SIFF DocFest
Annual weeklong film festival bringing you the best documentaries from around the world
October 3-10, 2024
DocFest Schedule | Trailer | DocFest Program
Keep your finger on the pulse of the best new documentaries from around the world at the fourth annual SIFF DocFest. You’ll find stories about everything from globetrotting explorers to environmental exposés, from legendary celebrities to dramatic escapes and more. Join us at SIFF Cinema Uptown for this weeklong celebration of the documentary form.
PASSES: $100 | $75 Members
Pass provides access to all screenings
SIFF year-round passes are not valid for DocFest screenings.
TICKETS: On sale now. Available on individual film detail pages.
The SIFF audience has long demonstrated a love for great docs, and we pride ourselves on bringing you the best. Attendees of our Seattle International Film Festival flock to documentaries and consistently rate them among the highest for audience awards. You clearly love documentaries—so, we created this festival just for you!
Several of the docs we’ve screened during DocFest have been nominated for Academy Awards (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Flee), and we’re pleased to have hosted several premieres over the years (The Sanctity of Space, Copa ‘71). At DocFest, you can hear directly from the filmmakers, experience performances, participate in panel discussions, and connect with other documentary lovers at screenings and events.
SIFF DocFest: They All Came Out To Montreux
United Kingdom | 2024 | 93 min. | Oliver Murray
October 3, 2024
An affectionate ode to a music industry newcomer who, seemingly overnight, transformed his quiet Swiss town into a mecca for some of the biggest musicians in the world. Starting at 5:00pm, join us for an Opening Night reception at Solo Bar. Opening Night pre-show hosted by KNKX.
SIFF DocFest: Wilding
United Kingdom | 2023 | 75 min. | David Allen
October 4, 2024
Based on a bestseller by Isabella Tree, Wilding is the inspirational story of an English country estate that embarks on a trailblazing 3,500-acre rewilding project that may change the way we think about nature and how we can heal our planet.
SIFF DocFest: Yintah
Canada | 2024 | 125 min. | Jennifer Wickham (Gidimt’en-Witsuwit’en), Brenda Michell (Unist’ot’en-Witsuwit’en), Michael Toledano
October 4, 2024
A riveting thriller recounting an Indigenous nation’s fight for sovereignty as they resist the construction of multiple gas pipelines across their territory.
SIFF DocFest: Farming While Black
USA | 2023 | 77 min. | Mark Decena
October 5, 2024
Committed to reversing the decline of Black-owned farms, a movement of activists and change-makers shed light on the challenges they’ve faced in the USA, and lay the groundwork for a new generation to reclaim their heritage.
SIFF DocFest: Every Little Thing
Australia | 2024 | 93 min. | Sally Aitken
October 5, 2024
With stunning, beautifully detailed photography, Australian director Sally Aitken immerses us in the delicate world of a Los Angeles’ hummingbird rescue center and its diminutive patients.
SIFF DocFest: Devo
United Kingdom | 2024 | 93 min. | Chris Smith
October 5, 2024
When a problem comes along, you must whip it. And when a movie about Devo comes along, you must watch it.
SIFF DocFest: Driver
USA | 2024 | 90 min. | Nesa Azimi
October 6, 2024
Nesa Azimi’s soulful debut feature embeds us with a determined group of female, long-haul truck drivers as they forge a network to pursue safety and equitable treatment on the road.
SIFF DocFest: The Movie Man
Canada | 2023 | 88 min. | Matt Finlin
October 6, 2024
In this love letter to independent movie theaters, director Matt Finlin introduces us to an eccentric entrepreneur and his life’s work––owning and operating an idiosyncratic multiplex in the woods of Northern Ontario. Director Matt Finlin scheduled to attend.
SIFF DocFest: Checkpoint Zoo
USA | 2024 | 103 min. | Joshua Zeman
October 6, 2024
Checkpoint Zoo follows a daring rescue mission by courageous zookeepers and volunteers to save thousands of animals trapped in a beloved Ukrainian animal refuge as the Russian invasion approaches.
SIFF DocFest: Witches
United Kingdom | 2024 | 90 min. | Elizabeth Sankey
October 7, 2024
Utilizing archival footage alongside insightful interviews from experts and friends, Elizabeth Sankey’s deeply personal documentary examines the relationship between the cinematic portrayals of witches and the all-too-real experiences of women experiencing postpartum depression.
SIFF DocFest: Searching for Amani
USA | 2024 | 80 min. | Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko
October 7, 2024
A 13-year-old aspiring journalist investigates his father’s mysterious murder within one of Kenya’s largest wildlife conservancies. As a ravaging drought encroaches, his quest to find the killer shifts as the collateral damage of a warming world is revealed.
SIFF DocFest: New Wave
USA | 2024 | 94 min. | Elizabeth Ai
October 8, 2024
Elizabeth Ai’s lively first feature delves into the rebellious 80s Vietnamese new wave music scene, blending nostalgia with a deeply personal re-examination of her community's hidden and unexamined past.
SIFF DocFest: Eno
USA | 2023 | 90 min. | Gary Hustwit
October 8, 2024
Visionary musician and artist Brian Eno reveals his creative processes in this groundbreaking generative documentary: a film that’s different every time it’s shown. Screening will be preceded by short film Dumble: A Life Well Built (USA, 16 min, d. Ryan Cory).
SIFF DocFest: 500 Days in the Wild
Canada | 2023 | 120 min. | Dianne Whelan
October 9, 2024
An accomplished filmmaker in her 50s embarks on an epic, six-year odyssey across Canada—hiking, biking, paddling, snowshoeing, and skiing across the country. Director & Subject Dianne Whelan scheduled to attend.
SIFF DocFest: Dahomey
France | 2024 | 68 min. | Mati Diop
October 10, 2024
Blurring the line between fiction and documentary, the Golden Bear-winning new film from Mati Diop (Atlantics) exploring France’s repatriation of Benin’s royal treasures is a poignant commentary on the role of museums and the enduring ghosts of colonialism. Seattle Art Museum Curator of African and Oceanic Art Pam McClusky scheduled to attend and introduce the film.
