AFRICAN PICTURES

Borders (d: Apolline Traoré c: Amelie Mbaye, Naky Sy Savane, Burkina Faso 2017, 90 min, North American Premiere)

Hedi (d: Mohamed Ben Attia c: Majd Mastoura, Rym Ben Messaoud, Sabah Bouzouita, Hakim Boumessoudi, Ombia Ben Ghali, Tunisia 2016, 89 min)

Investigating Paradise (d: Merzak Allouache c: Salima Abada, Younès Sabeur Chérif, France 2017, 135 min, North American Premiere)

Kalushi (d: Mandla Dube c: Thabo Rametsi, Thabo Malema, Welile Nzuza, Jafta Mamabolo, Pearl Thusi, Gcina Mhlophe, South Africa 2016, 107 min)

The Nile Hilton Incident (d: Tarik Saleh c: Fares Fares, Mari Malek, Mohamed Yousry, Yasser Ali Maher, Ahmed Selim, Hania Amar, Sweden 2017, 106 min)

The Wedding Party (d: Kemi Adetiba c: Adesua Etomi, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Banky Wellington, Nigeria 2016, 110 min)

Winnie (d: Pascale Lamche, France 2017, 98 min)

Wùlu (d: Daouda Coulibaly c: Ibrahim Koma, Inna Modja, Ismael Ndiaye, Jean-Marie Traore, Dembele Habib, Mariame Ndiaye, Quim Gutierrez, Oliver Rabourdin, France 2016, 95 min)

CHINA STARS

The Beautiful Kokonor Lake (d. XING-HAO Shen c: Qin Yi, Jiang Ping, Jennifer Shu Chang. Huang Hong, Tony Rui-Xin, China 2017, 98 min)

The Door (d. XING-HAO Shen c: JIANG Wu, JIANG Qingin, ZHU Xu, FU Ying, LI Naiwen, China 2017, 98 min, North American Premiere)

Free and Easy (d. JUN Geng c: ZU Gang, ZHANG Zhiyong, XUE Baohe, WANG Xuxu, GU Benbin, ZHANG Xun, YUAN Liguo China 2016, 99 min)

God of War (d. Gordon Chan c: Sammo Hung, Vincent Zhao, Regina Wan, Yasuaki Kurata, Keisuke Koide, China 2017, 130 min)

Have a Nice Day (d. LIU Jian c: Yang Siming, Cao Kou, Ma Xiaofeng, Zhu Changlong, China 2017, 77 min)

Knife in the Clear Water (d. WANG Xuebo c: YANG Shengcang, ZHOU Jinhua, YANG Fan, YANG Xue, China 2016, 93 min, US Premiere)

Love and Duty (d. WANCANG Bu c: RUAN Lingyu, JIN Yan, China 1931, 153 min)

The Song of Cotton (d. ZHU Yuancheng c: YAN Bingyan, WANG Deshun, China 2016, 90 min)

Soul on a String (d. ZHANG Yang c: Kimba, Quni Ciren, Siano Dudiom Zahi, Solange Nima, China 2016, 142 min)

Tea Pets (d. Gary Wang v: SHI Lei, YUAN Zeyu, JI Guanlin, China 2017, 93 min)

Short films from the Beijing Film Academy:
Bloom (d. SUN Yiran and XU Jiyao c: Yiran SUN, Jiyao XU, China 2017, 8 min)
Elephant King (d. FU Yan and FU Chao c: Wang Naizhen, Fan Meng, Fu Yan, Fu Yongcha, China 2017, 11 min)
Free Throw Line (d. ZHANG Yixin China 2017, 7 min)
I Come From Prairie (d. Nuhan Arisbek, China 2017, 8 min)
The Sea (d. LI Yifan, China 2017 c: Jinshan Wang Feiyu Chen, Yihao Qian, 7 min)

CULINARY CINEMA

Cook Up a Storm (d: Raymond Yip Wai Man c: Alberto Calvet Gonzalez, You Ge, Yong-hwa Jung, Barbora Mottlová, Yan Tang, USA 2017, 97 min)

Fermented (d: Jonathan Cianfrani c: Edward Lee, USA 2017, 67 min, World Premiere)

Food Evolution (d: Scott Hamilton Kennedy c: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Michael Pollan, Charles Benbrook, USA 2016, 92 min)

Kakehashi: A Portrait of Chef Nobuo Fukuda (d: Andrew Gooi c: Nobuo Fukuda, Sarah Fukuda, Kazuko Fukuda, Japan 2017, 46 min, World Premiere)

Lives with Flavor (d: Pablo Gasca Gollas c: Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, Marco Beteta,Martha Ortiz,Israel Ronzon, Alberto Albarran, Patricia Muñoz Zurita, Salomé Freixas, Gonzalo Serrano, Mexico 2017, 52 min, World Premiere)

New Chefs on the Block (d: Dustin Harrison-Atlas c: Frank Linn, Aaron Silverman, Kate Diamond, Michel Richard, Danny Meyer, Mike Isabella, Tim Carman, Emily Sprissler, USA 2016, 96 min)

The Turkish Way (d: Luis Gonzalez c: Joan Roca, Josep Roca, Jordi Roca, Sabiha Apaydin, Maksut Askar, Mehmet Gurs, Sina Sucuka, Spain 2016, 120 min)

