Sun Sep 21
3.30pm
3.30pm
Local Sightings 2025 – Growing Pains (Shorts)
film
Local Sightings 2025 – Echoes of the Future (Shorts)
Sat Sep 20:
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
(58 min TRT)
In these sci-fi shorts set in the near future, humanity grapples with its place in the cosmos. Featuring time loops and time travel, truth-telling devices, and a smorgasbord of gadgets and gizmos.
Header photo credit: Bippy the Little Robot, dir. Glenna C Burmer
BUY TICKETS HERE
FAQ: What's the festival format this year?
- 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.
Films in this program:
The Intention Invention
(R.J. Sullivan, Portland, OR, 2025, 5 min, in English) Washington State premiere!
An idealistic inventor develops a technology capable of detecting the true intentions of anyone it targets. But, the question is… Do we really want to know?
Dealing with Time
(Byron J Donaldson, Seattle, WA, 2025, 6 min, in English) World premiere!
A woman who can manipulate time showcases her ability as if presenting the features of a car.
Ctrl Alt Dance
(David Over, WA, 2025, 4 min, in English) Seattle premiere!
Kurt gets an invite to a dance party—but there’s a problem: he can’t dance. That is, until a strange flyer arrives in the mail, promising to transform him into a dance floor legend.
Parthenogenesis
(John Longenbaugh, Olympia, WA, 2025, 8 min, in English) West Coast premiere!
In the far future, the crew of a spaceship have to make a fateful decision when they encounter a derelict ship–and its survivors.
Forest of Echoes
(Benjamin Watts, OR, 2025, 13 min, in English) World premiere!
After crashing on an alien planet, an astronaut’s hope for survival is shattered when the very refuge he seeks could be his undoing.
Focal Plane
(Tommy Heffernan, Nicole Olson, Seattle, WA, 2024, 12 min, in English) Seattle premiere!
In the near future, a young activist goes on a date with a company woman bearing a secret.
Bippy the Little Robot
(Glenna C Burmer, Seattle, WA, 2024, 10 min) Northwest premiere!
Bippy the Little Robot tells the story of an A.I. trash can that spreads hope, through his love of music, in a post-apocalyptic world.
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.