I've been as good as unconscious all weekend, due to the nasty cold that's circulating, but I wanted to write one last SIFF post about the showing of F.W. Murnau's Sunrise at the Triple Door on Friday. The Album Leaf, who Eric Grandy interviewed here, performed a new score for the movie.

Sunrise is amazing--one of the greatest movies of all time, and one of the first to really, completely understand what can and can't be done in a movie. That's about all that I can say about it without going over the top like user Dario P on IMDB:

I have no words. This is cinema. This is not a story, this is not a plot. This is THE STORY, this is THE PLOT...This film holds the tragedy and the comedy, the laughing and the crying. "Sunrise" doesn't belong to the past, but It belongs to the story, to the time. Sunrise, yes...the sunrise of the modern cinema waiting for "Citizen Kane".

But I can talk about the Album Leaf's score. At first, I was unsure; for the first twenty minutes all the band really managed to do with their guitars and keyboards and drums was create an ambient kind of hum that didn't interact with the movie at all. But as the plot (or THE PLOT, depending on who you ask) ratcheted up, so did the score. There were moments of perfect conversation between the band and the screen, where actions were imitated with music, and it was perfectly lovely. There were echoes, too, from the screen down to the band and back up to the screen, where action became sound became action again.

As the movie drew to a close, too, and the ambient hum returned, the whole piece of music really operated as a complete musical work. I have my doubts if it functioned exceedingly well as a score--the first twenty minutes had maybe too much of a disconnect between the music and the movie--but if the Album Leaf ever performs this one again, you should definitely attend. It was a perfect ending for my SIFF experience.

SIFF 2008 New American Cinema Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Em, directed by Tony Barbieri (USA)
Jury Statement: "In Em, writer-director Tony Barbieri tackles the timely and original subject of love and mental illness, with the help of his two excellent leads, Stef Willen and Nathan Wetherington. It's a sweet, sad, scary movie that feels completely contemporary."

Special Jury Prize:
Jury Statement: "The Special Jury Prize is awarded to The Bluetooth Virgin and writer-director Russell Brown for his fresh and squirmy script."

The New American Cinema jury was comprised of: Rajendra Roy, Chief Curator, Film Department at MoMA; David Schmader, associate editor at The Stranger; and Kyle Thorpe, Vice President of Publicity at Focus Features.

SIFF 2008 New Directors Showcase Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Everything Is Fine, directed by Yves-Christian Fournier (Canada)
Jury Statement: "The New Directors Showcase Prize for director of a first or second feature goes to Yves-Christian Fournier from Quebec, Canada, and his film Everything Is Fine, for its skillful avoidance of the nihilistic clichés in its treatment of contemporary youth. The jury would also like to commend the outstanding performance of Marie Turgeon in the role of the mother."

Special Jury Prize:
Mermaid, directed by Anna Melikyan (Russia)
Jury Statement: "The jury would also like to award a special mention to Mermaid by Anna Melikyan from Russia for its entertaining portrait of Russia and its growing pains as it transitions into a capitalist society."

The New Directors Showcase jury was comprised of: Frederic Boyer, programmer for Director's Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival; Oliver Mahrdt, president of Hanns Wolters International, and East Coast representative of German Films; and Charles Taylor, film critic for the Newark Star-Ledger and Bloomberg News.

SIFF 2008 Documentary Competition

Grand Jury Prize:
Derek, directed by Isaac Julien (UK)
Jury Statement: "The Grand Jury Prize is awarded to Isaac Julien's Derek for the strength of both the subject and the filmmaking."

Documentary Competition Special Jury Prizes:
Jury Statements:
Combalion, directed by Raphaël Mathié (France), "...for its artistic integrity and visually arresting composition."
Accelerating America, directed by Timothy Hotchner (USA), "...for capturing the inspiration of the subject and the humanistic heart of the film."

The Documentary jury was comprised of: Ken Eisen, president of Shadow Distribution; Julie Goldman, founding partner of Cactus Three; and Steven Raphael, founder of Required Viewing.

SIFF 2008 Short Film Jury Awards

SIFF 2008 Grand Jury Short Film Award winners receive a $2,500 cash prize, a hand-made glass creation by artist James Mongrain, Movie Magic Screenwriter software, a DVD replication prize package from Discmakers, and an annual subscription to FilmTracker from Baseline Studio Systems.

