SIFF Movie Selection

It is May, which for the Seattle cinephile, means the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) starts up once again. For a whole month, dozens of movies play all across the city. I have been attending SIFF for the last ten years and I have used (relatively) the same process in selecting movies. Unfortunately, every year there are hundreds of movies being shown (this year 447!) and there is only so many films one can see(balancing work, social life, videogames, etc). I and saw about 15 films during one festival and got completely burnt out. The ideal number is between 6 and 10 for me.

The selection process starts by going through the entire catalog and bookmarking any movies that seem interesting. I use the following rules as guidance:

- Choose movies that seem interesting from the title, thumbnail, description, and trailer. Try not to do any research. I do this since the breadth and width the entire selection is massive. If I researched every movie and looked at reviews, I’d never pick any, and I’d be exhausted before the first showing.

- Try to “take a chance”. This rule is used to discover surprises and facilitate cinema-adventure. Without this in place, I’d end up watching 5 martial-arts/Hong Kong thrillers, 2 Scandinavian medieval-magic adventures, and 3 World War II dramas. I’m weird.

-Try to not watch any movie that will be in general release. Its tempting to watch the latest Pixar movie before it is released to the general public. The SIFF should be for things you’d never really watch.

- Watch one movie from a country that you’ve never seen before. This was actually the first “rule” that I ratified for the SIFF. I figure that one of the most important parts of film festivals, as well as arts and culture, is to experience something that you’ve seen before. This rule has given me some of the worst movies I’ve seen (The Boss of It All). But, on the other hand, it has given me the absolute best and most entertaining films (The Island of Lost Souls, Mirageman, Dead Snow).

Again, these rules are not binding, but more useful guidelines in narrowing 400+ movies to a handful. Without further ado, here are some I’m interested in (please don’t think that these are the only ones worth seeing):

Fat Kid Rules the World

This movie earns the honorable award for movie that I most want to see, but the screening times look impossible. The first showing is during the Renton Opening Gala which costs $25 which is a bit much. The second showing on May 19th I’ll be out of town. The third is a possibility if I could make it cross town for a 6pm showing on a weekday. Anyways, the film looks great. Its a Matthew Lillard movie featuring a punk music band that reminds me of a cult-fav SLC Punk! Plus, its filmed in Seattle.


The Woman in the Septic Tank

I usually try to watch at a movie from the Philippines at the SIFF. I’m originally from the Philippines so Filipino cinema is always interesting but seemingly impenetrable. I didn’t grew up in the culture so a lot of comedy is lost on me. And the dramatic movies are overly dramatic to the point of depression. The Woman in the Septic Tank sounds like one of those depressing ones. But from the description and trailer, it is more of a satire and parody of the stereotypical interminable festival/indie/serious movies that everyone watches, critics love, and no one actually likes. It sounds intriguing enough.

King Curling

Norway has become a staple in recent years. I’ve seen Dead Snow and Trollhunter at the SIFF they are among my favorites, so I have high expectations about King Curling. The description mentions King Pin and Big Lebowski, but I’m also picturing Blades of Glory. Curling is inherently funny so this is good enough for me.

Overheard 2

The requisite Hong Kong action thriller on the list. I haven’t seen Overheard part 1, but it is made by the directors of the amazing Infernal Affairs trilogy. That means this is going to be a pretty easy selection.

Polisse

I used to have a rule that I see something from French Cinema during my early years at the SIFF. I was 22 and thought I was being artistic by watching a bunch of depressing, audience-hating movies. (I wasn’t) So, after a few years of bad experiences with French movies at the SIFF, I put a temporary moratorium on francophone selections. Polisse is going to change this. The trailer looks great with intense drama, great acting, and slices of humor.

The Squad

I’ve never seen a movie from Colombia. And I’ve CERTAINLY never seen an horror movie from Colombia. This fulfills a rule for me, but the trailer also features cool guns, cool setting, and horror. From the description, it looks like a horror winner.

The Standbys

Every year, I make a vow to watch more documentaries. And every year this never happens. The film is about understudy ator on Broadway (i.e. people who substitute for the main actors in case of illness, etc.) The Standbys is a great concept and I really hope to see it someday. But it looks like it will get pushed off this list.

V/H/S


(unfortunately no trailer)

This is making a lot of buzz in the horror film crowd. Especially with tales of people leaving from the gore and suspense. I have to see this with an audience and I fear that I won’t get through it.

Dragon Pearl

An Australian movie set in China with two child archaeologists on an Indiana Jones/Spielberg type of adventure? Looks like a winner, but being an all ages movie makes me apprehensive. Still, it could be worth rolling the dice on to see how the action-adventure children’s movie is made outside of the US. Plus, it has Doctor Alan Grant aka Sam Neil.

The Orator

It is listed as from New Zealand, but I’m going to label this a Samoan film. The idea is great. Its like a Pacific version of The King’s Speech maybe? I want to “take a chance” on this one. If the climatic speech scene in the end feels earned, I could be in a puddle of man tears and labeling this my favorite movie of the festival.

John Dies at the End

I am seeing this purely based on the book of the same name. I read it last year in Germany, and I either couldn’t sleep or had strange and unnerving dreams. I can’t even describe what the book was about because it…well…I don’t know. I’ve heard it described as a scary movie that has a bunch of dick and fart jokes written by a cracked.com writer. If the movie adaptation captures a fraction of this, I think it will be worth seeing.

After writing all of that, I really want to see all those and more. I’m probably excluding some change-your-life film from this list, but it happens when you do a cursory overview of 447 movies using a bunch of ill-conceived rules. This looks like one of the best lineups in years!