Northwest Film Forum

A) FOUNDING INFORMATION

      Incorporated: September 1, 1995, Washington State (As WigglyWorld)
      IRS Status: Exempt under section 501(c)3.
      Insurance: Sprague, Israel, & Giles
      Legal Counsel: Bob Cumbow, Graham-Dunn Law Firms


B) MISSION STATEMENT

      The Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) is a Seattle-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to becoming the nation's leading center for film artists. Our mission is:

• to enlighten, support, and champion the film artist by presenting educational programs with a curriculum by filmmakers and for filmmakers; providing access to filmmaking equipment; granting funds directly to working film artists; showcasing the work of local directors; and promoting local film work to international prominence;
• to deepen public appreciation of film as an art form by exhibiting historical film; influential world, national and local cinema; and new work which explores the intersection of cinema and other art forms; and
• to create a fertile environment for filmmaking, specifically by establishing a filmmakers' endowment by the year 2004.

C) CULTURAL IMPACT

      Our long-term goals are to develop the profile of independent film in the Northwest, and establish Seattle as the center of an alternative film community in the Northwest. We hope to heighten community appreciation of and support for independent film by actively developing alternatives to the dominant commercial cinema in the fields of production, exhibition, and distribution. Through our cinema, the Grand Illusion, we present the city with its most innovative year-round program of first run and repertory film, with a healthy local representation. Our production arm, WigglyWorld Studios, is Washington’s premiere non-profit filmmaking facility, providing material, financial, and human resources towards the creation of film of the highest artistic merit.

      Towards the realization of our mission, the NWFF has implemented projects in the areas of both production (WigglyWorld) and exhibition/distribution (Northwest Film Forum).

      1. Projects associated with WigglyWorld Studios include:

• Filmmaker Workshops: WigglyWorld is pleased to offer a full course load of workshops, including Master-classes led by such internationally renowned artists as Trent Harris, Elias Merhige and Haskell Wexler. We are pleased to offer payment plans and scholarships for all workshops. Workshop categories include: Master Classes with visiting film artists; Filmmaker Sunday School (informal seminars with local and national filmmakers), and Technical Workshops

• Start to Finish: A pilot film production project, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Start to Finish provides selected artists with fiscal sponsorship, material resources, and a substantial cash grant toward the production of a feature film. Start to Finish has aided two Seattle filmmakers in the production of their feature films: Gregg Lachow with MONEY BUYS HAPPINESS and Susan McNally with OUT OF THE BLUE. Currently, Seattle director Matthew Wilkins (INTERIOR LATEX) is in pre-production on his feature film debut, through the program.

• Out of the Can: Originally funded by the King County Arts Commission, and currently funded by the Washington State Arts Commission, Out of the Can is a materials granting project aimed at aiding filmmakers in the post-production process. Recently completed projects include Progress; Flow; Interior Latex; Bluecoatedstory; Incredible Vibrating Man; Christmas; Gimme The Trouble; and Beer Commercial

• Roll Camera: Similar in scope to Out fo the Can, Roll Camera is a materials granting program funded by the King County Arts Commission, providing selected artists with limited free access top WigglyWorld’s camera and production equipment.

• Trailer Training: An original program funded by the King County and Seattle Art Commissions, Trailer Training funds the creation of inventive short film trailers by local filmmakers for the Grand Illusion and Little Theatre.

• Super8 Thugs: A loose affiliation of narrow gauge filmmakers, Super8 Thugs are granted space and equipment to keep this most democratic of filmmaking gauges alive.

• Fiscal Sponsorship: Members in good standing may have their projects sponsored through WigglyWorld. Applications are taken on a rolling basis, and projects are selected by the board of directors based on artistic merit, organization, and artist need.

• Insurance Partnership: Members in good standing may have their production sponsored for access to WigglyWorld’s insurance program, providing local filmmakers with access to city and state permits, and to various equipment rental houses.
   

         2. Cinematheque Exhibition Projects include:

• Regular Calendar: Northwest Film Forum’s 364 day a year regular calendar showcases a huge variety of independent and repertory film, including world premieres of foreign and American narrative cinema, documentary programs, latenite features.

• Special Curation: Northwest Film Forum programmers curate two week film series uniting films from many genres, nationalities, and eras under a singular theme with a special event opening night. Past series include: Retro-Futuristic Films, Crackpots and Obsessives, Summer Blondes, Music Film Series, Avant Garde Women in Film.

• Children's Film Series: A summertime film-series offered to underserved area daycares and camps and funded in part by the NW Children’s fund, this project strives to provide an alternative forum in which children may watch non-mainstream film.

• Local Sightings: A yearly festival program of local films, Local Sightings presents the finest in locally created artistic film

• Festival Hosting: Northwest Film Forum proudly hosts area film festivals such as the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, New Dance Cinema, and Amnesty International Film Festival.

• Theatre Rental: By Arrangement, Northwest Film Forum provides opportunities for Independent Filmmakers and festival programmers to present films for a public run.

• Performance co-presentations: In order to encourage collaboration between the live theatre and film communities, the Little Theatre co-presents several live performance shows per year. Co-presentations of performances presented at Northwest Film Forum, incorporating a film component include Vis-A-Vis Society and Ellen Forney.

D) AUDIENCE SERVED

      The NWFF serves the residents of King County, with an emphasis on Metropolitan Seattle. However, we have attracted members from such cities as Boston, San Diego, and New Orleans. Additionally, we have spearheaded distribution initiatives for films that have brought us into working relationships with the Portland Art Museum; the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, and the Roxie Cinema in San Francisco.

      Our membership is currently over 1000 in total, with over 214 members at the Active (filmmaker) level. In addition, our theatre is visited annually by more than 16,000 persons from all over the world. Through targeted ticket giveaways, we ensure that our theatre is accessible to underserved and minority groups free of charge.

      Additionally, films produced through WigglyWorld have been shown in festivals worldwide, including the Dublin Film Festival, the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, the Northwest Film Festival, the Independent Feature Film Market, the Hamptons Film Festival, SxSW (Austin, Texas), and the Anchorage Film Festival.