SIFFcast

SIFF Programmer Maryna Ajaja leads a spirited conversation between four dynamic directors about cross-cultural issues and changing visions. Featuring the filmmakers of Bebia, à mon seul désir (director Juja Dobrachkous), Charter (director Amanda Kernell), God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya (director Teona Strugar Mitevska) and Motherland (director Tomas Vengris).

SIFF Programmer SuJ’n Chon leads a roundtable discussion with documentary filmmakers Cassandra Jabola, Benjamin Schwartz, and Mariem Pérez Riera. They talk about capturing the legacies of Amy Tan, Chuck Connelly, and Rita Moreno: all virtuosos who mastered the art of being audacious.

With a sudden shift to consuming all of our media at home, the interaction with online film communities has skyrocketed. How do you find new films to watch? How did you share films that you loved with others? What role do film festivals play? Hear from Gemma Gracewood (Letterboxd), Lilly Riber (MUBI), and Lela Meadow-Conner (Film Festival Alliance) on how their teams built, grew, and are able to maintain interactive film communities. Moderated by Beth Barrett, SIFF's Artistic Director.

Take a deep dive into the natural world captured on film as SIFF Programmer Faridah Gbadamosi chats with directors Alexis Gambis (Son of Monarchs) and Chase Ogden (Super Frenchie) about their new films.

SIFF Programmer Tracy Rector sits down with Emily Cohen Ibañez (Fruits of Labor) and Christopher Kahunahana (Waikiki)to discuss the process of shaping narratives that counterbalance prevailing stereotypes and presumptions of the settler colonial gaze.

SIFF Programmer Dustin Kaspar chats with directors Chen Ming-lang (The Teacher)and Chen-ti Kuo (Final Exam), Producer Yi-Sen Ko (Get the Hell Out), and distributor Eric Chou about their cinematic visions of Taiwan. Presented in partnership with UW Taiwan Studies Program.

SIFF Programmer Megan Leonard chats with Marion Hill, whose jazzy feature debut 'Ma Belle, My Beauty' explores a Franco-American polyamorous relationship.

On today's episode of SIFFcast, we present another roundtable from Festival. SIFF Programmer Marcus Gorman speaks with filmmakers Christopher Winterbauer (Wyrm), Wes Hurley (Potato Dreams of America), Albert Birney and Kentucky Audley (Strawberry Mansion), Ana Katz (The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet) and Iuli Gerbase (The Pink Cloud)about the ways their respective teams created heightened cinematic worlds without blockbuster budgets.

In another recorded roundtable from SIFF, directing duos Celine Held & Logan George (Topside) and Kelley Kali & Angelique Molina [I’M FINE (Thanks for Asking)] chat with SIFF Programmer Faridah Gbadamosi about turning their lenses onto themselves to give a voice to the unhoused.

From women’s rights, Indigenous artists, and culinary traditions to the mystery of ancient stone spheres, this SIFF roundtable digs into four different and profoundly revealing realities in today's Latin America. SIFF Programmer Hebe Tabachnik moderates an illuminating conversation with the directors of Criollo (Pablo Banchero), Rebel Objects (Carolina Arias Ortiz), Fly So Far (Celina Escher) and The Song of the Butterflies (Núria Frigola Torrent).

Join SIFF Artistic Director Beth Barrett as she talks with the filmmakers of Street Gang and Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation. They discuss the unique challenges of telling the stories of three of icons of American culture: Sesame Street, Truman Capote, and Tennessee Williams. Featuring Marilyn Agrelo and producer Ellen Scherer Crafts (Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street) and director Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation).

SIFFcast presents another recorded roundtable filmmaker discussion from the festival. Programmer Colleen O'Holleran joins five directors from this year's Festival to talk about their films playing as part of WTF (Wild, Terrifying, and Fantastic). They explore their journeys in making shorts and features, share observations related to gender in genre cinema, and discuss the glories and horrors of genre filmmaking both behind and in front of the camera.

SIFFcast presents a Filmmaker Roundtable from SIFF 2021. SIFF programmer Dan Doody moderates a roundtable discussion with the filmmakers of four documentary shorts: Huntsville Station, Abortion Helpline - This is Lisa, Coffee & Sugar, and Snowy. These documentary short filmmakers break down what it took to find their subjects and how they elevated their stories into something universal.

SIFFcast presents one of the live Q&As from SIFF 2021. SIFF programmer Megan Leonard interviews the filmmakers behind this year's Sundance breakout SUMMERTIME, screening online at SIFF now.

Jeremy sits down with filmmakers Iuli Gerbase (The Pink Cloud)and Cássio Pereira Dos Santo (Valentina) to talk about their feature debuts, both screening as part of SIFF's Ibero-American Cinema program. They discuss the eerie parallels between The Pink Cloud and our year in quarantine, how to better center LGBTQIA voices on screen, and the state of Brazilian cinema today.

