Calendar
Manakamana
Jun 20 - Jun 26, 2014
(Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez, Nepal/USA, 2013, 118 min)
A formal accomplishment as grand as the heights of the mountains it climbs, this ethnographic documentary is set entirely on a cable car that transports pilgrims through the mountains of Nepal towards their destination: the famous Manakamana Temple.
You’re Looking At Country
Live country music by Nova Devonie and Jo Miller!
Jun 21, 2014
Join us for a rollicking new "big hair," all-lady edition of our occasional "You're Looking at Country" series, featuring legendary stars of country music. Travel back in time to a bygone, big screen world of shellacked wigs, beribboned gowns and fluttery false eyelashes. But the night isn't only about style—you can expect substance supreme in the music. The sadder the songs, the more you'll like them.
Lucky Them
Sponsored by KEXP 90.3! Extended by popular demand! Join us for a post-screening Q&A with director Megan Griffiths following the Thursday, June 26 screening!
Jun 13 - Jun 26, 2014
(Megan Griffiths, USA, 2013, DCP, 97 min)
Northwest Film Forum board member, local film hero and Stranger Genius award winner Megan Griffiths presents her first set-in-Seattle feature with Lucky Them, starring Toni Collette, as Ellie, a jaded rock journalist. Assigned to investigate the disappearance of an enigmatic Seattle rock hero—who just so happens to have been the love of her life—Ellie is faced with the challenge of reconciling the past and moving forward.
Flash Gordon
Co-presented with Three Dollar Bill Cinema!
Hosted by Mark Mitchell and and Jordan Christianson!
Happy hour at 6:30pm
Screening at 7:30pm
Jun 26, 2014
(Mike Hodges, United States, 1980, 35mm, 111 min)
A homoerotic space trip with harness-clad bird men, a fanciful emperor with a penchant for beaded gowns, and numerous scenes with our shirtless hero tied up and helpless. Delish. A golden phallus of cinematic art, Flash Gordon is Danilo Donati on poppers, going full gay outré space.
Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case
Jun 27 - Jul 03, 2014
(Andreas Johnsen, Denmark, 2014, 86 min)
Equally enraging and inspiring in turn, this documentary chronicles the life and artistic struggles of Ai Weiwei, whose subversive works have resulted in his imprisonment under “house arrest” for 81 grueling days by the Chinese government. Rather than being beaten down, the poor treatment only further motivates Ai Weiwei to go on pushing the boundaries of his art.
Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
Jul 05 - Jul 06, 2014
(Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno, France/Iceland, 2006, Blu-Ray, 92 min)
This 360-degree, real-time portrait of soccer superstar Zinédine Zidane is back on our screens (after a sold-out engagement in 2008), just in time for the 2014 World Cup! Acclaimed contemporary artists and filmmakers Douglas Gordon (24 Hour Psycho) and Philippe Parreno's unusual film approach focused seventeen synchronized 35mm and HD cameras solely on Zidane for the entirety of a soccer match, from the first kick of the ball to the final whistle. The result is a startling connection to the sensations, the psychology and the body of the athlete.
Scarecrow Video Presents: VHSEX
Jul 05, 2014
Introduced by creators Brian Alter and Spenser Hoyt! (Various, VHS, 80 min)
Summer hormones got you hot and bothered? Skip the cold shower and splosh around in VHSEX, a salacious stew of vintage videotape clips compiled from Seattle's very own Scarecrow Video. They ogled hours of rare VHS footage from their Sexploitation room to find the juiciest bits, including plenty of full frontal nudity, full posterior nudity and full on Dr. Ruth Westheimer!
Pharaoh
Catered opening night reception at 6pm, hosted by the Seattle Polish Film Festival! Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 07, 2014
(Jerzy Kawalerowicz, DCP, 180 min)
An epic film production—including battle scenes featuring thousands of extras and refined choreography—Pharaoh focuses on the story of young Egyptian ruler, Ramses XIII. With his young passions, love and idealism, the Pharaoh has to face the cold pragmatism of dealing with the country’s external enemies and internal struggles. Riddled with psychological, moral and philosophical questions about the nature of power, Pharaoh ultimately rises above large battle scenes and romantic kisses in favor of a deeply meaningful artistic creation.
