The SIFF that SIFF’s named after—the Festival, in other words—is back in the flesh, May 15-25, and for those who prefer to watch at home, select encores from May 26-June 21. Megan Garbayo-López, who appears to be everywhere and everyone at SIFF (not only the Festival), kindly took some email questions.
Seattle Star: Are you from Seattle? If not, where did you grow up and when did you arrive in Seattle?
Megan Garbayo-López: I am not from Seattle, but I have been here for about ten years. I was born in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Southern California and Portland, Oregon. My dad is an immigrant from Cuba so we moved our family of six wherever the opportunities were.
From there I went to Emerson College in Boston, studied at the BBC in London, moved to Brooklyn after graduation, and then found myself back in Portland, Oregon before ultimately journeying north to Seattle.
Seattle Star: What are your earliest memories of home and family?
Megan Garbayo-López: One of my earliest memories is of my abuela comforting me in our condo in Ramona, California, because my father had shaved off his Fidel Castro beard. I’m still traumatized to see him clean shaven!
Seattle Star: What movies, growing up, made you love movies? Did you watch them on TV, video, in theaters, or some of all that?
Megan Garbayo-López: I was a very hyperactive kid and one of the few activities that could hold my attention was watching movies. We had a modest VHS collection that I wore out–Fantasia, The Empire Strikes Back, Pinocchio, and The Land Before Time, were my perennial favorites.
My mom was also very dedicated to driving us about an hour to the nearest first-run cinema to see the new Disney Animated Classic every year. She would pop us popcorn at home and we would sneak sandwiches in our pockets. These are some of my happiest memories from childhood.
Seattle Star: What neighborhoods in Seattle have you called home? How do they compare/contrast with each other, movie-wise and otherwise?
Megan Garbayo-López: When I first moved to the area, we lived in Greenwood, which was a perfect distance from the Grand Illusion Cinema as well as the Oak Tree. I currently live in Federal Way but I still come to see movies in Seattle weekly.
Seattle Star: What are your earliest experiences of SIFF–what year, what venues, and which movies?
Megan Garbayo-López: My first role with SIFF was actually as a producer and host of the podcast, SIFFcast. Our first interview was with Penelope Spheeris, director of Wayne’s World and Suburbia and one of my cinematic heroines. She was touring with the restoration of The Decline Of Western Civilization series and she totally changed the trajectory of my life.
I was kind of in a weird place in my career, having worked on film and television sets for about a decade with no real stability. I was feeling like I needed to grow up and get a “real job” but Penelope made it clear that one could actually just stay punk their entire life. From there I worked some festival marketing jobs until I found myself in the role I am in today, Education Manager.
Seattle Star: What led you to become a SIFF programmer? What have your responsibilities for the Festival and for SIFF generally?
Megan Garbayo-López: In 2021, I was hired to be the Education Manager at SIFF, where my responsibilities include running youth filmmaking camps, programming adult education opportunities like “Film Talks” and “Cinema Dissections,” and managing festival educational programming. I am in charge of shorts and features in two categories: Films4Families, and FutureWave. I am also a member of our Documentary committee.
In addition to my film programming, I run our Filmmakers in Schools program and coordinate the SIFF end of the 4th World Media Lab. Filmmakers in Schools brings SIFF filmmakers and films into classrooms and community organizations across the Seattle metro area.
Oftentimes we have the filmmakers bring a trailer or a few scenes, and do a Q&A with students about their work in the industry. These filmmakers bring real-world application into the classroom, expanding learning outside the traditional school experience and providing role models for students of all ages and backgrounds.
The 4th World Media Lab is a year-long fellowship for emerging and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers, providing opportunities to develop filmmaking skills and networks through festival participation, hands-on training, masterclasses, workshopping projects in development, pitch activities, and meetings with funders and other industry decision-makers. This collaboration with Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and Camden International Film Festival is in its tenth year and I could not be more proud to be a (small) part of the magic.
All this to say, my festivals are very busy!
Seattle Star: SIFF programmers apparently watched 6,000 films to prepare for this new Festival. How many of the 6,000 do you think you saw?
Megan Garbayo-López: Including shorts and features, I watched about 200 films this year.
Seattle Star: What are your top five faves from this festival and why?
Megan Garbayo-López: Drowned Land: Choctaw director and 4th World Media Lab Alum Colleen Thurston’s directorial debut deftly weaves a narrative about the Kiamichi River to reckon with the past, present, and future of life in southeastern Oklahoma, from the Trail of Tears to today.
Into the Wonderwoods: More than just kids fare, this love letter to the history of animation has something for viewers of all ages to enjoy. Recommended ages 7+ for scary moments and one swear word.
The Family Picture Show: This family-friendly shorts block features the latest from the studio that brought you The Secret of Kells, a stop motion musical featuring a drag queen fox voiced by Sir Ian McKellen, and more fun to be had by kids of all ages.
Summer’s Camera: I was immediately charmed by this queer teen coming-of-age romance from South Korea and ultimately moved by the tenderness of the filmmaking from writer/director Divine Sung. Come for the queer romance, stay for the gorgeous cinematography.
Billy: The archival footage in this documentary feature from Québécoise filmmaker Lawrence Côté-Collins will haunt you in this fearless profile of a young man struggling to make sense of his schizophrenia diagnosis after committing murder. Her close relationship to the subject prior to his crimes makes the film all the more poignant.
Seattle Star: What are your all-time top five movies, and why?
Megan Garbayo-López: Every programmer hates this question! It’s so hard to choose favorites so I will instead give my all-time most impactful-on-my-life movies:
Nope: My favorite film about film. Every rewatch peels back a new layer of meaning.
Beau Is Afraid: It says a lot about me that this is my comfort film. It’s deeply hilarious and fucked up.
Videodrome: I saw this when I was like 15 and it made me a body horror aficionado for life. Long live the new flesh!
Drugstore Cowboy: Every good Portland kid has a Gus Van Sant film that touches their soul. Mine is Drugstore Cowboy. To this day I never leave a hat on the bed.
Bend it Like Beckham: This film simultaneously made me queer and aware that women could make movies. Director Gurinder Chadha is an icon.
Seattle Star: SIFF’s had some tough knocks lately–from the Egyptian out of commission indefinitely, to the technical difficulties at Noir City. How is SIFF poised to work through all this, and how does the Festival fit into that?
Megan Garbayo-López: I genuinely believe that I work with some of the best folks this industry has to offer. From our floor staff to our projection team, we are all so passionate about delivering the highest standards of exhibition quality. With so many moving parts, sometimes there’s always the possibility things can go wrong, but we always persevere and find a solution.
Seattle Star: What do you hope people ultimately get out of SIFF this year? How does programming respond to the desperate and divided times?
Megan Garbayo-López: This year at SIFF, we have films from 74 countries in 63 different languages. The world feels so divided and SIFF has doubled down on what unites us—the power of storytelling. I hope our audiences walk away with a renewed sense of our interconnectedness.
We are proud to have curated a program with 51% women and nonbinary filmmakers, 37% BIPOC filmmakers, and 20% LGBTQIIA+ filmmakers. We will continue to platform the voices most at risk of being silenced and relish in the opportunity to create a physical community space to gather and celebrate our beautiful differences.
The 51st Seattle International Film Festival takes place 15-25 May at various locations. Individual tickets $15-20, with various passes available. Check the SIFF website for information and prices.
