SIFF ‘23, Where We’re Meant to Be
Seattle International Film Festival
May 11-21, 2023
By Peter Cameron
It’s hard to not get excited when I hear the pressure releasing four letter word—SIFF. The Seattle International Film Festival is back and this year there are no COVID woes to slow it down. With more then 164 films screening over 10 days, the yearly festival is going to give us that “cinematic supreme” (the highest ranking on my personal film rating scale) experience we need.
Because, let’s be honest: we need to be more excited about cinema. Especially international cinema. Hollywood is churning out underwhelming remakes alongside Superhero shenanigans. We’ve seen it all, especially the remakes. Even the new films have that contrived, “I’ve seen this” feel. American made films that are worthy of excitement don’t come around that much anymore. In fact, my favorite phrase over the last few years has been “film is dead.” Hollywood’s proving me right.
That’s why we need to look overseas for cinematic excitement. If we wanna see the new, we need to go international, baby. Don’t let subtitles stop you from experiencing other worlds and other cultures. The language of cinema is universal, but its dialects are nuanced. We need to broaden our film going horizons. The best place to do that – the only place, I would argue – is in a theater.
The NadaMucho team is ready to take up this challenge and travel the cinematic world from the poorly upholstered seats of some of Seattle’s most hallowed venues: The Egyptian and the Uptown. These temples will be full of passionate cinephiles over the next ten days. We’re ready to cozy up, no buffer needed, and share our armrests with fellow travelers as we enjoy cinema from every continent. It’s going to be epic.
There are too many films to say exactly which ones I going to watch. I want my intuitions to guide me, and I wanna watch films that don’t have a review hold. Our fearless editor, Matt Ashworth, will be there soaking in as much movie magic as humanly possible as well, and knowing fellow Nada Mucho contributor, Tim Basaraba, he’ll probably try and see every film on the roster. I hope he does. And I hope you join us as we embark on a beautiful journey into the transcontinental world of international film. Thank you SIFF for booking the tour.