Calendar
Le Pont Du Nord
New 35mm Print!
May 17 - May 23
Jacques Rivette's classic, absent from our 2007 retrospective and presented here in a new print, features Bulle Ogier and her daughter Pascale as two marginal characters who find themselves dead center of a political adventure. Over four days they are trapped in a Parisian labyrinth, a kind of French board game, but dangerous when played for real. On the film's world premiere at the 1981 New York Film Festival, Jonathan Rosenbaum called Le Pont du Nord "the most alive movie I saw at the festival.... [It] leaves me with a whole album of indelible images and uncanny encounters.... Shot exclusively in Paris exteriors, it leads like a quixotic fairy tale.... For Baptiste (Pascale Ogier), an abstract punk without a past, for whom 'real life is a reign of terror'...Paris is the tail of the dragon, a city of eyes to be defaced and spies named Max to be faced.... For ex-terrorist, bank robber and prison convict Marie (an equally gritty performance from Bulle Ogier), waiting around for her dreamboat Pierre Clementi to bump her off, it's a conspiratorial spider's web, a marked map of Paris, and intermittently a kid's game...." (in Soho News)
Joe McHugh: Slaying the Gorgon How the Mediums of Storytelling Shape How We Think and Act
May 23
Since earliest times people have used stories to entertain, inform, and pass on cultural values. They have also used stories to persuade. In today’s fast-paced world, corporations use stories to sell products and gain competitive advantages, while political parties use stories to elect candidates and promote their agendas. Slaying the Gorgon is a fascinating and provocative multimedia presentation by storyteller, writer and public radio producer Joe McHugh that explores how stories are told in the modern age with the dynamic and transforming influence of new technologies. From the venerated saints and cathedrals of the Middle Ages to the pop stars and cineplexes of today, he explains why images and sound are increasingly supplanting the authority of the printed word, and, by so doing, radically altering the cultural, economic, and political landscape of United States and the rest of the world. He combines plain language, historical anecdotes, and humor to get his points across while providing the audience a much-needed opportunity for reflection and spirited discussion.
Venus and Serena
Seattle premiere!
May 24 - May 30
(Maiken Baird and Michelle Major, 2011, USA, blu-ray, 100 min)
The Williams sisters are unlike any other sports celebrities in America today, and so well-known that their last name need never be mentioned—not even in this documentary’s title. Venus and Serena Williams, tennis stars who endured years of training, triumph and hardship side by side, have worked as a team despite countless opportunities for their blood ties to split them apart. Venus and Serena turns the spotlight on their hardest year, as physical challenges and personal changes reveal the inspiring depth of their commitment to each other.
Movie Night
Dec 14 - May 24
DJs Jon Francois and Nik Gilmore return Movie Night to our screens as they remix quirky feature films with some of the finest vinyl records, live! Feast your eyes on odd cinematic gems, as the DJs replace almost the entire soundtrack (including music, sound effects and dialogue) of classic flicks. Special ticket pricing: $5 online or at the door!
Greetings From Tim Buckley
Seattle premiere!
May 24 - May 30
(Daniel Algrant, 2013, USA, Blu-ray, 99 min)
Raw, Raucous and Sublime
30 Years Of Vanessa Renwick: An Oregon Department of Kickass Retrospective
May 31
There are few living artists as in tune with the rugged spirit of the Pacific Northwest as Vanessa Renwick and her Oregon Department of Kick Ass. Across work in experimental film, documentary and installations, this Chicago transplant has delivered unsparingly rough but sumptuous visions, ranging from travels with her pet half-wolf-half-dog to an operatic rendition of the Trojan power plant's demolition, to Kodak-hour panoramas of the industrial tidal flats of Puget Sound.
Let Your Light Shine: Experimental Animations by Jodie Mack
Director in attendance!
Jun 01
Jodie Mack's insightful, handmade films use collage to explore the relationship between graphic cinema and storytelling. Combining the formal techniques and structures of abstract/absolute animation with those of cinematic genres, her film work explores the tension between form and meaning. Mack received her MFA in film, video, and new media from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2007 and currently teaches animation at Dartmouth College.
Ghosts of Piramida
Seattle premiere!
