Every May for the past few years, I’ve taken some much-needed vacation time to attend the Seattle International Film Festival. The festival coincides with my birthday, and what better way to celebrate another trip around the sun than 25 days of incredible film from every corner of the globe? But with the COVID-19 spread necessitating the shutdown of public gatherings, this year’s festival was cancelled. Rather than give up my yearly celebration of cinema, I’ve decided to take the two weeks off and program my own virtual film festival to coincide with the time I’d be taking off under normal circumstances.
So here at Cinema Cocktail, I am pleased to announce the first-ever Cinema Cocktail Virtual Film Festival – May 15-31. Using streaming services like the Criterion Channel, Mubi, Ovid, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Shudder, and more – as well as the occasional Video on Demand title – I’ll be curating a selection of films that include silent cinema, classics, contemporary film from around the world, long form storytelling, family films, and midnight movies. There are a few principles that are guiding my selection as I narrow down the final choices:
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- All programmed films must be films that I have not yet seen, though exceptions will be made if I can track down some films that are exceptionally difficult to see;
- If at all possible, 50% of all films programmed should be directed or co-directed by female filmmakers. black and indigenous filmmakers, and filmmakers of color; and,
- If at all possible, programmed films should represent as many geographic regions as possible.
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I do know that I am setting myself up for some challenges here and I may not achieve all three goals, but I do believe they’re worthy goals to strive towards nonetheless.
While the full lineup won’t be announced until early May, I am very pleased to announce both our Opening Night and our Closing Night films!
Opening Night Film and Festivities
We’ll kick off the festival with Autumn de Wilde’s Jane Austen adaptation, Emma., a stylized and luminous comedy that’s that been getting high marks from critics. As Justin Chang wrote for NPR, “This is the first feature from the photographer and music-video director Autumn de Wilde, and while she has an obvious eye for beauty, she has an equally sharp eye for the absurd.” We’ll also include a link to a 33-minute Q&A with de Wilde and star Anya Taylor-Joy for anyone who wants to learn more about the film.
Closing Day Screenings and Celebrations
We’ll be closing out the festival with a retrospective on the French filmmaker Céline Sciamma. Throughout the day we’ll view all of her feature films (Water Lilies, Tomboy, and Girlhood), one of her shorts (Pauline), and an in-depth interview between Sciamma and Tricia Tuttle, director of the BFI London Film Festival. Finally, we’ll end the evening with Sciamma’s latest film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire. “Sciamma has a keen eye for the ways that women have always cared for each other under the radar of society, dealing with unwanted pregnancies and building little communities in plain sight.” (Emily VanDerWerff, Vox)
If there’s enough interest, I also intend to host a few panel conversations and group discussions through the festival, and we’ll see what other ways we can build in some aspects of intentional community building that you get with a traditional film festival. I do hope you’ll consider joining me for as much of this two-week festival as you’re able. Stay tuned for more information!
