SIFFed Out
I saw 10 movies at the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival and was pretty tired by the end of it. SIFF is billed as the longest film fest in the world, 25 days now, 450+ movies, but there are times, particularly when you're caught in the middle of it, when “longest film fest” seems less boast than threat. You want to wave the white flag. You want to go climb a mountain. If you going to the movies you want to see something loud and stupid and with supheroes.
Here are the rankings of the movies I saw, from first to worst, with links to reviews:
- Starbuck: Must-see French-Canadian comedy
- Under African Skies: Documentary on Paul Simon's “Graceland”
- Goodbye: Iran today
- The Revisionaries: Texas today
- Lola Versus: Girls today
- The Revolutionary: The Marxist yesterday
- Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Heroines: Doc on feminism and boobs
- Hello I Must Be Going: A mopey 35-year-old's big adventure
- A Checkout Girl's Big Adventure: Insipid French fairytale
I'd recommend the first three. Plus half of the fourth. “Checkout Girl” was physically painful.
My 10th film, in case you're wondering, was Terrence Malick's “Badlands” during “An Evening with Sissy Spacek.” More on that later.
None of my movies won any awards. Here's the rundown from the audience and the cognescenti:
2012 SIFF Audience awards
- Best film: “Any Day Now”
- Best documentary: “The Invisible War”
- Best director: Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
- Best actor: Alan Cumming, “Any Day Now”
- Best actress: Jamie Chung, “Eden”
- Best short film: “Catcam”
2012 SIFF Juried awards
- Best new director: Nicolas Provost, “The Invader”
- Best documentary: “Five Star Existence”
- Best narrative short: “The Extraordinary Life of Rocky”
- Best animated short: “Zergut”
- Best documentary short: “Paradise”
- FIPRESCI Prize for Best New American Film: “Welcome to Pine Hill”
I also heard good things about “Chasing Ice,” “Your Sister’s Sister,” “My Brother the Devil,” “The Fourth State” and “The Intouchables.”

Fun the first time I saw it.
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