Jun 02
(Andreas Koefoed, 2012, Denmark, Blu-ray, 90 min)
In the most thoughtful and affecting music documentary of the year, Danish band Efterklang travels to an abandoned Russian town where, decades earlier, miners and their families managed to live outside the rules and reality of a Soviet authority. If you could call one place a natural host for a trio of musicians, then Piramida—a town of empty buildings waiting to be filled with music—might just be it. Searching for nothing more than artistic inspiration, the musicians discover a way to bring this town’s ghost story into the here and now with their newest album.
Within Reach
Director in attendance! Sponsored by Central Co-op
Jun 03
(Mandy Creighton, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 90 min)
Within Reach documents one couple’s pedal-powered journey across the United States in search of a new home in a sustainable community. Mandy and Ryan have given up their corporate jobs and their traditional houses to "bike-pack" thousands of miles around the USA, looking around the world as they look within themselves.
Remix
Jun 04
Curated by Joe Milutis
From the basements of samizdat film geeks to the more well lit purlieus of The Huffington Post, remix filmmaking has transitioned from oddball, obsessive tinkering to a central way our culture communicates. While its prevalence on sites like Funny or Die may give the impression remixing is a frat house gag, the form can contain a potent mix of the lyrical and the awe-ful, the sublime and the cloying, the progressive and regressive, the high and the low. Scratch video, mashups, culture jams, subtitle hacks, “uncreative” data, supercuts . . . tonight’s selection of films will provide a range of historical and current examples, from art house classics to meme-generated, quasi-anonymous endeavors.
The Sprocket Society's Fifth Anniversalodeon
Jun 05
A special double-bill of cinema treasures from the secret vaults of The Sprocket Society, in honor of their fifth anniversary. Featuring rare 16mm prints of movies spanning the history of movies: animation, silent film, comedy, documentary, music, experiments and more. An indoor version of the backyard movie parties from whence it sprang; a splendid time is guaranteed for all.
R/Evolve
Special preview screening!
Jun 06
(Billie Rain, 2013, USA, HD, 85 min)
Lucas and Lincoln just got engaged. Marriage equality may soon be legal, and finally Lucas will have everything he wants: a career and a stable home with Lincoln. Meanwhile, Lincoln is leading a major account at his advertising firm, that will rehabilitate conservative company Big Corp's image by having its CEO grandstand for the marriage equality campaign. The approach could secure loyal “pink money” for Big Corp and launch Lincoln’s career. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but Lincoln senses something isn’t right.
Music Craft: Esperanza Spalding
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5
Jun 07
Winner of Best New Artist Grammy 2011 (she beat Bieber!), Portland-raised musician Esperanza Spalding brings her young jazz act to Spain, in collaboration with flamenco specialist Nino Josele. Gifted with violin and bass chops, Spalding adds a powerful voice to a sensational stage presence. Part of Music Craft, our regular series featuring rare concert footage from music legends.
Winning Dad Kickoff!
Free event!
Jun 08
Join the creators of Winning Dad for an evening of live performance, and a chance to meet the cast and crew as they rev up to begin principal photography of this local, crowd-sourced production celebrating Washington's recent Marriage Equality legislation. This event is free and open to the public!
An Evening With Screenwriter Fred Rice and Director Sameh Zaobi
Jun 09
In 2010, Seattle-based writer Fred Rice’s screenplay for Man Without A Cell Phone found financing and finally went into production with director Sameh Zaobi at the helm. It’s the kind of dream most screenwriters wait a lifetime for. Rice had toiled away at the project for many years, a story of a young Arab Israeli finding his political voice, in a genial comedy about Israel-Palestine tensions. The film was a huge success, screening at dozens of festivals across the world, and even landing a European sales agent. Join us for an evening with Rice and Zaobi to discuss the process of getting this project made and out into the world. Screening of Man Without A Cell phone follows.
One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das
Seattle premiere!
Jun 07 - Jun 13
(Jeremy Frindel, 2012, USA/India, Blu-ray, 72 min)
In 1970, Jeffrey Kagel walked away from the American dream of rock 'n' roll stardom, turning down the chance to record as lead singer for the band soon-to-be-called Blue Oyster Cult. Instead, he sold all his possessions and moved from the suburbs of Long Island to the foothills of the Himalayas in search of happiness and a little known saint named Neem Karoli Baba. One Track Heart: The Story of Krishna Das follows his journey to India and back, witnessing his struggles with depression and drug abuse, and his eventual emergence as Krishna Das (world-renowned spiritual teacher and Grammy-nominated chant master).
