You must have javascript enabled to view this site
start siffting watch film trailers list all films list all events download iSIFF for your iPhone
In its third year, SIFF’s Face the Music program celebrates the many intersections of music and film. Bringing great music to the screen, 11 new films explore subjects ranging from rock icons (Joe Strummer and Kurt Cobain), to great unclassifiable talents (including Scott Walker and Lisa Gerrard), youth empowerment through music (from a Portland camp for girls to a refugee camp in Uganda) and global discoveries (in Cuba, Brazil, Spain and beyond.) In addition, we’re pleased to host some very special guests this year. Australian singer Lisa Gerrard will discuss her music and career and documentary filmmaker Julien Temple will talk about chronicling the London punk scene in the 1970s. And, of course, the program features great Seattle artists, from a live film score by psych rock band Kinski to an electronic audio-visual competition and our annual Face the Music Rock Party. Face it: you’re going to have to clear your schedule. Sponsored By: Film.com, RealNetworks, Rhapsody
Germany, 1927, 65 min.
Directed by German avant-garde film pioneer Walther Ruttmann, this entirely visual exploration of Berlin captures the dynamic motion and energy of the great metropolis. On its 80th anniversary, the cinematic masterpiece is given an exciting new layer with the addition of a new original score perform …
Cuba, 2006, 120 min.
A fictionalized riff on the life and times of famous Cuban musician Benny Moré, whose Afro-Cuban jazz big band sound swept his nation in the pre-Castro fifties. Renny Arozarena’s standout performance as the charismatic musical genius, combined with the fascinating, tumultuous years surrounding the r …
USA, 2006, 90 min.
Each summer, Portland’s Rock 'n' Roll Camp For Girls provides a place for girls ages 8–18 to sweat, scream and wail. This cranked-to-eleven documentary follows the dedicated counselors (including Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein), as they guide the girls through selecting their bands, learning …
USA, 2006, 111 min.
Part concert film and part sociological study, this documentary travels between concert venues and cultures to give a rare insider look at Gypsy music. With Macedonian diva Esma Redzepova, traditional Indian troupe Maharaja, Romanian groups Fanfare Ciocarlia and Taraf de Haïdouks and the …
United Kingdom, 2007, 123 min.
Filmmaker Julien Temple crafts an engrossing and all-encompassing portrait of the legendary Clash frontman and antiestablishment icon, Joe Strummer. With an astonishing assemblage of performance footage and the recollections of friends, collaborators and fans, the film celebrates both the music and …
USA, 2006, 96 min.
AJ Schnack (Gigantic) directs this moving meditation on the life, music and times of late Seattle rocker Kurt Cobain. About A Son weaves music, photographs, and evocative new footage into candid, previously unheard audiotaped conversations with Cobain, recorded in the years between his …
USA, 2007, 80 min.
Shortly after her overnight success with former Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic in the band Sweet 75, Venezuelan-born Seattle street performer Yva Las Vegass was back busking for change and struggling to survive. This new documentary reveals the unusual story and extraordinary life behind this a …
Spain, 2006, 86 min.
Two musicians journey to remote regions of the world, using the txalaparta, a uniquely collaborative traditional Basque instrument, as a medium for cross-cultural exchange. Traveling to the north of India, the Mongolian Steppes, the Sahara desert and Lapland, the film captures an exciting, organic …
United Kingdom, 2006, 90 min.
One half of the legendary musical duo Dead Can Dance, Lisa Gerrard has since gained international acclaim as a composer (Gladiator, The Insider, Whale Rider). Through interviews with Michael Mann, Niki Caro, Hans Zimmer and others, Sanctuary is an intimate portrait of an artist who has …
Stephen Kijak (Cinemania) profiles the evolution of rock legend Scott Walker from ’60s pop star to enigmatic poet of the unconscious, including interviews with such devoted fans as David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno and Radiohead, as well as rare access to the reclusive Walker himself. …
Brazil, 2006, 120 min.
The tumultuous life of Brazilian legend Vinícius de Moraes, regarded as the father of bossa nova. A writer, critic, diplomat, singer, composer and Bon Vivant, he lived ten lifetimes in one, including writing “The Girl From Ipanema” and the play on which Black Orpheus is based. …
USA, 2007, 105 min.
Outside a refugee camp in remote northern Uganda, the violence and grief of a 20-year civil war rage. Meanwhile, within the camp’s fences, children sing and dance. This moving documentary about preparations for a nationwide music festival finds hope in horror, revealing the pride and exuberance of …
