BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
$15 General Admission
$10 Student/Child/Senior
$7 NWFF Member
About
(Kahlil Joseph, 2025, United States, 109 min, in English)
Adapted from Kahlil Joseph’s renowned video art installation, BLKNEWS: Terms & Conditions is a distinctive cinematic experience that mirrors the sonic textures of a record album, weaving fiction and history in an immersive journey where the fictionalized figures of W.E.B Du Bois and Marcus Garvey join artists, musicians, Joseph’s family, and even Twitter chats, in a vision for Black consciousness.
DIRECTOR STATEMENT:
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a film conceived with the fluidity and creativity of an album. This approach allowed me to think beyond traditional boundaries, embracing a process that seamlessly incorporates the contributions of other directors, artists, and collaborators. Poets, writers, editors, designers, musicians, scholars, and more have all left their mark on this project, enriching its texture and expanding its scope.
The film draws inspiration from a range of cultural and artistic touchstones: BLKNWS itself, the improvisational brilliance of Kind of Blue, the late works of Jean-luc Godard, and the critical fabulations of Saidiya Hartman. It is shaped by conversations with Fred Moten, David Hammons, and Malik Sayeed, as well as the grounding influence of Cristina Sharpe, Dionne Brand, and the spiritual traditions of Ifá and West African cosmologies. At its heart is a profound belief in myself, my voice, and the love of my family and ancestors.
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions brings together every format of the moving image I’ve engaged with—cinema, video art, music video, social media, and documentary. It is a layered, multi-dimensional exploration of what the moving image can achieve, both as an artistic medium and as a tool for cultural critique.
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 suji@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 are encouraged 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. 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.
