Programmers, Dan Doody and Megan Leonard, pose with guests for ShortsFest Opening Night
Relive the 44th 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 2018 Seattle International Film Festival.
Dates: May 17–June 10, 2018
Number of Days: 25
Venues: Ark Lodge Cinemas, Central Library, Dar Rainier Chapter House, Fisher Pavilion, The House Studios, Kirkland Performance Center, Lincoln Square, Majestic Bay Theatres, McCaw Hall, MOHAI, Nordic Museum, AMC Pacific Place 11, Shoreline Community College Theater, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Film Center, SIFF VR Zone at Pac Place, The Triple Door, 2 W Roy St
Opening Night: The Bookshop at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall
Closing Night: Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot at SIFF Cinema Egyptian
Tribute: Ethan Hawke, Melanie Lynsky
Photos
Programmers, Dan Doody and Megan Leonard, pose with guests for ShortsFest Opening Night
SIFF programmer, Clinton McClung, intoducing a film during the 44th Seattle International Film Festival
Filmmakers Jeff Barehand, Masahiro Sugano, Graham Bourque, Kendra Ann Sherrill, Elliat Graney-Saucke, and Myisa Plancq-Graham with SIFF Executive Director Sarah Wilke, Programmer Dustin Kaspar, and Amy Lillard of Washington Filmworks at the SIFF 2018 Fly Filmmkaing Challenge screening
Audiences gather in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall for Opening Night of the festival, featuring the film, The Bookshop
Director, Michael Polish, and producer, Kate Bosworth, take selfies with fans on the red carpet before the screening of their film, Nona
Cast and crew of Sadie including Actor Tee Dennard, Producer Jennessa West, Actor Sophia Mitri Schloss, Director Megan Griffiths, Producer Lacey Leavitt, and Editor Celia Beasley
Best Film
Eighth Grade (dir. Bo Burnham, USA)
Best Director
Gustav Möller (The Guilty, Denmark)
Best Actress
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade)
Best Actor
Miguel Ángel Solá (The Last Suit)
Best Short
Emergency (dir. Carey Williams, USA)
Best Documentary
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (dir. Morgan Neville, USA)
Official Competition Grand Jury Prize
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem (dir. Muayad Alayan, Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/Mexico)
New Directors Competition Grand Jury Prize
Dead Pigs (dir. Cathy Yan, China/USA)
New American Cinema Competition Grand Jury Prize
Thunder Road (dir. Jim Cummings, USA)
Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize
Inventing Tomorrow (dir. Laura Nix, USA)
Ibero-American Competition Grand Jury Prize
Rust (dir. Aly Muritiba, Brazil)
★ - dir. Johann Lurf, 2017, Austria
1985 - dir. Yen Tan, 2018, USA
Afghan Cycles - dir. Sarah Menzies, 2018, USA/France/Afghanistan
The African Storm - dir. Sylvestre Amoussou, 2017, Benin /France
After the War - dir. Annarita Zambrano, 2017, France/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland
Amateurs - dir. Gabriela Pichler, 2018, Sweden
American Animals - dir. Bart Layton, 2018, USA
Ana, mon Amour - dir. Cãlin Peter Netzer, 2017, Romania/Germany/France
Anchor and Hope - dir. Carlos Marques-Marcet, 2017, Spain/United Kingdom
Angels Wear White - dir. Vivian Qu, 2017, China/France
Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco - dir. James Crump, 2017, USA
Automata - dir. Van Alan, 2017, USA
Ava - dir. Sadaf Foroughi, 2017, Iran/Canada/Qatar
Ballet Now - dir. Steven Cantor, 2018, USA
Beast - dir. Michael Pearce, 2017, United Kingdom
Bee Nation - dir. Lana Šlezić, 2017, Canada
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story - dir. Steve Sullivan, 2018, United Kingdom
Being There - dir. Hal Ashby, 1979, USA
Belle and Sebastian, Friends for Life - dir. Clovis Cornillac, 2018, France
Belle de Jour - dir. Luis Buñuel, 1967, France
The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales… - dir. Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner, 2017, France