Search and Rescue
Jun 11
More of a film situation than a film series, Search and Rescue is an ongoing effort to review, present and (hopefully) preserve a 1500 title archive of 16mm films, produced between the 1930s and 1980s. Over a decade, Northwest Film Forum has screened over hundreds of films covering a broad range of subjects and styles. Seen today, many of these artifacts are quite engaging—mysterious, even—and definitely the raw material of poetic film-viewing experience. As a tool that can help us fathom the culture of the last 50 years, this film collection offers a particularly illuminating perspective. In one moment absurd, the next informative, then hilarious or mundane, these images and sounds offer one of the most precious commodities in contemporary cinema: an experience of the unexpected.
The Invisible Forest
Director in attendance!
Jun 12
(Antero Alli, USA, 2008, HD, 111 min)
Antero Alli's The Invisible Forest is a surrealistic trip through the internal landscape of one man's subconscious to a place beyond belief, beyond words and beyond the mind itself to. Alex, an experimental theater director (Antero Alli), brings his troupe to a forest to perform his vision of French Surrealist Antonin Artaud's magic theatre of ghosts, gods, and demons. During their "paratheatrical experiment," Alex is haunted by a recurring nightmare where Artaud appears and mocks his ambitions. With his sanity pushed to its outer limits, Alex visits a psychotherapist who suggests hypnotic regression to remedy his problem. Written and directed by Antero Alli with text also by William Shakespeare and Antonin Artaud.
Dreambody/Earthbody
Director in attendance! Seattle premiere!
Jun 13
(Antero Alli, 2012, USA, HD, 80 min)
Since 1977, underground filmmaker Antero Alli has been developing a medium of "paratheatre," inspired by the late Polish visionary of theater, Jerzy Grotowski. Alli's paratheatre is a highly visceral process that incorporates physical theatre, Zazen meditation, modern dance and vocalization to gain access to the internal landscape. For this "dreambody/earthbody" ritual, Alli trained a group of seven in paratheatre methods to execute a ritual choreography, using movements recalled from their nocturnal dreams. The result is a rare and haunting glimpse into a microculture of asocial group ritual dynamics, normally performed in total privacy.
Hey Bartender
Seattle premiere!
Jun 14 - Jun 20
(Douglas Tirola, 2013, USA, Blu-ray, 92 min)
Hey Bartender is the story of the rebirth of the bartender and the comeback of the cocktail, as two bartenders reach for their dreams. Featuring the world’s most renowned bartenders and providing access to the most exclusive bars in New York City (on screen). Interviews include Graydon Carter, Danny Meyer and Amy Sacco—but the real stars are the mixologists who make magic in a glass. Special opening night bartending demonstration and happy hour cocktails.
Old Farts and Jackasses
Live music by Jason Staczek and Garth Reeves!
Jun 20
Calling all feisty fogies and savvy whippersnappers: we're presenting a big screen rebuke to all things "new country." Sip a cool one in the lobby, then sit back and get schooled on the genius of the giants of country music past: Waylon and Willie, Johnny and June, Buck and Don, Conway and Loretta, Tammy and George and Mr. Merle Haggard (who tweeted in March: "On behalf of all the old farts, we forgive you, Blake! But you should do a tribute album! Don't ya think?")
Portrait of Jason
New 35mm print!
Jun 21 - Jun 27
(Shirley Clarke, 1967, USA, 35mm, 105 min)
Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason befriends one of the most unforgettable people you’ll never meet. The year, 1967: an African-American gay man in a fitted blazer rehearses show tunes for an act he’s never performed. Clarke builds a memorable cinematic portrait by focusing obsessively on Jason’s dreams for himself (which he chatters about constantly, to anybody listening). Smoothly defying the constraints of genre and the impersonal perspective of classic documentary filmmaking, Portrait of Jason is a legendary character study that has transformed our understanding of self-perception for over 50 years.
Just Like Being There
Director in attendance!
Jun 21
(Scout Shannon, 2012, United States, Blu-ray, 90 min)
Some of the most prized modern art isn’t hanging in a museum. You’ll find it, instead, on bedroom walls and telephone poles, burning with nostalgia for life-changing evenings. If you’ve ever gone to a concert so good that wished you could take it home with you, you’ll share director Scout Shannon’s fondness for the legends of poster design, whose lives and communities he investigates through intimate vignettes in Just Like Being There. Includes work from Daniel Danger, Jay Ryan, Kevin Tong, and many others.
