INTERNATIONAL SIGN FOR CHOKING by Zach Weintraub (Olympia, WA)

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 7PM

(Zach Weintraub, 2012, Blu-ray, 80 min)

Returning to Local Sightings after his award-winning debut Bummer Summer, Zach Weintraub’s International Sign for Choking allows the viewer room to breathe and reflect as the sumptuous imagery and mood wash over you. Set in Buenos Aires and inspired by his own expat life experiences in Argentina, Choking follows a young American (played by Weintraub himself) who shacks up in a guesthouse and ambles his way through the urban landscape in search of an ex-flame, evading work constraints, befriending local skater-musicians and half-pursuing a courtship with the girl next door (played by American indie darling Sophia Takal). With its Cubist-influenced framings, Weintraub’s mise-en-scene captures a modern foreigner’s sense of alienation. Cinematographer Nandan Rao, whose The Men of Dodge City also makes its world premiere at Local Sightings, frames the film in tight, sun-drenched natural light. Quiet and contemplative, its no wonder Variety critic Robert Koehler dubbed the project “something of a hipster Ozu film.” 
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SCREENS WITH

Green and Blue Lovers by Jimmy Bontatibus (Seattle, WA)

A 15 year-old girl and her older boyfriend experience relationship turbulence due to conflicts in maturity.

OPENING NIGHT PARTY

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AT 9PM

Sponsored by Featuring $3 Delicia de cineastas cocktails courtesy of NÉVÉ, $2 beers courtesy of Naked City Brewing, DJ Randy Allmon of “London Loves” Lo-Fi fame, a grand commencement by Tubaluba and a special tango performance.

BUOY by Steven Doughton (Portland, OR)
SCREENS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 5:30PM
(2012, Blu-ray)

When T.C. receives a call from Danny, her wayward brother, after a two-year communication lapse, she is tidying up her middle-class home as a suburban mother of two in Portland, Oregon. T.C.’s and Danny’s phone conversation comprises the film’s single scene. As the camera tracks T.C. through her household rounds, she and Danny embark on a wide-ranging emotional journey as their dialogue carries the story. Bittersweet childhood recollections merge into searching spiritual conjectures; bizarre anecdotes lead to offbeat cultural critiques and awkward personal confessions. Against a backdrop of long-simmering tensions and enduring sympathies, T.C.’s and Danny’s conversational saga reveals the deeper stories of their selves and their relation to each other, while exploring universal questions. What does it mean to be a good person and to live your life well? How do you keep your disappointment in—and envy for—another person’s life choices from standing in the way of your love for them?
Website>>| Trailer >>

“Buoy is a powerful, deeply engrossing meditation on family, middle class alienation and love. What begins as a minimalist nod to My Dinner With Andre and Jeanne Dielmann results in a dramatic, emotionally gripping excavation of contemporary life, exquisitely controlled and grounded in its pitch-perfect performances, writing and direction.” – Todd Haynes writer/director Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven, I’m Not There

HELLO MY NAME IS DICK LICKER by Brady Hall (Seattle, WA)
SCREENS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 7PM
(Brady Hall, 2011, 75 min.)

Rich Winthrop is a likable if slightly neurotic high school student whose mom is engaged to an effete and personality-deficient man with the last name Licker. Realizing that his life is about to be scarred by re-branding with the name “Dick Licker,” he enlists his smart-aleck friend Chad to devise a plot sabotaging his mother’s marriage.

Writer and director Brady Hall takes potty mouth to an Aaron Sorkin-esque level as Rich and Chad exchange barbs slathered in dizzyingly complex references to human anatomy and derogatory put downs. In the course of executing their despicable plot, they enlist the help of a psychotic ex-Special Forces vet and a reprobate lawyer. One absurd turn follows another as the story becomes evermore cartoonish, and Rich’s convoluted plan spins out of his control. Embracing and lampooning the archetypal high-school teen movie, Hall crafts a laugh-out-loud comedy with a memorable name. This film includes partial nudity and adult language.
Website >> | Trailer >>

Screens with Bobby Ellis is Going to Kick Your Ass by Craig Packard (Seattle, WA)

RE-ENACTORS by Nathan and Zach Hamer (Mt. Vernon, WA)
SCREENS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 7:15PM

In the vein of Christopher Guest’s great mockumentaries (Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman) comes the new collaboration from the Hamer Brothers, Re-enactors.

