The North American premiere of “Anniversary Party”, the directorial debut of Alan C*****g and Jennifer Jason Leigh, will open the 27th Annual Seattle International Film Festival at the 5th Avenue Theatre on May 24 at 7:30 pm. Making its World Premiere, Alan Rudolph’s “Investigating Sex” will close out the 25-day festival at Pacific Place on June 17 at 6:30 pm. Both presentations will include star-studded post-screening gala celebrations.
In the Opening Night film “Anniversary Party”, C*****g and Leigh are joined by an all-star ensemble cast of Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey, John C. Reilly, Jane Adams, Jennifer Beals and more in this wicked comedy set at a sixth anniversary party for a less-than-committed couple. Leigh stars as a neurotic actress married to C*****g¹s character, a sexually ambivalent novelist. They invite all their show-biz friends to join them in the celebration of their anniversary‹a party that ends up including caustic chitchat, charades, testimonials, and alcohol and turns the satirical fun and games into a scorching dissection of a marriage on the brink, as well as a way of life.
“Investigating Sex” boasts another all-star cast, this time including Neve Campbell, Jeremy Davies, Dermot Mulroney, Nick Nolte, Julie Delpy, Robin Tunney and Tuesday Weld, as a group of young men come together to candidly discuss and record their conversations about sex. The stenographers (Campbell and Tunney) serve as catalysts for the confessions and conversations, eventually blurring the lines between professionalism and personal interests. What ensues is a series of romantic entanglements far beyond the scope of the group’s original intentions.
In addition, SIFF 2001 Gala presentations will include: the World Premiere of “O,” directed by Tim Blake Nelson and starring Julia Stiles and Martin Sheen; the U.S. Premiere of “Liam,” directed by Stephen Frears and starring Ian Hart and Claire Hackett; the World Premiere of “Tortilla Soup,” directed by Maria Ripoli and starring Hector Elizondo and Raquel Welch; and the World Premiere of “Ghost World,” based on the Dan Clowes cult comic and directed by Terry Zwigoff, starring Steve Buscemi and Thora Birch.
Spanning 25 days and presenting more than 250 films from 50 countries, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest in the country. Amongst the World and U.S. premieres slated for this year are:
World Premieres ^ (Title, Director, Country, Actors)
[ Animal], Sergio Bizzio/ Argentina ^ [ Dirt Boy], Jay Frasco/ USA (Jacob Lee Hedman, Luca Bercovici) ^ [Exploding Oedipus ], Marc Lafia/ USA (Bruce Ramsay, Juliana Hatfield) ^ [ Farewell to Harry], Garrett Bennett/ USA (Joe Flanigan, William Hall, Jr., Lysette Anthony) ^ [ Final] , Campbell Scott/ USA (Hope Davis, Denis Leary) ^ [ Finder’s Fee], Jeff Probst/ USA (James Earl Jones, Robert Forster, Eric Palladino, Ryan Reynolds, Matthew Lillard, Dash Mihok) ^ [ Ghost World], Terry Zwigoff/ USA (Steve Buscemi, Thora Birch, Brad Renfro) ^ [ Investigating Sex], Alan Rudolph/ USA (Neve Campbell, Dermot Mulroney, Nick Nolte) ^ [ Jackpot], Michael Polish/ USA (Jon Gries, Daryl Hannah, Garrett Morris) ^ [Juilliard], Mario Chermayeff/ USA (Robin Williams, Itzhak Perlman) ^ [O], Tim Blake Nelson/ USA (Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen, Rain Phoenix, Josh Hartnett) ^ [Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The William Haines Story], Fenton Bailey/ USA ^ [Rennie’s Landing], Marc Fusco/ USA (Peter Facinelli, Scott Foley, Sean Patrick Murphy) ^ [Second Coming], Darren Campbell, Steve Rees/ USA ^ [Strictly Sinatra], Peter Capaldi/ Great Britain (Ian Hart, Kelly Macdonald, Brian Cox) ^ [Tortilla Soup], Maria Ripoli/ USA (Hector Elizondo, Raquel Welch, Nikolai Kinski, Elizabeth Pena) ^ [Treading Water], Lauren Himmel/ USA ^ [Viva Las Nowhere], Jason Bloom/ USA (Daniel Stern, James Caan, Patricia Richardson) ^ [WillFull], Rebel Penfold-Russel/ Australia (Anne Looby, C. Thomas Howell, Anna Lise Phillips) ^ [A Woman is a Helluva Thing], Karen Leigh Hopkins/ USA (Angus McFadyen, Penelope Ann Miller, Paul Dooley)
U.S. Premieres ^ (Title, Director, Country, Actors)
[Anniversary Party], Alan C*****g, Jennifer Jason Leigh/ USA (Alan C*****g, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Beals) ^ [Attic Expeditions], Jeremy Kasten/ USA (Stephen Donovan, Seth Green) ^ [Bang Rajan], Thanit Jiynukul/ Thailand ^ [Bangkok: Dangerous], Oxide Pang, Danny Pang/ Thailand ^ [A Banquet at Tetlapayac], Olivier Debroise/ Mexico ^ [Borstal Boy], Peter Sheridan/ Ireland (Shawn Hatosy, Danny Dyer, Michael York) ^ [Crimson River], Mathieu Kassowitz/ France (Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel, Dominique Sanda) ^ [Disco Pigs], Kirsten Sheridan/ Ireland ^ [Escape To Life: The Erika & Klaus Mann Story], Andrea Weiss, Wieland Speck/ Great Britain ^ [Fugitives], Miguel Hermoso/ Spain ^ [Hotoke], Tsuji Jinsei/ Japan ^ [I Love Beijing], Ning Ying/ China ^ [Ignorant Fairies], Ferzan Ozpetek/ Italy ^ [Inugami], Masato Harada/ Japan ^ [Jalla! Jalla!], Josef Fares/ Sweden ^ [Joint Security Area], Park Chan-Wook/ South Korea ^ [Kisses for Everyone], Jaime Chavarri/ Spain ^ [The Left Side Of The Fridge], Philippe Falardeau/ Canada ^ [Liam], Stephen Frears/ Great Britain (Anthony Borrows, Ian Hart, Claire Hackett) ^ [Love Inventory], David Fisher/ Israel ^ [Manhood and Other Modern Dilemmas], Ronan Girre/ France ^ [The Melancholy Chicken], Jaroslav Brabec/ Czech Republic ^ [Mortal Transfer], Jean-Jacques Beineix/ France (Jean-Hughes Anglade, Hélène de Fougerolles) ^ [Moscow], Aleksandr Zeldovich/ Russia ^ [The New Country], Geir Hansteen Jörgensen/ Sweden ^ [Parsley Days], Andrea Dorfman/ Canada ^ [Peaches], Nick Grosso/ Ireland (Matthew Rhys, Kelly Reilly, Justin Sallinger) ^ [ Le Rat], Christophe Ali, Nicolas Bonilauri/ France ^ [ Ring 0], Norio Tsuruta/ Japan ^ [Sandstorm], Jagmohan/ India ^ [Séance], Kiyoshi Kurosawa/ Japan ^ [Tears of the Black Tiger], Wisit Sasantieng/ Thailand ^ [That The Women Live], Laurent Bécue-Renard/ France ^ [ Webcam Boys], RADD/ USA
For more information, check out the official SIFF web site or call 206-324-9997.
