Seattle, WA – SIFF will present the 2009 Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing to Spike Lee in recognition of his extraordinary filmmaking career. This special Tribute ceremony at the 35th Seattle International Film Festival will include a montage of clips highlighting his diverse work as a director and pioneer of contemporary cinema, followed by a screening of Passing Strange, Lee’s original visualization of the celebrated Broadway hit. Prior to the screening, Spike Lee will take the stage for an in-depth interview and a Q&A session with the audience. This special Tribute event will take place Wednesday, May 27, at the Egyptian Theatre.
The evening will continue at an intimate Tribute Dinner celebration with Spike Lee as the guest of honor. A limited number of tickets for the Tribute Dinner will be available at www.siff.net later this month.
“It is a great privilege for us to present this award to Spike Lee in Seattle,” says SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “As someone in the prime of his career with a dynamic body of work to his credit, Spike truly deserves this honor. Seattle audiences will be delighted to be part of this tribute to a gifted filmmaker and genuine cultural icon.”
Spike Lee’s breakout hit, She’s Gotta Have It established the director (and sometime actor) as an electrifying new voice on its sensational release in 1986. His vibrant exploration of race on a sweltering summer day in Do the Right Thing earned Lee an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1990, securing his position as a filmmaker who has something to say and creates terrific entertainment at the same time. With a keen eye for the comedic and dramatic nuances of sexual and racial politics, Lee continued to stretch himself with musicals, historical narratives, crime thrillers, and uncompromising documentaries that carried the authoritative stamp of an American auteur. Spike Lee “joints” such as School Daze, Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers, Get on the Bus, Four Little Girls, He Got Game, Summer of Sam, Bamboozled, Inside Man, When the Levees Broke, and Miracle at St. Anna have earned their rightful place as important films in the pantheon of American cinema.
Francis Ford Coppola and Vincent Gallo
Among the many other guests scheduled to attend this year’s SIFF is Francis Ford Coppola who will host a special presentation of his new film, Tetro. Argentina proves an inviting canvas for Francis Ford Coppola’s first original screenplay since 1974. Striking thematic parallels and Coppola’s intimate direction seamlessly frame this semi-autobiographical drama in which two brothers attempt to make peace with their troubled pasts. Also expected to attend the Festival is the star of the film, Vincent Gallo, an acclaimed writer/director in his own right. The director and actor will introduce Tetro at its screening on Wednesday, June 10.
New Festival Venues
This year’s Festival will mark a return to venues on the Eastside and University District, as well as an expansion to the neighborhood of West Seattle. In addition to its primary venues, SIFF will have limited runs at the following locations:
- May 22-28, Neptune Theatre in the U-District
- June 1-7, Kirkland Performance Center
- June 5-11, Admiral Theatre in West Seattle
- June 12-14, Cinerama
Primary venues for the run of the Festival are:
- SIFF Cinema
- Pacific Place
- Uptown Cinemas
- Egyptian Theatre
- Harvard Exit
The Opening Night Gala on May 21 will be held at the Paramount Theatre. Other venues will be the Alki Room at Seattle Center, May 30-31, for the Digital Media Lab, and The Triple Door, June 12, for the Face the Music Special Presentation. For complete details about these and all SIFF venues go to www.siff.net.
The 35th Seattle International Film Festival runs May 21 through June 14. The complete SIFF program schedule will be available Thursday, May 7 at www.siff.net, and as a special pullout section in the May 7 edition of the Seattle Times. The SIFF Box Office opens to SIFF Supporters May 7, and to the general public on May 8. Tickets will be available online at www.siff.net, by phone at 206-324-9996, or at the Pacific Place Box Office Ticket Island (600 Pine St., second level).
About the Seattle International Film Festival
Now in its 35th year, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest and most highly-attended film festival in the United States, showcasing more than 400 films from over 60 countries to an audience of 150,000 attendees annually. Listed by Variety as one of the world's "50 unmissable film festivals," SIFF continues to be recognized as one of the top festivals in North America. SIFF combines the best aspects of a casual film marketplace with our well-established reputation as a great audience festival filmmakers love to attend.
SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. In addition to the Festival, SIFF operates SIFF Cinema, its year-round flagship theater at McCaw Hall. In 2010, 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 film, education, and community
outreach programs can thrive.
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