Seattle International Film Festival 2008 Archive

Seattle International Film Festival 2008

Relive the 34th Seattle International Film Festival. Read key details, flip through the full Festival catalog, see photos and other media, and find a full list of feature-length films presented at the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival.

Dates: May 22–June 15, 2008
Number of Days: 25
Venues: Benroya Hall, Cinerama, Egyptian Theatre, Harvard Exit Theatre, McCaw Hall, Moore Theatre, Northwest Film Forum, Pacific Place Cinemas, SIFF Cinema McCaw Hall, Space Needle, Triple Door, Uptown Cinemas

Opening Night: Battle in Seattle at McCaw Hall
Closing Night: Bottle Shock at Cinerama
Tribute: Sir Ben Kingsley
Emerging Masters: Fatih Akin, David MacKenzie, Abdellatif Kechiche, Jeremy Podeswa


FESTIVAL CATALOG


TRAILER

On this page: FULL LINEUP DETAILS

Photos

SIFF staff, including long-time programmers, Dustin Kaspar, Maryna Ajaja, current Artistic Director, Beth Barrett, Artistic Director, Carl Spence, and Managing Director, Deborah Person

SIFF staff, including long-time programmers, Dustin Kaspar, Maryna Ajaja, current Artistic Director, Beth Barrett, Artistic Director, Carl Spence, and Managing Director, Deborah Person

SIFF staff, including long-time programmers, Dustin Kaspar, Maryna Ajaja, current Artistic Director, Beth Barrett, Artistic Director, Carl Spence, and Managing Director, Deborah Person

SIFF staff, including long-time programmers, Dustin Kaspar, Maryna Ajaja, current Artistic Director, Beth Barrett, Artistic Director, Carl Spence, and Managing Director, Deborah Person

Bottle Shock
Bottle Shock
The Great Buck Howard
The Great Buck Howard
American Teen
American Teen
Battle In Seattle
Battle In Seattle
The Edge Of Heaven
The Edge Of Heaven
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami

FULL LINEUP DETAILS

Awards

Golden Space Needle Awards

Best Film
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami (dir. Doris Dörrie, Germany)

Best Director
Amin Matalqua (Captain Abu Raed, Jordan)

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain (Jolene)

Best Actor
Alan Rickman (Bottle Shock)

Best Short
Felix (dir. Andreas Utta, Germany)

Best Documentary
The Wrecking Crew (dir. Denny Tedesco, USA)

Juried Competition Awards

New Directors Competition Grand Jury Prize
Everything Is Fine (dir. Yves-Christian Fournier, Canada)

New American Cinema Competition Grand Jury Prize
Em (dir. Tony Barbieri, USA)

Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize
Derek (dir. Isaac Julien, UK)

