Puzzle - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Movie: Puzzle

The Director: Marc Turtletaub

The Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, Liv Hewson, David Denman

The Story: Agnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world - where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined.

Under the Tree (Undir trénu) - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Movie: Under the Tree (Undir trénu)

The Director: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson

The Cast: Steinþór Hróar Steinþórsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Sigurður Sigurjónsson, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir, Þorsteinn Bachmann, Selma Björnsdóttir, Dóra Jóhannsdóttir, Sigríður Sigurpálsdóttir Scheving

The Story: When Baldwin and Inga's next door neighbors complain that a tree in their backyard casts a shadow over their sundeck, what starts off as a typical spat between neighbors in the suburbs unexpectedly and violently spirals out of control.

The Place - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Movie: The Place

The Director: Paolo Genovese

The Cast: Valerio Mastandrea, Marco Giallini, Alba Rorhwarcher, Vittoria Puccini, Rocco Papaleo

The Story: The fates of an apparently random group of strangers who each come into contact with a mysterious figure who they believe possesses the power to grant any wish, in return for which they must carry out a task he assigns them.

Bodied - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Bodied

The Director: Joseph Kahn

The Cast: Calum Worthy, Jackie Long, Rory Uphold, Jonathan Park, Walter Perez, Shoniqua Shandai, Anthony Michael Hall

The Story: A progressive graduate student finds success and sparks outrage when his interest in battle rap as a thesis subject becomes a competitive obsession.

The Last Suit (El último traje) - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Movie: The Last Suit (El último traje)

The Director: Pablo Solarz

The Cast: Miguel Ángel Solá, Ángela Molina, Martín Piroyansky, Natalia Verbeke, Olga Boladz

The Story: An 88 year-old Jewish tailor, runs away from Buenos Aires to Poland, where he proposes to find a friend who saved him from certain death at the end of World War II.

People's Republic of Desire - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Documentary: People's Republic of Desire

The Director: Hao Wu

The Story: As an entire generation has come of age on social media, virtual relationships are slowly replacing real-life human connections. And China has taken it to an extreme.

Champions (Campeones) - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Champions (Campeones)

The Director: Javier Fesser

The Cast: Javier Gutiérrez, Sergio Olmos, Julio Fernandez, Jesus Lago, Jesus Vidal

The Story: A basketball coach is sentenced to community service, forced to work with a team of mentally disabled players.

Leave No Trace - SIFF 2018 Capsule Review

The Movie: Leave No Trace

The Director: Debra Granik

The Cast: Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie, Jeff Korber, Dale Dickey

The Story: A father and his thirteen year-old daughter are living in an ideal existence in a vast urban park in Portland, Oregon, when a small mistake derails their lives forever.

TwoOhSix Interviews - Director Yixi Sun at SIFF 2018

On a rainy day in Seattle, I had an opportunity to sit down with film maker Yixi Sun to discuss her debut feature film Susu which is an official selection of the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival. Her insight and knowledge of film making is very impressive and it is obvious she has a sincere passion and joy for her craft. Our discussion covers a wide range of topics including how she made the movie, what it was like starting her own film festival, and her newfound love of popcorn.

Ruin Me - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Ruin Me

The Director: Preston DeFrancis

The Cast: Marcienne Dwyer, Matt Dellapina, Chris Hill, Eva Hamilton, John Odom

The Story: Alexandra reluctantly tags along for Slasher Sleepout, an extreme event that is part camping trip, part haunted house, and part escape room. But when the fun turns deadly, Alex has to play the game if she wants to make it out alive.

C’est la vie! (Le sens de la fête) - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: C’est la vie! (Le sens de la fête)

The Directors: Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano

The Cast: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Macaigne, Eye Haidara, Suzanne Clément,

The Story: A hectic wedding party held in an 17th century French palace comes together with the help of the behind-the-scenes staff.

The Empty Hands (空手道) - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: The Empty Hands (空手道)

The Director: Chapman To

The Cast: Stephy Tang, Chapman To, Yasuaki Kurata, Stephen Au

The Story: Half Japanese Hong Kong girl Mari Hirakawa who succeeds dojo after tragic death of her Karate master and father encounters ex-karate student, ex-yakuza Chan Keung who also succeeds the half of her father's karate dojo.

Killing Jesús - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Killing Jesús

The Director: Laura Mora

The Cast: Natasha Jaramillo, Giovanny Rodriguez, Camilo Escobar, Carmenza Cossio, Juan Pablo Trujillo

The Story: A young Colombian student witnesses the cold-blooded murder of her father. After suffering the police’s ineffectiveness, she accidentally encounters the hit man responsible for the job. Driven by anger, frustration and pain, revenge seems to be her only possible choice. Inspired by true events.