Les Blank Tribute
New 16mm prints!
Jun 22
"I only knew the man was a very very good filmmaker" says Werner Herzog when speaking of Les Blank, whose five-decade career came to close earlier this year, when this forever curious filmmaker died of cancer. During the course of his fifty years Blank made forty-two films; in this program, we are excited to present rarely-seen works from Blank’s early filmmaking years, including three films dealing with Blank's fondest subjects: music, food and people. For the first time in Seattle, we screen the restored print of Spend it All (1972), a documentary quintessentially representative of Blank's approach. The film celebrates the vitality of the Cajun lifestyle, paying special attention to the food, music and humor of the culture. Additionally, we will have Northwest premieres/restorations of the rarely-seen films Chicken Real (1970) and Christopher Tree (aka Spontaneous Sound, 1972).
Death Metal Angola
Jun 22
(Jeremy Xido, 2012, United States/Angola, Blu-ray, 83 min)
The idea of death metal sweeping a nation torn by political violence might seem absurd—or absurdly fitting—to an outsider, but that’s exactly what happens in Jeremy Xido’s lauded, hyper-real new documentary. Sonia and Wilker run an orphanage in Angola’s capital for a handful of the nation’s thousands of orphans, born into a civil tempest that calmed barely ten years ago. Into the silence that follows war, Wilker and other death metal musicians bring the release of noise, and of a nationwide musical community that comes together in a benefit concert to benefit Sonia’s orphanage.
It’s the Earth Not the Moon
Jun 23
(Gonçalo Tocha, 2012, United States/Mexico, DVCAM, 183 min)
For anyone who laments the modern world seeming too small, filmmaker Gonçalo Tocha’s voyage to the smallest of all worlds will inspire and revolutionize. On the two-mile-long island of Corvo exists a civilization which, for 500 years, has sat adrift in the middle of the Pacific, sustaining itself independent of the world economy. Tocha arrives, with few camera crewmen to distort his narrative, documenting his hesitant integration into the community that has eluded written record for so long.
Winter, Go Away
Jun 23
(Marina Razbezhkina's School of Documentary Film and Documentary Theatre, 2012, Russia, Blu-ray, 79 min)
Winter, Go Away is a defiant answer not only to the injustices done by Vladimir Putin’s government, but to the mainstream media that averted its gaze as crowds of Russians protested during the elections last winter. Shot by ten young filmmakers on behalf of a liberal Russian newspaper, this unblinking look at one of the most glaring political struggles of our time must not be missed. While admirably acknowledging the dangers of solidarity, the documentary’s triumph is in its understanding of a resistance movement as complicated and unromantic—and the honesty that compels us to action.
Tectonics
Jun 24
(Peter Bo Rappmund, 2011, United States/Mexico, Blu-ray, 60 min)
While others talk, Peter Bo Rappmund watches. His sharp gaze has never been more welcome or refreshing than in Tectonics, when he visits the place that’s on most every American’s lips—our border with Mexico. Tectonics interrupts the recent deluge of immigration documentaries with a story that is visual rather than dogmatic, its stranger-than-fiction shots surveying the landscape of the border. Pitting our social images of the border against the area’s natural history, Rappmund dares us to do what is most difficult in our charged political culture: challenge the ideas and myths that affirm our nationhood.
Trash Dance
Jun 24
(Andrew Garrison, 2012, United States, Blu-ray, 68 min)
Allison Orr’s conception of a grand dance performed by sanitation workers and garbage trucks is a thing of brilliance, but the close look that Trash Dance takes at the lives of Orr’s reluctant dancers makes the film brilliant in its own right. Andrew Garrison’s documentary spotlights what even the dance cannot reveal: the difficulty in unifying city workers’ day-to-day struggles with the ambiguities of modern art. Turning the spotlight on some of society’s least-observed, and least-appreciated workers, the film is an artistic inspiration, even as it wrestles with our assumptions about performance.
People’s Park
Jun 25
(JP Sniadecki and Libbie Cohn, 2012, China, Blu-ray, 78 min)
The thrill of the unexpected runs through all 78 minutes of this single-take journey through a Chinese city park, a panoramic celebration of urban diversity that reveals as many different attitudes about the camera as it does people. Friends, families, artists, dancers and even opera singers: the space they share is their only common feature at times, as the film imperceptibly compiles a portrait of energy. People's Park's secret genius lies in paying equal attention to each of its subjects, returning to the forgotten attitudes of medieval landscape paintings: that a view of a crowd, rather than blurring the distinctions between people, can reveal more than the sum of its parts.
