It’s here! SIFF opens its 50th annual festival on Thursday with Thelma . Like last year, SIFF has once again picked up a Sundance stunner to open this year’s festival. Anchored by a sensational star turn by June Squibb with a bit of scene-stealing from Richard Roundtree in his final onscreen performance, the sweet comedy about a 93-year-old grandmother out for justice after being scammed was the the sweetest, funniest, best time at this year’s Sundance. With this selection SIFF has a surefire gently uproarious crowdpleaser to kick off the festival. Writer/director Josh Margolin will be at Opening Night along with SIFF Tribute Recipient June Squibb to unpack their deeply endearing film with a Q&A, followed by a party on the Paramount’s stage and spilling into 9th Avenue. [tickets on standby]
Here at the SunBreak, we’re excited to dive back into the city’s biggest festival for film fans. Below, we each identified (or resurfaced from our tips & tricks roundtable) a few recommendations for films premiering over this coming weekend or during the first half of the in-person festival. Films are listed with in-person showtimes as well as an indication of whether they’ll have online “encore screenings” online the week after the festival.
As a reminder, individual tickets are available (and limited) for both types of screenings. Keep an eye on SIFF’s Blog, where daily posts indicate which films are selling fast, on standby, or whose online availability has changed.
Chris:
High and Low: John Galliano (2023 | France | 116 minutes | Kevin Macdonald)
Earlier this week at the Met Gala, fashion’s enfant terrible was everywhere (or at least his designs were) so it seems timely to watch this documentary about the meteoric rise and precipitous fall for, among other things, going on an antisemitic rant where he professed his love for Hitler, which is not even a fire-able offense at the New York Times in 2024.
- FRIDAY, MAY 10 – AMC Pacific Place – 4:00 PM
- WEDNESDAY, MAY 15 – AMC Pacific Place – 6:30 PM
Babes (2024 | USA | 109 minutes | Pamela Adlon)
Two of the better comedies on television over the past decade were “Better Things” and “Broad City,” so I’m anxious to check out this comedy from director Pamela Adlon and co-writer and star Ilana Glazer. It’s about a one-night-stand that ends in a pregnancy. I expect many laughs and more awkward moments.
- SATURDAY, MAY 11 – SIFF Cinema Downtown – 7:00 PM
- SUNDAY, MAY 12 – AMC Pacific Place – 4:00 PM
Josh:
Tim Travers and the Time Traveler’s Paradox (2024 | USA | 103 minutes | Stimson Snead)
When does time travel ever turn out well? How often do time travel movies ever stick the landing and avoid getting buried in their own gravity wells of explanations? I can’t say that Stimson Snead’s zany high-concept locally filmed sci-fi comedy fully escapes the pitfalls it sets up for itself, but inventive set design, guest performances from the likes of Joel McHale and Danny Trejo, and humorous use of low-rent CGI elevate the premise beyond a scant budget. Most of all, Samuel Dunning’s acrobatic performances as dozens of slightly different versions of himself (many murdered instantly, for science!) is a tremendous feat that never fails to surprise.
- FRIDAY, MAY 10 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 9:30 PM
- SATURDAY, MAY 11 – AMC Pacific Place – 1:45 PM
Director/Writer Stimson Snead scheduled to attend both.
I Saw the TV Glow (2024 | USA | 100 minutes | Jane Schoenbrun)
With Lynchian threads as applied to post-millennial trans awakenings and grounded in a deep love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other 90score YA television, Jane Schoenbrun’s eerie, visually entrancing, and sonically inventive cautionary love note to the nineties just might be just be the Donnie Darko for the the Zoomies generation. One of the buzziest titles out of Sundance, it’s soon to hit wide release, but there’s nothing quite like seeing an instant cult classic with an enthusiastic film festival audience.
- FRIDAY, MAY 10 – SIFF Cinema Egyptian – 9:15 PM [standby]
Director Jane Schoenbrun scheduled to attend - SATURDAY, MAY 11 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 2:30 PM [standby]
Fish War (2024 | USA | 79 minutes | Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, Skylar Wagner)
Relying on the wording of the 1855 treaty ceding lands of the Pacific Northwest to the United States government, a landmark 1974 federal court decision vastly re-balanced the vitriolic conflict over fishing rights between the State of Washington and the Native Americans for whom salmon fishing is a cultural, spiritual, historical, and economic lifeblood. Assembling many of the people who fought so heroically, Fish War also contextualizes the implications of their victory in terms of civil rights, environmental stewardship, and building networks of cooperation. An important telling of PNW history, it’s also a refreshing and inspiring reminder that occasionally laws have consequences and words have meaning.
- SATURDAY, MAY 11 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 5:00 PM [standby] * World Premiere
- SUNDAY, MAY 12 – SIFF Cinema Uptown – 1:00 PM [standby]
Producers Ed Johnstone, Justin Parker, Kari Neumeyer, and Nisqually Chairman Willie Frank III scheduled to attend both. - MONDAY, MAY 20 – MONDAY, MAY 27, 2024 [streaming]
Tony:
In A Violent Nature (2024 | Canada | 94 minutes | Chris Nash)
We horror fans compulsively seek the visceral rush of a genuinely disturbing shocker. And word around the horror-geek campfire has it that Chris Nash’s revisionist slasher delivers the suspense (and the crimson) in droves.