Featuring directors SJ Chiro (East of the Mountains), Rick Castañeda (All Sorts), Andrew Hyatt (All Those Small Things) and Wes Hurley (Potato Dreams of America). SIFFcast sits down with a few of the filmmakers from this year's Northwest Connections program to discuss casting locally, filming in Washington and finishing their films in the midst of a pandemic. Each year, SIFF honors the many ways in which the Puget Sound region contributes to the world of cinema, whether it acts as an evocative location for outside filmmakers or as inspiration for local filmmakers ready to strut their stuff.

We welcome Eddie Muller, host of TCM's Noir Alley and best known as the "Czar of Noir", to talk about the Noir City film festival taking place at SIFF from 2/14-2/20. The 2020 edition of Noir City will feature an array of classic films from around the globe—a wide-ranging, thematically cohesive immersion in a sordid world of sinister and sexy affairs.

Part two of two-part series. Co-hosts Jeremy Cropf and SJ Chiro sit down with a panel of local filmmakers, programmers and film critics to discuss their favorite directors and films from 2019. Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve's Bayou) sits down with Jeremy to talk about her hit Oscar-nominated film HARRIET featuring rising-star Cynthia Eviro.

Part one of two-part series. Co-hosts Jeremy Cropf and SJ Chiro sit down with a panel of local filmmakers, programmers and film critics to discuss the best performances and scripts of the past year. Academy Award-winning stunt coordinator Robert Nagle joins the show to talk about creating the most realistic racing sequences ever put on film for James Mangold's PGA-nominated film FORD V. FERRARI.

On the third episode of SCARED SIFF, Colleen and Clinton talk about their favorite portrayals of Satan in film and local comedian Emmett Montgomery sits down with Clinton to discuss Ari Aster's MIDSOMMAR.

Scared SIFF 2019 | Episode 2 - Satanic Panic (featuring Chelsea Stardust and Dan Doody) by

The haunting season is back and with it, we are proud to present the return of Scared SIFF. Clinton gives us a primer on splatter director Herschell Gordon Lewis and interviews the filmmakers of documentary Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street (subject Mark Patton and directors Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen). Colleen joins the show to preview the best horror films screening in Seattle this month. We'll bring you new Scared SIFF episodes all throughout the month of October so stay tuned!

Jeremy and SJ recap the cinematic highlights of 2018 with a panel of filmmakers, film critics and programmers.

Halloween is here!!! To celebrate, we have a special jumbo-sized episode of Scared SIFF for all of you. First, Clinton sits down with filmmaker and Hostess of Horror Isabella Price to talk about their ultimate Halloween movie marathon. Next up, Jeremy sits down with horror icon Barbara Crampton to talk about her work on some of the most influential horror films of the past three decades.

Scared SIFF co-host Clinton McClung sits down with instructors Evan J. Peterson and Heather Marie Bartels about their SHRIEK: A Women of Horror Film class.

On the newest episode of Scared SIFF, Colleen O' Holleran and Jeremy Cropf discuss diversity and representation in genre filmmaking. They are joined by acclaimed actor JOHN CHO (Star Trek, Harold and Kumar) to discuss his work on SEARCHING and FOX's THE EXORCIST series.

On the newest episode of Scared SIFF, Clinton McClung discusses the history of boutique home video labels and interviews the founders of the American Genre Film Archive. Also joining us in the studio are the director and producer of the new genre web series STROWLERS (premiering at TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival on Saturday 10/20)

It's that time of year again! We are proud to present the first episode of Scared SIFF. Jeremy talks with SIFF WTF Programmers Clinton McClung and Colleen O'Holleran about the horror genre as a whole, their experience at Fantastic Fest in Austin, and what Scared SIFF means to them! We'll bring you new Scared SIFF episodes during the month of October. Make sure to stay tuned for more!

SIFFcast becomes SIFFcats! We are so excited for Cat Video Fest 2018, and we're bringing you a special cat-tastic episode. Jeremy sits down to talk with Will Braden, Cat Video Fest curator and award-winning cat video creator, known for Henri le Chat Noir. We also talk with Rebecca Oertel, manager of Cat City here, in Seattle, where she talks about PAWS mission to better cats.

Jeremy Cropf sits down with Megumi Sasaki to talk about her film, A WHALE OF A TALE which explores a very controversial topic. In 2010, Taiji, a sleepy fishing town in Japan, suddenly found itself in the worldwide media spotlight. THE COVE, a documentary denouncing the town's longstanding whale and dolphin hunting traditions, won an Academy Award and almost overnight, Taiji became the go-to destination and battleground for activists from around the world. A WHALE OF A TALE reveals the complex story behind the ongoing debate.