Jed Hankley lives to relive. From Civil War battles to old western shootouts, Jed stops at nothing to create the most “historical” re-enactments. When Jed is offered his dream job, a temp tour-guide at the Milltown Pioneer Village, he must set aside his differences with his old rival, Douglas Marshall-Pickett, to create the most “authentic” experience possible. But will Jed and Doug’s hardcore re-enacting standards clash with the cushy lifestyle of the Pioneer Village campers? For Jed and Doug, the summer has now become 1866; for the campers, it’s become a living nightmare.
Website >> | Trailer >>

PEOPLE OF A FEATHER by Joel Heath (Vancouver, BC)
SCREENS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 AT 5:15PM
(Joel Heath, Blu-ray, 90 min)

Featuring groundbreaking footage from seven winters in the Arctic, People of a Feather moves through time into the world of the Inuit on the Belcher Islands in Hudson Bay. Connecting past, present, and future is the people’s unique cultural relationship with the eider duck. Eider down, the warmest feather in the world, allows both Inuit and bird to survive harsh Arctic winters. Both people and eiders face challenges posed by changing sea ice and ocean currents which have been disrupted by massive hydroelectric dams. Joel Heath’s debut feature employs stunning time-lapse photography and underwater footage to create an authentic and insightful portrayal of a community challenged by a changing environment. A beautiful film with incredible shots of arctic wilderness, People of a Feather provides us with a perspective on nature and culture we may never see again. In English and Inuktituk with subtitles.
Website >> | Trailer >>

WALKING TO LINAS by Tonjia Atomic (Seattle, WA)
SCREENS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 AT 7PM
(Tonjia Atomic, 2012, 61 min)

In 1974, renowned German director Werner Herzog walked from Munich to Paris to visit his dying mentor Lotte Eisner. In the 2006 film Walking to Werner, director Linas Phillips paid tribute to Werner Herzog in his pledge to take the biggest walk of his life, from Seattle to Werner Herzog’s Los Angeles home.

Building upon the classic artist’s journey with a quirky and funny twist, Walking to Linas is a comedic mockumentary that follows Stasha and Ada, true artists and each a diva in her own right, as they embark on a pilgrimage across the city of Seattle to pay homage to Seattle director Linas Phillips, their most revered artistic idol.

Will their ambitious quest be fulfilled?  Has Stasha chosen a splashy enough outfit and will her poor choice of footwear survive the journey? Will Ada’s more tolerant nature survive Stasha’s all-knowing diva attitude?  Did the girls Mapquest the right directions? Driven along their circuitous path, these eccentric girls discover truths about each other, their ideals and most importantly their reality.
Trailer >>

Screens with Bad Penny by Linas Phillips and Ricky Camilleri (Seattle, WA)

THE MEN OF DODGE CITY by Nandan Rao (Corvallis, OR)
SCREENS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 AT 7:15PM
(Nandan Rao, 94 min)

The Men of Dodge City are not quite men yet. The film centers on three young friends transplanted to Detroit with the aspiration of transforming an abandoned cathedral-sized church into a lively arts space. J., Zach and Ben are at work, transforming a gargantuanspace and trying hard to articulate their enthusiasm and noble ideas. All the while they play, flirt, tell stories and struggle to define themselves with their grand schemes.

Although the cast and crew hail from the Northwest, the filming of Dodge City took place in Detroit. The centerpiece of the film’s location (and its visual eye-candy) is the church building where the trio spend much of their time. Director Nandan Rao, who is also the cinematographer, expertly captures each scene so that the physical space in all its beauty and decrepitude as an active player in the film. Filmed in the winter, the sun is always hanging low in the sky, surrounding the characters and the space in a perpetual twilight. The sound design is a perfect compliment to the stark picture on screen, as the absence of a score accentuates the naturalistic performances. Magically, each room inside the building becomes a fully-formed character just by the very sound of the empty space.

