We're sure you've at least heard about the heavy hitters set to grace the stages of the City Arts Festival this year if not the whole shebang. It's taking place on October 20th - 22nd and you can grab your all-festival wristband for $69 (that's frickin' cheap) starting August 5th. more ›

It's true, most of the music coverage we have on Seattlest leans toward Americana and Folk. There's just a lot of great stuff going on in that genre and we're in love with where that scene is headed. We are painfully aware, however, that there are quite a few other musical genres being left out in the cold, and hopefully they'll starting popping up more and more in our coverage. To get the ball rolling, this week's Kickstarter spotlight is pointed on a documentary entitled In Between the Raindrops. It focuses on Jazz music and the legends that got their start right here in the Emerald City. more ›

Craigslist is, in one way or another, an inspiration to us all. Whether it's trolling for post-rapture loot, finding out what new restaurants are coming to town, finding an apartment or just finding a goddamn date, the listing service has slowly infiltrated its way into our daily lives, for better or for worse. The beauty of it, and the source of all its problems, is that anyone can post -- and therein lies the true phenomenon of using Craigslist to get a date. This topic is nothing new, but Seattle director Cassidy Dimon adds a local bent in a short documentary at SIFF's Seattle Stories screening tomorrow. more ›

The real “waste land” in Lucy Walker’s film of the same name isn’t Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill. It’s the landscape of the American imagination, where almost everything has become disposable and slight imperfections are grounds for rejection. The film traces how looking for the usable in the discarded can become a metaphor for seeking the good in oneself, and how art is an effective grounds for promoting the process of discovery. As a documentary, it’s pretty well done; as a commentary on society, it’s pretty searing. more ›

Handmade Nation - a documentary about the flourishing do-it-yourself art, craft and design community - has been a labor of love for first-time filmmaker and director Faythe Levine. The idea for the film was conceived in 2003 during Levine’s trip to Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair and production began in 2006 when Levine and her director of photography, Micaela O’Herlihy, spent a year and a half traveling around the country, interviewing over eighty independent DIY-ers. We first heard about the project last year when Levine and her team were screening clips of the film while trying to raise money to offset the remaining production costs. more ›

AYKROYD HITS SODO: As mentioned last week, Dan Aykroyd will be at the Sodo liquor store tonight to promote his new Crystal Head Vodka. As the website introduction states, supposedly the skull-like bottle is reminiscent of the thirteen crystal heads that once scattered across the earth defying the laws of physics with their unmarked smooth surfaces. The crystal heads also "are said to contain vast knowledge and enlightenment capable of unlocking our most enigmatic ancient mysteries." Was Dan Aykroyd drinking too much vodka when he agreed to this? Regardless, head down to the Sodo for some Aykroyd hugs and autographs, and pick up your very own Indiana Jones Crystal Head vodka--and don't forget to feel enlightened. more ›

OCEAN JUNK: Saturday Curtis Ebbesmeyer reads from his new book Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man's Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science at the Central Library. Ebbesmeyer is a very smart guy studying a very disturbing and very new topic: ocean-borne trash. If anyone can figure out where those severed feet that washed up around Puget Sound came from, it’s him. A must for anyone concerned about the state of the oceans. more ›

NUCLEAR WASTELANDS: And they're in Washington! Tonight is your last chance to see lauded local doc Arid Lands, winner of the Best Film award at the 2008 Local Sightings Festival. The film explores the economic, environmental, and social impacts of, well, Hanford, the superfund site to end all superfund sites, replete with leaking nuclear waste containers, buried train cars full of radioactive animal poo, and countless other horrors of the nuclear era. more ›

SHE GOT SOUL: Bettye Lavette, a Detroit native and prolific singer-songwriter well known for her work in the Motown era, is visiting Seattle tonight and tomorrow night. Though Lavette toured in the 1960s with the likes of Otis Redding and Ben E. King and even had a short stint with the James Brown Revue, she always flew under the fame radar until 2005, when she released her album, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. While in Seattle, Lavette will be singing songs from her latest album, The Scene of the Crime, along with old favorites from the '60s. more ›

