Users [In-Person Only]
$14 General Admission
$10 Student/Child/Senior
$7 Member
Visiting Artist
** It’s a family affair! Director Natalia Almada in attendance for an opening-night-only Q&A featuring her father-in-law Vint Cerf (one of the Fathers of the Internet, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom) and his sons Bennett and David, both of whom worked on Users (cinematography and music/sound design respectively) **
About
(Natalia Almada, US, 2021, 81 min, in English)
Users begins with a mother’s question: will my children love their perfect machines more than they love their imperfect mother? From this seemingly simple prompt, acclaimed filmmaker Natalia Almada (2012 MacArthur Genius Grant Recipient, 2009 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award) spins an epic examination of our world, where it is taken for granted that technological progress will always inspire social progress; that ever-smarter machines will better humankind. Constructed from stunning, immaculately rendered images, and featuring a score performed by the Kronos Quartet, Users is an immersive journey into the heart of our changing relationship to the natural world.
From the largest indoor vertical farm in the world to an IVF embryo lab to an underwater fiber optic cable landing, Users unearths new vistas of the inner workings of the invisible forces that surround us. Almada marshals all the forces cinema in a Malickian montage to reveal the invisible forces that guide our lives and suggests the extents to which these movements may not be fully understood for years to come. In a world in constant flux, children grow up, their mother loves and worries, and Users blends the great and small questions into a mesmerizing cinematic whole.
Synopsis and stills courtesy of Icarus Films.
Ticketing, concessions, cinemas, restrooms, and our public edit lab are located on Northwest Film Forum’s ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. All doors in Northwest Film Forum are non-motorized, and may require staff assistance to open. Our upstairs workshop room is not wheelchair accessible.
The majority of seats in our main cinema are 21″ wide from armrest to armrest; some seats are 19″ wide. We are working on creating the option of removable armrests!
We have a limited number of assistive listening devices available for programs hosted in our larger theater, Cinema 1. These devices are maintained by the Technical Director, and can be requested at the ticketing and concessions counter. Also available at the front desk is a Sensory Kit you can borrow, which includes a Communication Card, noise-reducing headphones, and fidget toys.
The Forum does NOT have assistive devices for the visually impaired, and is not (yet) a scent-free venue. Our commitment to increasing access for our audiences is ongoing, and we welcome all public input on the subject!
If you have additional specific questions about accessibility at our venue, please contact our Patron Services Manager at maria@nwfilmforum.org. Our phone number (206-329-2629) is voicemail-only, but we check it often.
Made possible due to a grant from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Sensory Access, our Sensory Access document presents a visual and descriptive walk-through of the NWFF space. View it in advance of attending an in-person event at bit.ly/nwffsocialnarrativepdf, in order to prepare yourself for the experience.
NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them. We are not currently checking vaccination cards. Recent variants of COVID-19 readily infect and spread between individuals regardless of vaccination status.
Read more about NWFF’s policies regarding cleaning, masks, and capacity limitations here.
