The 51st annual Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) kicks off on Thursday, May 15 at the historic Paramount Theatre with a gala screening of the Irish comedy Four Mothers, starring James McArdle and Fionnula Flanagan. The relationship comedy of a struggling Gay author and his feisty mother — the recent victim of a stroke that’s left her unable to speak and who can only communicate through an iPad — has been the toast of the festival scene since its 2024 London debut, and SIFF Artistic Director Beth Barrett is eager for local audiences to see it.

“The world is hard right now,” she said solemnly. “It’s not an easy place. For opening night, I really wanted something funny, something that brought joy. I also wanted something that celebrated families, especially the unique relationship between men and their mothers. We found that with Four Mothers, a celebration of Gay men and the relationship they have with their mothers. There’s something very special about this story and this intergenerational idea that, despite all challenges, families can stick together and most of all change.”

“By sharing who we are, by being open and transparent, we can change how people interact,” she added. “We can change the entire community that surrounds them. These are important themes, especially right now.

“Also, it’s just really good to laugh. There’s not a lot of comedy in the world right now. It’s hard. This makes laughter, and sharing that laughter with others, incredibly important. One of the things we’re always trying to do at the festival is bring those ‘take a chance’ films to audiences. I think this is a good example of that.”

Festival overview and film distribution

Barrett’s eagerness to chat about this year’s festival was infectious.

“The excitement is really high,” she said with a smile. “We have an incredible program that really leads into the international and independent film scene… even more so this year than normal. We were determined to focus on international stories and on stories from new directors. Just over 60% of our feature film selections this year are from first- and second-time filmmakers, and 72% of those don’t even have distribution yet.

“Additionally, we’re representing 74 countries that are communicating in 63 languages, including three different sign languages. [Over half] of our filmmakers represent as female or Nonbinary. These are really, really independent stories from all walks of life and from all around the world. That’s very exciting.”

In some ways, the volume of films being showcased without any current distribution returns SIFF to its foundational roots. Many of these motion pictures may not ever get a domestic release in any form whatsoever. This means festival screenings may be the only opportunity for audiences to view them.

“There are definitely a lot of films that fall into that category,” states Barrett. “Considering the current landscape, it’s unlikely many of these will play on cinema screens again anytime soon or get picked up for mass streaming, like with Netflix, Hulu, etc. That’s not going to be their path. [SIFF] is the way these films will find their audience. We’ve always said the festival is the way to travel the world without leaving Seattle, and in this climate, that’s never been more true.

“That’s hard to think about: the dangers of leaving the US or the dangers of coming to the US. It’s a dicey situation for a lot of people who are feeling uncertain about what is happening, especially international folks living here in Seattle. SIFF and festivals like SIFF might be their only outlet to see and experience those stories for the next four years.”

Breaking down barriers

Real-world events, especially political and cultural events, are not ones Barrett is ready to gloss over. Just the opposite. More than ever, she sees it is key to SIFF’s foundational objectives to showcase diverse and inclusive stories from every corner of the globe, no matter the current political climate.

“It’s at the very core of what our organization exists to do,” she proudly proclaimed. “It’s in our values. It’s in our mission. It’s in the way that we approach everything that we do. Within the construct of the festival, we strive to be an epicenter for films from all around the world, the idea being that you could go to one venue and see what the challenges, joys, similarities, and differences are in cultures all across our planet. Film makes us more empathetic, because it lowers those barriers that invisibly exist between us. There’s not much difference between any of us once you strip away those artificially placed walls. So, we’re intentionally leaning in this year. We want to break down those barriers.”

Barrett took a moment to think before she continued.

“As a culture, it’s the only way forward,” she explained. “There used to be a set of rules that we all agreed upon about basic democracy, and how we were able to learn and empathize with one another was through art and culture. Film, art, theater, music, dance — that’s how we would learn about other cultures throughout the world. I think this narrowing of this art in our lives and the imposition of boundaries and rules that takes away funding for the arts and closes off borders is a red-flag situation. We’re there. Right now.