Documentary Grand Jury Prize:
"Self Portrait With Cows Going Home" and Other Works: A Portrait of Sylvia Plachy, directed by Rebecca Dreyfus, USA

Documentary Special Jury Prize:
The Ladies, directed by Christina Voros, USA

Animation Grand Jury Prize:
The Pearce Sisters, directed by Luis Cook, UK

Animation Special Jury Prize:
Home, directed by Kim Slate, USA

Narrative Grand Jury Prize:
Rewind, directed by Atul Taishete, India

Narrative Special Jury Prizes:
Walnut, directed by Amy Gebhardt, Australia
Dog Altogether, directed by Paddy Considine, UK
A Mate, directed by Teemu Nikki, Finland
New Boy, directed by Steph Green, Ireland

Honorable Mentions for Inventive Filmmaking:
Introduction to Lucid Dreaming, directed by John Grigsby, USA
On the Assassination of the President, directed by Adam Keker, USA

The Short Film jury was comprised of: Scilla Andreen, co-founder of IndieFlix; Seattle filmmaker Douglas Horn, winner of the 2006 Golden Space Needle for Best Short Film; and Jeff Shannon, film critic for the Seattle Times and P-I.

SIFF 2008 FutureWave Jury Award

SIFF 2008 FutureWave WaveMaker Award winner receives a $2,500 cash prize.

Grand Jury Prize (WaveMaker Award):
Disorder, directed by Rose McAleese

Honorable Mentions:
4th Floor, directed by Misami Kubo, "...for excellence in visual storytelling."
Driving to the New Age: American Automobiles and You, directed by Meng Mao, Eli Shalcross, Charlie Shelton, and Matt Yaggy, "...for delivering a serious message through outstanding use of satire."
New Perspective, directed by Dave Riff, "...for clarity of vision."

The FutureWave jury was comprised of the participants in the 2008 Fly Filmmaking challenge: Cheryl Slean, Megan Griffiths, Rob Cunningham, Andy McCone and Joe Shapiro.

SIFF and IndieFlix 2008 MyFestival Winners

SIFF and IndieFlix MyFestival Feature Film winner receives a $1,500 cash prize; Short Film winner receives a $500 cash prize.

SIFF Official Selection and MyFestival Feature Film Winner:
Perfect Sport, directed by Anthony O'Brien

SIFF Official Selection and MyFestival Short Film Winner:
Robbie's Withdrawal, directed by John Burish

MyFestival Special Recognition Awards:
Eternal City, directed by Jason Goodman
Hot Wind: America's Fallout Casualties, directed by Kirsten Alaqidy

SIFF 2008 GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARDS

SIFF 2008 Golden Space Needle Award winners receive a hand-made glass creation by artist James Mongrain. Golden Space Needle Award Best Short Film winner receives $1,000 of Color Negative Motion Picture Film from the Eastman Kodak Company Entertainment Imaging Division, and an Apple Intel 15" Laptop Computer loaded with the Final Cut Pro Suite of products from IrisInk and The Mac Store.

Best Film Golden Space Needle Award:
Cherry Blossoms: Hanami, directed by Doris Dörrie (Germany)

The remaining top ten audience favorites (in order)
Frozen River, directed by Courtney Hunt (USA)
Fugitive Pieces, directed by Jeremy Podeswa (Canada)
Captain Abu Raed, directed by Amin Matalqa (Jordan)
The Drummer, directed by Kenneth Bi (Hong Kong)
Summer Heat, directed by Monique van de Ven (the Netherlands)
Letting Go of God, directed by Julia Sweeney (USA)
Late Bloomers, directed by Bettina Oberli (Switzerland)
Bliss, directed by Abdullah Oguz (Turkey)
Michou d'Auber, directed by Thomas Gilou (France)

Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award:
The Wrecking Crew, directed by Denny Tedesco (USA)

The remaining top ten audience favorites (in order)
Great Speeches From a Dying World, directed by Linas Phillips (USA)
Man on Wire, directed by James Marsh (UK)
Accelerating America, directed by Timothy Hotchner (USA)
Creative Nature, directed by John Andres (USA)
Emmanuel Jal: War Child, directed by C. Karim Chrobog (USA)
Trouble the Water, directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (USA)
Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains, directed by Gonzalo Arijon (France)
Good Food, directed by Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin (USA)
They Killed Sister Dorothy, directed by Daniel Junge (USA)