Birds Are Singing in Kigali - dir. Joanna Kos-Krauze, Krzysztof Krauze, 2017, Poland
Blaze - dir. Ethan Hawke, 2018, USA
The Bleeding Edge - dir. Kirby Dick, 2018, USA
The Blessed - dir. Sofia Djama, 2017, France/Belgium
Blindspotting - dir. Carlos Lopez Estrada, 2018, USA
Bloody Milk - dir. Hubert Charuel, 2017, France
Blue My Mind - dir. Lisa Brühlmann, 2017, Switzerland
Bodied - dir. Joseph Kahn, 2017, USA
The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful - dir. Yang Ya-che, 2017, Taiwan
The Bookshop - dir. Isabel Coixet, 2017, United Kingdom/Spain/Germany
The Bottomless Bag - dir. Rustam Khamdamov, 2017, Russia
Boundaries - dir. Shana Feste, 2018, USA
Breath - dir. Simon Baker, 2017, Australia
Brewmaster - dir. Douglas Tirola, 2018, USA/Czech Republic
Butterflies - dir. Tolga Karaçelik, 2018, Turkey
Cake General - dir. Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson, 2018, Sweden
The Captain - dir. Robert Schwentke, 2017, Germany/Poland/Portugal/France
Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit - dir. Michael McNamara, Aaron Hancox, 2018, Canada
C’est la vie! - dir. Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, 2017, France/Canada/Belgium
Champions - dir. Javier Fesser, 2018, Spain
The Changeling - dir. Peter Medak, 1980, Canada
The Charmer - dir. Milad Alami, 2017, Denmark/Sweden
Chedeng & Apple - dir. Rae Red, Fatrick Tabada, 2018, Philippines
The Children Act - dir. Richard Eyre, 2017, United Kingdom
Cinderella the Cat - dir. Alessandro Rak, Ivan Cappiello, Marino Guarnieri, Dario Sansone, 2017, Italy
Constructing Albert - dir. Laura Collado, Jim Loomis, 2017, Spain
Cook Off - dir. Tomas L. Brickhill, 2017, Zimbabwe
Crime + Punishment - dir. Stephen Maing, 2018, USA
The Crime of Monsieur Lange - dir. Jean Renoir, 1936, France
Cuban Food Stories - dir. Asori Soto, 2018, Cuba/USA
Dark River - dir. Clio Barnard, 2017, United Kingdom
Dawnland - dir. Adam Mazo, Ben Pender-Cudlip, 2018, USA
Dead Pigs - dir. Cathy Yan, 2018, China/USA
Death of a Poetess - dir. Dana Goldberg, Efrat Mishori, 2017, Israel
The Devil's Doorway - dir. Aislinn Clarke, 2018, United Kingdom
Disobedience - dir. Sebastián Lelio, 2017, United Kingdom/USA/Ireland
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot - dir. Gus Van Sant, 2018, USA
Doubtful - dir. Eliran Elia, 2017, Israel
The Drummer and the Keeper - dir. Nick Kelly, 2017, Ireland/USA
Edward II - dir. Derek Jarman, 1991, United Kingdom/Japan
Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972, Germany
Eighth Grade - dir. Bo Burnham, 2018, USA
Ellen - dir. Daryne Joshua, 2017, South Africa
The Empty Hands - dir. Chapman To, 2017, Hong Kong
Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil - dir. Paul Urkijo Alijo, 2017, Spain/France
The Eternal Road - dir. AJ Annila, 2017, Finland
Every Act of Life - dir. Jeff Kaufman, 2018, USA
The Faces of Zandra Rhodes - dir. David Wiesehan, 2018, USA
Fake Tattoos - dir. Pascal Plante, 2017, Canada (Québec)
Falling - dir. Marina Stepanska, 2017, Ukraine/Italy
The Field Guide to Evil - dir. Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, Peter Strickland, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Katrin Gebbe, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Ashim Ahluwalia, Yannis Veslemes, 2018, Austria/Germany/Greece/Hungary/India/Poland/Turkey/USA
First Reformed - dir. Paul Schrader, 2017, USA
Found Footage Festival: Cherished Gems - dir. Joe Pickett, Nick Prueher, 2018, USA
Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary - dir. Brent Hodge, 2018, USA
Garbage - dir. Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee), 2018, India
Gauguin - dir. Edouard Deluc, 2017, France
Genesis - dir. Árpád Bogdán, 2018, Hungary
Giant - dir. Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi, 2017, Spain
Girls Always Happy - dir. Yang Mingming, 2018, China
Godard Mon Amour - dir. Michel Hazanavicius, 2017, France
