SIFF could be taking a breather after putting on their 52nd festival edition (short version? A success!), but the summer movie season has officially begun and there’s no rest for good art! Here’s a peek at their June lineup.
🎥 Revival cinema is in, so here’s a way to see some of your favorite films on the big screen… or experience a classic for the first time!
June 1: Start Pride Month off with a handful of glitter and an earful of glam rock. Graphic design manager Rhys Iliakis has selected Todd Haynes’ 1998 sequined and spectacular biopic-that’s-not-a-biopic “Velvet Goldmine” for the monthly SIFF Movie Club.
June 7: Did “Velvet Goldmine” not give you your Ewan McGregor fix? Believe me, I get it. (I have a standee of him in my closet and our den is covered in “Moulin Rouge!” posters and tchotchkes). Anyway, celebrate the 30th anniversary of Danny Boyle’s kinetic, paradigm-shifting 1996 dark comedy “Trainspotting” with a clean and crisp 4k restoration. [cue “Lust for Life”]
June 21: You’re already in the Emerald City, so you might as well live it up in style. Bright, glorious Technicolor style. So bask in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” at the SIFF Cinema Downtown. Since it’s one of their community screenings, tickets are only $7 for adults and $5 for children.
June 24: “Sleepaway Camp” is one of my top five horror movies for myriad reasons, not the least of which being the fascinating discussions it provokes. (Check out married critics BJ and Harmony Colangelo’s book on its admittedly complicated queer legacy.) On the 24th, experience the *camp* classic as part of drag queen Peaches Christ’s lauded Midnight Mass Experience, which includes a drag performance, an interview with star Felissa Rose and an ’80s costume contest.
🎥 New movies? Sure, they’ve got those, too. Good ones!
June 4: John Carney has a particular touch that captures the magic of movie musicals without alienating those who, well, don’t like musicals. (Weirdos). “Once” and “Sing Street” ruled so hard they spawned incredibly worthy stage musicals, and “Begin Again” is an Oscar-nominated delight. His latest, “Power Ballad,” pits aging wedding singer Paul Rudd against a falling pop star (Nick Jonas) who steals one of his songs. The last ten minutes smacked me right in the feels.
Opens June 14: One of SIFF 2025’s loveliest films was “She’s the He,” a bright and peppy comedy made by an entirely trans, nonbinary and queer cast and crew, and it’s finally hitting “normal” theaters. In this take on turn-of-the-millennium teen comedies, two seniors pretend to be trans during their last week of high school, only for one of them to find it suits them just fine. Trust me, your heart will grow three sizes.
