You can debate whether this is in fact the 40th edition of the Seattle International Film Festival, since its inaugural was at the Moore in May 1976 (38 years ago), when Jimmy Carter was president, Wes Uhlman was mayor, and The Weekly (as we were then called) was all of two months old. SIFF skipped forward past the enumeration of the 1988 fest, which would’ve been its unlucky 13th, and it gets an extra candle for its ’76 birth, when 18 films were screened over two weeks. By comparison, playing at nine venues, this year’s fest runs 25 days (May 15–June 8), with 258 features and docs on its elephantine schedule. How to make sense of it all? Our critics list their 21 wanna-sees and curiosities. Then we meet the local filmmakers behind four standout titles, many of them music-related, and talk with the UW grad who recently scored a success at Sundance. See siff.net for full schedule and details; and we’ll bring you ongoing coverage of SIFF during the next three weeks. BRIAN MILLER