“Café Society” is one of seven films at the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival to be released by Amazon Studios.
The 2016 Seattle International Film Festival will open with a touch of the 1930s. Woody Allen’s comedy “Café Society,” fresh from opening the Cannes International Film Festival on May 11, will kick off the 42nd annual edition of SIFF on May 19, in a gala screening at McCaw Hall. It will be the film’s North American premiere.
Set during the Depression years, “Café Society” follows a young man (Jesse Eisenberg) hoping to find work in Hollywood. It also stars Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Parker Posey, Blake Lively, Corey Stoll, Paul Schneider, Anna Camp and Judy Davis, and will be released theatrically later this summer. Guests associated with the film are expected to attend the gala, but SIFF has not yet announced names.
“Café Society” is one of seven films at SIFF released by Amazon Studios, the film and television production division of Seattle-based Amazon.com. Among the others are Whit Stillman’s “Love & Friendship,” based on a Jane Austen novella; Joshua Marston’s drama “Complete Unknown,” with Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon; and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s “The Dressmaker,” starring Kate Winslet. Amazon Studios has only just begun its foray into theatrical distribution, with its first release being Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” last December.
The bulk of SIFF’s lineup will be announced May 4, with single tickets going on sale May 5. Opening-night gala tickets can be purchased now at siff.net, by phone at 206-324-9996, and at any SIFF Cinema location (Egyptian, Uptown, Film Center). For more information on the festival, which will run May 19 through June 12 and feature several hundred films, see siff.net.