Festival Events 2024

Festival Member Preview Night

April 17, 2024

SIFF Cinema Egyptian

Join us for a SIFF member exclusive event at SIFF Cinema Egyptian as we kick off the 50th annual Seattle International Film Festival! Not a member? Become a member today!

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50th Seattle International Film Festival Opening Night Event

360 min.

May 9, 2024

Paramount Theatre

The 50th Seattle International Film Festival will open with Thelma, followed by our famous after-party.

It’s our golden anniversary, and because we only shine as bright as our audiences, we encourage you to arrive enrobed in your most dazzling gold attire.

Get down and party with the SIFF crew on opening night. Enjoy Thelma followed by a filmmaker Q&A, then take to the Paramount’s stage or right outside on 9th Avenue for a night of dancing, drinks, and bites–all complimentary with your ticket. Groove to C89.5 DJs, strike a pose in the 360 photo booth, and dig into Tutta Bella, Kottu, Where Ya At Matt, Piroshky Piroshky, and libations from The Walls, Black Raven Brewing, Westland Distillery, The Pathfinder & Tito's Handmade Vodka.

About the Film

When 93-year-old Thelma Post (June Squibb) gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. A story exploring aging, family and autonomy (and uniquely inspired by action movies like Mission: Impossible) – Thelma is based on a real-life experience of writer/director Josh Margolin’s grandmother, and marks Squibb’s first leading film role of her 70+ year career. Writer and director Josh Margolin will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening along with Thelma producers Zoë Worth and Chris Kaye, and Tribute recipient June Squibb.

Opening Night Film & Party

Get down and party with the SIFF crew and your fellow film-loving revelers at Opening Night. Enjoy the film then take to the Paramount’s stage or right outside on 9th Avenue for a night of dancing, drinks, and bites—all complimentary with your ticket.

Film & Party - Paramount Theatre

Doors Open to Public: 6:00pm
Screening: 7:00pm
Party: 9:30pm

$86.50 ($76.50 SIFF Members)

Buy Film & Party Tickets

Opening Night Red Carpet Experience

With a Red Carpet Experience ticket, you’re also invited to walk the red carpet and get access to an exclusive pre-reception with delicious food and libations, live music from a Seattle Symphony quartet playing arrangements from film soundtracks and pop music, plus a gorgeous view of the Paramount marquee and the Seattle skyline from the garden terrace of the Seattle Convention Center's Summit building.

Red Carpet Experience tickets also include free parking at the Convention Center’s garage. Across the street at The Paramount Theatre, VIP seating at the screening will be reserved for you and your guests, and a dedicated bar and exclusive food options will be available to you throughout the evening. Also, don't forget your swanky swag bag when you leave!

Red Carpet Experience - Seattle Convention Center Summit Building

Pre-Reception: 5:00pm
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Screening: 7:00pm
Party: 9:30pm

$351.50

Buy Red Carpet Experience

*Note: SIFF parties are for ages 21+, and IDs will be checked at the door. No refunds will be issued for tickets purchased with an invalid ID.

Saturday, May 11, 2024

A Conversation with June Squibb

Some actors have cultivated such skill in their craft that their magnetism shines through no matter the size of their role. June Squibb unequivocally ranks among this upper echelon of performers. For her career full of positively unforgettable supporting roles, SIFF is ecstatic to honor her with the 2024 Golden Space Needle Award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.

The award will be presented to Squibb at the Tribute Event on Saturday, May 11 at SIFF Cinema Downtown and will include a conversation moderated by Variety's Jenelle Riley with questions from the audience. Prior to the event, we will host a Honoree Brunch with Squibb at Palace Kitchen, ticketed separately. See her starring role in our Opening Night film, Thelma, on May 9 at the Paramount.

Brunch & Tribute Event Ticket: $126.50 | $101.50 Members
Includes 10:00am Honoree Brunch with June Squibb at Palace Kitchen followed by the 12:30pm Tribute Event at SIFF Cinema Downtown. Be sure to have the complimentary 'Tribute to June Squibb' add on selected at check-out.

Note: The Honoree Brunch is for ages 21+, and IDs will be checked at the door. No refunds will be issued for tickets purchased with an invalid ID.

Tribute Event (Conversation) Ticket: $21.50 | $26.50 Members
Includes the 12:30pm Tribute Event at SIFF Cinema Downtown only.

Event Schedule
SIFF Cinema Downtown & Palace Kitchen
May 11, 2024 
10:00am - Honoree Brunch with June Squibb at Palace Kitchen
12:30pm - Tribute event at SIFF Cinema Downtown

June Squibb was born in 1929 in Vandalia, Illinois, to Lewis Squibb, an insurance salesman who would serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII, and JoyBelle Force, a pianist who provided musical accompaniment to silent films. Squibb was an entertainer from the start, telling the New York Post, “I think I came out of the womb feeling that I was an actress.” As a child, her paternal grandparents would take her to bars to tapdance on the bartop, earning them free beers and herself rounds of applause–a win-win arrangement. The fledgling star acted in plays throughout her school career and spent her extracurricular time in high school as a cheerleader and majorette.