Automata - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Automata

The Director: Van Alan

The Cast: Basil Harris, Jen Taylor, Doug Jones, Dylan Smith

The Story: In an alternate 1930's Prohibition-era New York City, it's not liquor that is outlawed but the future production of highly sentient robots known as automatons.

Susu - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Susu

The Director: Yixi Sun

The Cast: Zitong Wu, Frederick Szkoda, Steve Edwin, Lin Zhu, Junjie Mao, Roslyn Hill

The Story: Two Chinese girls take a film transcription job at a heritage English countryside mansion. Discovering entangled family secrets about the Kunqu Opera star Susu, they find it almost impossible to escape, physically and emotionally.

TwoOhSix Interviews - Karoline Sofie Lee at SIFF 2018

During the first weekend of the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival, I had the pleasure of interviewing Karoline Sofie Lee, the lead actress from The Return (TwoOhSix Review), a movie about two Korean born adoptees returning from their homes in Denmark in a quest to find their birth parents. We chatted about how she was hired for the role, making such a unique movie, and her own personal experience with the subject matter.

A Rough Draft (Chernovik) - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: A Rough Draft (Chernovik)

The Director: Sergey Mokritskiy

The Cast: Nikita Volkov, Severija Janusauskaite, Vilen Babichev, Olga Borovskaya, Oleg Feoktistov

The Story: A video game designer is stripped of his identity and recruited by a mysterious force to be the gatekeeper of a multi-dimensional portal.

The Field Guide to Evil - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: The Field Guide to Evil

The Directors: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, Peter Strickland, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Katrin Gebbe, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Ashim Ahluwalia, Yannis Veslemes

The Cast: Sarah Navratil, Birgit Minichmayr, Jilon VanOver, Lili Epply, Claude Duhamel

The Story: A feature-length anthology film. They are known as myths, lore, and folktales. Created to give logic to mankind's darkest fears, these stories laid the foundation for what we now know as the horror genre.

Hagazussa - A Heathen’s Curse - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse

The Director: Lukas Feigelfeld

The Cast: Aleksandra Cwen, Celina Peter, Claudia Martini

The Story: Paranoia & Superstition in 15th Century Europe.

Bee Nation - SIFF 2018 Documentary Review

The Documentary: Bee Nation

The Director: Lana Šlezic

The Story: In Saskatchewan in 2016, students are competing in the first ever province-wide First Nations Spelling Bee. The winners will travel with their families to Toronto, Ontario for the 29th Annual national championships of the Spelling Bee of Canada.

Waru - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Waru

The Directors: Briar Grace-Smith, Awanui Simich-Pene, Katie Wolfe, Renae Maihi, Casey Kaa, Chelsea Winstanley, Paula Whetu Jones, Ainsley Gardiner

The Cast: Miriama McDowell, Tanea Heke, Kararaina Rangihau, Roimata Fox, Ngapaki Moetara

The Story: A powerful and challenging story surrounding the tangi (funeral) of a small boy Waru who dies at the hands of his caregiver and how the boys death impacts the community.

Always at the Carlyle - Documentary Review

The Documentary: Always at the Carlyle

The Director: Matthew Miele

The Story: The iconic Carlyle hotel has been an international destination for a particular jet-set as well as a favorite haunt of the most discernible New Yorkers.

Mutafukaz - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Mutafukaz

The Directors: Shôjirô Nishimi and Guillaume Renard

The Cast: Orelsan, Gringe, Redouanne Harjane, Féodor Atkine, Julien Kramer, Emmanuel Karsen

The Story: Angelino, Vinz, and Willie are a trio of misfits trapped in a futuristic dystopian ghetto where every moment is filled with danger. Things start to get real weird when Angelino takes notice of a possible alien invasion and his true destiny is slowly revealed.

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil

The Director: Paul Urkijo Alijo

The Cast: Kandido Uranga, Eneko Sagardoy, Uma Bracaglia, Ramon Aguirre, Gorka Aguinagalde

The Story: A Gothic folk tale from the 19th century Basque region that puts a young girl in the middle of a timeless battle between the living and the forces of hell.

They Remain - Movie Review

The Movie: They Remain

The Director: Philip Gelatt

The Cast: William Jackson Harper, Rebecca Henderson

The Story: Two scientists who share a romantic history are tasked with investigating unnatural animal behavior on the site of a Manson Family-style cult's compound.

The Bold, The Corrupt, and The Beautiful - SIFF 2018 Movie Review

The Movie: The Bold, The Corrupt, and The Beautiful

The Director: Ya-che Yang

The Cast: Kara Wai, Ke-Xi Wu, Ning Vicky Chen

The Story: Madame Tang colludes and mediates between the government and the private businesses for the benefits of her all-female family. One case does not go according to plan, and an entire family close to Madame Tang fall victim to a gruesome murder. Ambition, desire and lust eventually change Tang's relationships with her own family forever.