Going West - dir. Henrick Martin Daslsbakken, 2018, Norway
Gold Seekers - dir. Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori, 2017, Paraguay
Good Manners - dir. Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas, 2017, Brazil/France
A Good Week for Democracy - dir. Cecilia Björk, 2018, Sweden
The Gospel According to André - dir. Kate Novack, 2017, USA
Green Days by the River - dir. Michael Mooleedhar, 2017, Trinidad and Tobago
The Greenaway Alphabet - dir. Saskia Boddeke, 2017, Netherlands
The Guilty - dir. Gustav Möller, 2018, Denmark
Hagazussa - A Heathen’s Curse - dir. Lukas Feigelfeld, 2017, Germany
Hal - dir. Amy Scott, 2018, USA
Half Widow - dir. Danish Renzu, 2017, India
Happy Birthday - dir. Christos Georgiou, 2017, Greece
Hard Paint - dir. Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon, 2018, Brazil
Hearts Beat Loud - dir. Brett Haley, 2018, USA
The Heiresses - dir. Marcelo Martinessi, 2018, Paraguay/Uruguay/Germany/Brazil/Norway/France
Highlander with Live Soundtrack by DJ NicFit - dir. Russell Mulcahy, 1986, United Kingdom/USA
Hot Mess - dir. Lucy Coleman, 2017, Australia
I Am Not a Witch - dir. Rungano Nyoni, 2017, Zambia/France/United Kingdom
I Miss You When I See You - dir. Simon Chung, 2018, Hong Kong
In Praise of Nothing - dir. Boris Mitic, 2017, Serbia/France/Croatia
Industrial Accident - The Story of Wax Trax! Records - dir. Julia Nash, 2018, USA/Belgium/Canada/Germany
Inventing Tomorrow - dir. Laura Nix, 2018, USA
It Will Be Chaos - dir. Lorena Luciano, Filippo Piscopo, 2018, USA
Jinn - dir. Nijla Mu’min, 2018, USA
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection - dir. Julien Faraut, 2018, France
Julia Blue - dir. Roxy Toporowych, 2018, Ukraine
A Kid Like Jake - dir. Silas Howard, 2018, USA
Killing Jesus - dir. Laura Mora Oretega, 2017, Colombia/Argentina
The King - dir. Eugene Jarecki, 2018, USA/Germany/France
Kiss & Spell - dir. Stephane Gauger, 2017, Vietnam
L’Inferno with live score by My Goodness - dir. Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, Adolfo Padovan, 1911, Italy
Last Child - dir. Shin Dong-seok, 2017, South Korea
The Last Suit - dir. Pablo Solarz, 2017, Argentina/Spain
Leave No Trace - dir. Debra Granik, 2018, USA
Lemonade - dir. Ioana Uricaru, 2018, Romania/Canada/Germany/Sweden
Let The Sunshine In - dir. Claire Denis, 2017, France
Little Tito and the Aliens - dir. Paola Randi, 2017, Italy
The Long Dumb Road - dir. Hannah Fidell, 2018, USA
Looking For? - dir. Tung-yen Chou, 2017, Taiwan
Looking for Oum Kulthum - dir. Shirin Neshat, 2017, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar
Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle - dir. Gustavo Salmerón, 2017, Spain
Love and Shukla - dir. Siddhartha Jatla, 2017, India
Love Education - dir. Sylvia Chang, 2017, China/Taiwan
Love, Gilda - dir. Lisa D’Apolito, 2018, USA
Luk'Luk'I - dir. Wayne Wapeemukwa, 2017, Canada
Luna - dir. Elsa Diringer, 2017, France
Mademoiselle Paradis - dir. Barbara Albert, 2017, Austria/Germany
Maki’la - dir. Machérie Ekwa Bahango, 2018, Democratic Republic of Congo/France
Making the Grade - dir. Ken Wardrop, 2017, Ireland
A Man of Integrity - dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, 2017, Iran
Marilyn - dir. Martín Rodriguez Redondo, 2018, Argentina/Chile
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts - dir. Mouly Surya, 2017, Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand
MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. - dir. Stephen Loveridge, 2018, Sri Lanka/United Kingdom/USA
McQueen - dir. Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, 2018, United Kingdom
Michelin Stars: Tales from the Kitchen - dir. Rasmus Dinesen, 2017, Denmark
The Miseducation of Cameron Post - dir. Desiree Akhavan, 2018, USA
Mobile Homes - dir. Vladimir de Fontenay, 2017, Canada/France
A Moment In the Reeds - dir. Mikko Makela, 2017, Finland/United Kingdom
Moomins and the Winter Wonderland - dir. Ira Carpelan, Jakub Wronski, Bartosz Wierzbieta, 2017, Finland/USA
