25th Hour in 35mm

Spike Lee · 2002
135min · 35mm
  • Friday, Sep 11, 2026, 7:00pm
  • Saturday, Sep 12, 2026, 4:45pm
  • Sunday, Sep 13, 2026, 2:00pm

Screening location: SIFF Film Center – 167 Republican St, Seattle (located within the Seattle Center, just north of Climate Pledge Arena / east of KEXP and The Vera Project)

Adapting David Benioff’s novel (with Benioff himself writing the screenplay), Spike Lee directed the first major motion picture to acknowledge the September 11th attacks. The filmmaker captures the somber atmosphere of life near ground zero while telling a gripping story set over the course of a tense day in which a convicted drug dealer (Edward Norton) tries to make peace with himself, his friends, and loved ones before going behind bars.

Featuring outstanding cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto, a riveting lead performance by Norton, and brilliant supporting performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox, 25TH HOUR is a thrillingly made psychological diagnosis of both a man and a city.

Named the 3rd best movie of the 21st century by The Big Picture podcast.

“A superb film.” Michael Wilmington, Chicago Reader

“A melancholy tone poem, deeply affecting in its mute apprehension of loss.” David Edelstein, Slate