Best Director Golden Space Needle Award:
Amin Matalqa, for Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)

The remaining top five audience favorites (in order)
Courtney Hunt, for Frozen River (USA)
Nina Paley, for Sita Sings the Blues (USA)
Dorota Kedzierzawska, for Time to Die (Poland)
Nic Balthazar, for Ben X (Belgium)

Best Actor Golden Space Needle Award:
Alan Rickman, for Bottle Shock (USA)

The remaining top five audience favorites (in order)
Nadim Sawalha, for Captain Abu Raed (Jordan)
Andrew Garfield, for Boy A (UK)
Zdenerk Sverák, for Empties (Czech Republic)
Greg Timmermans, for Ben X (Belgium)

Best Actress Golden Space Needle Award:
Jessica Chastain, for Jolene (USA)

The remaining top five audience favorites (in order)
Catinca Untaru, for The Fall (USA)
Melissa Leo, for Frozen River (USA)
Danuta Szaflarska, for Time to Die (Poland)
Melanie Diaz, for American Son (USA)

Best Short Film Golden Space Needle Award:
Felix, directed by Andreas Utta (Germany)

The remaining top five audience favorites (in order)
Sleeping Betty, directed by Claude Cloutier (Canada)
Bailey-Boushay House: A Living History, directed by Terence Brown (USA)
Zoologic, directed by Nicole Mitchell (USA)
Spider, directed by Nash Edgerton (Australia)

Lena Sharpe Award:
Frozen River, director Courtney Hunt (USA)
This award is given to the film by a woman director that receives the most votes from the public.

OK, so Cherry Blossoms was the actual audience award winner--Frozen River was just a runner-up. But since Cherry Blossoms was already scheduled to screen today (albeit during the awards ceremony), SIFF is screening Frozen River tonight in the narrative TBD slot (7 pm at SIFF Cinema).

Good job not picking anything too embarrassing, guys! But no acting prize for Haifsia Herzi (The Secret of the Grain)? Shame. I suppose a César is worth more, anyway.

Start off Father's Day with Cherry Blossoms: Hanami (noon at Cinerama). We didn't get a chance to review it, but the Variety review sounds very promising.

Next is your last chance to see Alexander Nevsky (2 pm at Benaroya Hall) accompanied by the Seattle Symphony. Don't miss.

In the early matinee slot, we recommend Julia Sweeney's Letting Go of God (4 pm at SIFF Cinema). She should be in attendance.

Feel free to stay at SIFF Cinema for... what I assume is the Golden Space Needle audience award winner for narrative film. (That's usually what they fill the final TBD slots with, but the official press release hasn't yet gone out.) Let's hope, at least, it's something as unembarrassing as Frozen River (7 pm at SIFF Cinema).

I'm not quite so psyched about the presumptive doc winner, The Wrecking Crew (9 pm at SIFF Cinema). Better than Be Like Others? Better than Trouble the Water? But it isn't a terrible movie by any means.

Still, we'd suggest that you head to Pacific Place to see that replacement screening of Head-On. Wrap up your festival with a fantastic movie--even if it's not exactly "new" in the starburst sense.

In the early matinee slot, we recommend The Fairytale of Kathmandu (11 am at Pacific Place). If you've already seen that, you might try The Island of Lost Souls, because if you're going to see a Danish kids' adventure film on a Saturday morning, it might as well be at the Cinerama (noon).

Next, head directly to the inspirational (and tremendously depressing) education doc Accelerating America (1:30 pm at SIFF Cinema). Already seen it? Try Days and Clouds (1:30 pm at Uptown) or Dan Ireland's new movie, Jolene (2:30 pm at Cinerama). I haven't seen it because I can't bear to face a road trip movie called Jolene that doesn't have Dolly Parton on the soundtrack.

Next, skip Lakshmi and Me--but only because it plays again tomorrow morning--and head to the restored Cassavetes film Faces (4 pm at SIFF Cinema).

Next, you should probably eat dinner and discuss ("What's Yr Take on Cassavetes": Best Le Tigre song ever?). There are OK movies in this slot, but nothing stunning, unless you have tickets to Alexander Nevsky (8 pm at Benaroya Hall).