PANDEMIC: Viral Videos
Hosted by Adam Sekuler and Lauren Berliner!
Mar 04 - Jul 07, 2014
Each month, PANDEMIC turns Northwest Film Forum’s cinema into a virtual examination room, as two cultural curators poke and prod viral blights from across the interwebz. This month, meme-machines Adam Sekuler and Lauren Berliner guide us on a quest to answer the nebulous koan of cloud life—yes, you can haz cheeseburger. . .but can you digest it?
Jump
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 08, 2014
(Tadeusz Konwicki, Poland, 1965, DCP, 104 min)
A Western set in Poland of the 1960s. A man on the run jumps off a train and seeks refuge in a scarcely populated settlement, nearly a ghost town. It is hard to tell what or where the place is, set halfway between dream and reality, inhabited by people in distress. Who is the mysterious Mr. Nobody? To some he seems to be a prophet; to others, a martyr or a common liar. This enigmatic role was played by Zbyszek Cybyluski, one of the most recognizable and beloved stars in the history of Polish cinema.
Mother Joan of Angels
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 08, 2014
(Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Poland, 1960, DCP, 110 min)
Young, virtuous exorcist Father Suryn is assigned a difficult task: he must investigate a case of demonic possession, after a local priest is burn to death for tempting the nuns of a convent. Arriving at the nunnery, he meets its abbess, Mother Joan, and subsequently embarks on a struggle against the forces of darkness, to save her soul. Inevitably, the priest must choose between sacrificing his own purity and saving the convent from evil.
Black Cross
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 09, 2014
(Aleksander Ford, Poland, 1960, DCP, 166 min)
The first Polish historical blockbuster and the most viewed Polish movie of all times, Black Cross features battles galore, political maneuvering and tragic love set in medieval times. Based on a novel that was written in the thick of the Germanization program, Black Cross depicts the heroic Polish campaign against the invading Order of the Teutonic Knights.
Screen Shots at Capitol Hill Art Walk
Free event, 5pm - 8pm!
Happy hour drink prices!
Curated by Vera Petukhova!
Jul 10 - Mar 12, 2015
Join Northwest Film Forum for Screen Shots, a monthly series during Capitol Hill Art Walk. A new program every month features happy hour, video art, and sometimes special guests and lobby installations!
The Wedding
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 10, 2014
(Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1972, DCP, 102 min)
Academy Award-winning director Andrzej Wajda takes us to a wedding party, where people talk, drink and dance and flirt; young and old, rich and poor alike. It is an unusual 19th-century wedding; the marriage of an intellectual from a big town with a simple country girl. The director uses this event as a pretext to expose a gallery of characters from various walks of life, including a priest, a poet, a farmhand and wife of a counselor. Unexpectedly, something uncanny begins to permeate the joyful celebrations, as some of the guests begin to see mysterious ghosts.
Hourglass Sanatorium
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 10, 2014
(Wojciech J. Has, Poland, 1973, DCP, 124 min)
Magic, dreams, a manor in decay: the Hourglass Sanatorium is one of the most original and beautiful films in Polish cinema, a visionary, artistic, poetic reflection on the nature of time and the irreversibility of death. The screenplay is an adaptation of the fantasy fiction of Jewish author Bruno Schulz, one of the most renowned Polish prose stylists of the 20th century. Reflections on the Holocaust were added to the movie, reading Schulz’s work through the prism of his death during World War II.
Camouflage
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 11, 2014
(Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland, 1976, DCP, 106 min)
An ironic and absurd comedy, Camouflage transports us to a university summer school camp. The shallowness and cynicism of the academic milieu becomes apparent through the relationship between a young linguistics professor, Jaroslaw, and his diabolical senior colleague, Jakub. Renowned contemporary Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi presents the deeply troubling premise of the consequences of academic conformity with witty humor, as he mocks the status quo.
