Videodrome (Director's Cut)
October 8, 2025
7:30pm | SIFF Film Center
Presented by Grand Illusion Cinema
One of David Cronenberg’s most original and provocative works, Videodrome fuses social commentary with shocking elements of sex and violence. This annual screening is in honor of Bill Kennedy, one of Seattle's most dedicated cinephiles, who we lost back in June 2021. One of Bill’s final wishes was that people gather to watch Videodrome in his memory.
SIFF year-round passes and vouchers are not valid for this screening.
When Max Renn goes looking for edgy new shows for his sleazy cable TV station, he stumbles across the pirate broadcast of a hyperviolent torture show called Videodrome. As he struggles to unearth the origins of the program, he embarks on a hallucinatory journey into a shadow world of right-wing conspiracies, sadomasochistic sex games, and bodily transformation. Starring James Woods and Debbie Harry, with groundbreaking special effects makeup by Rick Baker.
A portion of the proceeds from this screening will be donated to Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia, where Bill Kennedy performed in several productions prior to moving to Seattle.
“Videodrome has lost none of its power to disturb, none of its potency as a catalyst for meaningful introspection… It remains the rare breed of sociological provocation that might change minds. It’s a looking glass. It’s a masterpiece.”—Walter Chaw, RogerEbert.com
- Director: David Cronenberg
- Principal Cast: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Debbie Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson
- Country: Canada
- Year: 1983
- Running Time: 89 min.
- Language: English