Finally, head back to SIFF Cinema for Emmanuel Jal: War Child (9 pm). It's another world politics doc, but compared to the stunning Trouble the Water, which I saw last night (Trouble My Dreams is more like it), War Child is downright upbeat.

Skip Donkey Punch (midnight at the Egyptian). Seriously? Who calls their movie Donkey Punch?

Skip the first movie of the day, Unknown Woman (1 pm at Cinerama), unless you love the graphic depiction of misery.

Next, pay someone to take your tickets to In Search of Kennedy (4 pm at the Egyptian), which is the worst movie that could possibly be made about John F. Kennedy's popular legacy. The documentary has no facts, and lots and lots of feelings. Yuck. There are at least three other good options, including Salawati (4:30 pm at Pacific Place), American Son (4 pm at Uptown), and Some Assembly Required (4 pm at SIFF Cinema). Did anyone see the film-insidery Pierre Rissient (4 pm at the Harvard Exit) on Wednesday? That sounds interesting too.

Next, we absolutely adore three competing options, all of whose filmmakers should be in attendance: the major motion picture The Wackness (6:30 pm at the Egyptian), which will open in Seattle in July; the exceptional education documentary Accelerating America (7 pm at the Harvard Exit); and the conversion-to-atheism one-woman-show Letting Go of God (6:30 pm at SIFF Cinema), with Julia Sweeney. This probably is not the night to try to see Alexander Nevsky (8 pm at Benaroya Hall), though admittedly, all our other recommendations are playing again this weekend.

Finally, settle down at the second (and 21+) screening of Sunrise (9:30 pm at the Triple Door) accompanied by an original score by the Album Leaf.

We don't recommend tonight's midnighter, Chrysalis (12 am at the Egyptian). Quel dommage--it's a bit of a tribute to Eyes Without a Face. But you'll be too tired for a midnight show tonight anyway.

A vanity project by biofuel proselytizer Josh Tickell that fetishizes alternative fuels such as ethanol and soy-based biodiesel while ignoring the many downsides of America’s car-oriented culture. Relying heavily on interviews with Tickell himself (plus cameos by celebrities such as Woody Harrelson and Willie Nelson), Fields of Fuel is little more than biodiesel propaganda. Tickell, wide-eyed, asserts repeatedly that biodiesel “could save the world.” But his case is flimsy, and his film—which features numerous long, loving shots of Tickell strolling below the Washington Monument, rolling into fast-food drive-through windows and demanding “all your used frying oil” to general confusion, and delivering supplies to Katrina victims on a biodiesel-powered boat—is more annoying than enlightening. (Tickell scheduled to attend.)

What I didn't get to say in the capsule: Tickell is a professional public speaker—the type who has "a talk" that he delivers over and over again for money—and his film is basically just a long-form version of that (smarmily self-aggrandizing) speech. Tickell's conclusion is basically that, wow, we don't need oil and war is bad (a conclusion he reached, in part, by "discovering" biofuels during a stint slumming it as a farmer in Europe). Oddly, Fields of Fuel (which also completely ignores the food-vs.-fuel controversy) has garnered some pretty positive reviews at Sundance and elsewhere. Don't listen to them. Avoid this one.

Next, head to Seattle Center for the fascinating doc Fairytale of Kathmandu (9:30 pm at SIFF Cinema). Unless you plan to see that Saturday morning, in which case the shot-in-Seattle Visioneers (9:30 pm at the Egyptain) or the low-fi sci-fi epic Apollo 54 (9:30 pm at the Harvard Exit) are acceptable substitutes.

Also, Alexander Nevsky accompanied by the Seattle Symphony starts tonight (7:30 pm at Benaroya Hall)--but there are several performances through the weekend. See the Seattle Symphony box office for details.

The participants for 2008 were:

Megan Griffiths, writer-director of 2002’s First Aid for Choking.

Rob Cunningham, short filmmaker and winner of The Stranger’s first—and only (why the hell haven’t we done this again?)—short short film contest, “Peep.”

The duo of Joe Shapiro and Andy McCone. The former is the editor of Rob Devor’s Zoo,, the latter director of a “poetic black and white eccentric silent film” (according to press notes) called Rent’s Due.

And rounding out the event is a documentary by Cheryl Slean (past SIFF premiere Diggers), which chronicles (kinda) the making of this year’s films.