“We, as humans, get to make the decision as to what is important to us. The way we do that is by participation in our democracy. We also do that by voting with our pocketbooks. We support the arts and cultural organizations that bring the world to us. We see films. We talk to filmmakers. We talk to each other. This is all-important. While it is a scary world right now with everything that is going on, community is what you fall back on. The arts are what you fall back on. And SIFF exists to help facilitate those connections. SIFF is here to make sure every voice is heard.”

Venues and Northwest content

Not every obstacle SIFF faced putting on this year’s festival was due to political or social upheaval. Late last year, a burst pipe and a subsequent flood rendered one of Seattle’s most cherished theaters unusable, Capitol Hill’s historic SIFF Cinema Egyptian.

“Not having the Egyptian has been really hard,” Barrett admitted. “It is a foundational venue. This will be the first festival since the late 1970s without the Egyptian, which is really sad, no question. But we are also extremely confident we will be able to reopen the venue later this year. The Egyptian will return.”

With a smile, she added, “But films and events that used to be at the Egyptian will move to SIFF Cinema Downtown. The Secret Festival will be downtown. The Midnighters will be downtown. So many of these programs that have lived at the Egyptian — it will be exciting to see them have such an incredible new home for a year.”

Outside of the Paramount Theatre and SIFF Cinema Downtown, other venues for this year’s festival include SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Cinema Film Center, AMC Pacific Place 11, the Shoreline Community College Theater, and the Museum of History and Industry, which will host the closing night screening and after-party. All of these theaters will be the home for 83 features, 122 short films, 35 documentaries, three archival features, and two secret films. Nineteen will be world premieres. This includes five features shot in the Pacific Northwest: BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Evergreens, Monarch City, Suburban Fury, and Wolf Land.

“This year, the Northwest Connections program represents the entire state of Washington and, ironically, none are set in Seattle,” said Barrett. “Seattle plays a part in a lot of these films, but they are not set in the city. The program really focuses on all of the work being accomplished all around the state. They tell those stories, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience all of them.”

Queer selections

The selection of LGBTQIA+ features and documentaries is even more impressive and includes the likes of the aforementioned opening night film Four Mothers, the raucous Trans teen sex coming-out comedy She’s the He, the outlandish 16mm comic fantasy adventure F*cktoys, and Jean Cocteau, a surrealistic dramatic profile of the legendary French filmmaker, playwright, and poet.

“I think our Queer lineup this year is probably more Queer than it’s ever been,” Barrett remarked. “There is a real broad spectrum of Queer content, and not just Gay and Lesbian content. A lot … is from exceptionally young filmmakers. These are not traditionally told tales, and they are truly reflective of the lived experiences of these young people. It’s bold and vital, and I’m very excited about the sheer volume and the diverse spectrum of Queer content we have at SIFF this year.

“What’s really exciting is that barriers that state who a director can be are truly dropping. We have so many Nonbinary filmmakers this year, and the variety of stories they are telling, not all of which contain Queer content, is something else. As long as people keep supporting these young, very diverse filmmakers and their films, the more films like these they are going to be able to make.”

Resistance

Against the background of protests all across the US, Barrett agrees that viewing films from all over the world from a wide spectrum of directors of various races, backgrounds, genders, and ideologies is also a form of resistance.

“Absolutely,” she said emphatically. “Art has always been a form of resistance. Being able to support these films allows filmmakers to keep making these films and organizations like SIFF to keep showing these films. As a culture, as a community, if we want arts and culture to be diverse and to be challenging, if we want it to amuse us and to thrill us, we have to support it. It’s not a question.”

“The current government isn’t supporting us,” she continued after a contemplative pause. “Nobody has fully recovered from COVID. There are challenges left and right. If you want to see international and independent films, you have to go to the cinema and support those films. If you want to see Queer art, you have to go and support that art. If you want to experience Indigenous stories, female-driven stories, stories from diverse cultures, you have to vote with your pocketbook and support them. The community has to stand up and collectively say that there is value in supporting the arts.

“As a community here in Seattle, we have said over and over again that this is valuable. That’s one of the reason that people want to live here.”

More information about SIFF 2025 is at https://www.siff.net/festival.