Calendar
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
"A wrecking ball of a wakeup call." – audience member
May 05 - May 11
(Matt Tyrnauer, US, 2017, 92 min)
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City captures the intense battle between the Trumpian “master builder” of New York, Robert Moses and the activist Jane Jacobs, who passionately fought for cities to be built for the people living in them, and not for developers eager to make a profit.
Northwest Film Forum Annual Gala and Tribute to Board Member John DeShazo
May 06
In honor of our beloved board member John DeShazo, who's moving to the east coast with his family this summer, the theme of this year's gala is "Party Like It's 1999" - the year John joined NWFF. Dress accordingly! Costume attire might be inspired by your favorite film from '99 or a cherished DeShazo memory.
Starless Dreams
Seattle premiere! Sponsored by the Seattle Globalist
May 07 - May 18
(Mehrdad Oskouei, Iran, 2016, 76 min)
Starless Dreams plunges us into the lives of young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a juvenile detention center on the outskirts of Tehran. Mehrdad Oskouei, one of Iran's most prominent directors, spent seven years securing access to this all-female facility. As the New Year approaches, the girls bond, and reveal—with playfully disarming honesty—the circumstances and acts that resulted in their incarceration.
GiveBIG 2017
May 04 - May 11
GiveBIG, the day-long fundraiser for Seattle nonprofits, is TODAY, May 10th! Donate to the Forum through GiveBIG to help us raise $15,000 for a critically needed new website. The project is underway with a late summer launch date. Thank you for supporting the role of the arts in building a better world!
Searching Skies and other shorts
Free event! Filmmaker in attendance! A panel discussion will follow the program. Sponsored by the Seattle Globalist
May 10
This series of short films traces the hypothetical path of Iraqi and Syrian refugees since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 – not by following one singular family or individual, but the larger narrative of displacement and resettlement. Along the way, the filmmakers stop in Syria, which had an open-door policy to Iraqi refugees up until 2007, land in a Jordanian refugee camp where many Syrian refugees are temporarily settled, and then find controversial ground on U.S. soil.
Glen and Randa
May 10
(Jim McBride, US, 1971, 94 min)
After nuclear war has destroyed civilization, small bands of survivors traverse a landscape peppered with the debris of a past society. A young couple named Glen and Randa come across an issue of “Wonder Woman,” whose description of a great metropolis encourages them to set off through the forests and deserts to find it.
Rhythm Assemblies: Films by Reed O’Beirne
Director in attendance!
May 11
(Reed O’Beirne, US, 1993-2017, 70 min)
“Cinema has more to do with dance, than it does with novels; it is fundamentally rhythm and movement over time.” A selection of undependent short films from the 23-year filmmaking career of Reed O’Beirne.
BANG! The Bert Berns Story
May 12 - May 14
(Brett Berns & Bob Sarles, US, 2016, 95 min)
Music meets the Mob in this biographical documentary, narrated by Stevie Van Zandt, about the life and career of Bert Berns, one of the most important songwriters and record producers of the sixties. He launched the careers of Van Morrison and Neil Diamond, and was the only man of his time to achieve the trifecta of songwriter, producer, and label chief.
Short Films From and About the Middle East for Young Audiences
Free event! Sponsored by the Seattle Globalist
May 14
(various directors, various countries, 2014-16, 65 min TRT)
Cinema is an empathy machine, and this collection of short narrative and documentary films takes young people deep inside the lives of their counterparts from Iran, Syria and Yemen. Meet the children of these countries, and you'll come away with a deeper understanding of our shared bonds as the human family. All children want to laugh, to love, to learn, to find friends and fulfillment, and live in peace.
Ice
16mm print!
May 17
(Robert Kramer, US, 1969, 16mm, 128 min)
In an alternate present, the United States has invaded Mexico, and various groups fight against the rising tide of fascism through agit-prop filmmaking and increasingly violent guerrilla actions. Beautifully filmed in stark, 16mm B&W, Ice remains an evocative portrait of the mechanics (and potential pitfalls) of revolution.
Burden
Intro by choreographer Alice Gosti on May 19!