Of the four films shown, Rob Cunningham’s grimy black & white End Zone, about a robot schooling Death in chess (and other games), was definitely the sharpest. Slean’s doc Creativity in Context, which kicks off the presentation, is funny, and captures the chaos of cooking up a short film on such a tight deadline. And Shapiro’s and McCone’s sorta sci-fi Shut Eye features some inspired office drone choreography, as well as the freakishly talented Basil Harris. The weakest of the bunch, Griffith’s Moving—about put-off dreams and life on the sidelines—isn't quite able to wrangle its ambitions in such a tight format. But star Lynn Shelton (director of this year’s My Effortless Brilliance) has eyes that are hypnotic, and she absolutely nails the challenge of an emotional one-sided phone conversation.

The event is worth checking out—especially since it's one of the shortest offerings at the festival this year.

Next up is a drama Charles Mudede loved about race relations in Singapore: It's called Salawati (7 pm at Pacific Place), and the director is scheduled to attend. Or you could chat up Variety film critic Todd McCarthy, who'll be in attendance at his debut documentary, Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema (6:45 pm at SIFF Cinema), about Cannes Film Festival's ultimate publicist.

Last, we recommend American Son (9:30 pm at Pacific Place), a drama about being deployed to Iraq. Or if you want to follow up on the Katrina theme, you might think about The Order of Myths (9:30 pm at the Harvard Exit), a documentary about racial segregation in a Mardi Gras celebration in Mobile, Alabama.

I reviewed Heavy Metal in Baghdad for our SIFF Guide. It was a really fine documentary--I gave it a Don't Miss--from the folks at Vice Magazine about an Iraqi heavy metal band. I learned more about Iraq from this documentary than in a dozen reports from legitimate news sources, and it's also a refreshing new take in the kids-really-just-wanna-make-a-band-and-RAWK genre of film.

Today, Heavy Metal in Baghdad is available on DVD, which means that it's available on Netflix or at your local independent video store. I recommend it.

If you're available in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday--and don't want to see the terrible movies Theater of War or Fields of Fuel, or the perfectly decent movie Postcards from Leningrad--then you should see The Secret of the Grain on Thursday. But remember, it's a don't, don't, don't miss! If you're not available Thursday, I say start at the Egyptian today for Abdellatif Kechiche's Games of Love & Chance (3:30 pm, has distribution and has played in Seattle before) and stay for his new masterpiece, The Secret of the Grain (which has distribution, but won't open for a while and probably won't remain in Seattle very long, 6 pm at the Egyptian).

If you've already seen Games of Love & Chance and can wait till Thursday for Grain, I recommend starting with the sloooow and indifferently photographed and mildly pretentious (but only if you can read the French at the end!) Combalimon (4:30 pm at the Harvard Exit). It's about an old farmer from the Cantal, without wife (well, there was a wife, from the Camaroon, but she left him) or children, who must decide what to do with his farm after he retires. It's pretty great, if you like movies about cows.

Next, head to the Moore for an extraordinary screening of the 1914 feature In the Land of the Headhunters (7 pm at the Moore), by Seattle photographer and ethnographer Edward S. Curtis. The film, which premiered simultaneously at the Moore and a NYC theater, used an all-Native cast from British Columbia's Kwakiutl tribe (now known as the Kwakwaka'wakw). This screening will be accompanied by descendents of the original cast. For more, see the project's webpage and David Jeffers at SIFFblog.

Whichever route you start out on, enjoy a nice bedtime story with the cannibalism documentary Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains (9:30 pm at SIFF Cinema).

For complete guide, recommendations, and discussion, see thestranger.com/siff.

The problem with Reese Witherspoon as Becky is linked to the way this film tries to reinvent her character. Thackeray's secret sympathy for his conniving protagonist--who is so bad she even hates children--always seeps through the cynical narration. Becky Sharp is great because, no matter how much we admire her pluck from the safe distance of the 21st century, she was a terrible bitch.

Mira Nair does not agree. Becky Sharp "was not allowed to be Becky Sharp," she contended. "Women basically were told to stand in the corner and be quiet. It's just that she was not happy with the cards that society had given her, and she wanted to make her own way." This generous view of one of English literature's most notorious antiheroines--that Becky, a pure product of the oppressive class and gender codes of the 19th century, was somehow trapped in the wrong era--mutes the very exceptional qualities that modern readers delight in.

