The International Examiner is a proud media sponsor of the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival. For years, the IE has partnered with SIFF to highlight the Asian and Asian American films at the Seattle festival—bringing thousands of audience members to the theater to experience hundreds of films throughout the years. Enjoy our annual program guide—and see you at the movies!
Click HERE to view IE Branded Films.
Click HERE for complete list of SIFF films for 2012.
11 Flowers
China/France, 2011 (110 minutes)
Director: Wang Xiaoshuai
Pathway: I Didn’t Know That!
Set during the waning years of China’s Cultural Revolution and based on the director’s own experiences, this absorbing humanist drama follows an 11-year-old boy who comes face-to-face with an accused murderer.
May 18 – Harvard Exit, 4:30 p.m.
May 21 – Harvard Exit, 6 p.m.
Abu, Son of Adam
India, 2011 (101 minutes)
Director: Salim Ahamed
Pathway: Show Me the World
In this contemplative tale of hope,
family, and sacrifice, an aging South Indian Muslim couple struggles to complete a once-in-a-lifetime religious pilgrimage to Mecca. Winner, Best Film, Indian National Film Awards.
May 24 – Harvard Exit, 8:30 p.m.
May 30 – Uptown 2, 9 p.m.
The Blindfold
Indonesia, 2012 (90 minutes)
Director: Garin Nugroho
Pathway: I Didn’t Know That!
Three interlocking stories illustrate the often-tragic consequences of the Indonesian Islamic state’s aggressive recruitment techniques and the powerful pull that religious radicalization has on the country’s disenfranchised youth.
May 31 – Harvard Exit #2, 6 p.m.
June 4 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11, 4 p.m.
June 5 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11, 7 p.m.
Bol
Pakistan, 2011 (165 minutes)
Director: Shoaib Mansoor
Pathway: Show Me the World
A domineering head of a predominately female household finally fathers…
a hermaphrodite. Emotions erupt as the eldest daughter rebels and another daughter engages in a courtship
with an enlightened doctor (pop star Atif Aslam).
May 20 – Harvard Exit #2, 8:30 p.m.
May 22 – Harvard Exit #2, 3 p.m.
May 27 – Uptown 3, 11 a.m.
Bunohan: Return to Murder
Malaysia, 2011 (97 minutes)
Director: Dain Said
Pathway: Thrill Me
In this revenge tale with echoes of “King Lear,” the potentially fatal
sport of kickboxing mixes with family
drama, disquieting bloodlust,
sumptuous natural scenery, and a
feast of haunting archetypes.
June 1 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11,
9:30 p.m.
June 3 – Uptown 3, 11:30 a.m.
Choked
South Korea, 2011 (110 minutes)
Director: Kim Joon-hyun
Pathway: Give Me Drama!
Materialism and status in lower
middle class South Korea are filtered through the experiences of Kwon
Youn-ho, tasked with resolving his
family’s descent into debt hell.
June 3 – Harvard Exit, 5:45 p.m.
June 7 – Harvard Exit, 4 p.m.
June 10 – Uptown 3, 8:30 p.m.
Countdown
South Korea, 2011 (120 minutes)
Director: Huh Jong-ho
Pathway: Thrill Me
A pulse-pounding thriller driven by a plot of twisting allegiances, “Countdown” is the story of a debt
collector with 10 days to live fighting to keep his liver-donor savior safe.
May 19 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 4:30 p.m.
June 2 – Uptown 1, 6 p.m.
June 4 – Uptown 1, 3 p.m.
Dragon
Hong Kong, 2011 (98 minutes)
Director: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
A detective comes across a paper-maker who may or may not be a renegade mass murderer. This exhilarating revival of the martial arts genre matches the brilliance of “Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon.”
May 19 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 9:30 p.m.
June 2 – Egyptian Theatre, 9 p.m.
June 7 – Egyptian Theatre, 4 p.m.
Golden Slumbers
Cambodia/France, 2011
(96 minutes)
Director: Davy Chou
Cambodia produced 400 films between 1960 and 1975, but only a handful of these artistic works survived the Khmer Rouge’s devastating reign. Filmmaker Davy Chou awakens the once-magnificent industry through archival material and deep insight.