- SUNDAY, MAY 12 – AMC Pacific Place – 9:00 PM
- TUESDAY, MAY 14 – SIFF Cinema Downtown – 4:00 PM
Scorched Earth (2024 | Germany | 101 minutes | Thomas Arslan)
SIFF had me at Jean-Pierre Melville and Michael Mann. Invoking those titans of crime cinema in the program description of this German thriller about an art heist and the thief doing the heisting, has me cautiously psyched for a great neo-noir.
- FRIDAY, MAY 10 – SIFF Cinema Downtown – 8:45 PM
- FRIDAY, MAY 17 – Shoreline Community College – 3:30 PM
Morgen:
This is what I get for waiting until my fellow Sunbreakers make their picks… they chose a lot of the ones I had in mind! Well that just gives me the opportunity to reveal some not-so-obvious picks for us to watch.
Animation4Adults:
Rather than start off with a single film, I wanted to pull your attention to short film programs. They’re so often overlooked so I like to shed a little light on occasion. In particular I’m drawn to animation and especially the not-so-sweet kind or not-so-kid friendly like you’ll find in this series.
- FRIDAY, MAY 17 – SIFF Cinema Egyptian – 9:30 PM
- MONDAY, MAY 20 – MONDAY, MAY 27, 2024 [streaming]
Bonjour Switzerland (2023 | Switzerland | 88 minutes | Peter Luisi)
Just like I look forward to the silliness of animation (or at least the break from reality it offers) comedies, especially indie films, rip at my heart and make me happy all at once. While the political atmosphere here in the States isn’t my favorite, I can get into something as light-hearted as the fight over a national language. Who wants French as their official language anyway? -snort-
- SATURDAY MAY 11 – SIFF Cinema Egyptian – 7:15 PM
- SUNDAY, MAY 12 – SIFF Majestic Bay – 12:45 PM
- MONDAY, MAY 20 – MONDAY, MAY 27, 2024 [streaming]
The Box Man ( 2024 | Japan | 120 minutes | Gakuryû Ishii )
Considering my track record over the last year or so, I had to delve into Asian films at this year’s fest. I’m disappointed to see no films from Korea but Japan made a strong appearance and in particular with The Box Man. An agoraphobic, socio-phobic, absurdly ego-centric man walks around Tokyo in a box thinking that everyone is out to get him… or at least his box. He sees his position inside his cardboard boundry as a place of esteem and knows everyone wants to take his place so he must fight them off before it’s too late!
- FRIDAY, MAY 17 – SIFF Film Center – 7:00 PM
- SATURDAY, MAY 18 – Majestic Bay – 12:00 PM
- MONDAY, MAY 20 – MONDAY, MAY 27, 2024 [streaming]
On the (Guest) List
Finally, as you plan your schedule, keep in mind that a bunch of screenings will have guests in town. A quick rundown if Q&A’s are your tiebreaker.
THURSDAY MAY 9
- Thelma – Director Josh Margolin, Actress June Squibb, Actor Fred Hechinger, and Producers Zoe Worth and Chris Kaye
FRIDAY, MAY 10
- Black Box Diaries – Director Shiori Ito
- The Queen of My Dreams – Director Fawzia Mirza and Producer Andria Wilson Mirza
- A Journey In Spring – Director/Producer Ping Wen Wang
- Food Roots – Director Michele Josue, Producer Mike Mcamara
- I’m Just Here for the Riot – Director Kathleen Jayme
- Luther: Never Too Much – Director Dawn Porter
- I Saw the TV Glow – Director Jane Schoenbrun
SATURDAY, MAY 11
- Tim Travers and the Time Travler’s Paradox – Director/Writer Stimson Snead
- Fish War – Producer Tiffany Royal
- Hesitation Wound – Director, Writer, Producer Selman Nacar
- Hollywood Gate – Producer Odessa Rae
- Love Machina – Director Peter Sillen
- Saturn Return – Director Pol Rodriguez and Screenwriter Fernando Navarro
- The Ride Ahead – Producer Erica Lupinacci
- Chasing Ice – Director, Writer, Cinematographer, Producer, Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Co-Director Sarah Keo
- RATS! – Director/Writer Maxwell Nalevansky and Director/Writer Carl Fry
- WHY DINOSAURS? – Producer Tony Pinto
SUNDAY, MAY 12
- Ultimate Citizens – Director Francine Strickwerda
- 399: Queen of the Tetons – Director Elizabeth Leiter
- The Quiet Maid – Director/Writer/Producer Miguel Faus
- Gloria! – Director Margherita Vicario
MONDAY, MAY 13
- Rainier: A Beer Odyssey – Director Isaac Olsen
The 2024 Seattle International Film Festival runs from May 9-19 in person and May 20-27 online. Keep up with our reactions on Twitter (@thesunbreak) and follow all of our ongoing coverage via our SIFF 2024 posts