Well, friends, it seems that we survived another massive Seattle International Film Festival. Along the way, I managed to see a paltry twenty-five films and went to three galas and a brunch. From the opening night absent champagne cocktails misstep [mb] to the reasonable drink ticket correction, the parties got more fun as the festival progressed (although the non-smoking smoking lounge on the patio at the Pan Pacific was a real mind-bender) and had more meat-free foods than I remember from prior years (maybe a pleasant recessionary side-effect for vegetarians?).

As you can see from the graph above, the whole thing ended on a high note for me (no the Wackness pun intended) with my closing weekend beginning with the Album Leaf providing an inventive and affecting new score for Sunrise and closing with a the world premiere of Em, which won the New Director’s showcase competition a few hours earlier. My favorite movie of the whole festival was Encounters at the End of the World, Werner Herzog’s trip to Antarctica to visit the weird and wonderful creatures living at the bottom of the earth and the things that they study. It bursts with treasures like Shackleton’s cabin, undersea diving, a hole in the earth’s crust, a dirty town staffed by philosopher drivers, linguist botanists, and rock and roll biologists, and one insane penguin that may be the director’s most-admired character. Luckily for those who like science, scientists, the South Pole, or Herzog, this is slated to appear in Seattle in early July.

So, now that it’s over: what are your picks for best and worst?

SIFF’s final day saw a filled to capacity crowd gathered for brunch at the Space Needle for the Golden Space Needle Award ceremony. More than 70,000 ballots were cast to decide the Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Short Film. Golden Space Needle awards were chosen by SIFF audiences. Winners received the glass Golden Space Needle figure and various cash and other prizes meant to help further their career.

Best Film Golden Space Needle Award:
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami, directed by Doris Dörrie (Germany)

Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award:
The Wrecking Crew, directed by Denny Tedesco (USA)

Best Director Golden Space Needle Award:
Amin Matalqa, for Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)

Best Actor Golden Space Needle Award:
Alan Rickman, for Bottle Shock (USA)

Best Actress Golden Space Needle Award:
Jessica Chastain, for Jolene (USA)

Best Short Film Golden Space Needle Award:
Felix, directed by Andreas Utta (Germany)

Lena Sharpe Award (given to the film by a woman director that receives the most votes from the public):
Frozen River, director Courtney Hunt (USA)

Additionally, there were six juried competition awards, selected by juries composed of relevant experts for each subject matter: New American Cinema Award, New Directors Showcase Award, Best Documentary Award, Best Documentary Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Narrative Short.

SIFF 2008 New American Cinema Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Em, directed by Tony Barbieri (USA)

SIFF 2008 New Directors Showcase Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Everything is Fine, directed by Yves-Christian Fournier (Canada)

SIFF 2008 Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Derek, directed by Isaac Julien (UK)

SIFF 2008 Short Film Jury Awards

Documentary Grand Jury Prize:
“Self Portrait With Cows Going Home” and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy, directed by Rebecca Dreyfus, USA

Animation Grand Jury Prize:
The Pearce Sisters, directed by Luis Cook, UK

Narrative Grand Jury Prize:
Rewind, directed by Atul Taishete, India

Jury awards were also given for the SIFF 2008 FutureWave Series with the Grand Jury Prize going to Disorder, directed by Rose McAleese, and to SIFF and IndieFlix 2008 MyFestival films: the SIFF Official Selection and MyFestival Feature Film Winner was Perfect Sport, directed by Anthony O’Brien, and the SIFF Official Selection and MyFestival Short Film Winner was Robbie’s Withdrawal, directed by John Burish.

For a complete list of winners, including runners up, visit the SIFF [site]. Congratulations to all of the winners and thanks to the staff and volunteers of SIFF for an excellent festival.

Bottle Shock, SIFF’s closing night gala film, tells the story of the events leading up to the 1976 Paris Tastings when Napa wines first beat French wines in a blind taste testing, putting California wines in the global spotlight and changing the wine industry forever. If you weren’t a serious wine drinker back in the 70s, you might not realize what a big deal this really was but if you’re drinking wines from California or Australia or even from here in Washington today, you are drinking the results of that tasting.