CLEANUP IN REACTOR B: Oh Hanford. In the '40s, Southeast Washington's Columbia Basin was a burgeoning industrial center, thanks to plutonium production as part of the Manhattan Project. Spoiler alert: There are future repercussions. As the winner of Best Film at last year's Local Sightings Film Festival, Grant Aaker and Josh Wallaert's documentary Arid Lands explores the many facets of the nuclear cleanup and the myriad players--Native Americans, farmers, developers, activists, fishermen, and scientists--in the community. The film plays at the NWFF through Thursday. more ›

EVERYONE IN THE CULT LOVES YOU: As we were saying the other week, tonight is a night that will live in Seattle rock 'n' roll history. The Cult is at the Moore, playing a live version of their smash 1985 album Love. That's hits like "Nirvana," "Big Neon Glitter," "Brother Wolf, Sister Moon," "Revolution," and "She Sells Sanctuary"--now how much would you pay? (Hopefully $30 or $40 because that's what tickets are going for.) more ›

WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM?: For a city filled with a decent amount of creatives, advertising folks, and clients that always want the Big Idea, newest movie Art & Copy is a must see. The film, created by acclaimed documentary director Doug Pray (Hype!, Scratch, Big Rig), riffles through the minds of the ad industry's most creative and iconic product pushers. After tonight's 7:00 p.m. showing, select Seattle creatives and ad folks will host a discussion panel about the film. more ›

MY LIFE IS A MUSICAL: Regular karaoke not enough of a challenge for you? Head to the Rendezvous tonight for Cineoke, in which you sing along to your favorite scenes from musicals. Warm up with some Chicago, belt out The Sound of Music, and soon you'll be Singing in the Rain. Don't forget the jazz hands. 7-9:30 p.m. // Rendezvous Jewel Box Theater // 2322 2nd Ave // $5, 21+ more ›

Design geeks, jot a note on your Helvetica fonted calendar: If you didn't make the weeklong run of Objectified at the Northwest Film Forum--its last showing is at 7 p.m. tonight--you'll have another chance come August. The NWFF just announced that Gary Hustwit's documentary on how everyday items around us came to be will return for one more weekend in August. There'll be two showings a night the 14th-16th. more ›

DESIGN GEEK HEAVEN: Early on in Gary Hustwit's documentary about design, Andrew Blauvelt reveals why Japanese-style toothpicks have those two grooves at the top. And no, it's not because they look pretty. With that, the film snagged our trivia-loving heart. Hustwit presses on to explore the psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, and several other -ys of design. It's never less than fascinating. If you ever think about the mass-produced stuff around you, don't miss Objectified. 7 p.m. & 9 p.m. // Northwest Film Forum // 1515 12th Ave. // $9 more ›

GET STIMULATED: All this week, through Saturday July 18th, it's the second annual Seattle City Stimulus, which encourages residents to spend money at small local businesses. Fill out the form to get your membership card, which affords you discounts at all kinds of establishments. Eat, drink, and shop your way around town--IT'S FOR THE ECONOMY! All week long // Participating businesses // prices vary more ›

NOLLYWOOD!: Since the weather's perfect, contrarians will want to shoebox themselves inside the U District's tiny Grand Illusion Theatre to catch a documentary about Nigeria's burgeoning B-movie film industry. Nollywood Babylon, which Film Threat calls "Irresistible," is about to close, and you don't want to make a liar of Film Threat, do you? No, you do not. Also it's a Canadian documentary, and it's Canada Day. If that doesn't get you there, we throw our hands up. more ›

ONE SINGULAR SENSATION: James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's award-winning documentary Every Little Step is finally in Seattle, and we think musical and film lovers alike will get a kick out of this new hit. The film follows the legacy of A Chorus Line, through four decades of amazing actors, behind-the-scenes dramas, and variations on the international musical favorite. Every Little Step is also the first documentary in Broadway history to be allowed filming privileges throughout the extensive audition process for last year's recent revival, showing anything and everything that is A Chorus Line. (4:15), 7:15, 9:35 p.m. // Harvard Exit, 807 East Roy // Tickets: $7-9.50 more ›

