Hey! You! There! The official 37th Seattle International Film Festival scedule is online at siff.net for perusal and ticket-purchasing goodness! (the crowd roars)

Opening night is Thursday, May 19th - and I highly recommend you snap up tix to that immediately, and to see the ever-adorable and RAWR-worthy Ewan McGregor take the stage, because both will SELL OUT FAST. Not to mention, the film they're showing at the EW tribute looks super-cute. You can buy tickets and plan your schedule online, or show up in person at the SIFF Box Offices at 400 9th Ave. N (or on the 2nd level of Pacific Place) to purchase. Once the festival is underway, you can pick up tickets at any SIFF venue. One more cool thing: iPhone users can use the SIFFter app - which is also online - to narrow down choices by genre, country, venue, day, and time, and purchase tickets right from your phone.

Other note-worthy picks: pay special attention to the Face the Music choices (a Damien Jurado performance!) and the NW Connections program, featuring the co-directorial debut of one Mr. Sean Nelson (!!!).

HAPPY SIFFING!

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Love NW filmmakers? Interested in learning more about the filmmaking community in Seattle? And SIFF previews? And drinks and snacks - do you like drinks and snacks? I do. Anyway! You can get all this stuff and more this Saturday {May 7} at The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), when the Seattle International Film Festival co-hosts their first annual "History Is ____" Awards Gala!

Prepare for an evening emceed by Robert Horton and packed with film goodness, as the winners of the "History Is ____" film competition are announced, local filmmakers are introduced, and a sneak peek at trailers from SIFF's NW Connections 2011 program is seen. Stick around for the after-party to meet Northwest filmmakers, have a few drinks, and get down on the dance floor. SIFF programmers will also be in attendance to offer up tips on must-see festival films!

Snag a ticket to the awards for $12 ($8 for SIFF or MOHAI Members, $5 for students 18 & under), or grab a $20 ticket ($15 for Members) for after-party access, which includes 1 free drink.

Schedule:
(The awards event is open to all ages.)
6-7pm: Welcome reception (coffee, cupcakes, lemonade)
7-8:30pm: Program and awards ceremony with special guests
8-11pm: After-party (cash bar, hors d’oeuvres, DJ)

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2011 Festival Trailer from SIFFtv Testsite on Vimeo.

It's that time again! The 37th Seattle International Film Festival is ALMOST HERE! Working on the staff this year has definitely heightened my excitement - but as I mentioned before, has also made it extrememly difficult for me because I'm not allowed to spill the beans about all the awesome stuff that will be playing at the fest. Come Thursday, May 5, all that changes because the official schedule will be announced and I can start (along with our expert SIFF writing team) opening my big trap and talking about all the must-see movies, Face the Music events, Galas, Parties, Tributes, and so.much.more.

Anyway. Take a gander at this excellent trailer (it's like they made it just for me!) packed with clips from past SIFF movies and get! excited! The official Festival site is coming soon.

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{The Submarines}

Usually when we say “imaginary” around TIG, we mean stuff that we’re super-psyched for! And in this case, it’s true –but it’s also literal, as I won’t be at Bumbershoot this year. So imagine (ha) if you will, that I am going. Here’s what you’d see if you followed me around:

ALL THREE DAYS
Flatsock 27 (Festival Grounds)
No matter how many other things I see, I always make it a point to get over to the Flatstock poster show. Amazing artists, cool collector’s pieces, and the chance to hang something nice on your wall. Last year I saw these awesome prints by Jeff Kliensmith, and now they’re framed in our media room.

Patton Oswalt (Comedy Stage South)
My favorite French mouse, loveable United States of Tara sidekick, Dollhouse guest star, and generally hilarious guy is going be at Bumbershoot ALL weekend. Contrary to most stand-up I see, I always, always, always laugh at Oswalt’s riffs, and love that he’s a versatile character actor too. Check him out – but get in line EARLY, as he tends to attract huge crowds.

SATURDAY
The Submarines: 12:30pm (Broad Street Stage)
This adorable LA duo has become one of my favorite bands, so I’m crying a little that I can’t see them this weekend. Seriously – just take a listen. I’m betting you’ll love them too.

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Photo Credit: Victoria Holt

Another favorite of mine at SIFF this year was the charming road trip movie Bass Ackwards. I grabbed some time with Director Linas Phillips and his co-star, co-writer and friend Davie-Blue to talk about the experience of making this film.

While Linas is a self-described brat and I was never sure what was true and what was said in fun, the interview was fantastic and I can’t wait to see what these two do next.

I thought Bass Ackwards was great, and the thing that really made it great (in my opinion) is that Linas’s character was so loveable that you want him to be okay. You’re really rooting for him to make it.

Linas: He doesn’t seem annoying? Because he’s not getting his shit together?

No. I feel like everybody’s been lost like that at some point…

L: Everyone’s been annoying? Annoying doesn’t exclude empathy, maybe.

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One of my favorite films at SIFF this year was the beautiful, intuitive drama Cairo Time, written and directed by the equally beautiful and intuitive Ruba Nadda.

