Y’all ready for this?
I can hardly believe it, but it’s finally here. After missing all of 2020, the Seattle International Film Festival is back. Tonight is opening night and I could not be more excited. Think this, but awesome. It’s especially great if you’ve become a homebody like me because there’s no need to dress up as the entire festival is virtual.
Things are kicking off tonight with a screening of the Australian noir-ish thriller The Dry. It stars Eric Bana and is directed by Robert Connelly. It hasn’t screened for critics locally (or at least as far as I know it hasn’t) so I can’t comment on how good it is or isn’t, but SIFF does have a pretty good track record with programming quality movies on opening night, and the reviews are encouraging.
Here’s how SIFF describes it:
Eric Bana returns to Australian cinema in this crackling neo-noir murder mystery about a tortured Melbourne detective drawn back to his outback hometown of Kiewarra to investigate the death of a childhood friend.
The barren earth surrounding the drought-stricken Aussie outback provides fertile ground for this suspenseful, emotional drama. One morning, Federal Agent Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) hears the news that his childhood friend Luke has died tragically—accused of brutally killing his wife and son before taking his own life—and has no intention of returning to his hometown of Kiewarra until he receives a mysterious note reading, “Luke lied. You lied. Be at the funeral.” Following the burial, Luke’s parents implore Falk to stay and investigate the conflicting details surrounding their son’s alleged crime. Despite being harassed by the townspeople, he soon uncovers clues that may connect to the decades-old death of 17-year-old Ellie Deacon, a former love interest whose suspicious drowning forced Falk to exile himself from Kiewarra. As he struggles to prove not only Luke’s innocence but also his own, Falk stokes long-smoldering prejudices into a fury that threatens to ravage a terrified community. Based on Jane Harper’s award-winning novel and a huge box office hit in its native Australia, The Dry is a gripping, relentless thriller that imbues the stark, spare imagery of a western within a neo-noir crime story.
That is pretty, pretty good. SIFF is saying, though, that advance tickets for opening night are sold out. There are still a lot more events to check out, including daily Q&As and panels with filmmakers and industry insiders. I’m particularly looking forward to the discussion on the two documentaries I was most excited about (Truman and Tennessee and Street Gang) on April 10.
But here’s two things that I’m most excited for: 1. SIFF has done something I haven’t seen another festival do yet, they’ve made almost all of their movies (save for the opening and closing night films and a few that are geoblocked) available to all passholders throughout the entire festival. If you want to binge an entire film festival on your own timeline (with a hard stop on April 18), this world is your oyster. Which brings me to point 2. SIFF has, for all intents and purposes, and as of midnight this morning, already started. Feel free to dive in and explore. There’s a lot to talk about and more to see. We here at SunBreak HQ have a full team ready to meet all (I hope?) of your SIFF needs this year. Stop by early and often for previews, reviews, discussions, interviews, and more.
Let’s do this.
Keep up with us during the festival on Twitter (@thesunbreak) and follow all of our ongoing coverage via our SIFF 2021 page.