The Seattle International Film Festival kicks off its annual avalanche of world-class cinema with tonight’s screening of Jimi: All Is by My Side. Directed by John Ridley—Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave—and starring Andre “3000” Benjamin, this not-a-biopic restricts its focus to the months a young Jimi Hendrix spent in London
before his explosion into stardom. Instead of a cinematic Wikipedia entry, we get up-close-and-personal scenes of a young artist struggling to find his
voice and navigating an ocean of influence. It’s all beautifully acted and shot, and, for a “rock movie,” exceptionally
complex. (McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St, siff.net, 7 pm, $50 for film and after-party)

David Schmader—former weed columnist and Stranger associate editor—is the author of the solo plays Straight and Letter to Axl, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the US. His latest...