Local Sightings 2025 – Growing Pains (Shorts)
Sun Sep 21:
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
(69 min TRT)
Love, loss, and longing take on extra potency when you’re a young person navigating a confusing world. These coming-of-age stories explore the turmoil of adolescence and beyond with poignancy and a poetic touch.
Header photo credit: Casualties, dir. Jenny M. Ng
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:
Beachcombing
(Evan Main, Tacoma, WA, 2024, 6 min, in English)
Paul, lost in his own hometown, turns to beachcombing along the shoreline to reconnect with a life he’s lost touch with. As he collects fragments of the past, both physical and emotional, his discoveries force him to confront buried memories, unspoken truths, and the fragile beauty of what remains.
Friend of the Year
(Natalie Parker, Seattle, WA, 2024, 11 min, in English) Seattle premiere!
When high school senior Julia brings her new friend Naya to a party, she’s quickly sidelined as Naya falls into the spotlight—forcing Julia to confront jealousy, betrayal, and a harrowing moment that changes everything.
Brothers
(Alec Marquis, Burnaby, BC, 2024, 15 min, in English) Seattle premiere!
Two brothers navigate their past and repair their relationship after the death of their father.
HATCH
(Alireza Kazemipour & Panta Mosleh, Vancouver, BC, 2024, 11 min, in English)
Naaji, an Afghan refugee boy, hides with his mother inside a moving water tanker trying to cross the border to safety. Losing his mother in the process, Naaji forever tries to find a way to relive his last memory of her.
Casualties
(Jenny M. Ng, Portland, OR, 2025, 9 min, in English) World premiere!
Three young friends reunite at a swimming spot for the first time in years, but the memory of a school shooting remains a splinter in their friendships.
Death & Daylight
(Arella D Christianson, Portland, OR, 2025, 18 min, in English)
In the in-between state of a young man’s dream, a sweeping reflection unfolds: of childhood, love, loss, change, and memories woven through the places left behind. Death & Daylight traces the thresholds we cross, the ghosts we carry, and the quiet light that calls us onward.
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.