SIFF 2022: Donor Preview and Press Launch — Tuesday, March 29

Two nights ago was the revival of a tradition that the pandemic took away: an in-person event to kick off another Seattle International Film Festival. The last time there’d been an in-person kickoff had been in 2019. There was no festival in 2020. In 2021, SIFF went virtual. With the exception of last year’s online-only … Continue reading SIFF 2022: Donor Preview and Press Launch — Tuesday, March 29

Closing Night Film and Gala — Sunday, April 24

Despite this being my 11th SIFF, I’ve never been to the Closing Night Film. Unlike Opening Night, where there’s often been room for staff to attend, Closing Night tends to sell out early in the festival, so while I’ve often gone to the Gala, I’ve always skipped the movie. If there was any year that … Continue reading Closing Night Film and Gala — Sunday, April 24

Final Thoughts

Changes Many changes separated this festival from past ones. Besides it being a hybrid festival, it was a shorter festival, lasting for 11 days (14 with press screenings) as opposed to the usual 25 days (30 or so with press screenings). Here are other differences I noticed: Press screenings were at the Uptown this year, … Continue reading Final Thoughts

Final Weekend Round-Up

Note: The Closing Night Movie & Gala will be covered in a separate post. Friday, April 22 The Passenger (Raul Cerezo, Fernando Gomez, 2021, Spain, 90 min) — 9:30PM @ Pac Place 11 Of all the venues I’ve been to, Pac Place is the hardest to take pictures in. So, since the director and cinematographer … Continue reading Final Weekend Round-Up

Mid-week Roundup

Tuesday, April 19 Phantom of the Open (Craig Roberts, 2021, United Kingdom, 106 min) — 4:00PM @ Egyptian The positives of Phantom of the Open are that it’s funny and features strong acting from Mark Rylance and Sally Hawkins. The negatives are that the plot follows familiar beats in this tale of a man who … Continue reading Mid-week Roundup

Monday Mayhem

If I told you I saw three great films in one day, would you believe me? And yet the riches reaped on Monday dwarfed the amount of rain that fell that afternoon. The King of Laughter (Mario Martone, 2021, Italy/Spain, 133 min) — 12:30pm @ Uptown 1 First we start with historical fiction and one … Continue reading Monday Mayhem

Weekend Roundup

Saturday, April 16 Children of the Mist (Hà Lệ Diễm, 2021, Vietnam, 92 min) — 9:30pm @ Pac14 This movie disturbed me so much that I accidentally ripped through the wrong number when voting on it. This documentary starts with a young girl named Di, walking through a cucumber patch and saying that she misses … Continue reading Weekend Roundup

Opening Night — Thursday, April 14 @ 7:00pm

the Red carpet With the return of an in-person Seattle International Film Festival, I decided to say “yes” to new experiences. And that is how I ended up taking photos on the Red Carpet. The venue Usually, the Opening Night film plays at McCaw Hall (except for the first year I volunteered for the festival, … Continue reading Opening Night — Thursday, April 14 @ 7:00pm

Press Screenings: Day Four

For people who were hoping to hear about day two and three of the press screenings: sorry, I wasn’t there. But I was there for day four, and while I was hoping for Aloha Thursday vibes, only a few of us brought the love. Sublime (Mariano biasin, 2022, argentina, 100 min) We start with a … Continue reading Press Screenings: Day Four

Press Screenings: Day One

Along with other changes to the 2022 Seattle International Film Festival from past years is that, instead of press screenings starting a couple weeks early and ending the final week of the festival, they’re only running April 11-14, while the festival proper begins the night of the 14th and runs through the 24th. Due to … Continue reading Press Screenings: Day One