Four noted filmmakers will be coming to town with their latest gem as well as an early film. Filmmakers in this series include Dorota Kedzierzawska (Devils Devils, Nothing), François Ozon (See the Sea, Sitcom), Michael Winterbottom (Welcome to Sarajevo, I Want You), and Tom Tykwer (Deadly Maria, Run Lola Run).

FILMS 4 FAMILIES

Every Saturday during the festival there will be a matinee especially for kids at the Pacific Place Theater. Movies include Tom's Midnight Garden, Star Sisters, Grandma and Her Ghosts (this one has a hilarious trailer), and The Basket. Tickets are $4, shows are at 12:30 pm.

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Friday nights are devoted to the adrenaline rush of action films; Saturdays to the erotic rush of sex and sex and more sex.

DRIVE-IN PARTY

B-movies and new camp "classics" will screen at the Valley Drive-In in beautiful Auburn, beginning at dusk on Friday, May 30. Call their information line at 253-854-1250.

AN EVENING WITH JOHN SAYLES

Seattle favorite John Sayles will bring his incisive, easygoing wit to the Egyptian on Thursday, May 27, before a screening of his new film Limbo.

WIGGLYWORLD BENEfiT

The May 15 screening of Seattle-made Money Buys Happiness will be a benefit for WigglyWorld's "Start-to-Finish" program, which takes one movie a year from conception to completion.

ARCHIVAL SHOWINGS & FLASHBACK SCREENINGS

Film festivals aren't just about new films, and this year SIFF will show 1959's Porgy and Bess, 1960's Le Trou, 1949's Some Like It Hot, 1949's The Third Man, and a special screening of 1925's Battleship Potempkin with a live performance of the Shostakovich score by the Bellevue Philharmonic. There will also be a dozen or so hits from previous festivals thrown into the mix.

FILMMAKERS FORUM

Three days full of seminars devoted to the business of filmmaking: the behind-the-scenes of writing, casting, producing, directing, and all that nasty stuff. The final day includes the results of the widely acclaimed "Fly Filmmaking" program, which challenges three directors to shoot a short film with a limited amount of film and resources.

POSTER AUCTION

All money earned at the Poster Auction will benefit Cinema Seattle, the people who run the film festival. This year the auction will take place on-line via Amazon.com. Take a look.