Bulletin Board

January 5, 2018 - Late submission
February 2, 2018 - Extended (Withoutabox submissions only!)

SIFF creates 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.

The Seattle International Film Festival is presented each year from mid-May to mid-June. It is the largest film festival in the United States, presenting more than 400 features, documentaries and short films to an audience of 155,000 each year. SIFF is consistently ranked as one of the top festivals in North America, and is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films.

SIFF started out as an event aimed squarely at Seattle filmgoers, renowned for their strong support for independent cinema and their sophisticated, maverick tastes. Through the years, Seattle audiences have proven themselves to be remarkably astute judges of a film's theatrical strength in the American marketplace. This, in turn, has made SIFF a great testing ground for new films. Our emphasis on keeping the Festival an event aimed first and foremost at filmgoers, provides the films themselves with the kind of genuine audience response that has attracted the participation of so many filmmakers and film distributors.

Golden Space Needle Awards
Seattle International Film Festival audiences cast their votes in the categories of Best Film, Documentary Feature, Director, Actor, Actress, and Short Film. Among past winners of this expression of SIFF filmgoers esteem are films and talents, who went on to win Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, as well as a large number of critical and theatrical hits.

AWARDS
Official Competition
Launched in 2016, SIFF programmers choose a dozen films from around the world to be spotlighted for special attention and competition. Films in Official Competition represent some of the best films from the past year, and can be from emerging or established filmmakers. The jury for the Official Competition is composed of film industry professionals and journalists. This award carries a cash prize of $5000 US dollars.

New Directors Showcase Award
One of the most important and eagerly anticipated SIFF showcases each year contains a selection of international directors who are clearly emerging as major talents. SIFF programmers choose a dozen films from around the world to be spotlighted for special attention and competition. Each of the films must be a debut or second feature by the selected director, and each is chosen on the basis of its original conception, striking style and overall excellence. The jury for the New Directors Showcase is composed of film industry professionals and journalists. This award carries a cash prize of $5000 US dollars.

Ibero-American Competition
These exceptional films, both fiction and non-fiction, hailing from Ibero-America, will be judged by an international panel of jurors who will choose the film they feel best illuminates and captures the strong voice of Ibero-America, new visions or voices, or represents a new direction in filmmaking. This award carries a cash prize of $5000 dollars US.

New American Cinema Award
With each passing year, the output from American filmmakers continues to surprise, confound, and inspire us. From lyrical science fiction to stark realism, we assemble a set of films that we are sure will delight audiences looking to explore the exciting vanguard of New American Cinema. Each of the films must be without US distribution at the time of selection, and each is chosen on the basis of its original conception, striking style and overall excellence. The jury for the New American Cinema Competition is composed of the FIPRESCI, the international film critic's association. This award carries a cash prize of $5000 US dollars.

Documentary Competition
These exceptional non-fiction films will be judged by an international panel of jurors who will choose the documentary they feel best illuminates and captures the human spirit, pursues the search for truth, and feeds our insatiable hunger to learn. This award carries a cash prize of $5000 dollars US.

Films are selected on an invite only basis from eligible entries by the programming committee.

Short Film Competition
SIFF is a qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® in all three short film categories. Culled from the more than 3000 submissions a year, approximately 120 shorts are selected to play during ShortsFest weekend or before feature film presentations. This is a popular and exciting section of the film festival that has launched the careers of many writers and directors. All shorts selected for the Festival are eligible for this prize. Three cash prizes of $2,500 each will be awarded, in the categories of Live Action, Animation and Documentary. The Golden Space Needle Best Short Film Audience Award winner will receive prizes of goods and services worth over $3,000.