The 39th Seattle International Film Festival will host the North American premiere of Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring which will screen as the festival’s closing night film. The festival runs May 16 through June 9, 2013 and will kick off with a special screening of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing. Overall, 447 films will screen during SIFF, including 272 feature films and 175 shorts.
“My first knowledge of film festivals came from seeing astonishing and extraordinary films from the likes of Ridley Scott, Peter Greenaway, Lars von Trier and Bernardo Bertolucci. Today, those formative experiences drive my passion for finding the next wave of films from masters and undiscovered talent,” stated SIFF Artistic and Co-Director Carl Spence. “From the launch of our inaugural African Pictures program, to our Closing Night Gala, the American debut of Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, to Disney•Pixar’s Monsters University, to Peter Greenaway’s Goltzius and the Pelican Company, the 39th edition of the Festival will unleash an incredibly rich and diverse array of fantastic programming.”
GALAS:
Opening Night Gala
Much Ado About Nothing (director: Joss Whedon)
Shakespeare’s classic comedy is given a contemporary spin in Whedon’s Much Ado. Shot in just 12 days (and using the original text), the story of sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick offers a dark, sexy, and occasionally absurd view of the intricate game that is love. The film was shot entirely in Whedon and Cole’s own home, and made with a group of close friends (and recurring “Whedonverse” players) who share the filmmakers’ love of Shakespeare. Confirmed to attend Opening Night on May 16 are director Whedon and the stars of the film: Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, and Clark Gregg.
Closing Night Gala
The Bling Ring (director: Sofia Coppola) North American Premiere
Coppola’s latest is a story ripped from the tabloid headlines and gossip news programs, a story as strange as it is true. Five Tinseltown teenagers (two played by Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga) wish to live like the rich and famous, but they’ll settle for robbing them instead. The gang, referring to themselves as “The Bling Ring,” track the internet goings-on of SoCal’s A-list celebs with ease, waiting for just the right moment to break into their vast mansions and run off with their high-class goods. But when rebelliousness turns to recklessness, the group’s crimes catch up with them.
Centerpiece Gala
Twenty Feet from Stardom (director: Morgan Neville)
When you’re singing along with the chorus of your favorite song, do you really know who you’re singing along with? Veteran filmmaker Morgan Neville does, and his new film tracks the astounding careers, contributions, and sacrifices of pop music’s most-recognizable, yet least-known artists: the backup singers. Twenty Feet from Stardom follows several diverse and gifted backup singers living in the shadows of superstardom. Although these singers are usually relegated to the margins, and few, if any, become household names, their work has defined countless songs that remain in our hearts and collective consciousness. Director Morgan Neville and singers Tata Vega and Merry Clayton are scheduled to appear and perform at the screening.
FEATURE FILM PREMIERES:
World (18):
9 Full Moons (d: Tomer Almagor, USA)
Alive and Well (d: Josh Taft, USA)
Clutter (d: Diane Crespo, USA)
Evergreen: The Road to Legalization in Washington (d: Riley Morton, USA)
Fateful Findings (d: Neil Breen, USA)
Finding Hillywood (d: Leah Warshawski, USA)
Her Aim Is True (d: Karen Whitehead, USA)
Last I Heard (d: David Rodriguez, USA)
The Little Tin Man (d: Matthew Perkins, USA)
Middleton (d: Adam Rodgers, USA, Anchor Bay Films)
Mutual Friends (d: Matthew Watts, USA)
The Otherside (d: Daniel Torok, USA)
Scrapper (d: Brady Hall, USA)
Spud 2: The Madness Continues (d: Donovan Marsh, South Africa)
Teddy Bears (d: Thomas Beatty, USA)
Test (d: Chris Mason Johnson, USA)
Town Hall (d: Jamila Wignot, USA)
Worm (d: Andrew Bowser, USA)
North American (38):
36 (d: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand)
The African Cypher (d: Bryan Little, South Africa)
Ali (d: Paco R. Baños, Spain)
Belleville Baby (d: Mia Engberg, Sweden)
Between Valleys (d: Philippe Barcinsk, Brazil)
Bitch Hug (d: Andreas Öhman, Sweden)
The Bling Ring (d: Sofia Coppola, USA, A24)
Breach in the Silence (d: Andrés Rodríguez, Venezuela)
Bypass (d: Patxo Telleria, Spain)
Capturing Dad (d: Ryota Nakano, Japan)
Celestial Wives of Meadow Mari (d: Aleksey Fedorchenko, Russia)
Closed Curtain (d: Jafar Panahi, Iran)
Comrade President (d: Mosco Kamwendo, Zimbabwe)
Dead Meat Walking – A Zombie Walk Documentary (d: Omar J. Pineda, USA)
Drug War (d: Johnnie To, Hong Kong, Well Go USA)
