Film, St. Louis Events
27th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival Special Events and Schedule

This Thursday, November 1, kicks off the 27th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival.
Better known as SLIFF, the festival showcases hundreds of filmmakers and their work, including international films, documentaries, American indies, and short films that can’t be seen anywhere else. You can also see some of the most talked about films before anyone else in the region.
Below are some of the special events at SLIFF this year. For a full schedule, visit CinemaStLouis.org.
Special Events
Opening-Night Reception with Destroyer
Thursday, Nov. 1 at 6:30pm
SLIFF’s opening night features “Destroyer,” directed by native St. Louisan Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight,” “The Invitation”), who receives SLIFF’s Charles Guggenheim… Read more
Double Bill: Searching for Ingmar Bergman and Persona
Friday, Nov. 2 at 7:00pm
Internationally renowned director Margarethe von Trotta (“The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum,” “Hannah Arendt”) takes a close look at Ingmar Bergman’s life and work… Read more
*SOLD OUT* Tribute to John Goodman with The Big Lebowski
Friday, Nov. 2 at 7:30pm
SLIFF honors native St. Louisan John Goodman with a Lifetime Achievement Award at a tribute program that will include a clip reel of the actor’s career highlights… Read more
An Illustrated History of St. Louis Drive-In Movie Theaters
Saturday, Nov. 3 at 6:00pm
During the heyday of drive-in movies — from the 1950s through the ’70s — St. Louisans flocked to outdoor theaters such as the 66 Park-in, the Airway Twin, and the… Read more
Presley Barker Performance with Fiddlin’
Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7:30pm
If you’re a fan of Appalachia’s “good old-timey music” featured in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?,” “Fiddlin’” will exert a strong appeal. Largely focused on the 2015… Read more
Double Bill: Hal and Shampoo
Sunday, Nov. 4 at 6:00pm
Although Hal Ashby directed a remarkable string of acclaimed, widely admired classics throughout the 1970s — “Harold and Maude,” “The Last Detail,” “Shampoo,” “… Read more
Abbey Waterworth Performance with The Center of Nowhere
Sunday, Nov. 4 at 6:30pm
This evening of film and music celebrates the sounds — and sundry other attractions — of Springfield, Mo. Dave Hoekstra’s documentary “The Center of Nowhere” is not… Read more
Branwell Brontë’s Role-Playing Game with The Drunkard’s Lament
Tuesday, Nov. 6 at 7:30pm
Experimental filmmaker Jim Finn — a native St. Louisan who receives the Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award — returns to SLIFF (which screened his “… Read more
Tribute to Joe Edwards
Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6:00pm
SLIFF celebrates Joe Edwards, an iconic fixture of St. Louis, for his achievements in connecting cultures and communities since 1972, including the restoration of… Read more
The Blues Doctors Performance with Satan & Adam
Friday, Nov. 9 at 7:30pm
“Satan & Adam” is a celebration of the transformative power of music and the bonds that develop when worlds collide and artists collaborate. One day in 1986,… Read more
IDA Conversation Series: AJ Schnack
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 3:30pm
With the International Documentary Association, SLIFF co-presents an entry in the IDA’s signature Conversation Series, which hosts discussions with prominent… Read more
Double Bill: I, Douglas Fairbanks and The Half Breed
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7:00pm
During the peak of the silent era, the dashing Douglas Fairbanks was the first “King of Hollywood,” ruling the box office in a series of epic adventures —… Read more
The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra with The Half Breed
Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7:00pm
St. Louis’ Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra returns to SLIFF with an original score and live accompaniment for “The Half Breed,” a newly restored silent… Read more
NFF Coffee
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 12:00pm
As part of the New Filmmakers Forum (NFF), SLIFF holds a conversation with the five participating directors: Phil Blattenberger (“Point Man”), Catherine Dudley-Rose… Read more
Adam Maness Trio Performance with Blue Note Records
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 6:00pm
SLIFF offers a film-and-music combo with a screening of “Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes” and a jazz performance by St. Louis’ Adam Maness Trio. The documentary… Read more
Rawstock
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 6:00pm
This celebration of the educational films of yesteryear — a co-presentation with Washington University Libraries’ Film & Media Archive — makes a return… Read more
Closing-Night Awards Presentation and Party
Sunday, Nov. 11 at 8:00pm
The festival concludes with a free closing-night party at the Urban Chestnut Grove Brewery and Bierhall. The fest’s prize-winning films are announced, and… Read more