List of Feature-Length Films

The 27 Club - dir. Erica Dunton, 2008, USA

32A - dir. Marian Quinn, 2007, Ireland

The 3 Little Pigs - dir. Patrick Huard, 2007, Canada

About Water - dir. Udo Maurer, 2007, Austria/Luxembourg

Accelerating America - dir. Timothy Hotchner, 2008, USA

Ain’t Scared - dir. Audrey Estrougo, 2007, France

Alexander Nevsky - dir. Sergei Eisenstein, Dmitri Vasilyev, 1938, Soviet Union

Alexandra - dir. Alexander Sokurov, 2007, Russia/France

Alice, Upside Down - dir. Sandy Tung, 2007, USA

All Will Be Well - dir. Tomasz Wiszniewski, 2007, Poland

Alone in Four Walls - dir. Alexandra Westmeier, 2007, Germany

American Son - dir. Neil Abramson, 2008, USA

American Teen - dir. Nanette Burstein, 2008, USA

Anvil! The Story of Anvil - dir. Sacha Gervasi, 2008, USA

Apollo 54 - dir. Giordano Giulivi, 2007, Italy

The Art of Negative Thinking - dir. Bård Breien, 2007, Norway

Ask Not - dir. Johnny Symons, 2008, USA, Iraq/France/United Kingdom

August - dir. Austin Chick, 2008, USA

Bad Habits - dir. Simón Bross, 2007, Mexico

Baghead - dir. Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, 2008, USA

Ballast - dir. Lance Hammer, 2008, USA

Battle in Seattle - dir. Stuart Townsend, 2007, USA

Becky Sharp - dir. Rouben Mamoulian, 1935, USA

Before I Forget - dir. Jacques Nolot, 2007, France

Before the Rains - dir. Santosh Sivan, 2007, India/USA

Be Like Others - dir. Tanaz Eshaghian, 2008, United Kingdom/Canada/USA/Iran

Ben X - dir. Nic Balthazar, 2007, Belgium/Netherlands

Bigger Stronger Faster - dir. Christopher Bell, 2008, USA

Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life - dir. Robert Levi, 2007, USA/France

Blind Mountain - dir. Li Yang, 2007, China/Germany/Hong Kong

Bliss - dir. Abdullah Oguz, 2007, Turkey

Blood Brothers - dir. Alexi Tan, 2007, Taiwan/China/Hong Kong

The Bluetooth Virgin - dir. Russell Brown, 2008, USA

Bottle Shock - dir. Randall Miller, 2008, USA

Boy A - dir. John Crowley, 2007, United Kingdom

Boystown - dir. Juan Flahn, 2007, Spain

Breakfast With Scot - dir. Laurie Lynd, 2007, Canada

Brick Lane - dir. Sarah Gavron, 2007, United Kingdom

Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame - dir. Hana Makhmalbaf , 2007, Iran/France

Butterfly Dreaming - dir. Rufus Williams, 2008, USA

Cafe de Los Maestros - dir. Miguel Kohan, 2007, Argentina/Brazil/USA

California Dreamin’ (Endless) - dir. Cristian Nemescu, 2007, Romania

Call Me Troy - dir. Scott Bloom, 2007, USA

Camille - dir. Gregory Mackenzie, 2008, USA

Captain Abu Raed - dir. Amin Matalqa, 2007, Jordan/USA

Captain Ahab - dir. Philippe Ramos, 2007, France/Sweden

Casting a Glance - dir. James Benning, 2007, USA

Cecil B. DeMented - dir. John Waters, 2000 , France/USA

Cherry Blossoms-Hanami - dir. Doris Dörrie, 2008, Germany

The Children of Huang Shi - dir. Roger Spottiswoode, 2008, Australia/China

Choke - dir. Clark Gregg, 2008, USA

Chris & Don: A Love Story - dir. Guido Santi, Tina Mascara, 2007, USA/Ireland

Christopher Columbus, the Enigma - dir. Manuel De Oliveira, 2007, Portugal/France

Chrysalis - dir. Julian Leclerq, 2007, France

The Church on Dauphine Street - dir. Ann Hedreen, Rustin Thompson, 2007, USA

The Cloud - dir. Gregor Schnitzler, 2006, Germany

Cochochi - dir. Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán, 2007, Mexico/UK/Canada

Combalimon - dir. Raphaël Mathié, 2007, France

Continental, a Film Without Guns - dir. Stéphane Lafleur, 2007, Canada

Creative Nature - dir. John Andres, 2008, USA

The Dark Horse - dir. Cornelia Duryé Moore, 2008, USA

Days and Clouds - dir. Silvio Soldini, 2007, Italy/Switzerland

Derek - dir. Isaac Julien, 2008, United Kingdom

The Disappeared - dir. Johnny Kevorkian, 2008, United Kingdom

Donkey Punch - dir. Olly Blackburn, 2008, United Kingdom

Dream Boy - dir. James Bolton, 2008, USA

The Drummer - dir. Kenneth Bi, 2007, Hong Kong/Taiwan

Dust - dir. Hartmut Bitomsky, 2007, Germany/Switzerland

Eat, For This is My Body - dir. Michelange Quay, 2007, Haiti/France

The Edge of Heaven - dir. Fatih Akin, 2007, Germany/Turkey

Elegy - dir. Isabel Coixet, 2007, USA

Elite Squad - dir. José Padilha, 2007, Brazil

Em - dir. Tony Barbieri, 2008, USA

Emmanuel Jal: War Child - dir. C. Karim Chrobog, 2008, USA

Empties - dir. Jan Svěrák, 2007, Czech Republic/UK

Encarnación - dir. Anahí Berneri, 2007, Argentina

Encounters at the End of the World - dir. Werner Herzog, 2007, USA

The End - dir. Nicola Collins, 2008, USA

Epitaph - dir. Jung Brothers, 2007, South Korea

Erik Nietzsche The Early Years - dir. Jacob Thuesen, 2007, Denmark

Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone - dir. Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hideaki Anno, 2007, Japan