“Growing up, I remember a moment when my parents quit drinking French wine and started drinking Californian wine,” says Bottle Shock director Randy Miller, “but I never really knew why.” As an adult, he and his partner Jody Savin were presenting a film at the Sonoma film festival when they were presented with a script about that very subject. Miller and Savin, co-writers and co-producers of Bottle Shock were impressed by the ideas in the script but it didn’t really suit the type of movie they wanted to make. After doing some research, they met the Barretts, father and son winemakers whose Chardonnay made such an impact on the Parisian judges and found their film’s story in the lives of this contentious and yet loving family who managed an international impact with their dogged determination to prove that you don’t have to be French to make good wine.

You also don’t have to be an oenophile to enjoy Bottle Shock. Wine is the focus of the film but at its heart, it’s a movie about finding success after overcoming what look like overwhelming odds. “I like underdog stories, but I don’t like sports,” says Miller, who believes that a general audience can appreciate the Barretts’ achievment regardless of their knowledge of wine. “It’s not a ‘rah rah US’ movie, not a war or sports movie. It’s not us versus them.” The true story he says is more than California wines “beating” French wines, it’s that until this tasting people really did believe that truly great wine could only be made in France; the tastings showed that common wisdom isn’t always the same thing as truth.

Miller points out that one of the other lingering results of the tastings is that over the years wine has become more and more of a popular drink–it’s not just for connoisseurs. He reports that the Barretts say that wine is starting to pass beeer as the liquor of choice for young adults, even in such unlikely seeming venues as NASCAR. “It’s not just the ‘two-buck chuck’ but nicer wine,” he says.

Bottle Shock stars Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Eliza Dushku, and Dennis Farina, all of whom were attracted to the film by its strong story. If you can’t make it to the gala tonight, be on the look out for Bottle Shock when it returns to Seattle in August.

August also marks the 21st annual “Auction of Washington Wines” at Chateau Ste. Michelle. Washington has an excellent wine industry of its own–for more information visit the Washington Wine Commission [site].

the wackness, still via siff, courtesy occupant films

There are rumors circulating that the weekend will be sunny. You know better than to let that sway you from overdosing on the last three days of SIFF, right? Below are some suggestions from us about how to avoid an unpleasant sunburn without breaking out the sunscreen. In addition to these, the festival has time set aside for repeat showings of films that win awards on Sunday afternoon; so keep an eye out for that announcement.

Sunrise [siff] : People who love film call this one of the best in the history of the medium. My interest in it is magnified by the fact that SIFF commissioned the Album Leaf, Jimmy Tamborello’s lush post-rock band, to compose and perform a new score for it during two showings at the Triple Door. [josh]
Friday June 13, 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm (Triple Door)

Letting Go of God [siff] : A film version of Julia Sweeny’s one-woman show / monologue chronicling and reflecting her conversion from Catholicism to Atheism Naturalism. If you haven’t seen this in person, heard it already on This American Life [#], or just want to experience the whole thing again with the director/star in attendance for their movie’s world premiere, this is your chance. [josh]
Friday June 13, 6:30 pm; Sunday June 15, 4:00 pm (SIFF Cinema)

the Wackness [siff] : Hip-hop, marijuana, and therapy with Ben Kingsley before leaving the NYC for college. Plus a special guest appearance by one of the Olsen twins. Mid-nineties urban nostalgia fiends need look no further. [josh]
Friday June 13, 6:30 pm (Egyptian); Sunday June 15, 6:30 pm (Cinerama)

Mysteries of Pittsburgh [siff] : Michael Chabon’s novel gets the big screen, kinda-big star treatment. This looks like one that will eventually play outside the festival circuit, but if you want to see Mena Suvari and Sienna Miller before all of your friends, check it out this weekend [josh]
Friday June 13, 9:30 pm (Egyptian); Sunday June 15, 2:00 pm (Uptown)

Jolene [siff] : E. L. Doctorow’s controversial short story about a young woman on the run from her tragic past comes to life in director Dan Ireland’s feature film that covers ten tumultuous years in the life of the determined title character as she crosses America in search of her the life she dreams of having for herself. [zg]
Friday June 13, 9:30 pm; Saturday June 14, 2:30 pm (Cinerama)

Chrysalis [siff] : A stylish science fiction noir thriller from France involving plastic surgery, mental manipulation, human trafficking, and some seriously stunning visual effects. [zg]
Friday June 13, 11:55 pm (Egyptian); Saturday June 14, 10:00 pm (Cinerama)