May 30 – Uptown 3, 6 p.m.
May 31 – Uptown 3, 3:30 p.m.
Headshot
Thailand, 2011 (105 minutes)
Director: Pen-ek Ratanaruang
Pathway: Thrill Me
Cop, monk, or assassin? In this riveting cinematic noir spectacle, a cop-turned-hitman is struck in the head by a
bullet and sees the world upside-down with a flashback and forward blur of
drug busts, scheming lawyers and seductive women.
May 24 – Uptown 2, 9 p.m.
May 27 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11, 4 p.m.
I Wish
Japan, 2011 (128 minutes)
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Pathway: Show Me the World
A moving study of two brothers,
divvied up by divorced parents,
who dream of reuniting their family
through a bullet-train line. A
children’s film with a touch of adult supervision that miraculously holds
a lifetime’s range of experience.
June 3 – Egyptian Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
June 6 – Egyptian Theatre, 4 p.m.
Little Toys
China, 1933 (110 minutes)
Director: Sun Yu
Pathway: Give Me Drama!
Yuan Sun Yu’s 1933 silent film, starring silent screen queen Ruan Lingyu as a toymaker in a highly political climate, offers a rare glimpse into the Chinese leftist film movement. Legendary musician Donald Sosin performs a live piano score.
May 26 – Harvard Exit, 2:30 p.m.
Lost in Paradise
Vietnam, 2011 (103 minutes)
Director: Ngoc Dãng Vu
Pathway: Show Me the World
Ngoc Dang Vu’s intimate film follows naïve 20-year-old Khoi from the countryside to a new life in Ho Chi Minh City, where he’s first robbed and then seduced by male prostitute, Lam.
June 2 – Harvard Exit #2, 7 p.m.
June 5 – Uptown 2, 3 p.m.
Mirage
South Korea, 2011 (83 minutes)
Director: Jung-ho Yang
Pathway: Give Me Drama!
After finding himself suddenly penniless, writer Dong-Jo tries to borrow money from old friends and begins reliving high school memories and the dark events that so closely mirror those portrayed in his recent sci-fi novel.
June 1 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11,
1:30 p.m.
June 5 – Harvard Exit #2, 6 p.m.
June 6 – Harvard Exit #2, 4 p.m.
The Mirror Never Lies
Indonesia, 2011 (100 minutes)
Director: Kamila Andini
Pathway: Show Me the World
The Indonesian Wakatobi archipelago and the Bajo tribal community provide the foundation for this coming-of-age tale of 12-year-old Pakis, in this stunningly beautiful debut film that is both global and highly personal.
June 9 – Harvard Exit #2, 9 p.m.
June 10 – Harvard Exit #2, 2:30 p.m.
Old Dog
Tibet/China, 2011 (88 minutes)
Director: Pema Tseden
Pathway: Show Me the World
This emotional allegory about modernization in Tibet revolves around
the destiny of a Tibetan mastiff,
whose elderly owner wants to keep, while his son wants to sell the dog to a wealthy landowner.
May 18 – Harvard Exit #2, 6:30 p.m.
May 19 – Harvard Exit #2, 3 p.m.
May 26 – Uptown 3, 3 p.m.
Only Yesterday
Japan, 1991
(118 minutes)
Director: Isao Takahata
Pathway: Show Me the World
Previously unreleased in the U.S., this gem from Studio Ghibli animator Isao Takahata delves into the emotional experiences of young girls through the touching and meditative story of a 20-something remembering her childhood.
May 19 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 11 a.m.
May 23 – Egyptian Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
Overheard 2
Hong Kong, 2011 (121 minutes)
Director: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Pathway: Thrill Me
In a delirious blend of “The Boiler Room” and “Speed,” a shifty stockbroker, a surveillance operative, and a police inspector become entangled in a three-man cat-and-mouse that could destroy Hong Kong’s financial markets.
May 21 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 8:30 p.m.
May 25 – Harvard Exit, 9 p.m.
June 4 – Egyptian Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings
Philippines, 2011 (96 minutes)
Director: Jade Castro
Pathway: To the Extreme
Oh no, he didn’t! Remington shouldn’t have insulted that drag queen—now a spell turning him gay comes to fruition as he courts his first (female) love in this satirical sendup of homophobia and zombie horror.
