SIFF closed with the screening of the indie comedy “The Overnight” (USA, 2015), presented by the director Patrick Brice and actors Jason Schwartzman and Judith Godrèche. The night ended traditionally at the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) with a big party.
“I love that we bookended the festival this year with two stellar comedies, kicking off with our opening-night film, “Spy” (the No. 1 movie in America this weekend), and finishing with our hilarious closing-night indie “The Overnight,” said SIFF artistic director Carle Spence. “Starting and ending with laughter while traveling the world in between is a great way to mark another whirlwind 25-day celebration of cinema.”
And the winner is...
But it wouldn’t be a festival without the prizes. On Sunday morning, prior to the party, SIFF gave out Golden Space Needle Audience Awards. This year, nearly 90,000 ballots were submitted.
“The Dark Horse” (New Zealand, 2014) took home two main awards of the festival, earning the Best Film and Best Actor titles.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” (USA, 2015), a touching film about two aspiring filmmakers who befriend a girl with a fatal disease, won the award for Best Director for Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.
Best actress went to Nina Hoss from the German “Phoenix” (2014), “Romeo is Bleeding” (USA, 2015) got Best Documentary and “Even the Walls” (USA, 2015) took the prize for Best Short Film. The Lena Sharpe Award, for persistence of vision, which goes to the female director who gets the most votes, went to Mo Scarpelli, who directed the Afghani “Frame by Frame” (2015).
Another set of honors, the SIFF 2015 Competition Awards, was also given out during the last day of the festival. Best New Director went to Karoly Ujj-Meszaros for his “Liza, the Fox Fairy” (Hungary, 2015), a black comedy that offers incredible visuals and wit to a new take on romance, mystery and folk tales. “The Great Alone” (USA, 2015) got Best Documentary for its epic tale about Lance Mackey, an Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion many times over, who attempts a 1,200-mile race after surviving a life-threatening disease. And, finally, the Grand Jury Prize for Best New American Cinema went to “Chatty Catties” (USA, 2015), directed by Pablo Valencia.
Queen Anne will host the encore screenings of the award-winning films and other audience favorites at SIFF Cinema Uptown (511 Queen Anne Ave. N.) as part of Best of SIFF 2015, starting this weekend Friday, June 12, through Monday, June 15. For those who missed these cinematic creations during the festival, this is a great opportunity to get the feel of this year’s SIFF.
Festival highlights
Kevin Bacon was this year’s recipient of SIFF’s Career Achievement Award. The actor was celebrated with special screenings of “Footloose” (1984) and “Diner” (1982), as well as his new film “Cop Car” (2015).
Actor Jason Schwartzman attended to present his two new works: “7 Chinese Brothers” and the closing night’s film, “The Overnight.”
SIFF 2015 also celebrated the 25th anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, with eight films screened during the festival and an additional four to be screened later this month at the Paramount as part of its Silent Movie Mondays.
This year, the festival screened films for one last time at the historic Harvard Exit (807 E. Roy St.) on Capitol Hill. The venue hosted SIFF for the last 27 years, and following a screening of Colin Hanks’ “All Things Must Pass,” a documentary about the rise and fall of Tower Records, the iconic theater has closed its doors for good.
SIFF continues to grow in the Seattle community. This year, it permanently acquired SIFF Cinema Uptown, signed a long-term leased the Egyptian Theater and got new sponsorship, such as the Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Productions. With sold-out shows every night and satisfied movie-goers, Seattle now says “goodbye” to SIFF until next year.
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