♪♪
[BETH BARRETT] I am coming to you
from the balcony of the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill.
SIFF 2022 is a true hybrid experience.
You know, one of the things that we learned from being virtual
last year was that people SIFFed in very different ways.
Some people really love being part of the festival from their home.
I know I love being part of the festival in person.
And so going into this year with the planning,
we were really very clear that we wanted as many films as we could
to be available, both in-person and virtually,
and we wanted to sort of have that accessibility so that people
could share these amazing films in the way that felt comfortable for them.
So we have 262 films,
we've got 155 feature presentations and 13 short-film
packages, and all of those will be available in cinemas.
We also have 95 of those feature films and all 13 short film packages available
on our SIFF channel, and those will be available on demand from April 14 to 24.
This year we have 80 countries of production
representing and that's that's pretty standard for us.
One of our true tenants is to bring the world to Seattle.
And as we're doing our curation, as we're doing our programing,
we're very cognizant and very aware of the fact that we are representing
communities and regions across the world
and really trying to get their stories out and amplify as much as possible.
♪♪
(Narration in French)
Film creates conversation.
And some of the conversations that we're having in the world right now
are about human rights and social justice, freedom of choice, democracy itself.
And our opening and closing films both deepen those conversations
and keep them going.
(Come on. Poisoned? I don't believe it.)
(It's like he's back.
This is Alex saying...)
(If you want to kill someone, just shoot him. Jesus Christ.)
We're opening the festival with Daniel Roher's"Navalny" about Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader in Russia,
who was poisoned by Putin and survived to tell the tale and then return to Russia.
And just this last week was sentenced to an additional nine years in prison
for standing up for democracy
and anti-authoritarianism in the country he loves.
And then our closing film is Phyllis Nagy's "Call Jane"
about the Jane Collective, which is a true-life
abortion provider collective in Chicago in the '60s.
This is a fictionalized version starring Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver
and many, many others about a woman who needs an abortion before it's legal
and is able to find the Janes and the changes
that that has within her world and her marriage and her friendships.
So we have our culinary cinema
returns this year.
(Japanese being spoken)
(I'm running )
Indigenous is back with a terrific four
feature films and a short film program.
(It's in your blood.)
(Type two diabetes is manageable with proper care.
Her mother had it.) (For a second I thought you died)
(Do I look sick to you?)
♪♪
We have our WTF,
which is weird, terrifying and fantastic.
(screeching tires)
We're also getting African pictures.
(On the beds.)
(foreign language spoken)
(Spanish spoken)
[BETH BARRETT] Films from Ibero-America...
some really just incredible journeys around the world.
One of the amazing films that we have
is called "The Territory." It's from Alex Prince.
He worked with an indigenous tribe within the jungles of Brazil.
And the tribe itself acted as the producing partners.
And a lot of the cinematography was shot by this Brazilian indigenous tribe.
(Persian dialogue)
There's a terrific Iranian film called "Hit
the Road," which is a road movie.
So it's traveling through all of the different parts of Iran,
which is spectacular to watch.
(jubulent shouting)
One of the ones the most excited about sharing with audiences
is "Daughter of a Lost Bird," Brooke Pipeon Swaney's film
about Kendra Potter from the Lummi Nation, who was adopted out to a white family
as a baby and growing up and finding her birth mother.
(Hi, April.
This is Kendra Hodder, your birth daughter.
I don't know if leaving a voicemail is too weird.)
In really investigating those feelings
that come up about, you know, what does being Native today look like
and how do you merge those two parts of yourself?
(Don't be ashamed who you are now.
Your ancestors are here.
They like you here.)
We definitely have some really amazing coming of age stories
like Cooper Raiffs "Cha Cha Real Smooth," which won the audience award at Sundance.
A little aimless early 20 something who becomes a bar mitzvah deejay.
Very funny, funny, amazing movie.
We've got "Day by Day," which is the new comedy film
from Felix Herngren, who did the "100 Year Old Man
Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared."
And this, again, stars five senior citizens on a road trip across Europe.
You got "The Pez Outlaw," which just won an award at South
by Southwest about a an actual Pez dispenser
smuggler who smuggled in Pez dispensers from Eastern Europe.
It's a terrific tale and very, very funny.
There is a certain amount of
energy that comes with being together in a cinema.
You know, jokes are funnier.
Jump scares are scarier.
Creepy things are creepier.
There's a there's an ability of humans
to ignore nuance.
When you're sitting at home, when you're in the cinema,
the nuances are able to build and to grow and to provide
a complete experience.
It's the levels of accessibility
that we're able to provide by having a hybrid festival is amazing.
We know that there are people that are just not able to get to the cinemas
or that may not feel safe quite yet.
And to be able to provide access to these stories
and to have the experience that their friends are having
in the cinemas and be able to talk about it is incredible.
(And that one was for the title.)
(Golf? Golf?)
(I'm going to have a crack at the British Open.)
I hope that people approach surf and approach the festival
with an open mind and an open heart because film creates empathy.
And I hope that people meet someone new and learn about something new.
Our entertainers give a small film a chance because it's often
those films that you didn't expect that change your world.
♪♪
[NANCY GUPPY] The Seattle International Film Festival runs April 14th
through the 24th at multiple Northwest theaters and online.
The festival schedule, plus ticket and pass information, is at...
siff.net/festival
♪♪
Catch Art Zone Friday nights at 8 p.m.
and anytime online at seattlechannel.org/artzone