SIFF's opening night film was, as I'm sure you've heard, Much Ado About Nothing -- a title which we're all hoping doesn't apply to the ever-varied lineup of this year's iteration of our beloved local cinema gorge-a-thon. Whether or not you were lucky enough to get tix to opening night's Whedonverse fantasia (or the following evening's 'secret' screening), there'll be plenty of filmic wonders for you to choose from this year -- and the TIG SIFF crew is here to help. Here are seven features to see, three to avoid, and four to be cautiously optimistic/pessimistic about, all screening at some point in the coming festival week (May 17-23).

DON'T MISS:

Frances Ha
{screens May 17 at 9:45pm and May 18 at 4pm at Pacific Place}
Imaginary Amie and I appear to be in agreement on this one. It's another delightful New York story from Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale), this time focusing on the post-college, aspiring-dancer title character (indie it-girl du jour Greta Gerwig) throughout a series of struggles after a best-friend breakup. The film does right by the cinematic institutions it so lovingly references -- Manhattan-era Woody Allen and the French New Wave among them -- and distinguishes itself with a sweet, melancholy charm all its own.

Goltzius and the Pelican Company
{screens May 17 at 6:30pm at the Egyptian, and May 19 at 4pm at the Uptown as part of An Afternoon with Peter Greenaway}
Consistently intriguing auteur Peter Greenaway's latest film follows a late 16th-century Dutch printer/engraver as he attempts to convince a powerful margrave to fund the production of a nekkid-illustrated Old Testament. When the margrave balks, Goltzius's employees (the Pelican Company part of the title) agree to entertain the court with six titillating (and, yes, dong-illating too) evenings of erotic biblical reenactments. Playful provocations -- of the characters and the audience -- ensue. Greenaway's unmatched visualism rarely fails to stun, and he utilizes it to great effect here in exploring the narrative's sacred-vs.-profane themes. Crazy, nasty fun.

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I was skeptical of Mistaken for Strangers at first, because I'm not a fan of The National (when I told my friend this the other day she looked at me like she couldn't understand the words coming out of my mouth. It was seriously AWKWARD), but this documentary is actually less about the band itself, and more about Tom Berninger, the brother of lead singer Matt, who is both the Director and subject. 

The trailer has a lot of "whoa" moments,  including my favorite: listening to Matt Berninger talk about how his brother is a metalhead, and thinks "indie rock's pretentious bullshit". HAHA. Ha. (I hope you guys are laughing with me!) And the ouchy "The only reason you ARE here is because you're my brother". 

Anyway! Watch the trailer. It looks cool, and we've got two tickets to each show for a very lucky Imaginary! The film screens on Monday 5/20, 7pm and again Tuesday 5/21, 4pm at The Egyptian. For a chance to win, email us at tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "Indie Rock is Bullshit" anytime between now and 3pm Friday 5/17. And make sure you tell us WHICH screening you want tickets to! We'll notify the winners Friday night. 

Hello, Imaginaries! This year's Face the Music program at the Seattle International Film Festival contains some music documentaries I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT!!! You can buy passes to SIFF now, and inividual tickets go on sale this week on Thursday, 5/2. And so, let us (stage) dive in: 

First up: a few special events put together by Ms. Hannah Levin of KEXP! The Maldives are doing their thing at The Triple Door this year, performing music for The Wind, a 1928 Lillian Gish film. And the documentary Muscle Shoals will also have a tribute evening at The Triple Door, with music provided by Patterson and Dave Hood with Jeff Fielder and friends. {The Maldives & The Wind, June 7 at The Triple Door, two shows: 7pm & 9:30pm; A Muscle Shoals Tribute, May 30 at The Triple Door, 7pm}  

Speaking of Muscle Shoals, in case you didn't know, it's the studio where "legendary musicians including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett gathered to create music that would later inspire the likes of Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many more." I'm not gonna lie, the trailer makes me drool a little bit. {Screens 5/29, 7pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown, and again 5/30, 7pm at the Egyptian} 

Power Pop fans rejoice! Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is coming to SIFF!!! Promising never-before-seen footage, rousing musical tributes, and in-depth interviews with members of the band and the musicians they’ve inspired. Yes, yes, yes, and YES. I was hoping this would make it to SIFF. Hooray! {Screens 5/21, 9pm, and again 5/26, 8:30pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown} 

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SIFF 2013 kicks off on Thursday, May 16 -- that's a little less than FOUR WEEKS AWAY. Our imaginary movie team has started pouring through the list of films, dividing up review assignments, and cage-matching for interview ops. Watch for previews/reviews/interviews/ALLTHEVIEWS on our SIFF 2013 page starting this week.