In person, Nadda exudes an open friendliness that instantly made me comfortable. We sat down for a few minutes and discussed everything from Patricia Clarkson’s eyebrows to the fiasco of Sex and the City 2. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I was captivated by everything she said, and that I’d love to be able to sit down with her and do it again.

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I'm a little ashamed to admit that prior to this documentary, the only thing I knew about William S. Burroughs was that he had written "Naked Lunch".

Taking you through a brief history of the Beat Generation, Director Yony Leyser paints an unwavering and fascinating portrait in William S Burroughs: A Man Within through film footage of the author (some with Allen Ginsberg and Andy Warhol), recordings, readings, and interviews with friends.

Celebs and musicians, including Peter Weller (who also narrates), David Cronenberg, John Waters, Gus Van Sant, Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Thurston Moore, Jello Biafra and more cover what Burroughs meant to them – from his importance to the gay liberation movement to his later credit as "The Godfather of Punk".

After the film, I felt I had a more complete picture of a man whose legendary status as a writer and icon had made him seem almost untouchable. Burroughs was seemingly unaware of why he was famous, lived his life according to his own rules, and by all accounts, was someone who touched the lives of many personally, as well as with his writing.

If you’re curious about him at all, I’d recommend this. It’s good stuff, you guys.

{William S. Burroughs: A Man Within screens at SIFF June 10, 4pm at The Neptune and again June 12, 6:30pm at The Harvard Exit}

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Each year the giddy joy of perusing the new SIFF roster gives way inevitably to a sense of fatigue at trying to differentiate, by 25-word blurbles, the hundreds of movies that begin to blend together into genres and tropes and overlapping plots. There are the family dramas where A Secret Is Revealed that Changes Everything, the coming-of-age tales, the coming-out tales, the ones where a lovely lady gets her groove back by sleeping with a strapping native fellow, tales of foreign oppression, heists gone bad, things with ninjas, and of course the family comedies where A Secret Is Revealed that Changes Everything.

The Wedding Cake is a lovely example of a how it really all comes down to execution. Weddings are so laden with symbolism and ripe for drama that it’s no wonder filmmakers are drawn to them, nor that so many of them ride right off the rails (Rachel Getting Married comes to mind). But here’s a movie with a fairly formulaic premise (it’s a family comedy, see, and a secret is revealed that changes everything) and even somewhat clichéd execution that’s sweet and charming and very satisfying.

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I feel like I’d be doing something wrong if I simply described Monogamy as "a descent into madness", because while that’s the heart of it, the film is really about so much more.

Theo (Chris Messina, who I love in every single thing I ever see him in, but especially in this), is a photographer engaged to his lovely musician girlfriend, Nat (Rashida Jones, equally at home in this film). Frustrated with his usual wedding photo jobs, he creates Gumshoot – wherein people can hire him to follow them with a camera and capture candid moments. A fine idea, until someone named "subgirl" contacts him to shoot her erotic adventures. As wedding pressures mount, Theo gets drawn further and further into subgirl’s world, confusing fantasy for reality and slowing destroying his relationship with Nat.

Mixing voyeuristic thrill with heartbreaking realism, Director Dana Adam Shapiro has turned out a fascinating exploration of what can happen when we make assumptions about the person we love and the relationships we’re in, and how easily we can destroy ourselves in the process. On top of that, every frame in this thing looks like an artistic photograph, and the soundtrack had me at Hello.

Side note: bring a box of tissues. If you’re anything like me, you’ll lose at least twice during Theo & Dana’s discussions.

{Monogamy screens at SIFF June 9, 7pm and again June 10, 4pm at SIFF Cinema}

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Since I was reminiscing a bit about the 1982 Tom Hanks masterpiece Mazes & Monters, I thought it might be a good idea to take a look a more modern take on LARP’ing by viewing The Wild Hunt.

LARP’ing, for those that aren’t total nerds (like myself), stands for Live Action Role Playing. Imagine you played a game like World or Warcraft. Now imagine you dressed up like the character you played in WoW and then went to some remote location wherein EVERYONE did the same thing and y’all talked like your character and acted like your character and then played the game with each other in real time….with lots of booze and (mostly) fake weapons. Basically like a more extreme Ren Fair…with elves and fairies and stuff.

Anyway, this movie endeavors to fully immerse you in the experience via Erik, his girlfriend Evelyn, and his berserker Viking brother Bjorn (I’m not being facetious btw, his brother’s character is actually a berserker Viking). Erik’s not in to playing, but Evelyn is apparently bored enough to ditch him for a weekend and shack up with some dude known as "The Shaman Murtagh". But you know, Evelyn’s hot, and I guess Erik loves her or something, because he drags himself up to the LARP location in order to win her back.

Once Erik arrives, Murtagh’s clan starts acting creepier and creepier, until the thin line between reality and the game gets blurred to the point where no one can tell what’s real anymore. I’ll admit this film moves a little slowly, but the ending is totally worth the wait. Make sure you stay through the credits too!

{The Wild Hunt screens at SIFF June 5 at the Egyptian, Midnight and again June 7 at The Neptune, 09:30pm}

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