Festivals & Series

June 22–July 5

Castles in the Sky: Miyazaki, Takahata and The Masters of Studio Ghibli

A 15-film retrospective of animation produced by Tokyo's Studio Ghibli, creators of Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle, presented here in new 35 mm prints. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

July 2–Aug 27

Command Performances in HD

Every Monday night, the Film Center presents top-tier operas and ballets from around the world, all captured live onstage and broadcast in HD. Among the highlights: the Bolshoi Ballet's Le Corsaire (July 9), the Teatro Antico Taormina's Norma (Aug 13), and the Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty (Aug 20). SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net

July 7–Aug 26

Films4Families Summer Musicals

Weekend daytime screenings of song-and-dance cinema fit for the whole family. Among the highlights: Mary Poppins (July 14-15), Newsies (Aug 4-5), and Mad Hot Ballroom (Aug 18-19). SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

July 26–29

Into the Vaults: Celebrating the Library of Congress 

Four days of classic Hollywood cinema in pristine archival 35 mm prints. The Uptown hosts the Buster Keaton double feature (featuring live accompaniment by Donald Sosin), while the Film Center hosts everything else, from timeless adventure flicks (1939's Only Angels Have Wings) to screwball comedies (1936's My Man Godfrey). SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net

Aug 2–31

Hot Summer Nights

A month-long parade of films for hot, or at least temperate, summer nights, from adolescent classics (Dirty Dancing! Meatballs!) to classic classics (Rear Window! Gone with the Wind!) to films that just scream summer (Do the Right Thing!). Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave, 328-3230, www.central-cinema.com

Events

June 15–17

Possession

The unreleased-in-the-US French cult horror film of 1981, starring Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill, and hailed as a violent, brainy, surreal masterwork. Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935, www.grandillusioncinema.org

June 18–25

Bill Murray Mondays

Ballard eatery/drinkery King's Hardware showcases the cinematic legacy of America's most pathos-ridden clown. June 18: Kingpin and Rushmore. June 25: The Royal Tenenbaums and Lost in Translation. (Movies are free, and there's booze and food available throughout.) King's Hardware, 5225 Ballard Ave NW, 782-0027, www.kingsballard.com

Jun 22–Jun 28

Lost Bohemia

Josef Birdman Astor documents the decades of influential doings in the residential artist apartments above Carnegie Hall, protesting their 21st-century closure by celebrating their quirky glories. (If you saw Bill Cunningham New York, this is that place.) Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863, www.nwfilmforum.org

June 22–24

Peter Greenaway's Nightwatching and Rembrandt's J'Accuse

These two Peter Greenaway films are obsessed with Rembrandt. Nightwatching is a witty cinematic biography of the artist; Rembrandt's J'Accuse is a studious documentary that takes a forensic look at Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch. SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net

July 3–10

100% Off: A Recession-Era Romance

Seattle director and 2012 Stranger Genius Award nominee Shaun Scott presents the Seattle premiere of his "recession-era romance," in which four college students attempt to figure out their lives amid a collapsing economy. Grand Illusion, 1403 NE 50th St, 523-3935, www.grandillusioncinema.org

July 5

Search & Rescue

Visiting archivist Gem Seddon presents a night of delights drawn from the Film Forum's collection of "educational, instructional, and downright catastrophic 16 mm reels." Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 829-7863, www.nwfilmforum.org

July 5–Aug 9

Queen of Screwball: The Films of Jean Arthur

A six-week retrospective of the great Jean Arthur, whose chirpy brilliance lit up some of the greatest screwball comedies of all time. Highlights include 1935's The Whole Town's Talking (July 5), 1938's You Can't Take It With You (July 19), and 1948's A Foreign Affair (Aug 9). Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, www.seattleartmuseum.org

July 14

Owen Egerton's Best of God

A feature-length montage, compiled by author and comedian Owen Egerton, of the most absurd God moments in pop-culture history, from kosher rappers to tongues-speaking televangelists to deeply creepy children's programming. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net, 6:30 pm

July 19

Master Pancake Theatre vs. Twilight

The impressively hilarious comedy squad from Austin returns for a live skewering of the endlessly deserving teen-vampire flick. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

Openings

June 15

Your Sister's Sister

Lynn Shelton's latest is a scrappy rom-com that explores grieving, sexuality, and sisterhood. Egyptian Theatre, 805 E Pine St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com)

Keyhole

Guy Maddin returns with this trippy mixture of noir, ghost story, and The Odyssey. SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net, 6:30 pm

June 22

Here

A drama chronicling the brief, intense relationship between an American engineer and an expatriate artist in Armenia. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net, 6:30 pm

Grassroots

The real-life tale of Grant Cogswell's run for Seattle City Council, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. Harvard Exit Theatre, 807 E Roy St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Where Do We Go Now?