Bottle Shock [siff] : Bottle Shock tells the story of the first California wine to win in a blind tasting in Paris (at a time when France was considered to be the ONLY place to produce drinkable wine). I grew up in the Napa Valley and so I knew a little bit of this story going in. That included the ending. Despite that, this movie still had me on the edge of my seat crossing my fingers and biting my nails that everything would all work out in the end. I’m not sure you can go wrong with Alan Rickman in just about anything, but beyond that, this movie was incredibly moving. It is based on a true story, which is to say that the basic facts are all true. There really is a Chateau Montelena, there really was a contest, and Jim and Bo Barrett (along with Mike Grgich) were responsible for producing the winning wine. The scenery is beautiful (and was actually shot in Napa and Sonoma). I cannot tell you how strongly I urge you to see this movie. [patriciaeddy]
Closing Gala, Saturday June 14, 6:30 pm (Cinerama)

Towelhead [siff] : Perhaps it is a bad idea to choose a movie just because you love the director’s television work, but this is exactly what I did. Six Feet Under’s Alan Ball, who purportedly will be in attendence at both showings, directs this “darkly comic portrait of racial and sexual alienation lurking beneath the wholesome façade of suburban America.” [cero]
Saturday June 14, 6:30 pm; Sunday June 15, 1:30 pm, (Egyptian)

Donkey Punch [siff] : The title pretty much says all you need to know. The Midnight Adrenaline series goes out with a bang, with audiences getting to know far more about the programmers that we maybe ever wanted to find out. [josh]
Saturday June 14, 11:55 pm; Sunday June 15, 9:00 pm (Egyptian)

After the jump, reminders of previous recommendations with screenings this weekend plus a photo of Danny Glover dropping a Grand Canyon reference after Trouble the Water!

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During the next two afternoons at SIFF, two family dramas deemed “DON’T MISS” by the Stranger: Momma’s Man [siff] and the Secret of the Grain [siff]. I wouldn’t go that far with either of them, but I will say this: the latter has a running time that approaches three hours, the former just feels that way.

I found Momma’s Man utterly excruciating, to the point of wanting to flee just fifteen minutes into it. I suppose this was the point, and is in and of itself an achievement. By the end, I loathed the squinty-eyed moon-faced avoidant son who finds himself unable to leave the near-uninhabitable cluttered artist apartment of his passive enabler mother. Only the weary father (the director’s actual father, also a real-life experimental filmmaker) escapes with a shred of relatability.

The Secret of the Grain starts slow, and stays that way. During the middle hour I found myself falling into its slow generous cadences, getting an incomplete sense of the dynamics of the sprawling French immigrant family structure. I suspect that I would have been able to better tolerate the drawn-out and frustrating ending if someone had been considerate enough to order enough couscous for the entire theater. Seeing the film during the dinner hour, being tempted by the last section’s lead-up to a massive dinner, and finding even poor-substitute Mediterranean Express closed made the whole thing all the more difficult to bear. But it does have me on the lookout for a good place to find a delicious dish of couscous. Suggestions?

Momma’s Man screens at 4:30 pm today at the Uptown; the Secret of the Grain has a second screening tomorrow at 3:30 pm at the Egyptian

I don’t know how the Platinum Passholders do it: the weeks and weeks of constant moviegoing to justify the shiny metal pass that gives them access to everything. For the last week or so, I’ve been going to a movie or two a day and after seeing a measly seven over the Friday-Sunday weekend, rushing for nutrition in between screenings and venues, my brain already feels more like misshapen grey glue than usual.

Yet I still can feel the pull of the obsession. As evidence: I actually spent considerable time this morning figuring out whether I should spend two hours with cannibals in the Andes or go see Annuals and Times New Viking [neumos]. This is utter lunacy on my part: Times New Viking put out one of the best new pretty/ugly albums of the year and I’m thinking of ditching them? I’m sure that Stranded is good, but I think it will hold up better on DVD than the bands will. (see also, distorte)

After the jump, quick rundown of what I saw, the terrible dietary patterns induced by moviegoing, and additional proof that SIFF is causing me to lose my mind.

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Young Aonghas (Angus) and his brother and sister are staying with their grandparents while their parents are out mountain climbing. It’s Christmas and the kids, eager for their presents, are trying to help themselves when they get caught out by their grandfather who orders them to bed, but not without first telling them a story from Scottish folklore designed to illustrate the perils of impatience.

