Marina Vlady

Fernando Rey

Running Time: 116 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Janus Films

Film Website: janusfilms.com/chimes

Selected Filmography: Filming “Othello” (1978)

F for Fake (1975)

The Immortal Story (1968)

The Trial (1962)

Touch of Evil (1958)

Mr. Arkadin (a.k.a. Confidential Report) (1955)

Othello (1952)

Macbeth (1948)

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

The Stranger (1946)

Journey into Fear (1943)

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

Citizen Kane (1941)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Chucks

AUSTRIA 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 24 8:45 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

MONDAY, MAY 30 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

After her brother died of AIDS, Mae’s family fell apart. She quit school and now lives in a messy flat with a few other young punks who roam the streets of Vienna at night, spray-painting buildings and chugging cans of cheap beer. Her most prized possession is a pair of her brother’s red Converse Chuck Taylors, which she lugs around everywhere. When Mae gets caught tagging by the police, she picks volunteering at an AIDS center over spending time at a women’s prison, and it’s there that she meets and falls in love with Paul, a patient. Director Sabine Hiebler balances the tenderness of new love, young rebellion, and unavoidably tragic circumstance in such a way that Chucks avoids the fate of being playedout and overly sentimental. Vibrant cinematography and a killer electro-pop soundtrack, joined to an irresistible performance by relative newcomer Anna Posch, help breathe new life into this romantic drama, making Chucks a must-see.

Awards: Montreal World Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Directors:

Sabine Hiebler

Gerhard Ertl

Producers: Danny Krausz

Kurt Stolker

Screenwriters: Sabine Hiebler

Gerhard Ertl

Cinematographer: Wolfgang Thaler

Editor:

Rolan Stöttinger

Music:

Soap&Skin

Hella Comet

Monsterheart

Julian & der Fux

Propella

Chrome

Bilderbuch

Clara Luzia

APPARAT

Matthew Herbert

Cast:

Anna Posch

Markus Subramaniam

Thomas Schubert

Stefanie Reinsperger

Susi Stach

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Summerside International

Print Source:

Summerside International

Film Website: chucks-derfilm.at/en

Selected Filmography: Aufgang 80 (2011) Nogo (2002)

Claire in Motion USA 2016

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Claire (Betsy Brandt, “Breaking Bad”) isn’t the type to give up on anything. It’s been three weeks since her husband, Paul (Chris Beetem), disappeared into the woods, and although the official police investigation has been closed and even her young son is beginning to grieve, Claire knows there has to be more to what’s going on. Her fiercely independent search begins to uncover several troubling pieces of information concerning her husband and his sudden disappearance. When she eventually meets a mysterious and manipulative female graduate student who claims to have been working with Paul on a long-term project, Claire begins to question their entire relationship and the man she thought she knew, as well as her own personal identity. Directors Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson (Small, Beautifully Moving Parts) craft a haunting meditation that balances between missing-person thriller and psychological study, subtly exploring a drama of emotional crisis through its raw and authentic characters. Featuring a standout lead performance by Brandt, Claire in Motion is a genre-bending film about loss, discovering truths, and what it takes to keep moving forward.

Directors:

Lisa Robinson

Annie J. Howell

Producers:

Annie J. Howell

Lisa Robinson

Jenny Deller

Screenwriters: Lisa Robinson

Annie J. Howell

Cinematographer: Andreas Burgess

Editor: Jim Isler

Music: Xander Duell

Cast: Betsy Brandt

Anna Margaret Hollyman

Sakina Jaffrey

Chris Beetem

Ken Strunk

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: Visit Films

Print Source: Visit Films

Film Website: claireinmotion.com

Selected Filmography: Small, Beautifully Moving Parts (2011)

Closet Monster

CANADA 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:30 PM

Coconut Hero

GERMANY/CANADA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 23 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Mixing affecting drama with whimsical fantasy and elements of Cronenbergian body horror, this striking, sometimes shocking, and often unexpectedly funny debut feature chronicles a high-school student wrestling with his sexuality and learning how to find his own way. Aspiring special-effects makeup artist Oscar Madly (Connor Jessup) needs out of many things: his restrictive home life with his judgmental father, the small Newfoundland town that is suffocating his creativity, and the closet where he has been nervously hiding since witnessing a brutal hate crime as a young boy. He has support from two key figures: his best friend Gemma and his pet hamster Buffy (named for a certain Vampire Slayer), who talks to him with the unmistakable voice of Isabella Rossellini. Buffy provides welcome advice (and comic relief) as Oscar struggles with nightmare visions of revealing his sexuality to the world, along with increasingly erratic confrontations with his father. When he meets the perfect-looking Wilder, a cool, carefree rebel who embodies a world Oscar’s only dreamed of, he is uncontrollably smitten and can no longer hold back his urges to break free no matter the consequences. Writer/director Stephen Dunn, 26, who grew up in a small Newfoundland town much like Oscar’s, brings a refreshingly offbeat sensibility—laced with cinematic visions from auteur horror films—to this wholly original tale of self-discovery.

Awards: Toronto International Film Festival 2015 (Best Canadian Feature) Atlantic Film Festival 2015 (Best Atlantic Director, Atlantic Screenplay)

Director:

Stephen Dunn

Producers: Kevin Krikst

Fraser Ash

Edward J. Martin

Screenwriter: Stephen Dunn

Cinematographer: Bobby Shore

Editor:

Bryan Atkinson

Music: Maya Postepski

Todor Kobakov

Cast: Connor Jessup

Aaron Abrams

Joanne Kelly

Aliocha Schneider

Jack Fulton

Isabella Rossellini

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Fortissimo Films

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: strandreleasing.com/ films/closet-monster

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 2:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

16-year-old Mike Tyson (no, not that one) is stuck living with his overbearing single mother in a tiny Canadian mining town that no longer has a mine. Assuming he has little to live for, Mike leaves instructions on how to feed his fish, covers the room in plastic tarps, calls in an obituary for the next day’s newspaper, and shoots himself in the head with his absent father’s rifle. Despite his impeccable planning, Mike wakes up the next day at the hospital having survived the attempt, but the doctor has made a surprising discovery—Mike has a walnut-sized brain tumor. Mike’s return to school is a walk of shame: The newspaper still ran his obituary, and he now dons a head bandage that invites expanded taunts from his classmates. After meeting with a therapist (the always-unique Udo Kier), Mike is assigned to a dedicated social worker named Miranda, who has some particularly unconventional means of therapy. (Skinnydipping, anyone?) Before long, Mike may just begin to find that life is worth living. Like its protagonist, Florian Cossen’s unique sophomore feature begins awkwardly and grows into a winning audience favorite. Working from a spectacular script by Elena von Saucken and featuring a well-calibrated lead performance by Alex Ozerov (“Orphan Black”), Coconut Hero is exciting to discover and share with anyone who will listen.

Director: Florian Cossen

Producers: Jochen Laube

Fabian Maubach

Screenwriter: Elena von Saucken

Cinematographer: Brendan Steacy

Editor: Philipp Thomas

Music: Matthias Klein

Cast: Alex Ozerov

Bea Santos

Krista Bridges

Sebastian Schipper

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Beta Cinema

Print Source: Beta Cinema

Film Website: coconuthero.de

Selected Filmography: The Day I Was Not Born (2010)

Come What May

SUNDAY, MAY 22 5:00 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 12:30 PM

In Christian Carion’s latest film, we see the wrenching drama of the 1940 Wehrmacht invasion in detail as eight million French citizens fled the advance of the blitzkrieg. This historical epic is told through a handful of refugees who flee on foot through the fields of Nord-Pas-de-Calais in hopes of reaching the sea. Paul (Olivier Gourmet), the mayor of one of the besieged towns, tries to lead the exodus along with young schoolteacher Suzanne (Alice Isaaz). Amid this group is Hans (August Diehl), a German expat who had fled Nazi Germany with his son, Max (Joshio Marlon), only to see the war come to him. After being briefly jailed and released during the invasion, Hans loses track of Max and begins a desperate search. Along the way, he meets Percy (Matthew Rhys), a Scottish officer who is the sole survivor of his English squad. Together the lost men form a wary friendship as they head toward the coast, battling the German army in hot pursuit. Cinematographer Pierre Cottereau captures the springtime beauty of the pastoral French locations, even during a terrifying sequence of a Luftwaffe air raid on the column of refugees. With a moving score by Ennio Morricone, Come What May is an elegiac, heartbreaking depiction of the nobility of ordinary people caught up in events beyond their control.

Complete Unknown USA 2016

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SHORELINE CC

Director:

Christian Carion

Producers: Christophe Rossignon

Philip Boëffard

Screenwriters: Laure Irrmann

Christian Carion

Andrew Bampfield

Cinematographer: Pierre Cottereau

Editor: Laure Gardette

Music: Ennio Morricone

Cast:

August Diehl

Olivier Gourmet

Mathilde Seigner

Alice Isaaz

Matthew Rhys

Joshio Marlon

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Pathé International

Print Source: Cohen Media Group

Film Website: cohenmedia.net/films/ come-what-may

Selected Filmography: Farewell (2009) Merry Christmas (2005)

The Girl From Paris (2001)

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:30 PM SHORELINE CC

Have you ever wanted to disappear, to be able to travel anonymously through life, able to leave versions of yourself behind without a trace, without responsibility? Alice (Oscar® winner Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener) has done this for 15 years, shedding personalities like snakeskin and starting anew. But this bridge-burning approach to life leaves embers in its wake, and when Alice is recognized at an intimate birthday party in New York, a fire reignites. Tom (Michael Shannon, Midnight Special), now an agricultural analyst with a jewelry-designer wife (Azita Ghanizada, “Alphas”), once dated Alice—or as she was then, Jenny—and when he spots her on a co-worker’s arm, he’s determined to figure out what happened over a decade ago… and more important, why? Paced more like a two-character chamber piece in the vein of Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight (appropriately, both films were lensed by cinematographer Christos Voudouris), Complete Unknown is a shift in tone for director Joshua Marston, trading the melodrama of his 2004 breakout Maria Full of Grace for a quieter, more philosophical approach, one that lets conversations and events simmer instead of explode. Through Weisz’s and Shannon’s magnetic performances, as well as a dazzling aside featuring acting veterans Kathy Bates and Danny Glover, this is a sophisticated, existential drama of identity and personal responsibility.

Director: Joshua Marston

Producers: Lucas Joaquin

Jay Van Hoy

Lars Knudsen

Screenwriters: Joshua Marston

Julian Sheppard

Cinematographer: Christos Voudouris

Editor: Malcolm Jamieson

Music: Danny Bensi

Saunder Jurriaans

Cast: Rachel Weisz

Michael Shannon

Kathy Bates

Danny Glover

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Protagonist Pictures

Print Source: Sundance Selects

Film Website: completeunknownmovie. com

Selected Filmography: The Forgiveness of Blood (2012)

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

LA FELICITÀ È UN SISTEMA COMPLESSO

The Complexity of Happiness

ITALY 2015

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 8:30 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5:30 PM ARK LODGE

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

To those who have inherited a family business, pray you never see Enrico Giusti darken your door. Enrico (Valerio Mastandrea) is not a hatchet man, he’s more of a persuader. When a family-owned corporation is concerned that the next in line is too incompetent to run a business, it calls Enrico, who gradually convinces the young heirs to step down before the whole enterprise collapses. He is known for his tenacity, careful to let his client come to the realization of a necessary career change. The son of a corporate titan who left his empire in disgrace and abandoned his family, Enrico has made it his life’s work to ensure other dynasties don’t meet the same fate. His life is turned around following the deaths of a famous husband-and-wife entrepreneurial team, whose company enlists Enrico to prevent the couple’s two young heirs, aged 18 and 13, from taking over. At the same time, a beautiful, mysterious woman named Achrinoam (Hadas Yaron) suddenly appears in Enrico’s apartment uninvited, saying she is the ex-girlfriend of Enrico’s brother and has nowhere else to go. With Achrinoam observing every move, and the teen heirs’ steadfast refusal to give in to their late parents’ wishes, Enrico begins to question his entire worldview. Director Gianni Zanasi’s wry comedy about fathers, sons, and the conflicting expectations of heritage shows that a family inheritance can be just as much emotional as financial.

Director: Gianni Zanasi

Producers: Rita Rognoni

Beppe Caschetto

Screenwriters: Gianni Zanasi

Michele Pellegrini

Lorenzo Favella

Cinematographer: Vladan Radovic

Editor:

Ugo De Rossi

Music:

Niccoló Contessa

Cast: Valerio Mastandrea

Hadas Yaron

Giuseppe Battiston

Filippo De Carli

Camilla Martini

Running Time: 117 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Rai Com

Print Source: Rai Com

Selected Filmography:

Ciao Stefano (2007)

Life Is Short, but the Day Is Far Too Long (Doc, 2004)

Fuori di Me (2000)

A Domani (1999)

Nella Mischia (1995)

Concerto - A Beethoven Journey

UNITED KINGDOM 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Since the piano was Beethoven’s own instrument—he was, by all accounts, not only the greatest composer of his day but also the greatest pianist—it was natural that he turned to it to reveal his deepest, innermost thoughts in his 32 piano sonatas and other solo pieces. His five piano concertos, on the other hand, were written for public performance—to show himself off, in short—and can therefore be heard to represent the way Beethoven chose to present himself to the world, his relationship to a society in transition from the Age of Enlightenment to the more turbulent 19th century. To grow closer to this music, and thus to the composer himself, Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes spent 2011 to 2014 restudying, rethinking, and recording these concertos and performing them in 55 cities in 22 countries. Director Phil Grabsky (In Search of Mozart, SIFF 2007) followed him on his quest, gathering not only captivating performance footage (in collaboration with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and others) but a brilliant musician’s penetrating thoughts about music that has held a central place in the piano canon for 200 years. In return, Andsnes and Grabsky reinterpret, through the lens of these concertos, the biography of one of the West’s most mythologized artists.

Director: Phil Grabsky

Producer: Phil Grabsky

Screenwriter: Phil Grabsky

Cinematographer: Phil Grabsky

Editor: Rick Aplin

Music: Beethoven

Cast: Leif Ove Andsnes

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Seventh Art Productions

Film Website: seventh-art.com/ concerto-2

Selected Filmography: Matisse Live (Doc, 2014)

In Search of Chopin (Doc, 2014)

Leonardo Live (Doc, 2012)

In Search of Haydn (Doc, 2012)

The Boy Mir — Ten Years in Afghanistan (Doc, 2011)

In Search of Beethoven (Doc, 2009)

Escape From Luanda (Doc, 2007)

Heavy Water: A Film for Chernobyl (Doc, 2006)

In Search of Mozart (Doc, 2006)

The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan (Doc, 2003)

Muhammad Ali — Through the Eyes of the World (Doc, 2001)

Contemporary Color

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 8:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 1:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

David Byrne, iconic musician and front man of the New Wave rock band Talking Heads (1975–91), was first introduced to the sport of color guard when a team asked to license his music for their competition. Unfamiliar with color guard, Byrne was struck by its creative scope and mesmerizing patterns in movement. Color guard is rooted in military flag marching, complete with choreography that includes tossing prop rifles and sabers, and is as popular in some American high schools as the marching band. In the summer of 2015, Byrne decided to stage an event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, uniquely combining 10 high-school color-guard teams with different musicians and artists, including St. Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, Zola Jesus, and even Ira Glass. This one-of-akind live event was recorded and crafted into a entertaining and inspirational documentary by Bill and Turner Ross (45365, Tchoupitoulas, Western), two filmmaker brothers known for their compelling profiles of the relationship between culture and humanity. Contemporary Color, covering the live performances as well as behind-the-curtain interviews with artists and teenage performers, is an explosively unique, sequin-studded experience, shining a spotlight on an otherwise overlooked sport.

Awards: Tribeca Film Festival 2016 (Best Documentary Cinematography, Documentary Editing

Directors:

Bill Ross IV

Turner Ross

Producers:

Josh Penn

Michael Gottwald

Dan Janvey

David Byrne

Cinematographers:

Jarred Alterman

Bill Ross IV

Turner Ross

Editor:

Bill Ross IV

Music:

David Byrne

Lucius

Nico Muhly

Ira Glass

Nelly Furtado

St. Vincent

Devonté Hynes

How to Dress Well

Zola Jesus

Ad-Rock

Money Mark

tUnE-yArDs

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source:

Court 13

Film Website: contemporarycolor.com

Selected Filmography:

Western (Doc, 2015)

Tchoupitoulas (Doc, 2012)

45365 (Doc, 2009)

The Coop

TURKEY 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 8:00 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE KÜMES

In the 1950s, in a village high in the hills of Antalya where ancient stone buildings sparsely punctuate the rolling countryside, a two-room house sits atop a barn, fronted by a chicken coop. There live Saniye, Suleyman, and their three children. One day Saniye is diagnosed with tuberculosis and told she has not long to live. From her hospital bed, she asks her husband to take on a new wife who can care for their children after her death. However, six months pass, and, to everyone’s surprise, Saniye is completely cured. She returns to her house, now also home to the new wife, and an awkward cohabitation begins. “You sleep with the children!” the husband directs his first wife upon her arrival, sending them all downstairs to the barn. Later, this arrangement is amended: “I will sleep with her two nights, and you the third. Why are you complaining?” No one is satisfied; jealousy and competition run rampant—until an unexpected turn of events brings the chickens home to roost. This evocative debut film by Turkish actor Ufuk Bayraktar (Climates), who also plays Suleyman, was inspired by the experiences of his own grandmothers.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Ufuk Bayraktar

Producers: Ufuk Bayraktar

Ali Adnan Ozgur

Screenwriter: Ufuk Bayraktar

Cinematographer: Yusuf Aslanyurek

Editor: Ufuk Bayraktar

Music: Gokce Akcelik

Cast: Ufuk Bayraktar

Hasibe Eren

Selen Domaç

Running Time: 86 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Turkish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Hic Film

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

A Copy of My Mind

INDONESIA/SOUTH KOREA 2015

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 3:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

Sari works in a third-rate beauty salon and spends her evenings at home in a cramped and dark room watching pirated films, while Alek ekes out a living producing subtitles for illegal DVDs. When Sari complains about the poor quality of the subtitles to her regular DVD dealer, he passes her on to Alek to deal with. Soon these two are not just watching films together, but becoming romantically involved. Meanwhile Sari has found a new job at a more upscale beauty salon. Her new boss asks her to give a facial to a high-profile convict in prison—one of his best customers, Mrs. Mirna. As a “special prisoner,” Mrs. Mirna is afforded the luxuries of an air conditioner, fridge, home theater, and DVD collection in her cell. When Sari steals a DVD from Mrs. Mirna, mistakenly believing it to be a monster movie, she comes to find out that it contains evidence of political corruption in a presidential campaign. Soon enough Mrs. Mirna notices the DVD has gone missing from her shelf, and Sari and Alek become ensnared in the web of lies and deceit to cover up the conspiracy. Director Joko Anwar conveys the political and social turmoil faced by so many in Jakarta, and the ways two people deal with the systemic corruption and inequality of the Indonesian government.

Awards: Citra Awards 2016 (Best Director, Actress, Sound Editing)

KURÎPÎ

Creepy

JAPAN 2016

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 8:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 8:45 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Director: Joko Anwar

Producers: Tia Hasibuan

Uwie Balfas

Screenwriter: Joko Anwar

Cinematographer: Ical Tanjung

Editor: Arifin Cuunk

Music: Rooftopsound

Cast: Tara Basro

Chicco Jerikho Maera Panigoro

Paul Agusta

Ario Bayu

Running Time: 116 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Indonesian, with English subtitles

International Sales: CJ Entertainment

Print Source: CJ Entertainment

Selected Filmography: Ritual (2012)

The Forbidden Door (2009)

Joni’s Promise (2005)

If you’re a fan of Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure or Pulse, then you’re in for a spine-tingling treat with this big-screen adaptation of Yutaka Maekawa’s mystery novel. After having narrowly escaped an attempt on his life at the hands of a psychopath, detective inspector Takakura (Hidetoshi Nishijima, The Wind Rises) quits active service in the police force. Moving into a new house with his wife Yasuko (Yuko Takeuchi, Ringu) in the suburbs to start a new life, he takes up a position as a university lecturer in criminal psychology. Not quite satisfied with academic life, Takakura becomes curious about an unsolved missingpersons case from six years back involving a family’s disappearance and the teenage daughter they left behind. As he digs deeper, he begins to suspect that his next-door neighbor, the decidedly odd Mr. Nishino (Teruyuki Kagawa, Tokyo Sonata), may somehow be involved. As past and present merge, unraveling the two becomes a labyrinthine web of deception and secrets. Hypnotic, dripping with atmosphere, and scary as hell, Kurosawa delivers the goods with skin-crawling creepiness to spare.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Producers: Hiroshi Fukusawa

Setsuko Sumida

Satoshi Akagi

Satoko Ishida

Screenwriters: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Chihiro Ikeda

Cinematographer: Akiko Ashizawa

Editor:

Koichi Takahashi

Music: Yuri Habuka

Cast:

Yuko Takeuchi

Teruyuki Kagawa

Masahiro Higashide

Hidetoshi Nishijima

Running Time: 130 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Shochiku Co., Ltd

Print Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd

Film Website: shochikufilms.com/ product/creepy

Selected Filmography: Journey to the Shore (2014)

Tokyo Sonata (2008)

Loft (2005)

Doppelganger (2003)

Bright Future (2003)

Pulse (2001)

Cure (1997)

From its glittering downtown skyline, to its schools, neighborhoods and parks...

No one covers Bellevue like we do!

AL MONATAF

The Curve

JORDAN/FRANCE/EGYPT/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Palestinian Radi (Ashraf Barhoum, Paradise

Now) lives alone in a blue VW camper van, where he seems to be as much a refugee from his own life as from any geographical location. As he makes his way across Jordan, he encounters others in similar straits: Laila is Palestinian but is returning to the Yourmouk camp in Syria after a failed marriage. When her taxi driver tries to rob her, Radi (somewhat unwillingly) comes to the rescue. Sami, meanwhile, is an exiled Lebanese television director whose car breaks down on the road to Irbid. Inside the van, the three talk about the places and people they’ll never see again. Outside the van, fragments of memory flash by like scenery, and in the company of his fellow travelers, Radi gradually begins to open up. The most recent entry in a long catalogue of films from the Middle East on the experience of displacement, Rifqi Assaf’s impressive debut feature is part road trip movie, part lyrical meditation on the perpetual journey that is exile.

Director: Rifqi Assaf

Producers: Rula Nasser

Mohamed Hefzy

Maingot Xenia

Screenwriter: Rifqi Assaf

Cinematographer: Piotr Jaxa

Editor: Doaa Fadel

Music: Suad Lakišić Bushnaq

Cast: Ashraf Barhoum

Fatina Layla

Mazen Mouadam

Ashraf Telfah

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Arabic, with English subtitles

Print Source: The Imaginarium Films

Film Website: theimaginariumfilms.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

AUSMA

Dawn

LATVIA/POLAND/ESTONIA 2015 US PREMIERE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 8:30 PM

KIRKLAND PC

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

Based on a mythic propaganda story that is traced back to 1932, Dawn is about Pavel Trofimovich Morozov, better known as Pavlik. Praised by the Soviet government as a political martyr, Pavlik was a 13-year-old boy who denounced his father to the authorities as an anti-Soviet. Pavlik’s story has been a prototype for several writings, songs, plays, an opera, and now Latvian filmmaker Lilia Pakalnin ‚a’s feature film. However, her version reworks the story, setting it in a nondescript era with a hero named Janis, a young pioneer living on a collective farm commune called “Dawn” in Soviet Latvia. Indoctrinated to believe in the future utopia promised by the communist system, Janis betrays his drunken, murderous father, and tragic repercussions follow. Pakalnin ‚ a’s monochrome landscapes are impressively comparable to those of Andrei Tarkovsky or Alexei German Sr., yet she accomplishes them with a lighter touch. Dawn brings farce, grotesquerie, and tragedy together in a highly stylized cautionary tale against becoming a cog in the wheel of political systems.

Awards:

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2015 (Best Cinematography)

Director: Laila Pakalnin,a

Producers: Laila Pakalnin,a

Kaspar Kallas

Malgorzata Staron

Screenwriter: Laila Pakalnin,a

Cinematographer: Woitec Staron

Editor: Kaspar Kallas

Music: Vestard Shimkus

Cast: Antons Grauds

Vilis Daudzins

Wiktor Zbarovsky

Andris Keish

Liena Smukste

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Latvian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Laila Pakalnin,a

Print Source: Hargla Company

Film Website: facebook.com/filmausma

Selected Filmography: Skurstenis (Doc, 2013)

Pizzas (2012)

Par Dzimteniti (Doc, 2008)

The Hostage (2006)

Buss (Doc, 2004)

The Python (2003)

Tusya (2000)

The Shoe (1998)

Dead Slow Ahead

SPAIN/FRANCE 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 21 9:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:00 PM

What is it like to travel across the Atlantic aboard a freighter? For over two and a half months, that is exactly what filmmaker Mauro Herce does, spending hours each day filming the crew aboard the Fair Lady Dead Slow Ahead takes the viewer beyond the conventional documentary narrative into an observational and non-intrusive perspective on life aboard a large ship, focusing on the crew’s feelings of isolation and narrated by the soundtrack of heavy machinery and open waters. As the ship makes its journey, we follow two unnamed crew members working day and night to get to their next port of call in a seemingly never-ending voyage that could allow for deep periods of self-reflection or utter madness. Moments of telephone conversations with their families transport audiences back to the familiar territory of life on land and the crew members back to humanity, far from the lonesome and frigid Atlantic. Life on the Fair Lady is anything but fast-paced or unfamiliar; it is a place that challenges human notions of time and reality in a vessel in constant motion, shaped by the environment that surrounds it.

Awards:

Locarno International Film Festival 2016 (Cinema of the Present Special Jury Prize)

SIFF FILM CENTER

SIFF FILM CENTER

SIFF FILM CENTER

Director: Mauro Herce

Producers: Jose Alayon

Buven Durall

Mauro Herce

Screenwriter: Mauro Herce

Cinematographer: Mauro Herce

Editor: Manuel Munoz

Music: Jose Manuel Berenguer

Running Time: 76 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Tagalog, with English subtitles

International Sales: Bocalupo Films

Print Source: Bocalupo Films

Film Website: bocalupofilms.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

MUERTE POR MIL CORTES

Death By a Thousand Cuts

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC/HAITI/USA 2016 US PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

On January 8, 2012, a Dominican park ranger, Eligio Eloy Vargas—known to friends and family as Melaneo—was found brutally murdered by machete in the Sierra de Bahoruco National Park. At the time he was believed to have been on patrol investigating an illegal charcoal-production site run by Haitians coming across the border into protected Dominican forests. Melaneo’s murder soon became emblematic of increasing tensions between the two countries (who share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola) over illicit charcoal exploitation and mass deforestation—the murder weapon itself being the tool used to chop down thousands of Dominican trees. Death By a Thousand Cuts investigates the systematic eradication of the Dominican forests and how those circumstances contributed to Melaneo’s killing. As with many global struggles for natural resources, the fight for survival has led to scapegoating and xenophobia, fueled by recent anti-immigration policies passed by the Dominican Republic. Through interviews with Melaneo’s wife, his brother, and other locals along the border, filmmakers Juan Mejia Botero and Jake Kheel explore how the lives of Dominicans and Haitians are enveloped in a complex web of interdependent relationships and the far-reaching socioeconomic consequences deforestation has wrought upon both countries.

Directors: Juan Mejia Botero

Jake Kheel

Producers: Ben Selkow

Jake Kheel

Cinematographer: Juan Carlos Castañeda

Editor: Adriana Pacheco

Music:

Daniel Miller

Running Time: 73 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish and Kreyol, with English subtitles

International Sales: Cinephil

Print Source: 34lukefilms

Film Website: deathbyathousandcutsfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Death by Design

CHINA/IRELAND 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 12:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 22 6:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

How many electronic devices do you have?

How often do you upgrade your phone?

What do you do with your old electronic devices? The answers may not mean much to the average consumer, but they point to a worldwide disaster that is bigger than any one person’s relation to their smartphone. The cataclysmic effects of massive industrialization are impossible to ignore: Companies discharge waste into lakes and rivers, poisoning populations that can do little to fight back; employees at manufacturing plants suffer from poor working conditions and punishingly low pay, leading many to attempt suicide; defunct electronic equipment is hazardously deposited in rural Asian communities, leading to enormous amounts of pollution. Death by Design seeks to open your eyes to the environmental and human cost of the Information Age by checking in on experts and civilians alike around the world, most notably chronicling lawsuits in Silicon Valley and New York that sought damages from cancer-causing companies, and exclusive footage from the inside of Foxconn, a city-sized production base in Shenzhen, China. But all is not necessarily lost, as the documentary spotlights such companies as iFixit, the world’s largest online repair manual, run by two “reluctant capitalists,” and Dublin-based iAMECO, which assembles computers out of wood and other recycled materials.

Director: Sue Williams

Producers: Hilary Klotz Steinman

Sue Williams

Screenwriter: Sue Williams

Cinematographer: Sam Shinn

Editor: Adam Zucker

Music: Paul Brill

Featuring: Ted Smith

Ma Jun

Kyle Wiens

Luke Soules

Paul Maher

Running Time: 73 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Ambrica Productions

Film Website: deathbydesignfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

DECONSTRUYENDO A DANI GARCÍA

Deconstructing Dani García

SPAIN 2015

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

In January 2014, Spanish Michelin starawarded chef Dani García came to a crucial crossroads in his career. The restaurant García cooked at decided not to continue as an establishment, leaving him scrambling to come up with a new idea and a new kitchen to manage. Food for García has always been a celebration, whether it be in his mother’s house, eating her home-cooked meals with his young daughters, or in a chaotic kitchen mastering a more nouvelle cuisine menu. Yet sometimes he second-guesses himself— wondering if all the stress, nights away from his family, and financial difficulties are even worth it. Deconstructing Dani García is a documentary that chronicles García’s rise and fall and rise again as he loses everything and, with the support of his closest friends and family, begins anew, opening a visionary establishment in New York that combines haute cuisine with more accessible dining. Celebrating not only delicious food and the talent of García, Deconstructing Dani García is a flavorful and inspirational look at creativity and dedication in the face of adversary.

Directors: Iñigo Ruiz

Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas

Producers: Juan Jóse López

Dani García

Jesús Javier Ruiz

Screenwriters: Iñigo Ruiz

Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas

Cinematographers: Adolpho Canhadas

José Luis Pimoulier

Editors: Alfonso Cortés-Cavanillas

Juancho Banuelos

Music: Carlos Martín

Running Time: 72 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Freak Independent Film Agency

Print Source: Freak Independent Film Agency

Film Website: agenciafreak. com/largometraje/ DECONSTRUYENDO-ADANI-GARCAA/626

Selected Filmography:

RUIZ:

Debut Feature Film

CORTÉS-CAVANILLAS

Los días no vividos (2012)

PRZYLGNIECIE

Demon

POLAND/ISRAEL 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:30 PM

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:30 PM

There are stories that have no ends, and are never laid to rest, and this is one of them. Piotr, a young man from England, journeys to Poland to marry blond beauty Zaneta. Helping her family (whom he has never met) prepare the old homestead for the huge upcoming wedding, he uncovers human remains on the property. This disturbance of bones unleashes startling events that affect everyone at the wedding. Not a horror film, Demon is more like a melodramatic modern fairytale—the appearance of the uninvited guest—set in contemporary rural Poland. Director Marcin Wrona and co-scripter Paweł Maślona adapted their story from the 2008 play “Adherence” by Piotr Rowicki. However, in Jewish folklore, the term dybbuk dates back to the 17th century and is a story of a restless soul or evil spirit that “impregnates” a living person with separate personalities, usually for a limited period, causing chaos. Wrona’s Demon is a film that is just as terrifying as any horror film—but it’s the past that is the monster that keeps coming back to haunt.

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Marcin Wrona

Producer: Marcin Wrona

Screenwriters:

Marcin Wrona

Paweł Maślona

Cinematographer: Paweł Flis

Editor: Piotr Kmiecik

Music:

Krzysztof Penderecki

Marcin Macuk

Cast:

Itay Tiran

Agnieszka Żulewska

Tomasz Schuchardt

Andrzej Grabowski

Adam Woronowicz

Tomasz Ziętek

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Polish, English, and Yiddish, with English subtitles

International Sales: ICM

Print Source: The Orchard

Film Website: magnetmanfilm.com/ projekty/in-distribution/ demon

Selected Filmography: The Christening (2010) My Flesh My Blood (2009)

Disorder

FRANCE/BELGIUM 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN FRIDAY, MAY 27 4:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

A French Special Forces soldier, Vincent (Matthias Schoenaerts, The Danish Girl, Rust and Bone), returns home after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and soon begins experiencing night terrors and flashbacks. These clear indications of PTSD will effectively end his military career, leaving him with limited employment options. He decides to accept a position as a bodyguard from a wealthy Lebanese businessman, the unscrupulous Whalid (Percy Kemp). Vincent starts by working security detail for a party at Whalid’s luxurious estate, but when Whalid suddenly has to leave for a business trip, he entrusts Vincent to watch over his house as well as his family while he’s gone. Throughout the weekend, Vincent becomes increasingly more captivated by Jessie (Diane Kruger, “The Bridge,” Inglourious Basterds), Whalid’s glamorous yet elusive wife. As he starts to fall for her, he also grows more and more suspicious that someone is after her and her son. This slow-burning psychological thriller takes viewers on a serpentine journey through the what-ifs and paranoia of a troubled man, endlessly questioning Vincent’s sanity, and leaving the reality of danger a tightly wound mystery.

Awards: AFI Fest 2015 (Special Jury Mention for Direction)

Director: Alice Winocour

Producers: Isabelle MadelaineDharamsala

Émile Tisné

Screenwriters: Alice Winocour

Jean-Stéphane Bron

Cinematographer: George Lechaptois

Editor: Julien Lacheray

Music: Gesaffelstein

Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts

Diane Kruger

Paul Hamy

Zaïd Errougui-Demonsant

Percy Kemp

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Indie Sales

Print Source: IFC Films

Film Website: indiesales.eu/disorder

Selected Filmography: Augustine (2012)

Don’t Think Twice

USA 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 11:00 AM

Directed and written by comedian Mike Birbiglia, Don’t Think Twice is a heartfelt comedy about a New York City improv group in which each member faces the insecurity and the complex reality of pursuing a dream in the comedy world. Birbiglia stars with a uniformly excellent cast—including KeeganMichael Key, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, Gillian Jacobs, and Chris Gethard—collaborating as a Brooklyn-based troupe called The Commune. After losing their theater lease, they all have to reconsider their own paths as individual comedians and their relationships to one another, struggling to accept the differences in each member’s opportunities and slowly learning to deal with new tensions. Realistic, funny, but far from satirical, Birbiglia’s comedy succeeds in telling the story of six friends challenged by jealousy, talent, and sacrifice without ever forgetting about their sense of family, support, and encouragement. Don’t Think Twice will make you laugh, and maybe cry, and make all of us remember why we fight for our passions—even when they drive us crazy.

Director: Mike Birbiglia

Producers: Mike Birbiglia

Ira Glass

Miranda Bailey

Amanda Marshall

Screenwriter: Mike Birbiglia

Cinematographer: Joe Anderson

Editor: Geoffrey Richman

Music: Roger Neill

Cast: Keegan-Michael Key Gillian Jacobs

Mike Birbiglia

Kate Micucci

Tami Sagher

Chris Gethard

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: The Film Arcade

Selected Filmography: Sleepwalk With Me (2012)

Dragon Inn

TAIWAN 1967

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 7:00 PM

One of the most influential and magnificent films to emerge from the popular Chinese wuxia (“fighting hero”) genre, 1967’s Dragon Inn opens with Cao, the Emperor’s powerful chief eunuch, betraying his chief political rival, the Minister of Defense General Yu, who is in turn executed, his son and daughter banished to the western outskirts of China. Fearing future vengeance from Yu’s children, Cao orders his top two lieutenants to lead the East Espionage Chamber, the court’s secret police, to the remote Dragon Inn on the Mongolian border to ambush the siblings’ cortége. Unknown to Cao and his agents, the innkeeper Wu Ning formerly served under General Yu and has summoned a mysterious band of strangers— including wandering swordsman Xiao, martial artists the Chu siblings, and a pair of Tartar soldiers—to embark upon a heroic rescue mission to save Yu’s family while destroying Cao and his evil forces. Filled with equal parts suspenseful intrigue, stylized swordplay, and kung fu action, director King Hu’s thrilling masterpiece is being screened here in a new, beautifully restored 4K digital transfer, created from the original negative.

Awards:

Golden Horse Film Festival 1968 (Best Screenplay, Runner-up for Best Director)

Director: King Hu

Producer: L.S. Chang

Screenwriter: King Hu

Cinematographer: Hui-Ying Hua

Editor: Hung-min Chen

Music: Lan-Ping Chow

Cast: Jun Shi

Ling-feng Shang Kuan

Ying Pai Feng Hsu

Running Time: 111 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Taiwanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Chinese Taipei Film Archive

Print Source: Janus Films

Film Website: janusfilms.com/films/1707

Selected Filmography: Hua pi zhi: Yin yang fa wang (1993)

The Swordsman (1990)

Tian xia di yi (1983)

Tian guan ci fu (1981)

Zhong shen da shi (1981)

Legend of the Mountain (1979)

Raining in the Mountain (1979)

The Valiant Ones (1975)

The Fate of Lee Khan (1973)

A Touch of Zen (1971)

Come Drink With Me (1966)

Sons of the Good Earth (1965)

The Story of Sue San (1964) Ding yishan (1964)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

The Dressmaker

AUSTRALIA 2015

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00

PM

Based on Rosalie Ham’s debut novel of the same name, The Dressmaker is director Jocelyn Moorhouse’s (Proof, A Thousand Acres) vengeful return to cinema. The film follows the journey of Myrtle Dunnage (Kate Winslet, Titanic, The Reader) to her small Australian hometown, 25 years after she was exiled after being accused of the murder of a young schoolboy. Now back to care for her aging mother Molly (Judy Davis, My Brilliant Career), Myrtle, under the new alias “Tilly,” creates havoc in the town, due partly to her extravagant fashion and dressmaking profession and partly to a series of coincidental events. She falls in love with Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth, The Hunger Games), and the two set out to solve the quarter-centuryold crime to which Myrtle had been the only witness. The Dressmaker is a manic murder mystery, packed with humor and exorbitant fashion, leaving the audience giggling and captivated at the edge of their seats.

Awards: Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards

2016 (Best Lead Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Costume Design, People’s Choice Award for Favorite Australian Film)

CINERAMA

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Producer: Sue Maslin

Screenwriter: Jocelyn Moorhouse

Cinematographer: Don McAlpine

Editor: Jill Bilcock

Music: David Hirschfelder

Cast: Kate Winslet

Liam Hemsworth

Judy Davis

Hugo Weaving

Running Time: 118 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Embankment Films

Print Source: Amazon Studios

Film Website: thedressmakermovie. com.au

Selected Filmography: Unconditional Love (2002)

A Thousand Acres (1997)

How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Proof (1991) Pavane (1983)

Eastern Promises CANADA 2007

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 9:30 PM

When 14-year old Tatiana dies from complications giving birth, her diary is the only clue as to who she is and where her family is located. Anna (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive, Birdman), a midwife who has recently lost a child of her own, sees the diary as a way to save the young girl’s baby from a life stuck in the foster system, and follows a business card stuck in its pages to a restaurant owned by dangerous Russian mob boss Semyon. After futilely asking him for help locating Tatiana’s family’s address, she enlists her Ukrainian uncle to translate the diary, discovering Tatiana’s horrific exploitation by Semyon. Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen, The Lord of the Rings, A Walk on the Moon), Semyon’s chauffeur, is quickly rising through the ranks within the family—mostly for keeping an eye on Semyon’s reckless son Kirill—and is sent to negotiate with Anna and retrieve the diary to avoid trouble with the police. The incident sparks a series of brutal confrontations, familial deceit, and bloodthirsty revenge—highlighted in a particularly famous fight scene that features a sauna, a lot of blood, and quite a bit of Viggo. David Cronenberg (Naked Lunch, A History of Violence) directs this grim crime thriller about good and evil, presenting Mortensen in one of his most daringly violent, emotionally nuanced, and critically acclaimed performances.

Awards:

Genie Awards (Best Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Score, Sound, Sound Editing)

Vancouver Film Critic Awards (Best Canadian Film, Director of a Canadian Film, Performance by an Actor in a Canadian Film)

Spain’s Fotogramas de Plata (Best Foreign Film)

Toronto Film Critics Association (Best Male Performance)

Golden Satellite Award (Best Actor)

Toronto International Film Festival 2007 (Best Picture, People’s Choice Award)

British Independent Film Award (Best Actor)

Director: David Cronenberg

Producers: Paul Webster

Robert Lantos

Screenwriter: Steve Knight

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky

Editor: Ronald Sanders

Music:

Howard Shore

Cast:

Viggo Mortensen

Naomi Watts

Vincent Cassel

Armin Mueller-Stahl

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Focus Features International

Print Source: Focus Features

Film Website: focusfeatures.com/ eastern_promises

Selected Filmography:

Maps to the Stars (2014)

A Dangerous Method (2011)

A History of Violence (2005)

eXistenZ (1999)

Crash (1996)

Naked Lunch (1991)

Dead Ringers (1988)

The Fly (1986)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Videodrome (1983)

Scanners (1981)

The Brood (1979)

Rabid (1977)

Shivers (1975)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Equals

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:20 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

Welcome to the Collective, a post-apocalyptic, utopian society where crime and violence have been eradicated through the genetic elimination of human emotion. Romance, and even touch, is forbidden, and anybody caught coupling or showing any modicum of sensation is considered infected with SOS (Switched-On Syndrome). If they cannot be cured via DNA manipulation, the most aggressive sufferers are apprehended and sent to the mysterious location known as “The Den.” Such penalties wear heavily on Silas (Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max: Fury Road) when he catches sight of Nia (Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga), a co-worker at a large corporation that deals in speculative nonfiction. Will treatment cure his ills? Can he contain his passion? Would he even want to? And what of Nia, who is more able to hide her burgeoning evolution?

Co-starring Guy Pearce (Memento) and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom), featuring stunning production design (the film makes excellent use of Japan and Singapore as visual backdrops), and boasting a hypnotic ambient score by Dustin O’Halloran and Sascha Ring, Equals considers the sacrifices society makes to achieve order in the aftermath of disaster and its ultimate effect on what we consider human.

Director:

Drake Doremus

Producers: Michael Schaefer

Michael Pruss

Ann Ruark

Chip Diggins

Jay Stern

Screenwriter:

Nathan Parker

Cinematographer: John Guleserian

Editor:

Jonathan Alberts

Music:

Sascha Ring

Dustin O’Halloran

Cast:

Kristen Stewart

Nicholas Hoult

Guy Pearce

Jacki Weaver

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Mister Smith Entertainment

Print Source: A24 Films

Film Website: equals-the-movie.com

Selected Filmography:

Breathe In (2013)

Like Crazy (2011)

Douchebag (2010)

Spooner (2009)

Moonpie (2006)

OD Ö DLIGA

Eternal Summer

SWEDEN 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, MAY 28 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Em and Isak meet while fleeing the scene of a botched one-night stand—their presence a by-product of an unhappy couple’s infidelity. Isak lends Em his coat as they walk the streets of Stockholm, she mentions she’ll never return it, and the rest is history. When you find someone who finally gets you, there’s no looking back. The two embark on a spontaneous road trip in Em’s father’s vintage Saab convertible, with the vague plan of stealing a cello for her sister guiding them through northern Sweden. Between rest stops, packs of cigarettes, and evening swims, they begin to open up. Isak admits to his rather monotonous life, living with his dad who’s more a drinking buddy than a father, manning the game booth at a carnival, and not being able to make a relationship last more than one night. Em, less eager to reveal all and harboring a strong sense of displacement among her successful family and friends, is running from the ghost of a dark childhood memory. Eventually they fall into love and out of money, and what begins as an impromptu adventure escalates into something far more sinister. Complimented by Niklas Johansson’s striking cinematography, director Andreas Öhman carefully crafts a cutting, emotionally genuine lovers-on-therun story.

Director: Andreas Öhman

Producers: Johannes Hobohm

Bonnie Skoog Feeney

Screenwriter: Andreas Öhman

Cinematographer: Niklas Johansson

Editors:

Robin Jonsson

Andreas Öhman

Music:

Love Martinsen

David Engellau

Cast:

Filip Berg

Madelein Martin

Torkel Petersson

Fanny Ketter

Running Time: 107 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Swedish, with English subtitles

Print Source: NAIVE

Film Website: naive.se

Selected Filmography:

Remake (2014)

Bitch Hug (2013) Simple Simon (2010)

Evolution

FRANCE/SPAIN/BELGIUM 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 9:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 1:30 PM

Nicolas, who would much rather draw than climb on the rocks with the rest of his friends, lives in an isolated village on an unnamed coast; scattered with dilapidated beige buildings and exclusively populated by pale women and the young boys they take care of. Each day he is fed a grimy black squid-like dish, and is routinely taken to a dingy hospital where he and other boys undergo a series of mysterious medical experiments and treatment. One night, when Nicolas sneaks out of bed to follow his “mother” to the shore, he witnesses a bizarre, orgiastic ritual among all the village women, and begins to question his entire life. Focusing on the primordial terrors surrounding the human body and the sexual fear related to male puberty, Evolution is a nightmarish and unsettling film by director Lucile Hadzihalilovic (married to director Gaspar Noé, pioneer of the emerging New French Extremity movement and director of 2004’s Innocence). Creating an evocative tension built on moody, dreamlike cinematography and a deliberate lack of explanation, this psychosexual bodyhorror film will make you look at seafood in a whole different way.

Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Producers: Sylvie Pialat

Benoît Quainon

Jéróme Vidal

Sebastián Álvarez

Geneviéve Lemal

John Engel

Screenwriters: Lucile Hadzihalilovic Alanté Kavaîté

Geoff Cox

Cinematographer: Manu Dacosse

Editor: Nassim Gordji Tehrani

Music:

Jesús Díaz

Zacarías M. de la Riva

Cast: Max Brebant

Roxane Duran

Julie-Marie Parmentier

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source: IFC Midnight

Film Website: wildbunch.biz/movie/ evolution

Selected Filmography: Innocence (2004) Mimi (1996)

L’OEIL DU CYCLONE

Eye of the Storm

BURKINA FASO/FRANCE 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

TUESDAY, MAY 31 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Based on case studies of former child soldiers, Sékou Traoré’s feature finds a young lawyer, Emma Tou (Maimouna N’Diaye), reluctantly accepting to defend a recently captured fugitive in what her boss has dubbed “The Trial of the Century.” Determined to ensure her defendant sees a fair trial amid the media circus, Emma visits the chilling Blackshouam Vila (brilliantly played by Fargass Assandé in a performance reminiscent of The Silence of the Lambs) and works to earn his trust to break his self-imposed silence. As Vila, no longer a child but grown into a grizzled man of middle age, begins to share his history, Emma uncovers the psychological terrors of a youth brainwashed to commit crimes who has grown into a man vacillating between celebrating his atrocities and complaining of his horrific nightmares, haunted by his unfortunate victims. The further Emma digs, the more she finds that implicates government officials in facilitating Vila’s murderous rampage. Setting the stage for a showdown in court, Emma is locked in a complicated search for truth in which hero and villain are only shades of gray. Traoré’s filmmaking affords his actors an incredible showcase, keeping the tech simple but ratcheting up the tension to its final chilling image.

Director:

Sékou Traoré

Producer: Axel Guyot

Screenwriters: Luis Marques

Christophe Lemoine

Cinematographer: Pascal Baillargeau

Editor: Isabelle Proust

Music:

Thierry Malet

Cast:

Maïmouna N’Diaye

Fargass Assandé

Abidine Dioari

Issaka Sawadogo

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Orange Studio

Print Source: AVALON

Film Website: lesfilmsdavalon.fr/fr/ long-metrage/l-oeil-ducyclone-ODC.html

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

The Eyes of My Mother

USA 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:00 PM

Francisca learns about death at a young age: when her surgeon mother teaches her to dissect a cow’s eyeball on the kitchen table, and again when a terrifying stranger invades their farmhouse and commits a vicious act of violence. As she enters adulthood in the isolated countryside, Francisca’s deeply rooted trauma begins blooming with an uneasy, psychotic beauty, and her behavior becomes increasingly upsetting and grotesque. Filmed in expressionistic black and white, the featurefilm debut of music-video director Nicolas Pesce dives into the dark, cavernous pit of human suffering and seclusion. Actress/ dancer Kika Magalhães portrays Francisca with a quiet grace, keeping her somehow perversely sympathetic while never letting us forget how psychologically disturbed she really is. As the film unfolds in three haunting chapters—”Mother,” “Father,” and “Family”— we watch helplessly as Francisca matures into an unstable sociopath. The Eyes of My Mother is a poetic rumination on psychosis, existing in a depraved, shadowy Lynchian world, sure to creep up on you and invade your dreams.