Everything is Fine - dir. Yves-Christian Fournier, 2008, Canada

Faces - dir. Gmax, 2007, Netherlands/France

Faces - dir. John Cassavetes, 1968, USA

Fairytale of Kathmandu - dir. Neasa Ní Chianáin, 2007, United Kingdom/Ireland

The Fall - dir. Tarsem Singh, 2007, USA/UK/India

Fantastic Parasuicides - dir. Seong-ho Kim, Soo-yeong Park, Chang-ho Jo, 2007, South Korea

Female Agents - dir. Jean-Paul Salomé, 2008, France

Fields of Fuel- dir. Josh Tickell, 2007, USA/France/Germany/UK

Fighter - dir. Natasha Arthy, 2007, Denmark

The Five Senses - dir. Jeremy Podeswa, 1999, Canada

Flatmates - dir. Magnus Mork, 2007, Sweden/Norway

FLOW: For Love of Water - dir. Irena Salina, 2008, USA/Bolivia/India/France

Foster Child - dir. Brillante Mendoza, 2007, Philippines

Four Women - dir. Adoor Gopalakrishnan, 2007, India

Frozen River - dir. Courtney Hunt, 2008, USA

Fugitive Pieces - dir. Jeremy Podeswa, 2007, Canada/Greece

Games of Love & Chance - dir. Abdellatif Kechiche, 2003, France

Garage - dir. Lenny Abrahamson, 2007, Ireland

Garden Party - dir. Jason Freeland, 2008, USA

Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Tennis Shoes - dir. Peter Rosen, 2008, USA

The Girl by the Lake - dir. Andrea Molaioli, 2007, Italy

A Girl Cut in Two - dir. Claude Chabrol, 2007, France

Girl Sparks - dir. Ishii Yuya, 2007, Japan

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - dir. Alex Gibney, 2008, USA

Good Food - dir. Melissa Young, Mark Dworkin, 2008, USA

Go With Peace Jamil - dir. Omar Shargawi, 2008, Denmark

The Great Buck Howard - dir. Sean McGinly, 2008, USA

Great Speeches From A Dying World - dir. Linas Phillips, 2007, USA

The Greening of Southie - dir. Ian Cheney, 2008, USA/Bolivia

Hair: Let The Sun Shine In - dir. Pola Rapaport, Wolfgang Held, 2007, USA/France

Half-Life - dir. Jennifer Phang, 2008, USA

Head-On - dir. Fatih Akin, 2004, Germany/Turkey

Heartbeat Detector - dir. Nicolas Klotz, 2007, France

Heavy Metal in Baghdad - dir. Eddy Moretti, Suroosh Alvi, 2007, USA/Canada

Hidden Face - dir. Bernard Campan, 2007, France/Belgium

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go - dir. Kim Longinotto, 2007, United Kingdom

The Home Song Stories - dir. Tony Ayres, 2007, Australia/Singapore

Huddersfield - dir. Ivan Zivkovic, 2007, Serbia/Bosnia-Herzegovina

Idiots and Angels - dir. Bill Plympton, 2008, USA

In Search of Kennedy - dir. Chuck Workman, 2008, USA/Germany/Venezuela/Sierra Leone

In the Land of the Headhunters - dir. Edward S. Curtis, 1914, USA

Island Etude - dir. Chen Huai-en, 2007, Taiwan

The Island of Lost Souls - dir. Nikolaj Arcel , 2007, Denmark

It Always Rains on Sunday - dir. Robert Hamer, 1947, United Kingdom

It’s Hard to Be Nice - dir. Srdjan Vuletiç, 2007, Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/UK/Serbia/Montenegro/Slovenia

