The Seattle International Film Festival is well underway, with film fanatics coming down from an overcast weekend’s cinematic overdose. True professionals, though, are likely just hitting their stride as the festival stretches into its first full week of regular screenings. While there are plenty of options in town, this is the week that SIFF expands its reach to temporarily embrace the good people of Renton. Festivities kick off with a gala presentation of Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely and continue with a week’s worth of movies at the IKEA Performing Arts Center. Those who aren’t willing to make the commute to will still find tons of fresh options right here at home. Below, we provide a few suggestions for your cinematic dance card.
Keep track of all The SunBreak’s festival coverage on our SIFF 2013 page.
Mistaken for Strangers: Matt Berninger, the lead singer of the The National, invited his younger brother Tom to take a break from their parents basement and ride along on the band’s 2010 tour to help as a roadie. Although Tom isn’t particularly well suited toward the attention to detail required to keep an eye on tour rider or with the vision required to make a concert film, he inadvertently made a self-centered horror movie about the consequences of hiring an aimless sibling as support staff and/or documentarian.
- May 21, 2013 4:00 PM Egyptian Theatre
Scrapper: In his latest, Seattle filmmaker, musician (Ephrata), music video director (Jaill, Vivian Girls), photographer Brady Hall brings the story of a south Seattle metal forager (Michael Beach) whose life takes a turn upon finding a teenaged runway (Anna Giles) locked up in Mayor Littlefinger Carcetti’s (Aidan Gillen) basement. Adult film star Joanna Angel is among the cast; an afterparty at the Crocodile featuring Kithkin, Rose Windows, and Ephrata follows Tuesday’s screening.
- May 21, 2013 6:00 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
- May 22, 2013 4:00 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
Bwakaw asks the eternal question: What happens when a grumpy old man finally comes to terms with his sexual orientation? Veteran Filipino movie star Eddie Garcia plays Rene as a fully realized character, dealing with his late-life discovery at the same time as facing his very real mortality, and trying to make friends with someone besides his dog. It’s a dramedy, people.
- May 21, 9:15 p.m., Harvard Exit
- May 23, 4 p.m., Harvard Exit
Touchy Feely : Two years ago, Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister opened SIFF. This year, her latest opens the weeklong Renton branch of the festival with a gala at the Renton Events Pavillion. The program describes it as “a touching comedy about touching people” — Rosamarie DeWitt is a massage therapist with an aversion to bodily contact, her brother is a failing dentist with a jawache, Ellen Page tries to keep the practice afloat, and Allison Janney shows up as a Reiki master with a healing non-touch. Emotions ensue.
- May 23, 2013, 7:00 PM Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center | Party at Renton Events Pavilion follows
- May 25, 2013 1:30 PM Egyptian Theatre
Yellow: Nick Cassavetes’s best outing so far reimagines, says Indiewire’s Eric Kohn, “Bad Teacher by way of Bob Fosse and Todd Solondz.” Co-writer Mary Holmes also plays reality-challenged substitute teacher Heather Wahlquist who trades in a trainwreck of a career for sweet home Oklahoma, only to discover past traumas still smoldering.
- May 23, 2013 7:00 PM Egyptian Theatre
- May 24, 2013 4:30 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
- May 25, 2013 6:00 PM Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center
The Last Shepherd: SIFF 2012 brought you Winter Nomads, about a Swiss winter shepherd driving his flock to new grazing grounds; this documentary introduces you to Renato Zucchelli, the last shepherd in Lombardi, Italy, and his unique brand of guerrilla marketing. If you like shepherds and the sheep they care for, it’s obviously unmissable.
- May 22, 2013 6:00 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
- May 24, 2013 4:00 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
More than Honey: The SunBreak is a little bee-crazy, so we’ll go see any film they’re in. Swiss director Markus Imhoof is the latest filmmaker to tackle the mystery of what’s killing off bees worldwide, and he visits with the usual suspects: beekeepers, farmers, and scientists (Imhoof is himself a third generation beekeeper). His film was huge in Switzerland, so Seattle (which also loves chocolate, cheese, and climbing mountains) will likely turn out for it as well.
- May 23, 2013 8:30 PM SIFF Cinema Uptown
- June 4, 2013 4:30 PM Egyptian Theatre
