Renton is in an enviable position.
For three years, including this one, the Seattle International Film Festival has brought films from around the globe to the IKEA Performing Arts Center at Renton High School.
Sure, you could drive to Seattle (or Kirkland) to see those films. But the point, and it says a lot about Renton, is that you don’t.
It bears repeating: Renton is the world. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the state, if not the most diverse. That reflects residents from all manner of backgrounds: racial, social, ethnic and cultural.
Mary Bacarella, SIFF’s managing director, and Carl Spence, the festival’s artistic director, talk about how films are chosen in the SIFF-Renton Film Guide in today’s Renton Reporter.
For SIFF, what’s important is telling a story, about people and what makes us human. But there’s action, too, and thrillers – and something for the kids.
Check out “Cold War” from Hong Kong and discover what happens when those in charge can’t figure out what to do in a crisis. It’s bright, flashy and explosive.
Then there’s “Moon Man,” a Saturday matinee that explains what happens to a kid’s sleep when the man in the moon is pre-occupied.
And, by the way, don’t let those gross-out photos with “Dead Meat Walking” scare you off. Frankly, there’s no good way to put zombies in a good light. Don’t forget there’s a Renton connection, too. Renton photographer Brian Morris teaches photographers how to shoot a zombie apocolypse.
So there’s plenty to see, 19 films in all, starting with “Touchy Feely” on opening night Thursday. A massage therapist has a problem: she doesn’t like to touch people.
So let’s talk about opening night.
It’s Hollywood in Renton, with photographs taken in front of a SIFF backdrop at the IKEA Performing Arts Center. Afterward, head over to the Renton Pavilion Event Center at the Piazza for the gala, Renton’s big party of the year, one even SIFF folks from the big city like to attend.
Tickets are reasonable (and there’s no gas money to Seattle), availble online at siff.net and at the IPAC box office starting noon Tuesday and before the screenings.
The world is headed our way. Enjoy the show.