PACIFIC PLACE

SHORELINE CC

Director:

Nicolas Pesce

Producers:

Max Born

Jacob Wasserman

Schuyler Weiss

Screenwriter:

Nicolas Pesce

Cinematographer:

Zach Kuperstein

Editors:

Nicolas Pesce

Connor Sullivan

Music:

Ariel Loh

Cast: Kika Magalhães

Will Brill

Paul Nazak

Flora Diaz

Clara Wong

Diana Agostini

Running Time: 77 minutes

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

International Sales: UTA

Print Source:

Magnolia Releasing

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Films

RODINNY FILM

Family Film

CZECH REPUBLIC/GERMANY/SLOVENIA/FRANCE/SLOVAKIA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 30 8:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 9:15 PM ARK LODGE SATURDAY, JUNE 11 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Family Film is an ambitious, tense, and compellingly resonant study of the inner workings of a family. Parents Igor and Irena have been dreaming about tropical palm trees and sailing in the Indian Ocean. Instead of taking their kids with them, they take the family dog Otto (played by talented dogs Flek and Perth), who soon becomes an important player in their survival. Staying home alone in their house in Prague is no big deal for teens Anna and Erik—Anna even invites her outspoken, rebellious friend Kristyna to stay with them, much to the delight of impressionable Erik. But when they lose contact with their parents, whose boat has capsized and left Otto and them lost at sea, unexpected dramas begin rapidly unfolding for the entire family. Inspired in part by a news story about a dog surviving on an abandoned island for weeks after a bad storm and co-produced by five countries, Family Film is an unpredictable and irresistible study of a family struggling to stay together amid tragedy, shown through three separate stories.

Awards: Tokyo International Film Festival 2015 (Best Artistic Contribution)

Director: Olmo Omerzu

Producer: Jiri Konecny

Screenwriters: Olmo Omerzu

Nebojša Pop-Tasić

Cinematographer: Lukáš Milota

Editor: Janka Vlčková

Cast: Karel Roden

Vanda Hybnerová

Daniel Kadlec

Jenovéfa Boková Eliska Krenkova

Martin Pechlát

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Czech, with English subtitles

International Sales: Cercamon

Print Source: Cercamon

Film Website: cercamon.jimdo.com/ line-up/family-film

Selected Filmography: A Night Too Young (2012)

The Final Master

CHINA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:30 PM SHORELINE CC

MONDAY, MAY 30 5:30 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

The city of Tianjin is considered the birthplace of martial arts in northern China. On the eve of World War II, Chen (Liao Fan, Black Coal, Thin Ice, SIFF 2015), a skilled expert in the southern China-based martial-arts form Wing Chun, comes to Tianjin intending to open a school to keep the promise he made to his late master. The local masters of the eight martial-arts schools, however, are openly opposed to his plan, so with no other recourse, Chen secretly challenges the masters to prove the power of his skills. But what Chen doesn’t realize is he’s being turned into a pawn in the schools’ struggle for supreme dominance. Chen will have to kick ass, break faces, and shatter multiple bones not only to keep his dream alive, but just to stay alive. Based on the bestseller by director Xu Haofeng (screenwriter of Wong Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster), The Final Master delivers the ass-busting, knuckle-crunching goods that prove who the real master is.

Awards: Golden Horse Awards 2015 (Best Action Choreography)

Director: Xu Haofeng

Producers: Lou Xiaoxi

Zhang Li

Hu Xiaoteng

Lisa Li

Screenwriter: Xu Haofeng

Cinematographer: Wang Tianlin

Editors:

Xu Haofeng

He Sisi

Music: An Wei

Cast: Liao Fan

Song Jia

Jiang Wenli

Jin Shijie

Song Yang

Running Time: 109 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Chinese, with English subtitles

Film Website: facebook.com/

TheFinalMaster

Selected Filmography: Judge Archer (2012)

The Sword Identity (2011)

Finding Babel

USA/UKRAINE/RUSSIA/FRANCE

2015

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

Isaac Babel was a Soviet journalist, playwright, literary translator, and short-story writer. He began publishing after the Revolution of 1917 and rode with the Red Cavalry Unit during Russia’s Civil War. Babel bravely reported from the front line, stating in his writing his belief that “Journalistic work is full of adventure.” However, he may be best known for his shortstory collections “Red Cavalry,” published in 1926, and “Odessa Stories” (1927), both about his hometown of Odessa. Accused of harsh criticisms of the Communist Party and an alleged affair with a secret police officer’s wife, Babel was executed on Joseph Stalin’s orders in 1940. In this revealing documentary, we search for a deeper, more intimate understanding of the writer by meeting Babel’s wife and grandson as they reflect on his writings and Russia’s current political climate. Director David Novack stylistically bridges the informative and artistic, enhanced by archival film, animation, and Babel’s actual diary entries and writings, read by actor Liev Schreiber. Finding Babel allows us to move closer to the real story of an elusive, secretive writer who believed in a system that chewed him up for his socially revealing masterpieces.

Director: David Novack

Producers: David Novack

Alexis Zoullas

Screenwriters: Andrei Malaev-Babel

David Novack

Kris Liem

Cinematographers: James Scott Shelley

Samuel Henriques

Editors: Kris Liem

Dylan Hansen-Fliedner

David Novack

Music: Ljova Zhurbin

Featuring: Liev Schreiber

Andrei Malaev-Babel

Antonina Pirozhkova

Marina Vlady

Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English and Russian, with English subtitles

Print Source: Odessa Films, Inc.

Film Website: findingbabel.com

Selected Filmography: Burning the Future: Coal in America (Doc, 2008)

Kim

MONDAY, MAY 23 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

TUESDAY, MAY 31 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

When Kim was younger, he never really felt comfortable in his own skin. Being assigned as female at birth and raised as a girl, his childhood was full of bullying and traumatic experiences. The other kids would tease him mercilessly about looking and acting “like a boy,” sometimes even preventing him from using the restrooms at school. Kim didn’t have the words to describe what was happening or how he felt to anyone—he just knew he was different. Later on in life, he realized that maybe he was gay, but the lesbian community didn’t feel right to him either. After diving headfirst into all sorts of queer and transgender reading material, Kim came to the ultimate decision that he was meant to be a man, and began the female-to-male transformation process almost immediately. Kim’s story is entwined with insightful interviews with LGBTQ community members and activists: Carmen Carrera (“RuPaul’s Drag Race,” season 3), Buck Angel (a famous female-to-male adult entertainer), Dr. Tony Mangubat (a surgeon specializing in transgender procedures), and Seattle’s own Dan Savage. Finding Kim follows our titular character through his day-to-day life to his eventual life-changing surgery as he becomes who he always felt he was under the surface.

Director:

Aaron Bear

Producers:

Aaron Bear

Jasten King

Cinematographer: Gabriel Bienczycki

Editor:

Stephen Michael Simon

Featuring:

Kim B

Dan Savage

Buck Angel

Carmen Carrera

Calpernia Addams

Jamison Green

Dr. Tony Mangubat

Running Time: 82 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source:

Aaron Bear

Film Website: findingkim.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Finding October USA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:00 PM

SHORELINE CC THURSDAY, JUNE 2 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

A video camera trained on the sleeping man, Ben (director Nick Terry) wakes his friend Russell (Michael Ward) and forces him to get out of bed and into their car. It’s a big day; this is the week that Russell finally proposes to his longtime (and long-distance) girlfriend Samantha, and Ben is planning to document their interstate journey through the Pacific Northwest. “I don’t know what she sees in you,” Ben jokes, but through snippets of video footage, it’s clear that Russell and Samantha are the perfect couple. Mere hours into hitting the road, they stop by a gas station and end up with a third passenger, banjo-toting female drifter Emma (Karin Terry), who joins them despite Russell’s resistance. As they encounter fiasco after road-trip fiasco and Russell begins to suffer from cold feet, the three travelers warm up to each other; though Emma is loath to reveal the catalyst of her transient lifestyle, she is spirited and wise, and her effect on the two young men is felt deeply. Finding October is an emotionally engaging chamber piece about growing up, taking responsibility, and learning to love.

PRECEDED BY:

The Commute

USA 2015, 14 minutes, Director: MIlla Prince A movie about love, goats, and Volvos. Oh, and totally a social commentary on gentrification, small community dynamics, and Tolstoy’s place in the Western canon. Winner at the 2015 Orcas Island Film Festival.

Director: Nick Terry

Producer: Kathryn Goddard II

Screenwriters: Nick Terry

Karin Terry

Michael Ward

Cinematographer: Nick Terry

Editor: Nick Terry

Cast: Michael Ward

Karin Terry

Nick Terry

Delaney Berreth

Ryan Woodyard

Running Time: 77 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source:

Dashboard Films

Selected Filmography:

The Historic (2012) Senior Prom (2010)

First Girl I Loved

USA 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SATURDAY, MAY 28 4:15 PM PACIFIC PLACE

17-year-old Anne (Dylan Gelula, “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) has just fallen for the most popular girl in her Los Angeles high school. Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand, Deadpool) is an athlete, in the top 15% of her class, and beautiful. When Anne fakes a yearbook interview in order to talk to her, the girls hit it off with flirtatious banter and genuine chemistry. But when she confesses her feelings to her best friend, Clifton (Mateo Arias, “Kickin’ It”), he reacts with confusion and anger—after all, he’s harbored a secret crush on Anne for years, and naively hoped their relationship would eventually reach a more romantic level. Clifton’s hostility at Anne’s unrequited feelings, the burgeoning of Anne and Sasha’s increasingly passionate relationship, and a controversial photo taken at a nightclub all combine as fuel for an explosive finale. With cameos from Pamela Adlon (“Louie”) and Tim Heidecker (“Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!”), this naturalistic teen drama captures high-school infatuation in all its awkwardness. The young cast perfectly and authentically characterizes all the eccentricities of first love, from the jealousies and theatrics to the tiny, tender moments that seem to shape entire worlds.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (NEXT Audience Award)

Director: Kerem Sanga

Producers: Ross Putman

David Hunter

Seth Caplan

Screenwriter: Kerem Sanga

Cinematographer: Ricardo Diaz

Editor:

Shane Hazen

Music: John Swihart

Cast: Dylan Gelula

Brianna Hildebrand

Mateo Arias

Jennifer Prediger

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Creative Artists Agency

Print Source: PSH Collective

Film Website: facebook.com/FirstGirlILoved

Selected Filmography: The Young Kieslowski (2014) Trigger Finger (2012)

The Fits USA 2015

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 6:30 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 4:30 PM

Inspired by real stories of mass hysteria, The Fits is both an allegory about adolescent identity and a meditation on the physical and social spaces that we learn to inhabit in our youth. Toni, a tomboyish preteen boxer, is irresistibly drawn to an all-girl dance team that trains at the same recreational center where she and her brother work out. Attracted to their confidence and power, she joins their squad. Slowly, she learns to enjoy this newfound female camaraderie, but struggles to navigate the group’s routines and rituals while maintaining her own individuality. When a mysterious outbreak of seizures and fainting spells begins to afflict the team, the girls close ranks, and Toni must decide what their acceptance is worth and how far she will go to get it. First-time director Anna Rose Holmer and cinematographer Paul Yee put us inside Toni’s perspective, using distinctive framing and serpentine tracking shots to accent her dreamy sense of isolation as she navigates the tumultuous spaces surrounding her. Heightening this effect is an immersive score and sound design that combines evocative, ambient textures with the percussive shouts, claps, and stomps of this real-life Cincinnati drill team. Bonding these elements together is newcomer Royalty Hightower, whose nuanced performance as Toni brings a presence and intelligence to every moment of Holmer’s astonishing debut.

Director: Anna Rose Holmer

Producers: Anna Rose Holmer

Lisa Kjerulff

Screenwriters: Saela Davis

Anna Rose Holmer

Lisa Kjerulff

Cinematographer: Paul Yee

Editor: Saela Davis

Music: Danny Bensi

Saunder Jurriaans

Cast: Royalty Hightower

Makyla Burnam

Lauren Gibson

Alexis Neblett

Da’Sean Minor

Running Time: 72 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: Mongrel International

Print Source: Oscilloscope Laboratories

Film Website: thefitsfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

ARK LODGE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Folk Hero & Funny Guy

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28 8:00 PM

RENTON IKEA PAC

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 12:30 PM

Paul (Alex Karpovsky, “Girls”) and Jason (Wyatt Russell, Everybody Wants Some!!) are old friends who have gone their separate ways chasing their dreams as they reach their 30s. Recently dumped Paul left the security of his job in advertising to pursue stand-up comedy, and is quickly realizing his jokes about LinkedIn and “e-vites” aren’t skyrocketing his career as quickly as he once anticipated. Meanwhile, Jason is living the carefree life of a successful folk singer, complete with disheveled good looks, bare feet, and an army of groupies. A drunken conversation results in a plan for Paul to join Jason on his East Coast solo tour as his opening act, and the two pile into Jason’s old Volvo and head for the first dive bar on the list. What begins as a hilarious road movie reveals itself to be a much more personal study of success, friendship, and learning to let go and throw away the joke book. Director Jeff Grace based Folk Hero & Funny Guy on his own experiences with his friend Adam Ezra, the creator of all the original music for the film and the model for Russell’s character.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Jeff Grace

Producers:

Ryland Aldrich

Jeff Grace

Screenwriter: Jeff Grace

Cinematographer: Nancy Schreiber

Editor:

Jonathan Melin

Music:

Adam Ezra

Cast:

Alex Karpovsky

Wyatt Russell

Meredith Hagner

Michael Ian Black

Hannah Simone

Heather Morris

Melanie Lynskey

David Cross

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Ryland Aldrich

Film Website: folkheroandfunnyguy.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

foreveryone.net

USA 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:00 PM

In 1989 a young computer programmer from London changed the world forever when he created the World Wide Web. As colossal as that achievement is, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is far from being a household name, and very few people know his story. Instead of monetizing his invention, a step that would propel him toward fame and fortune, Berners-Lee refused to seek a patent on the internet, making it a free and accessible resource for everyone. This decision sparked a global revolution and completely changed the way individuals communicate and obtain information forever. In Jessica Yu’s (Last Call at the Oasis, Misconception) documentary, the focus is placed on the development and early stages of Berners-Lee’s internet, as well as the call for net neutrality and the campaign for the World Wide Web to remain free and accessible for all. Combining footage that has become endearingly (and rapidly) nostalgic—clunky ’90s PCs, text-heavy programs, and awkward website designs—with interviews with the mystery man responsible for our hyperconnectivity, foreveryone.net shows the power of the internet and the importance of Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s continued vision.

Screening followed by an extended panel and Q&A.

SIFF FILM CENTER

Director:

Jessica Yu

Producers:

Jessica Yu

Lisa Remington

Screenwriter: Jessica Yu

Featuring:

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Jeff Jaffe

Jonathan Zittrain

Mary Lee Berners-Lee

Tilly Blyth

Daniel Weitzner

Peggie Rimmer

Vinton Cerf

Renata Avila

Running Time: 35 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Ford Foundation

Film Website: foreveryone.net

Frank & Lola

USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 7:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

In this tense neo-noir turned psychosexual drama, down-and-out chef Frank (Michael Shannon, “Boardwalk Empire,” Midnight Special) heads to Las Vegas with his girlfriend Lola (Imogen Poots, That Awkward Moment) to take a promising job opportunity. Lola is also taking advantage of the move and attempting to kick off a career as a fashion designer, although Frank is not exactly supportive. Suspicious that Lola’s new employer (Justin Long, Tusk, Drag Me to Hell) might have romantic feelings for her, and dealing with the surprise arrival of one of her ex-lovers from Paris, Frank’s discomfort morphs into a rabid jealousy that begins to take over his life. Director Matthew Ross’s first feature film is a character study that recalls the work of Polanski and De Palma, boasting a stylish and sophisticated look, and a quietly unnerving performance by Michael Shannon as a Las Vegas chef who can’t shake himself out of a spiral of distrust that he may have just imagined. Frank & Lola is a seductive and meticulously paced debut that dives deep into the themes of romantic suspicion and sexual obsession.

Director: Matthew Ross

Producers: John Baker

Jay Van Hoy

Lars Knudsen

Christopher Ramirez

Screenwriter: Matthew Ross

Cinematographer: Eric Koretz

Editors:

Jennifer Lilly

Rebecca Rodriguez

Music: Daniel Bensi

Saunder Jurriaans

Cast:

Michael Shannon

Imogen Poots

Michael Nyqvist

Justin Long

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

Preferred Content

Print Source:

Parts and Labor

Film Website: frankandlolamovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Free in Deed

USA/NEW ZEALAND 2015

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 6:30 PM ARK LODGE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Winner of the 2015 Venice Film Festival Horizons Award for Best Film, Free in Deed is a jarring piece of social realism that is as illuminating as it is heartbreaking, equal parts controversial and compassionate. Melva (Edwina Findley, Middle of Nowhere), a single mother living in one of the most destitute corners of Memphis, struggles to raise her two children, especially the autism-struck Benny (newcomer RaJay Chandler). His uncontrollable, violent outbursts get him tossed out of school, baffle doctors, and threaten to tear the family apart. Melva’s only solace is in a Pentecostal basement church, which, though sparsely attended, presents rousing sermons courtesy of Bishop (Preston Shannon, one of many non-professionals that give the film its stark verisimilitude). Also in attendance is Abe (David Harewood, “Homeland”), a desperate believer who fancies himself something of a faith healer. With seemingly little to lose, Melva enlists Abe to exorcise her son of the “demons” that torment him, but while the two faith-seekers grow closer both spiritually and physically, what little control they have over their lives begins to slip out of their delicate hands. Based on actual events, this is a harrowing condemnation of a society that fails its citizens with false promises—socially, institutionally, religiously—and the lengths people go for salvation.

Awards: Venice International Film Festival 2015 (Horizons Jury Award)

Director: Jake Mahaffy

Producers: Mike Bowes

Georgina Conder

Mike S. Ryan

Brent Stiefel

Screenwriter: Jake Mahaffy

Cinematographer: Ava Berkofsky

Editors: Jake Mahaffy

Michael Taylor

Music: Tim Oxton

Cast: David Harewood

Edwina Findley

Kathy Smith

RaJay Chandler

Preston Shannon

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Stray Dogs Films

Print Source: Free In Deed, LLC

Film Website: freeindeedfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Wellness (2008) War (Doc, 2004)

The Free World

USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 8:30 PM

When a person has been labeled by society— even falsely—can that label ever be erased? After freedom is taken, can it ever be fully recovered? These are the central themes of Jason Lew’s brooding debut feature about the cruelty of fate and finding second chances in rural Louisiana. Mo Lundy (Boyd Holbrook, “Narcos”) has just been released from a lengthy, brutal prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. Seeking redemption and stability in the outside world, he meets Linda (Oscar® winner Octavia Spencer, The Help), who hires him at her animal shelter. Having converted to Islam during his ultraviolent experience in prison—Mo is short for his adopted name, Mohammed—he proves a gentle, healing presence amid the wounded and neglected strays. But Mo soon discovers that the reinvention of his life is harder than he’d thought when Doris (Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”), the wife of a local police officer, appears at the shelter, bloody and beaten. After deciding to help Doris with her predicament, Mo sets in motion an escalating confrontation with local law enforcement, leading to a pulse-pounding climax in a chase through bayou country. The Free World is a stark meditation on violence in all its forms and the difficulty of achieving true forgiveness in a world obsessed with the sins of the past.

Director:

Jason Lew

Producer:

Laura Rister

Screenwriter:

Jason Lew

Cinematographer: Berenice Eveno

Editor:

Dominic LaPerriere

Music:

Tim Hecker

Cast:

Boyd Holbrook

Elisabeth Moss

Octavia Spencer

Sung Kang

Waleed Zuaiter

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: IFC Films

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

DESDE ALLÁ

From Afar

VENEZUELA/MEXICO 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:45 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 29 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Armando, a taciturn, middle-aged man of means, cruises the streets of Caracas for tough street boys, whom he pays to undress before him. He picks up the young, angry Elder, who robs him and beats him up. Yet Armando, in the grip of an obsession, asks him back, offering more money. What follows is an intense, enigmatic, and mesmerizing depiction of their deepening relationship, one in which power, disgust, and desire are in a constant and unnerving state of flux. Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas’ celebrated debut is at once searingly intimate and coolly detached, forcing the viewer to fill in its artfully composed blanks. What both the upper-middle-class man and the poor street kid have in common are fathers they detest, and the viewer senses they are enacting a fateful familial drama beyond their conscious control. Mysterious and disturbing, Vigas’ masterly film burrows deeply under your skin.

Awards:

Venice International Film Festival 2015 (Golden Lion) AFI Fest 2015 (Special Jury Mention for Screenplay)

Director: Lorenzo Vigas

Producers: Rodolfo Cova

Guillermo Arriaga

Michel Franco

Lorenzo Vigas

Screenwriter: Lorenzo Vigas

Cinematographer: Sergio Armstrong

Editor: Isabela Monteiro de Castro

Cast: Alfredo Castro

Luis Silva

Jericó Montilla

Catherina Cardozo

Marcos Moreno

Jorge Luis Bosque

Jeralt Jiménez

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Celluloid Dreams

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: strandreleasing.com/ films/from-afar

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SHORELINE CC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Full Court: The Spencer Haywood Story

SATURDAY, MAY 21 8:00 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 2:00 PM

Fresh after his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, this compelling documentary follows NBA great Spencer Haywood’s ascent from picking cotton as a child in Silver City, Mississippi to becoming a hoops legend. Haywood’s story of overcoming extreme poverty and racism is brought to life through newspaper headlines, stylized footage, and interviews with former NBA greats including Charles Barkley, Lenny Wilkens, and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley. His tale takes a local turn when Haywood is drafted by the SuperSonics in 1970 to begin his NBA career. But due to the existing NBA draft-eligibility rules, which required college players to wait until their class graduated before they entered the league, Haywood was barred from playing the game that meant everything to him. He then launched an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA with the help of then-Sonics owner Sam Schulman, a case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Martin Spirit’s film depicts the subsequent hate-infused backlash Haywood faced for defying NBA authority during a racially charged time in American history, which would lead to periods of drug abuse, depression, recovery, and, ultimately, an emotional story of redemption.

PRECEDED BY:

Superfan

USA 2015, 7 minutes. Director: Leigh Burmesch World Premiere

The story of a diehard Seattle SuperSonics fan and his quest to bring NBA basketball back to Seattle.

The General USA 1926

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Martin Spirit

Producers: Dwayne Clark

Andy Streitfeld

Kim Clemons

Screenwriter: Kim Clemons

Cinematographer: Taylor Witt

Editor:

Martin Spirit

Music: Donn Wilkerson

Featuring: Spencer Haywood Charles Barkley Pat Riley

Lenny Wilkens

Chuck D

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: AMS Pictures

Film Website: trueproductions.us/film/ full-court

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 11:00 AM

During the silent era, Chaplin was the bigger, more balletic star, but none could touch the acrobatic artistry of “Great Stone Face,” Buster Keaton. In this special archival screening, SIFF attendees will be treated to one of Keaton’s greatest comedies, The General (1927). Set in Georgia and Tennessee during the Civil War, Keaton plays Johnnie Gray, a railroad engineer who, rejected by the Confederate Army, develops two all-consuming passions: his locomotive, The General, and his fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack)—both of which are stolen by Yankee spies. Wanting to prove his mettle, Johnnie races north on another train in pursuit of his two loves, where he overhears plans for a surprise attack on the Confederates. After finding Annabelle and overcoming her guards, Johnnie hatches a daring plan to steal back The General and race home with Annabelle to warn the South of the impending offensive. As Johnnie fends off the Union pursuers, Keaton uses some of his most inspired, perfectly timed visual gags, all using real locomotives that are hurtled about like toys, with Keaton performing every deathdefying stunt himself. The climactic scene, in which a railroad trestle collapses, sending a locomotive crashing into a river valley, used no special effects—Keaton destroyed an actual train in what would become the most expensive scene ever filmed in the silent era. After nearly 90 years, the audacity and hilarity of the The General never fails to astonish. Presented in a new 4K restoration, with an original symphonic score from Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi.

Directors: Buster Keaton

Clyde Bruckman

Producer: Joseph M. Schenck

Screenwriters: Buster Keaton

Clyde Bruckman

Cinematographers: J. Devereux Jennings

Bert Haines

Editor: J.S. Kell

Music:

Joe Hisaishi

Cast: Buster Keaton

Marian Mack

Glen Cavender

Jim Farley

Frederick Vroom

Charles Smith

Running Time: 76 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: MK2

Print Source: MK2

Selected Filmography:

KEATON:

Spite Marriage (1929)

The Cameraman (1928)

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

College (1927)

Battling Butler (1926)

Seven Chances (1925)

Go West (1925)

The Navigator (1924)

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Our Hospitality (1923)

Three Ages (1923)

BRUCKMAN:

Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)

Spring Tonic (1935)

Feet First (1930)

Welcome Danger (1929)

Horse Shoes (1927)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Girl Asleep

AUSTRALIA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SATURDAY, MAY 28 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Set in the ’burbs of Australia and imbued with the sunny colors and flamboyant patterns of the ’70s, Girl Asleep gives a glimpse into the tumultuous life of one teenager, days before her 15th birthday. Greta Driscoll’s first day at school is unimpressive, to say the least. She’s quickly befriended by the sweetest (but dorkiest) guy in her class, and immediately targeted by the popular girls with short skirts and even shorter tempers. Her picture-perfect housewife mother thinks it’s a great idea to invite everyone in Greta’s new class to her birthday celebration, and embarrassingly pastes invitations all over the school hallways. When everything that could go wrong at the party inevitably does, Greta escapes to her room, cries herself into a deep sleep, and is soon catapulted into a new, nightmarish dream world. Director Rosemary Myers bases her debut feature on an acclaimed stage play by actor Matthew Whittet, who plays Greta’s father in the film. Beginning as a quirky teen comedy and taking sumptuous visual cues from Wes Anderson and Michel Gondry, Girl Asleep evolves into a dark, surrealist fantasy/ drama that might be the only way to genuinely work through the strange inner workings of a teenage girl.

PRECEDED BY:

Driftwood Dustmites

Australia 2015, 10 minutes. Director: Malina Maria Mackiewicz A girl sees her father kiss his new love for the first time since her mother’s death. Unable to sleep, she wakes up her younger sister for company.

FLICKAN SOM RÄDDADE MITT LIV

The Girl Who Saved My Life

SWEDEN 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 7:00 PM

Director: Rosemary Myers

Producer: Jo Dyer

Screenwriter: Matthew Whittet

Cinematographer: Andrew Commis

Editor: Karryn de Cinque

Music: Harry Covill

Cast: Eamon Farren

Bethany Whitmore

Harrison Feldman

Tilda Cobham-Hervey

Matthew Whittet

Running Time: 77 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Memento Films

Print Source: Oscilloscope Laboratories

Film Website: girlasleepfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF FILM CENTER

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 7:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

“There’s a war in my home country again.” That’s how documentary filmmaker Hogir Hirori begins his film The Girl Who Saved My Life. In 1991, at age 11, Hirori fled Saddam Hussein’s genocidal campaign in his native Kurdistan, eventually ending up in Sweden. Twenty-three years later, Hirori decides to return to northern Iraq to document the stories of other refugees of war; more than 1.4 million people are fleeing the terror of the Islamic State. Upon his arrival, he is invited to join a helicopter transport to the Shingal Mountains, where hundreds of thousands of people are stranded without access to food or water, surrounded by IS forces. However, on his way to the helicopter, Hirori finds Souad, an 11-year-old girl in pain, lying alone on the ground in the scorching heat. He decides to stay and help her instead of going on the helicopter, a fateful decision that will shape both their lives. The Girl Who Saved My Life puts a human face to the news stories of the past year: men summarily executed, women forced into slavery, children kidnapped, and lives destroyed. But faced with these extraordinary circumstances, Hirori is no passive witness. Actively engaged in helping the people he encounters, he demonstrates— and documents—the difference the individual can make.

Awards: Göteborg Film Festival 2016 (Angelos Award for Best Swedish Feature)

Director: Hogir Hirori

Producer: Hogir Hirori

Screenwriter: Hogir Hirori

Cinematographers: Hogir Hirori

Millat Hirori

Editors: Hogir Hirori

Björn Eriksson

Anders Eriksson

Music: Mohammed Zaki

Running Time: 79 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Kurdish and Swedish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Lolav Media

Film Website: thegirlwhosavedmylife. com

Selected Filmography: Isis Offer (Victims of IS) (2014)

Hewa Starkast I Sverige (2007)

Gleason USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In September 2007, with tens of thousands of fans screaming him on, Steve Gleason became a New Orleans folk hero after blocking an Atlanta Falcons punt for the Saints in their first home opener after Hurricane Katrina. Just a few years later, Steve was diagnosed with ALS at age 34 while trying to conceive his first child. Gleason is an emotionally charged documentary that documents his family’s journey since the diagnosis. Director Clay Tweel (Finders Keepers) pushes the boundaries of typical inspirational-living-throughtribulations documentaries, and Gleason himself, who courageously filmed the worst parts of his debilitating disorder for the public eye, shot much of the footage. Throughout the film, which spans years of Steve’s life, his condition deteriorates until he can no longer perform basic functions or hold his son Rivers, yet Steve and family maintain a bold sense of humor about their predicament, echoing the film’s battle cry of the human spirit. This intimate portrait of a family refusing to give in to despair and meeting their challenges head-on will move you to tears and inspire hope for the human condition.

Awards:

SXSW 2016 (Audience Award)

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Special Jury Prize)

Director: Clay Tweel

Producers: Seth Gordon

Kimi Culp

Kevin Lake

Screenwriter: Clay Tweel

Cinematographers: Ty Minton-Small David Lee

Editor: Clay Tweel

Music: Dan Romer Saul Simon MacWilliams

Featuring: Steve Gleason

Michel Gleason

Rivers Gleason

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Amazon Studios

Film Website: thegleasonproject.com

Selected Filmography: Finders Keepers (Doc, 2015)

Print the Legend (Doc, 2014)

Make Believe (Doc, 2010)

Goat USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:30 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:00 PM LINCOLN

After suffering a beating for being an outsider in his Ohio hometown, teenager Brad thinks he will find a place to fit in at Phi Sigma Mu, the fraternity at which his older brother, Brett, is already a member. When he arrives on campus that fall during “Hell Week,” he is plunged into even more violence as the pledges are subjected to increasingly cruel hazing incidents, each more disgusting or humiliating than the last. As the dehumanizing rituals escalate, the close relationship between the sensitive Brad (Ben Schnetzer, Pride) and the much more confident, swaggering Brett (Nick Jonas, formerly of boy band the Jonas Brothers) becomes strained to the breaking point. An extended cameo by James Franco, playing a much older Phi Sigma Mu brother returning to relive his glory days, serves as a reminder of the endless cycle of violent malebonding behavior that is reinforced, generation after generation. Cinematographer Ethan Palmer shot Goat, based on Brad Land’s 2004 memoir, in a naturalistic style, using hand-held cameras to capture the reality of hazing in stark, realistic detail. More than just an anti-hazing film, Goat is a meditation on the tribal codes of masculinity and the insidious strains of violence, anger, and repressed homoeroticism intertwined with today’s definition of American manhood.

Director: Andrew Neel

Producers: Christine Vachon

David Hinojosa

James Franco

Vince Jolivette

Screenwriters: David Gordon Green

Andrew Neel

Michael Roberts

Cinematographer: Ethan Palmer

Editor: Brad Turner

Music: Arjan Miranda

Cast:

Ben Schnetzer

Nick Jonas

Virginia Gardner

Danny Flaherty

Austin Lyon James Franco

Running Time: 102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source:

The Film Arcade

Selected Filmography: King Kelly (2012)

New World Order (Doc, 2009)

The Feature (Doc, 2008)

Alice Neel (Doc, 2008) Darker (Doc, 2007)

PACIFIC PLACE

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Gold Balls

USA 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 22 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Kate Dandel’s feature-length documentary debut inspires the average athlete in all of us while offering unique insight into the lives of several elite tennis players—with the slight caveat that they all happen to be between the ages of 75 and 95. The film follows several players, each a character in their own right, contending for the golden balls that act as the trophies of US Senior Tennis championships. There’s a former most-eligible-bachelor from Madison, Wisconsin; a retired litigator teaching tween tennis academy athletes a lesson in respecting their elders on and off the court; a 75-year-old woman who thought her physical therapist was being too soft in treating her rotator cuff surgery; and the publisher of “Black Tennis Magazine,” who learned the game from his Methodist minister father in the backyard. The story quirkily reminds us that just getting up and going to the court is half the battle, as the film showcases the extensive pre-match stretches and morning calisthenics every player must go through to be in playing shape. But after the first serve, we forget that many of them retired from their careers 30 years prior, and realize they’re just like every other athlete competing to be a champion.

Director: Kate Dandel

Producer: Kate Dandel

Cinematographers: Andres Garreton

Nathan M. Miller

Editor: Amy Enser

Music: Catherine Grealish

Featuring: Marcus Freeman

John Powless

George McCabe

Ron Tonidandel Bob Sherman

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: 80 Love Movie LLC

Film Website: goldballsmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Greasy Strangler USA 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 MIDNIGHT SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Middle-aged, combover-topped Big Brayden (Sky Elobar, Don Verdean) and his sleazy father Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels, The Video Dead) make their money guiding gullible tourists around fabricated disco landmarks of yesteryear (“The Earth, the Wind, and the Fire lived here”). The rest of the time, Brayden and Ronnie consume grease- and oil-soaked meals, the greasier the better, and get locked into absurd loops of vulgar conversation, usually in little more than their birthday suits. Enter the voluptuous disco aficionado Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo, “Eastbound and Down”), who captures Brayden’s heart and loins, only to inspire jealousy from the lecherous patriarch. All the while, Brayden and the denizens of the unnamed city are baffled as to the identity of the Greasy Strangler, a slippery and fiendish murderer covered head-to-toe in fat and oil who crushes skulls and eats eyeballs. (Ronnie. The Greasy Strangler is Big Ronnie.) The filthiest, crustiest, most flatulent and bizarre movie to play at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, The Greasy Strangler is the perfect WTF Late Nights selection, described by critics as an unholy combination of John Waters, the work of [adult swim]’s Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, and Lloyd Kaufman’s Troma label. Underneath its gooey exterior, though, lies a beating (if extremely warped) heart.

Sponsored by Thomas Zimmermann

Director:

Jim Hosking

Producers: Andrew Starke

Ant Timpson

Elijah Wood

Daniel Noah

Josh C. Waller

Screenwriters: Toby Harvard

Jim Hosking

Cinematographer: Mårten Tedin

Editor: Mark Burnett

Music: Andrew Hung

Cast: Michael St. Michaels

Sky Elobar

Elizabeth De Razzo

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source: FilmRise

Film Website: facebook.com/ greasystrangler

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Heaven Can Wait

USA 1943

SATURDAY, MAY 28 11:00 AM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

“I can safely say that my whole life was one continuous misdemeanor,” Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) says as he strolls into Satan’s office at the gates of hell, certain that a lifetime of marital indiscretion has doomed him to an eternity of hellfire and brimstone. Ernst Lubitsch was one of the pioneers of classic Hollywood comedies, and the delightfully indelicate Heaven Can Wait is one of his most popular and beloved films. The film follows Henry’s efforts to convince Satan that he belongs in hell, recounting his 70 years of careless seduction and blissful ignorance of the world at large. One part black comedy, one part continental comedy of manners, the film finds Lubitsch at his most deliciously wicked, rejecting America’s puritanical impulses and assuring us that a little light infidelity is the foundation of any happy marriage. Nominated for Best Picture and Best Director in 1944, Heaven Can Wait is being presented in a stunning new restoration from 20th Century Fox, the Academy Film Archive, and The Film Foundation, and features classic performances from Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, and Laird Cregar.

ZVIZDAN

The High Sun

CROATIA/SLOVENIA/SERBIA 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:00 PM

Director: Ernst Lubitsch

Producer: Ernst Lubitsch

Screenwriter: Samson Raphaelson

Cinematographer: Edward Cronjager

Editors:

Dorothy Spencer

James Basevi

Leland Fuller

Music:

Alfred Newman

Cast: Gene Tierney

Don Ameche

Charles Coburn

Marjorie Main

Running Time: 112 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: 20th Century Fox

Film Website: foxmovies.com/movies/ heaven-can-wait

Selected Filmography: Cluny Brown (1946)

A Royal Scandal (1945)

That Uncertain Feeling (1941)

The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

Ninotchka (1939)

The Merry Widow (1934)

Design for Living (1933)

Trouble in Paradise (1932)

One Hour With You (1932)

The Smiling Lieutenant (1931)

Monte Carlo (1930)

The Love Parade (1929)

Eternal Love (1929)

The Patriot (1928)

Lady Windermere’s Fan (1925)

Anna Boleyn (1920)

The Doll (1919)

The Oyster Princess (1919)

LINCOLN SQUARE

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 3:45 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MONDAY, JUNE 6 9:00 PM ARK LODGE

Two neighboring Balkan villages, one Croatian and one Serbian, set the stage for three different love stories. The first takes place in 1991, with tensions rising between the two villages as each anticipates the rapidly approaching war. Amid an atmosphere of madness, confusion, and fear, lovers Jelena (Tihana Lazović) and Ivan (Goran Marković) are preparing to elope in secret, at least until Jelena’s brother Sasha (Dado Ćosić) learns of their plans and tries to stop them. The second narrative takes place in 2001, after the war has ended. Its scars are still too fresh for a couple to form an ongoing relationship, though, as revealed when Serbia-based Natasha (Lazović) meets Croatian handyman Ante (Marković). The final story is set in 2011, when love might be able to take root if the lovers can finally break free of the past. Luka (Marković) returns to the village to attend a rave and see Marija (Lazović), his Serbian ex, again. By having the same two actors appear as the different pairs of lovers in each of the three decades, the film reveals the dangers of repeating history and giving in to a “code of hatred.”

Awards:

Cannes 2015 (Un Certain Regard Jury Prize)

Official Oscar® Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

Pula Film Festival 2015 (Best Film, Director, Actress, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Costume Design)

Sarajevo Film Festival 2015 (The Art Cinema Award)

Slovenian Film Festival 2015 (Best Feature Film, Cinematography)

Cottbus Film Festival 2015 (Best Picture Award)

Minsk Internattional Film Festival 2015 (Best Director, Cinematography)

Cairo International Film Festival 2015 (Best Artistic Contribution Prize)

Geneva International Film Festival and Forum of Human Rights 2016 (Grand Prix)

Tetouan Mediterranean Film Festival 2016 (Best Actor)

Director: Dalibor Matanić

Producer: Ankica Jurić Tilić

Screenwriter: Dalibor Matanić

Cinematographer: Marko Brdar

Editor: Tomislav Pavlic

Music: Alen Sinkauz

Nenad Sinkauz

Cast: Tihana Lazović

Goran Marković

Nives Ivanković

Dado Ćosić

Stipe Radoja

Running Time: 123 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Croatian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Cercamon

Print Source: Cercamon

Film Website: zvizdan.com

Selected Filmography: Majstori (2013)

Daddy (2011)

Mother of Asphalt (2010)

The Lika Cinema (2008)

100 Minutes of Glory (2004)

I Love You (2005)

Fine Dead Girls (2002)

Cashier Wants to Go to the Seaside (2000)

Holding the Man

AUSTRALIA 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 9:15 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 1:00 PM

16-year-old Tim (Ryan Corr, The Water Diviner) develops a crush on his football-star classmate John (Craig Stott), at first only from afar. In 1976 Melbourne, any open admission of gay attraction could have dire consequences. But after John reciprocates Tim’s flirtations, the two become a barely disguised couple, much to the concern of their parents—especially John’s father, Bob, played by Anthony LaPaglia (Empire Records, “Without a Trace”) in a masterfully conflicted performance of homophobic disgust and fatherly love. As they move on to separate colleges, Tim and John remain a couple, beginning what becomes a stormy but enduring affair of the heart that stretches for 15 years. From the excitement of new-found liberation in the late 1970s to the devastation and horror of the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s, their relationship chronicles the gay experience of those turbulent decades, when an HIV-positive diagnosis was a death sentence for a segment of the population that was just beginning to shed its pariah status. Based on the best-selling memoir by the late Australian actor Tim Conigrave, director Neil Armfield’s film depicts a doomed truelife romance with heartfelt emotion, without ever descending into maudlin territory. With a lively ’80s soundtrack and new contributions by Rufus Wainwright, the film is a wrenching but ultimately uplifting love story.

Director: Neil Armfield

Producer: Kylie du Fresne

Screenwriter: Tommy Murphy

Cinematographer: Germain McMicking

Editor: Dany Cooper

Music:

Alan John

Cast: Ryan Corr

Craig Stott

Kerry Fox

Camilla Ah Kin

Sarah Snook

Guy Pearce

Running Time: 127 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: goalpostfilm.com/ films/htm

Selected Filmography: Candy (2006)

The Castanet Club (1990) Twelfth Night (1987)

DOMÁCÍ PÉ Č E

Home Care

CZECH REPUBLIC/SLOVAKIA 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 24 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, MAY 26 4:15 PM MAJESTIC BAY

TUESDAY, MAY 31 6:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

Wryly humorous and bittersweet, this appealing humanist tale puts a poignant spin on that perennial staple of Czech cinema, the village dramedy. The action centers on a dedicated home-care nurse in South Moravia who puts everyone else’s needs before her own. Vivacious, 50-ish Vlasta travels all over the countryside, visiting a variety of charmingly eccentric patients and dispensing compassion and conventional medicine in equal measure. An unexpected dramatic shift paves the way for director Slávek Horák to explore his underlying theme: an examination of what is important in life. Beautifully written and performed, the action always feels emotionally honest, the comedy never pandering. Horák—whose mother was a district nurse and who was an assistant director on Jan Sverák’s Kolya—was lucky to cast three of Czech cinema’s finest actors: Tatiana Vilhelmová, Boleslav Polívka, and the incomparable Alena Mihulová.

Awards:

Official Oscar Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2015 (Best Actress)

Arras International Film Festival 2015 (Special Jury Mention)

Palm Springs International Film Festival 2016 (FIPRESCI Award for Best Actress)

Director: Slávek Horák

Producers: Slávek Horák

Screenwriter: Slávek Horák

Cinematographer: Jan Šťastný

Editor: Vladimír Barák

Music: Juraj Baláž

Cast: Alena Mihulová

Boleslav Polívka

Tatiana Vilhelmová Zuzana Kronerová

Sara Venclovská

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Czech, with English subtitles

International Sales: M-Appeal

Print Source: M-Appeal

Film Website: home-care-film.com

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

PACIFIC PLACE

Honor Thy Father

PHILIPPINES 2015 US PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 9:30 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 5:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

RENTON IKEA PAC

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

After years of financial struggle, reformed criminal Edgar (John Lloyd Cruz) and his wife Kaye (Meryll Soriano) are finally in the money; Kaye has made millions promoting her father’s investment scheme to her friends and fellow Pentecostal parishioners at the Church of Yeshua. But their world unravels in the blink of an eye when Edgar swings by his fatherin-law’s house to find the place ransacked and the old man gone. The couple endure the violent wrath of their fellow parishioners, determined to get their money back. Despite having lost all their savings, Edgar and Kaye are ordered to pay back every cent … or else. With nowhere else to turn, they go to their bishop for help, but find him preoccupied with raising money for a new temple (and extravagant kickbacks for himself). Once thugs threaten the couple’s child, Edgar is forced to drop the bourgeois respectability act and once again pick up the gun. Director Erik Matti returns to the same genre territory as his 2013 film On the Job; where the earlier film focused on police corruption, Honor Thy Father trains its sights on upper-class entitlement as well as the outrageous venality of the Church.

Awards:

Metro Manila Film Festival 2016 (Best Director, Supporting Actor, Child Performer, Make-up Artist, Original Theme Song)

Gawad Tanglaw Awards 2016 (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Musical Song)

PMPC Star Awards for Movies 2016 (Best Screenwriter, Cinematography)

Horizons

SWITZERLAND/CUBA 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 3:30 PM

TUESDAY, MAY 24 7:00 PM PACIFIC

Director:

Erik Matti

Producer:

Erik Matti

Screenwriter: Michiko Yamamoto

Cinematographer: Ber Cruz

Editor: Jay Halili

Music:

Erwin Romulo

Cast: John Lloyd Cruz

Meryll Soriano

Tirso Cruz III

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Kankana-ey and Tagalog, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Reality Entertainment

Print Source:

Reality Entertainment

Film Website: reality.com.ph/honorthy-father

Selected Filmography: ABC’s of Death 2 (2014)

On the Job (2013)

Tiktik: The Aswang

Chronicles (2012)

Prosti (2003)

Cross (1999)

Scorpio Nights 2 (1998)

This Swiss-Cuban documentary opens with haunting archival footage of young prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso receiving a standing ovation after performing her signature role, Giselle. Segueing into a breathtaking montage of Alonso, National Ballet of Cuba principal dancer Viengsay Valdés, and teenage ballet student Amanda De Jesús Pérez Duarte each performing a pirouette (or in the case of the young upstart, valiantly trying), Horizons is a stirring, lyrical portrait of the lives of three Cuban women each wholly dedicated to the art of ballet. Only the second documentary from Swiss writer/director Eileen Hofer, this finely drawn labor of love is a poetic, intergenerational glimpse into the life of a living legend, now 94, as she surrounds herself with memories of an unparalleled career; of an acclaimed prima ballerina in the prime of her life, yet growing keenly aware of the fragility of her body; and of a young novice struggling to rise through the ranks while searching for her own voice.

Awards: Visions du Réel 2015 (Special Jury Mention, Prix du Jury SSA)

PRECEDED BY: Reborn

United Kingdom 2015, 5 minutes. Director: Andrew Margetson A portrait of a star dancer coming back from a career-threatening injury.

Director: Eileen Hofer

Producer: Aline Schmid

Screenwriter: Eileen Hofer

Cinematographer: Grégory Bindschedler

Editors: Damian Plandolit

Valentin Rotelli

Music: Julien Painot

Ladislav Agabekov

Heidi Happy

Featuring: Alicia Alonso

Viengsay Valdés

Amanda de Jesús Pérez

Duarte

Running Time: 70 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Taskovski Films

Print Source: Taskovski Films

Film Website: horizontes-film.ch/en

Selected Filmography: He Was a Giant With Brown Eyes (Doc, 2012)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PLACE

CÓMO FUNCIONAN CASI TODAS LAS COSAS

How Most Things Work

ARGENTINA 2015 US PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 5:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 22 3:30 PM MAJESTIC BAY

MONDAY, JUNE 6 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Stuck in a dead-end job as a tollbooth operator in the middle of the Argentinian desert, Celina (Verónica Gerez) quietly yearns for connection with the world outside as well as with the mother who left her as a child. When her father dies unexpectedly, Celina quickly takes over his job as a traveling encyclopedia salesperson, falling under the wing of veteran saleswoman Raquel (Pilar Gamboa, The Fire) and setting out on her first trip away from home—a journey of facing the mysteries of adulthood, of the beauty of unexpected graces, and of perhaps even finding what was once lost. Tender but never sappy and rooted in a tremendous performance by newcomer Gerez, this engrossing debut feature from writer/director Fernando Salem recently won Best Director and Best Screenplay honors at the Mar del Plata Film Festival. Rich with humor and insight, How Most Things Work is a sharp and observant portrait of the pains and wonders of growing into oneself.

Awards: Mar del Plata Film Festival 2015 (Best Screenplay, Director)

Director: Fernando Salem

Producers: Verónica Cura

Paula Massa

Juan Pablo Miller

Screenwriters: Fernando Salem

Esteban Garelli

Cinematographer: Georgina Pretto

Editor: Emiliano Fardaus

Music: Juan Ignacio Bernardis

Cast: Verónica Gerez

Pilar Gamboa

Marilú Marini

Miriam Odorico

María Ucedo

Rafael Spregelburd

Esteban Bigliardi

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Primer Plano Film

Group SA

Print Source: Primer Plano Film

Group SA

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Hummus

ISRAEL 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 6:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 4:00 PM

Universally consumed and found in at least 25% of all U.S. households, it’s safe to say hummus, a spread made from chickpeas and tahini, is a delicious staple of worldwide cuisine. This documentary takes us to Israel, which claims the food as its own, to meet three passionate hummus aficionados and hear their stories. Jalil is a young ChristianArab man from Ramle who has taken over his family’s hummus restaurant, but is also struggling with the urge to start his own restaurant and forge his own path in life. Eliyahu is a former dread-headed vagrant who decided to settle down and embrace the Hasidic Jewish community, opening a chain of successful kosher hummus restaurants. Perhaps most inspirational is Suheila, the only Muslim woman to own her own business in the Arab market, who won the Golden Pita Award for Best Hummus, beating 10 other men for the title. Combining the stories of each individual’s personal journey with historical hummus facts and delicious footage of the hummus-making process, director Oren Rosenfeld’s documentary shows how the food has positively affected Israeli culture—and is even able to transcend religious and political divides.

