AC/E supports the participation of the Spanish film directors Paul Urkijo Alijo, Javier Fesser, Gustavo Salmeron, Jon Garano, Laura Collado and Carlos Marques-Marcet to present their most recent works in the Festival.
SIFF is the largest film festival in the United States. SIFF runs for 25 days, screens over 400 short and feature-length films from all over the world (representing 80+ countries), and draws audiences of over 140,000 people each year. In addition to films screening in Seattle, films also screen in the neighboring communities of Shoreline, Bellevue, and Kirkland. SIFF's overarching mission is to "create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world."
In its 44th year, the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival will run from May 17 to June 10. In 2018, SIFF will screen over 400 international films in 10 venues throughout the Puget Sound. SIFF is proud to bring films and filmmakers to Seattle from all over the world, as they would likely not come to this market otherwise. SIFF also prides itself on being an audience-focused festival, and bringing the best experience to the film-goer, which is reflected in this year's theme - "Starring You."
Paul Urkijo Alijo
ERREMENTARI: THE BLACKSMITH AND THE DEVIL
It has been 10 years since the first Carlist War of 1833. In a small village in Álava, a government commissioner named Alfredo investigates an event that leads to a sinister blacksmith in the depths of the forest, where a dangerous and lonely blacksmith lives, Patxi. The villagers in the area tell dark stories about him related to robberies, murders and demonic pacts. Until accidentally an orphan girl named Usue gets to sneak into the mysterious smithy, uncovering the terrible truth behind Patxi the Blacksmith.
Javier Fesser
CHAMPIONS
Marco is the assistant coach for a basketball team in Spain’s First Division. He has problems at work, problems with his wife, problems with almost everything. But the real problem is his approach to life. One day, in the middle of a game, his frustrations lead to a brawl with the head coach - he gets drunk and crashes his car, and this lands him in the docket. He is sentenced to coach a very special basketball team made up of the intellectually disabled. At the same time, he loses his job and his relationship falls apart. To Marco’s surprise, he will be the one who learns from his adventure with the team, from their lust for life and their understanding of what is really important...
Gustavo Salmeron
LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE
Spanish actor, Gustavo Salmerón, steps behind the camera to capture the winsome eccentricities of his extraordinary mother Julita, who had three dreams: having lots of kids, owning a monkey, and living in a castle. Drawing upon material compiled over many years and on many formats, prolific Spanish actor Gustavo Salmerón's feature directorial debut is a winsome, freewheeling family portrait. The fundamental dynamics of the Salmerón clan will resonate, while their eccentricities — most especially those of its larger-than-life matriarch Julita — will astonish and delight. As a newlywed, Julita made three wishes: she wanted lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle. Julita got them all. The six children arrived in quick succession, the monkey was acquired from an advertisement, and the castle was purchased with a windfall inheritance. That castle, over time, comes to house an unruly labyrinth of bizarre bric-a-brac, from suits of armour to Julita's long-dead grandmother's fabled vertebrae. Despite her children's pleas, Julita refuses to part with any of it — until dwindling finances force the Salmeróns to move to a more modest abode.
Jon Garano
GIANT
Living a bare-bones existence as tenant farmers in the small Basque village of Altzo, Antonio (Ramon Agirre, AMOUR) and his sons Martin (Joseba Usabiaga) and Joaquin (Eneko Sagardoy, Goya Award winner, Best New Actor) live a simple life of modest ambitions and mounting debts. When the hand of fate plucks Martin to fight in the First Carlist War, the elder brother gets a welcome taste of the world outside his impoverished community, though the war’s end sends him back to Altzo and a shocking new reality: afflicted with gigantism, Joaquin has grown into an unnaturally enormous size. Soon local huckster Jose Antonio (Inigo Aranburu) convinces Martin to capitalize on his brother’s condition, craft a mythology and hit the road, where the pair quickly become the toast of Spain and beyond. But while Martin realizes his dream of lifting his family out of poverty-and climbing his country’s social ladder, in the process-the once indestructible bond between brothers is tested, forcing Martin to consider the human being inside the body in this stirring, gorgeous film based on the incredible true story, winner of 10 Goya Awards including Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay.
Laura Collado
CONSTRUCTING ALBERT
The most important revolution in culinary history took place in a remote cove on the Catalan coast. The Big Bang of creative discovery that was elBulli sparked from the minds of two brothers from a poor suburb of Barcelona, and gave birth to a new gastronomic universe. Since then the name Adrià has become synonymous with creativity. Ferran is the famous maestro people know, however, with 29 years of a brilliant career behind him, the only recognition Albert has achieved is that of being the most underrated chef in the world. Two years after elBulli closed its doors, Albert is in the midst of a herculean creative adventure. In Parallel, Barcelona’s crumbling theatre district, Albert is building a gastronomic mile. Each very different from the other, they all bear his personal signature. This is Albert’s proclamation of self-assurance, his attempt to escape the shadow of his famous brother and enter the Pantheon of great chefs. This is Albert constructing himself.
Carlos Marques-Marcet
ANCHOR AND HOPE
Eva, Kat and Roger have been friends since their student years back in Barcelona. Now separated, they all look back with nostalgia at the little family they created. Eva and Kat’s humble but carefree existence on their boat on London’s Regent’s Canal gets turned on its head when Eva presents her lover with an ultimatum: 38-year old Eva wants to have a child.
