This morning, the Seattle International Film Festival lifted the proverbial (and literal) curtain to unveil its impressive 2015 lineup. Arguably overstuffed to the point of popping, this year’s fest will feature an even 450 films including 193 feature length, 70 documentaries, 19 archival films, 164 short films and 4 secret films. Of those 450, 49 are world premieres (23 features and 26 shorts) while 51 are North American premieres (33 features, 18 shorts) and 18 are US premieres (7 features, 11 shorts). As is SIFF tradition, the films are relegated to 10 different (exclamation-filled) “Moods” including: Creative Streak, Face the Music, Love…,Make Me Laugh, Open My Eyes, Provoke Me!, Sci-Fi & Beyond, Show Me the World!, Thrill Me! and To the Extreme. So no matter what mood you’re in, there’s got to be at least one of the 450 that will tickle your fancy.
Of SIFF 2015’s impressive Gala selection, we over at Silver Screen Riot are well ahead of the curve, having already seen a bulk of SIFF’s centerpiece material. Paul Feig‘s Spy is set to open the fest on Thursday, May 14 in Seattle’s McCaw Hall and though we weren’t the biggest fan at its SXSW premiere, it’s very much crowd-pleasing comedy fare. More impressive is James Ponsoldt‘s The End of the Tour, which will play at the DAR Rainier Chapter House as SIFF’s Centerpiece Gala. Having seen 77 films this year to date, The End of the Tour is sitting at my top spot if that’s any indication of me feelings for the film. Closing out the festival is Patrick Brice‘s absolutely hysterical The Overnight which plays Sunday, June 7, the same day that the Golden Space Needle Awards are held.
Others that we’ve seen and would heartily recommend include the twisted Americana fairytale Lamb, Jason Schwartzman‘s other hysterical comedy 7 Chinese Brothers, Joshua Oppenheimer‘s Indonesian genocide doc follow-up The Look of Silence, Kodi Smit-McPhee/Michael Fassbender neo-western Slow West, Leslye Headland‘s surprisingly sweet shock-comedy Sleeping with Other People, NZ splatterhorror Deathgasm, 80s action figure throwback Turbo Kid, family road trip film Manson Family Vacation and Jemaine Clement as a semi-depressive comic book artist in People, Places, Things.
Of those that we’ve not yet seen but immediately caught our interest are: Norway’s Sundance (’14) little-seen but widely-loved Blind, Kevin Bacon-starring SXSW horror hit Cop Car, critically lauded Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys biopic Love and Mercy, Sundance breakout and audience/jury winning Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Room 237 director Rodney Ascher‘s follow-up doc The Nightmare, SXSW ’15 demons-in-the-woods horror flick The Hallow, Daft Punk-inspired 90s Parisian DJ drama Eden and “girl hunts down the pimp that broke her heart” dramedy Tangerine.
Be sure to check back often for SIFF15 updates and our thoughts on the films we see. For now, check out the entire lineup below with links to reviews we’ve written and asterisks on those of interest (growing list.)
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2045 Carnival Folklore
31⁄2 Minutes
54: The Director’s Cut
7 Chinese Brothers
808
Accused
Alleluia
All Things Must Pass*
Alyam, Alyam
Angkor’s Children
The Apu Trilogy: Song of the Little Road The Apu Trilogy: The Unvanquished
The Apu Trilogy: The World of Apu
The Astrologer
Atlantic.
The Automatic Hate*
Banana
Beach Town
Beats of the Antonov
Before We Go
Behavior
Being Evel
Best of Enemies
Beti and Amare
Beyond Zero: 1914-1918
Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories The Birth of Saké
Black Girl
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution A Blast
Blind
Blue Blood
The Blue Hour
The Boda Boda Thieves
Bodyslam: Revenge of the Banana Bonifacio
The Boss, Anatomy of a Crime Boulevard
Breathe Umphefumlo
A Brilliant Young Mind
Cartel Land
Cartoonists: Foot Soldiers of Democracy Caught
The Cave of Silken Web
Cave of the Spider Women
Challat of Tunis
Charlie’s Country
Chatty Catties
Cherry Tobacco
The Chinese Mayor
Chuck Norris vs. Communism
Circle
City of Gold
Ciudad Delirio
The Coffin in the Mountain
Color of the Pomegranates
The Connection
Cooking Up a Tribute Cop Car
Corn Island
Corrections Class Cub
The Cut
The Dark Horse
The Dark Mirror
Dearest
Deathgasm
Décor
Diner
Do I Sound Gay?
