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Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food.
Talking Pictures: Ken Jennings presents Quiz Show
Nov 10
SIFF’s Talking Pictures series is like getting a really great movie recommendation from your friend, if your friend is Ben Gibbard (Drifting Clouds), J. Kenji López-Alt (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory), or Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone (The Straight Story). This time around, your friend is Ken Jennings, our hometown quiz-show champion and Jeopardy! host, and he’s telling you why you should watch the late Robert Redford’s 1994 Quiz Show. The film is a dramatization of the quiz show scandals of the 1950s, back when scandals were more intrigue and less fascism. Jennings will give an extended introduction for the film about how a narrative centered on fixing quiz shows impacted his life as a Jeopardy! champ. I want to hear that story. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Didn’t Do It for Love
Nov 10-11
I won’t pretend like I’ve seen the rarely screened 1997 film Didn’t Do It for Love, but the premise alone is enough for me to blindly recommend it. The film traces the unbelievable real-life story of Eva Norvind, whose career spanned Parisian showgirl, Marilyn Monroe-esque actress, journalist, and, most notably, New York’s most successful dominatrix. There is perhaps no one better to convey the nuances of Norvind’s story than Hamburg-based filmmaker Monika Treut, who has devoted her life to fearless explorations of sexuality and gender since the 1980s, spotlighting queer stories and the kink community. The German newspaper Die Zeit once wrote that “films like Monika Treut’s are destroying cinema.” So you know it’s going to be good. (Beacon Cinema, various times) AUDREY VANN
Classified Cinema
Nov 18
Do you remember what it was like before we streamed everything, when you could channel surf and stumble onto a movie you’ve never heard of? Sometimes it was trash, but a blast. And sometimes it was a treasure that you end up coming back to over and over again. Classified Cinema helps recreate that feeling. You arrive at the theater with no idea what film is showing, and buckle in. The screening series has three rules: It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s never pretentious. If you want to do a vibe check, just call their Late Night Hotline Voicemail. They won’t come to the phone because they’re busy “sorting and alphabetizing [their] DVD and Blu-ray collection,” but you can leave a message and they might play it before the show. (SIFF Cinema Uptown, 7:30 pm, free) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Derek Jarman’s Blue
Dec 4
If you want to experience Derek Jarman’s experimental masterpiece Blue, then you must see it in a proper movie theater. That way, you can be immersed in complete darkness and publicly shamed if you check your phone. Thought to be one of the most challenging watches in cinema history, Jarman’s final film consists of an unchanging, solid blue screen soundtracked by narration and music by his friends (Tilda Swinton, Brian Eno, and Sleazy of Throbbing Gristle, to name a few) that tell the story of his life and artistic vision. Jarman tragically died of AIDS-related complications just four months after the film’s release, which gives Blue an undeniable heaviness. And, the film’s lack of visual elements can be explained by Jarman’s illness, which left him partially blind during its creation and only able to see shades of blue. (Northwest Film Forum, 7 pm) AUDREY VANN
More
Happyend Nov 9–21, Northwest Film Forum, various times
My Neighbor Totoro Nov 14–19, Central Cinema, various times
The Last Dive Nov 14–23, Northwest Film Forum, various times
Twin Peaks: The Return Nov 14–Dec 12, Beacon Cinema, various times
Fargo (SIFF Cinema Workers Union Fundraiser) Nov 16, Beacon Cinema, 5 pm
Silvestre Nov 17–18, Beacon Cinema, various times
Cinema Dissection: Double Indemnity Nov 22, Northwest Film Forum, 10 am
SIFF Movie Club: The Night of the Hunter (70th Anniversary) Dec 3, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm
Early Warnings
SIFF ’n’ Stitch: Elf Dec 7, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 12 pm
The Muppet Christmas Carol Dec 11–14, SIFF Cinema Uptown, various times
Cinema Dissection: Pan’s Labyrinth Dec 13, SIFF Film Center, 10 am
Vengeance Is Mine Dec 14–16, Beacon Cinema, various times
Fiddler on the Roof Sing-along Dec 25, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 12 pm
Moulin Rouge! New Year’s Eve Sing-along Dec 31, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 6 pm
Showgirls: The Annual Showing Jan 17–18, Northwest Film Forum, 7:30 pm