[Editor’s Note:  Films of LGBT interest are denoted by (G).]

The largest and longest film festival in the United States is the Seattle International Film Festival.  It ended its 33^rd year this past week closing out 23 consecutive days of film screenings with over 405 films; including 211 features, 61 documentaries, 12 archival presentations, and 117 short films from 60 countries. 

The Winners of the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards for Best Picture is “Outsourced;”  1st Runner Up was VITUS; 2nd Runner Up was LA VIE EN ROSE; 3rd Runner Up was THE BUBBLE; and 4th Runner Up was SEX AND DEATH 101.

For best Documentary the winner is “For the Bible Tells Me So” a film that examines the demonization and exploitation of LGBT people by fundamentalist extremist groups in the United States.  1st Runner Up is “King of Kong,” which was partially filmed in the Seattle area; 2nd Runner Up was “In the Shadow of the Moon,” an outstanding film about the 12 human beings who have set foot on the moon; 3rd Runner Up was “The Devil Came on Horseback”; and 4th Runner Up was “Doubletime”.

For Best Director the winner was “Sex and Death 101,” a clever American comedy.  1st Runner Up for Best Director is Eytan Fox for the Gay themed film “The Bubble”; 2nd Runner Up was Frank Oz, for the Gay themed comedy “Death at a Funeral”; 3rd Runner Up was Olivier Dahan for “La Vie En Rose”; and 4th Runner Up is John Jeffcoat for “Outsourced”.

The Best Actress Award went, most deservingly, to Marion Cotillard who starred in “La Vie En Rose,” an autobiographical film about the remarkable life of French singer Edith Piaf.  1st Runner Up for Best Actress was Jordis Triebel for “Emma’s Bliss”; 2nd Runner Up was Hannah Herzprung who starred as the elderly Lesbian prison piano instructor in the outstanding German production of “Four Minutes”; 3rd Runner Up went to Claire Danes for “Evening”; and 4th Runner Up was Parker Posey for “Broken English”.

Voted best Actor is Daniel Brühl for the Spanish film “Salvador”, 1st Runner Up is Hugh Dancy for “Evening”; 2nd Runner Up went to François Cluzet for “Tell No One”; 3rd Runner Up was Mads Mikkelsen for “Prague”; and 4th Runner Up was Simon Baker for “Sex and Death 101”.

The Award for Best Short Film went to “Pierre” directed by Dan Brown. 

SIFF Grand Jury Awards

The New Director Award went to “Sons”, directed by Eric Strand, with a Special Mention to Actress Valerie Donxelli in the film “7 Years”.  For the New American Cinema Award, the winner is “Shotgun Stories”, written and directed by Jeff Nichols with a Special Jury Prize awarded to “Lovely by Surprise”, directed by Kirt Gunn.  The Grand Jury Best Documentary was “Out of Time” directed by Harald Friedl; and a Special Jury Prize for “Angels in the Dust”, directed by Louise Hogarth who has directed two previous documentaries about AIDS including the very controversial film “The Gift,” which screened at SIFF 2003.   Also noteworthy is an Honorable Mention to the outstanding short documentary film “Freeheld” directed by Cynthia Wade, which profiles the last year in the life of a Lesbian Ocean County New Jersey Police Lieutenant who fought almost to her death to extend her pension benefits to her same-sex partner.

Now for the results of the “Fool Serious” balloting, which is conducted by and for film fanatics who are also SIFF Full Series Passholders.  Their 10 top ranked films are: “Emma’s Bliss”; “Sounds of Sand”; La Vie En Rose”; “Four Minutes”(G); “Remains of the Day”; “Getting Home”; “Paris je t’aime – A Collective Feature Film”; “Tell No One”; “Vitus”; and, lastly, “Prague”.  The 10 Worst Films as voted by the passholders from 10^th to 1^st place are:  “Christmas Tree Upside Down”; “La Leon”(G); “Grimm Love” (G); “Aachi & Ssipak”; “Glue” (G); “The Ferryman”; “The Elephant and the Sea”; Secret Festival Film #3; “Offscreen”; and the worst of the worst is “Kyle,” which has been described as being filmed with a handheld camera held by someone with Parkinson’s Disease.

The Full Series Passholders selected the Best Directed Film as “The Man Of My Life” (G). Best Cinematography: “The Banquet”. Best Script: “Tell No One”. Best Music: “Once”. Best Actor: “Rescue Dawn”. Best Actress: “La Vie En Rose”. Their top Best Guilty Pleasure was “Black Sheep,” a New Zealand Horror/Slasher/Comedy.  Their selection for Top Documentaries were: (1^st) “For the Bible Tells Me So” (G); (2^nd) “In the Shadow of the Moon”; (3^rd) “Ballets Russes” and (4^th) “The Devil Came on Horseback”.  Full Series Passholders also ranked the top four Archival Films as follows: (1^st) “Max Havelaar”; (2^nd) “Berlin: Symphony of a City”; (3^rd) “Scaramouche” and (4^th) “The Year of Living Dangerously”.