Their grandfather ends up telling the kids several more stories over the course of the film after their parents die and they move in with their grandparents full time. Unlike his siblings who have chosen to simply accept the situation the best that they can, Aonghas is angry and strikes back against the tragedy in his life with the limited tools a kid has at his disposal. His grandfather continues to try to educate him by telling him selected stories designed to educate but will the boy ever be able to come to terms with the blows life deals him and to appreciate the gift that his grandfather is trying to give him?

The framing device of having an older Aonghas look back at his past life is awkward at first but eventually leads to an important emotional payoff. At least for me, the character is a bit hard to like, but that’s okay–you don’t have to like the kid, just understand his point of view. What makes the movie appealing is its excellent view of the striking scenery of the Isle of Skye in Northern Scotland and the beautiful portrayal of the stories that Aonghas’s grandfather tells–stories about adventure, romance, revenge, and treasure. Seachd is the first feature film in Scottish Gaelic (with English subtitles) and the preservation of Scottish heritage in the form of these traditional tales told in their original language is an important and capitvating part of the film as well.

Seachd: The Crimson Snowdrop screens Wednesday, June 11 at 4:30 pm at SIFF Cinema

Honestly, I don’t mind the rain. It requires a bit more vigilance when riding a bicycle or driving a car but there are many good things about a rainy day. Have you noticed how clear our sky is after a good rinsing? The air smells so crisp and good. It helps keep down the dust. I get fantastic photo opportunities. I love this region and wouldn’t move for anything.

Looking ahead, we’re going into a pretty good weekend. It looks like we’ll have 70-degree weather through Sunday with minimal chance of showers, so get out and enjoy it. There’s plenty to to this weekend. I’m having a Hotluck to celebrate a school milestone. Capitol Hill is having a garage sale. There are a plethora of Farmer’s Markets (trust me, grab some fresh asparagus or sugar snap peas while they are in season), SIFF continues through Sunday, and many more events.

Have a heads up on an event? Let us know in the comments.

Alexander Nevsky, still courtesy SIFF.

Here it is people: the third and final week of SIFF . Is everyone still on board? Found your line zen? Overcome the constant sensation of missing everything and always being in a hurry? Mastered your decision-making about what distinguishes a “3″ on your ballot from a “4″? Lost track of the rest of civilization? Here are some picks to guide you through the beginning of this week from your Metblogs prognosticators:

Baghead [siff] : I don’t want to say much more about Baghead than that it’s funny, scary, and something of a relationship movie. Anything more than that might spoil your enjoyment of it. After all, someone at the Sunday screening thought they were seeing a movie called Baghdad and had a great time. OK, just one more thing. I want this movie to make lots and lots of money so that the Duplass brothers can keep making really good low production value movies with not incredibly famous actors. It’s entirely possible that their aim of trying to have the stupidest title of the year (sorry guys, I’m afraid that you’ve narrowly lost that contest to Beverly Hills Chihuahua this year) with stories of interpersonal awkwardness in the face of the scariest thing they can think of on a road trip can survive the loose-feeling handmade aesthetic, but I’d rather not see it come to that. [josh]
Monday June 9, 4:30 PM (Egyptian)

Walt & el Groupo [siff] : Uncle Walt takes his animators on a goodwill tour of South America. Wacky hijinks ensue, allegedly changing our artistic and political landscapes to this day. Crazy enough to be fascinating. [josh]
Monday June 9, 4:30 PM (Uptown)

Momma’s Man [siff] : Azazel Jacobs makes a movie about a guy who makes a weekend trip to visit his parents and finds himself unable to leave their apartment to return to his wife and children. Whether this sounds like the premise for a quirky indie drama or a terrifying horror movie may depend on your own family situation.
Monday June 9, 7:15 PM; Wednesday June 11, 4:30 PM (Uptown)

Theater of War [siff]: Meryl Streep took on on the title role in Brecht’s anti-war play when it was staged with a new translation by Tony Kushner in 2006 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This documentary includes footage from the play, shows Streep digging into the role, and provides backstory on the playwright. [josh]
Tuesday June 10, 7:00 PM; Thursday June 12, 4:30 PM (SIFF Cinema)