Director:

Oren Rosenfeld

Producers: Michal Lee Sapir

Raphael Shore

Mitch Julis

Screenwriters: Oren Rosenfeld

Rebecca Shore

Baruch Goldberg

Cinematographers: Hanna Abu Saada

Yuval Sayag

Editor: Raphael Aboulafia

Music: Jonathan Bar Giora

Featuring: Eliyahu Shmueli

Suheila Al Hindi

Jalil Dabit

Running Time: 70 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Hebrew, English, and Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Menemsha Films

Print Source: Menemsha Films

Film Website: hummusthemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MAJESTIC BAY

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

NEW ZEALAND 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Ricky’s a kid from the city: a lover of hip-hop, snacks, and getting into trouble, and a product of foster homes that just can’t seem to deal with him. His frustrated caseworker tells it plainly: “He’s a bad egg.” With one last chance to have a family before he’s thrown back into the system and potentially into juvenile lockup, Ricky relocates to the New Zealand countryside to stay with the overly sweet Aunt Bella and cantankerous Uncle Hec. There’s not much chance to stir up trouble on their remote farmland, and Ricky soon begins to fall into a calm familiarity and routine. Maybe this time he’s really found a home. Yet a twist of fate changes everything, and when Ricky’s threatened with being thrown back into the court system, he goes running for the thick wilderness instead, with grumpy old Uncle Hec hot on his trail. Equal parts buddy comedy, coming-of-age story, and survivalist film, with high-octane performances from newcomer Julian Dennison and veteran Kiwi actor Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a perfect blend of backwoods zaniness and sentimentality.

Director:

Taika Waititi

Producers:

Taika Waititi

Carthew Neal

Leanne Saunders

Matt Noonan

Screenwriter: Taika Waititi

Cinematographer:

Lachlan Milne

Editors:

Luke Haigh

Thomas Eagles

Yana Gorskaya

Music:

Luke Buda

Samuel Scott

Conrad Wedde

Cast:

Julian Dennison

Sam Neill

Rima Te Wiata

Rachel House

Oscar Kightley

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: Protagonist Pictures

Print Source: The Orchard

Film Website: wilderpeople.com

Selected Filmography: What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Boy (2010) Eagle Vs Shark (2007)

I am Belfast

UNITED KINGDOM 2015

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 7:00 PM

For too long, Belfast has been known primarily as the heart of the Irish Troubles, the bloody sectarian conflict between Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists. Yet the city itself has a vital industrial, economic, and, most important, cultural history—one explored by its favorite cinematic child, Mark Cousins (Life May Be, The Story of Film: An Odyssey). Personifying Belfast as an older woman, Cousins embarks upon a meditative dialogue that explores his hometown’s changing landscape, delving into its history while addressing philosophical questions about the city as an urban phenomenon and how, in turn, it affects the nature of humanity. From the pastoral landscape surrounding Belfast to its changing architecture and inhabitants, including lifelong friends Rosie and Maud (whose hysterically expletive-laden speech would make sailors blush), Cousins’ film mixes prosaic reality with mythic musings as he searches out, and often finds, quiet moments of everyday beauty within the city’s streets, landmarks, and even weather. While Belfast’s tormented history does not escape examination, it pales in comparison to the larger warmth and generousness Cousins uncovers within the city’s past and present. Featuring the gorgeously lush cinematography of Christopher Doyle (a frequent collaborator of Wong Kar-wai), I am Belfast is a visually poetic love letter to Northern Ireland’s capital.

SIFF FILM CENTER

SIFF FILM CENTER

Director: Mark Cousins

Producers: John Archer

Chris Martin

Screenwriter: Mark Cousins

Cinematographers: Christopher Doyle

Mark Cousins

Editor: Timo Langer

Music: David Holmes

Van Morrison

Featuring: Helena Bereen

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: New Europe Film Sales

Print Source: New Europe Film Sales

Film Website: neweuropefilmsales.com/ movies/93

Selected Filmography:

6 Desires: DH Lawrence and Sardinia (Doc, 2014)

Life May Be (Doc, 2014)

Here Be Dragons (Doc, 2013)

A Story of Children and Film (2013)

What Is This Film Called Love? (Doc, 2012)

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)

The New Ten Commandments (Doc, 2010)

The First Movie (Doc, 2009)

LA GLACE ET LE CIEL

Ice and the Sky

FRANCE 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 21 11:30 AM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 7:00 PM

Luc Jacquet, director of the smash hit and Oscar®-winning documentary March of the Penguins, returns to Antarctica, but this time he’s concerned with no less than the history of humanity’s effect on Mother Earth, seen through the eyes of explorer and glaciologist

Claude Lorius. In 1956, 23-year-old Lorius first set foot at the bottom of the world on a scientific expedition that would last two years. In a land previously untouched by scientific experiments, Lorius took samples from deep in the ice and learned that each air bubble was, as he puts it, a tiny capsule of “atmospheric fossils that have traversed time.” Through this discovery he was able to study the history of Earth’s climate dating back millennia, and concluded that our planet was warming at a dangerous rate heretofore unseen. Ice and the Sky details Lorius’ expansive work in climatechange science through a wealth of 8mm footage shot by Lorius and his colleagues during their expeditions, plus new footage that finds the adventurer, now 82, returning to the icy locations that stoked his intellectual pursuits 60 years earlier. This is the story of a lifetime devoted to pursuing the vital secrets of existence hidden at the heart of a frozen world.

Awards: Bergen International Film Festival 2015 (University of Bergen’s Gulluglen Award)

The IF Project

USA 2016

Director: Luc Jacquet

Producer: Richard Grandpierre

Screenwriter: Luc Jacquet

Cinematographer: Stéphane Martin

Editor: Stéphane Mazalaigue

Music: Cyrille Aufort

Featuring: Claude Lorius

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: iceandsky.com

Selected Filmography: Once Upon a Forest (Doc, 2013)

The Fox and the Child (Doc, 2007) March of the Penguins (Doc, 2005)

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 3:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

“If there was something someone could have said or done that would have changed the path that led you here, what would it have been?” This is the question veteran Seattle police detective Kim Bogucki asked a room of inmates at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor one day in 2008. That question inspired repeat offender Renata Abramson to take action, and from that action grew a revolution, an outreach program that has affected the lives of thousands: The IF Project. Each meeting, Kim or another trained writing instructor assigns an essay prompt, and anybody who wants to share is given the floor. Topics range from writing about the house you grew up in and identifying the moment you got “a little broken” to letters of forgiveness to both yourself and the people you’ve wronged. The goal, Kim and Renata hoped, was to inspire the inmates to express themselves and be vulnerable without judgement, often for the first time in their lives, and to assist them to better their lives upon their release. Tracking Kim’s complicated relationship with law and order, as well as the lives of four inmates affected by the program— Renata, Tiffany, Angela, and LaKeisha—this documentary is raw, powerful, provocative, and required viewing in a country where nearly seven million people have been behind bars.

Sponsored by Mary Rainwater

Director: Kathlyn Horan

Producer: Kathlyn Horan

Screenwriter:

Kathlyn Horan

Cinematographers: Bryan Donnell

Chris Baron

Laura Jean Cronin

Kathlyn Horan

Doug Irvine

Jonathan Schwarz

Curtiss Marlowe

Editor: Ben Daughtrey

Music:

Heather Reid

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Tinfish Films

Film Website: theifprojectmovie.com

Selected Filmography: One Lost Day (Doc, 2015)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

If There’s a Hell Below

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 8:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, MAY 26 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Abe (Conner Marx), a young journalist from Chicago, travels to the rural American West for a scoop that will undoubtedly jump-start his career. There he meets Debra (Carol Roscoe), a self-described government whistleblower who supposedly has a national security story weighing on her conscience. Convinced that someone is watching their every move, Debra is paranoid and reluctant to tell Abe anything, even after checking to make sure he’s not wearing a wire; Abe, on the other hand, drove over a thousand miles for Debra’s story, and he’s determined to get it. The first step is finding some way to convince Debra he’s trustworthy. The beginning of the film showcases what happens when two people with opposing desires can’t seem to figure out how to negotiate. As Abe and Debra dance around each other, crucial information hangs in the balance. Nathan Williams’ film is told in real time, with numerous scenes dedicated to showing the two characters driving along endless stretches of highway, attempting to find a place to talk where they can’t be overheard. Accordingly, the vast, dusty landscape of eastern Washington plays an important role, providing an atmospheric backdrop of anticipation and dread to put the finishing touch on this 1970s-inspired political thriller.

Director:

Nathan Williams

Producers:

Trevor Joyce

Conner Marx

Justin Schardin

Nathan Williams

Screenwriter: Nathan Williams

Cinematographer: Christopher Messina

Editor: Nathan Williams

Cast:

Carol Roscoe

Conner Marx

Mark Carr

Paul Budraitis

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: MPI Media Group

Film Website: hell-below.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

ILEGITIM

Illegitimate

ROMANIA/POLAND/FRANCE

2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

MONDAY, MAY 30 9:15 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Illegitimate is a Romanian tragicomedy about unconditional love. Director Adrian Sitaru (Hooked, SIFF 2008) and his actors took a year and a half to build their characters. Shot in documentary style, this scriptless film boasts authentic performances, with many scenes being accomplished in a single take. The story kicks off at the apartment of a widowed doctor named Victor, as he sits with his adult children and discusses physics, wine, and even abortion until his son confronts him with the fact that, speaking of abortion, his name has shown up in historical documents that will cast a shadow on his Hippocratic Oath. Victor concedes that no one should tell another person how to live, and points out that the twins at the table, Sasha and Romi, owe their existence to the fact that he was against abortion. Director Sitaru crafts a daring film that grapples with moral dilemmas and pushes his ensemble as well as his audiences into uncomfortable corners where assumptions, convictions, beliefs, and actions are stretched to their limits in a tender but tough examination of familial bonds.

Director:

Adrian Sitaru

Producers: Anamaria Antoci

Stanisław Dziedzic

Klaudia Śmieja

Yohann Cornu

Screenwriters: Alina Grigore

Adrian Sitaru

Cinematographers: Adrian Silisteanu

Alexandru Timosca

Editors: Mircea Olteanu

Theo Lichtenberger

Music:

Ioan Filip

Dan-Stefan Rucareanu

Cast: Alina Grigore

Robi Urs

Adrian Titieni

Bogdan Albulescu

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Romanian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Versatile Films

Print Source: Versatile Films

Selected Filmography: Domestic (2012)

Best Intentions (2011) Hooked (2008)

Immortal

IRAN 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, JUNE 6 6:00 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 4:30 PM

When Ayaz, an elderly man living in an isolated village, causes an accident that kills his wife, his daughter, and her husband, his grief is such that he can’t go on. Consumed with remorse, he is determined to take his own life. His surviving family members, however, are equally determined to stop him. What follows is a darkly comic tug of war as the disabled man fruitlessly pursues one suicide attempt after another, while his son and grandson try everything they can think of to reinstill his will to live. What gradually emerges is an affecting and bittersweet meditation on those things that make life worth living. Firmly rooted in the Iranian cinematic tradition of narrative understatement, Immortal is a film that is primarily about its imagery. An extraordinary feat of visual storytelling, its lush photography celebrates the unexpected splashes of color that punctuate the arid landscape. The result of this remarkable marriage of story and image is profound, and won director Hadi Mohaghegh’s sophomore feature the top prize, as well as the FIPRESCI prize, at the Busan International Film Festival.

Awards: Busan International Film Festival 2015 (New Currents Award, FIPRESCI prize)

Director: Hadi Mohaghegh

Producers: Reza Mohaghegh Majid Barzegar

Screenwriter: Hadi Mohaghegh

Cinematographer: Roozbeh Raiga

Editor: Majid Barzegar

Cast: Yadollah Shadmani

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Persian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Taat Films

Print Source: Taat Films

Selected Filmography: Bardou (2013)

In a Valley of Violence

USA 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 28 9:30 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:30 PM

In a film that both spoofs and pays homage to classic spaghetti Westerns, Ethan Hawke plays the archetypical hard-bitten loner, Paul, who drifts into the tiny border town of Denton on his way to Mexico to escape his past. The village, however, proves to be anything but sleepy after Paul quickly runs afoul of a gang of tough guys, led by the town’s aggressive deputy, Gilly (James Ransone), who happens to be the son of Denton’s marshal (John Travolta). Before he’s run out of town, Paul also catches the attention of Mary-Anne, a lonely teenage innkeeper (Taissa Farmiga) who is desperate for someone new to talk to. After an attempted ambush by Gilly’s gang, the stage is set for a bloody and elaborately staged third-act confrontation, as suggested by the title. Director Ti West, known mostly for his suspenseful horror films (The House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), loosens up his style for In a Valley of Violence, leavening the tension with broad humor—including the antics of Abbie, Paul’s startlingly talented and emotive border-collie companion, who steals nearly every scene she’s in. This crowd-pleasing revenge story manages to combine the epic sweep of the Western’s best classics with witty dialogue and cartoonish violence reminiscent of Tarantino and the Coen brothers at their best.

Director: Ti West

Producers: Jeanette Brill

Alix Taylor

Jason Blum

Jacob Jaffke

Peter Phok

Ti West

Screenwriter: Ti West

Cinematographer: Eric Robbins

Editor: Ti West

Music: Jeff Grace

Cast: Ethan Hawke

Taissa Farmiga

James Ransone

Karen Gillan

John Travolta

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Focus World

Film Website: focusfeatures.com/ in_a_valley_of_violence

Selected Filmography: The Sacrament (2013)

The ABCs of Death (2012)

V/H/S (2012)

The Innkeepers (2011)

The House of the Devil (2009)

Trigger Man (2007)

The Roost (2005)

Sponsored by Sinikka and Babak Parviz, Michael and Neda Nassirian, UW Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Persian and Iranian Studies Program, AIBC, Kamiar and Afsaneh Karimi, Naini Family Foundation, Associates in Cultural Exchange, UW Iranian-American Faculty, and Rumi Restaurant

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

LINCOLN SQUARE

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Indignation

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 6:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 3:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

James Schamus—frequent Ang Lee collaborator, Columbia University film professor, and former Studio Chief of Focus Features—makes his directorial debut with a beautifully realized, emotionally soaring adaptation of Philip Roth’s 29th novel. It’s 1951, and New Jersey teenager Marcus Messner (Logan Lerman, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) is the newest student at Winesburg College in Ohio, his enrollment keeping him out of the Korean War and in his kosher butcher father’s good graces. But now a self-proclaimed atheist and one of the few Jewish-raised students at the Lutheran school, the principled Marcus immediately locks ideological horns with roommates, teachers, and deans alike, and not even his romance with comely Winesburg legacy Olivia (Sarah Gadon, “11.22.63”) can seem to shake him of his increasing cynicism. As a war rages on overseas, Marcus fights his own battles, both within himself and against the institutions that threaten to suffocate and silence him. Featuring ferocious supporting performances from playwright Tracy Letts (“August, Osage County”), as well as Danny Burstein and Linda Emond (both Tony nominees for the 2014 revival of “Cabaret”) as Marcus’ parents, this thinly fictionalized version of Roth’s college years also stands as the best cinematic adaptation of his decades-spanning body of work.

Director: James Schamus

Producers:

Anthony Bregman

James Schamus

Rodrigo Teixeira

Screenwriter: James Schamus

Cinematographer: Christopher Blauvelt

Editor:

Andrew Marcus

Music:

Jay Wadley

Cast: Logan Lerman

Sarah Gadon

Tracy Letts

Linda Emond

Danny Burstein

Ben Rosenfield

Running Time: 109 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

LES INNOCENTES

The Innocents

FRANCE/POLAND 2016

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:45 PM

Only months after the end of World War II, Mathilde, a young French Red Cross doctor, is working in Warsaw when she’s approached by a nun, frantic and begging for help. Mathilde is brought to a small Benedictine convent, where she discovers several sisters impregnated and needing desperate medical attention following a violent ambush by the Red Army. The faith of these women is markedly shaken—they believe even touching a member of the opposite sex is a sin that could send you straight to Hell. Fearing the exposure and shame that would come from the newly installed Communist government, the convent seeks ultimate discretion. Mathilde, an agnostic, troublingly becomes the only source of hope for these women, as their faith is challenged and they must reconcile what has happened to them with their religious devotion. Director Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel) keeps the distance needed to craft a story about science versus faith that doesn’t condemn either side, focusing on the difficulty of staying true to oneself amid horrible obstacles, while cinematographer Caroline Champetier reverently sheds a soft, graceful light on a tragically dark circumstance.

Director: Anne Fontaine

Producers: Eric Altmayer

Nicolas Altmayer

Screenwriters: Sabrina B. Karine

Alice Vial

Cinematographer: Caroline Champetier

Editor: Annette Dutertre

Music:

Grégoire Hetzel

Cast: Lou de Laâge

Agata Kulesza

Agata Buzek

Joanna Kulig

Vincent Macaigne

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, Polish and Russian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Films Distribution

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: filmsdistribution.com

Selected Filmography: Gemma Bovery (2014) Adore (2013)

My Worst Nightmare (2011)

Coco Before Chanel (2009)

The Girl from Monaco (2008)

Oh La La! (2006)

In His Hands (2005)

Nathalie... (2003)

How I Killed My Father (2001) Augustin, King of Kung-Fu (1999)

Dry Cleaning (1997)

Augustin (1995)

Love Affairs Usually End Badly (1993)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

KIRKLAND PC

Insatiable: The Homaro Cantu Story

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:30 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 2:30 PM

If you have an interest in the connection between food and science, then you’ve heard of Homaro Cantu. A famed chef, inventor, and food activist, he toiled for four years in Charlie Trotter’s kitchen (where he worked for free in exchange for a culinary education), took over Chicago’s Moto restaurant where he was vital in the refinement of molecular gastronomy, and partnered with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to revolutionize space cuisine. Rising from a childhood of poverty, homelessness, and abuse in the Pacific Northwest, he made waves in the culinary world through curiosity, entrepreneurship, and imagination. (Edible menus? Delicious.) This “Mad Scientist” celebrity chef, this “Edison of the edible,” never seemed concerned with money; he used his fame to tackle obesity, hoping to eliminate fine sugars from our diet through the use of a West African “miracle berry” that makes any sour or acidic food taste sweet. But in April 2015, seemingly at the height of his abilities, he took his own life. Shot over a three-year period, Insatiable follows Cantu at a pivotal moment in his career and takes you on a dizzying and thrilling ride, in a story that moves from redemption and inspiration to tragedy and back again.

Director:

Brett A. Schwartz

Producer:

Brett A. Schwartz

Screenwriter: Brett A. Schwartz

Cinematographer: Brett A. Schwartz

Editor: Brett A. Schwartz

Featuring:

Homaro Cantu

Richie Farina

Angela Cantu-Reeder

Trevor Rose-Hamblin

Mark Caro

Scott Trotter

Running Time:

98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

Preferred Content

Print Source:

StoryScreen

Film Website: insatiablemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Mashed Media (Doc, 2010)

The Intervention

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:30 PM SHORELINE CC

Actress Clea Duvall (But I’m a Cheerleader, The Faculty) makes her directorial debut in this relationship dramedy analogous to reunion films like Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill Annie (Melanie Lynskey, Heavenly Creatures, Hello I Must Be Going) gathers a group of her long-term friends to meet at a lakeside cabin for what seems to be a regular annual gettogether. In reality, Annie and her friends are staging an intervention for one couple, Ruby (Cobie Smulders) and Peter (Vincent Piazza), and their intolerable marriage. Convinced they’re the only ones who can knock some sense into the constantly bickering pair, the friends—played by an all-star indie cast including Natasha Lyonne, Alia Shawkat, Jason Ritter, and Ben Schwartz—sit them down to try to persuade them to end their marriage. Over the course of an evening, the friends must confront their own personal flaws and learn what it takes to be in a working relationship—whatever that means. Delivered with authenticity and a constant flow of humorous dialogue from an exceptionally funny and talented cast, The Intervention is a touching and comic look at the willpower of love and friendship, and when it’s necessary to butt in.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Dramatic Individual Performance Award: Melanie Lynskey)

Director:

Clea DuVall

Producers: Paul Bernon

Sam Slater

Sev Ohanian

Mel Eslyn

Screenwriter: Clea DuVall

Cinematographer: Polly Morgan

Editor: Tamara Meem

Music: Sara Quin

Cast: Melanie Lynskey

Cobie Smulders

Alia Shawkat

Clea DuVall

Natasha Lyonne

Ben Schwartz

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: ICM

Print Source: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Film Website: burnlater.com/theintervention

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

ARK LODGE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MAHASAMUT LAE SUSAAN

The Island Funeral

THAILAND 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:00 PM SIFF FILM CENTER

Experimental documentary filmmaker

Pimpaka Towira (The Truth Be Told: The Case

Against Supinya Klangnarong) has made a career detailing the multifaceted political struggles of Thailand. Now with her second narrative feature (her first in 12 years), she transforms the current governmental upheaval and religious strife into a thoughtful allegory seen through the eyes of three Thai youth.

Young Muslim siblings Laila (Heen Sasithorn) and Zugood (Aukrit Pornsumpunsuk), along with an unnamed friend (Yossawat Sittiwong), set out from Bangkok on a road trip to Pattani, one of the three southernmost Thai provinces, to visit their long-lost aunt. Addicted to modern technology and unaccustomed to rural life, they soon get lost in the heavily militarized countryside, and what started as an easygoing journey becomes punctuated by anxiety and fear: Laila starts seeing ciphers along the side of the road; they meet a suspicious soldier hell-bent on eliminating the insurgency; their friend’s anti-Muslim bias threatens the precarious balance of the trio. As The Island Funeral glides toward its hypnotic finale, Towira (along with co-writer and film critic Kong Rithdee) proffers a better world, a utopian ideal of diversity and harmony.

Awards: Tokyo International Film Festival 2015 (Asian Future Award) Hong Kong International Film Festival 2016 (FIPRESCI Award)

Director: Pimpaka Towira

Producer: Pimpaka Towira

Screenwriters: Kong Rithdee

Pimpaka Towira

Cinematographer: Phuttiphong Aroonpheng

Editors: Harin Paesongthai

Benjarat Choonuan

Uruphong Raksasad

Music: Noppanan Panicharoen

Cast: Heen Sasithorn

Aukrit Pornsumpunsuk

Yossawat Sittiwong

Pattanapong Sriboonrueang

Wanlop Rungkamjad

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Thai, with English subtitles

International Sales: Mosquito Films

Distribution

Print Source: Mosquito Films

Distribution

Film Website: mosquitofilmsdistribution. com/the-island-funeral-7

Selected Filmography:

The Truth Be Told: The Cases Against Supinya Klangnarong (Doc, 2007) One Night Husband (2003)

Kedi

TURKEY/USA/GERMANY 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MONDAY, MAY 30 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

According to Islamic tradition, one morning the Prophet Muhammad awoke to the adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, only to discover his favorite cat, Muezza, asleep on the sleeve of his prayer robe. Rather than disturb the animal, the prophet cut away the sleeve, establishing an affinity and great love for felines throughout the Islamic world. And perhaps nowhere is this feline/human relationship more beautifully displayed than in the city of Istanbul, captured brilliantly by filmmaker Ceyda Torun in her debut documentary. As one (human) resident pronounces, “In Istanbul, the cat is more than a cat. The cat embodies the indescribable chaos, the culture, and the uniqueness that is Istanbul.” Hundreds of thousands of cats roam its streets; some have traditional homes, others do not, but all are cherished by Istanbulites. Torun’s camera follows a few of the city’s more notable feline residents on their adventures, while also conversing with the humans who interact with them daily—in the process revealing the heartwarming stories of devotion, companionship, and in some cases even personal salvation that have arisen between the two species.

PRECEDED BY:

Simon’s Cat: Off to the Vet United Kingdom 2015, 13 minutes. Director: Simon Tofield Simon’s cat goes to great lengths to avoid an imminent visit to the vet.

Director: Ceyda Torun

Producers: Ceyda Torun

Charlie Wuppermann

Screenwriter: Ceyda Torun

Cinematographers: Charlie Wuppermann

Alp Korfali

Editor: Mo Stoebe

Music: Kira Fontana

Running Time: 79 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Turkish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Termite Films LLC

Film Website: kedifilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Kilo Two Bravo

UNITED KINGDOM 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 7:30 PM

RENTON IKEA PAC

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

War is nerve-wracking enough when the unseen enemy surrounds you—but what about an enemy that hasn’t existed for a quarter-century? Such is the paradoxical predicament endured by a platoon of British troops in Kilo Two Bravo, a relentlessly tense Afghan war drama by first-time feature director Paul Katis. The platoon is patrolling for Taliban insurgents in a remote, beautifully stark region near Afghanistan’s Kajaki Dam in 2006 when one soldier steps on a mine, losing his leg in the process. As the rest of the unit comes to his aid, more mines explode, causing further injuries. To make matters worse, the minefield they have stumbled into was laid not by Taliban or Coalition forces; it’s a derelict leftover by the Soviets from their 1980s invasion, meaning there are no surviving maps of the mine locations. With rations and morphine running low, the injured platoon is forced to take ever-greater, heart-pounding risks to survive. Using mostly unknown actors, Katis focuses not on particular individuals but on the heroic teamwork and painstaking procedures used to keep the grievously wounded men alive. Shot with unflinching realism and leavened with surprising moments of gallows humor, Kilo Two Bravo, based on true events, is one of the most harrowing antiwar films of the post-9/11 era and a devastating commentary on the forgotten legacy of the Afghan conflict.

Kingdom of Clay Subjects

BANGLADESH/USA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Paul Katis

Producers:

Gareth Unwin

Andrew de Lotbiniere

Screenwriter: Tom Williams

Cinematographer: Chris Goodger

Editor: Brin

Music:

Phoebe Katis

Cast: David Elliot

Mark Stanley

Scott Kyle

Liam Ainsworth

Benjamin O’Mahony

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Metro Films International

Print Source:

Search Engine Films

Film Website: kilotwobravomovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

At some point, all children lose their innocence. For 10-year-old Jamal and his best friend Lokkhi, that time has come. In a small rural village in Bangladesh, traditions rule daily life. Lokkhi, the youngest of three daughters, has been promised to a local landowner’s grandson, but her parents, poor farmers, are unable to pay the dowry and have been given two months to fulfill their end of the deal. Otherwise, Lokkhi will be returned to them in shame. Jamal, a bike-shop attendant who dreams of nothing more than to attend school, can do nothing as he watches his best friend heartlessly married off. Through trials and tribulations, the two struggle to understand that one’s caste and gender dictates one’s position in life. With a child’s-eye view of events reminiscent of Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, this is a tale told with humor, visual flair, and a canny sense of narrative. Director Bijon shows real empathy for both the children’s sadness and their ingenious pluck in the face of life’s obstacles.

Director: Bijon

Producer: Arifur Rahman

Screenwriter: Bijon

Cinematographers: Ramshreyas Rao

Andrew Wesman

Editor: Luke Slendebroek

Music: Bruce Driscoll

Cast: Anindo

Sheuly Aktar

Mahmudur Anindo

Rokeya Prachy

Monir Ahmed Shakeel

Chinmoyee Gupta

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Bengali, with English subtitles

Print Source: Goopy Bagha Productions

Limited

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

MATIR PROJAR DESHE

Lamb

ETHIOPIA/FRANCE/GERMANY/NORWAY/QATAR 2015

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 8:30 PM ARK LODGE

Although he was raised in one of the most chaotic and conflict-ridden eras of Ethiopia’s history, in his enchanting directorial debut director Yared Zeleke chose to focus as much on humor and tender connections as on heartache, in a story set amid an extended Jewish family in rural Ethiopia. After the death of his mother, Ephraim’s father leaves him with distant relatives in a hillside yurt.

Young Ephraim brings his beloved lamb, Chuni, with him. Ephraim’s disdainful uncle is excited at the prospect of some tasty meat at an upcoming feast, and tells Ephraim he will become a man by sacrificing the animal. But Chuni is the sole point of continuity in Ephraim’s life—and, in a sort of inverse of the Biblical Isaac story, boy and beast head for a distant mountain to save themselves. Along the way, the women of the household prove Ephraim’s best allies. Beautifully shot by Josée Deshaies (Saint Laurent) and refreshingly unsentimental despite its child’s-eye view, Lamb has the texture and authenticity of classic ethnographic art-house films, affording us precious insights into another way of life.

Awards:

Official Oscar® Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

The Land USA 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:00 PM

Director: Yared Zeleke

Producers: Ama Ampadu Laurent Lavolé

Screenwriter: Yared Zeleke

Cinematographer: Josée Deshaies

Editor: Véronique Bruque

Music: Christophe Chassol

Cast: Redial Amare

Kidist Siyum

Welela Assefa

Rahel Teshome

Surafel Teka

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Amharic, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Films

Distribution

Print Source: KimStim

Film Website: kimstim.com/lamb.html

Selected Filmography:

Debut Feature Film

ARK LODGE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

In the grand tradition of summer-set teen dramas, Steven Caple, Jr. makes his directorial debut with The Land, a narrative set in his native Cleveland. Young Cisco yearns to escape the mean streets of “The Land,” and he spends his time with his skateboarding buddies Junior, Patty Cake, and Boobie, filming their tricks in the hopes of catching a sponsor’s attention and going pro. In the meantime they support their hobby via carjacking, and after discovering a bagful of MDMA in a stolen car’s trunk, they consider it a shortcut to their dream lives. But those drugs belong to Momma (Linda Emond, Indignation), a local queenpin who uses her food-stand empire as a front for a far-reaching criminal network, and she will do anything to recover her property—if not for the double-dealing employee hidden in her ranks. Featuring supporting work from Michael Kenneth Williams (“The Wire”), Grammy-winning singer Erykah Badu, and rapper Machine Gun Kelly, this Nas-produced cautionary tale is a gritty, tense caper with a solid hip-hop soundtrack and stylish cinematography, giving the genre a welcome dose of verisimilitude.

Director: Steven Caple Jr.

Producers: Lizzie Friedman

Karen Lauder

Greg Little

Tyler Davidson

Stephen Love

Blake Pickens

Screenwriter: Steven Caple Jr.

Cinematographer: Steven Holleran

Editor: Saira Haider

Music: Jongnic Bontemps

Cast: Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Moises Arias

Rafi Gavron

Ezri Walker

Michael Kenneth Williams

Erykah Badu

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: IFC Films

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Last Cab to Darwin

AUSTRALIA 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 31 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 7:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Laconic taxi driver Rex (Michael Caton, The Castle) has lived in the hardscrabble mining town of Broken Hill in New South Wales, Australia, all his life. He’s a stubborn old man, determined to do things his own way. After work each night, he gets quietly, soddenly drunk at the local pub with his three mates before returning home to his dog and his vinyl record collection. He also carries on a low-key relationship with his indigenous neighbor Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf, SIFF 2010’s Bran Nue Dae). Soon after Rex learns that he has terminal stomach cancer, he happens to hear a radio program about a doctor trying to pass a death-with-dignity law—something that did happen in one Australian state in the ’90s, but which is now illegal. Rex lights out for the town of Darwin in the Northern Territory, nearly 2,000 miles away, to seek the aid of this Dr. Farmer (Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom) and her euthanasia machine. Along his epic drive through the Outback, Rex picks up a few fares, who teach him that before you can end your life, you have to live it.

Awards:

Film Critics Circle Awards 2015 (Best Actor, Supporting Actor)

AACTA Film Awards 2015 (Best Lead Actor, Adapted Screenplay)

Director:

Jeremy Sims

Producers:

Lisa Duff

Greg Duffy

Jeremy Sims

Screenwriters: Reg Cribb

Jeremy Sims

Cinematographer: Steve Arnold

Editor: Marcus D’Arcy

Music: Ed Kuepper

Cast: Michael Caton

Jacki Weaver

Ningali Lawford-Wolf

Emma Hamilton

Mark Coles Smith

Running Time: 123 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

Films Distribution

Print Source: First Run Features

Film Website: lastcab.com.au

Selected Filmography:

Beneath Hill 60 (2010)

Last Train to Freo (2006)

BIRKEBEINERNE

The Last King

NORWAY 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7:00 PM

MAJESTIC BAY MONDAY, MAY 23 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Norway, 1206. The frigid nation is riven by heated factional conflict, and Håkon Håkonsson, the infant pretender to the throne, is in danger in hostile territory: “Today a harmless child—tomorrow our mightiest enemy.” How to get him to safety? By ski—a treacherous winter journey through snow-blanketed forests and over mountainous terrain, undertaken by Skjervald (Jakob Oftebro, Kon-Tiki) and Torstein (Kristofer Hivju, “Game of Thrones”). Based on a true tale (even today commemorated by annual ski races in Norway and Wisconsin), the Norwegian title of director Nils Gaup’s epic, Birkebeinerne, literally means “birch legs”—Håkon’s intrepid rescuers are members of a warrior clan who, legend has it, wrapped birch bark around their calves and feet in lieu of shoes. Grab your popcorn and get ready for swordfights on skis, breathtaking chase scenes on skis, archery battles on skis—plus sweeping, snowy, Warren Millerlike vistas plus stunning Northern Lights shots plus an adorable baby in a backpack, all wrapped up in this two-fisted, red-bearded, hairy-chested, fur-clad hunk of history.

Director: Nils Gaup

Producers: Stein B. Kvae

Finn Gjerdrum

Screenwriter: Ravn Laneskog

Cinematographer: Peter Mokrosinski

Editor:

Christoffer Heie

Thomas Täng

Music:

Gaute Storaas

Cast: Jakob Oftebro

Kristofer Hivju

Pål Sverre Hagen

Thorbjörn Harr

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Norwegian, with English subtitles

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: trustnordisk. comfilm/2015-last-king

Selected Filmography: The Kautokeino Rebellion (2008)

North Star (1996)

Head Above Water (1996)

Misery Harbour (1999)

Head Above Water (1993) Pathfinder (1987)

Les Cowboys

FRANCE/BELGIUM 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 5:30 PM SIFF

After working for years as Jacques Audiard’s screenwriter (A Prophet, Rust and Bone), Thomas Bidegain’s directorial debut, Les Cowboys, successfully gives life to the spirit of the American West in the rural French countryside. Actor François Damiens beautifully portrays an amateur country singer, Alain, who will do anything in his power to find his missing teenage daughter Kelly (Iliana Zabeth). Alain and his son begin a long and arduous search, crossing borders and traveling the world, no matter what the cost or sacrifice.

Bidegain’s first feature is an epic Old West tale whose nonstop sense of urgency, topical plot, and perfectly controlled mise en scéne will make you forget everything but the story you’re brought into.

Awards:

César Awards 2016 (Best Actor, First Film, Original Music Nominee) Lumiere Awards 2016 (Best Picture Nominee)

Director: Thomas Bidegain

Producer: Alain Attal

Screenwriters: Thomas Bidegain Noé Debré

Cinematographer: Arnaud Potier

Editor: Géraldine Mangenot

Music: Raphaël

Cast: François Damiens Finnegan Oldfield

Agathe Dronne Ellora Torchia

John C. Reilly

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French and English, with English subtitles

International Sales: Pathé International

Print Source: Cohen Media Group

Film Website: cohenmedia.net/films/ les-cowboys

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Life, Animated USA 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 7:00 PM SIFF

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 4:30 PM

When Owen Suskind was three years old, he suddenly stopped talking and seemed to essentially disappear from his family into a place inside his own head. Owen appeared to have been hit with late-onset autism, and his parents were devastated. But his father, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind, would not give up that easily. Noticing that his son was constantly mesmerized by watching Disney movies over and over, he decided to attempt to communicate with his son through characters and quotes from films like Aladdin, Dumbo, and Hercules, among others. Soon Owen was able to express himself through memorized lines and situations from the animated movies he loved, and after several years of silence was finally connecting again with his family. This compelling documentary by Academy Award® winner Roger Ross Williams is based on Ron Suskind’s best-selling book, “Life Animated: a Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism,” and combines interviews with Owen (now 23) and his family, clips from the classic Disney movies they hold so dear, and animated allegories highlighting one autistic boy’s journey out of the dark.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Documentary Directing Award) Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Audience Award)

Director: Roger Ross Williams

Producers: Roger Ross Williams

Julie Goldman

Screenwriters: Roger Ross Williams

David Teague

Cinematographer: Tom Bergmann

Editor:

David Teague

Music: Todd Griffin

Dylan Stark

Featuring: Owen Suskind

Ron Suskind

Cornelia Suskind

Walter Suskind

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: The Orchard

Film Website: lifeanimateddoc.com

Selected Filmography: God Loves Uganda (Doc, 2013)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

CINEMA UPTOWN

CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

LILIOM ÖSVÉNY

Lily Lane

HUNGARY 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 9:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 23 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

TUESDAY, MAY 24 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

An unsettling study of childhood, Lily Lane opens on a contained space—the focal point of young Dani’s life, his toys, and his mother Rebeka’s voice. Rebeka tells Dani vivid, otherworldly stories that he can barely separate from reality, ones that sometimes scare him and keep him from falling asleep. But compared to reality, maybe this isn’t such a terrible thing; Rebeka is in the process of separating from her husband, and what is already a tender time suddenly turns worse when her mother dies. Now intent on tracking down her estranged father, Rebekah sets out on a literal and emotional journey, taking Dani to the places she knew as a child and relating her dark recollections to him. Director Bence Fliegauf (Just the Wind) shot the film on location in Hungary, on the banks of the Danube, and in the neighborhood of Csillebérc, a labyrinth of narrow alleyways bordered by a vast forest. “Dani’s view of the world—in keeping with his age—is magical,” says Fliegauf. “He is fascinated by death and birth, as well as what is real and what is imagined.” In this motherand-son drama, the director creates an atmosphere of unease by blurring the lines between a child’s and an adult’s view of the world.

Director: Bence Fliegauf

Producers:

Ernö Mesterházy

Bence Fliegauf

Mónika Mécs

András Pires Muhi

Screenwriter: Bence Fliegauf

Cinematographer: Zoltán Lovasi

Editor:

Balázs Budai

Music: Bence Fliegauf

Cast: Angéla Stefanovics

Bálint Sótonyi

Miklós B. Székely

Mária Gindert

Maja Balogh

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Hungarian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Films Boutique

Print Source:

Films Boutique

Film Website: filmsboutique.com/movies/lily-lane

Selected Filmography: Just the Wind (2013)

Womb (2010)

Milky Way (2007)

Trance (2005)

Dealer (2004)

Forest (2003)

Talking Heads (2001)

Little Men USA 2016

TUESDAY, MAY 24 7:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 9:00 PM

The “little men” of the film’s title are two artistic boys in their early teens whose deepening friendship collides with the adult world of single motherhood, gentrifying Brooklyn, and spiraling brownstone rents. Jake (Theo Taplitz) is the son of Brian (Oscar® nominee Greg Kinnear, As Good as It Gets) and Kathy (Jennifer Ehle, “Pride and Prejudice”), who move into the upstairs of a brownstone they inherit; Tony (Michael Barbieri) is the son of immigrant seamstress Leonor (Paulina García, “Narcos”), who’s been renting the store on the ground floor for several years. When a battle over rent sharpens, the boys—rather than splitting along lines of family loyalty—give the adults the silent treatment and continue to forge their own bond. If this description emphasizes the class differences, that’s only background; the reasons to go are director Ira Sachs’ observations of the tender and funny bonds of childhood friends, especially Jake and Tony’s efforts to encourage one another’s artistic ambitions. But where “artistic” has been code for gay at least since A Streetcar Named Desire’s monologue about the tragic suicide of Blanche’s boyfriend (the boy with “a nervousness, a softness, and tenderness which wasn’t like a man’s”), in Little Men, what we see of the boys’ bond is strictly platonic, and who they will grow up to be is left open.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MAJESTIC BAY

Director: Ira Sachs

Producer: Lucas Joaquin

Screenwriters: Ira Sachs

Mauricio Zacharias

Cinematographer: Óscar Durán

Editors: Mollie Goldstein

Affonso Gonçalves

Music: Dickon Hinchliffe

Cast:

Greg Kinnear

Jennifer Ehle

Paulina García

Theo Taplitz

Michael Barbieri

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Mongrel Media

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Selected Filmography: Love Is Strange (2012)

Keep the Lights On (2010)

Married Life (2005)

Forty Shades of Blue (2002)

Boy-Girl, Boy-Girl (1996)

The Delta (1996)

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World USA 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 1:00 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

“Does the internet dream of itself?” Werner Herzog turns his philosophical lens from the terrible beauty of nature to the horror (and at times delight) of technology. A series of vignettes tracing the internet’s past, present, and possible future, Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World finds the celebrated filmmaker musing on the personal consequences and ramifications of this global technology. Herzog journeys to an Appalachian cell phone-free town that exists as a refuge for individuals with extreme sensitivity to electromagnetic waves; he visits a rehabilitation center for those recovering from internet addiction; he explores an online game that enables users to experiment virtually with biomolecules, crowd-sourcing potential cures for some of our most pernicious diseases. At the same time, the internet is rife with digital harassment, as the family of a woman who died tragically in a car accident can attest. From interviews with early pioneers of computerized interconnectivity to conversations with notorious hackers, the film exists in the tension between awe at humanity’s ability to construct such magnificent creations and concern that our growing dependence on these technologies has dire repercussions for civilization’s future. With Herzog’s familiar voice and wry, playful narration, Lo and Behold is sure to delight viewers and provoke conversation on technology’s role in our lives.

Director: Werner Herzog

Producers: Werner Herzog

Rupert Maconick

Screenwriter: Werner Herzog

Cinematographer: Peter Zeitlinger

Editor: Marco Capalbo

Music: Mark Degli Antoni

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: magpictures.com/ loandbehold

Selected Filmography: Queen of the Desert (2015)

Into the Abyss (Doc, 2011)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

3D (Doc, 2010)

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

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

Rescue Dawn (2006)

The Wild Blue Yonder (Doc, 2005)

Grizzly Man (Doc, 2005)

My Best Friend (Doc, 1999)

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Doc, 1997)

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Stroszek (1977)

Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)

TOUT EN HAUT DU MONDE

Long Way North

FRANCE/DENMARK 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 21 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 1:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

SUNDAY, MAY 29 1:00 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

This beautifully drawn animated adventure tells the story of a young aristocrat, Sasha, growing up in Saint Petersburg in the late 19th century. Sasha’s explorer grandfather, Oloukine, has gone missing while on an expedition to the North Pole, and though everyone else believes him dead, Sasha doesn’t. She discovers his itinerary and becomes convinced that he hasn’t been found because the search for him and his ship, the famous Davai, has been taking place in the wrong part of the North Pole. Sasha’s parents worry that she’s ill-suited for her aristocratic rank and make plans to arrange a marriage for her, but all Sasha wants to do is follow in her grandfather’s footsteps and become an explorer like him. Now that she knows the ship’s true destination, she escapes from her home in Russia and embarks on a journey north, determined to find out what really happened to Oloukine and save his tattered reputation—but the journey may not be as easy as Sasha would like. Long Way North tells a spirited and enchanting tale of hope and perseverance even in the face of unexpected obstacles.

Director: Rémi Chayé

Producers: Ron Dyens

Henri Magalon

Jean-Michel Spiner

Claus Toksvig Kjaer

Frederik Villumsen

Screenwriters: Claire Paoletti

Patricia Valeix

Fabrice de Costil

Editor: Benjamin Massoubre

Music: Jonathan Morali

Voices: Chloé Dunn

Vivienne Vermes

Peter Hudson

Antony Hickling

Tom Perkins

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Urban Distribution

Print Source: Shout! Factory

Film Website: longwaynorththemovie. com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 11:30 PM

In 1999, Peter Jackson, a New Zealand-based director known for cheeky horror comedies, would risk everything on an epic undertaking— adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary fantasy series “The Lord of the Rings” into a trilogy of films. Long thought unadaptable, Jackson assured his bosses that he was the man for the job and proceeded with the 16-month shoot, filming all three movies together using a crew of hundreds. The risk would pay off, earning nearly $3 billion worldwide and netting 30 Academy Awards® nominations. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King brings the trilogy to a rousing conclusion as the remaining members of the Fellowship launch their final attack in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. On the battlefield, Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen), warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) gather the World of Men against Sauron’s army, while Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) secretly make their way to Mount Doom (with Gollum close on their tail), where they will once and for all destroy the One Ring and in turn Sauron’s power. The Return of the King earned all 11 Oscars® for which it was nominated, an awards haul tied only with Titanic (1997) and Ben-Hur (1959).

Awards: Academy Awards® 2004 (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects)

Golden Globes 2004 (Best Director, Original Score, Original Song, Motion Picture)

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2004 (Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture)

Love & Friendship

IRELAND/FRANCE/NETHERLANDS 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 5:00 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 4:00 PM

Director: Peter Jackson

Producers: Barrie M. Osborne

Fran Walsh

Peter Jackson

Screenwriters: Fran Walsh

Philippa Boyens

Peter Jackson

Cinematographer: Andrew Lesnie

Editor: Jamie Selkirk

Music: Howard Shore

Cast: Elijah Wood

Ian McKellen

Viggo Mortensen

Sean Astin

Cate Blanchett

John Rhys-Davies

Billy Boyd

Dominic Monaghan

Orlando Bloom

Andy Serkis

Running Time: 201 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Warner Bros

Film Website: lordoftherings.net

Selected Filmography:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014); The Desolation of Smaug (2013); An Unexpected Journey (2012)

Lovely Bones (2009)

King Kong (2005)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002); The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Heavenly Creatures (1996)

Dead Alive (1992)

Meet the Feebles (1989)

Bad Taste (1987)

My dearest Alicia, I write to inform you I have lately quit Steventon, my Acquaintance with the two Miss Austens having become intolerable—in particular the younger, Jane, a girl of most tiresome and repellent Wit, who, tho’ but 19, already fancies herself an Authoress and whose over-familiar manner is shewn by her insufferable scheme to cast me as the Heroine of a Novella, too ill-bred to render even the common Courtesy of disguising my name and Character. Coarseness and impertinence, I call it, tho’ no doubt she beleives it to be Candour. Upon further inquiry I have discovered that this most lamentable product of a slanderous Pen is lately adapted into a Motion Picture by Whit Stillman, an elderly gentleman of respectable birth. In this production I am portrayed by a Miss Beckinsale, whose fine figure and glowing Complexion I admit almost equal to my own, but whose unscrupulous and grasping Nature I found most provoking. (It is my earnest hope, my dear Alicia, that you will not take it amiss that your role as my confidante is performed by an American, Miss Sevigny.) More regrettable still is that unlike the Austen girl, Mr. Stillman did not chuse to use my name as the title of his Picture; the notoriety thus afforded might have proven advantageous.

Yours &c. Lady Susan

Director: Whit Stillman

Producers:

Katie Holly

Whit Stillman

Lauranne Bourrachot

Screenwriter: Whit Stillman

Cinematographer: Richard Van Oosterhout

Editor:

Sophie Corra

Music:

Mark Suozzo

Cast: Kate Beckinsale

Chloe Sevigny

Xavier Samuel

Emma Greenwell

Tom Bennett

Stephen Fry

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Cinetic Media

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Selected Filmography: Damsels in Distress (2011)

The Last Days of Disco (1998)

Barcelona (1994) Metropolitan (1990)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

The Lovers and the Despot

SATURDAY, MAY 21 1:00 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

MONDAY, MAY 23 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Close relationships between filmmakers and dictators are not unknown—Eisenstein and Stalin, Riefenstahl and Hitler. But none was more bizarre than that of South Korean director Shin Sang-ok, his actress wife, Choi Eun-hee, and Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s “Dear Father.” Such a fervent film fan was Kim, and so disappointed by the state of North Korean cinema, that he had the two literally kidnapped to serve as his personal filmmakers. (“Why do all of our films have the same ideological plots?” asks the insane totalitarian, in a darkly comic irony.) Robert Cannan and Ross Adam’s documentary, drawing on the mood and style of espionage thrillers, tells the story arrestingly: Major players in the South Korean film industry since the ’50s, Choi was taken in 1978, while Shin vanished two months later, presumed dead (the victim of South Korea’s own oppressive regime). After five years of imprisonment, the two were reunited—and set to work, cranking out seven films in two years (including a remake of Godzilla) before their dramatic escape to the U.S. Embassy in Vienna. Cannan and Adam combine film clips, reenactments, and extraordinarily rare footage of the secretive North Korean regime with interviews—including with Choi herself, now 89—and recordings of phone conversations, taped at terrible risk, of Kim himself.

