Festival First Look: Six Films to Celebrate SIFFTY

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

First Look. Six films to celebrate SIFFTY.

The 50th anniversary Seattle International Film Festival kicks off May 9, and the anticipation is palpable here at the SIFF office as we work to finalize this year’s film lineup. We just couldn’t contain our excitement until our April 17 full lineup release date, so here’s a first look at six of the films we’ll be presenting this year.

These films bring complex narratives of pain and love, alienation and community, strife and resilience from across the world to the Emerald City. Make sure to “RSVP” to the party with purchase of a ticket 6-Pack so that you don’t miss out on these exemplars of cinematic excellence.

Buy a 6-Pack

I Saw the TV Glow

Dir. Jane Schoenbrun, USA, 2024

After taking the indie horror circuit by storm with We’re All Going To The World’s Fair, Jane Schoenbrun returns with this eerie slice of reality-f**king cinema, as two lonely suburbanites find solace and obsession in a late-night TV show.

Wings of Desire

Dir. Wim Wenders, Germany, 1987

One of the most beloved films of all time, Wim Wenders’ Berlin-set magnum opus stars Bruno Ganz as an angel who falls in love with a lonely trapeze artist. But in order to be with her, he must relinquish all heavenly duties and privileges. Presented in a new 4K restoration and 5.1 sound mix.

Evil Does Not Exist

Dir. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan, 2023

After finally breaking through in the U.S. with the Oscar®-winning Drive My Car, filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi turns his eye to Mizubiki, a remote lakeside village that’s about to be overtaken by a new “glamping” site built on sensitive natural land.

Porcelain War

Dir. Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, USA, 2024

As the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, Kharkiv-based Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko make tiny porcelain figurines. What does it mean to continue with their artistic passions as the world crumbles around them? Winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2024.

Un Amor

Dir. Isabel Coixet, Spain, 2023

From acclaimed Spanish writer-director Isabel Coixet (The Bookshop) comes this unsettling but absorbing tale on the idea of love—of self and others—about existential doubt, the role of being a woman, and the transformative power of acting upon one’s earnest desires.

Green Border

Dir. Agnieszka Holland, Poland, 2023

Legendary filmmaker Agnieszka Holland won the Golden Lion at the 2023 Venice Film Festival for this ground-level examination of the refugee crisis at the titular exclusion zone between Belarus and Poland, seen through the eyes of a Syrian family fleeing their war-torn home.

Passes are on sale now and individual tickets go on sale to SIFF Members on April 17 and to the general public on April 18. The Festival takes place in person May 9–19 at venues across Seattle, followed by a week of select films streaming on the SIFF Channel May 20–27.

Date: March 12, 2024
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