SIFF 1997 Award Winners
(Including Uncle Mike's Personal Picks)

Movie Links List Return to Movie Links List
Previous Page Return to Michael's Home Page

SIFF Passholder Mania

A full-series SIFF pass enables the holder to see just about anything playing at the fest, with the exception of the Opening Night Gala film. Armed with one of these, you can start to feel like a smug Master of the Universe as you sweep past the poor souls huddling in line to purchase individual show tickets. The dark side of the Pass is that you feel you must see everything, including Lithuanian documentaries you wouldn't ordinarily watch on PBS. Without careful monitoring, the festival can turn into a test of endurance, taxing both ocular and lumbar fortitude.

Girded with my own pass, I ended up seeing an even 50 films at the 1997 SIFF (out of 191 being screened), which is a personal best in my years of attending (working out to roughly 2 films/day for 3.5 weeks). However, this is strictly minor league compared with other Full-Series pass-holder totals: Scott Larson took in 88; the average pass holder saw 62; and a couple of people allegedly sat through more than 130 films (the theoretical maximum, and one that should qualify them for the Chiropractic Hall of Fame). By the way, those last two figures courtesy of the "Fool Serious Awards," tallied, compiled, and printed on the very last day of the fest by pass holders who felt they didn't have enough to do already.

1997 Golden Space Needle Awards

The Festival has three major awards, one of which is the audience-driven Golden Space Needle. The other two are juried awards: The New Directors Showcase (for new directors from outside the United States); and The American Independent Award.

More than 7,000 ballots were cast for the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Documentary and Best Short. The winners in all categories are shown below:

BEST FILM:
Comrades: Almost a Love Story
(Hong Kong)

Runners Up:
  1. Loved (USA)
  2. La Promesse (Belguim)
    tied with
    Children of the Revolution (Australia)
  3. Colin Fitz (USA)
  4. Pillowbook (Great Britain)
BEST DIRECTOR:
Peter Greenaway
(The Pillowbook)

Runners Up:
  1. Deepa Mehta (Fire)
  2. Robert Bella (Colin Fitz)
  3. Julio Medem (Earth)
  4. Jim Robinson (Still Breathing)
    tied with
    Rodney Lee Rogers (Steaming Milk)
BEST ACTOR:
Brendan Fraser
(Still Breathing)

Runners Up:
  1. Rodney Lee Rogers (Steaming Milk)
  2. Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off)
  3. Robert Carlisle (The Full Monty)
  4. David Arquette (Dreams With The Fishes)
BEST ACTRESS:
Robin Wright-Penn
(Loved)

Runners Up:
  1. Maggie Cheung (Comrades: Almost a Love Story; Irma Vep)
  2. Judy Davis (Children of the Revolution)
    tied with
    Martha Plimpton (Eye Of God; Colin Fitz)
  3. Joanne Going (Still Breathing)
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Licensed To Kill

Runners Up:
  1. Sick
  2. Paul Monette
    tied with
    Fear & Learning At Hoover Elementary
  3. East Side Story
BEST SHORT:
Ballad of the Skeletons

Runners Up:
  1. 78
  2. After
  3. Legs
  4. Anna In The Sky

Main Menu Return to Top of Page

My Personal Faves

Of the fifty flicks and programs I saw, here are my own picks:

BEST FILM:
Children of the Revolution
(Australia)

Runners Up:
  1. Colin Fitz (USA)
  2. Love Serenade (Australia)
  3. Lifebreath (USA)
BEST DIRECTOR:
Todd Browning
(The Unknown)

Runners Up:
  1. Peter Duncan (Children of the Revolution)
  2. Robert Bella (Colin Fitz)
  3. Erin Dignam (Loved)
  4. P.J. Posner (Lifebreath)
BEST ACTOR:
Luke Perry
(Lifebreath)

Runners Up:
  1. Lon Chaney (The Unknown)
  2. Pete Postlethwaite (Brassed Off)
  3. Bruce Jones (Bob's Weekend)
  4. Steven MacKintosh (Different for Girls)
BEST ACTRESS:
Judy Davis
(Children of the Revolution)

Runners Up:
  1. Miranda Otto (Love Serenade)
  2. Robin Wright-Penn (Loved)
  3. Josephine Tsiao (Hu-Du-Men)
  4. Ariadna Gil (Libertarias)
BEST DOCUMENTARY:
Suzanne Farrell: The Elusive Muse

Runner Up:

The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage

 BEST SHORT:
Down Rusty, Down (Australia)

Runners Up:
  1. Little Red Riding Hood (USA)
  2. Bits and Pieces (Australia)

Main Menu Return to Top of Page