Jar City - dir. Baltasar Kormákur, 2007, Iceland

Jolene - dir. Dan Ireland, 2008, USA

Jose and Pilar - dir. Miguel Goncalves Mendes, 2010, Portugal/Spain/Brazil

Juju Factory - dir. Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda, 2007, Democratic Republic of Congo/France/Belgium

Katyń - dir. Andrzej Wajda, 2007, Poland

King of Ping Pong - dir. Jens Jonsson, 2007, Sweden

Kiss the Bride - dir. C. Jay Cox, 2007, USA

Kung Fu Panda - dir. Mark Osborne, John Stevenson, 2008, USA

Lady Jane - dir. Robert Guédiguian, 2007, France

La France - dir. Serge Bozon, 2007, France

Lakshmi and Me - dir. Nishtha Jain, 2007, India/Denmark/Finland/USA

The Last Mistress - dir. Catherine Breillat, 2007, France/Italy

Late Bloomers - dir. Bettina Oberli, 2007, Switzerland

Leroy - dir. Armin Völckers, 2007, Germany

Let the Right One In - dir. Tomas Alfredson, 2008, Sweden

Letting Go of God - dir. Julia Sweeney, 2008, USA

Loos Ornamental - dir. Heinz Emigholz, 2008, Austria

A Lost Man - dir. Danielle Arbid, 2007, Lebanon/France

Love and Honor - dir. Yôji Yamada, 2007, Japan

Love and Other Crimes - dir. Stefan Arsenijevic, 2007, Germany/Serbia/Austria/Slovenia

Mad Detective - dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai, 2007, Hong Kong/China

Magnus - dir. Kadri Kõusaar, 2007, Estonia/UK

Máncora - dir. Ricardo de Montreuil, 2008, Spain/Peru

Man on Wire - dir. James Marsh, 2007, United Kingdom

A Man’s Job - dir. Aleksi Salmenperä, 2007, Finland

Mermaid - dir. Anna Melikyan, 2007, Russia

Michou d’Auber - dir. Thomas Gilou , 2007, France

Milky Way - dir. Benedek Fliegauf, 2007, Hungary, Germany

Mirageman - dir. Ernesto Díaz Espinoza, 2007, Chile/USA

Mister Foe - dir. David Mackenzie, 2007, United Kingdom

Momma’s Man - dir. Azazel Jacobs, 2008, USA

Mongol - dir. Sergei Bodrov, 2007, Kazakhstan/Germany/Russia

The Mother of Tears - dir. Dario Argento, 2007, Italy/USA

Movie, or An Introduction To The Philosophy Of Auteur Film Making - dir. Ivo Trajkov, 2007, Czech Republic/Republic of Macedonia

Mr. Big - dir. Tiffany Burns, 2007, Canada

My Effortless Brilliance - dir. Lynn Shelton, 2008, USA

Mysteries of Pittsburgh - dir. Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2008, USA

Newcastle - dir. Dan Castle, 2008, Australia

Night Tide - dir. Curtis Harrington, 1961, USA

Nocturna - dir. Adrià García, Víctor Maldonado, 2007, Spain/France

One Hundred Nails - dir. Ermanno Olmi, 2007, Italy

On the Wings of Dreams - dir. Golam Rabbany Biplob, 2007, Bangladesh

Opium - Diary of a Madwoman - dir. János Szász, 2007, Hungary/Germany

The Order of Myths - dir. Margaret Brown, 2008, USA

Otto; or, Up With Dead People - dir. Bruce LaBruce, 2008, Germany/Canada

Partes Usadas - dir. [DIRECTOR], 2007, Mexico

Patti Smith: Dream of Life - dir. Steven Sebring, 2008, USA

Perfect Match… - dir. Anne-Marie Étienne, 2007, France

Phoebe in Wonderland - dir. Daniel Barnz, 2008, USA

Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema - dir. Todd McCarthy, 2007, USA

