Mission & History of NWFF - Northwest Film Forum Seattle

LETTER FROM THE STAFF

Dear NWFF Community,

2024 has represented a transformational year for Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) in ways both intentional and unexpected. We deepened our work in education and workforce development by expanding our apprentice programs by 13% YoY, we continued to grow our fiscal sponsorship program by 30% YoY, and we restructured our organization to become financially resilient and sustainable for future growth. While this growth is incredibly exciting, it is also met with difficult challenges. Audience participation continues to stagnate, skyrocketing inflation continues to be a challenge, and we have seen resource scarcity across the entire nonprofit sector. In spite of these challenges, the Forum continues to be committed to progressing its mission to amplify emerging voices through community access, mentorship and apprenticeship, and artist support services.

Northwest Film Forum has intentionally evolved to become a community resource for emerging voices. Northwest Film Forum provides year-round cinema programming for over 11,000 patrons and access to our facilities for over 100 community partners. We help develop our emerging workforce through accessible and caring mentorship and apprenticeship
programs that serve over 350 participants, and we provide artist support services that help facilitate over $5.8 million in transactions through our Fiscal Sponsorship Program.

All of this work is building the foundation for the next evolution of Northwest Film Forum to be the community hub for a thriving creative economy in the Pacific Northwest. We recognize that in a changing landscape, we cannot be a static organization. We have to adapt and evolve our organization in order to create a sustainable, solvent future for Northwest Film Forum.

With Gratitude and Determination,

Northwest Film Forum

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NWFF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

Strategic Goal 01: Northwest Film Forum continues to create sustainable pathways for filmmakers from under-represented communities into the local film industry.
In 2025, Northwest Film Forum will continue to support Pacific Northwest Filmmakers through a dynamic catalogue of all-ages workshops, apprenticeship and mentorship programs, and filmmaking grants focused on amplifying emerging voices throughout our community.

Strategic Goal 02: Northwest Film Forum continues to accelerate and incubate independent film projects and emerging arts organizations across the state of Washington.
Over the next 12 months, Northwest Film Forum will continue to provide resources and opportunities to independent film projects based in Washington state through our Fiscal Sponsorship Program. Northwest Film Forum will also continue to incubate and accelerate the growth and development of emerging arts nonprofits throughout the state of
Washington.

Strategic Goal 03: Northwest Film Forum continues to create a sustainable framework for future growth and success.
Over the next 2 years, Northwest Film Forum will continue to be a leader in the nonprofit sector by helping lead the development of a cohesive arts ecosystem in Seattle. The Forum will also continue to develop new internal and external models for creating a sustainable arts nonprofit in the state of Washington.

2024 FORUM MILESTONES

Support The Forum's Amazing Programming

ACTION! Narrative Apprenticeship Program completed its third cohort, and premiered the film FORever feroshUS at the 26th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival.

Fiscal Sponsorship eclipsed over 150 active projects and facilitated over $5.8 million dollars in financial activity.

Lynn Shelton ‘Of a Certain Age’ Grant awards Mirta Desir $25,000 to support their first narrative feature film, ANGIE.

Children’s Film Festival Seattle’s Opening Night screening of WALL-E welcomed over 250 patrons to Pacific Science Center’s PACCAR IMAX.

Northwest Film Forum raised nearly $225,000 in individual contributions and memberships in 2024.

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2024 FORUM FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

Total Revenue – $1,126,078 (FY24) | $1,193,000 (FY25)

Earned Revenue – $609,079 (FY24) | $623,000 (FY25)
Contributed Revenue – $516,998 (FY24) | $570,000 (FY25)

Total Expenses – $1,261,111 (FY24) | $1,091,425 (FY25)

Personnel Expenses – $701,790 (FY24) | $493,925 (FY25)
Administrative Expenses – $348,646 (FY24) | $386,500 (FY25)
Programming Expenses – $210,675 (FY24) | $211,000 (FY25)

Net Revenue – ($135,034) (FY24) | $98,932 (FY25)

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CINEMA PROGRAMMING AND COMMUNITY ACCESS

Cinema Programming
Venue Rentals

Northwest Film Forum has always been focused on showcasing diverse narratives from across the world that resonate with our local community. In 2024, we presented over 500 films to over 11,000 patrons. We reconnected our audiences with the films they love through the Unstreamable Film Series and we also presented new cult classics like The People’s Joker to Seattle for the very first time. We also welcomed first time film goers to our Children’s Film Festival Seattle, which presented over 200 films, including 7 world
premieres, to over 1,000 patrons.

Forum By The Numbers

11,613 Total In-Person Attendance
1,000 Total Virtual Attendance
1,770 Total Core Festival Attendance
500 Total Films Screened
13,000 Unique Minutes Played

30 Total Venue Rentals
27 Total Community Partnerships
12 Total Co-Promotions
12 Total Corporate Sponsorships

Notable Community Partnerships
The Disabled List Comedy Festival
Engauge Experimental Film Festival
Seattle Asian American Film Festival
Black Cinema Collective
Seattle Arab Film Festival
Cadence Video Poetry Festival
Unstreamable Series
Mourning Sickness Series
Earshot Jazz

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EDUCATION

All-Ages Filmmaking Workshops
ACTION! Narrative Apprenticeship Program

In 2024, we continued to take tremendous strides in becoming the premiere filmmaking mentorship and apprenticeship program in the state of Washington. We continued to host our Remove the Gap Productions and ACTION! Narrative Apprentice Program with incredible success in both programs. The third cohort of the ACTION! program completed its most ambitious project to date with the premiere of FORever feroshUS at the 26th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival. We also had an incredible year of Remove the Gap Productions with workshop attendance reaching a three year high.

Forum By The Numbers

22 Total Workshops
250 Total Attendance
45% Femme, Trans, and/or Non-Binary Participants
45% LGBTQIA2S+ Participants
50% BIPOC Participants

40 Total Apprentices
160 Total Production Hours
87% Femme, Trans, and/or Non-Binary Participants
66% LGBTQIA2S+ Participants
60% BIPOC Participants

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ARTIST SUPPORT SERVICES

Fiscal Sponsorship
Lynn Shelton 'Of a Certain Age' Grant

Northwest Film Forum continues to be one of the premiere Fiscal Sponsorship programs in the state of Washington. This year we were able to manage a record high, 150 active projects and organizations. We facilitated a record breaking $5.8 million in financial activity, and the impacts of our support can be felt throughout the community in projects like Wa Na Wari and Black Cinema Collective and in
independent films like Paper Tigers, East of the Mountains, and Even Hell Has Its Heroes.

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GET INVOLVED

Memberships – Join Northwest Film Forum in bringing the most impactful cinema programming and film events to Seattle. Enjoy discounted rates and exclusive access to events and programs all year long!

Individual Giving – An ideal choice for individuals just starting their philanthropic journey with Northwest Film Forum. Support the Forum directly and get more deeply connected to our incredible programs.

Festival Sponsorships – Elevate your brand’s visibility with Northwest Film Forum, support one of our core film festivals!

Support The Forum

NWFF Annual Impact Report

BUILDING COMMUNITY THROUGH FILM

LETTER FROM THE STAFF

NWFF STRATEGIC PRIORITIES

2024 FORUM MILESTONES

2024 FORUM FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

CINEMA PROGRAMMING AND COMMUNITY ACCESS

EDUCATION

ARTIST SUPPORT SERVICES

GET INVOLVED

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