Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)

Founded in 1976, SIFF is Seattle's leading year-round film organization that brings the best in international and independent film to the Seattle area with the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education.

At SIFF, we pride ourselves in offering audiences the opportunity to discover original stories, explore diverse cultures, and take new emotional journeys. Our mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. Through the art of cinema, SIFF promotes film as a medium that fosters cross-cultural communication, education and internal understanding by creating experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films, from major and independent American studio premieres, to the latest international works from Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin American and beyond.

Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest, most highly-attended film festival in the United States, with over 155,000 attendees annually and was named one of the 50 unmissable film festivals by Variety.

The 25-day festival has continued to maintain relevance as Seattle's most accessible and highly publicized film event, and is renowned for its eclectic programming with over 450 features, short films and documentaries from over 80 countries annually.

SIFF is a constantly innovating year-round film organization that highlights new discoveries from around the world alongside established filmmakers and talent. Acclaimed films such as Trainspotting, Braveheart, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Poltergeist, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Donnie Darko have had their World or American premieres at the Festival. Numerous directors and actors of critical acclaim and celebrity have come to Seattle to participate in the Festival. More recently, these have included Ewan McGregor, Francis Ford Coppola, Spike Lee, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Ben Kingsley, Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Anthony Hopkins, Ang Lee, and Peter Sarsgaard, amongst many others.

In addition to producing the Film Festival, SIFF also operates SIFF Cinema at the Uptown and Egyptian theaters and at the SIFF Film Center on the grounds of Seattle Center.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. It is through the art of cinema that we foster a community that is more informed, aware, and alive.