And! We love this beautiful SIFFcurious trailer put together by longtime SIFF collaborators WDCW (Wong, Doody, Crandall, Weiner) and World Famous. Don't you?

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{The Crown Jewels screens at SIFF June 2, 8:30pm at the Harvard Exit and June 10, 4:30pm at the Egyptian Theatre}

In a small Swedish town, two fathers wait in a hospital delivery room for news of their children’s birth. From that moment on, a boy and girl are linked despite the financial gap in their families. Frangancia Frenandez, whose father is a poor inventor convinced he can chemically recreate gold, and Richard Persson, whose father’s wealth and power rules the town.

As they grow up, Richard develops an obsession with Frangancia, who (sadly) does everything just a little bit better than he does, including playing hockey. Enter Peterson-Jonnson, who attracts attention on the ice—and wins Fragancia’s heart. As Mr. Persson ups his cruel behavior towards his son, Richard’s mind deteriorates further leading up to frightening mix of creepy, misguided behavior that includes the disappearance of Frangrancia’s little brother Jesus.

Told in flashback, The Crown Jewels is a twisted, modern fairy tale with lush imagery so gorgeous, it will take your breath away. Both Amanda Jenegren and Alicia Vikander rock the part of tomboy’ish Frangancia as a teenager and a young woman, and Jonathan Bokman and Bill Skarsgard (another genetically-perfect offspring of Stellan)’s expressions convey the million and one emotions Richard is feeling every minute.

Despite a few moments of extra cheese near the end, I really loved this film. Recommended for filmgoers who love dreamy romanticism mixed with murder mystery—and uh, gazing at beautiful Swedish people.

Who wants to see Welcome to Doe Bay this Sunday? We've got another super-quick ticket giveaway, as the fine folks at SIFF have gifted us with a pair of tickets to the Seattle premiere of this local documentary, Sunday, 6/3, 9:15pm at The Egyptian!! Directors Nesib Shamah and Dan Thornton, and Producer Sarah Crowe scheduled to attend, so you can ask them all your burning Doe Bay questions at the Q&A after the film. 

For a chance to win tix, send an email to tig {at} threeimaginarygirls {dot} com with the subject line "The PNW Rules" between now and 5pm tomorrow, 6/1. We'll pick a winner early Saturday morning and put your name on the list +1 for Sunday screening.

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{38 Witnesses screens at SIFF May 21, 6:30pm at SIFF Cinema Uptown, May 23, 8:30pm at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, and again May 28 at The Egyptian Theatre, 9:15pm}

Based on the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in NYC, 38 Witnesses dives into the aftermath of a brutal stabbing. Louise (Sophie Quinton, who played Marilyn-clone Martine in last year’s Poupoupidiu, one of my SIFF favorites) returns home to learn that a young woman named Sylvie who lived in her apartment building was stabbed to death in the middle of the night. Her fiancé Pierre (Yvan Attal) tries to cover up feelings of guilt by lying about his whereabouts, but eventually buckles under the stress of the situation and confesses—first to Louise, and then to the police.

As each of the 38 witnesses is questioned a second time, the police determine that all of them heard Sylvie screaming that night, but chose to ignore it instead of reporting it. With each passing day, Louise wonders how the people around her could look the other way, and struggles with the knowledge that her fiancé is one of them—while Pierre’s guilt breaks him down more and more, driving a wedge between the couple.

Director Lucas Belvaux (who also directed Yvan Attal in Rapt, another SIFF standout from 2010) weaves a tight, emotionally distressing tale of responsibility, guilt, and tragedy. Disturbing (especially when they start replaying the victim’s screams over and over again), but recommended.

