The 52nd Seattle International Film Festival has flown by, but there’s still a full weekend of films before it closes. Running in person from May 7-17 the festival features 203 films playing in-person: with most in SIFF’s Lower Queen Anne Headquarters and at the SIFF Downtown. Sorting through the whole program, mainlining all of the trailers, strategizing with a Letterboxd List, obsessively spreadsheeting out your schedule and/or slicing and dicing th program with the film finder can guide you to optimal “cinellation” (per SIFF’s latest trailer), but we’re also here to help.
A reminder that this year’s SIFF is in-person only with no “online encores”. As the festival draws to a close, we have a few more suggestions for how to spend the remaining days of the festival. (Protip: Keep an eye on the Selling Quickly page as you decide how early to get in line.)
First (or last) up: Closing Night. SIFF rounds out this year’s festival with The Invite on Sunday May 17th. The latest from Olivia Wilde (who will be in attendance) features an enigmatic dinner party between two couples in a San Francisco apartment building. With the host couple’s relationship on shaky ground, the evening threatens (or promises) to be a turning point in the trajectory of their marriage. The comedic chamber piece, starring Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton, was one of the buzziest debuts at Sundance this year. A24 won the bidding war for it, but SIFF gives you a chance to see it ahead of its summer release. Unlike prior years, there’s no closing night soiree, so it’s up to you to “you’ll find your community seated next to you in the cinema”. (Sunday May 17, SIFF Downtown. Tickets are $40 general admission, $35 for members).
SOME OF THE MOVIES WE’RE MOST EXCITED ABOUT
Chris
Beat the Lotto (2025 | Ireland | 80 minutes | Ross Whitaker)
When I was young and dumb, one of the thoughts that preoccupied my precocious mind was, “why don’t rich people just buy all the possible lottery numbers so they’re guaranteed to take home the jackpot?” Beat the Lotto basically answers that question. It’s a charming, Irish documentary about a group of Area Men who think they have a foolproof plan to win the big jackpot, but lottery officials have other plans. It’s a riveting story with some interesting characters, Stefan Klincewicz, who believes he’s outsmarted the lottery. There’s genuine tension as both sides race against the clock and against each other.
- SUNDAY, MAY 17 – PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center – 4:00 PM
- Director Ross Whitaker scheduled to attend.
Lady (2025 | United Kingdom | 95 minutes | Samuel Abrahams)
I always love a good mockumentary so this looks like it’s extremely up my alley. Fleabag’s Sian Clifford stars as an obnoxious Lady Isabella, who enlists an ambitious young filmmaker to film her behind the scenes for a reality show that shows she’s like “the Kardashians of the aristocracy.”
- SATURDAY, MAY 16 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 3:30 PM
- SUNDAY, MAY 17 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 11:30 AM
Josh
Radioheart: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole (2026 | USA | 83 minutes | Peter Hilgendorf, Andrew Franks)
KEXP’s Drive Time has become a part of the sonic wallpaper of the Pacific Northwest for decades, and via streaming, a soundtrack for discovering important new music around the world. This candid and valedictory documentary profiles the stunning first half century of Kevin Cole’s career, from his early days as a DJ who snuck a few rock tracks into his stint at a seminal Minneapolis disco, through a career transition to Amazon just as they were expanding their empire to include music, and into his pioneering efforts as a leader at KEXP as the college station made the giant leap from campus radio toward a global presence. Chocked full of cameos and testimonials, the film has little in the way of controversy, instead offering an in depth portrait of an impressive life informed by sharing the power of music. Sometimes it’s just nice to celebrate local heroes.
- FRIDAY, MAY 15 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 3:30 PM
- SUNDAY, MAY 17 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 8:00 PM
- Directors Peter Hilgendorf and Andrew Franks, plus Producer Rebecca Staffel and Subject Kevin Cole scheduled to attend.
Silent Friend (2025 | Germany | 146 min. | Ildikó Enyedi)
Apologies to the publicist who sent me a screener for this one, but I decided that if I’m going to spend two and a half hours with three intertwined stories spanning more than a century of people befriending a tree, it deserves to be in the dark confines of a movie theater. The tale of three academics united by fondness for a ginkgo tree screens tonight. In true SIFF sicko fashion, tickets are in limited supply.
- THURSDAY, MAY 14 – SIFF Cinema Downtown – 8:30 PM
Maddie’s Secret (2025 | USA | 98 minutes | John Early)
SIFF still has some surprises up its sleeve! The directorial debut of alt-comedian John Early (another buzzy Sundance title) was a late-breaking addition to the festival schedule. Satirizing food influencer culture while also confronting struggles with bulimia, Early stars in the title role alongside fellow comedians Kate Berlant, Vanessa Bayer, and Conner O’Malley.
