It feels like just yesterday SIFF launched their 49th annual Seattle International Film Festival—with HUGE NEWS about purchasing the Cinerama—but as of today, there are only four days left to catch the fest's films in theaters! Time flies when you're having... a heat wave at least partially resulting from an entire generation's failure to take seriously humankind's catastrophic impact on greenhouse gas levels, I guess?
Anyway. Don't let SIFF slip away! Here are the 11 films that we really loved, all of which are screening at least one more time through the weekend. Read the full review of all these films—and dozens more!—here. Tickets and more showtimes are at siff.net. Want to make a night of it? Here's a list of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat near SIFF theaters.
Thursday
Bad Press, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 5:45 pm
In this kick-ass, hilarious, fast-paced, gorgeous documentary full of colorful local characters and small-town villains, the journalists at a small-but-fierce outlet called Mvskoke Media stand up to politicians who seek to muzzle the truth-tellers. You don't have to spend your life grinding out blogs about local politics to love this paean to the press, a cry we need to hear from every corner of the country as big tech scoops up the last of the ad funding and hedge funds chew up papers and sell them off for parts. (Rich Smith)
A Disturbance in the Force, Shoreline Community College, 8:30 pm
In 1978, CBS presented The Star Wars Holiday Special. It ran for two fucking hours. It was a mess and a massive flop. This documentary, which must be seen if you are a true fan of all that takes place in that faraway galaxy, is about what led to this very special mess and flop. (Charles Mudede)
Even Hell Has Its Heroes, Ark Lodge Cinemas, 8:30 pm
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Friday
Mom, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 1:30 pm
Refreshing and raw, Mom is a tale of pain and regret. It is also a tale of the resilience of mothers, particularly in South American cultures. I feel like I know and love Sero’s mother just from watching, and I have a feeling you will too. (Brittne Lunniss)
20 Days in Mariupol, Ark Lodge Cinemas, 6 pm
There's a lotta war documentaries in the world, but this one's special. In 20 Days, an AP news crew begins filming in coastal Ukraine before the war actually starts, as they suspect Putin will start shelling the city of Mariupol any day now. (They're right.) ... Usually considered B-roll footage, shots of crying/pissed-off doctors, orderlies wiping up pools of children's blood from gurneys, and families cowering in apartment basements with their pet cats, are much more intimate—and ghastly—than what we Americans end up seeing on the nightly news. (Meg van Huygen)
Egghead & Twinkie, AMC Pacific Place, 6 pm
Chaotically cute and queer! This Gen-Z-produced film follows a 17-year-old and her best friend Egghead as they drive cross-country to meet Twinky’s crush, BD (Big Dyke). Think Scott Pilgrim but gayer! (Brittne Lunniss)
Circus of the Scars: The Insider Odyssey of the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, 9:30 pm
It's worth seeing if only for the footage of a young Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder chugging down a cocktail made of Matt "the Tube" Crowley's stomach contents. (Megan Seling)
DEMIGOD: The Legend Begins, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, 11:59 pm
So much puppet blood! Demigod: The Legend Begins is a grandiose puppet-opera action film from the Taiwanese production group behind 2000's Legend of the Sacred Stone. It leans into the inherent humor of its puppet, frozen-face stars portraying a serious tale; it's okay to giggle at moments when Barbie-like hair sways in slow motion between blood-soaked sword swipes. When you're not laughing, you'll cheer at clever camera staging, violent battle choreography, and impressive practical effects. (Sam Machkovech)
Saturday
26.2 to Life, Shoreline Community College, 5:30 pm
This is less of a running movie and more about three very different stories of regret, crime, violence, and hope. The film's leads—a father, a former track star, and a journalist—are not glorified but humanized, and their captivating stories are told with the unflinching conviction that their lives could use more than loaned running shoes. (Sam Machkovech)
Abled, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm
Blake Leeper, a double amputee who runs on "blade" legs with Olympic track-and-field aspirations, is both the best and worst part of sports documentary Abled. The film's single-minded focus on Leeper, and no other competitors in the paralympic sphere, skips a lot of nuance about how athletes are classified in various professional leagues. ... But it only takes Leeper a few minutes to establish himself as a must-see athlete in Abled; his mix of hunger, drive, charm, and fearlessness, as he collides against an unfeeling Olympic machine, is the stuff of the greatest sports docs. (Sam Machkovech)
Sunday
Subtraction, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 1:15 pm
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