Rao has created a film that moves in small steps. Viewers are given little in terms of plot, but are richly rewarded by thoughtful and charming characters, confident cinematography and the use of a stunningly beautiful location.
Website >> | Trailer >>

NOT THAT FUNNY by Lauralee Farrer
SCREENS MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 AT 7PM
(Lauralee Farrer, 2011, 105 min)

A veritable who’s who of recent television, Not That Funny stars Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Brigid Brannagh (Army Wives), Timothy V. Murphy (Appaloosa) and K Callan (Lois & Clark) in a comedy about how far we’ll go for love. Tony Hale gives a great turn as Stefan, an affable 40-ish fellow who by his own admission is alone but not lonely. That all changes when Hayley, weary from a high-pressure job with a self-absorbed boss/boyfriend, returns to her hometown to visit her aging grandmother, who Stefan lives with and cares for. Overhearing Hayley tell her grandmother that all she wants is a guy who makes her laugh, Stefan sets out to become funny and win her heart. Unfortunately, Stefan is not that funny, but his attempt leads to important transformations for both of them. This sweet, humble film is both humorous and smart, and speaks to the importance of family, friendship and truth.
Website >> | Trailer >>

FAST BREAK by Don Zavin (Portland, OR)
SCREENS  MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 AT 7:15PM
(Don Zavin, 1977, Blu-ray, 117 min)

Each year at Local Sightings we reach back into the annals of Northwest filmmaking history to pluck a long-unseen classic back into rotation. In a year where the Sonics’ return to Seattle seem imminent, we’re taking the opportunity to screen this rare 1977 documentary about the Portland Trailblazers, directed by filmmaker Don Zavin. Evoking a cinema verite feel not found in most sports documentaries, Fast Break examines the 1977 Trailblazers in a surprisingly personal and compelling fashion. Inter-cutting excerpts from the 1977 playoff and championship season, the film steps outside the basketball court and into the everyday lives of the Trailblazers and their coach Jack Ramsey. Whether it’s biking the Oregon coast with Bill Walton, hosting a kids basketball camp with Dave Twardzik, or game-footage of the Western Conference Finals (with Bill Walton going toe-to-toe with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Fast Break lets the players speak for themselves: about basketball, life and playing in Portland. Don Zavin died from pancreatic cancer in 1998; several years later. his widow Ellen Thomas, donated his entire film archive to the Oregon Historical Society. This is Fast Break‘s Seattle premiere.

CODE OF THE WEST by Rebecca Richman Cohen (Billings, MT)
SCREENS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 7PM
(Rebecca Richman Cohen, Montana, 2012, Blu-ray, 71 min)
Post screening Q&A with activist John Masterson!

As Washington State faces a referendum on legalized marijuana, this look at some of the issues still plaguing Montana’s medical marijuana business offers many lessons to consider.

Once a pioneer in legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, the state of Montana is poised to become the first in the nation to repeal its medical marijuana law. Set against the sweeping vistas of the Rockies, the steamy lamplight of marijuana grow houses, and the bustling halls of the State Capitol, Code of the West follows the 2011 Montana State Legislature as it debates the fate of the law.  Following key figures on each side of the debate, the film is a courtroom and political drama. As it explores state sovereignty, patients’ rights and one of the most heated policy questions facing the country today, the film provides insight into the ways in which the debate has affected many lives. Medical marijuana debates create fraught emotions, and the outcome of these battles will have profound implications for the way we live in America.
Website >> | Trailer >>

COAST MODERN by Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome (Vancouver, BC)
SCREENS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT 7PM
(Michael Bernard and Gavin Froome, 2012, Blu-ray, 60 min)

In Coast Modern, Mike Bernard and Gavin Froome turn their lens on the sleek interiors and lush gardens of stunning examples of modernist architecture, from Vancouver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, from the early 20th century to the second wave of post-war America to today’s current modernist renaissance. Featuring conversations with architects and their patrons, the films asks if Modernism’s time has finally come, or whether it really went away. Cultural critics abound (including a memorable turn from Douglas Coupland), as Coast Modern pays particularly sharp attention to cultural values embodied in architectural form. Interviewed are some of the most respected names in architecture, including James Steele, Barbara Lamprecht, Ray Kappe, Hernik Bull, Pierluigi Serraino, Michael Folonis, Dion Neutra, John Cava, Barbara Bestor and legendary photographer Julius Shulman.
Website >> | Trailer >>

Narrative Shorts, Program 1

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 at 9PM

The Dinner Table by Nathan Williams                                                                                                              (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                   Changes within a family are witnessed in glimpses at their dinner table.

Deserters by Erik LeDrew                                                                                                                             (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                               A traumatized vet called to report for deployment goes AWOL. His lover and fellow soldier tries to convince him not to bail: Love and War don’t mix.

Madman’s Diary by Alexander Tsway                                                                                                             (Sammamish, WA)                                                                                                                                                 
The ever-growing addiction of online gaming has taken over the lives and incomes of Chinese Generation X teens.