- FRIDAY, MAY 15 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 8:30 PM
Morgen
Rising Through The Fray (2025 | Canada | 88 minutes | Courtney Montour (Kanien’kehá:ka))
This isn’t just another story about Native Nations, it’s a battle on and off the track for visibility, equal footing and acceptance. This strong group of women find open arms and barriers in a sport they take part in so passionately. They share their journeys with us; it explores their lives and what it means to be Native to them. Everyone experiences their histories differently.
- SATURDAY, MAY 16 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 8:00 PM
- SUNDAY, MAY 17 – PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center – 1:30 PM
- Director Courtney Montour scheduled to attend.
Valentina (2025 | USA | 84 min. | Tatti Ribeiro)
A unique mashup of script and documentation, comedian Keyla Monterroso Mejia follows a loose script as character Valentina, but the people and experience she embodies is the reality for Latin-x folks living in the border town of El Paso. She shows us the inside of this loving, diverse and struggling community in Trump’s America (ugh, I hate that phrase but it speaks volumes).
- THURSDAY, MAY 14 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 5:30 PM
- FRIDAY, MAY 15 – SIFF Film Center – 3:00 PM
- Director Tatti Ribeiro scheduled to attend.
GUEST LIST
SIFF has outdone themselves bringing guests to the festival this year, see below for a preliminary look at who’ll be in town in support of their films.
| Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] | Director Zack Khalil (Ojibway) |
| Again Again | Director Mia Moore, Producer Cliff Noonan, and Executive Producer Ian Schrank |
| American Doctor | Director Poh Si Teng |
| April X | Producer Lanivia Postolache |
| The Ascent | Directors Edward Drake and Scott Veltri, and Subject Mandy Horvath |
| Assets & Liabilities | Director Zach Weintraub and Actor Arsenio Salvante |
| Balandrau, Where the Fierce Wind Blew | Producer Guille Cascante |
| Beat the Lotto | Director Ross Whitaker |
| Boorman and the Devil | Director David Kittredge and Co-Producer Craig Smith |
| The Best Summer | Director Tamra Davis |
| The Big Cheese | Director Sara Joe Wolansky and Executive Producer/Co-Producer/Subject Adam Moskowitz |
| Birds of War | Director Janay Boulos |
| Bucks Harbor | Director Peter Muller |
| Chili Finger | Directors Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad |
| Cookie Queens | Co-Producer Ann Rogers and Executive Producer Steve Hall |
| Crystal Cross | Director Richie James Follin (Cherokee) |
| Deadline | Producer Peiyi Lin |
| Edie Arnold is a Loser | Directors Kade Atwood and Megan Rico |
| Fifteen | Director Yossy Zagha |
| The Friend’s House is Here | Directors Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei |
| The Garden We Dreamed | Director Joaquín Del Paso |
| Ghost in the Machine | Subject Emily M Bender |
| Hanging by a Wire | Director Mo Naqvi and Producer Bilal Sami |
| Hot Water | Director Ramzi Bashour and Cinematographer Alfonso Herrera-Salcedo |
| I Love Boosters | Writer/Director Boots Riley |
| The Invite | Director & Star Olivia Wilde |
| Jaripeo | Directors Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, and Producer Sarah Strunin |
| Kikuyu Land | Producers Moses Bwayo, Mike Morrisoe, Mia Vyzis; Executive Producers Barbara Terzieff and Tracy Rector; and Star Nganga Mungai |
| Lady | Director Samuel Abrahams |
| The Life We Leave | Director JJ Gerber and Producer Clementine Briand |
| Love Chaos Kin | Director Chithra Jeyaram |
| Maintenance Artist | Writer Anne Alvergue |
| Meadowlarks | Director Tasha Hubbard (Cree) |
| Nuisance Bear | Editor Jocelyne Chaput and Cinematographer Ian Kerr |
| Obsession | Actor Cooper Tomlinson |
| Phoenix Jones: The Rise and Fall of a Real Life Superhero | Director Bayan Joonam |
| Powwow People | Director Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) |
| RADIOHEART: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole | Directors Peter Hilgendorf and Andrew Franks; Subject Kevin Cole; and Rebecca Staffel |
| Reservation Redemption | Directors Brenda Fisher (Yakama) and Blake Pickens (Chickasaw) |
| Rising Through the Fray | Director Courtney Montour |
| See You When I See You | Director Jay Duplass and Executive Producer Mel Esyln |
| The Seoul Guardians | Director Chul-Young Cho |
| Three of a Kind | Director Charlotte Brodthagen, plus Producers Anne Falkesgaard and Sophie D’Souza |
| Under a Million Stars | Director Chezik Tsunoda |
| Valentina | Director Tatti Ribeiro |
| Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird) | Director Anna Fitch |
The 2026 Seattle International Film Festival runs from May 7-17. Keep up with our reactions on social media (@thesunbreak) and follow our ongoing coverage via our SIFF 2026 posts