SIFF Cinema (Seattle)

The producers of the Seattle International Film Festival plan to make year-round use of this lecture hall-turned-state-of-the-art screening room, located inside McCaw Hall. It's the main screening room for its namesake event, and it's reasonable to expect that many of the festivals and programs under the SIFF umbrella -- most notably the One Reel Film Festival and the Science Fiction Short Film Festival -- will also find a home here. The plan is to keep the screen busy throughout the entire year, and so far it's doing the job.

The room is equal to the task. While this 400-seat auditorium isn't quite the equal of most modern movie theaters -- its 400 chairs do not recline, nor are they particularly comfortable -- the Dolby Digital sound is exemplary, and its brand-new film and digital projectors are expertly handled. You're never likely to see a blurred, dusty or underlit film here. A concession stand and a pair of nice, clean bathrooms adjoin the spacious lobby.

Parking may prove difficult. Seattle Center's Mercer Street garage is usually open, but if you'd like to skip the $5-to-$15 parking fee, you may end up circling lower Queen Anne for a while. By Geoff Carter
NWsource staff

City/neighborhood: Queen Anne/Seattle Center

Related info: "Movie-crazy" Seattle gets another art-house cinema