Directors:

Robert Cannan

Ross Adam

Producer:

Natasha Dack Ojumu

Robert Cannan

Ross Adams

Cinematographers: Robert Cannan

Editor:

Jim Hession

Music:

Nathan Halpern

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English, Korean, and Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: magpictures.com/theloversandthedespot/

Selected Filmography:

CANNAN:

Three Miles North of Molkom (Doc, 2008)

ADAM:

Debut Feature Film

CORKI DANCINGU

The Lure

POLAND 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 9:15 PM SHORELINE CC

When two beautiful mermaid sisters decide to swim to shore and experience life on land, they’re swept up in the glitzy, candy-colored madness of a sleazy Warsaw nightclub, where they quickly become the main attraction. Golden (Michalina Olszanska) and Silver (Marta Mazurek) not only have hypnotizing voices, but are also able to transform into human form if they keep out of water long enough. With just a splash, their glistening, strangely sexual fins are back on display, making their performance a total moneymaker. The sisters quickly realize the advantages and consequences of inhabiting an attractive female body in the modern world when Golden starts using her sexual prowess to feed on predatory men and Silver falls in love with the sandy-haired bassist of the club’s family band (Jakub Gierszal), putting her at risk of a Little Mermaid-esque situation: losing her voice and tail forever. In The Lure, first-time director Agnieszka Smoczynska delivers a stylish, ’80s-tinged, hyper-violent film, featuring psychedelic musical numbers and touching on themes of sexual agency, female relationships, and the inevitable catastrophe of romantic love.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (World Cinema Unique Vision and Design Award, Dramatic)

Director: Agnieszka Smoczynska

Producer: Wlodzimierz Niderhaus

Screenwriter: Robert Bolesto

Cinematographer: Kuba Kijowski

Editor: Jaroslaw Kaminski

Music: Barbara Wronska

Zuzanna Wronska

Cast: Marta Mazurek

Michalina Olszanska

Jakub Gierszal

Kinga Preis

Andrzej Konopka

Zygmunt Malanowicz

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Polish, with English subtitles

International Sales: WFDiF Documentary & Feature Film Studio

Print Source: WFDiF Documentary & Feature Film Studio

Film Website: twitter.com/thelurefilm

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Mads Are Back: Glen or Glenda USA

SATURDAY, MAY 21 MIDNIGHT

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

“Mystery Science Theater 3000” stars Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu, the mad scientists committed to experimenting on their hapless captives by exposing them to the worst B-movies they could find, bring their hilarious movie riffing to the stage at SIFF Cinema Egyptian for this special one-of-a-kind live show. Their movie of choice is the infamous Glen or Glenda, which was poorly written and directed in 1953 by the infamous visionary behind Plan 9 From Outer Space, Ed Wood Jr. Bela Lugosi narrates this confusing but gentle tale of a young transvestite who must come to grips with his identity as a cross-dresser while also struggling to find acceptance from his fiancé and society at large. Despite his failings as a filmmaker, which were many, Ed Wood Jr. still revolutionized cinema by presenting a very progressive tale championing tolerance and kindness toward gender-nonconforming people. After the film, the Mads will welcome audience questions about anything ranging from “MST3K” to puppet construction to the craft of movie riffing.

Director: Ed Wood Jr.

Producer: George Weiss

Screenwriter: Ed Wood Jr.

Cinematographer: William C. Thompson

Editor: Bud Schelling

Cast: Ed Wood Jr.

Timothy Farrell

Dolores Fuller

Bela Lugosi

Running Time: 120 minutes

Presentation Format: DVD

Selected Filmography: The Young Marrieds (1972)

Take It Out in Trade (1970)

The Sinister Urge (1960)

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

Night of the Ghouls (1959)

Bride of the Monster (1955)

Jail Bait (1954)

Ma Ma

SPAIN/FRANCE 2015

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 6:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

FRIDAY, MAY 27 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Unabashed high melodrama is served up with style in this first collaboration between Basque auteur Julio Medem (Sex and Lucia) and Spanish superstar Penélope Cruz (at the top of her game in a difficult role). Magda, an out-ofwork Madrid schoolteacher and mother, is on the verge of splitting up with her philosophyteacher husband when she’s diagnosed with an advanced form of breast cancer requiring immediate chemo treatments and a mastectomy. Her talented, soccer-crazy son leads her to form a friendship with grieving soccer scout Arturo (Luis Tosar, Cell 211), whose life has been devastated by a car accident that killed his daughter and left his wife in a coma. As time passes and each of them do their best to comfort the other, their mutual support program deepens and transforms into something more profound. Cruz is stunning as she breathes life into a role that could easily have fallen into caricature, lending Magda a sense of grace and an unfailing optimism in the face of tragedy that marks a defiant change from art-film norms.

Director: Julio Medem

Producers: Penélope Cruz

Julio Medem

Screenwriter: Julio Medem

Cinematographer: Kiko de la Rica

Editors: Iván Aledo

Julio Medem

Yago Muñiz

Music: Eduardo Cruz

Alberto Iglesias

Cast: Penélope Cruz

Luis Tosar

Asier Etxeandía

Running Time: 111 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Oscilloscope Laboratories

Film Website: mama.oscilloscope.net

Selected Filmography: Room in Rome (2010)

Chaotic Ana (2007)

The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (Doc, 2003)

Sex and Lucia (2001)

Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998)

Earth (1996)

The Red Squirrel (1993) Vacas (1992)

EN MAN SOM HETER OVE

A Man Called Ove

SWEDEN/NORWAY 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:30 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 29 1:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Adapted from the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove is already a runaway success in its native Sweden, the fifth most popular locally made feature in the country’s history. Now it’s time for the United States to fall for the titular curmudgeon. Ove (Rolf Lassgård, After the Wedding) is a 59-year-old grump who has gone through his small, suburban life correcting other people’s mistakes, minor shortcomings that seem blasphemous to the fastidious, routine-obsessed man. His wife has recently passed away, and Ove has vowed to take his own life to join her—if only his suicide attempts weren’t so roundly (and comically) obstructed. Enter Parvaneh (Bahar Pars) and Patrik (Tobias Almborg), the new couple next door who accidentally destroy Ove’s mailbox and invite his special brand of ire. But what starts as an embattled relationship slowly changes, and as the three of them grow closer, an unexpected friendship emerges. Director Hannes Holm, famous for adapting the long-running children’s book series “Sune” for the big screen, again finds the beating heart of his source material, especially in the extended flashback sequences that inform Ove’s current state of being. By deftly handling the novel’s tone without resorting to unearned schmaltz, Holm helps A Man Called Ove become a genuine crowd-pleaser.

Director:

Hannes Holm

Producers: Annica Bellander

Nicklas Wikström Nicastro

Screenwriter: Hannes Holm

Cinematographer: Göran Hallberg

Editor:

Fredrik Morheden

Music:

Gaute Storaas

Cast: Rolf Lassgård

Bahar Pars

Filip Berg

Ida Engvoll

Running Time: 116 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Swedish, with English subtitles

International Sales: TrustNordisk Film

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: trevanner.se/se

Selected Filmography:

The Anderssons Rock the Mountains (2014)

Himlen är oskyldigt blå (2014)

The Anderssons Hit the Road (2013)

The Anderssons in Greece (2012)

Wonderful and Loved by Everyone (2007)

Every Other Week (2006)

The Class Reunion (2002)

Things Never End Up Like

You’ve Planned (2000)

Adam & Eva (1997)

One in a Million (1995)

Interrail (1983)

MARZIA, YSTÄVÄNI

Marzia, My Friend

FINLAND/AFGHANISTAN 2015

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In 2011, Finnish documentary filmmaker Kirsi Mattila traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan as part of a program to provide training for local female journalists. There she met Marzia, a young Afghan woman and television news anchor. Only 19, Marzia has big dreams: She wants to go to law school, and then into politics. She wants to travel, to be active, and to work for her country. But there are obstacles, too: Marzia worries about the return of the Taliban after the withdrawal of international troops, and she struggles with the disapproval of her neighbors (journalism is a problematic profession for women, as it requires them to interact with men) as well as the ambivalence of her family and fiancé. Once Mattila returns to Finland, Marzia e-mails her, beginning a correspondence and a series of visits that continue over the next four years. As Marzia introduces Mattila to her friends and family, offering a window into the country not usually available to outsiders, Mattila documents Marzia’s life and her struggle to make decisions about her future. In the process she creates a larger reflection on Afghan women’s position as well as the possibilities and limitations of friendship.

Awards:

Galway Film Fleadh 2015 (Best Human Rights Feature)

Montreal World Film Festival 2015 (Best Documentary)

Stockholm Afghan Documentary Film Festival 2015 (Best Afghan Documentary)

New York Queens World Film Festival 2016 (Best Documentary)

Brussels Millenium International Film Festival 2016 (Young Vision Award)

Director: Kirsi Mattila

Producers: Elina Pohjola

Piia Nokelainen

Screenwriter: Kirsi Mattila

Cinematographers: Sari Aaltonen

Alka Sadat

Malek Shafi’i

Kirsi Mattila

Hashim Didari

Editor: Hanna Kuirinlahti

Music: Pessi Levanto

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Finnish, English, and Dari, with English

subtitles

International Sales: Filmdelights

Print Source: Pohjola-filmi

Film Website: pohjolafilmi.fi/en/marziamy-friend

Selected Filmography: Niki and Niki’s Brother (2008)

Small Events (2000)

Maya Angelou and Still I Rise

USA 2016

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 6:30 PM ARK LODGE

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

An election year is an auspicious one for a documentary about writer Maya Angelou: She composed a poem for Clinton’s inauguration, and Obama awarded her the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And indeed the talking heads in Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise include Bill and Hillary Clinton. But Angelou, who died in 2014, was more than an eminence grise of the Democratic party. Her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, still her most popular book (and one frequently banned from school libraries), tells of a childhood marked by abandonment, racism, and sexual abuse, but draws its power from telling how the mute and traumatized Angelou came into her voice. To comment only on her speaking voice, it was an inimitable mixture of gravitas and honey, and the best gift of this documentary are its glimpses of a lesser-known period of Angelou’s life, as a performer in the early 1960s. In clips we see Angelou in turban and hoop earrings as “Miss Calypso,” dancing to the sprightly music white audiences of the time favored—and then we hear that voice: apparently untrained, barely carrying the tune, but grave and powerful all the same.

Awards:

Boulder International Film Festival 2016 (Best Documentary)

Directors:

Bob Hercules

Rita Coburn Whack

Producers: Rita Coburn Whack

Bob Hercules

Jay Alix

Una Jackman

Cinematographer: Keith Walker

Editors:

David E. Simpson

Lillian Benson

Music: Stephen James Taylor

Featuring: Maya Angelou

Oprah Winfrey

Hillary Clinton

Bill Clinton

Quincy Jones

Common

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: mayaangeloufilm.com

Selected Filmography:

HERCULES:

Perseverance: The Story of Dr. Billy Taylor (Doc, 2012)

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance (Doc, 2012)

A Good Man (Doc, 2011)

Radical Disciple: The Story of Father Pfleger (Doc, 2009)

Forgiving Dr. Mengele (Doc, 2006)

COBURN WHACK: Debut Feature Film

Mekko USA 2015

TUESDAY, MAY 31 3:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 12:00 PM

As a child, Mekko (Rod Rondeaux) was haunted by visions of a horror that stalked his people. His grandmother tried to prepare him to defend his community, but Mekko ran from his calling and retreated into drugs and alcohol. Now sober, he’s been released after serving a 19-year prison sentence for murdering his cousin in a drunken rage. Rejected by his family and cut off from his community, Mekko finds himself homeless and living on the streets of Tulsa with a growing number of displaced Native Americans. In Mekko, director Sterlin Harjo has created a quiet, powerful, and evocative film about the lingering consequences of American colonialism and the deep need to reconnect with our history and our past. The film’s subdued, quasi-documentary style paints a heartbreaking portrait of the ways Native American communities have been ravaged by drugs and alcohol, unemployment and a lack of opportunity. As Mekko attempts to reconnect with his past, will he become the man his grandmother always believed in—a defender of his community? Or will he continue to run from his calling and abandon his people to the malevolent force which seeks their destruction?

PRECEDED BY:

First Contact USA 2015, 2 minutes. Directors: Steven Paul Judd, Ryan Redcorn Two Indigenous fellows debate whether to let visitors from across the big water come ashore.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Sterlin Harjo

Producers: Jasper Zweibel

Chad Burris

Screenwriter: Sterlin Harjo

Cinematographer: Shane Brown

Editor: Blackhorse Lowe

Music: Ryan Beveridge

Cast: Rod Rondeaux

Zahn McClarnon

Sarah Podemski

Wotko Long

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: BluRay, in English and Muskogee, with English subtitles

International Sales: Diginext

Print Source: Jasper Z. Presents

Film Website: facebook.com/MekkoMovie

Selected Filmography: This May Be the Last Time (Doc, 2014) Barking Water (2009) Four Sheets to the Wind (2007)

The Memory of Fish USA 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 4:00 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

For more than 40 years, Dick Goin worked at the Rayonier pulp mill in Port Angeles, Washington. But to the locals, Goin, a Dust Bowl survivor, is an environmental legend for his tireless efforts to protect vital salmon habitats along the nearby Elwha River. Every year, Goin, who nurtured a lifelong love of sport fishing, would see the number of salmon returning to spawn on the Elwha dwindle, ultimately plummeting from 400,000 breeding pairs at its peak to just 3,000 by 2011. Alarmed, Goin began a decades-long campaign, even after his retirement in 1991, advocating for the removal of the main culprits—the Elwha and the Glines Canyon hydroelectric dams that had drowned the ancient spawning grounds. By the 1990s, the power output from the dams became so negligible that even the federal government agreed the crumbling structures had to go. Goin passed away from natural causes last year at age 83, but he lived long enough to witness the completion of the $325 million effort to remove the dams in 2011—the largest such project in U.S. history. This documentary, narrated by actress Lili Taylor, shows how Goin’s life was inextricably intertwined with the life cycles of wild salmon, and how the determination of one committed individual could restore the mighty life force of a dying river.

PRECEDED BY:

The Smell of Cedars Steeped in Rain USA 2015, 12 minutes. Director: Eliza Goode A love letter to Olympic National Park, to the Pacific Northwest, to the experience of letting yourself be immersed in nature and finding renewal.

Microbe and Gasoline

FRANCE 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 21 1:00 PM

MAJESTIC BAY MONDAY, MAY 23 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Directors:

Jennifer Galvin

Sachi Cunningham

Producer: Jennifer Galvin

Screenwriters: Erin Barnett

Fernanda Rossi

Jennifer Galvin

Cinematographers: Sachi Cunningham

Jennifer Galvin

Editor: Erin Barnett

Music: Gil Talmi

Narrator: Lili Taylor

Running Time: 54 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source: reelblue, LLC

Film Website: thememoryoffish.com

Selected Filmography: Elwha Unplugged: The Opus of Dick Goin (Doc, 2012)

Daniel is an artist, plagued by existential crises, lovelorn and lonely. Oh, and he’s only 14, known by his peers as “Microbe” for his small stature. Theo is a skilled mechanic, has an eye for the best pieces at a junkyard, and rides a tricked-out motorbike complete with an attached boom box—everyone calls him “Gasoline” because, well, he stinks. These two outsider teens form an immediate bond when Theo transfers to Daniel’s school, and soon spend their time daydreaming of ways to cement their individuality and achieve ultimate freedom from their stuffy classmates and eccentric families. They turn their focus to building a car—a means of escape—made with an old lawnmower motor and built to look like a small cabin in case the cops realize they can’t legally drive. As soon as summer break begins, they hit the road. Newcomers Ange Darget and Theophile Baquet deliver brilliant performances as Daniel and Theo, providing an unmistakable authenticity and charm, while director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) unexpectedly sheds his veil of elaborate whimsy and tries his hand at a more grounded and personal coming-of-age story, with great results.

Director: Michel Gondry

Producer:

Georges Bermann

Screenwriter: Michel Gondry

Cinematographer: Laurent Brunet

Editor: Elise Fievet

Music: Jean-Claude Vannier

Cast: Audrey Tautou

Ange Dargent

Theophile Baquet

Diane Besnier

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Studio Canal

Print Source: Screen Media Films

Film Website: microbeandgasoline.com

Selected Filmography: Mood Indigo (2013)

The We and the I (2012)

The Green Hornet (2011)

Be Kind Rewind (2007)

The Science Of Sleep (2006)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Human Nature (2001)

MICROBE ET GASOIL

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Middle Man

USA 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 9:00 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 11:30 AM

Lenny Freeman (Jim O’Heir, “Parks and Recreation”) is a straight-laced old-school accountant with a dream of becoming a famous stand-up comedian, following in the footsteps of such vaudevillian heroes as George Burns and Jack Benny. One problem: He’s not very funny—not even a little bit. When his mother dies, leaving him nothing but debt and her ’53 Oldsmobile, Lenny hits the road to Vegas in hopes of auditioning for Monte Guy’s annual “Stand-Up Stand-Off.” Along the way, Lenny picks up Hitch (Andrew J. West, “The Walking Dead”), a mysterious yet charming drifter with a hair-trigger temper. When the pair roll into the small town of Lamb Bone, Hitch convinces Lenny to perform at the local openmike night. Following a disastrous set, Lenny and Hitch awake the next morning to discover a murdered heckler in the car trunk. Lenny panics as they try to dispose of the body, but he soon discovers these events have one positive effect: They vastly improve his stand-up routine. As bodies pile up, however, the high-strung Lenny desperately tries to free himself from his psychotic sidekick, but Hitch won’t shake off so easily; they’ve got a contract with each other, and the devil is in the details. Combining vintage neo-noir style with Coen Brothers-esque dark comedy, writer/ director Ned Crowley fashions a maliciously entertaining debut feature.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Ned Crowley

Producers: William Fortney

Roger Petrusson

Gerald Webb

Screenwriter: Ned Crowley

Cinematographer: Dick Buckley

Editor: Chris Claeys

Music: Robert Guillory

Cast: Jim O’Heir

Andrew J. West Josh McDermitt

Anne Dudek

Tracey Walter

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Lamb Bone Films

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Midsummer in Newtown

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 3:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

SUNDAY, MAY 22 5:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

How does a town regain its sense of hope after suffering an unprecedented tragedy? This was the challenge facing Newtown, Connecticut, where on December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Enter freelance theater and opera director Michael Unger with a mission to engage the community through the performing arts. After finding initial success staging “Seussical,” combining Broadway actors and professional designers with local amateur talent—including the students of Sandy Hook—Unger chooses “A Rockin’ Midsummer Night’s Dream” as his next show, a pop-musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy. As the show gets up and running, we follow a handful of children through the process, from audition to final bows, and though they’re little, they’re fierce. Take Sammy Vertucci, an aspiring singer who delights in her role as the fairy Mustardseed, or Tain Gregory, an energetic only child who gets cast among Bottom’s actor troupe. The documentary also checks in with those still grieving the loss of their children, focusing especially on Jimmy Greene and Nelba MárquezGreene, founders of social outreach organization the Ana Grace Project, named after their late daughter. In a world of imbalance, every subject hopes to find harmony with their world. Through the example of Shakespeare’s play, posits Unger, love wins.

Director: Lloyd Kramer

Producers: Tom Yellin

Braden Cleveland Bergan

Jo Budzilowicz

Cinematographer: Matt Peterson

Editor: Amilcar Gomes

Music:

West Dylan Thordson

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: Participant Media

Film Website: vulcanproductions.com/ our-work/midsummer-innewtown

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Miles

USA 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, MAY 21 7:00 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 1:30 PM

It’s 1999, the beginning of senior year, and 17-year-old Miles (Tim Boardman, “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) cannot wait to start film school in Chicago. But when his father suddenly dies of a heart attack, Miles discovers that the patriarch has squandered the family’s entire savings on his mistress, leaving the teen and his mother Pam (Molly Shannon, “Saturday Night Live”) without a dime. Desperate to leave his small-town life, Miles happens upon a volleyball scholarship for Loyola College. The trouble is, his high school doesn’t have a boys’ volleyball team—but it does have a girls’ team. Citing the legality of Title IX—which prohibits federal exclusion based on gender—he becomes the latest member of the Pondley Warriors, but it’s not long before parents and coaches alike rise up in protest of his participation, putting his college dreams in jeopardy. Based on a true story and featuring supporting work from a perfectly cast bevy of ’90s actors—Missi Pyle (Galaxy Quest), Paul Reiser (“Mad About You”), Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Ethan Phillips (“Star Trek: Voyager”), and Malcolm Gets (“Caroline in the City”) fill out the ranks— Miles is a gentle, sweet tale in which two people, a mother and a son, learn what it takes to be independent.

Director:

Nathan Adloff

Producers:

Ash Christian

Anne Clements

Stephen Israel

Devon Schneider

Lisa G. Black

Screenwriters:

Nathan Adloff

Justin D.M. Palmer

Cinematographer:

Hunter Robert Baker

Editor:

Yaniv Dabach

Music:

Justin Bell

Jonathan Levi Shanes

Cast:

Molly Shannon

Tim Boardman

Annie Golden

Paul Reiser

Ethan Phillips

Running Time:

90 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

Odin’s Eye Entertainment

Print Source:

Odin’s Eye Entertainment

Film Website: odinseyeent.com/#!miles/ c9wd

Selected Filmography: Nate & Margaret (2012)

The Mobfathers

HONG KONG 2016

MONDAY, JUNE 6 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Fans of Hong Kong cinema who miss the “heroic bloodshed” films of yore: You’re in for a real treat. The godfather (stalwart actor Anthony Wong) of the gang Jing Hing is dying from cancer. Before his passing, he and the senior “uncles” need to select a new Dragon Head to run the daily operations of the five gangs under their control. Chuck, a previous leader of the metal gang, has recently been released from five years in prison. A lifelong member of Jing Hing, his dream is to be Dragon Head, yet his wife wants him to leave the criminal life and spend time with their only child, born while he was in prison. Wulf, a pretty-boy former cop and leader of the fire gang, also wants the job. These two must battle it out to persuade the uncles that one of them is the right man for the job. But when Chuck calls for the gang members themselves and not the “uncles” to vote for the next Dragon Head, he dangerously steps over a line that no one should cross, causing the uncles to crack down in a round of assassinations, beatings, and bloody mayhem to reinforce their authority. A thinly veiled allegory of China’s “one country, two systems” policy, The Mobfathers is brimming with machete-wielding outrage for Hong Kong’s ongoing desire for universal suffrage.

Director: Herman Yau

Producer: Chapman To

Screenwriter: Erica Li

Cinematographer: Joe Chan

Editor: Azrael Chung

Music:

Brother Hung

Cast:

Chapman To

Gregory Wong

Philip Keung

Anthony Wong

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Golden Scene Company

Limited

Print Source: Golden Scene Company

Limited

Film Website: facebook.com/

TheMobfathers

Selected Filmography: Sara (2015)

Kung Fu Angels (2014)

Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013)

Love Lifting (2012)

Turning Point 2 (2011)

Rebellion (2009)

Whispers and Moans (2007)

On the Edge (2006)

Lethal Ninja (2006)

Cocktail (2006)

Dating Death (2004)

Happy Family (2002)

Fascination Amour (1999)

Troublesome Night (1997)

Don’t Fool Me (1991)

No Regret (1987)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

A Monster With a Thousand Heads

MEXICO 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 9:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Sonia (Jana Raluy) can do little but watch as her husband Guillermo dies of cancer, his tumor growing steadily every passing day, and there’s only so much Dr. Villalba (Hugo Albores) can do with the materials at his disposal. Hearing of a new treatment that might save her husband, though, an optimistic Sonia speaks to her health-insurance provider, only to be rejected outright with little fanfare. It’s simply too expensive a treatment, she is told coldly. This time, however, Sonia isn’t going down without a fight. With a semi-automatic in her handbag and her teenage son Dario (Sebastián Aguirre Boéda) in tow, she follows the good doctor home to his luxurious abode and takes him and his wife hostage, demanding answers. A nail-biting sociopolitical thriller with a darkly comic edge, A Monster With a Thousand Heads is the latest from Uruguayan-Mexican director Rodrigo Plá, who exploded onto the scene with the lean 2007 thriller The Zone and the sprawling Catholic drama The Desert Within (SIFF 2009). Working off longtime collaborator Laura Santullo’s tight script—based on her novel— Plá uses the genre of revenge cinema to tackle faceless bureaucracy in a world controlled by greed. “A wounded animal doesn’t cry,” the film posits. “It bites.”

Director: Rodrigo Plá

Producers: Sandino Saravia Vinay

Rodrigo Plá

Screenwriter: Laura Santullo

Cinematographer: Odei Zabaleta

Editor: Miguel Schverdfinger

Music: Leonardo Heiblum

Jacobo Lieberman

Cast: Jana Raluy

Sebastián Aguirre Boéda

Emilio Echevarria

Hugo Albores

Ilya Cazés

Running Time: 75 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Memento Films

International

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: musicboxfilms. com/a-monster-witha-thousand-headsmovies-133.php

Selected Filmography:

The Delay (2012)

The Desert Within (2008) The Zone (2007)

YAREAH BE BAIT 12

Moon in the 12th House

ISRAEL 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, MAY 29 12:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Sisters Mira and Lanny, once close, are now living very separate lives. Lanny, 21, a sheltered introvert, still lives in her childhood home, taking care of their debilitated father and looking after the sexy teenage neighbor boy while his parents are away. Older sister Mira is a hostess at a Tel Aviv nightclub, having left home many years before, following their mother’s death. An on-again, off-again relationship with the club’s owner comes to an abrupt end when Mira discovers she’s pregnant. One night she shows up at Lanny’s door, and the reunion forces the sisters to face the past and the tragedy that tore them apart. For Mira, this also means making peace with her estranged father; for Lanny, it means learning to assert herself in the face of her sister’s more dominant personality. But despite their differences, the sisters’ love and affection, and their painful shared history, bind them fast and lead them toward a fragile redemption. An impressive debut by Dorit Hakim, who demonstrates a gift for tracing the intricate subtleties of complicated family dynamics, Moon in the 12th House also features remarkably nuanced and naturalistic performances from its two young lead actresses.

Director: Dorit Hakim

Producer: David Mandil

Screenwriter: Dorit Hakim

Cinematographer: Amit Yasour

Editor: Tali Halter Shenkar

Music:

Ishai Adar

Cast:

Yaara Pelzig

Yuval Scharf

Gefen Barkai

Gal Toren

Avraham Horowitz

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Hebrew, with English subtitles

Print Source:

MoviePlus Productions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Morris From America

USA/GERMANY 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Morris is a 13-year-old from Richmond, New York, who loves all things hip-hop. He has a strong bond with his father (Craig Robinson) with whom he enjoys debating whether the ’90s truly were the golden age of rap music.

When the two move to Heidelberg, Germany, Morris must now start a new life in a very unfamiliar place, where the comforting sounds of home are nowhere near. At his new school, Morris is bullied for being the “black American kid,” with racial slurs becoming a new norm.

As he learns more German and befriends 15-year-old Katrin, his bond with his father also grows, allowing him to navigate all the drama that comes with adolescence in a new country. Combining familiar themes from both American and European coming-of-age films, Chad Hartigan’s Morris From America is an all-American teen’s tale of growing up in a distinctively European setting, giving audiences a look at the trials and self-reflection that arise when you’re dislocated from your roots. The chemistry between Craig Robinson and Markees Christmas, making his theatrical film debut as Morris, is magical as we follow his attempts to do what any of us would want to do in a new place: fit in and continue striding to the beats of our favorite tunes.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, U.S. Dramatic Individual Performance Award)

ANA YURDU

Motherland

TURKEY/GREECE 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 21 7:00 PM SIFF FILM CENTER

TUESDAY, MAY 24 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:15 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

Director:

Chad Hartigan

Producers: Adele Romanski

Sarah Murphy

Martin Heisler

Gabriele Simon

Screenwriter: Chad Hartigan

Cinematographer: Sean McElwee

Editor: Anne Fabini

Music: Keegan DeWitt

Cast: Markees Christmas

Craig Robinson

Carla Juri

Lina Keller

Jakub Gierszal

Levin Henning

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English and German, with English subtitles

International Sales: Visit Films

Print Source:

A24 Films

Film Website: a24films.com/films/ morris-from-america

Selected Filmography: This is Martin Bonner (2013)

Luke and Brie Are on a First Date (2008)

All the Stage Is a World (Doc, 2005)

“It’s easier to be a stone than a mother,” Halise says knowingly as she settles into her daughter’s house and begins to disrupt her life. Nesrin, recently divorced, has moved from the city to her grandmother’s quiet Anatolian village to work on her novel. Halise, her conservative and religious mother, unexpectedly turns up at her door and makes herself at home, turning a protective yet unabashedly critical eye on everything Nesrin says or does. While her mother invites groups of women over for prayer and salacious gossip, Nesrin becomes increasingly frustrated with the situation. Unable to get any work done and feeling suffocated by her mother’s presence, she is forced to confront their neglected relationship, and the two women begin the perilous journey of getting to know each other as individuals. With cinematography focusing on natural lighting and dark, tight spaces that create a voyeuristic inflection, Motherland explores the complexities of the mother/daughter relationship as a means to comment on the clash of communitarianism and modernity in presentday Turkey.

Awards:

Adana International Film Festival 2015 (Best Script, Cinematography, Actress, SİYAD Best Film, FİLM-YÖN Best Director)

Warsaw International Film Festival 2015 (FIPRESCI Award, NETPAC Award)

Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2015 (Best Script, UNESCO Award Nominee)

Tbilisi International Film Festival 2015 (Best Film)

Göteborg International Film Festival 2016 (Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award Nominee)

Director: Senem Tüzen

Producers: Olena Yershova

Adam Isenberg

Senem Tüzen

Screenwriter: Senem Tüzen

Cinematographer: Vedat Özdemir

Editors: Adam Isenberg

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Cast: Esra Bezen Bilgin

Nihal Koldaş

Semih Aydin

Fatma Kısa

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Turkish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Zela Film

Film Website: anayurdu.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Mountain

ISRAEL/DENMARK 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 3:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 9:00 PM

Tzvia (Shani Klein), a young Orthodox married woman and the mother of four children, lives at the edge of the Jewish cemetery on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. Ignored by her husband Reuven (Avshalom Pollak), who spurns her sexual advances, and pitied by the mourners who come to the cemetery, Tzvia endures a lonely existence. One night she storms out of the house in frustration, climbing up the high, grave-pocked mountain, where she comes upon a sex worker who is completing a transaction with her customer. The cemetery by night turns out to be a marketplace for sex and drugs. On another night in the cemetery, Tzvia is menaced by two surly pimps. Disturbed and intrigued, Tzvia tentatively starts to explore the ragged community that gathers nightly for clandestine business in the cemetery. Mountain is not Belle de Jour; Tzvia doesn’t go to work. While the bacchanal unfolds around her, she reads from a book of poetry or brings the pimps some home-cooked food. But her daytime world of normalcy is unsettled all the same, leading her to make a decision that has far-reaching consequences. Anchored by a beautiful performance by Klein, Yaelle Kayam’s directorial debut is a gorgeous and tender exploration of loneliness, desire, and belonging.

Awards:

Sarasota Film Festival 2016 (Performance Award)

San Francisco International Film Festival 2016 (Special Jury Prize)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Yaelle Kayam

Producers: Eilon Ratzkovsky

Yochanan Kredo

Yossi Uzrad

Lisa Uzrad

Guy Jacoel

Screenwriter: Yaelle Kayam

Cinematographer: Itay Maron

Editor: Or Ben David

Music: Ophir Leibovitch

Cast: Shani Klein

Avshalom Pollak

Haitham Ibrahem Omari

Running Time: 83 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Hebrew, with English subtitles

International Sales: Films Distribution

Print Source:

Films Distribution

Film Website: filmsdistribution.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SHAN HE GU REN

Mountains May Depart

CHINA/JAPAN/FRANCE 2015

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 3:00 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 9:45 PM

From the first, Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin, Platform) has taken the long view. Before any other filmmaker, he appreciated that China’s shift to become the industrial powerhouse of the 21st century demanded the kind of epic and muscular artistic scrutiny Zola and Dickens lavished on earlier epochs. In this, his eighth feature, Jia takes the pulse of the times at three intervals: at the turn of the millennium, in 2014, and in 2025. In 1999, Shen Tao (Jia’s regular muse, Tao Zhao) is courted by both the easygoing Liangzi (Liang Jin Dong) and Zhang (Zhang Yi), an ambitious entrepreneur. Tao seems perfectly content with the status quo, but her admirers fall out, and, pressured to choose, Tao agrees to marry Zhang. The repercussions of this choice—which also represents China’s embrace of capitalism— resonate through the years and play out dramatically in the displacement of her only son, Dollar. Far-reaching and very moving, Mountains May Depart should be seen as another chapter in one of the most important bodies of work in today’s cinema.

Awards:

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award, Best Film) Golden Horse Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award, Best Picture) Asian Film Awards 2015 (Best Screenplay)

Director: Jia Zhangke

Producers: Jia Zhangke

Ren Zhonglun

Shozo Ichiyama

Nathanael Karmitz

Liu Shiyu

Screenwriter: Jia Zhangke

Cinematographer: Yu Lik-Wai

Editor: Matthieu Laclau

Music: Yoshihiro Hanno

Cast: Zhao Tao

Zhang Yi

Liang Jin Dong

Dong Zijian

Sylvia Chang

Running Time: 131 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales: MK2

Print Source: Kino Lorber

Film Website: kinolorber.com/film/ mountainsmaydepart

Selected Filmography: A Touch of Sin (2013) I Wish I Knew (Doc, 2010) 24 City (2008)

Useless (Doc, 2007) Still Life (2006)

Dong (Doc, 2006)

The World (2004)

Unknown Pleasures (2002)

In Public (Doc, 2001)

Platform (2000)

Xiao Wu (1998)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

PACIFIC PLACE

Mr. Gaga

ISRAEL/SWEDEN/GERMANY/NETHERLANDS

SATURDAY, MAY 28 3:30 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

“There is no one, regardless of ability level, that can’t be connected to physical sensations,” says Ohad Naharin. “There is no one that can’t separate limbs in his body and move them. There is no one that can’t bend, fold, straighten. There is almost no one that isn’t able to listen to music and feel a groove.” Naharin, world-famous choreographer and artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company, is the creator of the gaga movement language, a dance practice that incorporates improvisation and expressive movement that “demands listening to the body before we tell it what to do.” This intimate documentary immerses us in the life and mind of this renowned man, from his childhood in an Israeli kibbutz through his rise in the New York dance world and back to his native land, enhanced beautifully through video footage of some of the greatest, most breathtaking, and most passionate contemporary dance pieces in the medium’s history. Not only a story of artistic temperament, this is also a chronicle of his political ideals—his troupe famously refused to perform at Israel’s 50th anniversary when faced with censorship—and a love story between Naharin and Mari Kajiwara, the Alvin Ailey dancer who followed him across the sea. Come peek behind the curtain and let your body sing.

Awards:

SXSW 2016 (Audience Award: Documentary Spotlight)

Sofia International Film Festival 2015 (Best Documentary)

Tempo Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Best Documentary)

ZIN LI FIK

Much Loved

MOROCCO/FRANCE 2015

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 6:00 PM

Director: Tomer Heymann

Producer: Barak Heymann

Screenwriter: Tomer Heymann

Cinematographer: Itai Raziel

Editors: Alon Greenberg Ido Mochrik

Ron Omer

Music: Ishai Adar

Featuring: Ohad Naharin

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English and Hebrew, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Heymann Brothers Films

Film Website: mrgagathefilm.com

Selected Filmography: The Queen Has No Crown (Doc, 2011)

I Shot My Love (Doc, 2010)

Out of Focus (Doc, 2007)

Black Over White (Doc, 2007)

Paper Dolls (Doc, 2006)

Bridge Over the Wadi (Doc, 2006)

Aviv-Fucked-up Generation (Doc, 2003)

It Kinda Scares Me (Doc, 2001)

KIRKLAND PC

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 2:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Nabil Ayouch, winner of the 2013 Golden Space Needle Award for Best Director (Horses of God), is back with another controversial exploration of lives lived at the margins of society. Banned in Morocco, Much Loved tells the story of a coterie of sex workers in Marrakech: There’s Noha, a sort of den mother to the others, whose own mother rejects her; the romantic Soukaina, who can’t quite let go of her penniless lover; and newcomer Randa, who’s just beginning to explore her attraction to women. Rounding out the group are Hilma, a naïve village girl turned street-level sex worker, and Said, the women’s placid chauffeur/protector. Together they form a kind of functional/dysfunctional family, supporting one another with lewd bravado and tender sympathy as they make the best of a situation to which there seems to be no alternative. National authorities and conservative fundamentalists have accused the production of defaming Morocco and Moroccan womanhood, but the film’s real target is the profound hypocrisy of the society that exploits women in the sex trade while at the same time condemning them.

Awards:

César Awards 2016 (Best Actress Nominee)

Lumiéres Awards 2016 (Best French Language Film)

Gijón International Film Festival 2015 (Best Actress)

Angoulême Film Festival 2015 (Best Film, Actress)

Namur Film Festival 2015 (Best Actress)

Director: Nabil Ayouch

Producers: Eric Poulet

Saïd Hamich

Nabil Ayouch

Screenwriter: Nabil Ayouch

Cinematographer: Virginie Surdej

Editor: Damien Keyeux

Music: Mike Kourtzer

Cast: Loubna Abidar

Asma Lazrak

Halima Karaouane

Sara Elmhamdi Elalaoui

Abdellah Didane

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Celluloid Dreams

Print Source: Ramonda Films

Film Website: celluloid-dreams.com/

Selected Filmography: Horses of God (2012) My Land (Doc, 2010)

Whatever Lola Wants (2007)

Ali Zaoua (2000) Mektoub (1997)

NIAN NIAN

Murmur of the Hearts

HONG KONG/TAIWAN 2015

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 8:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 3:30 PM KIRKLAND PC

MONDAY, JUNE 6 7:00 PM

Nan and Mei are brother and sister growing up on beautiful Green Island, near Taiwan. Enthralled by their mother’s tales of mermaids and angels, they long to know the world beyond the sea. After their parents separate, Mei goes to Taipei with her mother, while Nan stays on Green Island with his father. Now in their 20s, the separated siblings must contend with the emotional fallout of this event. Mei (Isabella Leong) is a Taipei-based painter, teaching art to young children while struggling through a tempestuous relationship with Hsiang, an aspiring boxer with his own ghosts to battle. Nan (Lawrence Ko), meanwhile, is a local tour guide on Green Island, estranged from his family as well as his rotating series of temporary friends. Though alienated from each other, Nan and Mei’s stories flow together, blending with childhood memories and their mother’s fairy tales into a magical meditation on the meaning of life itself. From illustrious actress/director/writer/producer Sylvia Chang (who can also be seen at this year’s Festival in Mountains May Depart), returning to the director’s chair after seven years, this is a stirring ensemble drama whose emotional force sustains a rich narrative of impressive power and range.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Sylvia Chang

Producer:

Patricia Cheng

Screenwriters:

Sylvia Chang

Yukihiko Kageyama

Cinematographer:

Ming-Kai Leung

Editor: Po-Wen Chen

Music:

Yang Chen

Cast: Isabella Leong

Chang Hsiao Chuan

Lawrence Ko

Lee Sinje

Running Time: 119 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Mandarin, with English subtitles

International Sales: Central Motion Pictures Corporation

Print Source: Central Motion Pictures Corporation

Film Website: facebook.com/murmurofthehearts

Selected Filmography:

Run Papa Run (2008) 20 30 40 (2004)

Princess D (2002)

Tempting Heart (1999)

Tonight Nobody Goes Home (1996)

Shao Nu Xiao Yu (1995)

In Between (1994)

Mary From Beijing (1993)

Sisters of the World Unite (1991)

Yellow Story (1987)

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

USA 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 28 3:30 PM

SHORELINE CC SUNDAY, MAY 29 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, SIFF 2013) trains his lens on the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble, an internationally acclaimed collective of master musicians, visual artists, and storytellers who join forces to foster a multicultural exchange of ideas between Eastern and Western artists. Founded by the ever-restless Ma in 2000, the Ensemble initially gathered artists who wanted to make innovative music that is also authentically rooted in tradition. This pursuit of what some consider contradictory goals leads this group around the world in their quest to show how music can sustain tradition, create cultural growth, and engender hope. Traveling through both space and time, Neville follows the globehopping Ensemble as they teach and perform, interweaving their arresting performances with accounts of the personal, often complicated histories that brought these virtuosos together. From Wu Man, China’s astonishing master of the pipa, to exiled Iranian kamancheh violinist Kayhan Kalhor; from the war-torn Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh to Cristina Pato, the “Jimi Hendrix of gaita bagpipes,” The Music of Strangers captures these artists’ astonishing quest to “create unexpected connections” with everyone they meet.

Passion (1986)

Once Upon a Time (1981)

Director: Morgan Neville

Producers: Morgan Neville

Caitrin Rogers

Cinematographer: Graham Willoughby

Editors:

Helen Kearns

Jason Zeldes

Featuring: Yo-Yo Ma

Wu Man

Kinan Azmeh

Kayhan Kalhor

Cristina Pato

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: The Orchard

Film Website: themusicofstrangers.film

Selected Filmography:

Keith Richards: Under the Influence (Doc, 2015) Best of Enemies (Doc, 2015)

Twenty Feet From Stardom (Doc, 2013)

Troubadours (Doc, 2011)

Search and Destroy: Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power (Doc, 2010)

Johnny Cash’s America (Doc, 2008)

The Cool School (Doc, 2008)

Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: ‘Cowboy’ Jack Clement’s Home Movies (Doc, 2005)

Shotgun Freeway: Drives Through Lost L.A. (Doc, 1995)

My Blind Brother

USA 2016

THURSDAY, MAY 26 7:00 PM

RENTON IKEA PAC

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”) stars as Robbie, a blind athlete who’s handsome, successful, and more than a little arrogant. He regularly participates in marathons and charity runs as a way of raising money for other blind people, an act of kindness perhaps somewhat diminished by how often he brags about and flaunts his athletic prowess. He’s also a local celebrity, adored by fans and broadcast news reporters alike. Meanwhile, Robbie’s sighted brother Bill (Nick Kroll, “Kroll Show”) stays by Robbie’s side every step of the way, acting as his eyes during marathons and other athletic events. Despite Bill’s own accomplishments, he tends to get overlooked—a consequence of standing in the shadow of his successful blind brother. Feeling resentful and jealous, Bill heads out to drown his sorrows, only to get sidetracked when he inadvertently crashes a wake taking place at the bar. There he meets Rose (Jenny Slate, Obvious Child), the ex-girlfriend of the deceased, whom she dumped right before his untimely death. Bill and Rose bond over a shared sense of guilt and shame, and Bill quickly falls for her. Unfortunately for him, Rose soon begins dating Robbie. Now Bill has to decide whether to stand by his brother’s side as usual or finally stand up to his brother and go after the girl of his dreams.

Awards: SXSW 2016 (Gamechanger Award)

Director: Sophie Goodhart

Producers:

Tyler Davidson

Tory Tunnell

Screenwriter: Sophie Goodhart

Cinematographer: Eric Lin

Editor:

Jennifer Lee

Music:

Ian Hultquist

Cast:

Adam Scott

Nick Kroll

Jenny Slate

Zoe Kazan

Charlie Hewson

Maryann Nagel

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: Starz

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Nakom

GHANA/USA 2016

MONDAY, JUNE 6 6:30 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 3:30 PM

When his father suddenly dies, Iddrisu, a promising medical student, leaves the university in the Ghanaian capital of Accra to travel home to the titular rural village, hoping to settle his father’s estate. He arrives only to find that his father had considerable unsettled debt and an onion farm desperately in need of innovation. To turn the family’s fortunes around, Iddrisu digs in and begins working the land, but also finds himself mired in the affairs of his relatives, whose wishes he must give audience. As the year at home passes, the story gently explores the customs and traditions of rural Ghana, placing Iddrisu in the ultimate tug-of-war between spending the rest of his life in the village and returning to the modern world of medical studies. Inspired by two years that co-director TW Pittman spent in Nakom as part of the Peace Corps and written in collaboration with Isaac Adakudugu, a local Ghanaian writer, Nakom tells a fresh and invigorating story of a young man at a societal crossroad.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Directors: Kelly Daniela Norris

TW Pittman

Producers: Isaac Adakudugu

Giovanni Ximénez

Screenwriters: Isaac Adakudugu

TW Pittman

Cinematographer: Bob Geile

Editor: Tomas Vengris

Music: Daby Balde

Cast: Jacob Ayanaba

Grace Ayariga

Justina Kulidu

James Azudago

Felicia Atampuri

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Kusaal, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source: Rasquaché Productions

Film Website: nakomfilm.com

Selected Filmography:

NORRIS:

Sombras de Azul (2013)

PITTMAN: Debut Feature Film

Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale

USA/BOTSWANA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, JUNE 6 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

After nearly two years of pregnancy, Kiti, an 18-year-old elephant living at a Botswana elephant rescue camp, is about to give birth. A film crew gathers to witness the rarely filmed event, and when the calf is finally born under the dazzling night sky, she’s named Naledi— the South African word for star. The Abu Camp takes care of several elephants in a natural setting, with the intent of reintroducing them back into the wild when, and if, they’re ready. The herd is hit with tragedy when Kiti suddenly passes from intestinal problems, leaving onemonth-old Naledi an orphan. In order to feed and survive in these first crucial months, the baby elephant is separated from her family and must now depend on her two human guardians to guide her. Balancing intensely dramatic moments with goofy scenes of elephants playing around, and infused with captivating shots of the African savanna, Naledi is more than just another nature documentary. The film really fleshes out the unique personalities of these fantastic creatures, and the specific emotional journey of Naledi the orphaned calf serves as an emblem of the violent fight for survival the rest of Africa’s wilting population of elephants face.

Directors:

Ben Bowie

Geoff Luck

Producers:

Paul G. Allen

Jody Allen

Carole Tomko

Ellen Windemuth

Cinematographers:

Sam Barton-Humphreys

Tom Barton-Humphreys

Editor:

Ben Harding

Music:

Nick Urata

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source

Vulcan Productions

Film Website: vulcanproductions.com/ our-work/naledi

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

A New High USA 2015

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 7:00 PM

SHORELINE CC

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In the heart of downtown Seattle lies the Union Gospel Mission. Here, 18 men and a handful of women from a shelter across town have joined a year-long program that will lead them on a road to recovery—from homelessness, from addiction, from failure. Run by ex-Army Ranger and UGM Special Projects Director Mike Johnson, the program will rehabilitate the group through what promises to be “a new high”—climbing Mount Rainier. The training will be tough—steep staircases, rappelling off of freeway on-ramps, and a practice climb up Mount Hood to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some will find power in the program while others will sadly fall by the wayside, either through exhaustion, relapse, or disease. But all will be worth it when they reach the summit some 14,400 feet into the heavens. Beautifully shot and constructed, this inspiring documentary is not a paean to the mountain that towers over Washington, but an unwavering examination of what drives humans to improve their lives, even when their future looks bleakest. As Johnson and his crew make their final steps to the peak, he will have given this group an opportunity to go from the lowest points in their existence to the top of the world.

Directors: Samuel Miron

Stephen Scott Scarpulla

Producers: Philip Erdoes

Rebby Gregg

Eamon Downey

Screenwriters: Philip Erdoes

Rebby Gregg

Eamon Downey

Cinematographers: Samuel Miron

Stephen Scott Scarpulla

Editors: Samuel Miron

Stephen Scott Scarpulla

Music: Christopher North

Featuring: Mike Johnson

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Other Side Pictures

Film Website: facebook.com/ ANewHighDoc

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

DES NOUVELLES DE LA PLANETE MARS

News From Planet Mars

FRANCE/BELGIUM 2016

US PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 9:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 8:30 PM

Into every life some rain must fall; for Philippe Mars, it must be like a hurricane has hit. Divorced, he tries to remain friendly with his ex-wife, a successful TV reporter, and be a good father. When his children come to visit, he’s surprised to discover his son has become a zealous vegetarian, while his daughter has morphed into a hypercritical overachiever; neither take the time to acknowledge his impending 49th birthday. Meanwhile, Philippe’s artistic sister has started exhibiting sexually explicit, oversized paintings of their parents. Then there is the matter of his work colleague Jerome, who could be described charitably as eccentric and also happens to carry a meat cleaver in his knapsack, caressing its blade to calm himself when stressed. It is during one such moment that Philippe falls victim to a Van Gogh-like accident, leading to Jerome losing his job and eventually appearing at Philippe’s home seeking forgiveness. And that’s when events start to go from bad to insane. Reuniting with Gilles Marchand, his co-writer on With a Friend Like Harry, director Dominik Moll’s new film is an offbeat psychobromance in which the common foibles of domestic life hatch into a comic cuckoo’s nest of lunacy.

PACIFIC PLACE

KIRKLAND PC

Director: Dominik Moll

Producer: Michel Saint-Jean

Screenwriters: Dominik Moll

Gilles Marchand

Cinematographer: Jean-François Hensgens

Editor: Margot Meynier

Music:

Adrian Johnson

Cast: François Damiens

Vincent Macaigne

Veerle Baetens

Jeanne Guittet

Tom Rivoire

Running Time: 101 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Memento Films International

Print Source: Kino Lorber

Film Website: international.mementofilms.com/now/newsfrom-planet-mars

Selected Filmography: The Monk (2011)

Lemming (2005)

With a Friend Like Harry (2000)

Intimité (1994)

The Night Stalker

USA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 5:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Megan Griffiths (Eden, Lucky Them) combines her always-compelling direction as well as her personal, fearful memories of actual events in this Los Angeles true-crime thriller. Based on the real, notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker follows Kit, a female attorney, desperately trying to obtain a confession from the murderer, currently sitting on death row in San Quentin. By the time he was 25, Ramirez was responsible for at least 13 murders from 1984 to 1985, breaking into homes late at night to assault and kill his victims, earning him the appropriate nickname “The Night Stalker” from the Los Angeles Times. He eventually died from lymphoma as he awaited his execution in 2013. This psychological thriller focuses on both characters, Kit (Bellamy Young, “Scandal”) and Ramirez (Lou Diamond Phillips, “Longmire”), and their impact on one another as Kit dives into Ramirez’s past, and confronts her own, in order to secure a confession and save an innocent man from death row.