{Cracks in the Shell screens at SIFF May 18, 9:30pm at Pacific Place, May 22, 9pm at the Egyptian Theatre, and again May 25, 9:30pm at The Everett Performing Arts Center.}

Fine (Stine Fischer Christensen) is a mousy, innocent, and mostly ignored actress who is berated by the head coach at her acting school for not being visible enough, and rightly so, since she promptly falls asleep on stage during an important workshop. So it’s a surprise when she wins a juicy and prominent lead role in a famous director’s new play. 

But amidst struggles at home with an overwhelmed mother and a mentally-handicapped sister, Fine starts to crumble as the demanding director gives her more and more off-stage advice on how to “become” the sexually-charged and destructive character Camille … which, predictably, sometimes involves "becoming" in his bed. (oof. bad joke, sorry!) 

Donning a blonde wig fashioned for the play, Fine adopts Camille’s persona and sets out to romance a handsome stranger named Joachim (Ronald Zehrfeld, whose ruggedness I totally drooled over in last year’s 12 Paces Without a Head), which doesn’t quite produce the tragic results the director was hoping would come across in her acting. Determined to please him, Fine continues a downward, Black Swan-esque spiral on her way to fully becoming Camille, which uh. May or may not end well.

Clocking in at 113 minutes, Cracks in the Shell starts to wear a little thin by the end, but it’s still a nice way to spend the evening—if only to watch Christensen shine in the lead role. And don't worry, it's not *quite* as depressing as Aronofsky's doomed ballerina tale.

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It’s time once again to run down the highlights of this year’s Face the Music program for the Seattle International Film Festival!

There are a ton of great things this year, but the film I think our Imaginaries will be most excited about is the documentary Welcome to Doe Bay, which chronicles the community and camaraderie of Doe Bay Fest—a camping trip/music festival/weekend-long party at Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island that brings Pacific Northwest music stars and fans together for a relaxing musical retreat, and apparently, some slip-n-slide action and s’mores. The trailer is packed with engaging commentary and familiar faces (Hi, Jace!) and I’m sure the music featured by Sera Cahoone, Lemolo, the Maldives, Fly Moon Royalty, Champagne Champagne, and … wait for it … The Head and the Heart will be the draw for fans of the scene. {Screens June 3, 9:15pm, The Egyptian & June 5, 9:30pm, SIFF Cinema Uptown}

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Emerald City Visions (A Hip Hop Reinterpretation of The Wiz) looks pretty radical. The description promises OC Notes, Don’t Talk to the Cops, and “some of the hottest names in hip hop” (I guess it’s a secret, but I know who I’m pulling for) will infuse the musical score of The Wiz with some fresh flavor and beats. Word. {Screens June 1, 7pm and again at 9:30pm, The Triple Door—and if you see the 7pm showing, you’ll still have plenty time to make it to our Rockstar New Wave Karaoke show!}

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{The Skin I Live In opened in Seattle on Friday, November 4, and is screening at The Egyptian Theater and Lincoln Square Cinemas}

Horror overtones, debatable black comedy, and maybe a fair amount of yuck/ewwww mash together to create a memorable -- if not altogether compelling -- mix in the latest film by Pedro Almodóvar. Starring Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya, the visuals are as luscious and darkly seductive as ever. To some, Almodovar's latest will be a fascinating character study, stuffed with multiple interpretations ranging from sexual identity to how grief can drive you crazy. To others, maybe more a technically-gifted piece of filmmaking that's less emotionally engaging than it could be.

Personally I'm in that latter group. Still worth a look for Almodóvar fans - unless you really want to avoid films about doctors conducting immoral experiments on gorgeous people of indeterminate origin. In which case, stick with Harold & Kumar this weekend. Not that those tastes are mutually exclusive.

There are some people you should not cross, even accidentally. How many are plastic surgeons I won't venture to guess. The Skin I Live In certainly makes a compelling case that the overlap between those populations is particularly scary. The picture is difficult to talk about without spoiling some of the ups and downs, so I will do my best to be especially vague.

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