Squibb got her professional start as a theatrical actor with the Cleveland Play House, where she spent five years doing back-to-back shows, honing her discipline as she strengthened her acting chops (all the while reshaping her south central Illinois accent to blend in with the rest of the company). Entering the Cleveland Play House as a competent dancer, it was there that Squibb learned to sing on stage, which would set her up for the next phase of her career: the New York theatre scene.

In the mid-1950s, Squibb moved to New York City, where she took acting lessons at Herbert Berghof Studio and worked on numerous off-Broadway productions. Then, in 1959, Squibb made her Broadway debut with the play “Gypsy” as Electra, a fellow striptease artist of the famed Gypsy Rose Lee. Her theatre career would continue for three decades longer before she ever acted on film, during which she worked on “The Happy Time” as Felice Bonnard in the 1968 production at the Broadway Theatre and “Gorey Stories” as Mary Rosemarsh in the 1978 production at the Booth Theatre. 

Squibb made her film debut at the age of 61 with the 1990 Woody Allen film Alice, playing the small role of Hilda. Since entering the world of film, she’s played an impressive number of supporting roles, perhaps most notable being her performance as the sharp-tongued, tough-loving Kate Grant in Nebraska (2013), for which she was a 2014 Oscar® nominee for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. While growing her film and television career with larger and more complex roles, Squibb returned to her theatre roots in 2018 with a stint on the original Broadway run of the hit musical “Waitress,” in which she replaced Al Roker in the role of diner owner Joe to become the first woman to play the part as Josie. After a couple months on stage, it was right back to screen for Squibb: She would reprise her role as Marion Peterson for the second season of “Good Girls,” airing in 2019, and would contribute her wonderful voice to Toy Story 4 (2019) as Margaret the Store Owner.

Squibb humbly credits her successful film acting career to her second husband, director and acting teacher Charles Kakatsakis, who encouraged her to expand her repertoire past her specialization in musical theatre. She told Collider in an interview at Sundance 2024, “He literally changed my life. I mean, he made me do it ... This was the biggest thing [that] ever happened in my life because I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it weren’t for him.” Squibb enrolled in her husband’s acting classes in her late 30s, surrounded by young actors who knew her as the teacher’s wife, a challenging period for the actress but one that ultimately paid off: Kakatsakis was right, she had the potential to be a great actor, and she was realizing that potential. She has been ever since.

Squibb’s most recent film project, Thelma, made quite a stir when it premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival for being her first leading film role after over 30 years in the industry (and over 70 years in show business). In the film, Squibb plays the titular character who goes on a quest to recover $10,000 that was stolen from her in a phone scam. The seasoned actor’s attitude toward her achievement is one of cool enthusiasm. Acknowledging in an interview with uInterview.com that “it’s lovely that it’s happened,” Squibb explained, “I don’t think much about it, to be honest with you. I just read the script, and I thought this is something I want to do. And I’ll tell you, I really have gotten to the point where if I don’t want to do it, I don’t … leading role or no leading role. But it was a great script, it was an absolute brilliant script with a woman that I felt I knew and really could love.” This drive for a career full of strong roles rather than for status and fame has undoubtedly made Squibb’s oeuvre all the more prestigious and fun to watch.

SELECT FILMOGRAPHY

Alice (1990); Scent of a Woman (1992); The Age of Innocence (1993); In & Out (1997); About Schmidt (2002); Nebraska (2014); “Modern Family” (2016); “Shameless” (2016); “Good Girls” (2018-19); Toy Story 4 (2019); Soul (2020); “Little Ellen” (2021-22); Thelma (2024).

4th World Media Lab

May 15 - 19, 2024

A year-long fellowship for emerging and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers, with activities at Camden International Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and SIFF. The program is a collaborative partnership between the festivals and Nia Tero.

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Saturday, May 18, 2024

The 50th Seattle International Film Festival will close with Sing Sing at SIFF Cinema Downtown—where the cast will be honored with Golden Space Needle Award for Ensemble Acting—with a party at MOHAI to follow.

Close out the 50th Seattle International Film Festival in style! We’ve planned some fabulous festivities to wrap this year’s Festival, and you’re invited. 

Commence the revelry with us at a screening at SIFF Cinema Downtown followed by our 50th birthday bash fundraiser, where you can help set SIFF up for another 50 years of surprising cinema by playing fundraising games to win prizes! Be sure to dress up in your best archival SIFF gear because we’re giving a special prize to the person wearing the oldest piece of SIFF swag!

Enjoy the film at SIFF Cinema Downtown, then head to MOHAI for a night of philanthropic fun featuring dancing, drinks, and bites–all complimentary with your ticket. 

Film & Party Tickets - $86.50 ($76.50 SIFF Members)
Location: SIFF Cinema Downtown, 2100 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121
Doors Open to Public: 5:30pm | Screening: 6:00pm | Party (MOHAI): 8:00pm

Party Only Ticket - $51.50 ($46.50 SIFF Members)
Location: MOHAI, 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98107
8:00pm

All party attendees will receive an invite to SIFF’s giving platform Classy to use while playing fundraising games. For questions or troubleshooting, contact [email protected].

Dates: May 9 -19, 2024

Locations:
Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98101
SIFF Cinema Downtown, 2100 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98121
MOHAI, 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98107

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