Director: Megan Griffiths

Producers: Alisa Tager

Matthew Brady

Screenwriter: Megan Griffiths

Cinematographer: Quyen Tran

Editor: Celia Beasley

Music:

St Kilda

Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips

Bellamy Young

Chelle Sherrill

Benjamin Barrett

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: MRB Productions

Film Website: nightstalkermovie.com

Selected Filmography: Lucky Them (2013)

Eden (2012)

The Off Hours (2011)

First Aid for Choking (2003)

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 1:30 PM SIFF

Legendary television writer and producer Norman Lear has made it past age 90. “Suddenly, I’m extremely wise, and everybody is asking me for advice,” he tells an offcamera interviewer before quipping, “and I am sometimes applauded for walking across the room.” From “All in the Family” to “Maude,” “Good Times” to “The Jeffersons,” “Sanford and Son” to “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” Lear’s influence is so vast that “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Philip Rosenthal splits American television into two periods: BN (Before Norman) and AN (After Norman). Sharpening his storytelling skills starting with Martin and Lewis’ “The Colgate Comedy Hour” in the 1950s, Lear’s voice was one of provocative political and social issues previously deemed too controversial and progressive for the average viewer. And when the Religious Right rose to prominence, Lear took action and founded the advocacy organization People for the American Way, defending First Amendment rights from unjust attacks.

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You tracks the life of this great man through stories from Lear himself—as he records the audiobook of his autobiography “Even This I Get to Experience”—and interviews with Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, Jon Stewart, Mel Brooks, George Clooney, John Amos, and many others.

Nueva Venecia

URUGUAY/COLOMBIA/MEXICO 2016 US PREMIERE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 1:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Directors:

Heidi Ewing

Rachel Grady

Producers: Suzanne Hillinger

Brent Miller

Cinematographer: Ronan Killeen

Editors: JD Marlow

Enat Sidi

Music: Kris Bowers

Featuring: Norman Lear

George Clooney

Bill Moyers

John Amos

Alan Horn

Russell Simmons

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source:

Music Box Films

Film Website: musicboxfilms.com

Selected Filmography:

EWING:

Detropia (Doc, 2012)

Freakonomics (Doc, 2010)

12th & Delaware (Doc, 2010)

Jesus Camp (Doc, 2006)

The Boys of Baraka (Doc, 2005)

Dissident: Oswaldo Paya and the Varela Project (Doc, 2003)

GRADY:

Detropia (Doc, 2012)

Freakonomics (Doc, 2010)

12th & Delaware (Doc, 2010)

Jesus Camp (Doc, 2006)

The Boys of Baraka (Doc, 2005)

Mad Justice (Doc, 2004)

A young man gets a haircut. A group of children play soccer. A doctor tends to an injured patient’s foot. A storekeeper sells household items to a young mother. Life in the small fishing community of Nueva Venecia is like that of any other the world over, with one remarkable difference: The entirety of this small village is perched on stilts above Colombia’s Lake Tota, with homes, schools, and even a soccer field floating just a few feet above that country’s largest lake. Documentary filmmaker Emiliano Mazza De Luca crafts a stunning, lyrical portrait of an honest people in sync with the rhythms of nature yet who find themselves moving through a collective trauma following a devastating massacre carried out by paramilitary forces in late 2000. Through it all, De Luca masterfully captures the spirit and resilience of a people happy to be alive and grateful for the simple pleasures of life in a fishing village: pulling up nets full of trout, dancing to a picó sound system, or cheering on the hometown soccer team.

Director: Emiliano Mazza de Luca

Producers: Martha Orozco

Emiliano Mazza

Diana Knellar

Screenwriters: Emiliano Mazza

Martha Orozco

Cinematographer: Ricardo Restrepo

Editors: Guillermo Madeiro

Lenz Claure

Pablo Riera

Music: Cecilia Trajtenberg

Systema Solar

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Passaparola Films

Film Website: nuevavenecia.org

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

CINEMA UPTOWN

NUTS!

USA 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 6:30 PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 4:30 PM

Penny Lane, director of Our Nixon (Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary, SIFF 2013), comes out swinging with one of the most outrageous movies of the Festival, an animated true story that’s almost too crazy to believe. Dr. John Romulus (JR) Brinkley, an alumnus of Kansas City’s Eclectic Medical University, moves west in 1917 with his wife and opens a small pharmacy in sleepy Milford, Kansas. When approached by a farmer hoping to cure his impotence, Brinkley is struck with a harebrained solution: Why not surgically implant the testicle glands of a virile goat into the farmer’s scrotum? To the surprise of everybody (and probably the goat, too), the xenotransplantation works, and Brinkley becomes an overnight sensation, with legends of his work and his subsequent call-in medical radio show reaching every corner of the United States. But when the American Medical Association gets wind of his procedure and ever-expanding empire, they spare no expense to try to bring him down. From his battle with the Kansas medical board to his circus-like independent bid for Kansas governor (with a campaign slogan borrowed from a popular laxative) to his accidental pioneering of Mexican border-blaster radio (broadcasting from over the border to circumvent American legal restrictions) and much, much more, Brinkley emerges as the ultimate manifestation of America’s vigorous entrepreneurial spirit.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (Special Jury Award for Editing)

Oddball

AUSTRALIA 2015

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Penny Lane

Producers:

Penny Lane

James Belfer

Daniel Shepherd

Caitlin Mae Burke

Screenwriter: Thom Stylinski

Cinematographer: Joseph Victorine

Editors:

Penny Lane

Thom Stylinski

Music:

Brian McOmber

Running Time: 79 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Cartuna

Print Source: Gland Power Films

Film Website: nutsthefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Our Nixon (Doc, 2013)

SATURDAY, MAY 28 1:00 PM

RENTON IKEA PAC

SATURDAY JUNE 4 11:30 AM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY JUNE 5 1:00 PM ARK LODGE

The Wild Penguin Sanctuary is an integral part of the tourism industry of Middle Island in Victoria, Australia, but foxes are decimating the penguin population. The Sanctuary is in danger of losing its funding, and Swampy, a local chicken farmer with a mischievous sheepdog named Oddball, makes it his mission to save the penguins. With the City Council bearing down on them, Swampy, with the help of his precocious granddaughter, must hilariously attempt to train Oddball to protect the penguins from the hungry foxes, and soon this big fluffy protagonist and his penguin charges develop a relationship that reaches across the animal kingdom and tugs the heartstrings of all ages. Chock-full of humor with a distinct Australian flair, exciting sequences of doggy-incited mayhem, and dramatic tension, Oddball will keep the family alternately giggling and riding the edge of their seats. But Oddball is more than just a comedy for the whole family, as director Stuart McDonald and screenwriter Peter Ivan have woven an environmentally conscious message into the film, which will afford more meaningful community conversation long after the credits roll.

Awards:

Sonoma Valley Film Festival 2016 (Audience Award - Best World Feature) Sedona International Film Festival 2016 (Best Nature Film)

Director: Stuart McDonald

Producers: Richard Keddie

Sheila Hanahan-Taylor

Steve Kearney

Screenwriter: Peter Ivan

Cinematographer: Damian Wyvill

Editors:

Cindy Clarkson

Marcus D’Arcy

Max Miller

Music: Cezary Skubiszewski

Cast:

Shane Jacobson

Sarah Snook

Alan Tudyk

Coco Jack Gillies

Richard Davies

Dave Lawson

Frank Woodley

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Global Screen

Print Source: Global Screen

Film Website: oddballthemovie.com.au

Selected Filmography: Stranded (2006)

EL OLIVO

The Olive Tree

GERMANY/SPAIN 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 22 8:30 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 29 5:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 6:00 PM

From Goya Award winner and internationally acclaimed director Icíar Bollaín, The Olive Tree follows Alma (Anna Castillo), a willful and spirited young woman who journeys from Spain to Germany to retrieve a gnarled, thousandyear-old olive tree that is precious to her ailing grandfather (Manuel Cucala). Alma is helped in her fairy tale-like quest by old friends and new acquaintances, pulling everyone she encounters into her plan and even catching the attention of social media. Shot in warm hues by Sergi Gallardo and carrying a lovely Pascal Gaigne score that elevate the film without underplaying its melancholic aspects, this is a wry comic look at today’s Europe, touching on the economic devastation of agricultural Spain, the unimpeded growth of the European banking industry, the giddy factionalism of social-media activism, and the travails of aging amid a far-flung family. The Olive Tree is the third collaboration between the Madridborn Bollaín and her husband, Scottish screenwriter Paul Laverty—the two created 2010’s Oscar®-shortlisted Even the Rain and the well-regarded Kathmandu Lullaby (2011)—and both are renowned for their work with renowned Scottish director Ken Loach, experience that informs this film’s narrative of independence.

MAJESTIC BAY

RENTON IKEA PAC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Icíar Bollaín

Producer: Juan Gordon

Screenwriter: Paul Laverty

Cinematographer: Sergi Gallardo

Editor: Nacho Ruiz Capillas

Music: Pascal Gaigne

Cast: Anna Castillo

Javier Gutiérrez

Pep Ambrós

Manuel Cucala

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Seville International

Film Website: sevilleinternational. eonefilms.com/films

Selected Filmography: En tierra extraña (Doc, 2014)

Kathmandu Lullaby (2011)

Even the Rain (2010)

Mataharis (2007)

Take My Eyes (2003)

Flowers From Another World (1999)

Hi, Are You Alone? (1995)

UN

One Kiss

ITALY 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Antonio is a star basketball player on his high-school team, but that doesn’t mean he’s popular by any means. Soft-spoken, awkward, and still grieving over his older brother’s death, he’s excluded from his teammates and considered dumb. Blu, who has a reputation for her sexual exploits, defiantly rides her scooter past graffiti labeling her a “slut,” and hurries to the mailbox each afternoon to grab her writer mother’s rejection letters before she sees them. Lorenzo, new in town as well as newly adopted, relies on his extravagant sense of fashion and elaborate imagination to distract him from the bullies at school who mercilessly tease him for his homosexuality. These three teenagers form a friendship and a means of defense against the closed-minded bullies who constantly berate them, but their closeness to each other eventually comes at a tragic price. Reminiscent of 1960s New Wave forerunners like Truffaut’s Jules et Jim and Godard’s Bande à Part, One Kiss is a story of outsider friendship, the limits of imagination, and the consequence of honesty.

Director: Ivan Cotroneo

Producers: Nicola Giuliano

Francesca Cima

Andrea Occhipinti

Guido Lombardo

Screenwriters: Ivan Cotroneo

Monica Rametta

Cinematographer: Luca Bigazzi

Editor: Ilaria Fraioli

Music: Pasquale Catalano

Cast: Rimau Grillo Ritzberger

Valentina Romani

Leonardo Pazzagli

Running Time: 102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales: True Colours Glorious Film

Print Source

True Colours Glorious Film

Film Website: unbacio.it

Selected Filmography: Kryptonite! (2011)

TOISET TYTŠT

Other Girls

FINLAND 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 4:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 6:30 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 8:00 PM

Jessica, Aina, Taru, and Jenny are four close friends dealing with personal issues with romance, independence, and trust as they creep closer and closer to graduation. Jessica learns that most princes turn into frogs when she falls in love with a pretty boy who breaks her heart at the airport. Distracting herself from her self-image issues with hockey and going to the movies, Aina realizes she can’t hide forever when a childhood bully confronts her at a party. Fun-loving Taru must decide what she wants versus what she needs when she discovers she’s pregnant by her long-term boyfriend while at the same time witnessing her mother struggle with single motherhood. Abandonment issues and depression plague Jenny, whose secret love for Taru torments her day and night. Told in four chapters and based on actual video diaries of real 18-yearold girls from Helsinki, director Esa Illi’s Other Girls is a charming and realistic slice of life that reminds us that sometimes, when you’re hovering on the cliff of adulthood, all you need to do is jump.

MAJESTIC BAY

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

RENTON IKEA PAC

Director:

Esa Illi

Producers: Matti Halonen

Anu Hukka

Leila Lyytikšinen

Screenwriter: Esa Illi

Cinematographer: Henri Blomberg

Editor:

Samu Heikkilä

Cast:

Sara Soulié

Ida Vakkuri

Misa Lommi

Bahar Tokat

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Finnish, with English subtitles

International Sales: EastWest Film Distribution

Print Source: EastWest Film Distribution

Film Website: eastwest-distribution. com/film/other_girls

Selected Filmography: Jungle of Dreams (2008)

Brothers (2003)

Monkey Business (2000)

Other People USA 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 22 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 23 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

“Saturday Night Live”/”Broad City” writer and first-time director Chris Kelly delivers a fresh and personal debut feature with Other People. In this tragicomedy, 29-year-old comedy writer David (Jesse Plemons, “Fargo,” “Breaking Bad”) must leave his New York City lifestyle for Sacramento to see his mother Joanne (“SNL” alum Molly Shannon) and, to his disappointment, the rest of his conservative, religious family. David is possibly in the midst of the worst year of his life: He just broke up with his boyfriend of five years, his writing career isn’t panning out, and Joanne—his everything—has cancer. David’s love for his mother leaves very little room to engage with his sisters (Maude Apatow, Madisen Beaty), and he struggles to connect with his emotionally distant dad (Bradley Whitford, “The West Wing”), who still can’t bring himself to accept David’s homosexuality, leaving David to feel like a stranger in his own childhood home. Other People thrives in dealing with the topics of death, family, and sexuality with humor and heart, with Shannon’s fierce and touching performance at its center.

Director:

Chris Kelly

Producers:

Adam Scott

Naomi Scott

Sam Bisbee

Screenwriter:

Chris Kelly

Cinematographer: Brian Burgoyne

Editor:

Patrick Colman

Music:

Julian Wass

Cast: Jesse Plemons

Molly Shannon

Bradley Whitford

June Squibb

Maude Apatow

Running Time:

97 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source:

Vertical Entertainment

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Our Kind of Traitor

UNITED KINGDOM 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 7:15 PM

MONDAY, MAY 30 2:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In the wake of the Panama Papers leak comes this timely thriller based on the novel by John Le Carré, bestselling author of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” On a holiday to Morocco, Peter and Gail (Ewan McGregor and Naomie Harris) make the acquaintance of Dima (Stellan Skarsgärd), a boisterous, charismatic Russian who unexpectedly befriends the couple. However, Dima harbors a dangerous secret: He is the Russian Mafia’s #1 money-launderer, whose new boss, known only as “The Prince,” wants him and his family dead. His only hope for survival is to expose the mob’s network of corruption that runs from Moscow across Europe into the heart of London’s financial markets. The couple agrees to deliver a flash drive to the British Secret Service, who in turn enlist their aid in securing Dima’s defection to the UK. Soon, Peter and Gail find themselves on a precarious journey from Britain through Paris to an isolated safe house in the Swiss Alps, helpless pawns in a sinister game of government agencies, oligarchs, and multinational corporations. Exquisitely directed by Susanna White (“Masterpiece Theatre: Bleak House”), Our Kind of Traitor is a compelling, suspenseful indictment of greed and power.

Director: Susanna White

Producers: Simon Cornwell

Stephen Cornwell

Gail Egan

Screenwriter: Hossein Amini

Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle

Editors: Tariq Anwar

Lucia Zucchetti

Music: Marcelo Zarvos

Cast: Ewan McGregor

Naomie Harris

Damian Lewis

Stellan Skarsgärd

Running Time: 107 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Film Website: inkfactoryfilms.com/ projects/our-kind-oftraitor

Selected Filmography: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010)

UMIMACHI DIARY

Our Little Sister

JAPAN 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA

SATURDAY, MAY 21 8:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

The latest from Hirokazu Kore-eda is another deeply emotional foray into the modern fractured family, Japanese style. Three sisters in their 20s—Sachi (Haruka Ayase), the oldest and most responsible; Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa), the party-loving middle sister; and Chika (Kaho), the dreamy youngest—live together in a large old house in the seaside town of Kamakura, the former capital of Japan. At their father’s funeral, the three sisters discover, to their shock, that they have a halfsister, the adolescent Suzu (Suzu Hirose). The sisters decide to welcome young Suzu into the family fold; the sibling bond in Our Little Sister is a tender and amicable one, rather than predictably conflictual. Love, death, and the passing of time provide the drama that Kore-eda eschews by having the sisters bond rather than quarrel. Based on the graphic novel “Umimachi Diary” (“Seaside Town Diary”), the film also focuses on the changing seasons and changeless beauty of Kamakura, from the sea sparkling in summer sunlight to radiant autumn leaves to gorgeous yet fleeting cherry blossoms to brilliant fireworks heralding the arrival of another summer in Kamakura.

Awards:

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Producers: Kaoru Matsuzaki

Hijiri Taguchi

Screenwriter: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Cinematographer: Mikiya Taikimoto

Editor: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Music:

Yoko Kanno

Cast: Haruka Ayase

Masami Nagasawa

Kaho

Suzu Hirose

Running Time: 126 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source: Sony Pictures Classics

Film Website: sonyclassics.com/ ourlittlesister

Selected Filmography: Like Father, Like Son (2013)

I Wish (2011)

Air Doll (2009)

Wishing You’re Alright

Journey Without an End (2008)

Still Walking (2008)

Hana (2006)

Nobody Knows (2004)

Distance (2001)

After Life (1998)

Maborosi (1995)

UPTOWN

Québec cinema @ SIFF

Don’t miss the screenings of:

Before The Streets (Avant Les Rues) directed by Chloé Leriche

Paul à Québec

Directed by François Bouvier

Our Loved Ones (Les Ëtres Chers) directed by Anne Émond

www.quebec-losangeles.org

The Sound of Trees (Le Bruit des Arbres) directed by François Péloquin

LES ÊTRES CHERS

Our Loved Ones

CANADA (QUÉBEC) 2015

MONDAY, MAY 23 4:30 PM

TUESDAY, MAY 24 8:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

MAJESTIC BAY

SUNDAY, MAY 29 8:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

As humans, we are all flawed creatures, burdened by fear, anxiety, and other traits both hereditary and nurtured. But we are also capable of grace, redemption, and the ability to rise above our genetic legacy. When a film captures the ebb and flow of a family in crisis with such accuracy and elegance as Our Loved Ones, it’s worthy of great praise. This vivid, hopeful, and rich family saga traces three generations of the LeBlancs, a Quebécois family challenged by inherited mental illness and long-kept secrets that are finally overcome by a father’s heartfelt relationship with his spirited progeny. It’s the late 1970s, and adult son André (Mickaël Gouin) has discovered that his father has committed suicide. To preserve some semblance of family harmony, he lies to his kin, especially sensitive musician David (Maxim Gaudette), chalking up the patriarch’s death to a heart attack. Years later, David lives handsomely, having taken over his father’s business and created a fulfilling domestic life, thanks especially to his relationship with his creative and clever teenage daughter Laurence (Karelle Tremblay). But Laurence herself has her own issues, and her life is shaken when a longtime friend begins to exhibit a neurotic disorder. A powerful examination of family, fate, and the resilience of the human spirit, Our Loved Ones is gorgeous, tough, affirming, and sincere.

Director: Anne Émond

Producer: Sylvain Corbeil

Screenwriter: Anne Émond

Cinematographer: Mathieu Laverdiére

Editor: Mathieu Bouchard-Malo

Music: Martin Léon

Cast: Karelle Tremblay

Maxim Gaudette

Valérie Cadieux

Mickaël Gouin

Running Time: 102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source: Wide Management

Film Website: widemanagement. com/#!our-loved-ones/ xkgga

Selected Filmography: Night #1 (2013)

Ovarian Psycos USA 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:00 PM ARK LODGE

Eastside Los Angeles seems to buzz with energy as a group of women (and womanidentified) cyclists take over the streets. Led by founder and single mother Xela and street artist Andi, this group calls themselves the Ovarian Psycos, and their mission is to provide community and support for young women— especially at-risk women of color—through the organization of a bicycling brigade. Brandishing black bandannas on their faces decorated with images of fallopian tubes, the “Ovas” plan rides to raise awareness about domestic abuse and social injustices, to celebrate the lunar cycles, and simply to provide a safe space for those who are searching for some sort of belonging. Taking cues from the feminist and Chicano movements of the ’70s and incorporating their own brand of DIY activism, Xela and Andi have worked hard to provide an environment of sisterhood, confidence, and unapologetic visibility since their group formed in 2010. Ovarian Psycos is a consciously non-intrusive documentary that focuses on the Ovas’ inspirational evolution, and also showcases the unique complexities and struggles of the women involved.

Directors: Kate Trumbull-LaValle

Joanna Sokolowski

Producers:

Joanna Sokolowski

Kate Trumbull-LaValle

Cinematographer: Michael Raines

Editor: Victoria Chalk

Music:

Jimmy LaValle

Running Time: 72 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source:

Sylvia Frances Films

Film Website: sylviafrancesfilms.com/ about

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

The Paradise Suite

NETHERLANDS/SWEDEN/BULGARIA 2015

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 4:00 PM

MONDAY, JUNE 6 9:00 PM

Dutch director Joost van Ginkel doesn’t seem particularly attached to the Dutch language. His first feature chronicled a teenage romance between two Dutch deaf-mutes, while his second, The Paradise Suite, looks at foreigners in the Netherlands, all hoping and searching for a better or easier life. It isn’t a spoiler to say that most of them will not quite find what they are looking for. Van Ginkel’s films reveal a country that’s more bracingly pluralistic than one might suspect, though The Paradise Suite, which represented the country in this year’s foreign-language Oscar® race, also suggests that the Netherlands isn’t an easy place to live. Six stories of foreign visitors— some legal, some less so—are combined here and occasionally overlap; for example, in a scene in which an aspiring Bulgarian model, lured to Amsterdam under false pretenses, and an African immigrant are forced to perform together. The result, though visually surreal, is documentary-like in the way the characters’ emotions and the country’s many paradoxes hit home, hard.

Awards:

Official Oscar® Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2015 (Jury Award for Best Actor, Ecumenical Jury Award)

Subtitle European Film Festival 2015 (Best Actress)

Sofia International FIlm Festival 2016 (Special Mention, Best Actress)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Joost van Ginkel

Producers: Jeroen Beker

Ellen Havenith

Screenwriter: Joost van Ginkel

Cinematographer: Andréas Lennartson

Editors:

Bob Soetekouw

Teun Rietveld

Wouter van Luijn

Music:

Bram Meindersma

Cast:

Anjela Nedyalkova

Boris Isaković

Erik Adelöw

Issaka Sawadogo

Jasna Djuričić

Magnus Krepper

Running Time: 122 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in French, Bosnian, Swedish, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Dutch, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Media Luna New Films

Print Source:

Media Luna New Films

Film Website: medialuna.biz/screeners/ feat_films/the_paradise_ suite.html

Selected Filmography: 170 Hz (2011)

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:30 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 9:00 PM SIFF

Alice, a small-town Washington sheriff, responds to a disturbance call and drives from deep in the forest. Coming upon a remote cabin, she discovers high-tech surveillance equipment, a slew of weapons, a handwritten note—and a man’s excoriated corpse. “My name is Carson Empman,” the note reads. “I am being hunted by the Chutro drug cartel. If their assassins find me alive, they will bring something far worse than death. They will bring the serum. I have at most three days to take my revenge, then I will end my life on my terms. For what I have let happen to Clarissa, I deserve nothing less.” As Alice attempts to decipher this increasingly cryptic puzzle in the present, the film flashes back to Carson, a high-end contract killer known as “The Ghost.” Famous for leaving no traces and no bodies, he has served his employers well. But cartel boss Patrón has other plans, and Carson’s lover and fellow cartel employee Clarissa is paralyzed, tortured, and killed. Now Carson must head to the woods, where he will set a vengeful plan into motion—bring down the cartel’s vast financial holdings and make their crimes public. Lean, mean, and brainteasing, this locally shot crime thriller is a blast of energy straight to the spine.

Director: Joey Johnson

Producers: David S. Hogan

Angela DiMarco

Sue Hogan

Screenwriter: Joey Johnson

Cinematographer: Domenic Barbero

Editor:

Greg Brotherton

Music:

Charles-Henri Avelange

Cast:

David S. Hogan

Darlene Sellers

Angela DiMarco

D’Angelo Midili

Richard Carmen

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Mighty Tripod Productions

Film Website: paralyticmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Shadowed (2013)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

CINEMA UPTOWN

KANG RINPOCHE

Paths of the Soul

CHINA 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 6:30 PM

FRIDAY, MAY 27 4:00 PM

In a small Tibetan village, Nyima and his uncle Yang decide to undertake a “bowing pilgrimage” to the holy city of Lhasa and the sacred Kang’s Mountain. Joining them is a group of 11 people. They set out on a journey lasting months through all kinds of weather over a distance of 2,000 kilometers on foot. Wearing large aprons of animal skin as well as wooden blocks on their hands for protection, they lay their bodies flat on the ground after every few steps. This Buddhist ritual is partly intended as penance and partly for the peace of mind of others. Each traveler is on this journey for a specific reason: One needs to cleanse bad family karma; another, a butcher, wants to wash the animals’ bloodstains from his soul; another pilgrim, sensing the end is near, hopes that prayers and prostrations will break the chain of cause and effect determined by his life’s actions. Shot in a documentary style over the course of an entire year, director Zhang Yang (Full Circle, SIFF 2013) worked without a script and used non-professional actors. The result is one of the most gripping and thought-provoking road movies in the history of cinema.

LINCOLN SQUARE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Zhang Yang

Producer: Zhang Yang

Screenwriter: Zhang Yang

Cinematographer: Guo Daming

Editor: Wei Le

Music:

Zhao Nan

Yang Jiang

Cast: Yang Pei

Nyima Zadui

Tsewang Dolkar

Tsring Chodron

Seba Jiangcuo

Running Time: 115 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Tibetan, with English subtitles

International Sales: Asian Shadows

Print Source: Icarus Films

Selected Filmography: Full Circle (2012)

Driverless (2010)

Getting Home (2007)

Sunflower (2005)

Quitting (2001)

Shower (1999)

Spicy Love Soup (1997)

MAHANA

The Patriarch

NEW ZEALAND 2016

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 21 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 6:00 PM SHORELINE CC

After more than 20 years of directing bigbudget Hollywood action films and thrillers, Maori director Lee Tamahori returns home with The Patriarch, a family saga set in rural New Zealand during the ’60s. Based on “The Whale Rider” novelist Witi Ihimaera’s novel “Bulibasha: King of the Gypsies,” the film tells the story of 14-year-old Simeon Mahana’s journey into adulthood. Simeon’s family is ruled by his grandfather Tamihana (played masterfully by Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors star Temuera Morrison), an iron-willed tyrant who refuses to give his children ownership of the land they work and controls every aspect of their lives—even down to whom they will marry. When Simeon is caught kissing the daughter of a man with whom Tamihana is feuding, Simeon and his parents are banished by the inflexible old man and forced to make their own way in the world, cut off from their family. Through this painful, newfound independence, Simeon begins to find himself and start on his long and winding path into maturity. The Patriarch is an essential film about the Maori experience and a powerful story about the beauty and pain to be discovered within every family.

Director: Lee Tamahori

Producers: Robin Scholes

Janine Dickins

Screenwriters: John Collee

Witi Ihimaera

Cinematographer: Ginny Loane

Editors:

Michael Horton

Jonathan WoodfordRobinson

Music:

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper

Tama Waipara

Cast: Temuera Morrison

Akuhuta Keefe

Nancy Brunning

Jim Moriarty

Regan Taylor Maria Walker

Running Time:

102 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Wild Bunch

Print Source: Wild Bunch

Film Website: wildbunch.biz/movie/ the-patriarch

Selected Filmography: Next (2007)

xXx: State of the Union (2005)

Die Another Day (2002)

Along Came a Spider (2001)

The Edge (1997)

Mulholland Falls (1996)

Once Were Warriors (1995)

Paul à Québec

CANADA (QUÉBEC) 2015

US PREMIERE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 8:00 PM

KIRKLAND PC

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 11:00 AM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 5:00 PM

Paul, the alter ego of celebrated Canadian cartoonist Michel Rabagliati, receives a perfect cinematic translation in Paul à Québec, a charming and wryly funny adaptation of his semi-autobiographical graphic novel “The Song of Roland.” It’s 1999. Paul (award-winning actor and playwright François Létourneau, “Série Noire”) is a graphic designer who lives in Montreal with his girlfriend Lucie (Julie LeBreton, SIFF 2012’s Starbuck) and young daughter Rose. Every June they travel to Saint-Nicolas near Québec City to spend Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day weekend with Lucie’s extended family. This year, however, comes with some bad news: Her retired father Roland (Gilbert Sicotte, The Salesman) has cancer, and though mother Lisette (Louise Portal, The Decline of the American Empire) insists the disease is manageable, it’s not long before it’s revealed he hasn’t long to live. As everybody comes together for the patriarch’s final days, Paul learns more about his fatherin-law, from his troubled childhood to his emotionally complicated present, and is thus inspired to tell Roland’s story the only way he knows how—through comics. A tragicomedy of enormous power, Paul à Québec employs deeply rooted empathy and a marvelous sense of humor to underscore what it means to be human, blemishes and all.

Awards:

Namur Film Festival 2015 (Junior Jury Prize)

The People vs. Fritz Bauer

GERMANY 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SATURDAY, MAY 28 8:30 PM SHORELINE CC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

François Bouvier

Producers: André Rouleau

Valérie d’Auteuil

Nathalie Brigitte Bustos

Karine Vanasse

Screenwriters: François Bouvier

Michel Rabagliati

Cinematographer: Steve Asselin

Editor:

Michel Arcand

Music:

Benoít Charest

Cast: François Létourneau

Gilbert Sicotte

Julie Le Breton

Louise Portal

Shanti Corbeil-Gauvreau

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Seville International

Film Website: paulaquebeclefilm.com

Selected Filmography: Maman Last Call (2005)

Winter Stories (1999)

Les Pots cassés (1993) Unfaithful Mornings (1988)

Jacques and November (1984)

The transformation of mid-20th-century Germany from a totalitarian state to a thriving liberal democracy that has openly atoned for its past sins is a remarkable tale of national redemption. However, the nation’s journey from pariah to paragon was never guaranteed, and may not have happened as quickly if not for one man. In the late 1950s, Fritz Bauer, the tireless attorney general and a concentration-camp survivor, helped bring many former Nazis— most notably Adolf Eichmann—to justice for atrocious war crimes. In this sobering postwar drama, Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) is depicted struggling as much with Chancellor Adenauer and Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) as he had with the scattered remains of the Third Reich. While many war-weary Germans at the time preferred to look the other way, Bauer steadily and quietly pursued former SS officers, many of whom eased back into the postwar government unnoticed. As the BND tried to smear his name, Bauer found a credible lead about Eichmann’s whereabouts, making a secret deal with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, to track down the former Nazi. With fast-paced direction from Lars Kraume, The People vs. Fritz Bauer is a historical thriller that exposes the elusiveness of evil while celebrating the steady heroism of Bauer, and others, who chose the difficult path of confronting the past head-on.

Awards: Locarno International Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Awards: Locarno International Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director: Lars Kraume

Producer: Thomas Kufus

Screenwriters: Lars Kraume

Olivier Guez

Cinematographer: Jens Harant

Editor: Barbara Gies

Music: Julian Maas

Christoph M. Kaiser

Cast: Burghart Klaussner

Ronald Zehrfeld

Lilith Stangenberg

Jörg Schüttauf

Sebastian Blomberg

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in German, English, and Yiddish, with English

subtitles

International Sales: Beta Cinema GmbH

Print Source: Cohen Media Group

Film Website: betacinema.com/peoplevsfritzbauer

Selected Filmography: My Sisters (2012)

The Coming Days (2010) Kismet (2005)

No Songs About Love (2004)

Viktor Vogel—Commercial Man (2001)

DER STAAT GEGEN FRITZ BAUER

Phantom Boy

FRANCE/BELGIUM 2015

MONDAY, MAY 30 11:00 AM

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 6:30 PM

Fighting crime from his hospital room, 11-yearold Leo’s serious illness permits him to experience incredible out-of-body adventures. He finds that his talent, initially just a fun escape, is of great help to a wheelchair-bound cop who is working to bring down the Man With the Broken Face, an evil mob boss holding the city hostage using a sinister computer virus. Leo finds himself an unlikely superhero in a race against time to save the city and his own health, ultimately learning what it means to be a real hero. Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, directors of the Academy Award®nominated A Cat in Paris (2010), have created another animated masterpiece using traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-painted backdrops. The New York film-noir setting affords a darkened backdrop that is half crime caper and half childhood fantasy, weaving a meaningful alternative to today’s animated fare with a lesson that exemplifies that one cannot battle evil, or one’s illness, alone.

CINEMA EGYPTIAN

CINEMA UPTOWN

Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli

Alain Gagnol

Producer: Jacques-Rémy Girerd

Screenwriter: Alain Gagnol

Editor: Hervé Guichard

Music: Serge Besset

Voices: Edouard Baer

Jean-Pierre Marielle

Audrey Tautou

Jackie Berroyer

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Studio Canal

Print Source: GKids

Film Website: gkidsfilms.com/phantom

Selected Filmography: A Cat in Paris (2010)

The Pistol Shrimps

CANADA/USA 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

“This is a message to all our haters,” intones actress Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) to the “Tonight Show” audience and to Jimmy Fallon, who has made the grave mistake of mocking her basketball team, the Pistol Shrimps. “We love to ball and we ball hard. No haters allowed.” A group of comedians, actors, models, musicians, writers, dancers, and photographers, the Pistol Shrimps may not be the only team in Los Angeles’ women’s recreational basketball league, but they are the best . . . or at least the best at trash-talking. Founded by Maria Blasucci (“Drunk History”), the Pistol Shrimps hit the court every Tuesday night against such cleverly named squads as the Princess Lay-Ups, the Lucille Ballers, Pretty in Pink, Space Glam, the Kimmy Dribblers, and the L.A. Nail Clippers. From the sidelines, Matt Gourley and Mark McConville record their podcast Pistol Shrimps Radio, tempering their hysterical lack of sports knowledge with pop-culture asides and Jensen Karp’s Sock Report (which is exactly what it sounds like). And at halftime it’s the L.A. City Municipal Dance Squad, choreographed by Angela Trimbur (The Final Girls) and featuring Stephanie Beatriz (Diaz on “Brooklyn NineNine”). Directed by Brent Hodge (A Brony Tale, SIFF 2014), The Pistol Shrimps goes behind the scenes and into the professional lives of its members, who go from b-ball zeros to recreational-league heroes.

Director: Brent Hodge

Producers: Morgan Spurlock

Rachel Ricketts

Brent Hodge

Screenwriter: Brent Hodge

Cinematographers: Jan Lim

Chris Velona

Ryan Corrigan

Editors:

Brent Hodge

Korey Scharfer

Andrew Huculiak

Chris Kelly

Music:

Ajay Bhattacharyya

AMP Music

Jesse Thomas

Jamie XX

1st Vows

Featuring: Aubrey Plaza

Molly Hawkey

Angela Trimbur

Melissa Stetten

Jesse Thomas

Maria Blasucci

Running Time: 75 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Hodgee Films Inc.

Print Source: Hodgee Films Inc.

Film Website: hodgeefilms.com

Selected Filmography: I Am Chris Farley (Doc, 2015)

A Brony Tale (Doc, 2014)

CBC’s What Happens

Next? (Doc, 2012)

The Cockumentary (Doc, 2011)

CBC’s Winning America (Doc, 2011)

SIFF

SIFF

Presenting Princess Shaw

FRIDAY, MAY 20 7:00 PM

MAY 21 1:00 PM

Every morning, Samantha Montgomery goes to works at a New Orleans retirement home, struggling to keep a roof over her head and her past at bay; every night, she becomes Princess Shaw, pursuing her dream of being a professional singer and recounting her daily hardships on her YouTube channel through late-night video confessionals and heartfelt a cappella songs. No matter what time of day it is, she can’t seem to catch a break—and with only a few followers potentially listening, that seems unlikely to change. Meanwhile, 7,000 miles away in an Israeli kibbutz, an acclaimed viral video artist known as Kutiman is searching the internet for his next inspiration. Unknown to Princess, she becomes his muse as he begins sampling other YouTube music clips to flesh out the arrangements of her bedroom compositions. Director Ido Haar travels from the Dirty South to the Middle East and back again to chronicle Samantha’s struggles and Kutiman’s contemplative process, charting how the paths of these two distinctly different artists begin to cross. When Samantha sings “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” to one of her retirement-home patients, she has no idea how prophetic that song will be.

Director: Ido Haar

Producer: Liran Atzmor

Cinematographer: Ido Haar

Editor: Ido Haar

Music: Kutiman

Samantha Montgomery

Featuring: Kutiman

Samantha Montgomery

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: First Hand Films

Print Source: Magnolia Films

Film Website: magpictures.com/presentingprincessshaw

Selected Filmography: Enlistment Days (Doc, 2012)

9 Star Hotel (Doc, 2007) Melting Siberia (Doc, 2004)

LAS LINDAS

The Pretty Ones

ARGENTINA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 6:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 3:00 PM

An arrestingly personal documentary, The Pretty Ones, filmed and narrated by 24-yearold Melisa Liebenthal, chronicles her and her close friends’ journey from self-assured children to insecure and angsty teenagers to where they are now. Opening with a scene of a girl slowly and meticulously applying bright-red lipstick and eyeliner in a mirror, Melisa’s documentary presents itself as a sort of video diary, interviewing her friends during social gatherings as well as in their childhood bedrooms. Incorporating old photo albums and (rather embarrassing) videos they took of their younger selves, Melisa and several other women reflect on their uncomfortable relationships with their appearance, their sexuality, and how they feel being looked at—especially as female 20-somethings in this age of selfies and social media. Melisa, keeping mostly behind the camera, also confesses her own self-doubts, her surrender to the patriarchal gaze, and what it means to deviate from the beauty norm. The Pretty Ones is a fresh, candid, and eye-opening look at female friendship and modern societal pressures concerning beauty, dating, and self-presentation, ever-changing and constantly in flux.

Awards: Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016 (1st Future Wave Award)

Director: Melisa Liebenthal

Producer: Eugenia Campos Guevara

Screenwriter: Melisa Liebenthal

Cinematographer: Melisa Liebenthal

Editors: Sofía Mele

Melisa Liebenthal

Music: Ángeles Otero

Featuring: Melisa Liebenthal

Josefina Roveta

Victoria D’Amuri

Camila Magliano

Michelle Sterzorvsky

Sofía Mele

Running Time: 77 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Capataz Cine

Film Website: facebook.com/ laslindaspelicula

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

ARK LODGE

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN SATURDAY,

PACIFIC PLACE

The Queen of Ireland

IRELAND 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 12:30 PM

Meet Pandora “Panti” Bliss: part glamorous aunt, part Jessica Rabbit; a court jester whose role is to say the unsayable; a figurehead for LGBT rights in her home country of Ireland; and one of the world’s great drag queens. The Queen of Ireland follows Panti’s epic journey from growing up gay as Rory O’Neill in the small town of Ballinrobe to the birth of her drag persona in the clubs of Japan. Upon returning to Ireland in the ’90s, Panti was instrumental in setting up several notorious fetish clubs as well as the outrageously entertaining “Alternative Miss Ireland”—a vitally important fundraiser for HIV and AIDS causes. In reaction to her home country’s endemic homophobia, Panti became—in her own words—an accidental activist, penning the “No More Mr. Nice Gay” blog while also publicly stating on Irish national television that members of Ireland’s journalism establishment were unashamedly homophobic. The furor over this last incident became known as “Pantigate,” which garnered her the support of hundreds of thousands—including Stephen Fry, RuPaul, Dan Savage, and Madonna—and would subsequently set the tone of the campaign for Ireland’s historic referendum on gay marriage. Throughout this amazing cinematic portrait, Panti Bliss narrates her life and times with flamboyant humor and tender poignancy.

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Conor Horgan

Producers: Katie Holly

Ailish Bracken

Screenwriters: Philip McMahon

Conor Horgan

Cinematographer: Kate McCullough

Editor: Mick Mahon

Music: Michael Fleming

Featuring: Rory O’Neill Panti Bliss

Running Time: 82 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Blinder Films

Film Website: blinderfilms.com/thequeen-of-ireland/

Selected Filmography: The Beholder (Doc, 2010) Croke Park Lives (Doc, 2009)

One Hundred Mornings (2009)

About Beauty (Doc, 2008)

Radio Dreams

IRAN/USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 6:00 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 6:00 PM

Radio Dreams follows a day in the life of Pars Radio, San Francisco’s #1 Farsi-language broadcaster and home to a diverse sampling of the Iranian diaspora. The long-suffering station manager, Hamid Royani (acclaimed Iranian folk singer Mohsen Namjoo), is a cultured intellectual who enjoyed some literary prominence before emigrating to the U.S. Now, his status sadly diminished, Royani nevertheless tries to sustain his artistic principles with programming that includes poetry, short stories, and regional music from Iran and its neighbors. (Lowering the tone somewhat are the cheesy advertising jingles the station is forced to run in order to survive.) In an ambitious undertaking that promises to unite art and commerce, pragmatism and idealism, even East and West, Mr. Royani has brought Kabul Dreams, Afghanistan’s first rock band, and arranged for Metallica to meet the band and jam with them. But as the day wears on with no word From Metallica’s manager, will all these dreams be dashed? Winner of the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, Iran-born writer/director Babak Jalali’s sophomore feature boasts a stylized aesthetic and deadpan wit reminiscent of Christopher Guest’s. Compassion and insight give a generous depth to this low-key, slow-burn comedy about immigration, integration, and identity.

Awards: Rotterdam International Film Festival 2016 (Tiger Award)

DHANAK Rainbow

INDIA 2015

MONDAY, MAY 30 1:00 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 1:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 11:30 AM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Babak Jalali

Producer: Marjaneh Moghimi

Screenwriters: Babak Jalali

Aida Ahadiany

Cinematographer: Noaz Deshe

Editors: Nico Leunen

Babak Salek

Music: Mahmoud Schricker

Cast: Mohsen Namjoo Boshra Dastournezhad Raby Adib

Sulyman Qardash

Lars Ulrich

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Farsi, English, Dari, and Assyrian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Reel Suspects

Print Source: Reel Suspects

Film Website: reelsuspects.com/ portfolio-item/radiodream

Selected Filmography: Frontier Blues (2009)

Sponsored by Sinikka and Babak Parviz, Michael and Neda Nassirian, UW Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Persian and Iranian Studies Program, AIBC, Kamiar and Afsaneh Karimi, Naini Family Foundation, Associates in Cultural Exchange, UW Iranian-American Faculty, and Rumi Restaurant

This heartwarming story follows two orphaned siblings living with their aunt and uncle in a scenic village in Rajasthan, India. Pari, the responsible older sister, acts as a guide for her blind 8-year-old brother, Chotu. Chotu remains cheerful and free-spirited even as he yearns to be able to see again. Inspired by a message on a poster of Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, Pari promises Chotu that he’ll get his sight back before his upcoming 9th birthday. Pari writes to Shah Rukh Khan asking for his help, and doesn’t give up hope even when he doesn’t respond. When she finds out that Shah Rukh Khan will be filming a movie just a few hundred kilometers from where she and Chotu live, the two siblings decide to run away from home to find the superstar and convince him to fix Chotu’s vision. Despite the obstacles in front of them, Pari and Chotu are determined to complete their excursion to Ranau, the village where Shah Rukh Khan is filming. As they cross the desert planes of Rajasthan, they run into a number of eccentric characters, each one helping to further their journey in one way or another.

Awards: Berlinale 2015 (Generation Special Mention)

Montreal International Children’s Film Festival 2015 (Best Film) Cinema in Sneakers International Festival 2015 (Best Film)

Director: Nagesh Kukunoor

Producer: Manish Mundra

Screenwriter: Nagesh Kukunoor

Cinematographer: Ajay Kumar P.B.

Editor: Sanjib Datta

Music:

Tapas Relia

Cast: Hetal Gada

Krrish Chhabria

Running Time: 104 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Hindi, with English subtitles

Print Source: Drishyam Films

Film Website: drishyamfilms.com/films/ dhanak.php

Selected Filmography: Lakshmi (2014)

Turn (2011)

Wishes (2010)

8 by 10 Photo (2009)

Bombay to Bangkok (2008)

Thread (2006)

Iqbal (2005)

Hyderabad Blues-2 (2004)

3 Walls (2003)

Bollywood Calling (2001)

Rockford (1999)

Hyderabad Blues (1998)

LINCOLN SQUARE

MAJESTIC BAY

Rainbow Time

USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:15 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 21 2:30 PM

Todd (Timm Sharp, “Undeclared”) and Lindsay (Melanie Lynskey, Heavenly Creatures, “Togetherness”) have been dating for six months, and it’s just about time to meet Todd’s family. Easier said than done, because while Todd’s widowed father Peter (Tobin Bell, Saw) is a warm, patient man, Todd’s brother Shawn— or as he’d prefer, Shonzi—is a big old pain in the ass. Played by writer/director Linas Phillips (Bass Ackwards, SIFF 2010), Shonzi is a loud, Fonz-obsessed, developmentally delayed 40-year-old who at best has trouble picking up on social cues and at worst is wildly inappropriate around virtually everybody, especially women. Despite Shonzi’s constant sexual come-ons, Lindsay sees a sweetness within him and agrees to take part in his home movies—little VHS-shot action parodies that he’s been making since childhood—and when Peter suffers a heart attack, Lindsay offers for Shonzi to stay with her and Todd, hoping to deepen the brothers’ estranged relationship. However, nothing is ever that simple: Todd is hiding a sexual fetish from his girlfriend; Lindsay is still emotionally fragile due to her impending divorce from Adam (executive producer Jay Duplass, “Transparent”); and Shonzi has major boundary issues that would land most people in jail. Despite its bite, Rainbow Time is a thoroughly engrossing and compassionate dramedy that refuses to shy away from its dark edges.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Linas Phillips

Producers:

Ian Michaels

Mel Eslyn

Jay Duplass

Mark Duplass

Linas Phillips

Natalie Qasabian

Screenwriter: Linas Phillips

Cinematographer:

Nathan M. Miller

Editors: Libby Cuenin

Nathan Whiteside

Music:

Heather McIntosh

Cast:

Melanie Lynskey

Linas Phillips

Timm Sharp

Tobin Bell

Lauren Weedman

Artemis Pebdani

Jay Duplass

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: ICM Partners

Print Source:

Ecstatic Sweat

Selected Filmography:

Bass Ackwards (2010)

Great Speeches From a Dying World (Doc, 2009)

Walking to Werner (Doc, 2006)

Rara

CHILE/ARGENTINA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Nestled in a warm, supportive home shared with her mother Paula (Mariana Loyala), her mother’s partner Lia (Agustina Muñoz), and her younger sister Catalina (Emilia Ossandon), 12-year-old Sara (Julia Lubbert) takes her first cautious steps into the world of high school, boys, and independence. Alongside her best friend Pancha (Michaele Cristi), she deals with the ups and downs of adolescence as her unique home life is thrown into upheaval by her father. Newcomer Julia Lubbert, in an assured performance, perfectly captures the awkward and often overwhelming realities of being a teenager and dealing with the rapidly changing world around you. Co-written by acclaimed author Alicia Scherson (Play), Pepa San Martín’s debut feature is a fresh and surprising film that doesn’t shy away from the truths of growing up in an unconventional family setting, without ever becoming a “lesson” film. Keenly observed and sensitively drawn, Rara is a movie for anyone who has fought to keep their head up in a world that just doesn’t get it.

Awards: Berlinale 2016 (Generation Award)

Director:

Pepa San Martín

Producer: Macarena López

Screenwriters: Alicia Scherson

Pepa San Martín

Cinematographer: Enrique Stindt Art

Editor: Soledad Salfate

Music: Ignacio Pérez Marín

Cast: Mariana Loyola

Agustina Muñoz

Julia Lubbert

Emilia Ossandon

Daniel Muñoz

Michaele Cristi

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Latido Films

Print Source: Latido Films

Film Website: latidofilms.com/rara-2

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

GRINGO ROJO

Red Gringo

CHILE 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 7:00 PM

Resilience

USA 2016

PACIFIC PLACE

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

Raised on a chicken farm in rural Colorado and blessed with matinee-idol good looks and enough talent to get his foot in the door, no one could have predicted the curious career path of North American singer Dean Reed. Signed with Capitol Records in the early ’60s and groomed for bubblegum-pop stardom, numbers like “My Summer Romance” find modest success in the U.S. but are massive hits in Latin America. In 1962, with hopes of cashing in on his international popularity, Reed begins touring to a giant following across South America, where he learns of the brutality and repression of U.S.-supported regimes. As his Latin fame rises, he undergoes a surprising and unlikely political transformation. Director Miguel Ángel Vidaurre’s self-described “pop memory exercise” is a treasure-trove for history aficionados—a colorful, whirling kaleidoscope of archival footage centering on “The Red Elvis”’s political awakening and eyeopening scenes of what was really happening in Latin America during the Cold War. Old photographs, interviews, concert footage, and other unpublished material are effectively used to chronicle Reed’s career as a pop superstar with a social conscience up to his mysterious 1986 death outside East Berlin.

