Local Sightings 2026 – DIY Movie Making for Anyone & Everyone with Zach Weintraub
Workshops at Northwest Film Forum are offered at a sliding scale price. Please register at the level that is most feasible for you.
Sustainer: $50 – This level of support allows us to continue offering this type of programming at the Forum, longterm.
Supporter: $30 – This level of support covers the cost of bringing guest instructors to the Forum.
Member price: $25 – If you are a current Forum member, please reach out to lily (at) nwfilmforum (dot) org so that we’re able to confirm your membership and offer you this discounted price.
A limited number of scholarships are available for workshops–please reach out to camille (at) nwfilmforum (dot) org for more information.
Visiting Artist
Artist in attendance!
About
Local Sightings 2026 – DIY Movie Making for Anyone & Everyone with Zach Weintraub
September 20 | 4:30pm-6:30pm
The internet is flush with advice to stop waiting – to just go out and make your movie. But given that specifics are rarely provided, and questions of budget slyly sidestepped, such advice can feel more like tone-deaf platitudes. This workshop aims to rip back the curtain completely on the process of no-budget movie making by exploring in microscopic detail the production of the five feature films made by Zach Weintraub throughout the last fifteen years. The intended audience is anyone with an interest in making a movie, whether it’s your first or your tenth. The idea is not to provide a prescriptive, one-size-fits-all guide, but rather to share an ethos and strategy that anyone can adapt to their own productions at any level. Not everyone has the same resources at their disposal, but regardless of your situation, there is a path forward. [Note that the focus here will be on production rather than business-y things like audience-building or distribution strategy.]
Zach Weintraub
Zach Weintraub is a DIY filmmaker from Olympia, WA, USA. He studied film production at New York University before moving home to write and direct his first feature-length film, BUMMER SUMMER (2009). His works are collaborations with family and friends, often praised for their resourcefulness, muted humor, and narrative economy in their depiction of subtly shifting interpersonal dynamics. Cumulatively, his films have screened at festivals in more than a dozen countries including Locarno, AFI Fest, BAFICI, and Viennale. In 2013 he was a guest lecturer at the Northwest Film Forum, and was nominated by Seattle’s The Stranger for a film Genius Award. In 2014 he was awarded an Artist Trust fellowship. ASSETS & LIABILITIES is his fifth feature-length film.
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 rajah@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.
Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 29th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2026 program, which runs from September 18–27, features a competitive selection of curated short film programs and feature films, inviting regional artists to experiment, break, and remake popular conceptions around filmmaking and film exhibition.
Local Sightings champions emerging and established talent, supports the regional film industry, and promotes diverse media as a critical tool for public engagement.