In 2022, I saw fewer new releases than any previous year I’ve made a top ten. How or why this year was different could be any number of things, but truth be told, I just think 2022 was just an okay year for new releases. It might be heresy to say, but I found greater enjoyment from the loud brass of the big screen spectacle than the vast majority of quieter award contenders (and even some festival favorites). This is usually never the case, but credit where credit is due, the blockbuster, and the adjacent $100 million passion project, were frequently among my favorite films of the year.
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NFFTY is home to the world’s largest film festival for young filmmakers, and it resides here in Seattle. Each year, the four day festival showcases over 250 remarkable films from up and coming filmmakers while also the providing tools and resources to help realize their next project. As it enters its fifteenth year, NFFTY has grown into one of the most significant, lesser known festivals in the country, and it began with someone who was once in the shoes of a young filmmaker…
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As my home court film festival, the Seattle International Film Festival will always hold a special place in my heart. After five years, I still come back to this festival not only for nostalgia purposes, but also to continue seeing films outside the mainstream. With 155 feature films and 107 short films at this year’s 48th incarnation, there is no shortage of films to watch. The perennial problem is which ones. Below I have compiled a handful of my recommendations for films at this year’s festival. Some I have seen at other festivals, others are total wildcards. Either way, there’s always something in the lineup for everyone. If you’re willing to “seek new cinema,” as this year’s theme suggests, you’re bound to find something.
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Looking back on 2021, the major theme has to be the return of theaters. What they have to offer — spectacle, shared experience, dialog — cannot be replicated at home in isolation, and more so than any one release, the return of theaters was notable based on the simple fact that they enable exhibition. Going from sitting at home and streaming movies for most of 2020 to being able to finally watch a film on the big screen served as a potent reminder of what is lost when theatrical exhibition is removed from the equation. While you should seek out these films by any means necessary, my favorite films from 2021 go hand in hand with the cinematic experience.
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In the late 1960s, the first generation of Black filmmakers at UCLA broke new ground for with their thoughtful, thorough, compassionate portrayals of the Black Americans on film, forming the cinematic movement that would eventually be known as the LA Rebellion. In honor of the retrospective at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival, we sat down with cinematic legends Charles Burnett and Billy Woodberry to discuss the films that changed Black representation in cinema, the factors that influenced their work, and their enduring legacy that continues to inspire generations of filmmakers
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2020, a sinisterly bad year. While the world caught fire all at once and every facet of normalcy went up in flames, cinema was a true comfort in these troubling times. The last 365 days were a challenge all their own, full of hardship and loss, but from the other side, I can say I appreciate the movies that made things a little easier on the days that couldn’t get any worse. The sheer act of ranking art with numerical values is in and of itself a contradiction, but these ten films prove that, even when the world turns sideways, cinema will always be there to renew faith in our collective existence, now and into the future.
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In the days following SXSW’s cancellation, we sat down with two time Cannes attendee, Annie Silverstein, to talk about her latest film, Bull. In our conversation, we discussed the five year creative process going from short to feature, the influences that inspired her characters, and how the film recontextualizes the Western genre with new faces.
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In the days leading up to Seattle’s Noir City at SIFF, we sat down with the Czar of Noir himself, Eddie Muller, to discuss the festival’s history, the contemporary social underpinnings in this year’s lineup, audience’s undying fixation on the genre, and the borderless unification noir has on us all.
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This past year I saw 122 new releases, and admittedly, most weren’t worth my time. However, every year there are thirty or so films that make watching hours upon hours of film worth it. Finding a hidden gem, having your expectations blown away, seeing that long awaited film, experiencing that euphoric feeling only cinema can provide. It’s something special. And 2019 had no shortage of them. These are as good as it gets, so let’s begin.
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In the midst of the three week long festival that is the Seattle International Film Festival, we took a few moments to talk to one cinema’s most promising new talents Philip Youmans. Along with his producer and school mate Mose Mayer, they sat down to talk about their film Burning Cane, what influences them, and where their careers will take after the success of their first outing.
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Way back in March, we saw the world premiere of The Art of Self-Defense at SXSW. Fast forward two months and the film made another appearance at SIFF, and along with it came writer director Riley Stearns. During the festival, we had the opportunity to speak with the director and discuss where the idea came from, the process of scripting such a tact-sharp comedy, and whether or not he himself knows karate.
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From a wide variety of genres, directors, and studios, there was a film to be had for everyone in 2018. With such an embarrassment of riches to choose from, it was incredibly difficult selecting just ten, but as it stands, these are the best of the best, and to me, these are as good as it gets for 2018, so let’s begin.
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