As the 52nd Seattle International Film Festival draws to a close, Nathan Weinbender returns with some of his highlights from a week in the dark.

The Seattle International Film Festival is running now through May 17, playing dozens of features from around the world. Nathan Weinbender highlights some standouts he’s seen so far.

“I Swear” is a look at the life and struggles of a man with Tourette’s Syndrome and the ignorance surrounding it, Dan Webster says.

A hangout comedy set in 2011 Montreal, Chandler Levack’s Mile End Kicks follows a burgeoning music writer in a community of wannabe rock stars and artists. Nathan Weinbender says it uncannily captures its time and place, like a millennial version of Almost Famous.

“All That’s Left of You” is a powerful tale of three generations of a Palestinian family, Dan Webster says.

“Fantasy Life” is a flawed study of emotionally stunted characters in search of their respective life purposes, Dan Webster says.

The Christophers is the latest from prolific director Steven Soderbergh, a dialogue-heavy comedy about an art fraud and her unlikely mentor. Nathan Weinbender says it’s an entertaining two-hander between Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel.

Aptly titled “The Drama” is a study of two troubled souls coming apart just when they should be bonding in marriage, Dan Webster says.

The Oscar-nominated “Sirāt” takes viewers on a heartbreakingly surreal road trip through Morocco’s desert, Dan Webster says.

The Oscar-nominated French-Spanish thriller Sirāt is now available on digital rental platforms. Nathan Weinbender says it’s unflinching and brutal, but also a bit empty beyond its blunt-force style.