Joe Dallesandro—former bodyguard at Andy Warhol’s fabled Factory, star of several key Warhol-sponsored cult films in the sixties and seventies, and accidental avatar of the Sexual Revolution—stands outside the W Hotel in downtown Seattle, his back to me. He cuts an almost dangerous-looking figure. more ›

JUST LIKE A DREAM: In a Dream chronicles the life of artist Isaiah Zegar and his wife Julia, both his mosaic art and their family life. The documentary is directed by their son Jeremiah, and he pulls no punches in showing how his father's obsessive, creative mind took its toll on his family. The intimate, emotional film has won awards from festivals as diverse as SXSW, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and the San Francisco Documentary Festival. In a Dream screens at the NWFF through Thursday. 7 p.m., 9 p.m. // Northwest Film Forum // 1515 12th Ave. // $9 more ›

The end is in sight. 22 days down, and just 3 remain for SIFF this year, so it's time to take look at films showing this final festival weekend. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which of course cost more. Seattlest applies our well-honed knowledge of all things cinema to the SIFF catalogue in order to point out some notable films playing this weekend: more ›

SIFF's final week is underway--it all wraps up Sunday--so here's a glimpse at some of the films coming up this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which of course cost more. Here's what we've highlighted from the SIFF catalogue: more ›

2 weeks down, and just a little over 1 to go, so it's time to take another look at upcoming SIFF films. There's a few more days of movies on the Eastside (including a free screening tomorrow night of closing night film OSS117: Cairo, Nest of Spies under the stars at Juanita Beach Park), and SIFF heads to West Seattle this weekend. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which of course cost more. Seattlest applies our well-honed knowledge of all things cinema to the SIFF catalogue in order to point out some notable films playing this weekend: more ›

True Adolescents, besides being profanely hilarious, is a star-making vehicle for mumblecore's Mark Duplass. If you see one film about a Seattle indie rocker exiled to his aunt's place in Woodinville this year, this is the one. Along with a long-delayed coming-of-age story, director Craig Johnson delivers a love postcard to Washington living. more ›

Has it been a week already? SIFF is in full effect, so it's time to take another look at upcoming films. If you're looking for even more opinions on the films that are showing during the fest, check out the Northwest Film Forum's picks, or the picks of some SIFF programmers themselves. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which of course cost more. more ›

Coming out of Moon Tuesday night, there was a huge line waiting to get into the Egyptian, so we quickly checked the SIFF iPhone app--which is great, btw--to figure out what they were there to see. Ah yes, All Tomorrow’s Parties, the documentary on the music festival of the same name. The film features performances recorded by over two hundred filmmakers, fans, and musicians via a variety of formats (Super8, camcorder, and even mobile phone footage) that together comprise a veritable indie who's who: Battles, Sonic Youth, Belle and Sebastian, Patti Smith, Animal Collective, Iggy and the Stooges, Portishead, Mogwai, Slint, Grizzly Bear, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Gossip, Daniel Johnston, and The Boredoms. The last SIFF screening is at the Neptune today at 4:30 p.m. more ›

Now that SIFF is officially kicked off, it's time to look ahead at the films coming up in the next month. For all film screenings, the general/member ticket prices are $11/$9 (and matinees $8/$7), except for gala screenings and other special events, which of course cost more. The opening weekend's lineup features a lot of great films, so if you're not out of town for the holiday, this is the time to hit up some movies! more ›

So you still haven't seen Anvil: The Story of Anvil yet, huh? Well, lucky for you, it's around for at least the next few days, so you've got some time to go and see one of the most entertaining documentaries Seattlest has seen recently. If you've been holding off (or have been unaware), we hope you take the opportunity to catch Anvil before it finally leaves Seattle theaters. more ›