Public Hearing
Jun 26
(James N. Kienitz Wilkins, 2012, United States, Blu-ray, 110 min)
When history remembers our society, how well will it read between the lines? Public Hearing, a tense and hilarious reenactment of the minutes from an American town meeting, digs for an answer. Bickering over how much space the new Wal-Mart should take up in town, citizens and governors take part in a much graver fight below the surface: a struggle for authority in this mini-model of American democracy. From its overwhelming close-up shots to its use of PowerPoint slides from the real town meeting, Public Hearing turns our civilization’s republican customs into absurdities, in a transformation whose most startling feature is its effortlessness.
The Rambler
Seattle premiere! Director in attendance opening night!
Jun 28 - Jul 04
(Calvin Reeder, 2013, USA, Blu-ray, 97 min)
If you’ve ever comforted yourself with the knowledge that the worst of America’s horrors were safely locked behind bars, The Rambler will make you think twice. A nameless prisoner is released from under lock and key and begins a search for his brother, making him an eyewitness to all that is strange and gruesome in America’s overlooked corners. As he experiences these nightmares with an unfazed and uncomplicated vision, The Rambler takes us on a once-in-a-lifetime wandering across highways and through wilderness, leaving us perplexed as to whether the film’s true subject is its hero or the people he encounters.
How to Make Money Selling Drugs
Seattle premiere!
Jun 28 - Jul 04
(Matthew Cooke, 2012, USA, Blu-ray, 96 min)
How ironic is the title of How to Make Money Selling Drugs? That’s for you to decide. This film compiles interviews from drug dealers, activists, artistic celebrities and prison inmates, to create a step-by-step guide to becoming the most profitable drug dealer you can be. Leaving no stone unturned, this documentary dares to explore the American drug trade from every possible social and economic standpoint, inviting the audience to use it as a “cookbook,” idiot’s guide, bizarre satire or frightening exposé. Again: you decide. Featuring 50 Cent, The Wire producer David Simon, Arianna Huffington, Woody Harrelson, Eminem and Susan Sarandon, as well as infamous drug kingpin "Freeway" Rick Ross.
Berberian Sound Studio
Seattle premiere!
Jul 05 - Jul 11
(Peter Strickland, UK, 2012, Blu-ray, 92 min)
It's 1976, and Berberian Sound Studio is one of the cheapest, sleaziest post-production studios in Italy. Only the most sordid horror films have their sound processed and sharpened here. Gilderoy, a naive and introverted sound engineer from England, is hired to orchestrate the sound mix for the latest film by the horror maestro Santini. Thrown from the innocent world of local documentaries into a foreign environment fueled by exploitation, Gilderoy soon finds himself caught up in a forbidding mix of bitter actresses, capricious technicians and confounding bureaucracy.
Music Craft: Al Green
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5
Jul 11
In 1968, WNET NYC, began airing Soul!, a landmark televised music program. Just a few of the many artists who graced the airwaves during its 39-week run include Muhammad Ali, James Baldwin, Stokely Carmichael, the Delfonics, Earth, Wind & Fire, Louis Farrakhan, Nikki Giovanni (a frequent host), Patti LaBelle, Miriam Makeba, Curtis Mayfield, Toni Morrison, Tito Puente, Max Roach, Stevie Wonder. . .and a full hour with Al Green who was 26 when he recorded this concert in the Soul! studios. Part of Music Craft, our regular series featuring rare concert footage from music legends.
The Unspeakable Act
Seattle premiere!
Jul 12 - Jul 18
(Dan Sallitt, 2013, United States, HD, 91 min)
Sometimes the only storytelling task harder than shocking an audience is normalizing the shock—or, in this case, the unspeakable. Dan Sallitt’s pensive fourth feature film follows a young woman who could be everyone’s heroine were it not for her “unspeakable” feelings for an older brother, feelings that Sallitt carefully and hauntingly picks apart using the camera-as-microscope. Featuring a groundbreaking performance from leading lady Tallie Medel, the sights and sounds of The Unspeakable Act redefine what we comfortably conceive as typical, while coloring our own typical experiences as grotesque.
The History of Future Folk
Seattle premiere!
