Seattle International Film Festival has announced the complete line-up of official selections, galas and special presentations. The 2012 Seattle International Film Festival is produced by SIFF, the non-profit arts organization that reaches more than 250,000 annually through SIFF Cinema, SIFF FutureWave Education and the annual Festival.

This year the Seattle International Film Festival will screen 273 features and 187 shorts representing 75 countries, from more than 5,676 submissions worldwide, compared to 5,213 in 2011, with the final selections representing 24 World, 25 North American, 16 U.S. premieres and 56 short film premieres. There will be 180 features at this year’s Festival arriving without U.S. distribution and 85 films by female filmmakers, up from 62 last year.

“There are so many things to be excited about this year with the opening of our flagship SIFF Film Center headquarters and the acquisition of the historic Uptown Cinemas,” said SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence. “This is the first time in SIFF’s history that we will have the opportunity to show films on multiple screens in a single location allowing us to present the most wide-ranging and diverse selection of films possible. There are films for every kind of movie lover whether you are a cinephile or multiplex guru, running the gamut from food, politics, comedy, action, thriller, classic, auteur cinema and everything in-between.”

This year’s films feature a star-studded lineup including Salma Hayek in As Luck Would Have It; Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney, Elizabeth Banks, and Sam Trammell in The Details; Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, and Peter Sarsgaard in Robot and Frank; Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Michelle Pfeiffer in People Like Us; Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister’s Sister; Jason Biggs, Cobie Smulders, and Cedric the Entertainer in Grassroots; Frieda Pinto in Trishna; the voices of Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane in Brave; Greta Gerwig in Lola Versus; Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, and Zac Efron in Liberal Arts, directed by Radnor; Julie Delpy and Chris Rock in 2 Days in New York, directed by Delpy; Common, Dennis Haysbert, and Danny Glover in LUV; Cybill Shepherd and David Burtka in White Camellias; Marc Duplas and Kristen Bell in Safety Not Guaranteed; Paul Giamatti in John Dies at the End; Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, and Sarah Silverman in Take this Waltz, directed by Sarah Polley; Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Foster in 360, directed by Fernando Meirelles; Robert Pattinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman and Christina Ricci in Bel Ami; Moonrise Kingdom directed by Wes Anderson.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
This year’s Special Presentations spotlight some of the most original and interesting features in our line-up.

Brave (dir. Brenda Chapman, Mark Andrews, USA, Disney • Pixar)
Diaz – Don’t Clean Up This Blood (dir. Daniele Vicari, Italy, Fandango Portobello)
The Last Reef 3D (dirs. Luke Cresswell, Steve McNicholas, United Kingdom, Giant Screen Films)
People Like Us (dir. Alex Kurtzman, USA, Dreamworks SKG)
Trishna (dir. Michael Winterbottom, United Kingdom, Sundance Selects)

FEATURE PREMIERES
World (24):
419, dir. Ned Thorne – USA
American Addict, dir. Sasha Knezev – USA
The Beautiful Game, dir. Victor Buhler – USA
Camilla Dickinson, dir. Cornelia Duryée Moore – USA
City World, dir. Brent Chesanek – USA
Duck Beach to Eternity, dirs. Stephen Frandsen, Hadleigh Arnst, Laura Naylo – USA
Earthbound, dir. Alan Brennan – Ireland
Easton’s Article, dir. Tim Connery – USA   
The Empty Home, dir. Nurbek Egen – Kyrgyzstan/Russia
Free Throw, dir. Court Crandall – USA
Fugly!, dir. Alfredo de Villa – USA
Grassroots, dir. Stephen Gyllenhaal – USA
Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, dir. Matthew Mishory – USA
The Long Ride Home, dir. Tom Wright – USA
The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On, dir. Drew Denny – USA
Recalled, dir. Michael Connors – USA
The Revolutionary, dirs. Lucy Ostrander, Don Sellers, Irv Drasnin – USA
The Savoy King: Chick Webb and the Music That Changed America, dir. Jeff Kaufman-USA
Short Life, dir. Scott Levy – USA
Sin Bin, dir. Billy Federighi – USA
The Standbys, dir. Stephanie Riggs – USA
True Wolf, dir. Rob Whitehair – USA
Welcome To Doe Bay, dirs. Nesib Shamah, Dan Thornton – USA
White Camellias, dir. Russell Brown – USA

COMPETITIONS
New Directors Competition   Festival programmers select 12 films remarkable for their original concept, striking style and overall excellence. To be eligible films must be a director’s first or second feature and without U.S. distribution at the time of their selection. Winners receive a $2,500 cash prize.

2012 Entrees:  6 Points About Emma (dir. Roberto Pérez Toledo, Spain); 170 Hz (dir. Joost van Ginkel, Netherlands); Chapiteau-Show (dir. Sergey Loban, Russia); The Empty Home (dir. Nurbek Egen, Kyrgyzstan); The Invader (dir. Nicolas Provost, Belgium); L (dir. Babis Makridis, Greece); Là-bas: A Criminal Education (dir. Guido Lombardi, Italy); The Last Friday (dir. Yahya Alabdallah, Jordan); Lipstikka (dir. Jonathan Sagall, Israel); Mirage (dir. Jung-ho Yang, South Korea); Nosilatiaj.Beauty (dir. Daniela Seggiaro, Argentina); Otelo Burning (dir. Sara Blecher, South Africa)

New American Cinema Competition   Festival programmers select 12 films without U.S. distribution that are sure to delight audiences looking to explore the exciting vanguard of New American Cinema and compete for the FIPRESCI Award for Best New American Film. The jury is comprised of three members from the International Federation of Film Critics. In addition, six of this year’s entries will also participate in SIFF’s Catalyst program, celebrating independent production.

2012 Entrees:  419 (Ned Thorne); Easton’s Article (Tim Connery); Eden (Megan Griffiths); Fugly! (Alfredo de Villa); Future Weather (Jenny Deller); I Am Not a Hipster (Destin Cretton); Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean (Matthew Mishory); The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On (Drew Denny); Recalled (Michael Connors); Sin Bin (Billy Federighi); Welcome To Pine Hill (Keith Miller); White Camellias (Russell Brown)

Documentary Competition   Unscripted and uncut, the world is a resource of unexpected, informative, and altogether exciting storytelling. Documentary filmmakers have, for years, brought these untold stories to life and introduced us to a vast number of fascinating topics we may have never known existed—let alone known were so fascinating. Documentary Competition winners will receive a $2,500 cash prize.

2012 Entrees:  American Addict (dir. Sasha Knezev, USA); The Beautiful Game (dir. Victor Buhler, USA); Duck Beach to Eternity (dirs. Stephen Frandsen, Hadleigh Arnst, Laura Naylor, USA); Five Star Existence (dir. Sonja Lindén, Finland); Free Throw (dir. Court Crandall, USA); Italy Love it or Leave It (dirs. Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi, Italy); The Mexican Suitcase (dir. Trisha Ziff, Mexico); Rouge Parole (dir. Elyes Baccar, Tunisia); The Source (dirs. Jodi Wille, Maria Demopoulos, USA); The Standbys (dir. Stephanie Riggs, USA); We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (dir. Brian Knappenberger, USA); Winter Nomads (dir. Manuel von Stürler, Switzerland)

SIFF Shorts Competition   All short films shown at the Festival are eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Audience Award and Jury Award. Shorts Competition jurors will choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each jury winner will receive $1,000 and the Narrative and Animation winners may also qualify to enter their respective films in the Short Film category of the Academy Awards

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