Get a discount for poetry-themed SIFF films this week!

This week, the Seattle International Film Festival is showing two poetry-centric films that you should know about. And if you buy in advance online using the code POETRY18, you'll get three dollars off your ticket! Here's more about the movies:

Wild Nights With Emily

Actors Amy Seimetz and Kevin Seal scheduled to attend

Wild Nights — Wild Nights! / Were I with thee / Wild Nights should be / Our luxury!

If you read this poem by Emily Dickinson (Molly Shannon) according to the conventional view of her—celibate, prim, reclusive—rather than as an overt expression of physical passion drawn from first-hand experience, you'll change your mind after seeing Madeleine Olnek's puckish yet poignant biopic, which convincingly posits Dickinson's sister-in-law Susan (Susan Ziegler) as waaay more than a friend and muse.

Thursday, June 7 · 7:00pm · Egyptian

Saturday, June 9 · 4:00pm· Egyptian

My Name is Myeisha

Actor Rhaechyl Walker scheduled to attend

Based on the internationally renowned play "Dreamscape" by Rickerby Hinds—itself a fictionalized retelling of the police shooting of Tyisha Miller—My Name is Myeisha uses hip-hop, spoken word poetry, and dance to dig into the life of a single African-American teenager "born and raised in the IE;" as the medical examiner beatboxes his way through describing each of the 12 bullets that entered her body, Myeisha launches into soliloquies about black hair culture, her high school sports career, and when she lost her virginity.

Friday, June 8 · 9:30pm · SIFF Cinema Uptown

Saturday, June 9 · 1:45pm · Pacific Place

Molly Shannon is one of the greatest comedic actors of our time, and casting her as Emily Dickinson is absolute genius. And here's a short promo film for My Name is Myeisha that screened at Sundance:

It's been kind of a rotten season for blockbusters, so treat yourself to an actually good movie this weekend!