By Kim Voynar Voynar@moviecitynews.com
2011 SIFF Kicks Off with Festive Opener
The 2011 Seattle International Film Festival kicked off last night with a festive, energetic Gala celebration. I pondered in my SIFF preview piece the other day why the fest chose The First Grader as their opener this year, and we kind of got an answer to that last night, as the fest announced a partnership with the Annenberg Foundation and Explore.org to create the Explore Series, which will feature five issue-driven films — and donate $5,000 to each of five organizations that serve causes related to those films.
The opening film, The First Grader, deals with literacy, so the organization chosen for the $5,000 grant affiliated with that film is (… drumroll, please) The Literacy Council. Not sure if the idea to do this partnership came first, or if they chose the opening film first and the idea for the partnership grew out of that, but either way, cool idea. I’m all for regional fests supporting their communities, and partnerships like this are a smart way to do just that.
In other exciting news, the fest also announced a partnership with Starbucks, which is headquartered in Seattle. Starbucks will be showing a selection of SIFF short documentaries for free on their nationwide wifi network throughout the fest. Even better, Seattle Starbucks customers will be able to pick up vouchers that can be exchanged for FREE tickets to select SIFF screenings after 3PM today.
Did I say FREE? Yes, I did. So now you have no excuse if you live here for not going to at least one film during the fest.
The SIFF Opener is one of the few times a year when Seattleites break out their nicer garb and attire themselves in clothing that actually borders on “dressy” — or is “dressy” by Seattle standards. This year the opening screening was at McCaw Hall, which is home of the Seattle Opera and is adjacent to SIFF Cinema, the fest’s year-round screening venue. McCaw has a capacity of over 2,800 (as does another past Opening Night venue, the Paramount Theater), while Benaroya Hall, where last year’s opener was held, seats only 2,500. McCaw Hall was pretty packed last night, but there were some open rows on the upper balconies. By way of contrast, the smaller Centerpiece Gala on June 4th and the Closing Gala June 12th will be held at the Egyptian Theater (capacity 650) and the Cinerama Theater (capacity 808), respectively.
One thing the fest organizers, bless their hearts, have to figure out every year is where to stage the post-screening parties for the gala events. You want the events to feel special and festive, but they also need to be someplace walking distance (or at least, no more than a short drive) from the theater. Last year the Opening Night party was held at Benaroya, a multi-level, labyrinthine space that’s not particularly conducive to flowing large quantities of people.
With the opener back at McCaw this year (the third time, I believe, that the fest has used McCaw for Opening Night) they were able to use the Exhibition Hall across the way from McCaw for the par-tay. The downside of the Exhibition Hall is that, since it’s usually used for exhibits and conventions and such, it’s a rather mundane and industrial kind of space, but creative use of airy fabrics and lighting and the carving out of VIP corners — not to mention abundantly flowing alcohol, appetizers and desserts — lent a festive air to the proceedings. The plus side of the Exhibition Hall space is that it’s big enough that it didn’t feel overly crowded.
The other two Galas have parties as well. The Centerpiece screening is at the Egyptian in Capitol Hill. This theater is a beautiful old restored Masonic Hall, and it’s been a fest venue since 1985. Also, it holds enough bodies for a Gala. The Centerpiece Party will be held at the DAR (that’s Daughters of the American Revolution) Mansion, which is also in Capitol Hill — the OTHER end of Capitol Hill. Right across the street from another SIFF venue, the Harvard Exit, which, while much smaller than the Egyptian and not really big enough to house a Gala (it does, however, have the not-inconsiderable bonus of being haunted, according to local legend …)
The DAR House is beautiful, and if the weather is beautiful so a lot of folks can be outside, it will be okay, but its capacity is only 180. The Egyptian seats 650, but I guess a lot of those folks will just have screening only tickets. At least, I hope so.
The Closing Party will be held at the Pan Pacific Hotel, located a short walk from the Cinerama. It’s a beautiful luxury hotel, and the capacity there looks to be around 350. So guessing that, again, more people go to just the film and skip the closing bash.
Last night was just the kick-off, though. The fest kicked off in earnest today, with screenings starting at 11AM, and, as every year, there’s a lot of films to choose from, so get scheduling. See you around the fest!