Jeremy sits down with Jon M. Chu, director of the new smash-hit romantic comedy CRAZY RICH ASIANS.

SIFFcast, the official podcast of the Seattle International Film Festival, interviews the best filmmakers, directors, and actors in the industry. In this epsidoe, SJ Chiro sits down with producer and director Marc Turtletaub to discuss his new film Puzzle. Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting, No Country for Old Men) stars as a suburban housewife who discovers an unexpected talent for solving jigsaw puzzles, leading her to partner with a competitive puzzle champion (Irrfan Khan, The Lunchbox) and unlock passions she had never before imagined.

SJ Chiro sits down with BLINDSPOTTING (Official Selection SIFF 2018) director Carlos López Estrada to talk about his blistering feature debut set in a rapidly gentrifying Oakland.

Jeremy sits down with documentary filmmaker Kimberly Reed and investigative journalist John S. Adams to uncovers the shocking and vital truth of how American elections are bought and sold in DARK MONEY. A political thriller, the film examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the influence of untraceable corporate money on our elections and elected officials. The film takes viewers to Montana—a frontline in the fight to preserve fair elections nationwide—to follow an intrepid local journalist working to expose the real-life impacts of the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. The film opens at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Friday August 3rd. Film subject John Adams will be on hand for a Q&A on Friday and Saturday.

SJ Chiro catches up with LAST SUIT director Pablo Solarz about his SIFF Golden Space Needle winning film.

SJ Chiro chats with legendary Pacific Northwest filmmaker Gus Van Sant and actress/musician Beth Ditto about their new film DON'T WORRY, HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT. Joaquin Phoenix gives a transformative performance in Gus Van Sant's sensitive and caustically funny portrait of Portland cartoonist John Callahan who, after a car accident leaves him disabled, uses his sardonic humor and brutal honesty to battle with a lifetime of addiction.

Director Yixi Sun sits down with Jeremy to discuss her new horror film SUSU. Two Chinese students find themselves in the midst of a chilling gothic tale after they take a weekend job transcribing the archives of a famous Chinese opera star, which sends them to a secluded 16th century mansion in the British countryside whose strange occupants are hiding gruesome family secrets.

Jeremy sits down with director Luciana Kaplan to discuss her new documentary RUSH HOUR, a colorful and lyrical documentary about the grueling everyday sacrifices we make to support our loved ones and ourselves. The film received Special Jury Mention at the SIFF 2018 IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION.

SJ Chiro sits down with director Bo Burnham and actress Elsie Fisher to discuss their film EIGTH GRADE (Best Film winner at SIFF 2018).

SJ Chiro sits down with filmmaker Lisa D'Apolito about her new documentary LOVE, GILDA. A comedienne finds her humor in the midst of all the unfunny things that happen to her.

Director Aislinn Clarke joins Jeremy in the studio to discuss her feature debut THE DEVIL'S DOORWAY. In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.

Jeremy speaks with writer/director Kristina Wagenbauer about her feature debut making it's world premiere at SIFF - Sashinka.

Jeremy chats with director Mikko Makela about his film A MOMENT IN THE REEDS.

Jeremy sits down with actor Phil Burgers to discuss his role in the new short film THE PASSAGE.

Jeremy sits down with rapper, producer, screenwriter and film director Boots Riley to discuss his feature debut, the absurdist dark comedy SORRY TO BOTHER YOU.

SJ chats with the filmmaker and subject of the new documentary WARRIOR WOMEN. Famed Indigenous and women's rights activist Madonna Thunder Hawk and her daughter Marcella are highlighted in this uplifting yet heart-rending documentary about an indomitable spirit undeterred by age or government apathy.

SJ Chiro sits down with local writer/producer Anne Rosellini to talk about her newest film LEAVE NO TRACE. Winter's Bone director Debra Granik returns to SIFF with another sensitive and thrilling portrait of people living on the margins, this time set in the Pacific Northwest, where a troubled veteran (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter (Thomasin McKenzie, in a star-making performance) struggle to re-enter society after living for years off the grid.

Seattle-based director Vlada Knowlton joins the show to discuss her new documentary THE MOST DANGEROUS YEAR. Two years ago, a group of Washington State families with transgender children banded together with activists and like-minded lawmakers and fought tooth and nail against the wave of anti-trans rights legislation that swept the nation and their home state. This is their story.

Jeremy sits down with Academy-Award winning director Morgan Neville to discuss his new documentary WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR, which examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children's TV show "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

SJ Chiro sits down with director Christina Choe to discuss her directorial debut NANCY.

Director Brett Haley joins SJ to discuss his new film HEARTS BEAT LOUD.