By Devin D. O'Leary
The 11th annual Santa Fe Independent Film Festival kicked off this past Wednesday, Oct. 16. The highly respected fest continues through Sunday, Oct. 20 at venues throughout Santa Fe. In addition to all the films, there are educational panels, workshops, filmmaker Q&As and nightly networking events. You can check out Hollywood classics (Some Like It Hot, The 400 Blows, The Wizard of Oz), several short film programs (including the Institute of American Indian Arts Student Shorts) and loads of features. Among the great documentaries at this year’s SFIFF are We Up: Indigenous Hip-Hop of the Circumpolar North (Oct. 18, 3pm at Jean Cocteau Cinema), which traces the rising stars of Arctic indigenous hip-hop, and Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man (Oct. 19, 3pm at The Screen), a look into the life of an eccentric entrepreneur in Singapore who wants to solve the world’s sanitation problem. Features include the French psychodrama Sibyl (Oct. 17, 4:50pm at CCA), the Croatian romance Aleksi (Oct. 18, 9:30am at CCA) and the apocalyptic Native American zombie flick Blood Quantum (Oct. 20, 7:30pm at CCA). Of course that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens more films to pick through. Many of the filmmakers will be on hand to introduce their works. Among this year’s special honorees are Jane Seymour (there will be a tribute to her career featuring the 1980 romance (Somewhere In Time Oct. 18, 7pm at the Lensic) and Tantoo Cardinal (her 2018 drama Falls Around Her plays Oct. 19, 7pm at the Lensic). For a complete list of films and events, go to santafeindependentfilmfestival.com. Full festival passes are $325. Individual tickets are $14.