Jul 12 - Jul 18
(John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 86 min)
You’ve probably seen Bill around—at the park yesterday with his daughter, or last night playing bluegrass in that old alien costume. You have to see Future Folk, though, to start suspecting that Bill might actually be an alien, sent to find a new home for his people and won over by the beauty of Earth music. Has another of his species just arrived to get Bill back on track with his alien mission? Will the two later team up in a bluegrass band and try to save us from invasion? You’ll never know without seeing Future Folk, a hilarious and heartwarming tale lauded at film festivals from Los Angeles to New York. Screens with The Heavens, our 2012 Local Sightings short film jury winner.
Framing Pictures
Free event!
Jan 18 - Aug 16
Join us for a monthly discussion with three long-time Seattle film critics (and occasional guest commentators) who have much to say on the subject of cinephilia past, present and future. The conversation includes former Film Comment editor Richard Jameson, Everett Herald/KUOW critic Robert Horton and MSN.com critic Kathleen Murphy.
The Ghastly Love of Johnny X
Jul 19 - Jul 25
(Paul Bunnell, USA, 2012, 35mm, 106 min)
This retro-tastic, rock 'n roll, sci-fi musical (the last film ever shot on Kodak's 35mm black and white Plus X film stock) introduces us to intergalactic hoodlum Johnny X and his band of extraterrestrial juvenile delinquents, The Ghastly Ones. Starring Creed Bratton (from The Office), Kate Maberly (from The Secret Garden), singer-songwriter Paul Williams, and the last performance of the late Kevin McCarthy (from Invasion of the Body Snatchers)! An enjoyably wild and surprisingly slick-looking adventure that is worth a look, especially if you’re a fan of over-the-top genre filmmaking.
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear
U.S. premiere!
Jul 19 - Jul 25
(Tinatin Gurchiani, Georgia, 2012, Blu-ray, 101 min)
A Georgian director wants to make a film about growing up in her home country, and puts out a casting call for young adults, aged 15 to 23. She travels through cities and villages interviewing the candidates who responded and filming their daily lives, looking for commonalities across social and ethnic lines. Together, their tales weave a kaleidoscopic tapestry of war and love, wealth and poverty, creating an extraordinarily complex vision of a modern society that still echoes with its Soviet past.
Free The Mind
Seattle premiere!
Jul 26 - Aug 01
(Phie Ambo, Denmark, 2012, Blu-ray, 80 min)
In 1992 Professor Richard J. Davidson (one of the world’s leading neuroscientists) met the Dalai Lama, who encouraged him to apply the same rigorous methods he used to study depression and anxiety to the study of compassion and kindness. Dr. Davidson, who was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2006, did just that: the results of his studies at the Center for Investigating Healthy Minds are portrayed in this fascinating new documentary about the science behind meditation. The film poses two questions: What is consciousness, and how does it manifest in the brain and body? Is it actually possible to change the brain physically through mental practices alone?
Post Tenebras Lux
Seattle premiere!
Jul 26 - Aug 01
(Carlos Reygadas, Mexico, 2012, Blu-ray, 115 min)
A blend of memoir, observations of Mexican life and a paean to the country’s beautiful landscape Post Tenebras Lux is bold, visually arresting and arguably the only film to ever feature the devil (all red luminescence) in such a dramatic manner. Reygadas has once again created a complex work that may initially confound, but is also, like its predecessor, richly rewarding.
The Fearless Freaks
Jul 28
(Bradley Beeseley, USA, 2005, Blu-ray, 100 min)
What better way to get your groove on for the finale of the Capitol Hill Block Party than a matinee of The Fearless Freaks? This documentary about The Flaming Lips, 15 years in the making, follows the group as they go from Norman, Oklahoma punk band to free-floating rock and roll circus act, complete with blasting confetti canons and man-sized plastic bubble for front man Wayne Coyne.
Revenge of the Pearl Queen
Aug 02
(Toshio Shimura, 1956, 90 min, Digital)
When Shintoho's voluptuous new "discovery" Michiko Maeda undressed for Revenge of the Pearl Queen, she hit the screens with a seismic force, A new star was born; not only that, but a new genre too—the female pearl diver film. The film’s central plotline is based on the true story of 19 Japanese men who were discovered on Anatahan, in the Marianas Islands, in 1951. Refusing to accept Japan’s defeat in the Pacific War, they had been scraping out a bare existence while scheming and fighting over the one woman in their midst.