Ploy - dir. Pen-ek Ratanaruang, 2007, Thailand

The Pope’s Toilet - dir. Enrique Fernandez, César Charlone, 2007, Uruguay

Pornography in Israel - dir. Ari Libsker, 2007, Israel

Postcards from Leningrad - dir. Mariana Rondón, 2007, Venezuela

Princess of the Sun - dir. Philippe Leclerc, 2007, France/Hungary

PVC-1 - dir. Spiros Stathoulopoulos, 2007, Colombia

Ramchand Pakistan - dir. Mehreen Jabbar , 2007, Pakistan/United States

The Red Awn - dir. Cai Shangjun, 2007, China

Romeo and Juliet - dir. Franco Zeffirelli, 1968, Italy

The Saga of Anatahan - dir. Josef von Sternberg, 1953, Japan

Salawati - dir. Marc X. Grigoroff, 2008, Singapore

Saturn in Opposition - dir. Ferzan Ozpetek, 2007, Italy

Savage Grace - dir. Tom Kalin, 2007, USA/Spain

Saving Luna - dir. Suzanne Chisholm, Michael Parfit, 2007, Canada

A Secret - dir. Claude Miller, 2007, France

The Secret of the Grain - dir. Abdellatif Kechiche, 2007, France

The Sentimental Bloke - dir. Raymond Longford, 1919, Australia

Sexy Beast - dir. Jonathan Glazer, 2000, United Kingdom/Spain

Shadow of the Holy Book - dir. Arto Halonen, 2007, Finland/Switzerland/Denmark

Shall We Kiss? - dir. Emmanuel Mouret, 2007, France

Shelter Me - dir. Marco Simon Puccioni, 2007, Italy, France

Sita Sings the Blues- dir. Nina Paley, 2008, USA

Sleep Dealer - dir. Alex Rivera, 2008, USA, Mexico

Slingshot - dir. Brillante Mendoza, 2007, Philippines/Canada

Snowdrop - dir. Simon Miller, 2007, Scotland

Some Assembly Required - dir. Dori Berinstein, 2008, USA

Sonetàula - dir. Salvatore Mereu, 2008, Italy/France/Belgium

The Song of Sparrows - dir. Majid Majidi, 2008, Iran

Song Sung Blue - dir. Greg Kohs, 2008, USA

Son of a Lion - dir. Benjamin Gilmour, 2007, Australia

Sparrow - dir. Johnnie To, 2007, Hong Kong/China

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel - dir. Ari Libsker, 2007, Israel

Still Life - dir. Jia Zhang-ke, 2007, China/Hong Kong

Still Orangutans - dir. Gustavo Spolidoro, 2007, Brazil

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains - dir. Gonzalo Arijon, 2007, France

Strangers - dir. Erez Tadmor, Guy Nattiv, 2007, Israel

Sügisball - dir. Veiko Öunpuu, 2007, Estonia

Sukiyaki Western Django - dir. Takeshi Miike, 2007, Japan

Summer Heat - dir. Monique van de Ven, 2008, Netherlands

  1. W. Murnau’s Sunrise - dir. F. W. Murnau, 1927, USA

Sweet Thing - dir. Joe Lia, 2008, USA

Taxidermia - dir. György Pálfi, 2006, Hungary/Austria/France

TBS (Nothing to Lose) - dir. Pieter Kuijpers, 2008, Netherlands

Teddy Bear - dir. Jan Hřebejk, 2007, Czech Republic

Terra - dir. Aristomenis Tsirbas, 2007, USA

Theater of War - dir. John Walter, 2008, USA

They Killed Sister Dorothy - dir. Daniel Junge, 2008, USA

This Way Up - dir. Georgi Lazarevski, 2007, France

Timecrimes - dir. Nacho Vigalondo, 2007, Spain

Time to Die - dir. Dorota Kędzierzawska, 2007, Poland

Towelhead - dir. Alan Ball, 2007, USA

Transsiberian - dir. Brad Anderson, 2008, United Kingdom/Germany/Spain/Lithuania/China

Triangle - dir. Tsui Hark, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam, 2007, Hong Kong/China

