The St. Louis International Film Festival, SLIFF, has the remarkable tendency to showcase movies that later go on to become both box office and critically acclaimed hits.
Last year, Slumdog Millionaire played to a packed room, a preview of the success the film would later achieve. Running from Nov. 12-22, the 18th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival will bring to St. Louis a selection of feature films, short films and documentaries that will have something to suit the movie-going tastes of just about everyone.
“We want [audiences] to come as they are,” Chris Clark, artistic director of the festival, said. “There’s something for everyone … We always challenge people to come and see something they’re excited about, and then come and see something a little riskier … They might find that reading subtitles or seeing a film from a different country isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
Fans of Heath Ledger, Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp or even Tom Waits are in luck. On Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m., Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus plays at the Tivoli.
On Nov. 12 at 7 p.m., the comedy/drama An Education is playing at the Tivoli. This coming-of-age story is set in early 1960s Britain, and tells the tale of a young girl in way over her head. An Education has been getting rave reviews and acclaim at other festivals around the nation.
These two movies are not the only feature films playing at the festival. There are many foreign films, films shot in St. Louis and films that are already generating Oscar buzz, offering audiences the opportunity to experience the movie equivalent of seeing a band before they get popular.
“That’s the main point of what we do: to show films that might not get shown here,” Clark said. “We have such a wide canvas to work on, so there’s room to breathe.”
Features are not SLIFF’s only facet.
This year’s lineup of documentaries is particularly strong. From movies that take you inside the world of a political convention (Convention) to the lives of Chinese migrant workers (From Somewhere to Nowhere) to a look at the world of bottled water (Tapped), the documentaries this year deal with a number of diverse subjects.
There are also several shorts programs, or screenings of a number of short films which provide a way for audiences to get a look at a number of up-and-coming filmmakers.
Tickets for most shows cost $10.
However, some special events will cost more. A special screening of Up In The Air, a movie shot extensively in St. Louis, was priced at $25 a ticket. However, as of press time, these tickets had sold out.
The screening of Up In the Air at this year’s festival is especially meaningful.
“One of the first years I was involved, there was a short subject that won an Honorable Mention … Well, 12 years later, that director will be returning to the festival to show his newest film, Up in the Air,” Clark said.
The crew of the original cult-TV series “Mystery Science Theater 3000” will perform a live show Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Family Arena in St. Charles. Tickets are $30. Cinematic Titanic, a similar group composed of many of the same members, will host a Q&A at the Tivoli at 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 21. Tickets for that event cost $10.
Some events, however, are free. One such example is a documentary on American film criticism, For the Love of Movies; on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m., it’s playing at the Tivoli, and will be followed by a panel on film criticism.
Clark believes that the festival’s biggest selling point is its uniqueness in this area.
“We have every bit as strong programming as other festivals … We’re not Toronto. We’re not Sundance. We’re not Cannes … We cater to the general population, but, other than Chicago, there isn’t anything of our size and quality nearby,” he said.
For a full schedule of films and events, including locations and ticketing information, visit the festival’s official website at www.cinemastl.org.