SpIFF 2015: Of war and culture clash

We're halfway through the 2015 Spokane International Film Festival, which has been an unusual experience for some of us long-time fest attendees. Before this year, I can remember only once or twice that I wasn't able to score a seat. But thanks to some valuable sponsorships — particularly to STCU — tickets are a fairly hot item.

So I'm glad that the festival is doing well. But I haven't been able to see all the movies. Bummer. Ah, well. I' get over it. Two more films grace the Magic Lantern's screens tonight. They are:

"Come to My Voice" (1:45, 100-seat theater): This Turkish-French-German production follows a Kurdish woman and her granddaughter as they try to free the man in their lives (one's son, the other's father) who, along with other village men, has been imprisoned by an ambitious army officer. The film will be introduced by Mary Pat Treuthart, a professor of law at Gonzaga Law School and co-host of "Movies 101." In English and Kurdish with subtitles.

"Walking Under Water" (1:16, 33-seat theater): For generations, the Badjao — Malaysian villagers who live near Borneo — have lived off the sea. Documentary filmmaker Eliza Kubarska studies the differences between the lives of two villagers, uncle and nephew, and the modern world that is encroaching on them. Hosted by Sayer Broughton, a SpIFF programmer. In English and Polish with subtitles.

For SpIFF ticket information, click here.