Flesh Pier
Part of our Double Feature: Sold Into Prostitution!
Aug 03 - Aug 04
(Teruo Ishii, Japan, 1958, Blu-ray, 75 min)
Yoshioka, an undercover cop, has been assigned to unveil a dubious Tokyo flesh ring. While working undercover he reunites with his old flame – Rumi. Fashion clubs, nude modeling, and matchmaking businesses are all part of the conspiracy, but who is running the show? With Rumi’s passion rekindled by Yoshioka’s presence, he becomes the focus of secret eyes in the club. It’s only a matter of time before his cover is blown.
Yellow Line
Part of our Double Feature: Sold Into Prostitution!
Aug 03 - Aug 04
(Teruo Ishii, Japan, 1960, Blu-ray, 70 min)
A hitman is hired to take out a Tokyo Customs Officer, but his employer betrays him and sends the cops. Seeking cover, he grabs Emi from a telephone booth and makes her his “newlywed” in order to board a train to Kobe. Born in a prison and raised in an orphanage, the woman hating-hitman blends into the seedy Casbah of Kobe easily (although Emi, his female prisoner, stands out like a diamond in the rough). As the hitman hunts for the employer that betrayed him, Emi leaves clues for her boyfriend in hopes of finding help. But being in the hitman’s grasp might be safer than she thinks... help isn’t what it seems, when you’re on the Yellow Line.
Ghost Story of Yotsuya
Part of our Double Feature: Tainted Love Rises from the Dead!
Aug 05 - Aug 06
(Nobuo Nakagawa, Japan, 1959, Blu-ray, 78 min)
Heated passion is the downfall of Lemon, the shunned samurai of Ghost Story. After being refused marriage to his love Iwa, his sword spills blood in a fit of rage. The servant Naoske quickly comes to Lemon’s aid, helping him cover up the murders that he witnessed. But good deeds come with a price – Naoske would like some blood spilt himself, so that he can acquire Iwa’s sister, Sode.
Ghost Cat of Otama Pond
Part of our Double Feature: Tainted Love Rises from the Dead!
Aug 05 - Aug 06
(Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Japan, 1960, Blu-ray 75 min)
The engaged couple Sagawa and Keiko find themselves lost at Otama Pond, a place where Sagawa grew up. While trying to find shelter for the night, Keiko is cursed with the mark of death by a cat. With exorcism his only option, Sagawa tries to make sense of all that is happening. Soon we discover that both Sagawa and Keiko are part of a long-feuding bloodline, whose tragic end all began with a young couple in love who were forbidden to be together. This Romeo & Juliet tale takes a spooky turn as the dead rise up for vengeance.
Death Row Woman
Part of our Double Feature: Busting Out of Bars!
Aug 07 - Aug 08
(Nobuo Nakagawa, Japan, 1960, Blu-ray, 78 min)
During a heated argument with her father, Kyoko defies his wishes for her to marry Aiko, and instead informs him she is having a child out of wedlock with Siochi. After refusing to leave when he orders her gone, she leaves him to simmer; the next day he is dead. With all evidence pointing to Kyoko, she is quickly found guilty and sentenced to death. Desperate to see her baby and prove her innocence, Kyoko escapes from prison with a cellmate, after narrowly escaping rape at the hands of another female prisoner. With the police hot on her trail and her emotions on full throttle, Kyoko’s trust in who to rely on falters. Will she be able to find her father’s killer before she is captured?
The Horizon Glitters
Part of our Double Feature: Busting Out of Bars!
Aug 07 - Aug 08
(Michiyoshi Doi, Japan, 1961, Blu-ray, 89 min)
This black comedy about a prison break gone wrong was unlike anything else Shintoho made. Released just before the studio’s collapse, The Horizon Glitters is a brilliant one-off that doesn’t fit in the usual genre boxes, made with a freedom and an energy that verges on the anarchic. A motor-mouthed proto-punk breaks out of prison with his cellmates, in search of a large cache of diamonds. Director Michiyoshi Doi spices the journey with incidents and antics that are a mix of slapstick and surreal.
Music Craft: Miles Davis
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5
Aug 08
Join us for four rare filmed performances by Miles Davis spanning decades, from a 1959 NYC television recording to a 1991 Parisian gig (Miles died three months after filming). Part of Music Craft, our regular series featuring rare concert footage from music legends.