SIFF is the largest film festival in the United States. SIFF runs for 25 days, screens over 400 short and feature-length films from all over the world (representing 80+ countries), and draws audiences of over 140,000 people each year. In addition to films screening in Seattle, films also screen in the neighboring communities of Shoreline, Bellevue, and Kirkland. SIFF's overarching mission is to "create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world."
In its 44th year, the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival will run from May 17 to June 10. In 2018, SIFF will screen over 400 international films in 10 venues throughout the Puget Sound. SIFF is proud to bring films and filmmakers to Seattle from all over the world, as they would likely not come to this market otherwise. SIFF also prides itself on being an audience-focused festival, and bringing the best experience to the film-goer, which is reflected in this year's theme - "Starring You."
Paul Urkijo Alijo
ERREMENTARI: THE BLACKSMITH AND THE DEVIL
It has been 10 years since the first Carlist War of 1833. In a small village in Álava, a government commissioner named Alfredo investigates an event that leads to a sinister blacksmith in the depths of the forest, where a dangerous and lonely blacksmith lives, Patxi. The villagers in the area tell dark stories about him related to robberies, murders and demonic pacts. Until accidentally an orphan girl named Usue gets to sneak into the mysterious smithy, uncovering the terrible truth behind Patxi the Blacksmith.
Javier Fesser
CHAMPIONS
Marco is the assistant coach for a basketball team in Spain’s First Division. He has problems at work, problems with his wife, problems with almost everything. But the real problem is his approach to life. One day, in the middle of a game, his frustrations lead to a brawl with the head coach - he gets drunk and crashes his car, and this lands him in the docket. He is sentenced to coach a very special basketball team made up of the intellectually disabled. At the same time, he loses his job and his relationship falls apart. To Marco’s surprise, he will be the one who learns from his adventure with the team, from their lust for life and their understanding of what is really important...
Gustavo Salmeron
LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE
Spanish actor, Gustavo Salmerón, steps behind the camera to capture the winsome eccentricities of his extraordinary mother Julita, who had three dreams: having lots of kids, owning a monkey, and living in a castle. Drawing upon material compiled over many years and on many formats, prolific Spanish actor Gustavo Salmerón's feature directorial debut is a winsome, freewheeling family portrait. The fundamental dynamics of the Salmerón clan will resonate, while their eccentricities — most especially those of its larger-than-life matriarch Julita — will astonish and delight. As a newlywed, Julita made three wishes: she wanted lots of kids, a monkey, and a castle. Julita got them all. The six children arrived in quick succession, the monkey was acquired from an advertisement, and the castle was purchased with a windfall inheritance. That castle, over time, comes to house an unruly labyrinth of bizarre bric-a-brac, from suits of armour to Julita's long-dead grandmother's fabled vertebrae. Despite her children's pleas, Julita refuses to part with any of it — until dwindling finances force the Salmeróns to move to a more modest abode.
Jon Garano
GIANT
Living a bare-bones existence as tenant farmers in the small Basque village of Altzo, Antonio (Ramon Agirre, AMOUR) and his sons Martin (Joseba Usabiaga) and Joaquin (Eneko Sagardoy, Goya Award winner, Best New Actor) live a simple life of modest ambitions and mounting debts. When the hand of fate plucks Martin to fight in the First Carlist War, the elder brother gets a welcome taste of the world outside his impoverished community, though the war’s end sends him back to Altzo and a shocking new reality: afflicted with gigantism, Joaquin has grown into an unnaturally enormous size. Soon local huckster Jose Antonio (Inigo Aranburu) convinces Martin to capitalize on his brother’s condition, craft a mythology and hit the road, where the pair quickly become the toast of Spain and beyond. But while Martin realizes his dream of lifting his family out of poverty-and climbing his country’s social ladder, in the process-the once indestructible bond between brothers is tested, forcing Martin to consider the human being inside the body in this stirring, gorgeous film based on the incredible true story, winner of 10 Goya Awards including Best Cinematography and Best Screenplay.
Laura Collado
CONSTRUCTING ALBERT
The most important revolution in culinary history took place in a remote cove on the Catalan coast. The Big Bang of creative discovery that was elBulli sparked from the minds of two brothers from a poor suburb of Barcelona, and gave birth to a new gastronomic universe. Since then the name Adrià has become synonymous with creativity. Ferran is the famous maestro people know, however, with 29 years of a brilliant career behind him, the only recognition Albert has achieved is that of being the most underrated chef in the world. Two years after elBulli closed its doors, Albert is in the midst of a herculean creative adventure. In Parallel, Barcelona’s crumbling theatre district, Albert is building a gastronomic mile. Each very different from the other, they all bear his personal signature. This is Albert’s proclamation of self-assurance, his attempt to escape the shadow of his famous brother and enter the Pantheon of great chefs. This is Albert constructing himself.
Carlos Marques-Marcet
ANCHOR AND HOPE
Eva, Kat and Roger have been friends since their student years back in Barcelona. Now separated, they all look back with nostalgia at the little family they created. Eva and Kat’s humble but carefree existence on their boat on London’s Regent’s Canal gets turned on its head when Eva presents her lover with an ultimatum: 38-year old Eva wants to have a child.