In the Land of the Headhunters [siff] : Back in 1914 photographer Edward S. Curtis produced this silent film about love and war amongst the Kwakwaka’wakw people in what we now call the Queen Charlotte Strait area of British Columbia. Entered into the United States Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance in 1999, the film made its debut here in Seattle way back in December of 1914 at the Moore Theater. Thanks to SIFF, the Burke Museum and the Seattle Theater Group, it’s back at the Moore with a newly restored version accompanied by the orginal orchestral score and descendants of the original cast. [zg]
Tuesday June 10, 7:00 pm, The Moore Theater

Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed on the mountains [siff] : One of many movies mined from the story of the Chilean soccer team whose flight crashed in the Andes and had survivors resorting to cannibalism. This one, however, finds the survivors and their families, taking them back to the site of the crash thirty years later. [josh]
Tuesday June 10, 9:30 PM

Trouble the Water [siff] : New Orleans native Kimberley Roberts and her husband fight FEMA’s milles of red tape as they struggle to rebuild their post-Katrina lives in Memphis in this provocative documentary that includes footage Roberts filmed of the hurricane’s assault on her hometown. Be prepared to be both deeply touched and extremely pissed off. Executive producer Danny Glover and the films directors, Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, are scheduled to attend both screenings. [zg]
Wednesday June 11, 4:30 pm; Friday June 13, 9:30 pm, (Harvard Exit)

Fields of Fuel [siff] : If you haven’t turned Green yet, then see this flick about bio-diesel. It’s one of those movies that’ll make you want to sell that gas guzzling car of yours. Until you realize you need said car to get around, and don’t want it smelling like fried chicken. [ba]
Wednesday June 11, 7:00 pm; Thursday June 12, 4:30 pm (Harvard Exit)

Alexander Nevsky [siff] : Prince Alexander Nevsky raises an army to fight Teutonic knights set on invading Russia in this epic film from the Soviet Union originally released in 1938. It’s worth going for the way pre-CGI battle sequences alone. Enhancing the experience, Sergei Prokofiev’s original score will be performed live by the Seattle Symphony. [zg]
Thursday June 12, 7:30 pm; Friday, June 13, 7:00 pm; Saturday June 14, 8:00 pm, Sunday June 15, 2:00 pm, (Benaroya Hall)

Visioneers [siff] : In Jared and Brandon Drake’s dystopic future, productivity and forced happiness have displaced feelings and dreams. Zach Galifianakis stars as a descendent of George Washington who is trying to avoid exploding (literally) like so many of his fellow citizens who succumbed to feeling too much individuality. It is entirely possible that this movie isn’t about any of this, and is instead about a man’s slow descent into madness driven by a combination of impotence and displaced extra-marital lust. The humor is dark, the pace is slow, but with the grim outlook enhanced by a score from the Polyphonic Spree it casts a heavy spell. [josh]
Thursday June 12, 9:30 PM; Saturday June 14, 4:00 PM (Egyptian)

It can be a real challenge to write a short description of a film for a catalog or a review. A case in point would be the description of Half-Life that appears in the SIFF catalog and led at least one audience member at the Q&A session that followed Friday night’s screening to mention that he expected the film to be about global warming. Global warming does play a recurring role in the film but it’s more as a background metaphor for the strangeness and tension that surrounds the family drama at the heart of the film.

Writer/director Jennifer Phang’s debut feature centers on a family living in Northern California suburbia. Eighteen-year-old Pam Wu spends her nights as a janitor at a small airfield and her days hanging out with her best friend Scott, the adopted son of an evangelical Christian couple who pointedly make a point of ignoring as much as they can the Scott’s homosexuality, no matter how blatantly he makes them aware of it. Scott’s first real lover just happens to be someone with a close relationship to Pam’s kid brother Timothy. Pam and Tim are very close, bonded not just by their family ties but the stress that life has placed on them. Their father, a pilot, one day got in his airplane and flew away never to be seen again. Their perpetually stressed-out mother, Saura, seems to resent both of her children and spends most of her energy on her younger, live-in lover Wendell, a man whose presence is definitely disruptive and quite possibly dangerous for both the kids.

These complicated interconnections make for an engrossing drama on their own but Phang ups the stakes by introducing a science fiction element to the story that starts off subtle and slow but gains momentum over time, leading up to a stunning conclusion that permanently changes the lives of the Wu family. Extensive use of animation and excellent cinematographic use of the scenery both natural and manmade make Half-Life as visually engaging as it is emotionally appealing.

Half Life is still seeking distribution; it will next be shown at the Los Angeles Film Festival. For more information on the film, visit its website.[Half-Life]