Bad Penny by Linas Phillips                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                Shawnsey, Barry’s childhood friend, is staying at Barry’s New York City apartment. Barry has a date and needs Shawnsey to leave for the evening, but Shawnsey has a different plan.

Wish by Norman Tumlova                                                                                                                                      (Shoreline, WA)
                                                                                                                                                           In this thriller, a genie in a bottle teaches unsuspecting humans the cost of changes in life when nothing is freely given.

In the Rough by Peter Edlund                                                                                                                         (Stanwood, WA)
                                                                                                                                                       An old man’s quiet routine is disrupted by a landscaper with strange talents.

Night Visions by Christian Palmer                                                                                                                          (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                    
     After meeting at a party, a girl and a guy drunkenly traverse their neighborhood in a quest to find her missing car.

The Men’s Room by Jane Pickett                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                               A cautious young man enters a park uncertain how to facilitate his first anonymous sexual encounter in the men’s room.

Zinka by Collin Neal                                                                                                                                      (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                                A bleak Russian war finds two female comrades forced to navigate a skirmish alone. The repercussions will last down the years.

Documentary Shorts MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 AT 9PM

Four Students by Tommy Yacoe and Andrew Mitrak                                                                                            (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                       
   This documentary follows the lives of four University of Washington students; each offers a unique perspective on the value of higher education.

Typecast Dragon by Cassidy Dimon, Morgan Dusatko, Katie Killeen and Shauna Hargrove                      (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                      
Seattle cult icon Goddess Kring wrestles with her public access fame as she transitions to a new cycle of her life.

Lanie Riley’s Big Adventure by Morgan Dusatko                                                                                                 (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                         After a series of challenging life events, Lanie must go on an adventure to find herself again.

A Light in the Booth by Alistair McMeekin                                                                                                             (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                               A Scottish cinema projectionist and his 60 years in the business.

Honor the Treaties by Eric Becker                                                                                                                        (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                               A short documentary that explores photographer Aaron Huey’s advocacy work for Native American rights on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Decoding Murray Fisher by Nathan Lessler, Cindy Chen, Stephen Toyofuku                                                (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                       
      On his 82nd birthday, WWII veteran Murray Fisher’s family starts to realize Murray has been keeping a huge secret for over 50 years.

Narrative Shorts, Program 2 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 7:15PM

The Heavens by Brian Perkins                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                         
       A deep space psychodrama about two lost astronauts, filmed entirely in warehouses and bedrooms.

The Epiphany by SJ Chiro                                                                                                                            (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                         
        A man must channel his inner superhero just to get up from the breakfast table.

Door to Door by Daniel Brockley                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                               A dark comedy about what happens when a missionary and a con-artist make a bet to find out who can persuade more people to believe in Jesus.

Things Left Behind by Nathan Williams                                                                                                             (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                           Two opposing Mesolithic groups meet at a small river in a canyon.

Pretty Face and Green My Eyes by Sam Graydon                                                                                                 (Renton, WA)
                                                                                                                                                              A story of first love told through a nostalgic look back at the early 90s grunge music explosion in Seattle.

Bobby Ellis is Going to Kick Your Ass by Craig Packard                                                                                      (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                     
     Mark “Fuckley” Buckley just smacked Bobby Ellis on the school bus. So how will he spend his last day on Earth? Bobby races through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance.

Cougar Hunt by Paul Maupoux                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA) Richie Aldente leads Tim Kennedy as he hunts for “cougars” in this music video.

The Taste of Heaven by Paul Maupoux                                                                                                             (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                               A steampunk story of tragic love, in the form of music video for the Seattle hip-hop artist Props.

On the Mountain by Ashley Cozine                                                                                                              (Tacoma, WA) A game of cat and mouse begins as two hikers try to make it down a mountain after discovering a dead body.

Experimental Shorts TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2 AT 9PM

The Three Body Problem by Dalyce Lazaris & John Ned                                                                                     (Seattle, WA) Two developing filmmakers set out to make a profile piece on a local heavy metal clothing designer. Visiting filmmaker Michael Glawogger gives them a startling new direction for their style.

Vertere by Jacob Slatten                                                                                                                                     (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                            An eerie and brilliant animated take on the circle of life.