The Most Dangerous Year - dir. Vlada Knowlton, 2018, USA
The Most Unknown - dir. Ian Cheney, 2018, Belgium/Costa Rica/Italy
Mountain - dir. Jennifer Peedom, 2017, Australia
Mutafukaz - dir. Shôjirô Nishimi, Guillaume Renard, 2017, France/Japan
My Big Gay Italian Wedding - dir. Alessandro Genovesi, 2018, Italy
My Name Is Myeisha - dir. Gus Krieger, 2018, USA
Naila and the Uprising - dir. Julia Bacha, 2017, Palestine/USA
Nancy - dir. Christina Choe, 2018, USA
Naples in Veils - dir. Ferzan Ozpetek, 2017, Italy
Nearest and Dearest - dir. Ksenia Zueva, 2017, Russia
Nervous Translation - dir. Shireen Seno, 2018, Philippines
Never Steady, Never Still - dir. Kathleen Hepburn, 2017, Canada
New Turn - dir. Doris Wong, 2017, Hong Kong/Taiwan
Nico, 1988 - dir. Susanna Nicchiarelli, 2017, Italy/USA
No Bed of Roses - dir. Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, 2017, Bangladesh/India
Noble Earth - dir. Ursula Grisham, 2017, USA
Nona - dir. Michael Polish, 2017, Guatemala/Honduras/Mexico
Number One - dir. Tonie Marshall, 2017, France/Belgium
On Borrowed Time - dir. Yasir Al Yasiri, 2018, United Arab Emirates
On Chesil Beach - dir. Dominic Cooke, 2017, United Kingdom
On Her Shoulders - dir. Alexandria Bombach, 2018, USA
One of These Days - dir. Nadim Tabet, 2017, Lebanon/Qatar
The Oslo Diaries - dir. Mor Loushy, Daniel Sivan, 2018, Israel/Canada
The Other Side of Everything - dir. Mila Turajlić, 2017, Serbia
People's Republic of Desire - dir. Hao Wu, 2018, China
Pick of the Litter - dir. Don Hardy Jr., Dana Nachman, 2017, USA
Pig - dir. Mani Haghighi, 2018, Iran
The Place - dir. Paolo Genovese, 2017, Italy
The Poet and the Boy - dir. Kim Yang-hee, 2017, South Korea
The Poetess - dir. Stefanie Brockhaus, Andreas Wolff, 2017, Germany/Saudi Arabia
Prospect - dir. Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell, 2018, USA/Canada
Pure Hearts - dir. Roberto De Paolis, 2017, Italy
Puzzle - dir. Marc Turtletaub, 2018, USA
Queerama - dir. Daisy Asquith, 2017, United Kingdom
Racer and the Jailbird - dir. Michaël R. Roskam, 2017, Belgium/France/Netherlands
Razzia - dir. Nabil Ayouch, 2017, France/Morocco/Belgium
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem - dir. Muayad Alayan, 2018, Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/Mexico
Retablo - dir. Alvaro L. Delgado-Aparicio, 2017, Peru/Germany/Norway
The Return - dir. Malene Choi, 2018, Denmark
Return to Mount Kennedy - dir. Eric Becker, 2018, USA
Revenge - dir. Coralie Fargeat, 2017, France
A Rough Draft - dir. Sergey Mokritskiy, 2018, Russia
Rubén Blades Is Not My Name - dir. Abner Benaim, 2018, Panama/Argentina/Colombia
Ruin Me - dir. Preston DeFrancis, 2017, USA
Rush Hour - dir. Luciana Kaplan, 2017, Mexico
The Russian Five - dir. Joshua Riehl, 2018, USA
Rust - dir. Aly Muritiba, 2018, Brazil
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda - dir. Stephen Nomura Schible, 2017, Japan/USA
Sadie - dir. Megan Griffiths, 2018, USA
Sansho the Bailiff - dir. Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954, Japan
Sashinka - dir. Kristina Wagenbauer, 2017, Canada (Québec)
Scary Mother - dir. Ana Urushadze, 2017, Georgia/Estonia
Schumann’s Bar Talks - dir. Marieke Schroeder, 2017, Germany
Scotch - A Golden Dream - dir. Andrew Peat, 2017, Taiwan
See You Up There - dir. Albert Dupontel, 2017, France
Shakedown - dir. Leilah Weinraub, 2018, USA
Shuttle Life - dir. Seng Kiat Tan, 2017, Malaysia
Silas - dir. Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar, 2017, Canada/South Africa/Kenya
The Silk and the Flame - dir. Jordan Schiele, 2018, USA/China
Skate Kitchen - dir. Crystal Moselle, 2018, USA
A Skin So Soft - dir. Denis Côté, 2017, Canada (Québec)/Switzerland/France
Something Useful - dir. Pelin Esmer, 2017, Turkey/France/Netherlands/Germany
The Song of Scorpions - dir. Anup Singh, 2017, Switzerland/France/Singapore
Sorry to Bother You - dir. Boots Riley, 2018, USA