A seriocomic fable about a village in which a Christian church and a Muslim mosque stand side-by-side. Seven Gables Theatre, 911 NE 50th St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

I Wish

In Hirokazu Kore-eda's dramatic comedy, two young brothers separated by divorce are convinced all will be well if they make a wish on a new train line in between their two homes. Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

June 29

Polisse

Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, this gritty French drama follows a photographer assigned to cover the Child Protection Unit in Paris. (Think Law & Order: SVU meets French vérité.) Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

July 6

A Cat in Paris

An Oscar-nominated, hand-drawn animated feature set in the shadowy alleyways of Paris. Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

To Rome, with Love

Woody Allen's latest stars Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, and Penelope Cruz. Guild 45th Theatre, 2115 N 45th, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

July 13

Pink Ribbons, Inc.

A well-timed exposé on the corporate-sponsored breast cancer movement. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net, 6:30 pm

Beasts of the Southern Wild

A Cannes-honored blast of magical realism about a girl in a southern Delta community who searches for her missing mother. Egyptian Theatre, 805 E Pine St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Take This Waltz

The second, reportedly great film from Sarah Polley, tracking a year in the relationship of a married couple (Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen). Harvard Exit Theatre, 807 E Roy St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

July 20

Dark Knight Rises

You will go, you will have fun. Don't get fatally trampled. Do take some medicine for your glaucoma. Get a shake at Dick's afterward. Wide release

Trishna

Michael Winter-bottom's brutal reworking of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, starring Freida Pinto. Harvard Exit Theatre, 807 E Roy St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Portrait of Wally

A documentary about the fight for the return of an Egon Schiele painting seized from a Jewish family by Nazis. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

July 27

Sacrifice

Farewell My Concubine director Chen Kaige's reinterpretation of the Chinese opera Orphan of Zhao, retold in the classic wuxia style. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

Easy Money

The Swedish thriller about a young man who becomes a runner for a coke dealer (soon to be remade starring Zac Efron, for real). Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Aug 3

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

The celebrated documentary about China's most famous international artist and the decade he's devoted to opposing the Chinese government. Harvard Exit Theatre, 807 E Roy St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Dark Horse

The latest from indie squirmmeister Todd Solondz, this one's about a toy-collecting man-child's attempts to leave his fantasy-drenched past behind. Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Aug 10

Union Square

Writer/director Nancy Savoca—who gave us the great Dogfight—returns with a slice-of-life comedy about two Bronx-born sisters trying to reconnect after years of estrangement. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

The Imposter

A hit at SIFF, this fascinating documentary tells the real-life story of the dark-haired, dark-eyed French Algerian man who managed to pass himself off as a missing blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from Texas. SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net

The Queen of Versailles

A documentary about a billionaire couple who were halfway to building a full-scale replica of Versailles in the US when the recession hit, leading the couple to financial ruin and inspiring them to invite a camera crew to record the minutiae of their schadenfreude-rich fall. Seven Gables Theatre, 911 NE 50th St, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Unforgivable

A French thriller about a crime writer who hires a detective to investigate his wife. Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com

Aug 24

The Green Wave

This documentary-with-animated-bits aims to expose the "outrage, sadness, and fear" around the 2009 Iranian elections. SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N, www.siff.net

Milos Forman: What Doesn't Kill You...

Legendary Czech filmmaker Milos Forman gives viewers an intimate tour of his filmography while exploring the history that has influenced his work. SIFF Cinema at the Film Center, Seattle Center Northwest Rooms, www.siff.net

Compliance

This ripped-from-the-headlines shocker re-creates the case of a prank call to a fast-food restaurant that led to humiliation and sexual violence. Varsity Theatre, 4329 University Way NE, 781-5755, www.landmarktheatres.com