Goodbye, Kodachrome, Goodbye! by Jason Gutz                                                                                                  (Tacoma, WA) A surrealist film about life and loss, using every cartridge of Kodachrome Super 8 film that the filmmaker owned before it could no longer be developed.

Gold Moon, Sharp Arrow by Malic Amalya                                                                                                            (Seattle, WA) An adaptation of Stanley Milgram’s 1963 experiment on obedience to authority. Gold Moon, Sharp Arrow explores how queer communities reenact, resist and respond to assimilation and coercion.

Sanctuary Song by Jenna Pool                                                                                                                        (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                                 A documentary portrait of the ecological community surrounding the Beaver Lodge Sanctuary public shore in Seattle, Washington.

Hazzard by Ruth Gregory                                                                                                                                     (Lynnwood, WA)                                                                                                                                                      Dr. Linda Hazzard strongly believed that fasting was the only logical remedy for all maladies. She watched as 40 of her patients withered into death’s embrace in the early 1900s.

In Dreams by Jonah Vigil                                                                                                                                     (Seattle, WA) Ex-lovers meet in a lucid dream.

Aornos by Steve Demas                                                                                                                                      (Seattle, WA) An ambivalent journey through a fractured environment, punctuated only words of wisdom from a portable radio.

The Whale Story by Tess Martin                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                              A  fisherman experiences a moment of connection with a female humpback whale in the waters of San Francisco. Is it inter-species communication or a mysterious fluke?

Hula Hoop by Tess Martin                                                                                                                            (Seattle, WA) A girl with a hula hoop becomes a gold fish, who becomes the earth itself. The ordinary and the extraordinary loop and transform in this playful take on the circle of life. All told in grains of sand.

Mighty Tacoma by Vanessa Renwick                                                                                                             (Tacoma, WA)
                                                                                                                                                             A portrait of the powerful mechanical operations of the industrial tide flats between the languid waters of Puget Sound and the towering splendor of Mount Rainier. With a soundtrack written and performed by Lori Goldston.

31 Haiku by Morgan Dutsatko                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA) A series of video Haiku, all uniquely different.

King Kong Kitchie Kitchi Ki Me O by Britta Johnson                                                                                            (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                               
  Animated Laura Veirs music video about the courtship of a frog and a mouse. Bela Fleck on the banjo!

Asyndeton and Synecdoche by Leif Anderson                                                                                                 (Portland, OR)
                                                                                                                                                         The view from a floating hand as it encounters surfaces near and far.

I’m not Proud by Leif Anderson                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                           An emotional rant about personal history grows into something much more violent.

Fly Films WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3 AT 7:15PM

C.B. by Nathan Williams                                                                                                                                     (Seattle, WA)                                                                                                                                                      
Seattle Center employee C.B. suffers from selective mutism when a fellow employee courts and then abuses her generosity.

The Return by Jeremy Mackie                                                                                                                         (Seattle, WA)
                                                                                                                                                        When a techie college grad gets a job with the maintenance crew at the Seattle Center, they endeavor to orient him to the job and its slightly spooky history.

D.C.I. by Lacey Leavitt                                                                                                                                         
 Two astronomers whose love is on the wane engage in a radical experiment, in hopes of finding passion for more than just science.

Reviens-moi by Tracy Rector                                                                                                                                      
A young man wakes to a profound memory from his past, which ignites a yearning for his childhood sweetheart.

LOCAL SIGHTINGS AWARDS CEREMONY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 AT 7PM
Join us as we celebrate the juried winners of Local Sightings 2012, present the Seattle Composers Alliance award for film music scoring and our 2012 Northwest Film Fund grant award announcement.

OFF LABEL by Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher (Portland, OR) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 AT 8PM
(Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, 2012, Blu-ray)

Winner of our 2012 Northwest Film Fund, Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher’s Off Label offers a sensitive and poetic examination of the medicated margins of American society. Instead of taking a clinical look at the issue of pharmeceuticals, Mosher and Palmieri offer the personal stories of eight individuals — a young medic who was stationed at Abu Ghraib, a woman whose son experienced a psychotic break and committed a violent suicide in an antidepressant marketing study, a bipolar woman who takes eighteen different prescription drugs a day, a man irremediably damaged by experiments conducted on him in prison, a medical anthropologist and a variety of individuals who make their livings as human guinea pigs in drug test trials. Like their first film October Country, Off Label is reflective work, allowing its subjects to speak as one voice, coming up from the depths of the margins of American society. Multiple variations on the Carter Family song ”No Depression In Heaven” guide us along an astonishingly moving and excruciatingly compelling portrait of a nation in thrall.

