Local Sightings 2023 – Sacred Places: Indigenous Shorts [Hybrid]
Watch online: Sep. 15–24
Watch in person: Sep. 24 at 7pm
Watch in person: Sep. 24 at 7pm
Visiting Artist
** The Water Flows Always director/producer Nils Cowan will be in attendance! **
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 maria@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 ⚠️
NWFF patrons will be required 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. We are not currently checking vaccination cards. 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.
About
(47 min TRT)
Two documentaries show how deeply linked environmental stewardship and family are for their indigenous subjects. Discussions of spirituality, political advocacy, and heritage all flow together in both films, creating a comprehensive call to action to present and future generations of ecological protectors.
Header photo credit: Tuhaymani’chi Pal Waniqa (The Water Flows Always), dir. Nils Cowan & Gina Milanovich
BUY TICKETS HERE
FAQ: How do I watch online?
- Purchase your ticket through Northwest Film Forum’s Eventive virtual cinema. A free Eventive login is required.
- From the Eventive virtual catalog page, purchased tickets will appear under “My Content Library” under your user menu (upper-right). From the Eventive festival landing page, they will appear under “My Tickets” on the site’s menu bar (at top).
- Your confirmation email will also route you back to these pages to watch. (Can’t find it? Check spam!)
- If all else fails, please contact paul@nwfilmforum.org
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).
- 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.
Co-presented with Nia Tero
Nia Tero works in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples who sustain thriving territories and cultures to strengthen guardianship of Earth and all beings.
Our vision is of an Earth where Indigenous guardianship of thriving homelands and waters is ENABLED everywhere possible.
To contribute to this, over the next decade we will UPHOLD a network of place-anchored partnerships with Indigenous Peoples that demonstrate the power of Indigenous guardianship to sustain a vibrant Earth. Building upon and working alongside this network, we will also support efforts to EXPAND recognition and support for Indigenous guardianship globally.
Films in this program:
Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum (Salmon People)
(Katie Campbell, WA/OR, 2022, 26 min, in English)
When the salmon are running up the Columbia River, Native people are there with them. They live, eat and sleep at the river. Their children grow up at the river. They catch salmon for subsistence, for ceremonies and for their living. This is the life of the Wy-Kan-Ush-Pum, the Salmon People. It is a life Columbia River tribal people have lived for generations and have fought for decades to protect.
Over the last century and a half, they have watched as restrictions to their access to salmon have rapidly increased. Treaties displaced them from their traditional fishing areas; dams massively reduced the numbers of salmon that swam in the waters; environmental contamination made salmon habitats unviable. And now, as climate change threatens the salmon throughout its life, the stakes of that fight are existential.
Tuhaymani'chi Pal Waniqa (The Water Flows Always)
(Nils Cowan & Gina Milanovich, Seattle, WA, 2023, 20 min, in English, Cahuilla, Ute-Southern Paiute-Chemehuevi with English subtitles)
A father seeks to reconnect his daughter with her indigenous roots and with the ancient springs of the Mojave Desert, just as a new water-mining project threatens their very existence.
Festival Directory
⚠️ Please note: NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. We are not currently checking vaccination cards.
Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 26th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a virtual-and-in-person showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2023 program, which runs from September 15–24, 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.