Local Sightings 2021 – Living Memories (Shorts Program)

Available virtually from Sep. 16–26, 2021

In-person screening at NWFF:
Sep. 25 at 4pm PT


To accommodate evolving public health recommendations regarding COVID-19, we are adopting a hybrid virtual-and-in-person festival model for 2021. VIRTUAL, IN-PERSON, and HYBRID (virtual AND in-person) Festival Passes are available here.

⚠️ PUBLIC SAFETY NOTICE:

NWFF patrons will be required to wear face coverings while in the building. To be admitted, patrons ages 12+ will also be required to present EITHER proof of COVID-19 vaccination OR a negative result from a COVID-19 test administered within the last 48 hours by an official testing facility.

NWFF is adapting to evolving recommendations to protect the public from COVID-19. Read more about their policies regarding cleaning, masks, and capacity limitations here.

About

Heartwarming and heart-wrenching narratives and documentary family portraits speak to memory, loss, and separation, while often providing hope and valuable perspective.

Header photo credit: Family Recipe, dir. Kamari Bright


How to watch...

VIRTUALLY:

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).
  • If you have purchased a Hybrid or In-Person-Only Festival Pass, we’ll be able to look you up at Will Call by the name you purchased under.

In this program:

Coffee & Sugar

Reflections on an unbelievable marriage of 62 years are vibrantly portrayed through a mixture of hand-drawn and stop-motion techniques.

(Andy Volk, US, 2021, 8 min)

Dear Nanay

World Premiere!

A love letter to her grandmother that explores the filmmaker’s early memories in the Philippines, and the search for refuge from pandemic anxiety and domestic claustrophobia.

(Frances Grace Mortel, US, 2021, 3 min)

Call Me Back

World Premiere!

The last voicemail from the filmmaker’s grandmother forms the foundation of an experimental film meditating on loss and haunted space. Shot on Super 8mm film.

(Melina Kiyomi Coumas, US, 2020, 3 min)

Her Resolve

Northwest Premiere!

A young woman uses the lessons left behind by her father to help herself accept his passing, find closure, and reconnect to the creativity that he had helped her foster in life.

(Marissa Dingman, US, 4 min)

Creak!

World Premiere!

Whenever a 10-year-old boy has a bad day, the best way to lighten his mood is to play a VR game his mom made for him before she died. Featuring live-action and animation.

(Tifa Tomb, US, 2021, 10 min)

Family Recipe

Grandfather’s baking lesson teaches a young girl acceptance, as she learns the similarities between ingredients and people.

(Kamari Bright, US, 2021, 5 min)

Ten Facts

World Premiere!

Saddled by the weight of fading memories and aging in place, an elderly man and his daughter share a morning together.

(Schuyler Schwafel, US, 2020, 13 min)

The Meantime

World Premiere!

Living with dementia under the care of her family, an 87-year-old woman is able to forget her formative years under wartime occupation and experience something like a second childhood.

(Sam Pess, US, 2021, 6 min)

Wilson's Market: A Mom and Pop Story

In the small town of Bandon, Oregon, the owner of a beloved lunch deli tries to protect his business, family, and community during the COVID pandemic.

(Trenton Fraser, US, 2021, 9 min)

Old News Is So Exciting

World Premiere!

To cope with a hereditary disease which causes each member of the Mori family to vanish when they turn thirty, they’ve developed a celebration to attend their own funerals before they vanish.

(Anthony Kit Lee, Canada, 2020, 11 min)


Festival Directory

⚠️ Please note: For the sake of public safety, NWFF will require both face-coverings and proof of vaccination from audiences. We reserve the option to shift the festival to virtual-only on short notice.

Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 24th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a virtual-and-in-person showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2021 program, which runs from September 16–26, 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.


A modern browser is required to view this site.

Please update your browser.

Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave,

Seattle, WA 98122

206 329 2629


Notify me when new films, events, and workshops are coming up!