SIFF announces lineup for third annual DocFest to run at SIFF Cinema Uptown October 5-12

SEATTLE – SIFF’s third annual DocFest will return on October 5 and run through October 12, screening 15 films at SIFF Cinema Uptown. Tickets for the festival, a celebration of documentary films from around the world, are on sale now to SIFF members and go on sale to the general public on September 8.

“Seattle has one of the most enthusiastic documentary-going audiences in the world, as we see each year with the audience award winners at the Seattle International Film Festival,” says Stan Shields, SIFF Programming Manager. “For our third annual DocFest, we wanted to showcase a truly varied scope of thought provoking, tenacious stories and are thrilled with our lineup of films that span from previous festival award-winners to US premieres.”

The 2023 lineup includes Sundance Film Festival 2023 Jury Award Winner Going Varsity in Mariachi, legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s latest film Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros, Academy Award-winner Errol Morris’ enthralling portrait of former British spy David Cornwell in The Pigeon Tunnel, the story of the 1971 Women’s Soccer World Cup with the US Premiere of Copa ’71, and more from filmmakers from around the world.

Filmmakers and special guests will accompany a variety of screenings including director Irene Lusztig for Richland who will be joined by 2012 Poet Laureate of Washington State Kathleen Flenniken, and University of Washington Department of Geography Professor Shannon Cram for a post-film discussion. Other guests include Director Andrew H. Brown for Between the Rains, director Vanessa Hope and producer Ted Hope for Invisible Nation, and Amy Merrill, founder of PLAN C, who will be joined at the Plan C screening by the film’s lead editor Meredith Perry and Director of Shout Your Abortion Amelia Bonow.

Passes for the event are on sale for $75 for SIFF members and $100 for non-members. Tickets for individual in-person screenings and select virtual screenings are $9 for SIFF members and $14 for non-members (on sale September 8). 

SIFF DocFest is sponsored by KEXP, KCTS, The Stranger, Pineapple Hospitality, PCC and First Sight Productions.

PRESS ONLY:

To apply for press accreditation, RSVP for screenings or request filmmaker interview requests, email press@siff.net.

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FULL SCHEDULE & GUESTS:

SIFF Cinema Uptown: Oct. 5-12

Going Varsity in Mariachi: Dive into the dramatic world of competitive high school mariachi, as coach Abel Acuña grapples with his school’s shoestring budget and a diverse crew of inexperienced musicians in a quest to reach the state championships. (USA 2022, 105 min., d: Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn)
Thursday, October 5 @ 7:00PM - The film will be preceded by a live performance from Mariachi Monarcas. Passholders and ticket buyers are invited to join us afterwards at Agave Cocina & Tequilas (15% off for DocFest attendees).

Radical Wolfe: Richard Dewey's enlightening portrait of legendary writer Tom Wolfe, the debonair, contrarian author whose provocative work blurred the lines between reporting and literature, playing a monumental role in American journalism. (USA 2023, 76 min., d: Richard Dewey)
Friday, October 6 @ 4:30PM

Silver Dollar Road: Academy-Award Nominee Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) returns with the shocking story of a Black family in North Carolina combating decades of harassment by land developers trying to seize their waterfront property. (USA 2023, 100 min., d: Raoul Peck)
Friday, October 6 @ 7:00PM 

Maestra: Five women from around the world gather to compete in the prestigious, ultra-competitive “La Maestra” competition, the only competition in the world for female classical orchestra conductors. (USA 2023, 88 min., d: Maggie Contreras)
Saturday, October 7 @ 1:00PM

Invisible Nation: With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s sitting head of state, director Vanessa Hope’s eye-opening documentary investigates the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan. (USA 2023, 85 min., d: Vanessa Hope)
Saturday, October 7 @ 4:00PM - director Vanessa Hope and producer Ted Hope are scheduled to attend

Plan C: Shot over the course of four years, Plan C takes us into a clandestine network of activists and physicians, fighting to keep abortion pills available in the face of crumbling reproductive rights across the US. (USA 2023, 94 min., d: Tracy Droz Tragos)
Saturday, October 7 @ 7:00PM - Post-film discussion with Amy Merrill (one of the founders of PLAN C), lead editor Meredith Perry, and Amelia Bonow (Shout Your Abortion)

Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros: A food-lover’s dream, legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman’s latest film is a luxurious look behind-the-scenes of France’s celebrated restaurant La Maison Troigros, which has held three Michelin stars for over five decades. (France 2023, 240 min., d: Frederick Wiseman)
Sunday, October 8 @ 1:00PM

Omoiyari: A Song Film by Kishi Bashi: Violinist and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi (better known as Kishi Bashi) embarks on a musical journey to understand WWII era Japanese Incarceration, assimilation, and what it means to be a minority in America today. (USA 2022, 75 min., d: Kishi Bashi, Justin Taylor Smith)
Sunday, October 8 @ 7:00PM - producer JJ Gerber scheduled to attend. Join us beforehand at Travelling Goat from 5-7PM for a happy hour sponsored by Seattle Documentary Association.

La Huella. The Story of a Beach Bar/Resto: Twenty years ago, three friends challenged each other to build a beach restaurant in a small, Uruguayan village. That simple seafood restaurant created a miraculous community, and became “The Best Beachside Restaurant on the Planet.” (Argentina 2022, 70 min., d: Alessio Rigo de Righi)
Monday, October 9 @ 5:00PM

Mutiny In Heaven: Featuring never-before-seen live archival footage, Mutiny In Heaven reveals the story of the legendary Australian band The Birthday Party, led by Nick Cave, in a thrilling tale of epic struggle, creative vision, and total dysfunctionality. (Australia 2023, 86 min., d: Ian White)
Monday, October 9 @ 7:30PM

Time Bomb Y2K: A hilarious and human look back at the end of the 20th century, when fears rose that a ubiquitous coding error would cause the world’s computerized systems to grind to a halt, and armageddon loomed. (USA 2023, 80 min., d: Marley McDonald, Brian Becker)
Tuesday, October 9 @ 5:00PM 

Copa ‘71: Told by the pioneering women who participated in it, this is the extraordinary story of the 1971 Women’s Soccer World Cup: a tournament that was written out of sporting history. (United Kingdom 2023, 90 min., d: Rachel Ramsay, James Erskine)
Tuesday, October 10 @ 7:30PM - US Premiere

Between the Rains: In their visually stunning film, Moses Thuranira and Andrew H. Brown’s award-winning documentary explores a tribal boy’s childhood as he grows up in a traditional Kenyan culture that is a casualty of climate change. (Kenya 2023, 83 min., d: Andrew H. Brown, Moses Thuranira)
Wednesday, October 11 @ 5:00PM - director Andrew H. Brown scheduled to attend

Richland: Approaching the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Hanford reactor, Richland, Washington’s residents wrestle with both pride and ambivalence about their role in the Nagasaki bombing and the nuclear legacy they have left behind. (USA 2023, 94 min., d: Irene Lusztig)
Wednesday, October 11 @ 7:30PM - director Irene Lusztig, Kathleen Flenniken (2012 Poet Laureate of Washington State), and Shannon Cram (University of Washington Department of Geography) scheduled to attend

The Pigeon Tunnel: Academy Award-winner Errol Morris creates an enthralling portrait of former British spy David Cornwell—a.k.a. writer John le Carré, whose classic novels changed how we perceive espionage in popular culture and the world. (United Kingdom 2023, 94 min., d: Errol Morris)
Thursday, October 12 @ 7:30PM 

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For more information, images, event access, or to schedule an interview, please contact Madison Zimmerman at press@siff.net or (206) 315-0692.

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