Open Caption Screenings
SIFF is excited to bring more open caption screenings to better welcome deaf and hard of hearing audiences, as well as anyone who benefits from viewing captions. We present as many films as possible with open captions every Tuesday and during Sunday matinees.
WHAT ARE OPEN CAPTIONS?
Open captioning is when the dialogue and sounds of a film are written as text that is overlaid on the film image for anyone in the audience to see. It is considered passive assistance, a service that is there to use or ignore.
We understand that open captions can be distracting for those who are not accustomed to using them, but in the spirit of making SIFF accessible for all cinephiles we appreciate your consideration for those who need open captions.
OPEN CAPTIONS vs. CLOSED CAPTIONS vs. SUBTITLES
As explained above, open captioning is when the dialogue and sounds of a film are written as text that is overlaid on the screen. Closed captioning is when dialogue and sounds of a film are visible through a single, personal device. Closed captioning availability differs per film and venue. Subtitles are the on screen translation from different languages which only translate dialogue and do not include audio descriptions like open and closed captioning.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES
All SIFF Cinema venues and Seattle International Film Festival external venues will remain equipped with Assistive Listening devices on days when open captioning is not offered. Check-in with the Cinema or Festival Venue Manager to locate the devices at your venue.
All SIFF Cinema venues and Seattle International Film Festival external venues are equipped with Closed Captioning and Descriptive Listening devices, but services may vary per film. Call 206-464-5830 for more information.
Assets & Liabilities
USA | 2026 | 62 min. | Zach Weintraub
Tacoma-based director Zach Weintraub’s fictional counterpart—also named Zach—is a burnt-out suburban dad who is taken on a wild supernatural odyssey when he meets a skater kid at the park who reminds him of his younger, more idealistic self.
The Best Summer
USA | 2026 | 84 min. | Tamra Davis
A found-footage documentary from a 1995 concert tour featuring live performances, candid interviews, and a behind-the-scenes look at life on tour with Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Beck, Pavement, Rancid, The Amps, and Bikini Kill.
Cookie Queens
USA | 2026 | 91 min. | Alysa Nahmias
This charming SXSW Film & TV Festival Audience Award-winning documentary profiles four resolute girls through Girl Scout Cookie season as they find their place in the $800 million phenomenon.
If I Go Will They Miss Me
USA | 2026 | 92 min. | Walter Thompson-Hernández
Expanded from an award-winning Sundance short, Walter Thompson-Hernandez infuses empathy in this lyrical feature about a sensitive boy in Watts who constructs a mythological imagination for his family, contrasting sharply with their complicated reality.
The Life We Leave
USA | 2026 | 87 min. | JJ Gerber
An ambitious entrepreneur and two funeral directors pioneer a groundbreaking eco-friendly deathcare facility in Washington state, challenging traditional burial practices and transforming end-of-life rituals.
Maintenance Artist
USA | 2025 | 95 min. | Toby Perl Freilich
Overlooked acts like maintaining a house by doing dishes or maintaining a city by picking up garbage can be seen as performance art, or so says Mierle Laderman Ukeles, the first-ever artist in residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation.
Project Hail Mary
USA | 2026 | 156 min. | Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Now Playing
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out.
The Drama
USA | 2026 | 106 min. | Kristoffer Borgli
Now Playing
A happily engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails.
Exit 8
Japan | 2025 | 95 min. | Genki Kawamura
Now Playing
Genki Kawamura’s Dante-inspired spin on Kotake Create’s cult game traps Arashi star Kazunari Ninomiya in a looping, sterile subway where one mistake resets everything. A purgatorial thriller born from on-set collaboration, Exit 8 fuses gameplay logic with razor-sharp, emotionally charged cinema.
I Swear
United Kingdom | 2025 | 121 min. | Kirk Jones
Opens April 23, 2026
Funny, honest, and deeply human, I Swear tells the inspirational true story of John Davidson, a trailblazer whose honesty and humour helped the world better understand what it means to live with Tourette Syndrome.
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
USA | 2026 | 132 min. | Jon Favreau
Opens May 21, 2026
The Mandalorian and Grogu embark on their most thrilling mission yet in Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.”
