📆 In theaters: Thursday, May 9th – Sunday, May 19th
🖥️ Online: Monday, May 20th – Monday, May 27th
2024 is a big year for the Seattle International Film Festival. It’s turning the big 5-0.
For the past half-century, the film festival has brought Seattle audiences boundary-pushing feature-length movies, shorts, and secret screenings from around the world. (Full disclosure: I served on their Ibero-American jury last year.) SIFF’s history is mythical—they premiered Ridley Scott’s Alien back in 1979, served as Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s American launching pad, and supported films from Seattle directors like Lynn Shelton and Megan Griffith.
Although SIFF has had to shrink its length and screening schedule, 2023 saw a bump in in-person attendance, meaning people are hungry for IRL movie experiences. Last year, I saw Ira Sach’s chaotically European bisexual drama Passages at SIFF Egyptian. I then immediately hopped on a Lime bike to check out the fest’s Pacific Northwest shorts screening at SIFF Uptown. Both were just too good to miss! From my first SIFF in 2019, I still remember the wonder of watching Fantastic Planet while DJ NicFit spun The Flaming Lips over the freaky animated movie. Cinema? Is powerful!
Running in-person from May 9th to 19th this year, SIFF is going all out with their 50th birthday celebrations. They’re running an Early Bird special for members through February 29th, so you still have a chance to get a deal on a SIFF film pass. Plus, this year promises to be extra exciting because SIFF has officially christened SIFF Downtown (FKA Cinerama). They’ve been showing big-budget films there like Wonka and Lord of the Rings—but I’m partially hoping that during the 2024 SIFF season, they’ll screen offbeat movies like a silent Polish horror or an experimental Midwestern drama about time. A film nerd can only dream.
👀 UPDATE: SIFF’s lineup is live! Read about it here. More to come.
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