PRECEDED BY: Olympic Favela

Brazil/USA 2016, 17 minutes. Director: Marc Ohrem-Leclef World Premiere

Director: Miguel Ángel Vidaurre

Producer: Paulina Obando

Screenwriter: Miguel Ángel Vidaurre

Cinematographers: Tomás Yovane

Vicente Mayo

Editors: Paulina Obando

Chloé Billebault

Ximena Faunes

Music: Dean Reed

2K12 Estudios

Featuring: Dean Reed

José Roman

Gonzalo Planet

Running Time: 67 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

Print Source: Factoria Espectra

Selected Filmography: Marker 72 (Doc, 2012)

Oscuro-Iluminado (2008)

Corazon Secreto (2007)

SATURDAY, MAY 21 3:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN SUNDAY, MAY 22 1:00 PM MAJESTIC BAY

Last year, SIFF presented documentarian James Redford’s Paper Tigers, which followed six troubled students at Lincoln Alternative High School in Walla Walla as they took part in a trauma-sensitive guidance program based on ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) research. This year, Redford doubles down and explores the cutting-edge research itself, from foundation to implementation, and in turn makes a case for supporting this integrated approach to health. Created by epidemiologist Robert Anda and Vincent Felitti (Kaiser Permanente’s Chief of Preventive Medicine), ACE research posits that nearly every single health issue we experience as adults takes root in our childhood, and the more ACEs we’ve experienced, the more likely we are to suffer from such problems as cardiovascular complications, obesity, depression, alcohol abuse, and liver disease. “The child may not remember,” says the good doctor, “but the body remembers.” By identifying and preventing further toxic stress, this new preventivetreatment movement can disrupt cycles of abuse, addiction, and disease. By spotlighting several communities—San Francisco’s Bayview-Hunters Point, New Haven’s Clifford Beers Clinic, and several locations in Washington state—Redford and a unified group of pediatricians, therapists, and educators make a case for supporting this currently underfunded integrated approach to health.

Director: James Redford

Producers: Karen Pritzker

James Redford

Screenwriter: Jen Bradwell

Cinematographers: John Behrens

Jason Blalock

Luke Buck

John Chater

Jonathan Furmanski

Brian Gurnett

Peter Hutchens

Rich Joy

Chris Kelly

Mike Martin

Tylor Norwood

Bob Richman

Kyle Rooney

Greg Sabo

Petr Stepanek

Mark Thalman

Editor: Jen Bradwell

Music: Garth Stevenson

Featuring: Nadine Burke Harris

Robert Anda

Vincent Felitti

Jack Shonkoff

Laura Lawrence

Running Time: 60 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: KPJR Films

Film Website: kpjrfilms.co/resilience

Selected Filmography: Paper Tigers (Doc, 2015) Toxic Hot Seat (Doc, 2013)

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia (Doc, 2012)

A poetic reflection on the places favela residents in Rio de Janeiro called home before the city government implemented policies of evictions and forced removals in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games.

The Revolution

Won’t Be Televised

SENEGAL 2016

US PREMIERE

THURSDAY, MAY 26 6:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, MAY 27 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In 2011, President Abdoulaye Wade announced his intention to run for a third term (forbidden by the Senegal constitution), sparking a youth-led resistance movement. Soon a pair of friends, rappers Thiat and Kilifeu, used their celebrity to start “Y En A Marre” (“We Are Fed Up”). First-time documentary filmmaker Rama Thiaw joined the movement to document the group’s events—from demonstrations to concerts—from the inside. She fills her narrative with intense sequences of street protests, in which the rappers find themselves threatened with state-sponsored violence, to thrilling concert footage of the rappers performing, imbuing their lyrics and interstitial concert chatter with politically charged rhetoric that fires up their young crowd. Thiaw intimately captures the rappers within their environment with a cinematographic eye and narrative sense that draws the viewer deeper into the intersections of music with politics and the people on the street with an out-oftouch government. The Revolution Won’t Be Televised examines a nation on the verge of substantial change, driven by the fact that roughly two-thirds of the population is under 25 and are demanding an upgrade to their political representation.

Rosita

DENMARK 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 21 9:30 PM

Director: Rama Thiaw

Producer: Rama Thiaw

Screenwriter: Rama Thiaw

Cinematographer: Amath Niane

Editors: Axel Salvatori-Sinz Rama Thiaw

Music: Keur Gui

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Wolof and French, with English subtitles

Film Website: facebook.com/ therevolutionwontbetelevised

Selected Filmography: Boul Fallé, The Wrestling Way (2009)

MAJESTIC BAY

TUESDAY, MAY 24 6:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

The Asian mail-order-bride phenomenon is explored from the European perspective with humanity and authenticity in this lonesome story of two generations of men watching their relationship deteriorate as unearthed emotions arise after the arrival of a mail-order bride from the Philippines. Johannes lives with his father, the middle-aged widower Ulrik, in a small village on Denmark’s north Jutland peninsula. They live a routine life, each working their separate jobs in the fishing industry. Johannes has a girlfriend, but he doesn’t take their relationship as seriously as she does. Meanwhile, the shy Ulrik misses the love and tenderness of a woman. Following in the footsteps of many other older men in his small village, Ulrik arranges for a young Filipina by the name of Rosita to come to Denmark as his fiancée. As Rosita joins Ulrik and Johannes’ household and adjusts to life in Denmark under her unique circumstances, the skeptical Johannes gets more than he bargains for when he is reluctantly forced to translate Ulrik’s words for Rosita, leading to a secret friendship that could forever hurt his father. Rosita tells the honest and complicated story of a father and son whose futures are changed by a woman who enters their family abruptly but is immediately engulfed in their trials of manhood, relationships, and yearning for an escape from the reality of life.

Awards: Moscow Film Festival 2015 (Best Director)

Director: Frederikke Aspöck

Producers: Thomas Heinesen

Leila Vestgaard

Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson

Cinematographer: Adam Wallensten

Editors: Martin Schade

Mette Zeruneith

Music: Rasmus Bille Bähncke

Cast: Mikkel Boe Følsgaard

Jens Albinus

Mercedes Cabral

Julie Agnete Vang

Running Time: 95 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Danish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Trust Nordisk

Print Source: Danish Film Institute

Selected Filmography: Labrador (2011)

Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max USA

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 1:00 PM ARK LODGE

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 5:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Poké, meaning to cut or slice, is a salad of raw seafood (often yellowfin tuna or octopus) mixed with Asian seasonings, which has become emblematic of the Hawaiian Islands’ multi-ethnic culture. Chef and Food Network star Sam Choy was born into a family of cooks. In fact, the ability to cook was a skill required of Choy and his siblings from a young age. (“If you didn’t cook, you didn’t eat,”) remembers Choy’s brother. For Sam, however, this demand would turn first into a passion and then a profession; he became known as the Godfather of Poké by the many locals who watched his cooking show. Choy’s passion for Poké would continue to grow, eventually taking shape as a fleet of food trucks—perhaps the first such trucks in existence, establishing what is now a nationwide trend. Delightful and delectable, Sam Choy’s Poké to the Max charts Choy’s meteoric rise and the exploding popularity of both Poké and the food-truck phenomenon, just at the moment when Choy’s Poké to the Max food trucks have arrived in Seattle, bringing the true taste of Hawaii to the Emerald City.

PRECEDED BY:

Harlem on My Plate

USA 2015, 26 minutes. Directors: Rochelle Brown-Johnson, Sonia Armstead-Pittman

A cultural food journey from the Great Migration through the Harlem Renaissance to today.

Director: Terrence Santos

Producers: Max Heigh

Terrence Santos

Screenwriter: Terrence Santos

Cinematographers: Terrence Santos

Derek Edamura

Editors:

Derek Edamura

Terrence Santos

Darien Brown

Music: Kore Ionz Blue Scholars

Featuring: Sam Choy Geo Quibuyen

Yuji Okumoto

Max Heigh

Running Time: 40 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Terrence Santos

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SUFAT CHOL

Sand Storm

ISRAEL 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 8:30 PM KIRKLAND PC

Deep in the Negev desert, Bedouin villager Suliman has given his eldest child, Layla, many of the trappings of modern life—a cell phone, driving lessons, an education—instilling in her a sense of independence. But in other ways he is firmly rooted in the patriarchal past, with all the power and privilege it confers. When he takes a second wife, Layla is enlisted to help fix up the fancy new home he’s built next door to his existing family’s humbler accommodations. Meanwhile, his first wife, Jalila, grits her teeth and joins in the preparations, only to be eventually escorted away by the local religious leader to make way for her replacement. But when Suliman decides, for his own murky reasons, to marry Layla off to a middle-aged man she barely knows, mother and daughter both decide to take a stand—with unexpected outcomes. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at the Sundance Film Festival, Elite Zexer’s first feature is a psychologically astute exploration of the complex relationships among women in male-dominated societies, and their revolutionary potential for change.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (World Cinema Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic)

Director: Elite Zexer

Producers: Haim Mecklberg

Estee Yacov-Mecklberg

Screenwriter: Elite Zexer

Cinematographer: Shai Peleg

Editor: Ronit Porat

Music: Ran Bagno

Cast: Lamis Ammar

Ruba Blal-Asfour Hitham Omari

Khadija Alakel

Jalal Masarwa

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Arabic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Beta Cinema

Print Source: Beta Cinema

Film Website: 2teamproductions. com/en/productions/ completed/sandstorm

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

A Scandal in Paris

UNITED KINGDOM 1946

SUNDAY, MAY 22 1:30 PM

Before the dazzling colors, forbidden romances, and unavoidably tragic ends of Douglas Sirk’s better-known melodramas, there was A Scandal in Paris. Taking place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, this period piece recalls the life of actual con man and womanizer Eugéne François Vidocq from his birth in a dingy prison cell to his rise as France’s Chief of Police and his life as a criminal in between. After escaping yet another stint in jail, Vidocq and his right-hand man, Emile, make it to Paris, where they end up lodging with a friendly (and wealthy) family whose patriarchal head happens to be the Minister of Police. With dollar signs in their eyes, Vidocq and Emile see plenty of thievish opportunity. But what Vidocq doesn’t see is the moral battle he’ll have to engage in when he falls in love with the Minister’s daughter. George Sanders acts the part of this criminal Casanova with perfect droll charisma and the driest of wit, while Akim Tamiroff emphasizes blundering comic relief as his money-hungry sidekick. A Scandal in Paris is equal parts a whodunit comedy and a romance—but not, of course, without flourishes of Sirkian melodrama, ending with murder and a final fight on a spinning carousel.

Director: Douglas Sirk

Producer: Arnold Pressburger

Screenwriter: Ellis St. Joseph

Cinematographers: Guy Roe

Eugen Schüftan

Editor: Al Joseph

Music:

Hanns Eisler

Heinz Roemheld

Cast: George Sanders

Signe Hasso

Carole Landis

Akim Tamifroff

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Cohen Film Collection

Selected Filmography: Imitation of Life (1959)

A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958)

Battle Hymn (1957)

Written on the Wind (1956)

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Magnificent Obsession (1954)

L’ODEUR DE LA MANDARIN

The Scent of Mandarin

FRANCE 2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 8:30 PM KIRKLAND PC

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 4:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

It is the summer of 1918 and the Great War has been raging for nearly four grueling years. For Charles (Olivier Gourmet), the guns are silent, but his personal battles continue. As a French cavalry officer he was wounded and lost his leg, forcing him to give up his passion for horsemanship. As he convalesces at his family estate, Charles hires Angèle (Georgia Scalliet), as his home-care nurse. She too is a victim of the war, losing her husband at the front and raising her young daughter on her own. At first the relationship is cordial and businesslike, but soon Charles develops romantic feelings for his nurse and eventually proposes marriage. Although initially hesitant and still tormented by a broken heart, Angèle eventually accepts the proposal after extensive wooing by Charles. Gradually, however, she begins to recognize how she and Charles need each other to recover from their devastating war wounds—both physical and psychic. An emotional bond begins to form and grows into carnal passion as the couple tries to create happiness despite their combined sorrow. Scalliet dazzles in her bigscreen debut, portraying Angèle as an intelligent, independent proto-feminist. Nominated for two 2016 César Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, The Scent of Mandarin is a sumptuous feast for the eyes, an unconventional love story, and a wrenching depiction of the deep scars left behind by war.

Director: Gilles Legrand

Producers: Frédéric Brillion

Victor Hadida

Samuel Hadida

Screenwriters: Guillaume Laurant

Gilles Legrand

Cinematographer: Yves Angelo

Editor: Andréa Sedlackova

Music: Armand Amar

Cast: Olivier Gourmet

Georgia Scalliet

Dimitri Storoge

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Kinology

Print Source: Kinology

Selected Filmography: You Will Be My Son (2011)

The Maiden and the Wolves (2008) Malabar Princess (2004)

PACIFIC PLACE

Searchdog

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 28 11:00 AM

SUNDAY, MAY 29 6:00 PM

“I have always felt that dogs had a higher purpose on this earth, and it was up to the humans to make that happen,” says Matthew Zarrella, an internationally renowned K9 Search and Rescue Specialist, Rhode Island State police sergeant, and unofficial “dog whisperer.” Zarrella struggled in school with dyslexia, but developed confidence through his connection with dogs, becoming a leader in the Search and Rescue field. Producer/ director Mary Healey Jamiel accompanied Zarrella for four and a half years as he trained the next generation of Search and Rescue Specialists and prepared them to take the rigorous cadaver-search test. The documentary also demonstrates the highs and lows of Zarrella’s work—cases of suicide or murder. At the end of the day, the goal of Zarrella and his dogs is to find answers to missing-persons cases, whether to provide closure for the families or to save people whose lives hang in the balance. This film showcases the relationship between people and dogs, particularly when such a relationship can be so beneficial and productive. Though humans and dogs work together to accomplish heroic acts, it is the everyday scenes between Zarrella and his dogs that are most memorable.

PACIFIC PLACE

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Mary Healey Jamiel

Producer:

Mary Healey Jamiel

Screenwriter: Mary Healey Jamiel

Cinematographers: Ken Willinger

Mary Healey Jamiel

Editor:

Mike Majoros

Music: Tim Maurice

Featuring: Matthew Zarrella

K9 Maximus

K9 Buster

Abbe Chabot

K9 Pivot

Daniel O’Neil

K9 Ruby

Running Time: 88 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: East Village Entertainment

Print Source: Lucy Bean Films

Film Website: searchdogmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Seasons

FRANCE/GERMANY

2015 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 29 11:00 AM

PACIFIC PLACE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Snowy fields surround a herd of bison, huddled together for warmth, as the last flurries of winter shroud their heavy coats in a location far from civilization. The icicles are melting. A flock of birds gracefully returning to their homelands brings us to a heightened realization that a breath of new air has arrived for animals of all shapes and sizes across the vast continent of Europe: spring. Bringing us the history of Europe’s varied natural landscapes from the perspectives of the animals that inhabit them, veteran nature-documentarian duo Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (Winged Migration) bring us their latest film, Seasons. Using the natural pattern of seasonal changes to set the scene and appearances by human intruders to gauge the time period, magnificent shots of Europe are only the background to the main stars of the film and their stories of survival in a rapidly changing habitat. Though the role human actors play in this film is minimal, we are asked about the implications of our individual impact on animals and the environment in our backyards and across the world. Seasons seeks to put humans into the paws, claws, and hooves of animals and their stories of adjusting to the pursuits of mankind and the ever-present cycle of the seasons.

Directors: Jacques Perrin

Jacques Cluzaud

Producers: Jacques Perrin

Nicolas Elghozi

Screenwriters: Jacques Perrin

Jacques Cluzaud

Stéphane Durand

Cinematographers: Michel Benjamin

Laurent Fleutot

Eric Guichard

Editor: Vincent Schmitt

Music:

Bruno Coulais

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Pathe International

Print Source: Music Box Films

Film Website: patheinternational.com

Selected Filmography: Oceans (Doc, 2009)

Empire of Mid-South (Doc, 2002)

Winged Migration (Doc, 2001)

The Seasons in Quincy:

Four Portraits of John Berger

UNITED KINGDOM 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 7:00 PM

The leftist sympathies and sociological interests of British painter and art critic John Berger, now 89, were so fervent that in the mid-’70s he relocated to France’s HauteSavoie region to embark on a second career as a farmer. Prior to this, his 1972 TV series/ book “Ways of Seeing” explored the intersection of art and politics, especially gender politics, by examining the visual depiction of culture in works from Old Master oils to modern advertising photography. Now Berger is himself the subject, in a tetralogy of shorts—a format referring to both “Ways of Seeing”’s four-part structure and to the changing seasons, experienced in depth as only one working the land can. Tilda Swinton, Bartek Dziadosz, Christopher Roth, and Colin MacCabe are the four collaborating directors. “Ways of Listening” presents an intimate kitchen chat between Berger and Swinton. In “Spring,” Berger’s writings about animals lead to a contemplation of life cycles and death.

“A Song for Politics” gathers young left-wing scholars for a discussion, intercut with found footage of agricultural work and traditional labor songs. “Harvest” includes Swinton’s and Berger’s children for ruminations on generational change and the slow passing of pastoral traditions. All this is set against lavishly shot Alpine scenery, the beauty of which makes Berger’s devotion to this quiet and fading way of life all the more bittersweet.

SIFF FILM CENTER

SIFF FILM CENTER

Directors:

Colin MacCabe

Tilda Swinton

Christopher Roth Bartek Dziadosz

Producers: Lily Ford

Colin MacCabe

Screenwriters: Tilda Swinton

Christopher Roth Ben Lerner

Cinematographers: Bartek Dziadosz

Filipa César

Editors: Christopher Roth Bartek Dziadosz

Music:

Simon Fisher Turner

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Derek Jarman Lab

Print Source: Derek Jarman Lab

Film Website: seasonsinquincy.com

Selected Filmography:

MACCABE:

Debut Feature Film

ROTH: Baader (2002)

SWINTON:

Debut Feature Film

DZIADOSZ:

The Trouble With Being Human These Days (2013)

SEED: The Untold Story

USA 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 3:15 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 2:30 PM SIFF

This feature-length documentary takes viewers on a powerful journey that exposes the fatal secrets of the seed industry. During the 20th century alone, we lost an estimated 94 percent of our vegetable varieties and faced the largest seed shortage in history. A number of dedicated farmers and seed keepers have taken on the task of keeping the rest of our seeds safe from extinction, but they face significant obstacles: the commodification and hybridization of seeds by large corporations such as Monsanto. Not only are these companies depleting the seed industry, but they are also poisoning the communities who live near their unregulated test plots. Though these challenges may seem insurmountable, this documentary gives hope for a brighter future by highlighting the independent farmers, seed savers, and other good Samaritans who are doing their part to protect the diversity of our agricultural heritage and to alert the public to what the hybrid companies are doing. SEED: The Untold Story features a combination of interviews, archival footage, and animation to tell a compelling narrative about the seed industry. By the end of the film, every viewer will understand the magic of seeds and the importance of growing one’s own life force.

Directors: Jon Betz

Taggart Siegel

Producers: Jon Betz

Taggart Siegel

Cinematographer: Taggart Siegel

Editors: Taggart Siegel

Jon Betz

Music: Garth Stevenson

Martin Watkinson

Benjy Wertheimer

Featuring: Vandana Shiva

Jane Goodall

Andrew Kimbrell

Winona LaDuke

Raj Patel

Running Time: 94 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Collective Eye Films

Film Website: seedthemovie.com

Selected Filmography:

BETZ:

Memorize You Saw It (Doc, 2008)

SIEGEL: Queen of the Sun (Doc, 2010)

The Real Dirt On Farmer John (Doc, 2005)

The Split Horn (Doc, 2001)

Shadow of a Pepper Tree (1995)

Body Memories (1993)

The Heart Broken in Half (Doc, 1990)

Blue Collar and the Buddha (Doc, 1987)

LINCOLN SQUARE

CINEMA UPTOWN

Slash USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 21 8:30 PM

Neil (Michael Johnston, “Teen Wolf”), a high school freshman in small-town Texas, has no idea where he lands on the sexuality spectrum, but at least he has an outlet; he covertly writes erotic stories, having imaginatively turned a famous science-fiction franchise icon into a polysexual adventurer. Upon discovering his secret, all of his fellow classmates further ostracize the shy teen—all but Julia (Hannah Marks, “Awkward.”), who, impressed with his imagination, becomes Neil’s mentor and introduces him to the online world of slash—erotic fan fiction between preexisting characters, usually of the same sex—and leads him to an adults-only website called the Rabbit’s Hole. As the two teens’ worlds (real and imagined) change with their evolving identities, and Neil contends with the sexual advances of the Rabbit’s Hole’s editor (Michael Ian Black, Wet Hot American Summer), they prepare for an upcoming convention in Houston, a place where they will be sure to find acceptance. Slash’s power is in its love for its characters, keeping the narrative grounded and empathetic in its portrayal of erotic fantasies and sexual anxieties and respecting the internet subculture it represents.

Director:

Clay Liford

Producers: Brock Williams

Jason Wehling

Screenwriter: Clay Liford

Cinematographer: Ellie Ann Fenton

Editors: Bryan Poyser

David Fabelo

Music:

Curtis Heath

Lauren Sanders

Cast:

Michael Johnston

Hannah Marks

Michael Ian Black

Missi Pyle

Jessie Ennis

Running Time:

101 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

XYZ Films

Print Source: Boxcar Films

Film Website: slashthemovie.com

Selected Filmography: Wuss (2011)

Earthling (2010)

Sleeping Giant

CANADA 2015

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:30 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 7:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

A provincial park on Lake Superior, Sleeping Giant is a routine summer-vacation spot for many families, including 14-year-old Adam (Jackson Martin) and his middle-class parents. It’s also home to a variety of mostly workingclass folks, and when Adam starts hanging out with local kids, cousins Nate (Nick Serino) and Riley (Reece Moffett), he’s introduced to a grittier aspect of adolescence. Adam’s inclusion into the groups throws Nate and Riley’s friendship a bit off-kilter, and as the summer goes on rules are broken, relationships are re-examined, and alliances shift. Adulthood beckons as surely as Todd’s Cliff, the infamous 120-foot cliff face that juts out upon the lake. Although many have climbed to the top, only one has survived the jump. One of the strongest Canadian debut features in years, Sleeping Giant keeps coming-of-age tropes at a distance and instead sticks close and personal to its realistically troubled teenage protagonists. It’s an edgy, vivid, and perceptive film, with utterly authentic, semi-improvisational performances from a cast of talented newcomers.

Awards:

Toronto International Film Festival 2015 (Best Canadian First Feature)

Munich Film Festival 2015 (Best Emerging Director)

Gent Film Festival 2015 (Explore Award)

Vancouver International Film Festival 2015 (Best Canadian Feature)

Canadian Screen Awards 2015 (Best Supporting Actor)

Sponsored by Brian LaMacchia

Director: Andrew Cividino

Producers: Karen Harnisch

Aaron Yeger

James Vandewater

Marc Swenker

Screenwriters: Andrew Cividino

Aaron Yeger

Blain Watters

Cinematographer: James Klopko

Editor: James Vandewater

Music: Chris Thornborrow

Bruce Peninsula

Cast: Jackson Martin

Reece Moffett

Nick Serino

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Seville International

Print Source: Seville International

Film Website: sleepinggiantfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

A Song for You: The Austin City Limits Story

USA 2016

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 3:00 PM

“Austin City Limits” is currently the longestrunning music program in television history, airing 13 episodes per year on PBS affiliates. Starting in 1974 as a small show dedicated mostly to local music, it gained traction and began broadening its artistic reach, and in 2011 moved from its original studio at the University of Texas at Austin to the state-ofthe-art Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Now on the eve of its 40th anniversary, a team led by executive producer Terry Lickona meets to honor the program’s enormous achievement. While they prepare for an all-star hall-of-fame extravaganza, we are treated to an all-access pass to the program’s history, including exclusive interviews with the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Jenny Lewis, St. Vincent, the Black Keys, Beck, Black Francis (the Pixies), Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes), and Jeff Bridges. But the film’s beating heart is the wealth of archival footage of the greatest artists to hit its stage: Ray Charles, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Loretta Lynn, Bonnie Raitt, Dolly Parton, Leonard Cohen, Lyle Lovett, B.B. King, and Radiohead all make appearances. And who should bookend the film but the show’s first featured guest, Willie Nelson, whose statue sits outside the Moody Theater. (And the street where ACL is located? W. Willie Nelson Boulevard.)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Keith Maitland

Producer:

Susan Thomson

Cinematographers:

Sarah Wilson

Keith Maitland

Editor: Austin Reedy

Featuring: Willie Nelson

Townes Van Zandt

Stevie Ray Vaughan

Matthew McConaughey

Johnny Cash

Bonnie Raitt

Beck Ray Charles

Emmylou Harris

Buddy Guy

Running Time: 91 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: asongforyoufilm.com

Selected Filmography:

Tower (2016)

The Eyes of Me (2008)

Sonita

IRAN/GERMANY, SWITZERLAND 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 6:30 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 1:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 3:30 PM SHORELINE CC

When the stateless Sonita, a teenage refugee from Afghanistan to Iran, is asked to create a fantasy passport, she lists her parents as Rihanna and Michael Jackson. Sonita is a musician, an aspiring rapper, whose songs chronicle her frustration with the restrictions of her society. These restrictions take on a new reality one day when her mother arrives at the shelter where Sonita is living and announces that the girl must return to Afghanistan; her marriage has been arranged. The transaction will net the family $9,000, exactly the amount her brother needs to purchase his own bride. Confronted with this imminent end to her dreams, Sonita turns to the woman filming her, director Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami, and asks “Would you buy me? I am for sale anyway.” This question and its answer take the film—and Sonita’s life—in a whole new direction. A certified crowd-pleaser that has won the audiencechoice award at every festival it’s played so far (as well as Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize— World Documentary), Sonita is a powerful testament to the potential for change that exists in even the most hopeless circumstances.

Awards:

IDFA 2015 (Audience Award)

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (World Documentary Grand Jury Prize, World Documentary Audience Award)

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2016 (Center for Documentary Studies Award)

Sarasota FIlm Festival 2016 (Audience Award)

Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem

Maghami

Producer: Gerd Haag

Screenwriter: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

Cinematographers: Behrouz Badrouj

Ali Mohammad Ghasemi

Mohammad Haddadi

Arastoo Givi

Torben Bernard

Parviz Arefi

Ala Mohseni

Editor: Rune Schweitzer

Music: Moritz Denis

Featuring: Sonita Alizadeh

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Farsi and English, with English subtitles

International Sales: CAT&Docs

Print Source: Women Make Movies

Film Website: wmm.com/sonita

Selected Filmography: Going Up the Stairs (Doc, 2012)

Sponsored by Sinikka and Babak Parviz, Michael and Neda Nassirian, UW Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Persian and Iranian Studies Program, AIBC, Kamiar and Afsaneh Karimi, Naini Family Foundation, Associates in Cultural Exchange, UW Iranian-American Faculty, and Rumi Restaurant

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

JACK SAYS: “cell phones off, JACK ON!”

LE BRUIT DES ARBRES

The Sound of Trees

CANADA (QUÉBEC) 2015

US PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

17-year-old Jérémie “Jay” Otis dreams of a better life away from Gaspésie, the small Québécois town he calls home, and this summer is giving him no respite. Now that his brother has married and moved out, Jay has few options: work with his father Régis at the family sawmill, help his friend Francis at a dairy farm, or screw around with his buddies getting high, chasing girls, sneaking onto junkyards, and having bonfires by the Saint Lawrence River. As the sun burns hotter and brighter by the day, Régis weighs selling the sawmill while Jay encounters moral, social, and familial obstacles both large and small, finding himself caught between present and future, between the forest and the river. Writer/director François Péloquin, who hails from the same region of Canada, creates a debut film deeply anchored in his own culture, using both Jay and his father’s narratives to chronicle the tension between bucolic, traditional Gaspésie and the encroachment of a more technological, materialist world further south; as Péloquin describes it, Jay “slowly abandons the natural elements that forged his identity” while Régis struggles in vain to retain his own, transferring paternal grief into vengeful, potentially violent urges. The Sound of Trees is a tremendous high-wire act, both warm and raw, finely detailed and universal, short in duration but long on poignancy.

Awards: Vancouver International Film Festival 2015 (Emerging Canadian Director Award)

Les Percèides Film Festival 2015 (Special Jury Prize)

PRECEDED BY:

The Big Dam

Switzerland/USA 2015, 14 minutes. Director: Samuel Grandchamp

A boy of 10 sets off on a weekend trip with his father to explore the largest dam in Europe.

Southside With You USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 7:00 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Director: François Péloquin

Producer: Ziad Touma

Screenwriters: Sarah Lévesque

François Péloquin

Cinematographer: François Messier-Rheault

Editors: Martin Bourgault

Aube Foglia

Simon Sauvé

Music:

Mimi Allard

Cast: Antoine l’Ecuyer

Roy Dupuis

Willia Ferland-Tanguay

Rémi Goulet

Charles-Emile Lafleur

Running Time: 78 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Alpha Violet

Print Source: Alpha Violet

Film Website: alphaviolet.com/thesound-of-trees

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Current events repeat themselves: first as news, then as a sweetly meandering, Before Sunrise-style rom-com. Southside With You chronicles the summer afternoon in Chicago in 1989 when the future president of the United States, Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers), woos his future First Lady on a first date. Michelle (Tiki Sumpter) insists that this is “not a date”—in fact she’s his adviser at the law firm where he’s a summer associate—raising the hard-to-get stakes in a story whose ending we already know. On their way to attend a community meeting, with time to kill, the young Michelle and Barack stroll through the Art Institute, take in a screening of Do the Right Thing, and finish at BaskinRobbins. They discuss their backgrounds— hers encouraged her to embrace education and succeed; his, in Hawaii, was less stable and more laid-back—and occasionally argue, but Barack’s conciliatory skills at the meeting seem to seal the deal. The idling leisure of their long date, and their reflective conversations about African-American identity, could charm even those who voted the other way.

Director: Richard Tanne

Producers: Robert Teitel

Tika Sumpter

Richard Tanne

Screenwriter: Richard Tanne

Cinematographer: Patrick Scola

Editor: Evan Schiff

Music: Stephen James Taylor

Cast: Tika Sumpter

Parker Sawyers

Vanessa Bell Calloway

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: WME

Print Source: Roadside Attractions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Spa Night

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:30 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 7:00 PM

Los Angeles’ Koreatown is a three-square-mile block of restaurants, strip malls, and markets located halfway between the bustling city centers of Hollywood and Downtown, a tightly knit trilingual community and the city’s most densely populated district. Young KoreanAmerican David Cho (Joe Seo) has up to now lived a subdued life in this oft-ignored neighborhood, but when his immigrant parents (Youn Ho Cho and Haerry Kim) can no longer afford to keep the family restaurant open, they look to their son to find a new job and help pay for his costly SAT-prep courses. David honors his parents’ wishes and shadows a successful family friend, but what starts as a university tour turns into a drunken 24-hour bender that ends at a nearby Korean spa, where the sheltered David first witnesses the underground gay hookup scene. Though he himself is shy and deeply closeted, he takes a job at the spa, learning both about this new world and his burgeoning sexuality. Spa Night, which won Seo the Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Prize for Breakthrough Performance, is an intentionally muted but deeply moving bildungsroman of discovery, and as both David and his parents come to terms with their place in this busy metropolis, Koreatown gets the spotlight it has always deserved.

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Dramatic Breakthrough Performance Award: Joe Seo)

SHORELINE CC

PACIFIC PLACE

Director:

Andrew Ahn

Producers: David Ariniello

Giulia Caruso

Ki Jin Kim

Kelly Thomas

Screenwriter: Andrew Ahn

Cinematographer: Ki Jin Kim

Editor:

Yannis Chaliadakis

Music:

Tim Boland

Carla Patullo

Sam Retzer

Cast:

Joe Seo

Haerry Kim

Youn Ho Cho

Tae Song

Ho Young Chung

Linda Han

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in English and Korean, with English subtitles

International Sales: The Film Sales Company

Print Source: Strand Releasing Film Website: andrewahnfilms.com/ coming-soon/spa-night

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Sparrows

ICELAND/DENMARK/CROATIA

2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 9:15 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Ari is not happy. At 16, his life has just been upended; with his mother and her new husband moving to Africa, Ari must leave Reykjavík and head northwest to the remote Westfjords where he will live with his deadbeat father. It’s been six years since Ari left this tiny fishing village behind, and things have changed; his childhood friends barely interest him, his immature father is emotionally distant, and the economy has collapsed. With school still months away from starting, he’s forced to work at the local fish factory, navigate the complicated waters of teen cliques, and try not to die of boredom; only his kindhearted grandmother and the shy pursuit of a local lass bring him any joy. As the community tries their best to ignore the poverty that has befallen them, Ari has no choice but to step up and find his way. Sparrows is an affectionate but unflinching slice of life set during the summer months in which the sun never sets, and Ari is a canvas on which we can project our own adolescent travails; we understand every anxiety, every challenge, and every tough decision, and the experience is nothing short of cathartic.

Awards:

Göteborg International Film Festival 2016 (FIPRESCI Award)

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 (Golden Shell)

Warsaw International Film Festival 2015 (1-2 Competition Award)

Chicago International Film Festival 2015 (Silver Hugo Award)

São Paulo International Film Festival 2015 (Best Film, Screenplay)

Thessaloniki Film Festival 2015 (Artistic Achievement Award)

Les Arcs Film Festival 2015 (Best Film, Best Actor, Press Award)

Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson

Producers: Rúnar Rúnarsson

Mikkel Jersin

Birgitte Hald

Igor A. Nola

Lilja Snorrisdóttir

Screenwriter: Rœnar Rœnarsson

Cinematographer: Sophia Olsson

Editor: Jacob Secher Schulsinger

Music: Kjartan Sveinsson

Cast: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson

Ingvar E. Sigurðsson

Rakel Björk Björnsdóttir

Kristbjörg Kjeld

Rade Šerbedžija

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Icelandic, with English subtitles

International Sales: Versatile

Print Source: Versatile

Film Website: versatile-films.com/ Selected Filmography: Volcano (2011)

ANACLETO: AGENTE SECRETO

Spy Time

SPAIN 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 6:30 PM

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 7:00 PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 6:00 PM

Adolfo (Quim Gutiérrez, The Last Days) is in a rut. Lacking ambition and stuck in a dead-end job, he’s dumped by his beautiful girlfriend Katia (Alexandra Jimenez, Witching and Bitching) before discovering that, on top of everything else, he’s being targeted by a group of thugs led by recently escaped criminal mastermind Vasquez (Carlos Areces, I’m So Excited!). Soon finding himself cornered and with all seemingly lost, Adolfo is daringly rescued by his long-lost father Anacleto (Imanol Arias, The Liberator) who’s not the rural sausage-maker (and absentee dad) Adolfo grew up with but a brilliant secret agent and archenemy of the villainous Vasquez. With the evil mastermind increasing his thirst for vengeance and Katia pulled into his diabolical plans, father and son must overcome their issues in a desperate race against time. Adapted from Manuel Vázquez Gallego’s classic Spanish comic strip, director Javier Ruiz Caldera’s latest film is a funny, fast-paced sendup of vintage 1960s spy films given a smart, sleek Spanish twist. Sprinkled with starry cameos, Spy Time is a rollicking homage to a classic genre.

Awards:

Goya Awards 2016 (Best Special Effects)

Courmayeur Noir International Film Festival 2015 (Best Film)

MAJESTIC BAY

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

KIRKLAND PC

Director: Javier Ruiz Caldera

Producers: Antonio Asensio

Francisco Ramos

Screenwriters: Fernando Navarro

Pablo Alén

Breixo Corral

Cinematographer: Arnau Valls Colomer

Editor: Alberto de Toro

Music: Javier Rodero

Cast: Imanol Arias

Quim Gutiérrez

Berto Romero

Alexandra Jimenez

Carlos Areces

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Film Factory

Print Source: Film Factory

Selected Filmography: Three Many Weddings (2013)

Ghost Graduation (2012) Spanish Movie (2009)

ZHAT

Stranger

KAZAKHSTAN 2015

US PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 30 9:00 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Stranger is an emotional, epic story of a man’s life on the Kazakhstan steppes in the 1930s. Ilyas is a young shepherd orphaned by brutal collectivization campaigns, famine, and systematic purges. Completely disgusted by society, and refusing to join the army to fight in WWII, he lives high in the mountains away from his people. Though he lives off the lush land, he has a symbiotic relationship with the animals that surround him, and even shows kindness to the humans who wander into his world. Novelist, writer, and film director Yermek Tursunov explains that the Kazakh name for the film is Zhat, which does not translate exactly as “stranger,” but something nearer to “outsider” or “the other.” Tursunov’s traditional style and approach to the story had him shooting his film in real places, in real weather conditions, using villagers for extras. With sweeping vistas and intense wilderness action scenes, the film is a bit like a Western, or a combination of Sydney Pollack’s Jeremiah Johnson and Kurosawa’s Dersu Uzala. For Tursunov, it is about not only tradition, but also identity; his film is a visualization of the loss of culture and tradition. “We lost our traditional life, because we are nomads. When the communist party came to our steppe, we had to get off our horses and change our life.”

Awards: Official Oscar® Submission 2015 (Foreign Language Film)

Director: Yermek Tursunov

Producer: Kanat Torebay

Screenwriter: Yermek Tursunov

Cinematographer: Murat Aliyev

Editor: Galymzhan Sanbayev

Music: Kuat Shildebayev

Cast: Yerzhan Nurymbet

Elina Abay Kyzy

Kuandyk Kystykbayev

Alexander Karpov

Roza Khairullina

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Kazakh, with English subtitles

International Sales: Tursunov Film Company

Print Source: Tursunov Film Company

Film Website: tursunovfilm.com/films-2/ stranger

Selected Filmography: Little Brother (2015)

Crone (2014)

The Old Man (2012) Kelin (2009)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

’92

Summer of ’92

DENMARK/UNITED KINGDOM

2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 30 3:30 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 1:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

SHORELINE CC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 8:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

In 1992, the Danish national fodbold team failed to qualify for the European championships. But after Yugoslavia was disqualified under UN sanctions for civil conflict, the Danes found themselves in the tournament by default. What ensued was one of the most improbable runs in sports history. Directed by Kasper Barfoed, who saw the ’92 UEFA Euro final as a child, this footy-infused dramedy chronicles Denmark’s improbable championship victory. Amid players quitting and returning in defiance of coach Richard Møller Nielsen (Ulrich Thomsen), they still find the back of the net and victories begin lining up. Kim Vilfort (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) leads the attack for a defensive Danish squad while his 7-year-old daughter fights a losing battle against leukemia. Despite personal tragedies, this rag-tag team perseveres until they achieve a triumph, one that has been ingrained in Danish and European soccer lore. This dramatization offers plenty for those of us who believe in miracles against insurmountable circumstances and relish in sporting upsets that defy the very nature of what it means to be a champion.

Director:

Kasper Barfoed

Producers: Nina Bisgaard

Kris Thykier

Meta Louise Foldager

Screenwriters: Anders August

Kasper Barfoed

Cinematographer: Marcel Zyskind

Editors:

Anders Albjerg Kristiansen

Benjamin Binderup

Music:

Lorne Balfe

Jeppe Kaas

Cast:

Ulrich Thomsen

Mikkel Boe Følsgaard

Cyron Melville

Esben Smed Jensen

Henning Jensen

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Danish, with English subtitles

International Sales: The Festival Agency

Print Source:

Danish Film Institute

Film Website: thefestivalagency.com

Selected Filmography:

The Numbers Station (2013)

Those Who Kill (2010)

The Candidate (2010)

The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar (2006) My Sister’s Kids in Egypt (2004)

Summertime

FRANCE 2015

SATURDAY, MAY 28 1:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 7:00 PM

It’s 1971. Delphine (Izïa Higelin, Samba), the 20-something only child of Limousin farmers, is uninterested in local boys, having discovered her sexuality at a young age amid a conservative and male-dominated world. But when her secret love affair collapses, Delphine moves to Paris for a change of pace and is soon drawn to a women’s-liberation movement headed by the dynamic Spanish teacher and militant Carole (Cécile de France from Cédric Klapisch’s “Spanish Apartment” trilogy). While disrupting public meetings and radio shows in the name of feminism, Delphine and Carole become a couple, despite protestations from Carole’s so-called progressive boyfriend Manuel (Benjamin Bellecour, “Les invincibles”). Suddenly Delphine’s father suffers a stroke, forcing Delphine to return south and help her mother with the family farm. But Carole insists on accompanying her lover, and the two must confront the ramifications of their forbidden relationship in a world slow to accept social change. Director Catherine Corsini’s 10th film relishes in its restrained period details and political hindsight, lifting a recognizable narrative into a fascinating, compassionate romance and boasting in its two central performances (both women received César Award nominations) some of the finest, most deeply felt of any film this year.

Awards:

César Awards 2016 (Best Actress)

Locarno International Film Festival 2015 (Piazza Grande Award) Lumiere Awards 2015 (Best Music)

CINEMA

Director: Catherine Corsini

Producer: Elisabeth Perez

Screenwriters: Catherine Corsini

Laurette Polmanss

Cinematographer: Jeanne Lapoirie

Editor: Frédéric Baillehaiche

Music: Grégoire Hetzel

Cast: Cécile de France

Izïa Higelin

Noémie Lvovsky

Kévin Azaïs

Benjamin Bellecourt

Running Time: 105 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Pyramide International

Print Source: Strand Releasing

Film Website: strandreleasing.com/ films/summertime

Selected Filmography: Three Worlds (2012)

Leaving (2009)

Ambitious (2006)

The Very Merry Widows (2003)

Replay (2001)

The New Eve (1998)

Les Amoureux (1993) Poker (1987)

SIFF

EGYPTIAN

PACIFIC PLACE

LA BELLE SAISON

Sunset Song

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 21 6:30 PM

Considered a seminal Scottish novel, Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s 1932 classic, “Sunset Song,” sounds echoes of Thomas Hardy and D.H. Lawrence in its bracing tale of a farmer’s daughter enduring all that life can throw at her in the World War I era. Realistic and romantic, it dovetails naturally with Terence Davies’ work (The House of Mirth, The Deep Blue Sea, The Long Day Closes) in its compassionate identification with a strong but struggling woman and its unsentimental view of an ignorant, patriarchal working-class family. After her mother suffers a tragic breakdown, it is left to Chris (luminous newcomer Agyness Deyn) to put aside her aspirations and care for her younger siblings as well as her domineering, angry father (Peter Mullan). Respite comes from the courtship of a sympathetic neighbor, Ewan (Kevin Guthrie), but the outbreak of the Great War comes hard on the heels of their wedding; while the conflict seems a million miles away from their rustic existence, pressure mounts on Ewan to enlist. Shot in 65mm widescreen, Davies’ stately, composed aesthetic harks all the way back to D.W. Griffith and John Ford: old-fashioned, perhaps, but tapping into vast reservoirs of feeling.

Director: Terence Davies

Producers: Roy Boulter

Sol Papadopoulos

Nicolas Steil

Screenwriter: Terence Davies

Cinematographer: Michael McDonough

Editor: David Charap

Music: Gast Waltzing

Cast: Agyness Deyn

Peter Mullan

Kevin Guthrie

Running Time: 135 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Fortissimo Films

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: sunset-song-film.com

Selected Filmography: The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

Of Time and the City (doc, 2008)

House of Mirth (2000)

The Neon Bible (1995)

The Long Day Closes (1992)

Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988)

The Terence Davies Trilogy (1983)

Sustainable USA 2016

WORLD PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 6:30 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 6:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 12:30 PM

“We want to feed people for thousands of years, not just 50 years.” When American agriculture was industrialized, it would stand to reason that it would be able to sustain itself, but instead the country faces a food crisis driven by profitability and a lack of consumer education. We overfarm to achieve the highest yield, and in turn the quality of the food goes down, chemicals enter our bodies, and health problems rise exponentially. But that doesn’t mean agriculture is unsalvageable. Enter Marty Travis, a seventh-generation farmer and owner of central Illinois’ Spence Farm, who has worked with Chicago’s top chefs to pioneer a new sustainable-food movement, keeping his business local, organic, and personable. To help educate people about where one’s food comes from and how to fix our current economic and environmental instability, Sustainable uses Travis as a central point of orbit for a number of experts—scientists, farmers, authors, journalists—who look to the future: a shift away from America’s obsession with corn and soybeans; cattleraising methods that don’t torture the animal during its lifespan; a pride in work where “measuring wealth is not about counting your dollars.” Sustainable is a story of hope and transformation, about passion for the land and a promise that it can be restored to once again sustain us.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Matt Wechsler

Producer:

Annie Speicher

Screenwriters: Matt Wechsler

Annie Speicher

Cinematographer: Matt Wechsler

Editors: Matt Wechsler

Annie Speicher

Music:

Killer Tracks

Featuring: Marty Travis

Greg Wade

Rick Bayless

Mark Bittman

John Ikerd

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales:

Preferred Content

Print Source: Hourglass Films

Film Website: facebook.com/sustainabledocumentary

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MAJESTIC BAY

Tag JAPAN 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 27 MIDNIGHT

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

TUESDAY, JUNE 7 9:30 PM

Director Sion Sono’s (Why Don’t You Play in Hell?, Suicide Club) Tag combines gory exploitation with psychological horror in this rapidfire trip down the rabbit hole. An opening aerial shot of a school bus winding through a mountain highway introduces us to Mitsuko, a quiet girl whose intense focus on her poetry writing happens to save her from an unexplainable and blood-soaked accident. Traumatized and alone, Mitsuko wanders down the road, littered in severed torsos, and makes it to a school campus, where the only one she recognizes is her best friend Aki. The rest of the film is a nonstop journey through a nightmarish dreamscape full of lake monsters, murderous wind, bloody weddings, and back-flipping pig men as Mitsuko’s identity physically shifts and embodies several different women she’s never even met. The only constant is Aki, with the girls’ friendship and loyalty providing a solid emotional core to an otherwise deranged situation. Tag transcends genres—being at once a campy high-speed action film, a friendship drama, and a hyper-violent horror B-movie, as well as a feminist meditation on the lack of agency of women in media.

Awards:

Fantasia Film Festival 2015 (Best Film, Actress)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Sion Sono

Producers:

Masayuki Tanishima

Ryuichiro Inagaki

Takahiro Ohno

Screenwriter:

Sion Sono

Cinematographer: Maki Ito

Editor:

Junichi Ito

Music:

Tomonobu Kikuchi

Cast:

Reina Triendl

Mariko Shinoda

Erina Mano

Yuki Sakurai

Ami Tomite

Hikaru Horiguchi

Maryjun Takahashi

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Print Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Film Website: realonigokko.com

Selected Filmography:

The Whispering Star (2015)

Love & Peace (2015)

The Virgin Psychics (2015)

Tokyo Tribe (2014)

Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (2013)

The Land of Hope (2012)

Himizu (2011)

Guilty of Romance (2011)

Tanna

AUSTRALIA/VANUATU 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 1:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE MONDAY, MAY 23 8:30 PM MAJESTIC BAY

On the lush tropical island of Tanna, the conviction of two star-crossed lovers will change their tribe’s culture forever. This visually breathtaking film is the first to be shot entirely on the island nation of Vanuatu, and features nonprofessional actors whose performances bring vibrancy to a story based on real events. Mischievous youngster Selin is encouraged to be more like her older sister, Wawa, who is being readied to undertake the ceremony that will recognize her as a grown woman of the Yakel tribe. But Wawa is rebellious in her own way: She and Dain, the handsome grandson of the tribal chief, are in love. When, as part of an effort to resolve island hostilities, Wawa is betrothed to a man from another tribe, she must choose between loyalty to her clan and her own heart. In preparation for their first narrative feature film, documentary directors Bentley Dean and Martin Butler lived with the Yakel for months to learn their culture, develop the film’s story, and find their cast among natives who had never seen a movie or a camera before.

Awards:

Venice International Film Festival 2015 (International Critics’ Week Award, Fedeora Award for Best Cinematography)

Directors: Bentley Dean

Martin Butler

Producers: Martin Butler

Bentley Dean

Carolyn Johnson

Screenwriters: Bentley Dean

Martin Butler

John Collee

Cinematographer: Bentley Dean

Editor: Tania Michel Nehme

Music: Antony Partos

Cast: Mungau Dain

Marie Wawa

Marceline Rofit

Chief Charlie Kahla

Albi Nangia

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Nauvhal, with English subtitles

International Sales: Visit Films

Film Website: facebook.com/ tannamovie

Selected Filmography: Contact (Doc, 2010)

Sponsored by Thomas Zimmermann

Cold Fish (2010)

Love Exposure (2008)

EXTE: Hair Extensions (2007)

Suicide Club (2001)

The Tenth Man

ARGENTINA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 28 2:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN EL

Leaving his comfortable, if a bit stale, New York life to visit his father for the Purim holiday, middle-aged economist Ariel (Alan Sabbagh, Focus) is quickly pulled into the hectic life of his father (Usher Barilka) the head of a charitable organization located in the heavily populated 11th district, or “El Once,” a vibrant Jewish quarter of Buenos Aires. Heard but never seen, the respected elder guides his son through increasingly wild neighborhood rounds via cell phone, supplying struggling locals in the community with necessities such as meat and medicine. In the midst of Ariel’s new, chaotic lifestyle, he meets a beautiful, shy Orthodox woman, Eva (Julieta Zylberberg, Wild Tales), and an oddball hospital patient (Uriel Rubin) who help him navigate the city. Writer/director Daniel Burman (Lost Embrace) continues his look at the lives and tensions between fathers and sons with this wry middle-aged familial comedy. Shot in a loose, quasi-documentary style by Daniel Ortega, The Tenth Man is a tender and engaging ode to the importance of community and family, proving that returning to one’s roots may ultimately lead to finding ourselves.

