Reason 170

SIFF. No, that's not some new sexually transmitted infection running rampant in community colleges across the country. It's an acronym for the Seattle International Film Festival, an incredible celebration of cinema from around the world that kicked off its 36th year tonight with a showing of The Extra Man, a comedy starring Kevin Kline. It may come as a shock since I am such a cinephile, but last year was the very first time I attended a SIFF screening. I saw the very funny Spring Breakdown, which was attended by one of the stars, the writer and the director. All three were gracious enough to stick around after the movie to answer questions from the audience and entertain us with on-set stories of debauchery, which made me geek out like nobody's business. Unfortunately, I flew solo that day because most of my local friends aren't down with the independent film scene. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here, Jason, and presume you whole-heartedly support movies that aren't cranked out by the Hollywood machine. Afterall, you had a cameo in LolliLove, a very low-budget flick written and directed by Jenna Fischer, who happens to be in a SIFF movie called A Little Help. One of your other acting pals, Jay Baruchel, stars in a Canadian offering called The Trotsky. So, if you have a free day or two or ten in the next three weeks you should definitely fly up to support your colleagues and enjoy some funny and thought-provoking films with someone who promises not to talk once the projector starts rolling and may even share her snacks with you. As if that isn't tantalizing enough, a documentary about yodeling lesbian twins is part of SIFF's lineup. Hmm, perhaps I should go ahead and buy a couple tickets now since that's an offer no sane person could refuse.