Vampire Bride
Aug 09
(Kyotaro Namiki, Japan, 1960, Blu-ray, 80 min)
Fujiko, a dance student with a horrific facial scar, seeks help from a sorceress in the mountains, who ultimately transforms her into a powerful monster. After undergoing a ritual that results in her temporary death, she returns to life as a fanged, hairy beast. Vampire Bride is a deeply odd take on the vampire theme, with a suitably deranged performance by young actress Ikeuchi Junko.
André Gregory: Before and After Dinner
Seattle premiere!
Aug 09 - Aug 15
(Cindy Kleine, 2013, United States, Blu-ray, 101 min)
Lampooned, adored and destined to land on every movie lover’s walk of fame, André Gregory's furious philosophical pronouncements made the director a mystery to all who know him. Now his fellow director and wife, Cindy Kleine, takes a loving and hilarious look at the storyteller’s own story, from his upbringing in a Russian-Jewish household to his decades-long friendship with funnyman Wallace Shawn. Injected with moments of Gregory’s own dramatic narrative style, this portrait is a wild ride that gives new meaning to the romance between author and creation.
My Dinner With André
Aug 09 - Aug 15
(Louis Malle, 1981, USA, 35mm, 110 min)
Playwright/actor Wallace Shawn sits across the table from avant-garde theatre figure Andre Gregory in a chic SoHo restaurant, circa 1981. They talk over dinner. And talk and talk and talk. But the whirlwind dialogue of ideas about art, life, New York, humanity and the impending doom of civilization keeps the film exciting. Screenwriter/stars Shawn and Gregory make this a one-of-a-kind exchange of ideologies that will keep your noggin on its toes.
Gustafer Yellowgold
Sponsored by See Kai Run
Aug 11
Back by popular demand, a little guy who hails from the sun is set to return to Seattle for another out-of-this-world, multimedia family show at Northwest Film Forum. Groovy Gustafer is the creation of illustrator/songwriter/performer Morgan Taylor, who has created a show that is equal parts pop rock concert and hand-drawn animated film. Perfect for the pint-sized set as well as their larger guardians, Gustafer Yellowgold is a blissful blend of pop music, lyrical poignancy and cartoon absurdity. This show will feature sweet new songs from the newest Gustafer DVD as well as award-winners and favorites from past DVDs. All this, plus a chance to meet the newest character in the show, Gustafer's buddy Rock Melon!
Un Flic
New 35mm print!
Aug 16 - Aug 18
(Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1972, 35mm, 98 min)
A swan song from the great Jean-Pierre Melville (mostly famous for his noir gangster films), who was dubbed by Godard the ‘godfather’ of the New Wave, for the stylish existential nature expressed in all his films. Melville’s aura of cool is generally derived from extended sequences of silent action where the audience has to find out what’s going on as the characters perform their tasks. It’s also derived from a collision of noir and modern style – worn fedoras, trenchcoats and faces; a generally muted color scheme; and slow pacing that emphasizes process.
The Pirogue
Seattle premiere!
Aug 16 - Aug 22
(Moussa Toure, Senegal / France / Germany, 2012, Blu-ray, 87 min)
In Moussa Toure’s powerful, epic fiction film, a group of 30 men sail to Europe in a pirogue, facing the sea—and the possibility of never reaching their destination—in exchange for the myth of a better life in Europe.
Sign Painters
Seattle premiere!
Aug 19 - Aug 22
(Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, USA, 2013, Blu-ray)
As recently as the 1980s, storefronts, murals, banners, barn signs, billboards and even street signs were all hand-lettered with brush and paint. But, like many skilled trades, the sign industry has been overrun by the techno-fueled promise of "quicker and cheaper." The resulting proliferation of computer-designed, die-cut vinyl lettering and inkjet printers has ushered a creeping sameness into our landscape. Fortunately, there is a growing trend to seek out traditional sign painters and a renaissance in the trade.
Seattle Bike-In
Co-presented with The Vera Project Movie at dusk!
Aug 24
Named as one of the reasons that Pike/Pine is considered “Top 12 Art Places in America," the Seattle Bike-In has become a staple of the summer outdoor movie calendar. This 8th annual celebration of green transportation, our urban community and summer nights encourages you to grab your bike and grab your friends for our annual event in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill! The event includes live music and DJs, film and a fair from local cycling organizations and merchants.