Staff Picks<\/h2>\n
April showers bring May flowers \u2014 and May movies? If you feel like stepping out of the spring sunshine (or if the pollen\u2019s just getting you down), here\u2019s a selection of offerings at independent moviehouses around town.<\/p>\n
The Beacon<\/h2>\n
The cozy Beacon continues its series Shadowland: The Emotional Underworlds of Classic Cinema in May with several beloved John Ford titles: the 1941 drama \u201cHow Green Was My Valley<\/strong>,\u201d starring a very young Roddy McDowall (May 10-11), the 1940 adaptation of John Steinbeck\u2019s classic novel \u201cThe Grapes of Wrath<\/strong>\u201d (May 17-18), the little-seen 1950 Western \u201cWagon Master<\/strong>\u201d (May 24-25) and Ford\u2019s late-career masterpiece \u201cThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance<\/strong>,\u201d starring James Stewart, Lee Marvin, John Wayne and Vera Miles (May 31-June 1). Also popping up at the Beacon: the 1972 Lina Wertm\u00fcller comedy \u201cThe Seduction of Mimi<\/strong>\u201d (May 8, 12, 14); Kinji Fukasaku\u2019s tale of the ultimate Hunger Games, \u201cBattle Royale<\/strong>\u201d (May 20-22); and Ian Bell\u2019s documentary about the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, \u201cWTO\/99<\/strong>\u201d (May 15, 16, 19, 21).<\/p>\n 4405 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle; 206-420-7328,\u00a0thebeacon.film<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n AniMAYtion brings a selection of animated films to the Central Cinema, with Satoshi Kon\u2019s drama \u201cMillennium Actress<\/strong>\u201d (May 8-9, 11-13) paired with the aliens-on-Earth drama \u201cDistrict 9<\/strong>\u201d (May 8-9, 11-12). A special Mother\u2019s Day double feature of \u201cMamma Mia<\/strong>\u201d and \u201cMermaids<\/strong>\u201d shows May 10 only, in case your mom is a fan of ABBA or Cher. AniMAYtion continues with the 2026 Oscar nominee \u201cArco<\/strong>,\u201d in which a girl shelters a boy who\u2019s time-traveled into the present (May 15-20) and Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda\u2019s animated adventure \u201cThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time<\/strong>\u201d (May 15-19). The great \u201cMoonstruck<\/a><\/strong>\u201d makes a one-night appearance May 20, in honor of Cher\u2019s 80th<\/sup> birthday, followed by Sam Raimi\u2019s \u201cArmy of Darkness<\/strong>\u201d (May 22-27) and Tatsuya Yoshihara\u2019s animated action film \u201cChainsaw Man \u2014 The Movie: Reze Arc<\/strong>\u201d (May 22-26).<\/p>\n 1411 21st<\/sup>\u00a0Ave., Seattle; 206-328-3230,\u00a0central-cinema.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n While working to secure a new location after its University District venue closed last year<\/a>, Grand Illusion continues to present pop-up screenings around town. The 1987 Hong Kong action thriller \u201cCity on Fire<\/strong>,\u201d starring Chow Yun-Fat, screens in a new restoration May 18 at Northwest Film Forum. Also in a new restoration: Stanley Kubrick\u2019s lavish 1975 epic \u201cBarry Lyndon<\/strong>,\u201d likely to look glorious on the massive SIFF Downtown screen May 19. And Grace Glowicki\u2019s campy tale of a lonely gravedigger, \u201cDead Lover<\/strong>,\u201d screens at Northwest Film Forum May 25 in \u2014 you have been warned \u2014 Stink-O-Vision.<\/p>\n Northwest Film Forum: 1515 12th<\/sup> Ave., Seattle; SIFF Cinema Downtown: 2100 Fourth Ave., Seattle. Information: grandillusioncinema.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n NWFF\u2019s offerings include a selection of films from Seattle-based experimental filmmaker and composer Jon Behrens<\/a> (1964-2022), screening May 9. Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami\u2019s \u201cClose-Up<\/strong>,\u201d a documentary\/feature hybrid based on a real event in which a young man impersonated a well-known filmmaker, screens May 13-14. C\u00e9line Sciamma\u2019s gorgeous, smoldering love story, \u201cPortrait of a Lady on Fire<\/strong>,\u201d screens May 19, and Ken Russell\u2019s 1980 head trip of a movie, \u201cAltered States<\/strong>,\u201d screens May 22-24 in a new restoration.<\/p>\n 1515 12th<\/sup> Ave., Seattle; nwfilmforum.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n SIFF\u2019s various screens will be taken up for much of the month by the 52nd<\/sup> annual Seattle International Film Festival, running May 7-17 at SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Film Center and SIFF Cinema Downtown. Steven Spielberg\u2019s \u201cE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial<\/strong>\u201d will turn up at SIFF Downtown as a community screening with special low prices ($7 adults, $5 children) on May 31, and Todd Haynes\u2019 1998 glam-rock drama \u201cVelvet Goldmine<\/strong>\u201d will screen at SIFF Uptown June 1 as a SIFF Movie Club event (screening followed by discussion at the nearby bar The Traveling Goat).<\/p>\n SIFF Cinema Uptown: 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle; SIFF Film Center: Seattle Center campus, Seattle; SIFF Cinema Downtown: 2100 Fourth Ave., Seattle; 206-464-5830,\u00a0siff.net<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nCentral Cinema<\/h2>\n
Grand Illusion<\/h2>\n
Northwest Film Forum<\/h2>\n
SIFF<\/h2>\n
Majestic Bay<\/h2>\n