May 20 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 8:30 p.m.
June 1 – Egyptian Theatre, 9:30 p.m.
June 2 – Egyptian Theatre, 2:30 p.m.
Rent-a-Cat
Japan, 2012 (110 minutes)
Director: Naoko Ogigami
Pathway: I Didn’t Know That!
Sayoko, lonely since her grandmother’s death, rents out her cats for companionship until one day, when another stray—a young man from her past—threatens to follow Sayoko home.
June 2 – Kirkland Performance Center, 3:30 p.m.
June 4 – Egyptian Theatre, 9:30 p.m.
Romancing in Thin Air
Hong Kong/China, 2012 (112 minutes)
Director: Johnnie To
Pathway: Love Me, Do!
Acclaimed director Johnnie To ventures beyond action and crime with a film about a Hong Kong mega-moviestar who after being jilted at the altar by his actress bride unexpectedly finds true love with a neurotic fan.
May 28 – Harvard Exit #2, 9 p.m.
June 1 – Uptown 3, 10 p.m.
June 4 – Egyptian Theatre, 4 p.m.
Sacrifice
China, 2011 (130 minutes)
Director: Chen Kaige
Pathway: Thrill Me
In Chen Kaige’s blockbuster reinterpretation of the Chinese opera, “Orphan of Zhou,” war is waged on the Zhao clan, but a single descendant survives to take revenge in this lavishly decorated tale of betrayal and power.
May 18 – Uptown 1, 9:30 p.m.
May 22 – Harvard Exit, 4 p.m.
Starry Starry Night
Taiwan/China/Hong Kong, 2011
(99 minutes)
Director: Tom Shu-Yu Lin
Pathway: Love Me, Do!
A whimsical, visually sumptuous coming-of-age tale surrounding two lonely teens who embark on a fantasy-fuelled journey in the far-off mountains in order to escape their real-world troubles. Ages 13+.
May 19 – Uptown 2, 6:30 p.m.
May 20 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11, 4 p.m.
May 22 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11, 9:30 p.m.
Sunny
South Korea, 2011 (125 minutes)
Director: Kang Hyoung-chul
Pathway: Make Me Laugh
Wickedly funny and wholeheartedly tender, this dramedy about the life-changing reunion of seven 40-something women who were best friends in high school is beaming with totally infectious and zappy ‘80s pop songs.
May 28 – Everett Performing Arts Center, 8:30 p.m.
May 30 – Egyptian Theatre, 6:30 p.m.
June 2 – Egyptian Theatre, 11:30 a.m.
Valley of Saints
India/USA, 2012 (82 minutes)
Director: Musa Syeed
Pathway: Show Me the World
Boatman Gulzar plans to leave his poor Kashmir Valley village until he meets a young woman who’s researching the local lake. Musa Syeed’s luminous intertwining of personal and environmental conflicts won Sundance’s World Cinema Audience Award.
May 18 – Harvard Exit #2, 9 p.m.
May 19 – Harvard Exit, 12 p.m.
June 3 – Kirkland Performance Center, 6 p.m.
The Woman in the Septic Tank
Philippines, 2011 (87 minutes)
Director: Marlon Rivera
Pathway: Creative Streak
In this wry send-up of artistic pretension, two indie filmmakers raise provocative questions about the creative process by constructing the perfect
film festival hit using every cliché in the book.
May 22 – Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, 8:30 p.m.
June 5 – Pacific Place Cinemas 11,
4 p.m.
June 7 – Harvard Exit #2, 8:30 p.m.
The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake
Hong Kong, 2011 (115 minutes)
Director: Herman Yau
Pathway: Thrill Me
Part historical biopic, part martial-arts action-adventure, this extraordinary film chronicles the true story of
Qiu Jin, whose revolutionary exploits
hastened the downfall of China’s
Qing Dynasty.
May 24 – Uptown 1, 9:30 p.m.
May 31 – Egyptian Theatre, 9 p.m.
June 3 – Kirkland Performance Center, 8 p.m.