Seattle Film Critics Society

“I Saw the TV Glow” wins SFCS’s inaugural SIFF 2024 Award

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The Seattle Film Critics Society polled members for their favorite new release feature films that played the 50th Seattle International Film Festival.  Thirty-seven different films appeared on member ballots as favorites, but there was widespread consensus at the top of the list. We are thrilled to present the inaugural SIFF 2024 Seattle Film Critics Society Award to … 

WINNER

I Saw the TV Glow (2024 | USA | 100 minutes | Jane Schoenbrun)

sfcs siff award winner i saw the tv glow

HONORABLE MENTIONS

scfs siff honorable mention films red rooms thelma evil does not exist bob trevino likes it scala
  1. Red Rooms (2023 | Canada (Québec) | 118 minutes | Pascal Plante)
  2. Thelma (2024 | USA | 97 minutes | Josh Margolin)
  3. Evil Does Not Exist (2023 | Japan | 105 minutes | Ryûsuke Hamaguchi) 
  4. tie:
    Bob Trevino Likes It (2024 | USA | 105 minutes | Tracie Laymon)
    Scala!!! (2023 | United Kingdom | 96 minutes | Jane Giles, Ali Catterall)

Our favorite films spanned both the globe (USA, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom) as well as SIFF’s programming (New American Cinema, WTF, Asian Crossroads, and the Official Competition).

SFCS President Kathy Fennessy remarked “Seattle Film Critics Society is honored to present our first inaugural award as part of the 50th Seattle International Film Festival. These films represent those that made the greatest impact on our membership, Jane Schoenbrun’s formally innovative second feature, I Saw the TV Glow, above all. We are grateful to SIFF for the opportunity, and to these seven filmmakers for the passion and dedication they poured into their work.”

What SFCS Members wrote about our favorite SIFF films

I Saw the TV Glow

  • “Schoenbrun looks deep into the abyss of the human condition and refuses to flinch, and that in itself is no small thing. Yet their picture is also a decidedly piercing glimpse into the Transgender experience, specifically that period when one awakens to the possibility that something in their life is off in ways others either cannot see, do not want to process, or flatly refuse to understand. This aspect affected me deeply.” – Sara Michelle Fetters, Seattle Gay News
  • “While Schoenbrun’s film embraces its many influences, it is a distinct work that lingers in the very soul. It’s not just one of the most original American films of recent memory, but the best of the year.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Seattle Times
  • “Into each generation a new Donnie Darko is born. With Lynchian threads as applied to post-millennial trans awakenings, grounded in a deep love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and coming with its own slew of possible interpretations, Jane Schoenbrun’s eerie, visually entrancing, and sonically inventive cautionary love note to the nineties just might be it for the Zoomies.” – Josh Bis, The SunBreak
  • “For nothing less than its mirror into human connection and desire, an increasingly vivid one, I Saw the TV Glow will stand as one of the year’s best.” – Joe Hammerschmidt, Warm 106.9
  • “With just a little thought, investment, and excavation, this handsomely-mounted ethereal slowburn will be sure to worm its way deep under your skin and suck you into the screen.”  – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot

Red Rooms

  • “Free from violence or gore, Red Rooms is bolstered by a visual approach that suggests non-stop surveillance, and offers, most memorably, a deeply twisted protagonist.” – Kathy Fennessy, Seattle Film Blog

Thelma

  • “Josh Margolin’s debut feature is nothing short of an electrifying genre-bender.” – Joe Hammerschmidt, Warm 106.9
  • “Thelma is a charming crowd pleaser full of laughs that manages to poke fun at all generations, while admirably being sensitive enough to not punch down when it might be easy to do so.” – Linda Gwilym, Movie Pie

Evil Does Not Exist

  • “This can be a challenging film to engage with at first, but the deeper into the story Hamaguchi takes us, the more unnerving, upsetting and impactful his storytelling becomes.” – Mike Ward, Should I See It
  • “It’s an impressive film of quiet observation that twists its threads together into a surprising, dreamlike, and experimental third act in which the pristine mountain town casts its spell” – Josh Bis, The SunBreak

Bob Trevino Likes It 

  • “Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo broke my heart over and over again.” – Matt Oakes, Silver Screen Riot

Scala!!!

  • “It’s unlikely I’ll see a better documentary this year than Scala!!! (love those three exclamation points), an artful, no-holds-barred look at the celebrated London movie palace.” – Kathy Fennessy, Seattle Film Blog
  • “this is a raucous love letter to the film and the strange places where we witness them and will make you want to watch a shit ton of movies.” – Brent McKnight, The Last Thing I See

SIFF Coverage from SFCS Members:

About SFCS: 

With a voting membership of 34 area critics, the Seattle Film Critics Society is dedicated to supporting local productions and festivals, enhancing public education, awareness, and appreciation of cinema, and strengthening the bonds of critical dialogue as it pertains to the cinematic arts. We seek to highlight the best films produced each year–both by the major studios and independent filmmakers–and share our love of cinema with Seattle-area residents.

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