FACE THE MUSIC

Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall (d: Katherine Fairfax Wright f: Todrick Hall, Teresa Stanley, Wayne Brady, Chester Lockhart, Jesse Pattison, Brenda Cornish, Vonzell Solomon, Jenni Thomasson, Jazlyn Nicole Miller, USA 2017, 105 min)

Bill Frisell, A Portrait (d: Emma Franz f: Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Jim Hall, Mike Gibbs, Jason Moran, Jim Woodring, Joey Baron, Tony Scherr, Kenny Wollesen, John Zorn, Australia 2017, 114 min)

Chavela (d: Catherine Gund f: Chavela Vargas, Pedro Almodóvar, USA 2017, 90 min)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with live soundtrack by The Invincible Czars (d: John S. Robertson c: John Barrymore, Brandon Hurst, Martha Mansfield, Charles Lane, Cecil Clovelly, USA 1920, 79 min)

Give Me Future (d: Austin Peters, USA 2017, 85 min)

A Life in Waves (d: Brett Whitcomb f: Suzanne Ciani, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Kitaro, Peter Baumann, Dorit Chrysler, Sarah Davachi, Don Buchla, USA 2016, 75 min)

On the Road (d: Michael Winterbottom f: Wolf Alice, James McArdle, Leah Harvey, Swim Deep, Bloody Knees, United Kingdom 2016, 112 min)

The Paris Opera (d: Jean-Stéphane Bron f: Stéphane Lissner, Benjamin Millepied, France 2016, 110 min)

NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS

The Cage Fighter (d: Jeff Unay f: Callie Carman, Joe Carman, Delanee Carman, Vernon Beach, USA 2017, 83 min)

Crazywise (d: Phil Borges, Kevin Tomlinson f: Adam Gentry, Ekhaya Esima, Angeles Arrien, Phil Borges, Carroll Dunham, USA 2017, 82 min, World Premiere)

Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey (d: Dave O’Leske, USA 2017, 96 min)

Lane 1974 (d: SJ Chiro c: Sophia Mitri Schloss, Katherine Moennig, Annette Toutonghi, Sara Coates, USA 2017, 80 min)

Pow Wow (d: Robinson Devor, USA 2016, 75 min)

Rocketmen (d: Webster Crowell c: Alycia Delmore, Basil Harris, Christopher Dietz, Ian Fraser, Ben Laurance, USA 2017, 67 min, World Premiere)

Wallflower (d: Jagger Gravning c: David Call, Atsuko Okatsuka, Conner Marx, USA 2017, 84 min, World Premiere)

360˚/VR STORYTELLING POWERED BY WONDERTEK

360˚/VR STORYTELLING POP-UP, POWERED BY WONDERTEK LABS
Weekends from Friday, May 19 – Saturday, June 10
Passholder Happy Hours and Festival Forums times
SIFF Lounge, presented by Vulcan Productions

While the emerging tech behind-the-scenes of virtual reality and 360˚ have been evolving over the past few years, 360˚ filmmakers and VR content creators have been organically evolving a new language and tools for storytelling in this space. WonderTek Labs has curated a selection of some of the best in 360˚ storytelling from creators from the Seattle region and around the globe, showcased on Google Daydream headsets, that highlight a spectrum of where 360˚ storytelling is today.

Selections will include a work-in-progress cut of Seattle-based Mechanical Dreams’ Potato Dreams, the VR companion to SIFF’s short-film selection Little Potato; a reprise presentation of “The Stranger” Genius Award winner Tracy Rector’s Eagle Bone; Madrid-based Future Lighthouse’s groundbreaking branded storytelling piece Beefeater XO (a top-10 finalist for the Tribeca X Prize); an interactive VR episode for Spanish hit television series “El Ministerio Del Tiempo”; a selection of the best work to come out of the four SIXR Cinematic VR Hackathons; and other content TBD.

360˚/VR STORYTELLING PLAYTANK
Saturday, June 10 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM
SIFF Film Center

Are you a filmmaker who wants to learn more about transitioning to 360˚/VR, or a VR dev who wants to connect with filmmakers? Do you have a 360˚ or VR project in mind and want to connect with other folks interested in working on projects? Do you have expertise to share, or things you want to learn? The 360˚/VR Storytelling PlayTank is a hand-on, interactive event intended to bring together the Seattle 360˚/VR and filmmaking communities for a morning of topical small-group breakout conversations, hands-on demos and workshops, and informal opportunities to connect like-minded creatives, show personal projects and demos, and learn about emerging technologies.

The PlayTank will kick off with a Geekout Breakout Session Breakfast, where participants will join small, mentor-facilitated, small-group breakout sessions on topics including Spatial Audio, 360˚ Production and Post Production, Branching Narrative in 360˚ Storytelling, 360˚ Documentary Storytelling, and Ethics in Developing 360˚/VR Content.

Mettle CEO Chris Bobotis will be on hand to present a hands-on workshop for Mettle’s 360˚ editing plug-ins for Adobe Premiere. Bring your laptop to participate (you must have Adobe Premiere; you can download a free 30-day trial version if you don’t own Premiere). Participants will receive a free temporary license to use Mettle’s products as a part of this workshop. Upstairs in the PlayTank, participants will explore hands-on demos and workshops, and grab another coffee and connect organically with others in the community. The PlayTank is an open and collaborative space. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops and demos to share.