Beyond Protests, Humanize MENA Lives with Intentional Arts + Culture
Across the street from the (in)famous Rickshaw Lounge lies the unassuming 1 Million Cafe. I’ve lived in the area for over a decade and never knew it was Yemeni and that their chai is homebrewed with love; my iced version with oat milk presented a homey, unadulterated flavor unlike any chai I’ve had in Seattle.
How many of us walk by establishments owned by Middle Eastern people and never try them? Is it fear? Racism? Flavors unknown?
Sound Cinema: SIFF Downtown (Cinerama)
Before the brilliance of IMAX or the new immersive theater gimmicks of today, there was Cinerama. The technique was to use three synchronized projectors to run a film on a staggeringly large, curved, widescreen. It was a way to mimic how the human eye sees. The format began in 1952 and quickly spread in the 1960s. Seattle obtained its own Cinerama theater in 1963. Though, soon after, the format fell out of fashion and the suburban multiplexes kept people closer to home and away from these one-screen wonders. Seattle's theater languished and was ready to close for good when Microsoft co-founder and all around pop culture philanthropist Paul Allen saved and revamped our Cinerama.
SIFF 2026 Roundup: Zach’s Don’t-Sleep-on-These Picks
I anticipated many films this year whose descriptions piqued my interest. These films satisfied me for the most part, but there were a handful of films I did not really expect to knock me back in my seat. It’s rare to capture a film's essence in a descriptive paragraph or even a trailer. It is in the mind of the watcher that a film becomes a more than pleasant surprise or, even better, truly great. The following films surprised and delighted me.
Spanish Films at SIFF Explore Spectrums of Intersectional Experiences
This year's Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) boasts a fantastic assortment of Spanish language films. Not only that, there are also two films in Basque, a language and a people whose ancestral lands span a portion of Spain and France.
Funnily enough, though, the three Spanish-language films that really excited me this year all come from Mexico. Like Mexico itself, these films are unique to their places and diverse in their storytelling. They take place in the ancient forests of untold beauty, the city with its grit and glamor, and the vast plains where the rancheros roam.
3 SIFF Films Challenge Perceptions of Bureaucracy
At this year's Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) there are a number of films that show us the depth and dehumanizing nature of bureaucratic systems, from the idealistic investigations of police officers accused of wrongdoing down to a cloistered community attempting to figure out if an outsider is who he says he is. We even get a look at what is the first taste many of us have of the strange beast of bureaucracy: high school.
SIFF 2026: Bigger, Queerer, Wilder, and More Inclusive Than Ever
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is here at last! The 10-day celebration of cinema starts May 7 and closes on May 17. This year, the festival's physical locations feel like they will keep us in the heart of everything—all four venues are within a reasonable walking distance of each other. There are the three remaining SIFF theaters: the Uptown, Downtown, Film Center, and PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center serves as the fourth. The festival brings together film lovers and filmmakers in a raucous cavalcade of films from around the world and right here at home.
The Return on Silver Screen Proves Why Fans Come Back to Twin Peaks
I have watched The Return several times now since its release in 2017. Each time, it feels like descending into a cave that should feel familiar—haven’t you been here a hundred times already? And yet, each descent into the third season of Twin Peaks feels almost alien. There are always hidden caverns to explore, new narrative threads to pull and unravel that often feel like they lead you nowhere.
Twin Peaks: The Return Offers Meditation on Grief, Feeling Life in the Moment
Two days after the dream, I entered a darkly lit theater in Northwest Film Forum to the familiar sound of the synth-heavy, nostalgic yet eerie Twin Peaks theme song, and shuffled into a seat. I was about to spend two hours watching episodes five and six of Twin Peaks: The Return (2017), as part of a collaborative screening of the entire 18-episode season held by Northwest Film Forum, SIFF, The Beacon, and The Grand Illusion Cinema between November 13 and December 16 of this year. I had only watched the first four episodes of the first season of David Lynch’s masterpiece series set in our home state. But there I sat, going in blind.
Twin Peaks: The Return Premiered with Die-Hard David Lynch Fans at NWFF
Twin Peaks, and indeed the entirety of David Lynch’s oeuvre, was and will always be a communal experience for me. I saw my first David Lynch movie, Mulholland Drive, in an almost-sold-out screening at the SIFF Egyptian in 2023. From then, I watched Blue Velvet, Inland Empire, Eraserhead, and more, reporting my jumbled but inspired thoughts, theories, and emotions back to more senior Lynch fans and friends. Though an endlessly long watchlist prevented me from visiting the humble, beloved town of Twin Peaks, Lynch’s passing in 2025 awakened the urgency to make the trip.
Twin Peaks: The Return of the Return
“I’ll see you in twenty-five years.” These were the final words the spirit of Laura Palmer whispered to Agent Dale Cooper during the season two finale of Twin Peaks in 1991. In 2017, Laura’s farewell became the backdrop for Twin Peaks: The Return, the third and truly final season of David Lynch’s and Mark Frost’s beloved cult classic. And now, The Return returns. This time it’s being presented across Seattle by The Grand Illusion Cinema, The Beacon, Northwest Film Forum, and SIFF.
Sound Cinema: The Egyptian In Memoriam
At its reopening in 2014, the Egyptian was a first run movie house for arthouse cinema and international films, much like it was under previous management. Toward the end of its lifespan, the Egyptian became the venue where SIFF would host more of its revival, restoration, and thematic programming. It is where Noir City and Scarecrowber found enthusiastic crowds. It is also where SIFF hosted Capitol Hill's pinkest party in July 2023 with joyously raucous showings of Barbie.
Fall Film Fests to Fit into Your Travel Plans
It’s lucky if you live here around the Puget Sound because you do not have to go far to experience great cinema. There are vast possibilities here that will have destinations like Port Townsend, Tacoma, and Orcas Island on your mind. Here are a few highlights of local film festivals and archival series coming this fall.
Sound Cinema: SIFF Uptown
Now known as SIFF Uptown, the theater is a hub of great cinema both new and classic. Since SIFF took over, the space has been updated with great seating, modern sound systems, and digital projection. The work that SIFF has put in has paid off, creating a space for movie lovers around the city to come and enjoy the magic of the big screen.