Awards:

Tribeca Film Festival 2016 (Best Actor)

SHORELINE CC

Director: Daniel Burman

Producers: Diego Dubcovsky

Daniel Burman

Barbara Francisco

Screenwriter: Daniel Burman

Cinematographer: Daniel Ortega

Editor:

Andrés Tambornino

Cast: Julieta Zylberberg

Alan Sabbagh

Usher Barilka

Elvira Onetto

Adrian Stoppelman

Running Time: 80 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Buena Vista

Print Source: Kino Lorber

Film Website: kinolorber.com/film/ thetenthman

Selected Filmography:

The Mystery of Happiness (2014)

All In (2012)

Tzadikim - Los 36 Justos (2011)

Brother and Sister (2010)

Empty Nest (2008)

Family Law (2008)

Lost Embrace (2003)

Every Stewardess Goes to Heaven (2001)

Waiting for the Messiah (2000)

A Chrysanthemum Bursts in Cincoesquinas (1998)

DER VAMPIR AUF DER COUCH

Therapy for a Vampire AUSTRIA 2014

FRIDAY, MAY 27 7:00 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

TUESDAY, MAY 31 7:00 PM SHORELINE CC

Vienna, 1930. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalytic theory, is at the height of his professional fame, but a new patient, Count Geza von Közsnöm, might well be his most interesting case study yet. “I no longer have a thirst for life,” von Közsnöm confesses from the therapist’s couch, having grown estranged from his cruel wife, Elsa, who constantly complains about not being able to look at herself in the mirror. Oblivious to his patient’s supernatural condition, Freud suggests the Count appease his wife by commissioning a flattering portrait of her and introduces him to Viktor, the psychiatrist’s assistant and an aspiring painter. However, when the Count visits Viktor’s home, he becomes instantly infatuated with the artist’s girlfriend, Lucy, convinced that she is the reincarnation of the one true love who granted him immortality ages ago. Meanwhile, the Countess grows dangerously obsessed with Viktor, whose portrait-in-progress may finally satisfy her vain, centuries-long desire. Echoing such past bloodsucking comedies as Love at First Bite and Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Hunters, director David Ruehm crafts a visually inventive and sophisticatedly witty film that is equal parts Gothic fairy tale and screwball comedy.

Awards: Fantasia International Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award, Best European Film)

Director: David Ruehm

Producers: Franz Novotny

Alexander Glehr

Christof Neracher

Christian Davi

Thomas Thumena

Screenwriter: David Ruehm

Cinematographer: Martin Gschlacht

Editor: Claudio Cea

Music: Adrian Vonwiller

Stefan Jungmair

Bernard Jungmair

Cast: Tobias Moretti

Jeanette Hain

Cornelia Ivancan

Dominic Oley

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in German, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Picture Tree International

Print Source:

Music Box Films

Film Website: kino.novotnyfilm.at/en/ films/0320-therapy-fora-vampire

Selected Filmography: El Chicko (1997)

The Escape (1992)

LO CHIAMAVANO JEEG ROBOT

They Call Me Jeeg Robot

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:45 PM

LINCOLN SQUARE

THURSDAY, JUNE 9 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Enzo can’t believe his luck when what seemed like a deadly illness after plunging into a drum of toxic waste actually gives him superhuman strength and speed. Now he can finally go from poor low-level criminal to rich lowlevel criminal—if only the ATM he pulled out of the wall didn’t ink all the bills. He stumbles toward a moral crossroads, however, when he ends up saving Alessia, the daughter of his dead co-criminal, from a gang of famehungry mobsters and she naively believes him to be her knight in shining armor. Now that Enzo has these powers, he’s got to figure out if he’s going to remain the deadbeat mooch he’s been all his life, or rise to the occasion of being a noble man like the main character in Alessia’s favorite cartoon series, “Steel Jeeg.” This Italian superhero movie is no glossy Marvel blockbuster, but instead explores the relevant grittiness of the organized crime world, this generation’s obsession with celebrity, and the responsibility that comes with privilege.

Director:

Gabriele Mainetti

Producer:

Jacopo Saraceni

Screenwriters:

Nicola Guaglianone

Menotti

Cinematographer:

Michele D’Attanasio

Editor:

Andrea Maguolo

Music:

Michele Braga

Gabriele Mainetti

Cast:

Claudio Santamaria

Luca Marinelli

Stefano Ambrogi

Ilenia Pastorelli

Maurizio Tesei

Francesco Formichetti

Running Time: 112 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Italian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Rai Com

Print Source:

Uncork’d Entertainment

Film Website: lochiamavanojeegrobot.it

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Thithi

INDIA/USA/CANADA 2015

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 8:30 PM

KIRKLAND PC SUNDAY, JUNE 5 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

It’s only fitting that one of 2015’s most endearing debuts explodes out of the starting blocks with a brilliant opening sequence. In a tiny village in South India, no passerby is spared 101-year-old Century Gowda’s verbal abuse. When he finally pauses to catch his breath, it proves to be his last. Although we’ve known him only minutes, we feel the loss. In turn, his son, grandson, and great-grandson descend on his 11-day funeral, intent on claiming what they believe to be rightfully theirs, be it a valuable stretch of property or a pretty shepherdess. A graduate of the Prague Film School, young Bengaluru director Raam Reddy helms a mischievous comedy that’s indebted to the freewheeling Czech New Wave while immersing us in both the customs of the Karnataka region and the fraught family dynamics of Century’s surviving progeny. Working with nonprofessional actors, Reddy coaxes lively performances that are as authentic as they are uproarious, fulfilling his ambition to capture “a little piece of India’s soul on film.

Awards:

Locarno Film Festival 2015 (Golden Leopard, Best First Feature)

Mumbai Film Festival 2015 (Grand Jury Prize)

Director: Raam Reddy

Producers: Pratap Reddy

Sunmin Park

Screenwriters: Eregowda

Raam Reddy

Cinematographer: Doron Tempert

Editors: John Zimmerman

Raam Reddy

Cast:

Abhishek H.N.

Thammegowda S. Channegowda

Pooja S.M.

Running Time: 120 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Kannada and Hindi, with English

subtitles

International Sales: Maxmedia

Print Source: Prspctvs Productions

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Tickled

NEW ZEALAND 2016

SATURDAY, MAY 21 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

TUESDAY, MAY 24 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Here’s a documentary about male-on-male tickling erotica. Good for a giggle, right? What about a documentary about tickling erotica that strenuously denies that it’s tickling erotica, and whose anonymous makers go to vicious lengths, including litigation and physical threats, to silence anyone who suggests it is? Finding an ad recruiting participants— young, male, athletic—for “competitive endurance tickling” videos, and thinking this would make for a lighthearted look at a sexual subculture, director David Farrier reached out to the organizers and met with a response not only negative and intimidating, but nastily homophobic—a bizarre irony given the videos’ subject matter. Tickled is the story of Farrier’s investigation, with co-director Dylan Reeve, of the shadowy forces behind these videos and the extreme cyberharassment suffered by anyone, including participants, who raised questions. (Of the more than 100 men who have made these videos, Farrier and Reeve found exactly one willing to be interviewed.) The inexplicable contrast between the videos’ surface innocence (clothes stay on) and the ruthlessness of the attempts to shut down Farrier’s investigation keep the viewer hooked. Above all, Tickled is a study of the unbridled power to do harm that can result from the combination of internet anonymity and wealth.

Directors: David Farrier

Dylan Reeve

Producer: Carthew Neal

Cinematographer: Dominic Fryer

Editor: Simon Coldrick

Running Time: 92 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: Magnolia Pictures

Film Website: tickledmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell

USA 2016 WORLD PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 29 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

MONDAY, MAY 30 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

Street photographer Mary Ellen Mark has immortalized countless anonymous people through her unsentimental yet empathetic black-and-white portraits of life on the margins of society. But amid Mark’s kaleidoscope of images from bordellos, circuses, hospital wards, and halfway houses, one person who stood out was Erin “Tiny” Blackwell, a 13-year-old homeless prostitute surviving on the almost-unrecognizable streets of a pre-tech-boom Seattle in 1983. Mark discovered Blackwell while on assignment for “Life” magazine, and the two almost instantly bonded. Mark’s images of “Tiny” and her young friends growing up too fast seemed to capture the vulnerability, strength, and determination of America’s wayward teens, leading to an Oscar®-nominated documentary called Streetwise (1984) directed by Mark’s husband, Martin Bell. But the story did not end there. Mark kept in close contact with Blackwell as she grew into adulthood and wrestled with alcohol and drug addiction while raising 10 children, some of whom appear to be heading down the same rocky path. The intimate access that Blackwell granted Mark has been distilled into this powerful documentary about the 30-year relationship between the two women, which lasted until Mark’s death in May 2015 at age 75. Directed again by Bell, Mark’s final work is a wrenching tale chronicling Blackwell’s hard journey to—finally—stability.

Director: Martin Bell

Producers: Martin Bell

Mary Ellen Mark

Cinematographer: Martin Bell

Editor: Martin Bell

Music: Glenn H. Patscha

Featuring: Erin Blackwell

Mary Ellen Mark

Running Time: 86 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: The Film Sales Company

Print Source: The Film Sales Company

Selected Filmography: American Heart (1992) Streetwise (Doc, 1984)

Tower USA 2016

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 6:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 4:00 PM PACIFIC PLACE

On the morning of August 1, 1966, engineering student Charles Whitman drove onto the University of Texas at Austin with an arsenal at his disposal and ascended to the Main Building observation deck 28 stories above the center of campus. At 11:48 am, he started firing. 96 minutes later, Whitman was felled by bullets, having been surrounded by three on-duty officers and one deputized civilian. 49 people had been shot, and 16 killed. But Tower isn’t a treatise on the psychological effects that would lead one to commit the then-deadliest assault in United States history. Instead, this is a dramatic reconstruction of the day that shook the country, combining rotoscoped animation, archival footage, and present-day interviews with witnesses and survivors to create a moment-by-moment reenactment of those chaotic, terrifying 96 minutes. Winner of the Grand Jury and Audience documentary awards at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival, Tower pieces together the massacre by getting into the heads of students, administrators, cops, broadcasters, and civilians alike as they faced their greatest fears. Now approaching the shooting’s 50th anniversary, which falls on the same day that UT Austin will institute its controversial Campus Carry legislation, and during a time where school shootings have become an epidemic, this film is more resonant than ever.

Awards:

SXSW 2016 (Documentary Grand Jury Winner, Louis Black “Lone Star” Award, Documentary Audience Award)

Dallas International Film Festival 2016 (Grand Jury Prize)

Transpecos

USA 2016

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 8:00 PM

Director:

Keith Maitland

Producers:

Megan Gilbride

Susan Thomson

Hillary Pierce

Cinematographers:

Sarah Wilson

Keith Maitland

Editor:

Austin Reedy

Music:

Osei Essed

Running Time: 82 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Cinetic

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: TOWERdocumentary.com

Selected Filmography:

A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story (Doc, 2016)

The Eyes of Me (Doc, 2009)

RENTON IKEA PAC

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:45 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

On a remote outpost along the U.S.-Mexican border, three Border Patrol agents bide their time during the endless stretches between inspections; Flores (Gabriel Luna, Freeheld) and rookie Davis (Johnny Simmons, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) talk movies and women as they track footprints in the Chihuahuan Desert, while the gravel-voiced Hobbs (Clifton Collins, Jr., Capote) bemoans the lack of checkpoint action. During what seems like a routine vehicle inspection late in their shift, Hobbs notices that the American driver in question has no house keys on his keychain. The car peels away with Hobbs’ arm lodged in the window, forcing him to open fire. The driver now dead, the three officers discover millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine in the trunk. But this is no ordinary day, and one of the agents pulls a gun on the other two, revealing he and his family have been marked by a deadly Mexican cartel; these drugs must be delivered no matter the consequences. As the situation grows deadlier by the minute, the officers must decide which laws to break to remain alive. A lean, atmospheric thriller that addresses border politics without needlessly preaching, Transpecos is a stunning debut from director Greg Kwedar, a Blood Simple-esque nailbiter set in a world of moral uncertainties.

Awards:

SXSW 2016 (Narrative Feature Audience Award)

Dallas International Film Festival 2016 (Audience Award)

Director:

Greg Kwedar

Producers:

Nancy Schafer

Molly Christie Benson

Clint Bentley

Screenwriters:

Greg Kwedar

Clint Bentley

Cinematographer: Jeffrey Waldron

Editor:

Alan Canant

Music: Bryce Dessner

Aaron Dessner

Cast: Gabriel Luna

Johnny Simmons

Clifton Collins Jr.

Will Britain

Lora MartinezCunningham

Running Time: 87 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: 8750 Films

Film Website: transpecosmovie.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SHU DAI JIU FUNG

Trivisa

HONG KONG/CHINA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 4 8:30 PM

SHORELINE CC

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 9:45 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

In the summer of 1997, while preparations are underway for the British to hand Hong Kong back to the Chinese, three notorious criminals meet by chance on the Chinese side of the border, worrying about their livelihood and what the future holds for their territory. Soon rumors begin to swirl that the three are planning a joint coup. As things progress, greed, hatred, hype, and hubris lead to their ultimate downfall. Harking back to a time when Hong Kong was the regional power and China the country-hick cousin, Trivisa flashes resentment alongside a touch of nostalgia for the good old bad guys. Produced by Hong Kong master filmmaker Johnnie To (Drug War, SIFF 2013), Trivisa hails from the aptly titled Fresh Wave new talent showcase which To initiated a decade ago. The young-director collective of Frank Hui, Jevons Au, and Vicky Wong have delivered a pitch-black, noir-infused debut resembling their mentors’ fatalistic classics of yore. Taking its title from the Buddhist notion of the “three poisons” leading to suffering, delusion, desire, and fury, this is not an anthology film, but rather an overlapping story of men who become victims of their own legends.

Directors: Frank Hui

Jevons Au

Vicky Wong

Producers:

Johnnie To

Yau Nai Hoi

Screenwriters: Loong Man Hong

Thomas Ng Mak Tin Shu

Cinematographers: Zhang Ying

Ray Cheung

Rex Chan

Editors: Allen Leung

David Richardson

Music:

Nigel Chan

Cast: Lam Ka Tung

Richie Jen Jordan Chan

Running Time:

97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Cantonese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Media Asia Film

Distribution

Print Source: Media Asia Film

Distribution

Film Website: mediaasia.com/en

Selected Filmography:

HUI:

Debut Feature Film

AU: Ten Years (2015)

WONG:

Debut Feature Film

Truman

SPAIN/ARGENTINA 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 30 6:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 9:00 PM SHORELINE CC

Thoughtful and reserved, family man Tomas (Javier Cámara, Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed) takes a break from his life in Canada to travel to Madrid. It’s not a completely happy vacation, however, as he’s there to spend a few days with his lifelong best friend Julian (Ricardo Darín, The Secret in Their Eyes), an actor whose messy, complicated life has taken a darker turn in the form of a grim cancer prognosis. With Julian’s beloved dog Truman in tow and four days to spend together, the pair travel through the city, taking unexpected detours and reflecting on loves, losses, triumphs, and regrets. Winner of five Goya Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Supporting Actor, writer/director Cesc Gay’s beautiful new film is a wise and tender ode to friendship, emotionally rich and honest. Supported by a terrific turn by Dolores Fonzi as Julian’s deeply concerned sister, Truman is like a warm afternoon spent with old friends.

Awards:

Goya Awards 2016 (Best Film, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay)

San Sebastian International Film Festival 2015 (Silver Shell for Best Actor, Zinemaldia Feroz Award for Best Film)

Director: Cesc Gay

Producers: Marta Esteban

Diego Dubcovsky

Screenwriters: Cesc Gay

Tomás Aragay

Cinematographer: Andreu Rebés

Editor:

Pablo Barbieri

Music: Nico Cota

Toti Soler

Cast: Ricardo Darín

Javier Cámara

Dolores Fonzi

Running Time: 108 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Filmax International

Print Source: FilmRise

Film Website: trumanfilm.com

Selected Filmography: A Gun in Each Hand (2012)

V.O.S. (2009)

Fiction (2006)

In the City (2003) Nico and Dani (2000) Hotel Room (1998)

Tsukiji Wonderland

TUESDAY, MAY 31 6:00 PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 6:30 PM

Of all the seafaring nations, perhaps none has quite so close a relationship with seafood as Japan. Fish and shellfish form what is considered the backbone of washoku, or Japanese cuisine. With an almost religious fervor, some of the country’s best chefs come to Tokyo’s Tsukiji neighborhood to visit the world’s largest wholesale fish and seafood market to sample the latest tasty and exotic morsels, plucked from the sea that morning. Known as the “kitchen of Japan,” the 80-year-old Tsukiji market offers more than 400 types of seafood, worth a total market price of about 1.5 billion yen, every day. In 2014, soon after it was announced that the cramped market would move to a larger site in Tokyo’s Toyosu neighborhood, filmmaker Naotaro Endo began shooting to preserve this institution. For an entire year, documentary crews worked their way through the hundreds of cramped, overflowing stalls, focusing on the peak seasons for certain kinds of seafood, such as sanma (Pacific saury) in autumn and fugu (blowfish) in winter. Through interviews with vendors, plus commentary from food celebrities such as multi-Michelin-star chefs Jiro Ono and Rene Redzepi, Tsukiji Wonderland is a sumptuous feast for sushi lovers everywhere and a rare glimpse of Japan’s ancient legacy before it’s altered forever.

Uncle Howard

USA/UNITED KINGDOM 2016

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 9:30 PM

Director:

Naotaro Endo

Producers:

Maiko Teshima

Kazuha Okuda

Kenichi Nakayama

Shinichiro Sakaguchi

Screenwriter: Naotaro Endo

Cinematographers:

Taro Kimura

Tojiro Kurita

Shinichi Tsunoda

Yuichiro Kobayashi

Goki Yoshida

Makoto Miki

Editor:

Naotaro Endo

Music:

Takayoshi Kido

Featuring: Jiro Ono

Rene Redzepi

Theodore C. Bestor

Running Time: 110 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Print Source: Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Film Website: shochikufilms.com/product/tsukiji-wonderland

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

THURSDAY, MAY 26 3:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 6:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

Assuredly assembled through archival photographs, present-day interviews, and old video footage, Uncle Howard tells the story of Howard Brookner through the eyes of his nephew, filmmaker Aaron Brookner. When Aaron was young, his favorite relative was Uncle Howard, a young, handsome, and charismatic filmmaker who spent time with artists and poets in New York City. Before his untimely death from AIDS in 1989, Howard Brookner had directed three films, his first being the documentary Burroughs: The Movie, chronicling the life of outsider artist William S. Burroughs with unprecedented access (recently released and restored by the Criterion Collection). Gaining access to a treasure trove of archival film and materials that have sat untouched in Burroughs’ old Manhattan studio, Aaron pieces together his uncle’s life, and in doing so creates a well-rounded reflection of the underground Manhattan art scene in the ’80s. Featuring interviews and footage of Jim Jarmusch, Tom DiCillo, Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, Laurie Anderson, Spike Lee, John Waters, and of course William S. Burroughs, Uncle Howard is a portrait of a man who lived life surrounded by friends, with unapologetic wonder and vigor—exactly as he wanted.

Director:

Aaron Brookner

Producer: Paula Vaccaro

Screenwriter: Aaron Brookner

Cinematographers: André Döbert

Gregg De Domenico

Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo

Music:

Jozef Van Wissem

Featuring: Madonna

Jim Jarmusch

Andy Warhol

William S. Burroughs

Sara Driver

Allen Ginsberg

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: ICM

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: unclehowardfilm.com

Selected Filmography: The Silver Goat (2011)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

LINCOLN SQUARE

Under the Shadow

UNITED KINGDOM/JORDAN 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 MIDNIGHT

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

Shideh (Narges Rashidi) is a woman with a lot on her mind. It’s 1988, in the final days of the Iran/Iraq War. Her husband has just been called to the front. Meanwhile she’s learned that the government won’t allow her to continue her studies because of her activist past. On top of it all, her in-laws’ indifference strands her in Tehran amid chaos and panic. But those become the least of her worries once a supernatural presence seems to take possession of her young daughter. Against a soundtrack of sirens, and under the threat of an unexploded bomb lodged in the apartment upstairs, Shideh struggles to distinguish between nightmare and reality, increasingly alone as her neighbors flee the city. Under the Shadow is the latest entry in a recent trend, including Fish & Cat (SIFF 2014) and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, by young directors who use the paranormal to tell stories about Iran’s political past and present. Babak Anvari’s debut feature lends added menace to the former and a terrifying new dimension to the latter by blending horror and social critique, raising the specter of a shadow that can never be escaped.

Director: Babak Anvari

Producers: Emily Leo Oliver Roskill

Lucan Toh

Screenwriter: Babak Anvari

Cinematographer: Kit Fraser

Editor:

Chris Barwell

Music: Gavin Cullen

Cast: Narges Rashidi

Avin Manshadi

Bobby Naderi

Ray Haratian

Arash Marandi

Running Time: 84 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Farsi, with English subtitles

International Sales: XYZ Films

Print Source: The Festival Agency

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Sponsored by Sinikka and Babak Parviz, Michael and Neda Nassirian, UW Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Persian and Iranian Studies Program, AIBC, Kamiar and Afsaneh Karimi, Naini Family Foundation, Associates in Cultural Exchange, UW Iranian-American Faculty, and Rumi Restaurant

V PAPRSCÍCH SLUNCE

Under

the Sun

RUSSIA/LATVIA/GERMANY/CZECH REPUBLIC/ NORTH KOREA 2015

MONDAY, MAY 30 1:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:15 PM SIFF

Welcome to a rare glimpse of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. Under the Sun started as a joint North Korean/Russian project directed by Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky. For a year he followed a little girl named Zin-mi, who lives with her parents in Pyongyang, as she prepares to join the Korean Union for Children. Though his feature film was strictly controlled and monitored by his North Korean partners, Mansky still managed to capture the real humanity of the people through close-ups and flawlessly framed shots. He achieved this by not only filming the scripted shot, but also shooting long before the scenes started and continuing after they finished. Mansky, the founder of the Artdokfest Festival of Independent Films, is well known for provoking people as well as the system. His dictum during filming: “The author should be freed from the constraints of morality and concentrate on the legal restrictions.” So when his joint feature with the North Koreans inevitably ended up breaking down, he was left with a year of unique footage. The end result is Under the Sun—revealing a raw, real life behind the propaganda.

Awards:

Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival 2015 (Best Documentary)

Tallinn Black Nights International Film Festival 2015 (Best Director)

Director: Vitaly Mansky

Producers: Natalya Manskaya Simone Baumann

Filip Remunda

Screenwriter: Vitaly Mansky

Cinematographers: Alexandra Ivanova Mikhail Gorobchuk

Editor: Andrej Paperny

Music: Karlis Ausans

Running Time: 106 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Korean, with English subtitles

International Sales: Deckert Distribution

Print Source: Icarus Films

Film Website: icarusfilms.com/new2016/ unsun.htm

Selected Filmography: The Book (2014)

Pipeline (Doc, 2013)

Motherland or Death (Doc, 2011)

Beginning (2009)

Virginity (Doc, 2008)

Dawn (2008)

Gagarin’s Pioneers (2006)

Broadway. Black Sea (2002)

Private Chronicles. Monologue (1999)

Bliss (1995)

Cuts of a Recurrent War (1993)

Lenin’s Body (1991)

Etudes About Love (1990-1995)

Post (1990)

Boomerang (1988)

LINCOLN SQUARE

CINEMA UPTOWN

UN HOMME À LA HAUTEUR Up for Love

FRANCE 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 8:30 PM

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 6:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 12:00 PM

KIRKLAND PC

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Oscar® winner Jean Dujardin, as charismatic as ever, returns to SIFF in this new romantic comedy from Laurent Tirard, the director of Moliére (SIFF 2007’s Closing Night film). Diane (Virginie Efira, SIFF 2014’s Turning Tide) is a successful lawyer three years removed from her divorce, and she’s been romantically challenged ever since. But her luck changes one afternoon when a stranger calls her flat, having found her cell phone and wanting to return it. Over the phone, Alexandre is both funny and charming, and the pair develop an easy chemistry with each other, leading to a date of sorts to return her lost phone. Eagerly arriving at the appointed time and place, Diane is caught completely off-guard when Alexandre arrives—all 4’6” of him. (He literally has to hop up into his café chair.) At first his stature makes Diane uncomfortable, but she soon discovers that Alexandre is pretty much the complete package—witty, intelligent, handsome—so who cares if she has to bend down to kiss him? However, Alexandre and Diane will have to face many other romantic challenges and comedic foibles, including a full-sized rival, as well as public gawking and the judgement of society if they are going to make it to their happily-ever-after in this delightful comedic romp.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director: Laurent Tirard

Producers: Vanessa Van Zuylen

Sidonie Dumas

Screenwriters: Laurent Tirard

Grégoire Vigneron

Cinematographer: Jérôme Alméras

Editor: Valérie Deseine

Music: Eric Neveux

Emielie Gassin

Cast: Jean Dujardin

Virginie Efira

Cédric Kahn

Running Time: 98 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Gaumont

Print Source: Gaumont

Selected Filmography: Nicholas on Holiday (2014)

Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012)

Little Nicholas (2009)

Moliére (2007)

The Story of My Life (2004)

Demain est un autre jour (2000)

LA VANITÉ

Vanity

SWITZERLAND/FRANCE 2015

THURSDAY, MAY 26 4:30 PM

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 7:00 PM SHORELINE CC

For his seventh feature film, Lionel Baier (Longwave) focuses his comedy on a topic that’s a relative stranger to the genre: assisted euthanasia. Vanitatum, omnia vanitas ”Vanities, all is vanity.” Baier intended his film to be a vanitas, an artwork expressing the emptiness of life, but the film itself, far from empty, takes us on a brilliantly absurd journey. David Miller wants to die. He organizes everything: the place, the time, and how he’ll do it. However, after initially contacting an association in Switzerland that offers an assisted-suicide service, nothing ends up going as planned. On his final journey toward his personally made death bed, he meets two strangers, Esperanza and Tréplev, and the three develop a peculiar friendship on the road. Baier once again creates a beautifully modulated and measured journey around matters of life and death, which will remain in the memory long after the final credits.

Awards: Swiss Film Awards 2016 (Best Supporting Actor)

Director: Lionel Baier

Producers: Agnieszka Ramu

Frédéric Mermoud

Estelle Fialon

Screenwriters: Lionel Baier

Julien Bouissoux

Cinematographer: Patrick Lindenmaier

Editor: Jean-Christophe Hym

Music: Dmitri Shostakovich

Cast: Patrick Lapp

Carmen Maura

Ivan Georgiev

Running Time: 75 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in French, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source: Wide Mangement

Film Website: widemanagement.com

Selected Filmography: Longwave (2013)

Bon Vent Claude Goretta (Doc, 2011)

Toulouse (2010)

Another Man (2008)

Stealth (2006)

Stupid Boy (2004)

Vintage Tomorrows

USA/CANADA/CZECH REPUBLIC 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 29 3:00 PM

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 8:30 PM

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 1:00 PM

A futurist and a historian walk into a bar. They both order a steam beer and wind up with beer goggles. Just kidding. This is serious business. James Carrott and Brian David Johnson reserved a table in the back of Seattle’s Dahlia Lounge and invited some of the country’s leading experts and practitioners of Steampunk, a subgenre of science fiction inspired by 19th-century technology and aesthetics. Or as one participant calls it, retro-futurism: “the science fiction of the future that never happened.” By surveying these intellectuals and creators—novelists, game designers, costumers—they hope to gather enough material for their new book. Vintage Tomorrows acts as a fly on the wall at this meeting, and also travels to the events, conventions, and workshops that power the movement, examining Steampunk’s origins, explosive growth, and cultural significance. With appearances by authors William Gibson, China Miéville, and Cory Doctorow, along with expo founders, photographers, and concertfootage snippets of the post-apocalyptic band Abney Park, this film explores some fundamental questions: What can playing with the past teach us about the future? Is the Steampunk movement a homogenized, privileged subculture that worships an era marked by colonialism and oppression, or a reclamation of technology from the hands of Silicon Valley? Most important, who can make the coolest-looking death ray?

RENTON IKEA PAC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

KIRKLAND PC

Director:

Byrd McDonald

Producers: Alan Winston

Byrd McDonald

Sean Hutchinson

Cinematographers: Shaun Sundby

Michael Palmieri

Editor:

Alan Winston

Music:

Matthew Mercer

Running Time: 67 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

Print Source: Magical and Practical Film Website: vintagetomorrows.com

Selected Filmography: Haunters (Doc, 2004)

The Violators

UNITED KINGDOM 2015

SUNDAY, MAY 22 8:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Having testified against her abusive father and sent him to jail, teenager Shelly Hudson now finds herself living on a rundown council estate with her two half-brothers. Older sibling Andy drinks and parties to escape their traumatic past while she concentrates on raising her bright and inspired younger brother Jerome. For Shelly, each day is little different than the one before: getting high; hanging out at the local penny arcade; attempting to make ends meet by selling small stolen trinkets to Mikey Finnegan, the local pawn-shop owner whose interest in her is far from professional. But then she meets Rachel—pretty, stylish, and wellto-do. Rachel offers Shelly posh clothes and jewelry in exchange for her company, and a wary friendship develops between the pair. However, the Hudson siblings’ tumultuous home life grows even more precarious upon receiving news of their father’s impending parole, which precipitates Shelly into seeking desperate relief. With The Violators, acclaimed novelist and first-time filmmaker Helen Walsh (“Brass”) evokes the films of Andrea Arnold (Red Road, Fish Tank) and Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love, Ida) to fashion a startlingly accomplished portrait of adolescent fear and ennui, desire and hope.

Director: Helen Walsh

Producers:

David A. Hughes

David Moores

Screenwriter: Helen Walsh

Cinematographer: Tobin Jones

Editors:

Kyle Ogden

David A. Hughes

Music:

David A. Hughes

Cast: Lauren McQueen

Brogan Ellis

Stephen Lord

Liam Ainsworth

Running Time: 97 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Houston King

Print Source: Red Union Films

Film Website: facebook.com/theviolatorsmovie

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

HELI Ó POLIS

The Violin Teacher

BRAZIL 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

SATURDAY, MAY 21 12:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 7:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

The musical career of violinist Laerte (Lázaro Ramos, Madame Sata), once a child prodigy, has not gone as planned. His once-in-a-lifetime audition with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra is a spectacular failure, and with bills piling up, an offer to teach a high school violin class in São Paulo’s notorious Heliopolis neighborhood cannot be turned down. Reluctant and defensive, Laerte anticipates trouble in this tough environment and finds it. Unruly, untrained, and unable to read music, his students carry the weight of the favela on their young shoulders, yet through it all a passion and purpose begins to emerge for teacher and students alike. With the program’s future resting on an upcoming concert and the pressures of gang violence and police brutality growing louder offstage, Laerte’s greatest performance might simply be in bringing a glimmer of hope into their lives, as well as his own. Acclaimed writer/director Sérgio Machado (Lower City) gives the classic “inspirational teacher” narrative a fresh energy in this lively and affecting film. Neatly balancing a classic character arc with a tough grit, The Violin Teacher is a crowd-pleaser with a conscience.

Awards:

São Paulo Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director: Sérgio Machado

Producers:

Caio Gullane

Fabiano Gullane

Débora Ivanov

Gabriel Lacerda

Screenwriters: Sérgio Machado

Maria Adelaide Amaral

Marcelo Gomes

Marta Nehring

Cinematographer:

Marcelo Durst

Editor: Márcio Hashimoto

Music:

Alexandre Guerra

Felipe de Souza

Cast: Lázaro Ramos

Kaique Jesus

Elzio Vieira

Sandra Corveloni

Fernanda de Freitas

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Portuguese, with English subtitles

International Sales:

Films Boutique

Print Source:

Films Boutique

Film Website: filmsboutique.com/ movies/the-violin-teacher

Selected Filmography: Aqui Deste Lugar (Doc, 2015)

The Two Deaths of Quincas Wateryell (2010)

Lower City (2005)

At the Edge of the Earth (Doc, 2001)

3 Histórias da Bahia (2001)

A Walk on the Moon

USA 1999

SUNDAY, JUNE 12 11:00 AM

It’s summer for the Kantrowitzes of New York City, which means yet another retreat in the Catskills. But 1969 is no ordinary year, and as the convergence of several major events change the country forever, so too does it change this lower-middle-class Jewish family. Upon arriving at Dr. Folger’s Bungalows, father Marty (Liev Schreiber, Spotlight) leaves almost immediately due to his responsibilities as a television repairman, a job in demand due to the impending Apollo 11 moon landing, leaving wife Pearl (Diane Lane, Unfaithful) and daughter Alison (Anna Paquin, “True Blood”) to fend off boredom. Pearl had Alison as a teenager and has yet to experience life at its fullest, so when she meets free-spirited Walker (Viggo Mortensen, The Lord of the Rings), a traveling “blouse man” who lives out of a van, the two begin a heated affair. Meanwhile, Alison has just hit puberty, and as she navigates her newfound womanhood during the retreat, she is pulled into the orbit of a music festival mere miles away in Woodstock. From director Tony Goldwyn (President Grant on “Scandal”), A Walk on the Moon earned great praise in its 1999 debut due to its subtle period details and its tender treatment of two women finding themselves in a world in flux; it’s one of the best American films about the 1960s made after the fact.

Director: Tony Goldwyn

Producer: Jay Cohen

Screenwriter: Pamela Gray

Cinematographer: Anthony B. Richmond

Editor: Dana Congdon

Music: Mason Daring

Cast: Viggo Mortensen

Diane Lane

Anna Paquin

Liev Schreiber

Running Time: 107 minutes

Presentation Format: 35mm

Film Website: parkcircus.com/ films/22281-a-walk-onthe-moon

Selected Filmography: Conviction (2010)

Last Kiss (2006)

Someone Like You... (2001)

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

ALMACENADOS

Warehoused

MEXICO 2015

US PREMIERE

SUNDAY, MAY 22 9:00 PM

PACIFIC PLACE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SATURDAY, MAY 28 3:30 PM RENTON IKEA PAC

It’s Monday morning and the first day of working life for young Nin (Hoze Meléndez). He’s starting a job as a warehouse supervisor, taking over a position held for almost 30 years by the soon-to-retire Mr. Lino (José Carlos Ruiz, One for the Road), whose immaculate standards and exacting routines often dip into the absurd. As rookie and veteran settle into their week of transition, nerves fray, customs are challenged, and an unusual, unexpected camaraderie develops between the two men while waiting for a delivery that, in true Waiting for Godot fashion, never seems to materialize. This smart, sly Mexican satire by director Jack Zagha and screenwriter David Desola follows up their acclaimed 2014 comedy One for the Road, and won the Audience Award at the Morelia Film Festival. Warehoused is a perceptive tale about work, duty, and the (questionable) importance of following rules and regulations in a world that always seems ready to throw them out.

Awards:

FICG 2015 (Work-In-Progress Awards)

Morelia Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Los Cabos Film Festival 2015 (Mexico Primero Art Kingdom Award)

Director:

Jack Zagha

Producers: Yossy Zagha

Jack Zagha

Elsa Reyes

Screenwriters: Jack Zagha

David Desola

Yossy Zagha

Cinematographer: Claudio Rocha

Editor:

Juan Manuel Figueroa

Music:

Erik Ruiz Arellano

Mario Cobos

Miguel Hernández

Cast:

José Carlos Ruiz

Hoze Meléndez

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Film Republic

Print Source: Film Republic

Film Website: filmrepublic.biz/film/ warehoused

Selected Filmography:

One for the Road (2014)

Goodbye Cruel World (2010)

We Are X

USA/JAPAN/UNITED KINGDOM 2016

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 8:30 PM

ARK LODGE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

X Japan is the most successful rock band in Japanese history, selling more than 30 million albums and selling out Japan’s Tokyo Dome a record 18 times—once more than Michael Jackson. Founded in 1982 by childhood friends Yoshiki and Toshi, their symphonic powermetal and innovative Visual-Kei style ignited a music and fashion revolution. Controversially disbanding in 1997 amid a series of tragedies, they reunited in 2008 for some unfinished business—bringing their music to the United States. Following the enigmatic Yoshiki as he obsessively prepares for their Madison Square Garden concert, director Stephen Kijak slowly morphs what initially appears to be a slick promotional documentary into a fascinating examination of fame, reinvention, and survival. Employing an astonishing blend of concert and archival footage, he charts the band’s rise to superstardom in their 20s and the toll that celebrity and perfectionism took in the turbulent years that followed—not to mention the damage that 30 years of relentless, punishing drumming has done to Yoshiki’s body. Simultaneously a celebration of the pursuit of artistic excellence and a cautionary tale of its costs, We Are X reveals a band of survivors struggling to keep their physical and spiritual demons at bay for one last attempt to bring their music to the world.

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival 2016 (World Cinema Editing Award, Documentary) SXSW 2016 (Excellence in Title Design Audience Award)

Director:

Stephen Kijak

Producers: John Battsek

Diane Becker

Jonathan McHugh

Jonathan Platt

Cinematographers:

Sean Kirby

John Maringouin

Editors:

Mako Kamitsuna

John Maringouin

Music: Yoshiki

Featuring: Yoshiki

Toshi

Pata

Hiroshi

Running Time: 89 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Mongrel Media International

Print Source: Passion Pictures

Film Website: wearexfilm.com

Selected Filmography: Show ’Em What You’re Made Of (2015)

Jaco (2015)

Stones in Exile (2010)

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (2007)

Cinemania (2002)

The Weekend Sailor

MEXICO/CANADA 2016

MONDAY, MAY 23 6:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 3:30 PM SIFF CINEMA

Mexican lawyer and rookie filmmaker Bernardo Arsuaga delivers an inspirational documentary that literally takes audiences on a journey around the world. The film centers on the inaugural 1973 White Bread Around the World Yacht Race, considered the most demanding sailing race in history, and one Mexican businessman’s bid to defy the world of competitive sailing. Captain Ramon Carlín had barely a year’s worth of sailing experience before he decided to journey around the world. After purchasing a Finnish Swan 65, dubbed the Sayulla II, the initial crew included his son, two nephews, and his wife—most in their teen years and all sea novices, hardly prepared to take on boats manned by the British Navy or legendary French sailor Éric Tabarly. Though after gathering a motley young crew of three Americans—a Brit, an Aussie, and a Dutchman, all young sailors ready to prove themselves against the world’s best—the mast was raised and the Sayulla II was ready to sail. Arsuaga combines interviews with all surviving crewmembers, including the 92-year-old Captain Carlín, and past and present yachtsmen with newspaper clippings including British pieces that lampooned the idea of Mexican vessels. Lives and ships were lost among the competitors, yet the rag-tag crew of Sayulla II stuck together to achieve one of the greatest upsets in sports history in a story deserving to be told.

Awards: San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival 2016 (Director’s Award)

Weiner USA 2016

FRIDAY, MAY 20 4:30 PM

UPTOWN

Director: Bernardo Arsuaga

Producers: Bernardo Arsuaga

Erik Virtanen

Screenwriters: Bernardo Arsuaga

Christopher John Malanchen

Erik Virtanen

Cinematographers: Adrian S. Bara

Mateusz Golebiewski

Editor: Christopher John Malanchen

Music: Pietro Amato

Featuring: Simon Le Bon

Ramon Carlín

Knut Frostad

Sir Chay Blyth

Keith Lorence

Running Time: 74 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in English and Spanish, with English subtitles

Film Website: theweekendsailor.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SUNDAY, MAY 22 6:00 PM

Foodies have their nose-to-tail movement, in which every bit of a beast is served up, from filet to tripe. Weiner may represent a similar innovation in politics. Now, a scant three years after Anthony Weiner’s New York City mayoral campaign tanked because he was sexting women under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger,” the campaign’s embedded documentarians serve up the results of their unlimited behind-the-scenes access: interviews, campaign events, and cable news sound bites. Filmmaker Josh Kriegman told a Park City, Utah, press conference (called for the film, not the candidacy) that he and co-director Elyse Steinberg wanted to “show how much the political conversation is driven by these easy narratives and sensational headlines and one-liners.” Well, maybe—the line between telling Weiner jokes and making meta-commentary on them can be a thin one. Even more extraordinary here is the footage of Weiner’s wife, Huma Abedin, currently an aide to Hillary Clinton. Notoriously pressshy, Abedin’s role in the Weiner story is not a woman spurned or a woman supported, but that gray area in between. Unlike the dramatic fall of New York governor Eliot Spitzer, Weiner’s drop was short, from also-ran to loser. Weiner’s can’t-miss meta moment has to be Weiner and Abedin, sitting in their living room on the morning after the election, being asked by Kriegman, “Why have you let me film this?”

Awards: Sundance Film Festival 2016 (U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize)

Directors: Josh Kriegman

Elyse Steinberg

Producers: Josh Kriegman

Elyse Steinberg

Screenwriters: Josh Kriegman

Elyse Steinberg

Eli Despres

Cinematographer: Josh Kriegman

Editor: Eli Despres

Music: Jeff Beal

Running Time: 100 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Submarine Entertainment

Print Source: Sundance Selects

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Welcome to Norway!

NORWAY 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

TUESDAY, MAY 24 6:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 4:30 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

THURSDAY, MAY 26 9:00 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

Set against the backdrop of a beautiful Norwegian village, this politically incorrect comedy follows a xenophobic ski-resort owner, Primus (Anders Baasmo Christiansen), as he attempts to find a way to save his failing business. The film brings humor to a serious, topical issue when Primus encounters a group of refugees and sees an opportunity: If he turns his family’s resort into a refugee camp, he will be able to support it with government funding. Unsurprisingly, Primus soon discovers how out of his depth he is. Although he has not finished the resort renovations and the government has not yet greenlit the facilities, he takes in 50 refugees. To top it off, his arrogance and habit of regularly making tasteless jokes about the people he’s sheltering brings up conflict after conflict. His entire venture likely would have gone up in flames if not for Abedi (Olivier Mukata), a young man from Congo who answers Primus’ questions about the refugees and advises Primus on how to run this new operation, in addition to speaking five languages. Eventually, all the new tenants, but especially Adebi, start to change Primus’ attitude for the better.

Awards:

Göteborg Film Festival 2016 (Audience Award)

We the People 2.0 USA 2016

SATURDAY, JUNE 11 6:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN SUNDAY, JUNE 12 1:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Director:

Rune Denstad Langlo

Producer:

Magnus Ramsdalen

Screenwriter:

Rune Denstad Langlo

Cinematographer: Philip Øgaard

Editor:

Vidar Flataukan

Music:

Ola Kvernberg

Cast:

Anders Baasmo Christiansen

Slimane Dazi

Henriette Steenstrup

Olivier Mukata

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Norwegian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Beta Cinema

Print Source: Norwegian Film Institute

Film Website: betacinema.com

Selected Filmography: Chasing the Wind (2013) North (2009) 99% Honest (Doc, 2008) All for Norway (Doc, 2005)

We the People 2.0 confronts its viewers with the ravages of mine tailings and leaky containment ponds, of sludge and ooze and grue, all of which, the film documents, are killing people, particularly in the cancer-blighted small towns of North America. The film’s brief is laudable: Alongside documenting grassroots activism, including the kayak flotillas that protested Shell Oil in Seattle, the film focuses on legal challenges presented to corporations by granting rights to ecosystems. Talking heads come from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit that helps small towns draft laws against fracking, factory farming, and water privatization. The voice of narrator Walton Goggins, formerly of TV’s rural meth-opera “Justified,” is a great boon to the film, perhaps making viewers wish he would just let it rip in the grandiloquent manner of his TV character Boyd Crowder. The “2.0” in the title refers to what the filmmakers have dubbed “The Second American Revolution”—a battle not against a foreign power, but against corporate power.

Director: Leila Conners

Producer: Mathew Schmid

Screenwriters: Leila Conners

Mathew Schmid

Cinematographers: Larkin Donley

Sam Miron

Tomi Skaria

Editor: Leila Conners

Music: Eric Avery

Featuring: Walter Goggins

Thomas Linzey

Ben Price

Cathy Miorelli

Tish O’Dell

Doug Shields

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

Print Source: Tree Media

Film Website: wethepeople2.film

Selected Filmography: The 11th Hour (Doc, 2007)

Where Have All the Good Men Gone

WORLD PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 20 9:00 PM

SUNDAY, MAY 22 11:30 AM

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:00 PM

Living in a tiny trailer in the back of their family’s bar, Sofia and her older half-sister Olivia live a rough life filled with abuse and exploitation. Sofia’s stepfather, Lars, is a violent man who keeps the girls and their mother under an iron thumb. When their mother lets it slip that Sofia’s biological father may still be alive and living nearby, Sofia packs up her and Olivia’s bags and they hit the road, going off of an address found on an old love letter. What they find is rather unexpected. Adam, Sofia’s father, is holed up in an isolated farmhouse surrounded by barbed wire and signs that warn everyone to “KEEP OUT!” An ex-soldier with severe PTSD, Adam lives alone and has no interest in opening up to anyone, much less two young runaways. The girls camp out outside his property until he finally gives in and lets them stay with him, and slowly but surely they all grow close to resembling the kind of stable, caring family the girls have always wanted. Things can’t stay perfect forever, though, and the girls realize they might not have gone far enough to escape Lars and his violent tendencies. This harrowing drama is a tale of bravery, family, and the harsh reality of finding what you’re looking for.

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

LINCOLN SQUARE

Director: René Frelle Petersen

Producer: Marco Lorenzen

Screenwriter: René Frelle Petersen

Cinematographer: Lars Reinholdt

Editor: Carsten Søsted

Music: Benjamin de Murashkin

Cast: Julie Brochorst Andersen Simone Lykke

Alexandre Willaume

Running Time: 93 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Danish, with English subtitles

Print Source: 88miles

Film Website: 88miles.dk

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

ONNA GA NEMURU TOKI

While the Women Are Sleeping

JAPAN 2016

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 11:00 AM PACIFIC PLACE

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 9:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

MONDAY, JUNE 6 8:30 PM KIRKLAND PC

Vacationing at a luxury resort, novelist Kenji struggles with finding inspiration for his new book. His wife Aya does her best to coax him to begin, but with little result. However, inspiration is waiting on the other side of the pool, where they first notice the odd couple Sahara (the 68-year-old Beat Takeshi) and his stunning 19-year-old girlfriend Miki. It’s obsession at first sight for Kenji, and he soon finds himself shadowing the couple around town. A complicit relationship develops when Sahara shows Kenji secret tapes he’s made of Miki while she’s asleep, and the men begin a routine of deep (and dark) discussion each night after the women have retired for bed. Sahara confesses to Kenji that he knows Miki will betray him, and when that happens he’ll have to kill her. Thus begins their journey into twisted but fascinating places, real as well as imagined. Chinese-American director Wayne Wang, working from the eponymous short story by Spanish writer Javier Marías, delivers a suspenseful psychological thriller on the nature of sexual obsession and voyeurism.

Awards:

Busan Asian Project Market Awards 2013 (Creative Director Award)

Director: Wayne Wang

Producer: Yukie Kito

Screenwriters: Michael K. Ray

Shinho Lee

Mami Sunada

Cinematographer: Atsuhiro Nabeshima

Editor:

Deirdre Slevin

Music: Youki Yamamoto

Cast: Beat Takeshi

Hidetoshi Nishijima

Shioli Kutsuna

Sayuri Oyamada

Running Time: 103 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Japanese, with English subtitles

International Sales: Toei Company, Ltd.

Print Source: Toei Company, Ltd.

Film Website: onna-nemuru.jp

Selected Filmography:

Soul of a Banquet (2014)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011)

The Princess of Nebraska (2008)

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers (2007)

Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)

Maid in Manhattan (2002)

Chinese Box (1997)

Smoke (1995)

The Joy Luck Club (1993)

Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)

Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985)

Chan Is Missing (1982)

Whistleblower

PHILIPPINES 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 6:00 PM

THURSDAY, JUNE 2 6:00 PM

Zeny Roblado is a divorced middle-aged woman, supporting both a teenage son and her mother. Working as an accountant for wealthy socialites, she is a wizard at finding loopholes in the tax code so her clients can pay as little as possible. When she is introduced to wealthy businesswoman Lorna Valera, they both discover that they are actually related, and Lorna offers Zeny a job to work as her accountant exclusively. Unable to get a straight answer from Lorna about how she makes her money, but lured by the large salary she’s offered, Zeny accepts the position—big mistake. It’s soon realized that Lorna runs a massive financial fraud involving senators, congressmen, and mayors. By setting up fake NGO’S (Non-Governmental Agencies), Lorna allows the politicians to funnel their illgotten wealth into the NGO and from there to an offshore account. Zeny has now unintentionally become the linchpin of the operation by providing the paperwork to cover up all improprieties that could reveal the scam. The deeper Zeny gets involved, the more she wants out. But once you’re in the government’s pocket, it’s never that easy. Ripped straight from the headlines, Whistleblower will affirm your deepest cynicism about the government while simultaneously restoring your faith in cinema.