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten:
Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll Dreams Rewired
Dukhtar
Eden*
Eisenstein in Guanajuato
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story of Cannon Films
Elephant Song
The End of the Tour
Excuse My French Experimenter
The Farewell Party
Fassbinder – To Love Without Demands A Few Cubic Meters of Love
Fiddlesticks
The Fire
Flowers
Footloose
The Forecaster
For Grace
Fourth Man Out
Frame by Frame
Free Fall
Front Cover
The Games Maker
Gazelles
Gemma Bovery
Gente de Bien
Gentle
Ghadi
The Glamour & The Squalor
Glassland
The Golden Era
The Golden Hill
Goodnight Mommy
Good Ol’ Boy
Graziella
The Great Alone
The Grump
Güeros
Guidance
H.*
Haemoo
The Hallow*
Handmade with Love in France Happy 40th
A Hard Day
Heaven Knows What
Hedi Schneider is Stuck
Henri Henri
The Hollow One
How To Win At Checkers (Every Time)
I Am Michael*
I Am the People
I Kissed A Girl
I’ll See You in My Dreams
Inside Out*
In the Grayscale
In Utero
The Invisible Boy
Itsi Bitsi
Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet
Key House Mirror
Kid Kulafu
The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor
King Georges
Krisha*
Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains
The Lamb
Lamb
License To Operate
Listen to Me Marlon
The Little Death
Little Forest – Summer / Autumn
Little Forest – Winter / Spring
Liza, The Fox-Fairy
The Look of Silence
Love Among the Ruins
Love At First Fight
Love & Mercy*
Love, Theft and Other Entanglements Magicarena
The Malagasy Way
Manglehorn
Manson Family Vacation
Mardan
Margarita, with a Straw
Marshland
A Matter of Interpretation
Maya the Bee Movie
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl*
Meeting Dr. Sun
Meet the Patels
Me Him Her
Messi
Mirage
Molly Moon
Morbayassa
Most Likely to Succeed
Mountain Spirits
Mr. Holmes*
Murder in Pacot
The Muses of Bashevis Singer
My Skinny Sister
Name Me
natural history
The New Girlfriend
The New Man
Next Time I’ll Aim For the Heart Next to Her
The Nightmare*
NN
Not All is Vigil
The Old Dark House
One Million Dubliners
Our Summer in Provence
Our Terrible Country
Out of Nature
Overheard 3
The Overnight
Paco de Lucía: A Journey
Paper Planes
Paper Tigers
Paradise in Service
Paris of the North
Partners in Crime
The Passion of Augustine
People, Places, Things
Personal Gold: An Underdog Story Phoenix
Pilchuck, A Dance with Fire Pioneer Heroes
The Price of Fame
The Primary Instinct
Que Viva Mexico
Racing Extinction
Rebel Without a Cause*
Red Rose
The Red Shoes
Results
Revivre
A Rising Tide
Romeo is Bleeding
The Royal Road
Run
The Russian Woodpecker
The Sacred Arrow
Satellite Girl and Milk Cow
Saved From the Flames – A Trip to the Moon and Other Trips
Through Time and Space A Second Chance
The Second Mother
Senza Nessuna Pietá
Seoul Searching
Sergio Herman, F**KING PERFECT Set Fire to the Stars
Shaun the Sheep*
Sherlock Holmes
Sherry & The Mystery of Palo Cortado
Short Skin
Shrew’s Nest
Sleeping with Other People
Slow West
Snow on the Blades
The Son of the Sheik
Spanish Affair
Spy
Steak (R)evolution
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine*
Strangerland
Sugarcane Shadows
The Summer of Sangaile
Sunshine Superman
Sworn Virgin
Tab Hunter Confidential
Tangerine*
The Teacher’s Diary
Tea Time
Temporary Family
That Sugar Film
Theeb
These Are the Rules
Those People
Three Windows and a Hanging
Tig
Time Out of Mind
The Tournament
Trudell
Turbo Kid
Uncertain
Uncle Kent 2
Under Construction
Unexpected*
The Valley
Valley of the Sasquatch Venice
Very Semi-Serious
The Village
Villa Touma
Vincent
Virgin Mountain Virtuosity
War of Lies
Waterline
West of Redemption
Wet Bum
When Animals Dream
When Marnie Was There
Where I Am King
The Wolfpack
Xenia
Yosemite
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By: Matt Oakes
When not plugging away at his computer, Matt can be found holed up in his Seattle home or hidden amongst the mountains. Started blogging about film in college when the college paper wouldn’t have him. Watcher of far too many films annually. Horror nut. Regular attendee @ Sundance, SXSW, SIFF. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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