2013 Seattle International Film Festival (May 16th – June 9th)

The 2013 Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) starts next week, Thursday, May 16th with a gala event and a screening of the very fun, and sold out, Much Ado About Nothing, once you get used to the Shakespearian dialogue in the modern day setting. But, I wanted to point out what else is going on, how to find flicks, and how to get tickets and passes for the three week event.

My favorite thing about SIFF is that it gives you a chance to see films that you probably would have never even come across, but you would thoroughly enjoy. At this year’s festival they will be screening 197 features and 175 shorts. These films come from around the world with some 85 different countries being represented. SIFF is bringing 49 World, 47 North American, and 18 U.S. feature and short-film premieres to Seattle area film fans.

How to Find What Films are Playing at SIFF 2013?

• Check out the SIFF 2013 Calendar
• Read or Download the Festival Guide
• Films A to Z: Sort by Film Program, Genre, Country, Director or Mood
• Use siffter to sort through films by country, day, genre, time, and/or venue
• SIFFnotes from The Stranger

How Do I Get Tickets/Passes to SIFF Screenings?

Tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at any Festival box office up to 30 minutes before showtime or until they sell out. Within the 30 minute window before showtime, tickets have to be purchased at the venue for that film or event. All venue box offices open 30 minutes before the first screening of the day and close 15 minutes after the last screening of the day begins. Find out more at the SIFF Box Office.

What Else is Going on at SIFF?

Well, besides all the films and shorts they will be honoring actor Kyle MacLachlan and director Peter Greenaway.

• An Evening With Kyle MacLachlan will include the presentation of the Seattle International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting, an onstage interview with film clips from his career, a Q&A, and a screening of the Twin Peaks pilot.
  
• An Afternoon With Peter Greenaway will include the iconoclastic genius behind such astonishing films as The Draughtsman’s Contract, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Pillow Book, and Goltzius and the Pelican Company providing a premise and a challenge in his forum: is the contemporary cinema’s dependence on text leading to the death of cinema?
• The Bling Ring: Closing Night Gala – Ripped from the headlines, five celebrity-obsessed teenagers barrel through the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles, illegally pilfering the goods of the rich and famous, in Sofia Coppola’s bitingly funny satire with a razor-sharp edge.
  

The 2013 Seattle International Film Festival swings into full effect as of Friday, May 17th with dozens of films being screened around the Seattle area each day for the next 24 days. Now get out there and go see some movies.