Website >>

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4 AT 10PM                                                                  Featuring free beer, courtesy of Naked City Brewing, for guests 21-and-over, and retro tunes from DJ Hamagan.

Seattle Film Summit SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 10AM – 4PM                                                             The Seattle Film Summit is a conference for anyone in Washington who has a stake in the production or distribution of media content: filmmakers, actors, video game creators, transmedia geeks, editors, media lawyers, film community leaders, legislators, gaffers, writers—anyone and everyone. During a day-long, participant-directed conference, attendees will address the tough questions of the local film business. Queries, findings and conclusions of the SFS will be compiled into a vivera carta—a living charter—that calls upon community, business, and civic leaders to effect the change needed for professional media production to become a truly viable business model in our state.

The mission of the Seattle Film Summit is to empower and inspire Washington state media producers, especially filmmakers, to discover and develop innovative methods of storytelling, funding, and distribution. The ultimate goal is a robust native media production industry that provides well-paying, stable jobs for Washington state residents.

Tickets are $25 for members of local film organizations or Local Sightings pass-holders, $40 general admission. Conference website >>

Film Composers Panel SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 5:15PM
                                                             Free event! The Seattle Composers Alliance presents a conversation about collaborations between filmmakers and film composers. Creative teams will discuss their collaborative process as they work to create the right score for the right scene!

The Drew Christie Show SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 AT 9PM

Drew Christie, portrait by Daniel Carrillo. Animator Drew Christie has been a staple of Local Sightings since the mid-2000’s, winning our jury prize for his short film The Man Who Shot the Man Who Shot Lincoln. His work is characterized by wry, erudite humor that often illuminates history while lovingly skewering its subjects in terse language, leaving his viewers in a joyful state of reflection. His animation technique applies hand-drawn figures to unusual surfaces including books, newsprint, linocut and crumbled paper, rendering some of the most human touches the medium has seen.

In 2011, Drew’s short Song Of The Spindle premiered at Local Sightings, then went on to screen at the Sundance Film Festival. Since then, Drew has become a regular contributor to the New York Times’ Op-Docs, with recent entries on the nutria and originality. Additional accolades inclde being short-listed for a Stranger Genius award. It is with great pleasure that we present this first-ever retrospective of Drew’s animation, a oeuvre of quirky, sensibly contemplative material that will leave you smiling and hungry for more. Artist Website >>

Screening Program

Bad Meat (2 min, animation/live-action, 2002)
*Winner One Reel Film Festival, High School category

Salty Dog (6 min, Super 8, live action, 2004)

How to Bring Democracy to the Fish (2.5 minutes, animation, 2006)

The Sinking of the Hunley (6 minutes, 2006/07)

F.T. Marinetti’s Futurist Manifesto (6.5 minutes, 2007)

For the Werewolf Have Sympathy (3 minutes, 2008)

Sights and Sounds of the Deep (live action, 6 minutes, 2008/09)

Fire, Fire, I Heard The Cry (1.5 minutes, 2010)

The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln (6 minutes, 2010)

Empress of the North (3.5 minutes, 2010)

History is Us (4.5 minutes, 2011)

Song of the Spindle (4 minutes, 2011)

American Standard Time Presents John Cohen (live action documentary, 9 minutes, 2011)

Some Crazy Magic: Meeting Harry Smith (3 minutes, 2011)

The Reader (1 minute, 2011)

The Crab Fisherman’s Daughter (live action/animation, 2 minutes, 2011)

Hi! I’m a Nutria (3 minutes, 2012)

Allergy to Originality (4.5 minutes, 2012)

Flying Cinema

SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 4, ONGOING

From the Seattle Experimental Animation Team (SEAT) This changing installation in Northwest Film Forum’s lobby uses mini-projectors to screen short works, suspended in unlikely places. Includes a rotating selection of work by SEAT animators suited to kite-bourne screens. Previous kite installations include Susan Robb’s long walk, and the annual SEAT mash-up screenings at Zeitgeist.
Artist Website >>

Post Perfect

SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 4, ONGOING

Co-presented by Northwest Film Forum and The Vera Project

Local Sightings features new feature films each year, the majority produced by emerging filmmakers without fully-fledged distribution or marketing campaigns. In this program, local silkscreen artists are pa ired with local filmmakers to collaboratively create a new poster design for feature films in the festival program.

