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