Soufra - dir. Thomas Morgan, 2017, USA
The Sower - dir. Marine Francen, 2017, France/Belgium
The Story of ‘72 - dir. Prabin Syangbo, 2018, Nepal/South Africa
Streaker - dir. Peter Luisi, 2017, Switzerland
Suleiman Mountain - dir. Elizaveta Stishova, 2017, Kyrgyzstan/Russia
Summer 1993 - dir. Carla Simón, 2017, Spain
Supa Modo - dir. Likarion Wainaina, 2018, Kenya/Germany
Susu - dir. Yixi Sun, 2017, China/United Kingdom
Sweet Country - dir. Warwick Thornton, 2017, Australia
The Taste of Betel Nut - dir. Hu Jia, 2017, China/Hong Kong
Team Hurricane - dir. Annika Berg, 2017, Denmark
That Summer - dir. Göran Hugo Olsson, 2017, Sweden/USA/Denmark
The Third Murder - dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2017, Japan
This Is Home - dir. Alexandra Shiva, 2018, USA/Jordan
This One's For The Ladies - dir. Gene Graham, 2018, USA
Three Identical Strangers - dir. Tim Wardle, 2018, USA
Three Peaks - dir. Jan Zabeil , 2017, Germany/Italy
Thunder Road - dir. Jim Cummings, 2018, USA
Tigers Are Not Afraid - dir. Issa López, 2017, Mexico
Time Trial - dir. Finlay Pretsell, 2017, United Kingdom
Tyrel - dir. Sebastián Silva, 2018, USA
Unarmed Verses - dir. Charles Officer, 2017, Canada
Under the Tree - dir. Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, 2017, Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany
Valley of Shadows - dir. Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, 2017, Norway
Village Rockstars - dir. Rima Das, 2017, India
Virus Tropical - dir. Santiago Caicedo, 2017, Colombia/Ecuador
Wajib - dir. Annemarie Jacir, 2017, Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar/United/Arab Emirates
Warrior Women - dir. Elizabeth A. Castle, Christina D. King, 2018, USA
Waru - dir. Briar Grace-Smith, Awanui Simich-Pene, Katie Wolfe, Renae Maihi, Casey Kaa, Chelsea Winstanley, Paula Whetu Jones, Ainsley Gardiner, 2017, New Zealand
We the Animals - dir. Jeremiah Zagar, 2018, USA
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist - dir. Lorna Tucker, 2018, United Kingdom
What Will People Say - dir. Iram Haq, 2017, Norway/Germany/Sweden
The Widowed Witch - dir. Cai Chengjie, 2018, China
Wild Nights With Emily - dir. Madeleine Olnek, 2018, USA
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? - dir. Morgan Neville, 2018, USA
Wrath of Silence - dir. Yukun Xin, 2017, China
Zombillenium - dir. Arthur de Pins, Alexis Ducord, 2017, France/Belgium
Zoo - dir. Colin McIvor, 2017, Ireland
4th World Indigenous Media Lab Events - included Dawnland Screening and Panel, 4th World - Indigenous Media Lab
An Afternoon with Melanie Lynskey: Sadie
Centerpiece Gala: Sorry to Bother You at SIFF Cinema Egyptian
The Clark Family Legacy & Aegis Living Documentary Film Grant Program - included The Silk and the Flame, Afghan Cycles
Festival Forums - included Finding the Perfect Collaborators: Demystifying Unions In Film Production, Money Please!: Fundraising for Episodic Content, The Synergy of Editor & Director in Documentary Film, Festival Diversity: How are Festivals Serving Underrepresented Communities, #Disruption #Inclusion: The Film Industry’s ‘new’ landscape after #MeToo #TimesUp
Fly Filmmaking Challenge
Found Footage Festival: Cherished Gems
The Golden Space Needle Awards
Grand Prize Screenplay Reading: Youth Decay
Highlander with Live Soundtrack by DJ NicFit
Kirkland Opening Night: The Drummer and the Keeper at Kirkland Performance Center
L’Inferno with Live Score performed by My Goodness
New Works-In-Progress - included A Good Week For Democracy, Julia Blue, Retablo, The Silk and the Flame
SIFF VR Zone - included 360 Outer Space, 360 Out of Africa, 360 Experimental Storytelling, 360 Narrative Storytelling, 360 Documentary, 360 Art & Music, Youth 360 Showcase, Interactive VR Program
Saturday Film and Party: Cake General, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Secret Festival
ShortsFest Weekend - included 19 shorts packages
Spotlight Presentation: Eighth Grade
A Tribute to Ethan Hawke: Blaze