SIFF Programs
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival is the longest running, largest, and most highly attended film festival in the US with more than 150,000 attendees over 25 days. The film festival features approximately 450 feature films and shorts from more than 70 countries, with numerous World, North American, and U.S. Premieres.
SIFF Cinema
Programmed with new, archival, and independent film releases, SIFF Cinema screens film over 340 days per year. This venue is also the home for over a dozen other film festivals each year, including many special interest festivals such as the Italian Film Festival, Polish Film Festival, Jewish Film Festival, and Youth Film Festivals among others.
SIFF FutureWave Educational Program
SIFF serves over 10,000 youth per year with FREE programs, including both film appreciation and filmmaking programs. We work with teachers and schools in the region and provide engaging programs for youth of all ages. Youth appreciate film as one of the most engaging and accessible art forms today. SIFF strives to program films that both educate, inform, and entertain these students and allow them to see the world around them.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
SIFF's current needs:
- Organizational support for our year-round operations including SIFF Cinema, the annual Festival, and our youth educational programs.
SIFF Cinema is SIFF's year-round screening venues in the heart of Seattle Center's Theater District on Seattle Center's campuses and in lower Queen Anne at the historic uptown cinema, which re-opened in October 2011 and is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art projection and sound technologies.
SIFF Cinema supports and hosts many other community film festivals who might not otherwise be able to secure an affordable venue that is as well equipped with state-of-the-art projection equipment. This past year we hosted the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival, the Polish Film Festival, the Northwest Folklife Festival, and others. In addition to hosting these festivals.
In 2011 SIFF Cinema had an attendance of over 50,000, presented more than 250 days of screenings, and reaches out to over 30,000 weekly e-newsletter subscribers.
We are very excited to announce that the 38th annual Seattle International Film Festival begins on May 17, 2012, with tickets available beginning May 3, 2012. The 37th annual Seattle International Film Festival witnessed attendance of over 155,000, featuring over 450 films from more than 70 countries, including 96 premieres (29 World, 42 North American, 25 U.S.) and over 600 screenings. Additionally, SIFF brought more than 300 directors, actors and industry professionals, including Tribute Honoree Ewan McGregor to Seattle, as well as hosted numerous digital Q&As via Skype with international filmmakers who were unable to attend in person. In addition to our Seattle venues, we expanded to the cities of Kirkland, Everett, and Renton for the first time, helping to bring the art of cinema to an even broader community.
"Seattle definitely proved, once again, why it's one of the best film cities in the world," states Carl Spence, SIFF Artistic Director. "I've never been more proud to be part of a city that radiates such enthusiasm for film."We have managed to maintain the programmatic excellence and continued to present a world class festival despite the economic downturn."