Local Sightings 2025 Opening Night: Police Beat 20th Anniversary Screening
Sep. 19 at 7pm
In-person tickets >
$15 General Admission
$10 Student/Child/Senior
$7 Member
$100 General Admission
$70 Student/Child/Senior
$45 Member
Full Festival Passes and Individual Tickets are available!
Click for Accessibility Info
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.
⚠️ Covid-19 Policies ⚠️
As of August 2024, NWFF has adjusted its mask policy from universally required to strongly encouraged at the majority of screenings. Occasional exceptions will be noted on each event’s page.
Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them.
Read more about NWFF’s policies responding to the present pandemic here.
About
Join us for a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Robinson Devor and Charles Mudede’s Seattle-made classic, Police Beat! Before the show, we’ll be hosting a free film-lovers’ happy hour starting at 6pm!
Following the screening, Seattle’s favorite cultural critic duo–Jas Keimig and Chase Burns, of Unstreamable fame–will lead a Q&A with the filmmakers to discuss Police Beat’s legacy, including its impact on the local film scene.
Header photo credit: Film still from Police Beat, dir. Robinson Devor
BUY TICKETS HERE
FAQ: How do I watch online?
- This year’s festival will be in-person only! For the past several years, we have been proud to offer the festival as a hybrid virtual-and-in-person experience, but due to staff capacity, we cannot do this for the 2025 fest.
FAQ: How do I watch in-person?
- Purchase your ticket through Brown Paper Tickets; come to the show!
- You can also purchase a ticket on the day of the screening at Northwest Film Forum’s box office (1515 12th Ave, Seattle).
- Pass-holders, we will be able to look you up using the name you purchased under.
Film Program:
Police Beat
(Robinson Devor, US, 2005, 80 min, in English and Wolof with English subtitles)
Police Beat presents a unique protagonist in the post-9/11 world: a morally upright, Republican Muslim police officer. The film follows an African-born Seattle bicycle cop (“Z”) on his beat for seven days and six nights, covering more than forty crimes, all of which are based on actual Seattle police reports. Starring as Z is Pape S. Niang, a non-actor and former member of the Senegalese Olympic soccer team.
In this highly unconventional crime film, the protagonist is so preoccupied with his (possibly) unfaithful girlfriend that he never once acknowledges the criminal world that swirls around him. The crimes Z encounters become mirrors of his turbulent inner state, as he philosophizes about his unstable romantic relationship. While Z’s regular interactions are in English, his thoughts – the film’s narration – are in his native Wolof, the primary language of West Africa. In this way, Police Beat is an unusual portrait of an immigrant new to the United States that focuses less on the protagonist’s socio-economic difficulties than on his emotional responses to American life.
Despite a relatively low budget, the film features gorgeous 35mm-scope cinematography from DP Sean Kirby, and manages to incorporate nearly one hundred different locations from the greater Seattle area and Pacific Northwest. This ambitious film’s cast and crew were entirely made up of local talent; Police Beat is also the first NWFF production to play at Sundance.
Praise for Police Beat:
“Sensationally beautiful!” – Todd McCarthy, Variety
“Emotionally devastating!“– Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“The most original film in [Sundance] competition.” – Dennis Lim, Village Voice
Festival Directory
Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 28th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2025 program, which runs from September 19–28, 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.