Seattle International Film Festival back for 35th year

So, you thought the economy might cause the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) to scale down? Think again. The mammoth festival of cinema, celebrating its 35th year, unspools May 21 through June 14 with more movies — and more venues — than last year. Tickets go on sale this week.

SIFF will open at the Paramount Theatre with a gala screening of the British political comedy "In the Loop," directed by Armando Iannucci (expanded from the BBC series "The Thick of It") and with an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Gina McKee and Steve Coogan. Three and a half weeks later, the festival will close at Cinerama, with the French spy spoof "OSS 117: Lost in Rio," sequel to the 2006 SIFF audience-award winner "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies."

In between, 266 feature-length films and 124 short films will screen, including 10 feature world premieres and 36 North American feature premieres. The films were selected, said SIFF artistic director Carl Spence and programming manager Beth Barrett, from approximately 3,000 submitted and represent 62 countries.

Special guests include Francis Ford Coppola, who will attend the festival with his new film "Tetro," a semi-autobiographical drama set in Argentina. (Coppola's classic thriller "The Conversation" — which, like SIFF, celebrates its 35th birthday this year — also will screen.) Spike Lee will be the subject of a tribute evening, which will include a screening of his new documentary "Passing Strange," a screen translation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical.

SIFF is emphasizing local filmmaking this year, with a larger-than-ever Northwest Connections section containing 16 local feature-length films and 13 shorts. Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton's comedy "Humpday," which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was picked up by Magnolia Pictures for release later this summer, will be the festival's centerpiece gala, with Shelton present for the film's hometown premiere at the Egyptian.

Blake Edwards' 1965 film "The Great Race" will screen at SIFF Cinema as a special event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1909 New-York-to-Seattle road race that was presented with the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition Centennial. "The Bear," Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1989 film starring Tchéky Karyo and Bart the Bear, will screen at the Triple Door with a newly commissioned live score by the Sub Pop group No Age.

Other special presentations include a "Gay-La" screening of the Swedish comedy "Patrik Age 1.5," the local premiere of the making-of-"Chorus Line" documentary "Every Little Step," and a wealth of archival films including four presented by Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne: "Sunset Boulevard," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "Dodsworth" and "The Third Man."

This year's main venues are the same as for 2008 — SIFF Cinema, Egyptian, Harvard Exit, Pacific Place, Uptown — but several new venues have been added for limited runs. The festival returns to the Eastside with a week's run at Kirkland Performance Center (June 1-7), including a special free screening of "OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies" outdoors at Kirkland's Juanita Beach Park. West Seattle joins the festival for the first time with a week's run at the Admiral Theatre (June 5-11); other limited-run venues include the Neptune (May 22-28), Northwest Film Forum (May 22-28) and Cinerama (June 12-14).

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com