Moreover, this Becky Sharp doesn't scheme and claw her way up to society's most precipitous heights. She's Reese Witherspoon, and we know she belongs there already. Instead, she rises like cream to the top of a pitcher--effortlessly, and without any particular evidence of talent. Witherspoon's Becky does not dissemble; she could never appear to suitors as, in Thackeray's words, "the picture of youth, unprotected innocence, and humble virgin simplicity." Like Tracy Flick or Elle Woods (her equally ambition-soaked characters in Election and Legally Blonde, respectively), she winks, she smirks, and her every thought is written on her face. Nair explained, "You can see all that clickety-clack in her mind, everything going on. All I need is that face, that Reese-thinking face. It's fantastic." But it's also a completely modern notion of femininity, and in this role, it doesn't make any sense.

Well, the 1935 Becky Sharp, as unleashed upon the world by one Miriam Hopkins (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Richest Girl in the World), has an equally modern notion of femininity--and there is much clickety-clack in evidence--but hers is femininity in the depths of the Great Depression.

It's femininity at its most ravenous, its most spiteful, its most unapologetic. And although this Becky Sharp is definitely a bitch, the audience isn't expected to hate her for it. The audience, the studio assumes, is also poor and insufficiently loved and cleverer than they're given credit for. Becky does what she has to do. And she isn't really even punished for her greed at the end.

I recently watched the first American Girl doll movie, Kit Kittredge, which is set in 1934 and purports to educate its young audience about the hardships families faced in the Great Depression and the values that got them through it. It's not a bad movie, for what it is. But I can't help wondering whether Becky Sharp gives a more accurate description of people's real desires, of the tactics they truly admired at the time. (After all, 1934 was the year Bonnie and Clyde were killed and instantly mythologized.) Becky Sharp is the perfect antiheroine for bleak economic times. And she's fashionable, too. Rawr.

Assuming you didn't see it yesterday, the matinee slot is all about Baghead (4:30 pm at the Egyptian). If you already saw that or are willing to wait for it to come out in theaters, you might try the well-acted Encarnacíon (6:30 pm at Pacific Place)—but avoid the cheery Disney tribute Walt and El Grupo (4:30 pm at the Uptown) like the plague.

Only free after work, like us normal people? Head to Queen Anne for Momma's Man (7:15 pm at the Uptown), a family drama directed by the son of experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs, with dear old dad in a leading role.

There's a repeat screening of the excellent Tulia, Texas (7 pm at the Harvard Exit)—which will also be airing on PBS in the upcoming season of Independent Lens.

We've only reviewed two films in the late slot, and can't recommend either whole-heartedly, but neither are they terrible: Sukiyaki Western Django (9:45 pm at Uptown), by Takashi Miike, and Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (9:15 pm at SIFF Cinema), by Hana, the other daughter of Iran's beloved Mohsen Malkmalbaf. I'm sort of intrigued by Combalimon (9:15 pm at the Harvard Exit), a doc about an old French farmer.

Next, Tulia, Texas (1:30 pm at the Harvard Exit) is our first Don't Miss-designated film of the day. The mass arrest of black people in a small Texas town that this documentary describes is the basis for a new Lionsgate film starring Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton that's planned for a release later in 2008.

The archival event of the day is the screening of a restored print of a Vanity Fair adaptation entitled Becky Sharp (4 pm at SIFF Cinema), directed by Rouben Mamoulian in the midst of the Great Depression. It was the first film ever to be made with three-strip Technicolor technology.

In the early evening slot, get an early look at the new mumblecore horror-comedy Baghead (6:30 pm at the Egyptian). Directors Jay and Mark Duplass are scheduled to attend; read about the reverse-rollout distribution strategy that's horrifying the New York Times here.

And finally this evening, check out the one-shot Brazilian marvel Still Orangutans (9 pm at Pacific Place).

But what I want to talk about is the poorly punctuated subtitles. There's nothing more distracting in a film. I was repeatedly ripped out of the thriller's grip by ellipses with two dots rather than three and misplaced quotation marks. Maybe it's an affliction of a former copyeditor; maybe it didn't bother any one else.

What was most galling was the akward typo in the final frame's giant caption: "English sub—titles by [Name Withheld]." Jeeezus. Awful proud of mediocrity. Proofreaders aren't that expensive.

("Subtitles" should be closed up or hyphenated, not interrupted by an emdash. That was obvious, right?)