The Seattle International Film Festival continues to expand to new communities outside Seattle, adding Renton as a SIFF venue in 2011.  Renton screenings will take place May 20-26 at the IKEA Performing Arts Center.  A special Opening Night Screening will take place in Renton on May 20, with a gala reception following at the Renton Pavilion Event Center.

"SIFF is extremely pleased to bring Festival programming to communities throughout the region and continue to broaden the Festival experience to those in and outside Seattle borders.  The Renton community is extremely excited and we are thrilled to be working with them," said Deborah Person, SIFF Managing Director. Along with Renton in 2011, SIFF will continue to expand its Festival footprint in Everett and Kirkland with special Opening Night events and screenings for week-long stays in each city.

SIFF in Renton is sponsored by the Renton Community Marketing Campaign, a partnership between the City of Renton, Renton School District, Renton Technical College, Valley Medical Center, the Renton Chamber of Commerce and Renton Visitors Connection. These entities have been working together for 12 years to promote Renton as a great place to live, work, play, learn, shop, visit, and, now, see world class cinema.

"Renton is honored to become part of the longest running, largest and most highly attended film festival in the United States.  The Renton Community Marketing Campaign is partnering with SIFF to help build on Renton's economic momentum, help bring visitors and business to Renton and Renton's hotels, and to promote arts and culture, as well as cultural understanding.  Hosting SIFF in Renton will allow us to showcase our thriving arts and culture scene," said Renton Mayor Denis Law. 

Renton officially kicked off its welcoming of SIFF with its first SIFF-Renton Host Committee meeting on Monday, February 14, at Renton City Hall.  Host Committee Co-Chairs Meeghan Black, Host of KING 5's "Evening Magazine," and Brad Brotherton, President, Brotherton Cadillac Buick GMC, encouraged this group of civic, arts and community leaders to take advantage of the opportunities that hosting SIFF will make available for Renton. 

Official SIFF dates and programming will be announced at a later date. Those interested in volunteering at any of SIFF's venues can sign up at http://www.siff.net/.

Renton and the Renton FilmFrenzy have partnered for the past two years with SIFF and its FutureWave young filmmakers program.  The Renton FilmFrenzy is a 50-hour filmmaking competition and the Fourth Annual Renton FilmFrenzy is set for October 7-9.  Details are available at http://www.rentonfilmfrenzy.com/.

About the Seattle International Film Festival

Now in its 37th year, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest and most highly-attended film festival in the United States, showcasing more than 400 films from over 60 countries to an audience of 150,000 attendees annually. Listed by Variety as one of the world's "50 unmissable film festivals," SIFF continues to be recognized as one of the top festivals in North America. SIFF combines the best aspects of a casual film marketplace with our well-established reputation as a great audience festival filmmakers love to attend.

SIFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world. In addition to the Festival, SIFF operates SIFF Cinema, its year-round flagship theater at McCaw Hall. Later this year, SIFF will open the SIFF Film Center at Seattle Center's Alki Room, thereby fulfilling its long-standing vision of creating a permanent home where SIFF's successful film, education, and community outreach programs can thrive.

The 37th Seattle International Film Festival is made possible in part by support from Comcast, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Brotherton Cadillac Buick GMC, Alaska Airlines, The Wallace Foundation, Wong Doody, American Airlines, Modern Digital, POP, and City Arts Magazine.