Trouble the Water - dir. Tia Lessin, Carl Deal, 2008, USA

Tulia, Texas - dir. Cassandra Herrman, Kelly Whalen, 2008, USA

Under the Bombs - dir. Philippe Aractingi, 2007, Lebanon/France/UK/Belgium

Unfinished Sky - dir. Peter Duncan, 2007, Australia

The Unknown Woman - dir. Giuseppe Tornatore, 2007, Italy

Up the Yangtze - dir. Yung Chang, 2007, Canada

Vexille - dir. Fumihiko Sori, 2007, Japan

Vice - dir. Valery Todorovsky, 2007, Russia

Villa Jasmin - dir. Férid Boughedir, 2008, Tunisia

Visioneers - dir. Jared Drake, 2008, USA

The Wackness - dir. Jonathan Levine, 2008, USA

Walt & El Grupo - dir. Theodore Thomas, 2008, USA

Warlords - dir. Peter Chan, Wai Man Yip, 2008, Hong Kong/China

The Wave - dir. Dennis Gansel, 2008, Germany

We Want Roses Too - dir. Alina Marazzi, 2007, Italy/Switzerland
When Did You Last See Your Father? - dir. Anand Tucker, 2007, United Kingdom

Who’s Afraid of Kathy Acker? - dir. Barbara Caspar, 2008, Austria/Germany

A Wink and a Smile - dir. Deirdre Timmons, 2008, USA

Wonderful Town - dir. Aditya Assarat, 2007, Thailand

The Wrecking Crew - dir. Denny Tedesco, 2008, USA

XXY - dir. Lucia Puenzo, 2007, Argentina/Spain/France

Young Adam - dir. David MacKenzie, 2003, United Kingdom/Scotland

The Young Master - dir. Jackie Chan, 1980, Hong Kong

You, The Living - dir. Roy Andersson, 2007, Sweden/France/Germany/Denmark/Norway/Japan

Young People Fucking - dir. Martin Gero, 2007, Canada

Special Programs & Events

An Afternoon with F. Murray Abraham 

Alternate Cinema - included 9 feature films and 2 shorts packages

Archival Films - included 5 feature films 

Centerpiece Gala: The Great Buck Howard at Egyptian Theatre 

Emerging Masters: Fatih Akin - included The Edge of Heaven, Head-On, Abdellatif Kechiche - included The Secret of the Grain, Games of Love & Chance, David Mackenzie - included Mister Foe, Young Adam, Jeremy Podeswa - included Fugitive Pieces, The Five Senses Documentary Competition - included 8 feature films 

Face the Music - included 8 feature films 

Face the Music Live: The Album Leaf Performs F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise 

Films4Families - included 7 feature films and one shorts package 

FutureWave - included 8 feature films and one shorts package 

Fly Filmmaking Challenge

Gay-La: Kiss the Bride at Egyptian Theatre 

The Golden Space Needle Awards Brunch at the Space Needle 

Midnight Adventure - included 8 feature films

New American Cinema - included 8 feature films 

New Directors Showcase - included 8 feature films 

Northwest Connections - included 11 feature films and one shorts package

Northwest Production Summit 

Outstanding Achievement in Acting: Sir Gen Kingsley - included Elegy, Sexy Beast

Panels: Show Me the Money, So You Want to Be an Independent Producer?, The Pitch Slam

Planet Cinema - included 8 feature films

Secret Festival

SIFF Classroom: Digital Media Lab: Introduction to Final Cut Pro, Advanced Techniques in Final Cut Pro, DVD Authoring with DVD Studio Pro, Introduction to Final Cut Studio, Encoding

SIFF My Festival - included 10 feature films and ten short films, all streamed online between May 23rd and June 8th

SIFF ShortsFest Weekend - included 14 shorts packages 

Special Archival Presentations: Alexander Nevsky with the Seattle Symphony, In the Land of the Head Hunters

Special Presentations: Seattle Arts & Lectures and SIFF present: John Waters at Benroya Hall, American Teen at Egyptian Theatre, Jolene at Cinerama, Man on Wire at Egyptian Theatre

SuperFly Premiere

Talking Pictures: John Waters presents Cecil B. DeMented, Stephanie Shine presents Romeo and Juliet, Howard Patterson presents The Young Master

Three-Minute Masterpieces