This year, The Vera Project’s silkscreen studio is home base for designer Chad Lundberg and filmmaker Tonjia Atomic, as they create a new poster for Walking to Linas. Check out the new poster in Northwest Film Forum’s lobby during Local Sightings.

About the Silkscreen Studio The Vera Project’s silkscreen studio offers people of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to learn the art of silkscreening. Since beginning as a co-op in 2004, the silkscreen studio has been the workshop for many local artists and silkscreeners (neophytes and pros alike) who’ve produced posters, t-shirts, comic books and more. Vera’s silkscreen lab is a nexus for emerging local talent and trains over 250 individuals a year. theveraproject.org/silkscreen

Xan Aranda

An award-winning independent filmmaker affiliated with the documentary powerhouse Kartemquin Films (Hoop Dreams), Xan’s Mormon Movie, was inspired by religious educational films her mother starred in while a student at Brigham Young University during the 1960s. Her directorial debut Andrew Bird: Fever Year had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival and has screened with nearly fifty film festivals since. She’s a producer of Milking the Rhino and Outreach Director for Prisoner of Her Past, having handled PBS broadcast of both films. Xan is also an active consultant, with clients ranging from first-time filmmakers to the U.S. Department of Education.

Robinson Devor

Named one of Variety‘s “10 Directors To Watch” in 2000, Devor made his feature directorial debut with The Woman Chaser, which debuted at The New York Film Festival. In 2005, Devor premiered his second feature film Police Beat at Sundance, which went on to be named one of the year’s best films by the New York Times, Film Comment and Art Forum. For his efforts, Devor was nominated for a 2006 Indie Spirit Award and 2005 Gotham Award.  Devor ‘s most recent feature film, the hybrid documentary Zoo, made its world premier at the Sundance Film Festival, and then went on to play at the Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight Section. It was recently named by Filmmaker Magazine as “One of the Top 25 Indie Films of The Decade.” Currently, Devor is in production and editing four films including an adaptation of You Can’t Win, a turn-of-the century memoir of opium addict and master thief Jack Black starring Michael Pitt, and a feature documentary about Sara Jane Moore, the suburban, middle-aged woman who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford. In 2010, Devor received a Stranger Genius award. He has been an arts curator for the City Arts Festival, an advisor at Antioch University and a lecturer at Chicago University and the New School in Manhattan.

Patrick Wang

Patrick Wang graduated MIT with a degree in Economics and a concentration in Music and Theatre Arts. As an economist, he has studied energy policy, game theory and income inequality. As a theater director, he has specialized in classical verse drama and new works, with a collection of his short drama published as The Monologue Plays. His first film (as director/actor/producer), In the Family, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and was a New York Times, NOW Magazine, and Chicago Reader critic’s pick (it screens at Northwest Film Forum in Fall 2012). Patrick featured in Filmmaker Magazine’s 2012 list of 25 New Faces of Independent Film.

PICTURED: Local Sightings jury members Patrick Wang and Xan Aranda present the short film award to filmmaker Brian Perkins at Local Sightings 2012.

October 1-2, 9am-6pm
Wallrus

Wallrus, an animated wall project lasting four years and involving 8 animators, continues in its third installment on Saturday, Oct 1st and Sunday, Oct 2nd, 9am-6pm in a special Local Sightings Film Festival event in Seattle’s Carl Anderson Park. Local animator Tess Martin will direct a group of other independent animators in the animation of a life size whale, part of her film about animals tentatively titled ‘Cat Person.’ This event is free. Those members of the public interested in being interviewed (audio only) are especially encouraged to attend.
Website >>

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Saturday, October 1, 1:30pm
Creative Film Funding in the Age of Kickstarter

While the hottest trend in film finance for micro and low budget films is crowdfunding, grants and traditional investor financing still remain. A hybrid approach may now be the best financing plan.  Fidelma McGinn, Executive Director of Artist Trust will moderate a conversation with panelists Lyall Bush, Executive Director of Northwest Film Forum (NW Film Fund), Doreen Mitchum, from 4 Culture, and Sundance sccepted producer Lacey Leavitt (The Off Hours). All regularly help producers and filmmakers source and structure financing that services the creative demands of the film while maximizing returns on the investment. Join us in a discussion on what your financing options are, how to get donors, granting organizations, and investors interested in funding your work and determining what’s a good budget for realistic recoupment in today’s crowded media market.