And, last but not least, are the top picks by the SGN critic who has screened 149 SIFF films.  Best Film: “La Vie En Rose”; 2^nd  Best, “Four Minutes” (G); 3^rd Best, “Vitus”; and 4^th Best, “Emma’s Bliss”.  Best Short Documentary:  “Freeheld” (G).  Best Full Length Documentary: “In the Shadow of the Moon” and runner up, “Crazy Love”.  Best Comedy: “My Best Friend” with the runner up, “Alien Autopsy”. This critic’s choice for the biggest Bombs – the worst of the worst:  The worst film of 2007 SIFF was by far and away the most disgusting repulsive exploitative crap ever screened by this reviewer, “Grimm Love” (G), a supposedly fictionalized account of the homosexual German cannibal case.  1^st Runner up for worst film: “Dasepo Naughty Girls” (G), 2^nd Runner up, “The Elephant and the Sea”; 3^rd Runner-up, “Life in Loops”; 4^th Runner-up, “Glue” (G); and 5^th Runner up for worst film, “The Bet Collector”. 

Signing off from the 33^rd SIFF. That’s all folks!  See you at the movies. 

FILMS SCREENED BY SGN CRITIC

Films of LGBT interest are denoted with (G).

12:08 East of Bucharest - Good

2 Days in Paris - Excellent

7 Years - Average

A Friend of Mine - Good

Aachi & Ssipak - Good

After This Our Exile - Very Good

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves - Very Good

Alien Autopsy - Outstanding

American Shopper - Good

Angels in the Dust - Very Good (G)

Art of Crying, The - Excellent

Bajo Juarez - Above Average

Battle of Wits - Very Good

Beauty in Trouble - Good

Before We Fall - Poor

Bet Collector,The - Bomb

Big Rig - Very Good

Black Irish - Average

Black Sheep - Good

Black, White, Gray: A portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethrorpe - Average (G)

Born and Bred - Good

Boss Of It All, The - Good

Captain Blood - Outstanding

Champagne Spy, The - Very Good

Children of War - Below Average

Cloud, The - Average

Confession of Pain - Very Good

Congorama - Good

Crazy Love - Outstanding

Crossing the Line - Very Good

Cthulhu - Poor (G)

Dans Paris - Average

DarkBlueAlmostBlack - Average (G)

Dasepo Naughty Girls - Bomb - (G)

Death at a Funeral - Very Good (G)

Delirious - Very Good

Doghead - Very Good

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap - Excellent

Drama/Mex - Average

Eagle vs Shark - Poor

Elephant and the Sea, The - Bomb

Emma's Bliss - Outstanding

End of the Line - Above Average

Eternal Summer - Average (G)

Exiled - Very Good

Expired - Above Average

Falkenberg Farwell - Above Average

Falling - Average

Ferryman, The - Below Average

Fever of '57 - Excellent

Fish Dreams -  Poor

For the Bible Tells Me So - Excellent (G)

Four Minutes - Outstanding (G)

Freeheld - Outstanding (G)

Fresh Air - Average

Frozen City - Good

Getting Home - Very Good

Glue - Bomb (G)

Golden Door - Excellent

Grave Decisions - Good

Grimm Love - Bomb (G)

Guardians Son - Average

Gunga Din - Outstanding

Hounds - Below Average

How Is Your Fish Today? - Below Average

How to Cook Your Life - Above Average

I Don't Want to Sleep Alone - Below Average

I Really Hate My Job - Average

In the Shadow of the Moon- Outstanding

Interview - Good

Introducing the Dwights - Average

Iska's Journey - Above Average

Island, The - Above Average

It's Winter - Above Average

Journey Home: Story from the Hungarian Revolution 1956-Very Good

Khadak - Below Average

King of Kong - Excellent

La Leon - Poor (G)

La Vida Homo - Average (G)

La Vie En Rose - Outstanding

La vie promise - Excellent

Lake of Fire - Above Average

Life and Times of Yva Las Vegass - Average (G)

Life in Loops - Bomb

Life of Reilly - Excellent (G)

Little Book of Revenge - Very Good

Love & Dance - Good

Love For Sale - Below Average

Made In China - Very Good

Manufactured Landscapes - Good

Max Havelar - Excellent

Missing Star, The - Very Good

Moliere - Excellent

Murch - Very Good

Mushishi - Above Average

My Best Friend - Outstanding

Nanking - Very Good

Never on a Sunday - Excellent

Nina's Journey - Excellent

No Regret - Very Good (G)

Offscreen - Fair

One to Another - Very Good (G)

Orange Revolution - Good

Out At the Wedding - Excellent (G)

Out of Time - Good

Outing Riley - Good (G)

Outsourced - Excellent

Paprika - Good

Pervert's Guide to Cinema, The - Above Average

Pleasant Moments - Good

PolterGay - Good (G)

Price of Sugar, The - Average

Protagonist - Excellent (G)

Red Road - Excellent

Red Without Blue - Very Good (G)

Rescue Dawn - Very Good

Rocket Science - Very Good

Running on Empty - Above Average

Sakuran - Above Average

Sanctuary: Lisa Gerrard - Below Average

Season Five - Good

Severance - Above Average

Sex and Death 101 - Very Good

Shelter Me - Above Average

Silence, The - ??  No Rating

Singer, The - Good

Soldiers of Conscience - Good

Son of Rambo - Good

Souls Without Borders: The True Story of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade - Above Average

Spider Lilies - (G) - Poor

Stealth - (G) - Average

Surveillance - (G) - Good

Sweet Crude - Good

Sweet Mud - Above Average

Takva - Very Good

Tell No One - Excellent

The Bubble - Good (G)

The Memory Thief - Very Good

Them - Very Good

This Is England - Below Average

Tugboat Annie - Excellent

Vitus - Outstanding

Waiter - Excellent

Waiting for Happiness - Poor

Walk into the Sea, A - Average (G)

Wizard of Oz - Outstanding

Yacoubian, The - Excellent (G)

Yella - Below Average

Yossi & Jagger - Above Average (G)