Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)

What: The 34th annual Seattle International Film Festival
When: May 22nd – June 15th
Why: Largest film festival in the U.S.—418 Films in 25 Days, With 101 Premieres and More Than 600 screenings
Where: 15 venues throughout the city

Information brought to you by SIFF

SIFF is proud to announce the 34th Seattle International Film Festival, the largest and most highly attended event of its kind in the United States. Running a full 25 days, SIFF will present 191 narrative features, 57 documentary features, and 170 short films from 69 countries, including 43 World Premieres (16 features, 27 shorts), 38 North American Premieres (19 features, 19 shorts), and 19 US Premieres (10 features, 9 shorts). SIFF 2008 will unspool from May 22 through June 15 at multiple venues throughout the city. 

“This year’s SIFF is fiercely independent with wide-ranging opportunities for people to explore new ways to look at the world through cinema,” says SIFF Artistic director Carl Spence. “Seventy percent of the films in the program are currently without US distribution, offering an array of options for new discoveries and extraordinary film experiences. It’s also of note that almost half of the features in the program are from first or second time directors.” 

The Festival gets underway Thursday, May 22nd at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall with the Opening Night Gala presentation of Battle in Seattle, a gripping dramatization of events that rocked the world when Seattle was host to the World Trade Organization. The evening will be highlighted by a red carpet welcome for guests Charlize Theron, and Martin Henderson, stars of the film, and director Stuart Townsend. 

SIFF produces the Seattle International Film Festival, the longest running, largest, and most-highly attended film festival in the United States, and operates SIFF Cinema, SIFF's year-round flagship theater at McCaw Hall. In 2009 SIFF will open the SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center's Alki Room, thereby fulfilling its long-standing vision of creating a permanent home where SIFF's successful educational programs, film industry development, and community outreach can thrive, as well as providing necessary office space and a screening venue. SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.


Films categorized by program:

A Tribute to Sir Ben Kingsley
SIFF is proud to present Sir Ben Kingsley with the 2008 Golden Space Needle for Outstanding Achievement in Acting. The tribute event will include the presentation of the award, film clips from his career and the North American premiere of Isabel Coixet's Elegy followed by an in-depth …

Alternate Cinema
Your typical movie aims to engage your emotions through storytelling in such a way that the filmmaking becomes invisible. Alternate Cinema is different. Incorporating experimental and avant-garde elements, these films engage you on an intellectual as well as emotional level; often by making you …

Contemporary World Cinema
There are new discoveries waiting to be made among SIFF’s largest program, Contemporary World Cinema. Offering extraordinary feature films from more than 50 countries, these films truly represent a global perspective of the cinematic world. …

Documentary Competition
The earliest motion pictures were, by definition, documentaries. Filmmakers captured images of life as it was. However, as the art form has developed, filmmakers are exploring cinema’s potential to not only observe, but also comment on reality and challenge audiences to find meaning in what …

Documentary Films
Since the invention of moving pictures, some of the most talented filmmakers have devoted their energies to documentary films. They’ve produced an astonishing range of work, chronicling the full spectrum of human endeavor. Today, we’re reaping the benefits of an explosion …

Emerging Masters
Every year, the Seattle International Film Festival selects four directors who have distinguished themselves as cinematic innovators who are working in a fresh, original style and displaying the early marks of a master in their craft. These directors …

Face the Music
Each year, SIFF presents a series of films that bring great music to the screen and portray the fascinating faces and stories behind the sound. The 8 new documentaries featured here provide windows into the personal worlds of masters, unsung heroes, and raw talents. They explore musical styles from …

Films4Families
Join SIFF each Saturday and Sunday during the festival for a matinee excursion into imaginative programming for children and the young at heart. Films4Families is a way for the whole family to celebrate the culture and art of the moving image through filmmaking and film-going experiences. This year …

FutureWave
SIFF FutureWave: Expanding Cinema Through Education offers youth and educators a direct link both to the Festival and the local filmmaking community. Encompassing two complimentary activities: movie watching and movie making, FutureWave includes compelling, relevant films, and meaningful …

Gala Screenings
We are thrilled to have Battle in Seattle kick off the Festival as our Opening Night presentation. This gripping semi-fictionalized account of the 1999 WTO riots will be followed by SIFF’s Opening Night Gala, also at McCaw Hall. On June 6th, join us for our Centerpiece Gala, the comedy-drama …

Gay-La
A special Gay-la Extravaganza will be held for the insouciant romantic comedy, Kiss the Bride, at the Egyptian on May 29th. The screening will be followed by a reception at Neighbors (ages 21 and up). …

Midnight Adrenaline
Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here!
Within, madness abounds, perversity
Reigns, and abject terrors freely traverse
The midnight cinema screen—films corrupting
Psyches and souls with visions of vile evil, …

MyFestival
MyFestival is our exclusive online program, presented in partnership with IndieFlix. We will be streaming in competition 10 short films and 10 features as official SIFF online selections from May 22 to June 8. All films will be competing for the IndieFlix cash prize and for the opportunity to be sc... …

New American Cinema
No other country on Earth produces as many films as the United States and every year, independent American filmmakers push into new territory, revisit classic paradigms, and advance the very concept of cinema. Drawing from the tremendous number of motion pictures that have not yet received American …

New Directors Showcase
One of the most important aspects of a film festival is the promotion of new talent. Each year, SIFF’s programmers choose a short list of films from around the world that are either a debut or second feature by their director and are without U.S. distribution at the time of selection. …

Northwest Connections
This section of the festival celebrates the unique, artistic atmosphere here in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps this creativity is inspired by our distinct independence or the fact that, whether in a cabin in the woods or on the bustling streets of Seattle, we are surrounded by the natural beauty of …

Planet Cinema
For decades, narrative filmmakers have been telling stories set in a dystopian future with a shredded atmosphere, rising seas, and extreme weather shifts. These elements of climate change are no longer the exclusive province of science fiction. They are fact. However, the undesirable effects of …

Secret Festival
William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, and looked like the guy on the Quaker Oats container once said, "It is wise not to seek a secret; and honest, not to reveal one." In our opinion he is half right (the second half part). As for not seeking secrets… well he clearly never went to SIFF, signed the …

Short Film Packages
This year we are excited to present ShortsFest weekend, featuring 14 short film packages and over 150 short films, at SIFF Cinema May 29 - June 1. With films ranging from just over 30 minutes to just under 2 minutes, SIFF ShortsFest will deliver an astonishing array of spectacular storytelling and …

Short Films
Some of the most extraordinary work in cinema today is produced in increments of less than 30 minutes. Working outside the constraints (or the rewards) of the commercial film industry, short-film makers have the freedom to flout the conventional and create works that vibrate with originality. …

Special Archival Presentations
Walking back into the archives of cinematic history gets easier each year as more and more classic films become available in modern formats. Our film heritage presents an astoundingly rich array of artistic storytelling. But any cineaste worth the salt on their popcorn probably already knows that …

Special Presentations
From a wirewalker thousands of feet in the air Man on Wire to the teenagers of Indiana in American Teen, SIFF Founding Father Dan Ireland's World Premiere Jolene to the Founding Father of Trash, John Waters, SIFF's Special Presentations deliver unique experiences! …

Talking Pictures
Every year, SIFF invites Seattle personalities to bring a film that has been important to them, influential in their career, or just simply their favorite. …