After world premiering one film from United Artists last year (Ghost World), the Seattle International Film Festival will this year open with another, the world premiere of UA's tragicomedy Igby Goes Down directed by Burr Steers and starring Kieran Culkin, Bill Pullman, Susan Sarandon, Ryan Phillipe, Jeff Goldblum, Amanda Peet and Claire Danes.

The film will open the 25-day festival on May 23; closing the event will be the world premiere of Dan Ireland's Passionada, the story of three generations of Portugese women in a small fishing community in Massachussetts. Sofia Milos, Emmy Rossum and Jason Isaacs star in the romantic comedy which marks a return to Seatte for Ireland who co-founded the festival.

Seattle will present 250 films from 50 countries this year including 22 world premieres and 43 US premieres. Among the other world premieres are Henry Bromell's Last Call, a Showtime movie about F Scott Fitzgerald starring Jeremy Irons, Neve Campbell and Sissy Spacek, and John Sayles' new film Sunshine State with Angela Bassett and Edie Falco.

Among the US premieres at the festival are Colin Nutley's Gossip, Michael Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People, Alan Taylor's The Emperor's New Clothes, Paul Gross' Men With Brooms, Penek Ratanaruang's Mon-rak Transistor, Sandra Nettelbeck's Mostly Martha, Park Chan-wook's Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Krzystof Zanussi's The Supplement.