Wiener-Dog USA 2016

SUNDAY, MAY 29 9:45 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

MONDAY, MAY 30 4:00 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Director:

Adolfo B. Alix Jr.

Producers:

Antonio I. Gloria

Maria Madonna G. Tarrayo

Screenwriter: Rody Vera

Cinematographer: Albert Banzon

Editors:

Aleks Castaneda

Ike Veneracion

Music:

Jessie Lasaten

Cast: Nora Aunor

Cherry Pie Picache

Angelica Panganiban

Running Time: 75 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Filipino, with English subtitles

Print Source:

Unitel Entertainment

Film Website: whistleblowermovie.com

Selected Filmography:

Chain Mail (2015)

Alamat ni China Doll (2013)

Porno (2013)

Death March (2013)

Kalayaan (2012)

Haruo (2011)

Isda (2011)

Liberacion (2011)

Presa (2010)

Chassis (2010)

Muli (2010)

D’Survivors (2010)

Romeo at Juliet (2010)

Karera (2009)

Manila (2009)

Imoral (2008)

Adela (2008)

Daybreak (2008)

Batanes (2007)

Trambolista (2007)

21 years after the world met Dawn Wiener, nerdy middle-schooler and unintentional ‘90s fashion icon, she’s reintroduced in director Todd Solondz’s new film, Wiener-Dog, a mostly unconnected pseudo-sequel to his career-launching comedy Welcome to the Dollhouse. Keeping with Solondz’s trademark dark humor and controversial themes, WienerDog is a collection of idiosyncratic character studies as seen through the eyes of a traveling dachshund. With the adorable pooch as our guide, we’re exposed to several personalities in the form of her different owners, each with their own unique musings on human nature. Starting with a short stint as beloved best friend to a young cancer survivor, the pup is quickly and aptly named Wiener-Dog and witnesses the troubling and often crudely overbearing parenting by mother Dina, before showing up at Dawn’s veterinary clinic and going on a road trip with her and an old friend, Brandon. Wiener-Dog is eventually taken under the wing of depressed, self-absorbed screenwriter Dave Schmerz before winding up with her final owners, a stuffy, lonely old woman and her greedy granddaughter. This delightfully dire comedy includes performances by an impressive cast, including Julie Delpy, Ellen Burstyn, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, and Greta Gerwig as Dawn Wiener.

Director:

Todd Solondz

Producers:

Megan Ellison

Christine Vachon

Screenwriter: Todd Solondz

Cinematographer: Edward Lachman

Editor: Kevin Messman

Music:

Nathan Larson

James Lavino

Cast:

Greta Gerwig

Kieran Culkin

Danny DeVito

Ellen Burstyn

Julie Delpy

Zosia Mamet

Running Time: 90 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: CAA

Print Source: Sundance Selects

Selected Filmography: Dark Horse (2011)

Life During Wartime (2009)

Palindromes (2004)

Storytelling (2001)

Happiness (1998)

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

RENTON IKEA PAC

SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

Women He’s Undressed

AUSTRALIA 2015

FRIDAY, MAY 27 1:30 PM

MONDAY, JUNE 6 7:00 PM

Well-known for her costume dramas (My Brilliant Career, Little Women), it’s no wonder Australian director Gillian Armstrong was drawn to tell the story of Orry-Kelly, a New South Wales native who became one of the greatest costume designers of Hollywood’s Golden Age. First stop, Sydney, where Kelly broke into showbiz via the bawdy revue “Stiffy and Mo”; second stop, New York, where he was “roommates” (code word for lover) with Cary Grant, and where the flamboyant gay lad enjoyed a measure of outness before the Depression forced him West. L.A. was Nirvana careerwise, but with sexual openness forbidden, he smothered his personal life. Decades of ups and downs followed. He began with Warner Bros. B-melodramas, moving expertly from Busby Berkeley spectacles to the elegance of Casablanca. His drinking landed him in rehab, but Dorothy Hammerstein revived him by insisting he be hired for Oklahoma! Thereafter, Some Like It Hot (he dressed not only Monroe but Lemmon and Curtis), and Gypsy (his architectural skill turned the 5’2”, 90-pound Natalie Wood into a voluptuous stripper) made for a glorious Indian summer before his 1964 death. Appropriately, Armstrong goes beyond mere reenactments to confect lush, Luhrmannesque fantasies with actor Darren Gilshenan reminiscing as her subject. Her affectionate, dishy camp valentine is a movie lover’s movie, a lavender kiss blown to the grand master of screen-goddess fabulousness.

RANNENY ANGEL

The Wounded Angel

KAZAKHSTAN/FRANCE/GERMANY 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

PACIFIC PLACE

Director: Gillian Armstrong

Producers: Damien Parer

Gillian Armstrong

Screenwriter: Katherine Thomson

Cinematographer: Anna Howard

Editor: Nicholas Beauman

Music: Cezary Skubiszewski

Cast: Darren Gilshenan

Deborah Kennedy

Running Time: 99 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP

International Sales: Hollywood Classics

Print Source: The Film Collaborative

Film Website: womenhesundressed.com

Selected Filmography: Love, Lust & Lies (Doc, 2010)

Death Defying Acts (2007)

Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst (Doc, 2006)

Charlotte Gray (2001)

Oscar and Lucinda (1997)

Not Fourteen Again (Doc, 1996)

Little Women (1994)

The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992)

Fire’s Within (1991)

High Tide (1987)

Hard to Handle (Doc, 1986)

Mrs. Soffel (1984)

Starstruck (1982)

Touch Wood (Doc, 1980)

My Brilliant Career (1979) Smokes and Lollies (Doc, 1976)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 4:30 PM PACIFIC PLACE

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8 8:00 PM KIRKLAND PC

Winner of the 2013 SIFF New Director Award for his film Harmony Lessons, Emir Baigazin returns with his second feature, a portrait of 1990s youth in rural Kazakhstan. The ’90s was a terrible time of crisis in the former Soviet republics: no electricity, overpopulated orphanages, and constant crime. In The Wounded Angel, Baigazin creates four moral tales about boys who survived those brutal times: Balapan, a victim of bullying; Zharas, whose father is a thief; Zhaba, who collects scrap metal; and Aslan, who fears his medical studies will be compromised by his girlfriend’s pregnancy. After each section, Baigazin exhibits a section of Finnish symbolist painter Hugo Simberg’s frescoes in the Tampere Cathedral in Finland. In fact, “The Wounded Angel” is the name of Simberg’s most famous painting. Baigazin explains, “I respect and know a lot of big names in cinema, but I get my inspiration more from the fine arts—from paintings rather than any directors in particular.” Harmony Lessons and The Wounded Angel are the first two parts of Baigazin’s planned trilogy about teenagers and their complex relationships with the world.

Director: Emir Baigazin

Producers: Anna Vilgelmi

Beibit Muslimov

Thierry Lounas

Jonas Katzenstein

Maximiliano Leo

Screenwriter: Emir Baigazin

Cinematographer: Yves Cape

Editor: Emir Baigazin

Cast:

Nurlybek Saktaganov

Madiyar Aripbay

Madiyar Nazarov

Omar Adilov

Anzara Barlykova

Timur Aidarbekov

Kanagat Taskaraev

Rasul Vilyamov

Running Time: 112 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP, in Kazakh and Russian, with English

subtitles

International Sales: Capricci Films

Print Source: Capricci Films

Film Website: capricci-international. com/films/2016-2/thewounded-angel

Selected Filmography: Harmony Lessons (2013)

SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

NUNCA VAS A ESTAR SOLO

You’ll Never Be Alone

SUNDAY, JUNE 5 9:00 PM

MONDAY, JUNE 6 4:30 PM

Blossoming into his identity as a gay teen, Pablo (newcomer Andrew Bargsted) finds refuge from Santiago’s drab, dangerous streets in his brightly lit, rose-hued room, lip-syncing to his favorite romantic ballads while clad in a sequined gown, hoping to one day make his mark as a drag performer, all while his father Juan (Sergio Hernández, No, Gloria) stews in his own workaday life as a supervisor at a mannequin factory, knowingly blind to his son’s burgeoning sense of self. When a brutal betrayal by closeted neighbor Felix (Jaime Leiva) puts Pablo’s life in the balance, Juan must confront his failure to truly connect with his son while navigating a callous insurance industry, staggering medical bills, a duplicitous supervisor, and an indifferent culture, leading to a devastating choice made to ensure Pablo’s ongoing care. Based in part on the 2012 murder of gay Chilean Daniel Zamudio, this unforgettable debut feature from electropop musician Alex Anwandter is a powerful treatise on Chile’s generational divide: one side challenging machismo and pushing against convention to bring long-overdue change, the other following a safe, prescribed route toward safety and security. Evocatively filmed by cinematographer Matías Illanes, You’ll Never Be Alone is at once a pointed social critique, an engrossing tale of betrayal and redemption, and a stirring testament to a father’s love.

Awards:

Berlinale 2016 (Teddy Award, Special Jury Award)

Guadalajara International Film Festival 2016 (Grand Prize)

Zoom

CANADA/BRAZIL 2015

PACIFIC PLACE

PACIFIC PLACE

Director:

Alex Anwandter

Producer: Isabel Orellana Guarello

Screenwriter: Alex Anwandter

Cinematographer: Matías Illanes

Editor: Felipe Gálvez

Music: Alex Anwandter

Cast:

Sergio Hernández

Andrew Bargsted

Gabriela Hernández

Edgardo Bruna

Antonia Zegers

Jaime Leiva

Running Time: 81 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Spanish, with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide Management

Print Source: Wide Management

Film Website: widemanagement.com

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

TUESDAY, MAY 31 9:15 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN

Aspiring comic-book artist Emma (Alison Pill, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) works in a Toronto warehouse creating realistic sex dolls. Intimidated by the flawless bodies around her and challenged by her co-worker/sometime lover Bob (Tyler Labine, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil) about her own assumed physical shortcomings, Emma decides to spitefully illustrate a story about the perfect man, Edward. Edward (Gael García Bernal, Y Tu Mamá También) is a hotshot movie director and lothario, and his latest film finds resistance from his long-suffering agent and producer (Don McKellar and Jennifer Irwin, both from “Slings and Arrows”), who demand that the film be reshot into something more mainstream. The film in question, an art-house “poem” miles away from the action films of Edward’s past, follows Michelle (Mariana Ximenes, “Passione”), a successful but emotionally unfulfilled model who, despite pushback from her naysaying husband (Jason Priestley, “Beverly Hills 90210”), yearns to be a novelist, and she runs off to her native Brazil to find herself and her creative spirit. As these three stories twist around, bounce off, and crash into each other in a wild mix of live action and pulsating animation, each character is confronted with questions of autonomy, free will, and the limitations of physical perfection.

Awards:

Ithaca International Fantastic Film Festival 2015 (Audience Award)

Director:

Pedro Morelli

Producers:

Andrea Barata Ribeiro

Niv Fichman

Screenwriter: Matt Hansen

Cinematographer: Adrian Teijido

Editor:

Lucas Gonzaga

Music:

Kid Koala

Cast: Gael García Bernal

Alison Pill

Mariana Ximenes

Jason Priestley

Tyler Labine

Don McKellar

Jennifer Irwin

Running Time: 96 minutes

Presentation Format:

DCP

International Sales:

WTFilms

Print Source:

Screen Media Films

Selected Filmography: Entre Nós (2013)

Zud

GERMANY/POLAND/MONGOLIA 2016 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

MONDAY, MAY 23 4:00 PM

MAJESTIC BAY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25 6:30 PM LINCOLN SQUARE

FRIDAY, MAY 27 9:00 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN

On the barren and dusty steppes of Mongolia, 11-year-old Sukhbat, a good student and a tender-hearted boy, trains hard to win the local horse race. For a kid his age he has big responsibilities, helping his family in a tough and lonely landscape where most people must depend on their animals. After a hard winter kills the majority of his parents’ livestock, Sukhbat is forced to leave school and move back home to help full-time. When a lucrative opportunity comes in the form of a regional horse race, Sukhbat must tame a half-wild stallion and ride him in the race to dig his family out of debt. The training process confronts Sukhbat with challenges and struggles he’d never imagined, ushers him into the world of adulthood, and intensifies the relationship between father and son. Director Marta Minorowicz uses her background in documentary filmmaking to influence her first feature film, presenting this compelling tale with naturalistic imagery that authentically depicts the nomadic people’s lifestyle, their struggles, and their close relationship with nature and animals.

Director: Marta Minorowicz

Producers: Ann Carolin Renninger

Thomas Kufus

Anna Wydra

Screenwriters: Marta Minorowicz

Kenneth McBride

Cinematographer: Paweł Chorzępa

Editor: Beata Walentowska

Cast: Batsaikhan Budee

Sukhbat Batsaikhan

Bayasgalan Batsaikhan

Running Time: 85 minutes

Presentation Format: DCP, in Mongolian, with English subtitles

International Sales: Slingshot Films

Print Source: Slingshot Films

Film Website: slingshotfilms.it/zud

Selected Filmography: Debut Feature Film

Spence INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Christine Martin

PROGRAMMING

Director of Programming

Beth Barrett

Director of Cinema

Programming

Clinton McClung

Programming Coordinator

Megan Leonard

Programmers

Angelo Acerbi

Maryna Ajaja

Justine Barda

Beth Barrett

Clare Canzoneri

Dan Doody

Craig Downing

Laura Good

Ruth Hayler

Dustin Kaspar

Jane Julian

Megan Leonard

Clinton McClung

Dale Nash

Sadia Rao

Galen Rosenthal

Stan Shields

Carl Spence

Andy Spletzer

Shruti Swaminathan

Hebe Tabachnik

Andy Volk

Brad Wilke

Miriam Yacoubi

Programming Interns

Ciabhan Moore

Sadia Rao

FESTIVAL

Shruti Swaminathan

Andy Volk

Miriam Yacoubi

EDUCATION AND FORUMS

Educational Programs

Manager

Dustin Kaspar

Educational Programs

Assistant

Christopher Lott

Youth Jury Coordinator

Sarah Haskell

Education Marketing Intern

Zhifei Phoebe Zhou

Educational Programs Intern

Zac Blachon

GUEST RELATIONS

Guest Relations Manager

Rhonda Sable

Guest Relations Coordinator

Saunatina Sanchez

Guest Relations

Travel Coordinator

Courtney Hagans

Assistant to

Guest Relations Manager

Nathania tenWolde

Guest Suite Coordinator

Sofia Alicastro

Guest Relations

Administrative Assistant

Aileen Fowler

Darryl Macdonald and Dan Ireland

Guest Relations Interns

Jay Baez

Lisa Carbone

Alene Freidenrich

Elizabeth Jones

Ingrid Kim

Sifei Liu

Jing Wen Pan

Mengyao Ren

DEVELOPMENT AND INDIVIDUAL GIVING

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Nancy Kennedy

Director of Philanthropy

Ben McCarthy

Community Relations Manager

Branden Hawkins

Special Events Manager

Gwen Whiting

Corporate Relations Manager

Rick Baker

Development Coordinator

Natalie Chhim

Membership Coordinator

Eddy Dughi

Festival Special Events Coordinator

Sarah Swienckwoski-Eckhart

Festival Special Events Assistant

Devon Hubner

Festival Special Events Associate

Katie Parker

Festival Platinum Plus Concierge

Mark Church

Special Events

Procurement Intern

Mysheallie Byrd

Special Events

Photography Intern

Ashleigh Taylor

Development Intern

Anja Block

Development Consulting

Grant Support: Lisa Comtois

Translations:

Zhifei Phoebe Zhou

Special Events: Kate Harrison— Facility Inc.

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Director of Marketing and Communications

Elizabeth Rossi

Marketing Manager

Leah Anderson

Digital Marketing Manager

Charlotte Linton

Graphic Design Manager

Tyler Potts

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR & CHIEF CURATOR Carl

FOUNDERS

Festival Public Relations Manager

Sara Huey

Festival Publications Manager

Gavin Borchert

Festival Publicists

Melissa MacFadyen

Sophia Perez

Festival Publications

Associate Editors

Marcus Gorman

Emalie Soderback

Festival Publications Consultant

Steven Meyer

Festival Marketing Associates

Kelly Erlandson

Shaun Mejia

Digital Marketing Interns

Josh Hornbeck

Breeana Graham

Marketing and Communications Interns

Alisha Connors

Allison Gibson

Jayna Milan

Jeffrey McMahon

Festival Public Relations Interns

Madeline Ambrose

Katherine Thomas

Nicloe Rader

Festival Public Relations

Photography Interns

Morgan Albrecht

Lam Huynh

Savannah Jacobsen

Chava Sapir

Graphic Design Interns

Anna Helland

Adam Fein

Festival Publications Interns

Connor Cartmill

Bruno George

Hana Peoples

Marisa Quirk

Marketing Photography Interns

Amy Kowalenko

Mercedes Marwood

Videography Interns

Kirk Barrett

Paul Hong

Long Tran

Sherry Zheng

Writers

Maryna Ajaja

Justine Barda

Beth Barrett

Zac Blachon

Gavin Borchert

Sophie Cabon

Clare Canzoneri

Connor Cartmill

Dan Doody

Craig Downing

Andrew Espe

Bruno George

Marcus Gorman

Branden Hawkins

Ruth Hayler

Josh Hornbeck

Dustin Kaspar

Megan Leonard

Clinton McClung

Dale Nash

Hana Peoples

Marisa Quirk

Sadia Rao

Cory Rodriguez

Galen Rosenthal

Stan Shields

Emalie Soderback

Carl Spence

Andy Spletzer

Hebe Tabachnik

Brad Wilke

Randy Woods

Miriam Yacoubi

OPERATIONS

Director of Finance

Catherine Muth

Director of Operations Festival

Dustin O’Dell

Technical Operations Manager

Mike Pearson

FileMaker/Database Consultant

Mark Canizaro

Director of Operations Cinema

Tim Nicholson

Volunteer and HR Manager

Lisa Brown

Festival and Cinema Operations Manager

Betty Tweedy

Festival Administrative Assistant

Sarah Keo

Accounting Assistant

Chase Patrick

SIFF Cinema Manager –Uptown

Andrew Niece

Festival Box Office Manager

Carly Rose Moser

Festival Box Office Assistant Manager

Jody Cole

Festival Production Manager

Molly Benson

Festival Video

Quality Control Officer

Michael Edwards

Festival Print Traffic Managers

Paul Gardner

Clay Martin

Festival Production Coordinator

Karen Cruz

Festival Operations Administrative Manager

Kendal Hurst

Festival Credentials Coordinator

Eric Tate

SIFF Cinema Staff

Felicia Alumbaugh

Edwin Bailey

Cindy Brettler

David Corry

James Davis

Mychal Ducken

Sam Dunnington

Alicia Betty Elder

Jonathan Gooden-Demoz

Whitney Hinshaw

Alex Martin

Miguel Martinez

Ali Masterson

Natalia Novak

Thomas Palu

Malakie Peters

Amanda Radisch

Alex Rhue

Greg Salvatore

Amy Scott

Paul Siple

Dylan Staley

Andrew Walker

Projectionists

Mark Allender

Patrick Gateley

Ricky Hancock

Larry Price

Jim Tuohey

Josh Wakeland

Lauren Wilson

Venue Managers

Alana Rae Davis

Mike Destefano

Derrick Dover

Cola Engel

Amanda Laughlin

Christa Luckenbach

Alex Mills

Anthony Noceda

Emily Price

Mitch Ritter

Emily Shurtz

Alex Vazquez

Lead Ushers

Stephanie Bailey

Gianna Barbadillo

Whitney Bennet

Tony Betz

Jonathan Bregman

George Carr

Alex Criss

Mark Davidek

Mark Desmond

Jacquie Dinnie

Alex Forney

Alison Fujino

Sandy Gutting

Wilda Heard

Dave Kane

Mike Lee

Sebastian Niziol

Joy Ralph

Jonah Rogin

Dolores Rossman

Fauna Samuel

Chuck Scafer

Alana Smith

Kristi Thomas

Jacqueline Volin

Angelique White

Front Desk

Joyce Boewe

Jeffrey Cavanaugh

John Chaney

Carol Ginsberg

Peter Grieshaber

Taylor Grigsby

Kerri Hill

Janice Jarrell

Sarah Myrick

Justin Phillips

SIFFX Team

Director

Sandy Cioffi

Program Director

Gretchen Burger

Producing Director

Jamie McMurry

Program Manager

Lindy Boustedt

VRiter in Residence

Brangien Davis

App Development

Happens

Web Development

Dan Lombardy

360º Guru

Steven Schardt

Creative Direction

Civilization

Sponsorship

Norma Jean Straw

Education Development

Robin Oppenheimer

Social Media Director

Ali Davis

Live Streaming

Front Row Live

Creative Consultant

Kristen Ramirez

Production Coordinator

Claire Magula

Operations

Natasha Hoover

SIFF Liaison

Dustin Kaspar

ADVERTISING AGENCY

Wong Doody Crandall Weiner

PUBLISHING SERVICES

ENCORE MEDIA GROUP

Publication Design and Production

Ana Alvira

Paul Heppner

Robin Kessler

Susan Peterson

Jonathan Shipley

Shaun Swick

Stevie Van Bronkhorst

Advertising Sales

Brieanna Bright

Joey Chapman

Mike Hathaway

Ann Manning

Carol Yip

Debbie Acosta

Amber Adams

Ryland Aldrich

Aaron Alhadeff

Kenny Alhadeff

Paul Allen

Jody Allen

Óscar Alonso

Beckett Altmaier

Kellan Altmaier

Alberto Alvarez Aguilera

Matthias Angoulvant

Mark Ankner

Judy Ann

Miren Aperribay

Amy Aquilino

Ed Arentz

Bernardo Arsuaga

Ali Asgari

Diana Ashimova

June Ashley

Christa Auderlitzky

Pamela Baade

Mary Bacarella

Joshua Balvin

Manon Barat

Stacey Bascon

Mary Bass

Ufuk Bayraktar

Claire Beach

Aaron Bear

Diane Becker

Kate Becker

Arnaud Bélangeon-Bouaziz

Olpha ben Salah

Malek Bensmail

Clint Bentley

Dan Berger

Ingrid Berkhout

Brett Berns

Steve Bessette

Kethry Boettcher

Jon Betz

Ritika Bhatia

Alain Bidard

Bijon

Natasha Bihop

Livia Bloo

Virginia Bogert

Pierre Boivin

Ewa Bojanowska

Nate Bolotin

Elodie Bonadonna

Shyam Bora

Marc Bortz

Kris Boustedt

Lindy Boustedt

Deb Bowen

Mike Bowes

Joris Boyer

Matthew Brady

Liz Brambilla

Sharon Branson

Josh Braun

Brad Brotherton

Ariane Buhl

Eugenia Campos Guevara

Frank Cardoza

Brian Carman

Cristina Carro

Nina Cates

Yale Chasin

Walter Chaw

Claire Chen

Patricia Cheng

Brandie Chernow

Sebastien Chesneau

Charles Chhim

Kimsieng Chhim

Sheila Chhim

SJ Chiro

Chris Chouinard

Subrina Chow

Scooter Churchill

Joel Chusid

Sata Cissoko

Nadine Cloete

Maggie Cohen

Taylor Coleman

Jean-Philippe Colrat

Erin Combs

Liza Comtois

Pascual Condito

Linda Coomas

Liesl Copland

Elizabeth Coppinger

Stevie Costa

Jasper Cote

Jeremy Cropf

Ned Crowley

Gina Cuomo

Kate Dandel

Marianna D’Augello

James Davis

Abby Davis

Jonathan DePriest

Yannick Déry

Tanar Dial

Jason Dittmer

Tijana Djukic

Tamara Dover

Eamon Downey

Ioana Dragomescu

Donna & Rob Dughi

Amy Dukes

Elodie Dupont

Peter Edlund

Jim Edmunds

Riley Edmunds

Ramsey El-Moslimany

Nick Ellingson

Randy Engstrom

Erica Erfman

Britta Erickson

Amanda Erven

L. Fernando Esteban

Nathan Faustyn

Michael Favelle

Karen Ferguson-Womack

Bret Fetzer

Cosima Finkbeiner

Kristen Fitzpatrick

Alex Fountain

Charlene Freeman

Keiko Funato

Marco Valerio Fusco

Jolanta Galicka

Andrew Gallagher

Jennifer Galvin

Yunyou Gan

Megan Garbayo

Yasmine Garcia

Jannat Gargi

Dwight Gaut

Amanda Gauvin

Jon Gerrans

Umaima Ghosheh

Leigh Gibson

Florencia Gil

Giselle Gilbert

Yolanda Gill Masundrie

Dan Goldberg

Jesse Goldman

Ilaria Gomaresca

Martin Gondre

Marcus Gorman

Jody Gottlieb

Jeff Grace

Grégoire Graesslin

Marty Griswold

Candy Gruber

Shawn Guthrie

Kevin Harman

Sophie Harris

Angie Harrison

Bradley Hawkins

Julie Healey

Mary Healey Jamiel

John Heavey

Stephanie Heick

Ryan Heller

Marta Hernando

Jonathan Hertzberg

Andrew Herwitz

Barak Heymann

Steven Hill

Hogir Hirori

Brent Hodge

Mark Hoffman

David S. Hogan

Arnie Holland

Kathlyn Horan

Seanna Hore

Mari Horita

Oded Horowitz

Amanda Houston

Kathy Hsieh

Marcus Hu

Paul Hudson

David A Hughes

Chance Huskey

Craig Hyland

Elizabeth Iglehart

Jess Iglehart

Adam Isenberg

Donna and Mike James

Jan Jarrell

Marni Jenkins

Youn Ji

Uli Johnson

Rachel Joo

Zoe Kandyla

Nancy Karason

William Kaspar

Aoife Kelly

Jim Kelly

Ayo Kepher-Maat

Hawon Kim

Eliaichi Kimaro

Mika Kimoto

Alex Kitchen

Nicholas Kocan

Loe Koenig

Eric Kohn

Donsaron Kovitvanitcha

Ryan Krivoshey

Lauren Kushner

Jessica Lacy

Zhang Lan

Penny Lane

Lucetta Lanfranchi

Miriam Larkin

Catherine LeClef

Mathilda Lee

Vicki Leonard

Bill Leonard

Nick Leonard

Olivia Leung

Rhea Lewis-Woodson

Bryan Lhuillier

Amy Lillard

Omar Little

Richard Lorber

Marco Lorenzen

Molly Mac

Ryan MacDonald

Gaetano Maiorino

Francesca Manno

Chloé Marbehan

Paul Marchant

Rob Maylor

Conor McAdam

Linda McBlaine

R. McCallum

Byrd McDonald

Kate McEdwards

Kathleen McInnis

Miles and Sherry McRae

Jim Meenaghan

Danny Mendoza

Ian Michaels

Charlotte Mickie

Josh Miller

John Miller Monzon

Jess Mills

Alexandre Moreau

Don Morgan

Hank Moser

Vincent Nebrida

Kristin Nolan

David Novack

Katherine Nyborg

Anne Oakley

Paulina Obando

Dennis O’Connor

Nick Ogiony

Piper O’Neill

Stine Oppgaard

Martha Orozco

Clint Ostler

Shan Ottey

Amy Pak

Laila Pakalnina

Sunmin Park

Donte Parks

Jonathan Parker

Michela Pascolo

Holden Payne

Bridget Pedgrift

Josh Penn

Jeff Penprase

Mina Person

Tiffany Pesce

Octavia Peyrou

Kevin Phaup

Vera Pieroth

Prata Preddy

Celeste Primeau

Ross Putman

Samantha Racanelli

Pascale Ramonda

Alec Ramsay

Rick Rasmussen

Charlie Rathbun

Carmen Rendoni

Mike Repsch

Jennie Rhoads

Owen Richards

Lisa Richie

Rachel Ricketts

Aaron Ridenour

Jerry Robert

Karla Rodriguez

Maria Rodriguez-Abad

Lael Rogers

Ruby Rondina

Geoff Rossi

Margot Rossi

Heather Ryan

Vanessa Saal

Terrence Santos

Christina Sasse

Ken Saunderson

Aubrey Scheffel

Julia Scherban

Mathew Schmid

Torsten Schulze

Brett Schwartz

Naomi Scott

Ben Selkow

Josephine Settmacher

Shahrzad Shams

Zachary Shedd

Preeti Shidhar

Kathryn Shields

Shauna Shipp Martinez

Lee Shira

Brent Siewert

Jasmina Sijercic

Ines Skrbic

Chris Slager

John Sloss

Ariel Smith

Ryan Garner Smith

Joanna Sokolowski

Jindra Span

Hilary Sparrow

Alfred Spencer

Sergi Steegmann

Norma Straw

Andy Streitfeld

Johnathan Sundstrom

Anna Takayama

Azusa Taki

Alice Tängby

Graham Taylor

Nick Terry

Medwin Textor

Brandon Theige

Joseph Thewan

Kyle Thorpe

Carole Tomko

WingYan Tong

Felix Tsang

Frederick Tsui

Debra Twersky

Helen Underwood

Lamar Van Dyke

Jay Van Hoy

Peter Van Steemburg

Charlotte Van Weede

Alan Veigel

Viivi Veivo

Lucas Verga

Jasmina Vignjevic

Malene Vincent

Huong Vu

Tom Waldman

Ryan Warner

Leah Warshawski

Lynn Waymer

Matt Wechsler

Martin Wendel

Amy White

Todd Wieneke

Sue Williams

Brock Williams

Honz Williams

Gisela Wiltschek

Jeffrey Winter

Brit Withey

Emily Woodburne

Charlie Wuppermann

Giovanni Ximénez

Chi-hui Yang

Joe Yanick

Nick Yanity

Daichi Yashiki

Grace Yu

Daniel Zhang

Eugene Zhang

Debra Zimmermann

James Zingaro

Jasper Zweibel

20th Century Fox

Jan Fernandez jan.Fernandez@fox.com 34lukefilms

Ben Selkow bselkow@gmail.com

80 Love Movie LLC

Kate Dandel katedandel@msn.com

8750 Films Clint Bentley clint@transpecosmovie.com

88miles

Marco Lorenzen marco@writemail.com

A24 Films

Lisa Richie lisar@a24films.com a24films.com

Ryland Aldrich ryland.aldrich@gmail.com

Alpha Violet Keiko Funato info@alphaviolet.com

Amazon Studios

Kyle Thorpe kyle@kylethorpepr.com

Ambrica Productions Sue Williams sue@ambrica.com

AMS Pictures

Andy Streitfeld astreitfeld@amspictures.com

Bernardo Arsuaga bernardoarsuaga@gmail.com

Artist View Entertainment artistview@earthlink.net

Asian Shadows

Anne-Sophie Lehec anne@chineseshadows.com chineseshadows.com

Atera Films

Miren Aperribay produccion@aterafilms.com

Autlook Filmsales Youn Ji youn@autlookfilms.com autlookfilms.com

AVALON

Jean-Philippe Colrat accueil@lesfilmsdavalon.fr

Aaron Bear aaronbear333@gmail.com

Beta Cinema

Cosima Finkbeiner Cosima.Finkbeiner@ betacinema.com betacinema.com

Bleeker Street

Kyle Thorpe Kyle@KyleThorpePR.com

Blinder Films

Aoife Kelly aoife@blinderfilms.com blinderfilms.com

Bocalupo Films Jasmina Sijercic bocalupofilms1@gmail.com

Boul Fallé Images

Rama Thiaw boulfalleimages@gmail.com

Boxcar Films

Brock Williams brock@boxcarfilms.com

The Brighton Brothers R. McCallum robbiemccallum@me.com

broke down south Josh Miller josh@brokedownsouth.com

Capataz Cine Eugenia Campos Guevara e.camposguevara@gmail.com

Capricci Films

Pierre Boivin international@capricci.fr capricci.fr

CAT&Docs

Catherine LeClef cat@catndocs.com catndocs.com

Central Motion Pictures info@goldenscene.com

Cercamon Sébastien Chesneau sebastien@cercamon.biz cercamon.biz

China Film Archive

Zhang Lan zhanglan@cfa.org.cn

Cinephil

Ori Bader ori@cinephil.co.il cinephil.co.il

CJ Entertainment

Hawon Kim hawon.kim@cj.net cj.net

CMT

Anne Oakley

Anne.Oakley@cmt.com

Cinetic Media

John Sloss office@cineticmedia.com CineticMedia.com

Cohen Film Collection

Maggie Cohen maggie@dadafilms.net cohenmedia.net

Cohen Media Group

Debbie Acosta debbie@cohenmedia.net cohenmedia.net

Collective Eye Films

Jon Betz seedproject@collectiveeye. org

Court 13

Josh Penn josh@court13.com court13.com

Curator Films

Andrew Gallagher andrew@curator-films.com curator-films.com

Danish Film Institute

Malene Vincent maleneiv@dfi.dk dfi.dk

Dashboard Films

Nick Terry nick.terry5@gmail.com

Deckert Distribution

Ina Rossow ina@deckert-distribution.com deckert-distribution.com

Derek Jarman Lab sales@jarmanlab.org

Doc & Film International

Hannah Horner h.horner@docandfilm.com docandfilm.com

Drishyam Films

Ritika Bhatia ritika@drishyamfilms.com

EastWest Film Distribution

Octavia Peyrou festivals@eastwestdistribution.com eastwest-distribution.com

Ecstatic Sweat

Ian Michaels ianmichaels2@gmail.com

Edko Films Limited

Olivia Leung leungolivia@edkofilm.com.hk edkofilm.com

Eleven Arts

Giselle Gilbert Ggiselle@elevenarts.net elevenarts.net

Elle Driver

Thomas Petit thomas@elledriver.eu elledriver.eu

Embankment Films

Tim Haslam th@embankmentfilms.com embankmentfilms.com

Entertainment One info@entonegroup.com entonegroup.com

Factoria Espectra Paulina Obando paulina.obando@gmail.com

The Festival Agency Elodie Dupont ed@thefestivalagency.com thefestivalagency.com

The Film Arcade Ayo Kepher-Maat akephermaat@thefilmarcade. com thefilmarcade.com

The Film Collaborative Jeffrey Winter jeffrey@thefilmcollaborative. org thefilmcollaborative.org Filmdelights office@filmdelights.com

Film Factory Manon Barat manon@filmfactory.es filmfactory.es

FilmNation Entertainment info@wearefilmnation.com wearefilmnation.com

Film Republic Ines Skrbic ines@filmrepublic.biz filmrepublic.biz

FilmRise

Jess Mills jess@filmrise.com filmrise.com

The Film Sales Company Lucas Verga lucas.verga@filmsalescorp. com

filmsalescorp.com

Films Boutique Josephine Settmacher josephine@filmsboutique.com filmsboutique.com

Films Distribution

Joris Boyer joris@filmsdistribution.com filmsdistribution.com

First Hand Films info@firsthandfilms.com firsthandfilms.com

First Run Features

Paul Marchant paul@firstrunfeatures.com firstrunfeatures.com

Flies Collective

Zachary Shedd zach@fliescollective.com

Focus Features

James Gammill James.Gammill@ focusfeatures.com focusfeatures.com

Focus World

Seanna Hore Seanna.Hore@focusfeatures. com

focusfeatures.com

Freak Independent Film Agency Chloé Marbehan internacional@agenciafreak. com agenciafreak.com

Free In Deed, LLC

Mike Bowes mikebowes@gmail.com

Gaumont Ariane Buhl abuhl@gaumont.fr gaumont.fr

GKids Chance Huskey theatrical@gkids.com gkids.com

Gland Power Films

Penny Lane lennypane@gmail.com

Global Screen

Gisela Wiltschek gisela.wiltschek@ globalscreen.de globalscreen.de

Golden Scene Company Limited

Felix Tsang felix@goldenscene.com goldenscene.com

Goopy Bagha Productions

Limited

Bijon bijon.imtiaz@gmail.com

Grasshopper Films

Ryan Krivoshey info@grasshopperfilm.com grasshopperfilm.com

Hargla Company

Laila Pakalnina laila.pakalnina@inbox.lv HCTN, LLC

Brett Berns brett@bertberns.com

Heymann Brothers Films Barak Heymann festivals@heymannfilms.com heymannfilms.com

Hic Film

Ufuk Bayraktar ufukbayraktar_@hotmail.com

Hikayet Films

Malek Bensmail malek.bensmail@free.fr

HODGEE FILMS INC.

Rachel Ricketts info@hodgeefilms.com

Hollywood Classics melanie@hollywoodclassics. com hollywoodclassics.com

Hourglass Films

Matt Wechsler matt@hourglassfilms.com

Icarus Films

Livia Bloom mail@icarusfilms.com icarusfilms.com

IFC Films

Justin DiPietro jdipietro@ifcfilms.com

The Imaginarium Films Umaima Ghosheh rula@theimaginariumfilms. com theimaginariumfilms.com

Indie Sales

Martin Gondre festivals@indiesales.eu indiesales.eu

Inflatable Film

Leah Warshawski leah@inflatablefilm.com inflatablefilm.com

Intramovies

Marco Valerio Fusco marco.fusco@intramovies. com intramovies.com

Janus Films

Emily Woodburne Emily@janusfilms.com janusfilms.com

Jasper Z. Presents

Jasper Zweibel jzweibel09@gmail.com

Jungle Book Entertainment

Shyam Bora shyambora7@gmail.com

KimStim Mika Kimoto mika@kimstim.com kimstim.com

Kino Lorber

Jonathan Hertzberg jhertzberg@kinolorber.com kinolorber.com

Kinology

Grégoire Graesslin festivals@kinology.eu kinology.eu

KPJR Films

Lynn Waymer Lynn@KPJRFilms.com

Lamb Bone Films

Ned Crowley nedcrowley63@gmail.com

Latido Films Óscar Alonso latido@latidofilms.com latidofilms.com

Le Pacte Ioana Dragomirescu i.dragomirescu@le-pacte.com le-pacte.com

Lightyear Entertainment Arnie Holland arnie@lightyear.com lightyear.com

Loco Films

Florencia Gil sales@loco-films.com loco-films.com

Lolav Media Hogir Hirori info@lolav.com

Lucy Bean Films

Mary Healey Jamiel mary@searchdogmovie.com

M-Appeal Torsten Schulze films@m-appeal.com m-appeal.com

M-Line Distribution

Rachel Joo sales@mline-distribution.com mline-distribution.com

Ma’engere Film Productions

Nadine Cloete cloete.nadine@gmail.com

Magical & Practical Byrd McDonald byrd.mcdonald@ porterpanther.com

Magnolia Pictures

Martin Wendel martin@magpictures.com magpictures.com

The Match Factory Sergi Steegmann festivals@matchfactory.de the-match-factory.de

Maxmedia Sunmin Park spark@maxmedia.org

Media Asia Film Distribution

Frederick Tsui frederick_tsui@mediaasia. com

Media Luna New Films

Julia Scherban julia@medialuna.biz medialuna.biz

Memento Films International Sata Cissoko sata@memento-films.com memento-films.com

Danny Mendoza familiarvoices@gmail.com

Menemsha Films

Oded Horowitz odedh@menemshafilms.com menemshafilms.com

Mighty Tripod Productions

David S. Hogan david@mightytripod.com mightytripod.com

MK2 Margot Rossi margot.rossi@mk2.com mk2pro.com

Mongrel International Charlotte Mickie charlotte@mongrelmedia.com mongrelmedia.com

Mosquito Films Distribution Donsaron Kovitvanitcha donsaron@ mosquitofilmsdistribution. com mosquitofilmsdistribution. com

MoviePlus Productions

Lee Shira leelu@movieplus.info

MPI Media Group

Todd Wieneke twieneke@mpimedia.com mpimedia.com

MRB Productions

Matthew Brady matthew@mrbproductions. com

Music Box Films

Yasmine Garcia ygarcia@musicboxfilms.com musicboxfilms.com

NAIVE

Alice Tängby alice@naive.se

New Europe Film Sales Ewa Bojanowska ewa@neweuropefilmsales. com neweuropefilmsales.com

Norwegian Film Institute Stine Oppegaard stine.oppegaard@nfi.no nfi.no

Odessa Films, Inc. David Novack dnovack@odessafilms.com odessafilms.com

Odin’s Eye Entertainment

Michael Favelle michael@odinseyeent.com odinseyeent.com

The Orchard Dan Goldberg dgoldberg@theorchard.com

Oscilloscope Laboratories

Kate McEdwards kate@oscilloscope.net oscilloscope.net

Other Side Pictures Eamon Downey eamon@othersidepictures. com othersidepictures.com

Outsider Pictures

Paul Hudson paul@outsiderpictures.us outsiderpictures.us

Fortissimo Films Jindra Span jindra@fortissimo.nl fortissimofilms.com

Pagod Films

Alain Bidard alain.bidard@yahoo.fr

Park Circus

Chris Chouinard chris@parkcircus.com

Parker Film Company Jonathan Parker jonathan@parkerfilmcompany. com parkerfilmcompany.com

Participant Media

Lauren Kushner lauren@participantmedia.com Parts and Labor Jay Van Hoy jay@population2.com

Passaparola Films

Martha Orozco martfilms@gmail.com

Passion Pictures

Diane Becker becker.diane@gmail.com passion-pictures.com

Pathé International Themba Bhebhe themba.bhebhe@pathe.com pathe.com

Pohjola-filmi

Viivi Veivo viivi.veivo@pohjolafilmi.fi

Preferred Content

Kevin Iwashina kevin@preferredcontent.net

Primer Plano Film Group SA Pascual Condito internacional@primerplano. com primerplano.com

Productions Pimiento Inc. Yannick Déry yannick@pimiento.ca

Protagonist Pictures

Bridget Pedgrift info@protagonistpictures.com

Prspctvs Productions

Prata Preddy pratapreddykc@gmail.com

PSH Collective

Ross Putman ross@pshcollective.com

Pyramide International

Ilaria Gomarescu ilaria@pyramidefilms.com pyramidefilms.com

Rai Com

Lucetta Lanfranchi lucetta.lanfranchi@rai.it rai.it

Ramonda Films

Pascale Ramonda pascale@pascaleramonda. com pascaleramonda.com

Rasquaché Productions

Giovanni Ximénez gvnn.xmnz@gmail.com

Reality Entertainment

Stacey Bascon stacey@reality.com.ph

RED ON RED

Patricia Cheng redonredpatricia@gmail.com

Red Union Films

David A Hughes dhughes@redunionfilms.com

Reel Suspects

Alberto Alvarez Aguilera sales.reelsuspects@gmail. com reelblue, LLC

Jennifer Galvin jennifergalvin@hotmail.com

Roadside Attractions

Stephanie Northen stephanien@ roadsideattractions.com roadsideattractions.com

Samuel Goldwyn Films

Melanie Miller melanie@samuelgoldwyn. com

samuelgoldwyn.com

Screen Media Films

Conor McAdam conor@screenmedia.net screenmedia.net

Search Engine Films

Amanda Gauvin agauvin@searchenginefilms. com searchenginefilms.com

Seventh Art Productions

Leigh Gibson lgibson@seventh-art.com seventh-art.com

Seville International

Ruby Rondina RRondina@filmsseville.com filmsseville.com Shochiku Co., Ltd. Azusa Taki ibd@shochiku.co.jp shochikufilms.com

ADVERTISING INDEX

Shout! Factory

Brandie Chernow bchernow@shoutfactory.com shoutfactory.com

Slingshot Films

Michela Pascolo festivals@slingshotfilms.it slingshotfilms.it

Sony Pictures Classics

Anna Takayama Anna_Takayama@spe.sony. com sony.com

Starz

Ryan Heller Ryan.Heller@Starz.com Starz.com

StoryScreen

Brett Schwartz bschwartz@storyscreen.com storyscreen.com

Strand Releasing

Nathan Faustyn nathan@strandreleasing.com strandreleasing.com

Studio Canal Pascale Hornus pascale.hornus@studiocanal. com studiocanal.com

Submarine Entertainment

Josh Braun josh@submarine.com submarine.com

Summerside International Marianna D’Augello events@summersideinternational.com summerside-international. com

Sundance Selects

Justin DiPietro jdipietro@ifcfilms.com

Sylvia Frances Films

Joanna Sokolowski ovarianpsycosmovie@gmail. com

Taat Films

Ali Asgari taatfilms@gmail.com

Taskovski Films

Tijana Djukic sales@taskovskifilms.com taskovskifilms.com

Termite Films LLC

Charlie Wuppermann charlie@termitefilms.com termitefilms.com

Terrence Santos tjs@mrsantoscreations.com

TinFish Films

Kathlyn Horan kathlyn@tinfishfilms.com

Toei Company

Daichi Yashiki dai_yashiki@toei.co.jp

Tree Media

Mathew Schmid mathew@treemedia.com

True Colours Glorious Film Gaetano Maiorino gaetano@truecolours.it truecolours.it

TrustNordisk

Alexandra Emilia Kida alexandra@trustnordisk.com trustnordisk.com

Tursunov Film Company

Diana Ashimova diana.ashimova@gmail.com

UCLA Film & Television

Archive

Steven Hill skhill@cinema.ucla.edu

Uncork’d Entertainment

Mike Repsch mike@uncorked-ent.com uncorked-ent.com

United Entertainment

Partners Yunyou Gan yunyou.gan@uepmedia.com

Unitel Entertainment

Vincent Nebrida vincenebrida@gmail.com

Urban Distribution

International Arnaud Bélangeon-Bouaziz arnaud@urbangroup.biz urbandistrib.com

Uzikwasa Vera Pieroth mamaveratz@gmail.com

Vermilion Films Sophie Harris sophie@vermilionpictures. com

Versatile Alexandre Moreau sales@versatile-films.com versatile-films.com

Visit Films Joe Yanick jy@visitfilms.com visitfilms.com

Votiv Justin Lothrop justin@buffalo8.com

Vulcan Productions Hilary Sparrow hilarys@vulcan.com

WFDiF Documentary & Feature Film Studio Jolanta Galicka festiwale@wfdif.com.pl wfdif.com.pl

Wide Management

Matthias Angoulvant ma@widemanagement.com widemanagement.com

Wild Bunch

Olpha ben Salah obensalah@wildbunch.eu wildbunch.eu

Wolf Choir

Robbie Augspurger wolfchoir@gmail.com

Women Make Movies Amy Aquilino aq@wmm.com wmm.com

WTFilms

Dmitri Stephanides dimitri.stephanides@gmail. com

XYZ Films

Nate Bolotin nate@xyzfilms.com

Zela Film

Adam Isenberg info@zelafilm.com

Creative Streak

Antonia

Ants on a Shrimp 97, 160

Author: The JT LeRoy Story 163

BANG! The Bert Berns Story 101, 164

Cameraperson

Ceviche’s DNA 97, 103, 177

Chimes at Midnight 89, 179

Concerto - A Beethoven

Journey

Contemporary Color

Deconstructing Dani

García

Finding

FutureWave

Horizons

Insatiable: The Homaro

Cantu

Maya Angelou and Still I Rise 231

Mr. Gaga

The

Norman Lear: Just Another

Presenting

The

Red

Sam Choy’s Poké to

The

AMAMA:

Eyes 85, 115, 161

Atlantic Heart 85, 162

Between Sea and Land 103, 167

The Big Road 89, 91, 95, 169

The Black Hen 91, 171

Checks and Balances 85, 178

The Coop 184

Corto y Maravilloso 139

The Curve 187

Dead Slow Ahead 87, 99, 188

The Girl Who Saved My Life 204

Hummus 97, 211

I am Belfast 87, 212

Ice and the Sky 213

Immortal 215

The Island Funeral 91, 219

Kedi 219

Kingdom of Clay Subjects 91, 220

Lamb 85, 221

Last Cab to Darwin 222

Marzia, My Friend 230

Motherland 236

Mountains May Depart 91, 95, 237

Much Loved 85, 239

Nakom 75, 85, 241

Nueva Venecia 77, 103, 245

The Olive Tree 99, 247

Paths of the Soul 91, 95, 253

The Patriarch 253

Peace in the Middle East 143

Rainbow 113, 259

Sand Storm 75, 263

ShortsFest Opening Night 137

ShortsFest Closing Night 147

Stranger 91, 273

Uncharted Territories 146

The Weekend Sailor 103, 289

Zud 91, 295

Thrill Me!

13 Minutes 154

All the Birds Have

Flown South 73, 93, 156

Alone 91, 157

Americana 73, 93,

MeTube

Meany Hall / 206-543-4880 / meanycenter.org

#

A

The Academy of Muses 99, 155

Action Comandante 79, 85, 155

Aisha 85, 156

All the Birds Have

Flown South 73, 93, 156

Alone 91, 157

AMAMA: When a Tree Falls 99, 157

Americana 73, 93, 158

Angry Indian Goddesses 91, 158

Another Evil 107, 159

Antonia 75, 159

Ants on a Shrimp 97, 160

The Architect 73, 105, 160

Arianna 161

As I Open My Eyes 85, 115, 161

As You Are 73, 115, 162

Atlantic Heart 85, 162

Author: The JT LeRoy Story 163

Awaiting 77, 99, 163

B The Bacchus Lady 91, 164

BANG! The Bert Berns Story 101, 164

Battledream Chronicle 165

Battle of Sevastopol 71, 165

Before the Streets 75, 115, 121, 166

Being 17 47, 166

Belle and Sebastian, the Adventure

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