Éden (d: Bruno Safadi, Brazil)
Every Blessed Day (d: Paolo Virzi, Italy)
Fatal (d: Lee Don-ku, South Korea)
Flight of the Storks (d: Jan Kounen, France)
Garibaldi’s Lovers (d: Silvio Soldini, Italy, Film Movement)
The Girl With Nine Wigs (d: Marc Rothemund, Germany)
The Great Passage (d: Yûya Ishii, Japan)
House With a Turret (d: Eva Neymann, Ukraine)
I Kori (The Daughter) (d: Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece)
The Kampala Story (d: Donald Mugisha, Uganda)
Last Flight to Abuja (d: Obi Emelonye, Nigeria)
Love Is in the Air (d: Alexandre Castagnetti, France)
Low Profile (d: Cécilia Rouaud, France)
Ludwig II (d: Peter Sehr, Germany)
My Dog Killer (d: Mira Fornay, Slovakia)
Nishan (Medal of Honor) (d: Yidnekachew Shumete Desalegn, Ethiopia)
The Plague (d: Neus Ballús, Spain)
Redemption Street (d: Miroslav Terzi, Serbia)
Ripples of Desire (d: Zero Chou, Taiwan)
Short Stories (d: Mikhail Segal, Russia)
Television (d: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Bangladesh)
Tito on Ice (d: Max Andersson, Germany)
Yesterday Never Ends (d: Isabel Coixet, Spain)
US (6):
2+2 (d: Diego Kaplan, Argentina, Strand Releasing)
Aayna Ka Bayna (d: Samit Kakkad, India)
Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (d: Prathiba Parmar, USA)
Breathing Earth (d: Thomas Riedelsheimer, Germany)
Horses of God (d: Nabil Ayouch, Morocco)
Invader (d: Daniel Calparsoro, Spain)
AFRICAN PICTURES PROGRAM:
The African Cypher (d:Bryan Little, South Africa, North American Premiere)
After the Battle (d: Yousry Nasrallah, France)
Coming Forth by Day (Hala Lotfy, Egypt)
Comrade President (d: Mosco Kamwendo, Zimbabwe, North American Premiere)
Die Welt (d: Alex Pitstra, Netherlands)
Fanie Fourie’s Lobola (d: Henk Pretorius, South Africa)
Finding Hillywood (Leah Warshawski, USA, World Premiere)
The Forgotten Kingdom (d. Andrew Mudge, USA)
A Hijacking (d. Tobias Lindholm, Denmark)
Horses of God (d: Nabil Ayouch Morocco, US Premiere)
The Kampala Story (d:Donald Mugisha, Uganda, North American Premiere)
Last Flight to Abuja (d: Obi Emelonye, Nigeria, North American Premiere)
Mother of George (d: Andrew Dosunmu, USA, Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Nishan (Medal of Honor) (d: Yidnekachew Shumete Desalegn, Ethiopia)
The Pardon (d: Joel Karekezi, Rwanda, North American Premiere)
The Repentant (d: Merzak Allouache, Algeria)
Sand Fishers (d: Samouté Andrey Diarra, Mali)
Spud 2: The Madness Continues (d: Donovan Marsh, South Africa, World Premiere)
COMPETITIONS:
New Directors Competition:
Breach in the Silence (d: Andres Rodriguez, Luis Rodriguez, Venezuela, North American Premiere)
The Cleaner (d: Adrian Saba Peru 2012)
Coming Forth by Day (d: Hala Lotfy, Egypt/United Arab Emirates 2012)
Die Welt (d: Alex Pitstra, Netherlands/Tunisia/Qatar, 2012)
Fatal (d: Lee Don-ku, South Korea 2012, North American Premiere)
Fuck Up (d: Øystein Karlsen, Norway 2012)
Harmony Lessons (d: Emir Baigazin, Kazakhstan/Germany/France, 2013)
House With a Turret (d: Eva Neymann, Ukraine 2012, US Premiere)
Love is in the Air (d: Alexandre Castagnetti, France 2013, North American Premiere)
The Plague (d: Neus Ballús, Spain 2013, North American Premiere)
Sadourni’s Butterflies (d: Dario Nardi, Argentina 2012)
Short Stories (d: Mikhail Segal, Russia 2012, North American Premiere)
New American Cinema Competition:
9 Full Moons (d: Tomer Almagor, USA 2013, World Premiere)
Clutter (d: Diane Crespo, USA 2013, World Premiere)
C.O.G. (d: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, USA 2013)
The Forgotten Kingdom (d: Andrew Mudge, USA 2013)
Last I Heard (d: David Rodriguez, USA 2013, World Premiere)
The Little Tin Man (d: Matthew Perkins, USA 2013, World Premiere)
The Moment (d: Jane Weinstock, USA 2013)
Mutual Friends (d: Matthew Watts, USA 2013, World Premiere)
A Song Still Inside (d: Gregory Collins, USA 2013)
Teddy Bears (d: Thomas Beatty, Rebecca Fishman, USA 2013, World Premiere)
Test (d: Chris Mason Johnson, USA 2013, World Premiere)
Worm (d: Andrew Bowser, USA 2013, World Premiere)
Documentary Competition:
The African Cypher (d: Bryan Little, South Africa 2012, North American Premiere)
Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth (d: Prathiba Parmar, USA 2013, US Premiere)
Breathing Earth (d: Thomas Riedelsheimer, Germany/Scotland 2012, US Premiere)
The Crash Reel (d: Lucy Walker, USA 2013)
Her Aim Is True (d: Karen Whitehead, USA 2013, World Premiere)
Mussels in Love (d: W.J.A. Kluijfhout, Netherlands 2012)
Our Nixon (d: Penny Lane, USA 2013)
The Punk Singer (d: Sini Anderson, USA 2013)
Sand Fishers (d: Samouté Andrey Diarra, Mali/France 2012)
Town Hall (d: Jamila Wignot, Sierra Pettengill, USA 2013, World Premiere)
The Trials of Muhammad Ali (d: Bill Siegel, USA 2013)
A World Not Ours (d: Mahdi Fleifel, Lebanon/United Kingdom/Denmark, 2012)
Source: SIFF
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