May 19 - May 21
(Tim Marrinan & Richard Dewey, US, UK, Belgium & Sweden, 2016, 88 min)
A probing portrait of Chris Burden, an artist who pushed the limits of creative expression and risked his life in the name of art.
The Future is 0
The live game show sensation returns with two separate shows of all new games and different contestants! Doors at 7pm May 20, join DJ Chilly in our lobby after the show for the TFIZ after-party! Generously sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon
May 19 - May 20
The Future is 0 is a satirical, live game show, filmed in front of YOU, our live studio audience! During the show, three Seattle-area artists compete in bizarre games like “Get the TV to Work” and “High-Rise Condo or New Age Band?”. It's going to be very, very good, and that's the Clay Buff guarantee!
Idaho Transfer
NOTE: 8:00pm showtime has been CHANGED to 8:30pm! We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause
May 24
(Peter Fonda, US, 1973, 86 min)
At a research facility in Idaho, a group of students are engaged with a government-funded project exploring the possibilities of time travel. Miraculously, the experiment is a success, and the researchers discover - and become prisoners of - a future Earth emptied of humanity.
Videoasis – Summer’s Coming Soon
May 24
A Stray
Free event! Seattle premiere! Intro by Iman Ali Sponsored by the Seattle Globalist
May 25
(Musa Syeed, US, 2016, 82 min)
Desperate to outrun his bad luck, a young Muslim refugee seems like he just might make it – until he crosses paths with a stray dog.
Obit.
Seattle premiere!
May 26 - May 28
(Vanessa Gould, US, 2017, 95 min)
Thollem’s Hot Pursuit of Happiness
Live music: Thollem solo w/ video, plus Lori Goldston & Amy Denio!
May 26
Hot Pursuit of Happiness is Thollem's solo show about the insane absurdity of 21st century America, forging a fun-filled onslaught of PunkWorldNoiseBluesAvantAmericana through an unruly electronic beast of vintage keyboards and stomp boxes.
Sarah Jacobson: Queen of the Underground
*PLEASE NOTE: THIS SCREENING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY 5/27 AT 7:45PM. We apologize for any inconvenience!* A Benefit Screening for the Sarah Jacobson Film Grant
May 27
(Sarah Jacobson, US, 1992-97, 125 min)
*PLEASE NOTE: THIS SCREENING HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY 5/27 AT 7:45PM. We apologize for any inconvenience!* Presenting two films by Sarah Jacobson, DIY Queen of underground film in the 1990s and early 2000s, known for her tireless self-promotion and support for fellow filmmakers. Part of the night’s proceeds will go to the Sarah Jacobson Film Grant, which is currently accepting applications until May 21.
Solaris
New 2K restoration!
May 28 - Jun 03
(Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union, 1972, 167 min)
Ground control has been receiving mysterious transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is dispatched to investigate, he experiences the same strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his consciousness.
Disasters of Peace vol. 3
May 28
Filmmakers Kamila Kuc & Reed O'Beirne in attendance!
It can be said that history oscillates between eras of fixity and power and times of undoing, when things unravel. Today we are in a place where we are as likely to look back as we are to imagine a future. This touring programme draws together artist filmmakers who in varying ways are responding to global conditions of re-imagining, undoing and reformation.
The Shadow Council
May 31
The Shadow Council is a people’s legislative body / satirical current events forum hosted by Brett Hamil (of The Seattle Process). Expert Witnesses will present findings on topics both local and national. The Assembly will submit proposed legislation, public comment, questions and complaints.
The Earth is a Hollow Shell: Films + Videos by Georg Koszulinski
Director in attendance! Co-presented by EXcinema
May 31
Seattle-based filmmaker, Georg Koszulinski, will present a program of short films and videos produced from 2013-17, including experimental science fiction and personal essay films shot in Cuba and British Columbia.
Stalker
New 2K restoration! Intro by Charles Mudede on June 4th!
Jun 01 - Jun 04
(Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union, 1979, 163 min)
One of the most immersive and rarefied experiences in the history of cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker embarks on a metaphysical journey through an enigmatic post-apocalyptic landscape. A hired guide leads a writer and a scientist into the sickly heart of the restricted Zone, where the three men eventually zero in on the Room, a place rumored to fulfill one’s most deeply held desires.