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Saturday, October 1, 5pm
The New Video Marketplace

We are all storytellers.  And for each of us, I see a change in the way we view digital media. Transmedia is the latest buzz to describe cross-platform media development, production, distribution and promotion.  Linking many digital options together builds a sure winner in your presentations for financial support. Digital Cinema is more than distributing feature films via satellite. Digital Television is certainly more than the concept of multicasting, centralcasting and secondary digital channels. I work to assist documentary filmmakers by providing greater awareness of the importance of digital assets and features in business proposals.

5:00 PM to 5:30 PM – Describe the marketplace – as I see it.
5:30 PM to 6:00 PM – A positive exchange workshop to solve real problems
6:00 PM to 6:30 PM – The classic question and answer period.
6:30 on – Open

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Sunday, October 2, 4pm
The Perfect Score: Building Collaboration between Filmmakers and Composers

The Seattle Composers’ Alliance present The Perfect Score. Composer and Filmmaker teams will discuss their creative process together as they create the right score for the scene. On the panel there will be composer Eric Goetz with filmmakers Kris and Lindy Boustedt (Perfect 10) and Timothy Watkins (Photo Booth). Also composer Jason Staczek with filmmaker SJ Chiro (Howard from Ohio). The panel will be moderated by composer and producer Catherine Grealish (A Musing).

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Sunday, October 2, 2-4pm
History Is____ Youth Film Meet-Up

Join Northwest Film Forum, SIFF and the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) for a film networking event exclusively for young film enthusiasts (22 years and younger). Connect with professionals in the local film industry, view film screenings, and enjoy good food & drink. This event is completely FREE!

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Wednesday, October 5, 5pm
Demystifying Distribution

One of the primary concerns facing independent filmmakers upon completion of their projects poses the following questions–“Now that my film is ‘in the can,’ what do I do? Where do I go?” Independent filmmakers and business professionals share insights and realistic solutions to the behind-the-scenes process of getting your independent film into the marketplace. Navigating the seemingly burdensome terrain of film distribution may seem like such a daunting task that makers often neglect to consider this part of the production process until it’s too late. Join Oly Ravid, Michael Galinsky and Debbi Berlin as they discuss a myriad of ideas and options that are available to properly promote market and finally distribute independent films and videos to the right venues, allowing work to be exposed to the largest audiences possible, and maybe even eventually providing an income for the artists’ efforts

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Wednesday, October 5, 5pm
Film Incentive Panel

Over the past five years, 70 projects have completed principal photography with help of funding assistance from Washington Filmworks (WF) including 28 feature films, 5 television projects, and 37 regional and national commercials. Many of the projects greenlit by WF are directed by some of Washington state’s most notable directors, such as Lynn Shelton, Megan Griffiths, and David Russo, to name a few! WF takes pride in supporting our local creative talent and the countless cast, crew and support services that make them look good!

As the Washington film community looks ahead to the 2012 legislative session, we set our collective sights on getting the production incentive program renewed. The incentive program remains the best tool that the state has to win motion picture business and keep our local film community working. With additional budget shortfalls anticipated, the 2012 legislature will be charged with making deeper, more significant cuts. And as elected officials evaluate what social services to cut, the film community will be asking for money to renew the production incentive program.

Please join leaders from Washington Filmworks, the Washington state legislature and our creative community to learn about our strategic plans for the 2012 legislative session. We will need the support of the statewide film community to get the program renewed. Please come, listen, learn and ask questions about how you can take charge of your career and help to ensure the future of filmmaking in the Evergreen state.

Guests in attendance:
Becky Bogard, Chair of WF Board of Directors
Don Jensen, WF Board Member/Chair of WF Legislative Committee
Amy Lillard, WF Executive Director
Senator Kohl-Welles
Peggy Case

Monday, October 3, 9pm
Big Joy
(Washington)

James Broughton was a pioneer of West-Coast experimental film. It wasn’t until he was 30 that he even dabbled in the art, still nascent as a medium for creative expression when he began in the 1940s, but he turned to film at a time when suicide was his main preoccupation, and it saved him. Big Joy is the first documentary attempt to explore Broughton’s life and work. This work-in-progress screening offers festival goers an exclusive opportunity to see part of the feature length film while also viewing several of Broughton’s 23 own films.