The 45th annual Seattle International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the United States, with more than 400 films (spread over 25 days) watched by around 140,000 people at nine theaters across the city. It's impressively grand and one of the most exciting and widely attended arts events Seattle has to offer. Opening night will feature local filmmaker Lynn Shelton's Sword of Trust, with Shelton and star Marc Maron as guests. A few selections from this year's crop have been announced, and they look unmissable: new films by Olivier Assayas (known for Personal Shopper and more), Peter Strickland (known for The Duke of Burgundy), Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), Denys Arcand (The Decline of the American Empire), Jafar Panahi (This Is Not a Film) and Werner Herzog (The Cave of Forgotten Dreams), plus intriguing works by less familiar names. The closing night film will be the Awkwafina-starring The Farewell, a drama by Lulu Wang.