The Internet’s Own Boy
Jul 11 - Jul 17, 2014
(Brian Knappenberger, United States, 2014, DCP, 104 min)
In 2011, the Federal Government indicted Reddit co-founder and internet activist Aaron Swartz for downloading thousands of academic journal articles without paying fees. The messy battle that followed put Swartz’s idealistic view of the Internet as an equalizing force of democratic information sharing on trial, and ultimately concluded when Swartz committed suicide in the face of a 35-year prison sentence.
Eroica
Co-presented with the Seattle Polish Film Festival
Jul 11, 2014
(Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1957, DCP, 85 min)
Andrzej Munk’s Eroica, a Heroic Symphony in two parts and a masterpiece of the Polish Film School, puts a realist lens to the romantic idea of heroism. Based on a script by Jerzy Stefan Stawiński, Eroica draws on its author’s first-hand experience as a soldier in the September campaign against the invading German army in 1939. Imprisoned in a POW camp, Stawiński escaped, participated in the Warsaw Uprising, and upon its failure was returned to another POW camp.
Film Education Open House
Free event!
Jul 12, 2014
Come learn more about the wide range of classes that we offer at Northwest Film Forum for both filmmaking and film appreciation. Afterwards, join us for happy hour in our lobby to meet our fabulous faculty, and to mingle with other students.
DRM: Digitally Rendered Mind
Curated by Nic Wilson Artist Dakota Gearhart in attendance!
Jul 12, 2014
This program of new video art by 11 local, national, and international artists uncovers the ever-evolving digital parameters of human experience.
Twisting architecture, an overgrown Tasmanian landscape, shamanistic virtual tours and green screens, an iPhone app commercial for the new age, Bart Simpson at his most spiritually psychedelic, and Rihanna’s seapunk prank are gathered together in this sketchbook of the digitally rendered mind.
Durational Film From The Yellow Fish Durational Performance Festival
Part of Yellow Fish - Epic Durational Performance Festival Free program!
Jul 14, 2014
Curated by Adam Sekuler
“Inspired by Marina Abramovic, Doug Aitken, Matthew Barney, Gina Pane, Yves Klein, Jan Fabre, Salt Horse's 12-hour play and others, I have been thinking for a while about what it would do to this artistic community to experience a Durational Performance Event—by which I mean performances, actions or re-actions that last for a minimum of an hour and a maximum of 48 hours, which do not necessarily require the constant attention of an audience and may not require an audience at all.” —Alice Gosti
Music Craft: The Clash
Sponsored by KEXP 90.3!
Jul 17, 2014
(70 min)
A fan-sourced pig out of Clash club gigs, TV appearances, and moody interviews; effectively we get the career of The Clash, from guttersnipe rock to new wave reggae, with raps about the "meaning of punk." Standout numbers include "The Magnificent Seven," "Train in Vain," and "Straight to Hell."
As It Is In Heaven
Producer Nathaniel Glass in attendance!
Jul 18 - Jul 24, 2014
(Joshua Overbay, United States, 2013, DCP, 87 min)
This film drama from the American South (a region under-represented in the landscape of independent cinema) was inspired by the life of Harold Camping, the zealot (infamous or beloved, depending on who you ask) who ruled a many-million dollar fundamentalist Christian radio empire (140 stations on 4 continents) until his death in late 2013.
Volunteer Screening Party
Free event!
Free pizza and beverages (beer for 21+)!
Quarterly volunteer info meeting at 6pm
Screening at 7pm
Jul 19, 2014
From the box office to the projection booth to special events and projects, volunteers work on the front lines and behind the scenes at Northwest Film Forum. They are the heart of our organization, and on July 19 we celebrate them with a proper party! Come mix and mingle with your fellow volunteers, enjoy drinks and pizza on us, and watch a movie selected by a Film Forum volunteer.
Framing Pictures
Free event!
Feb 28 - Jul 20, 2014
Join us for a free, lively monthly discussion led by long-time Seattle film critics (and occasional guests) who have much to say on the subject of cinephilia past, present and future. The July conversation includes former Film Comment editor Richard Jameson, Everett Herald/KUOW critic Robert Horton and Bruce Reid.
Warren Etheredge's Guilty Pleasure
Jul 20, 2014
Warren Etheredge is the host of the High Bar, founder of the Warren Report, and one of the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool. He has interviewed Oliver Stone, Woody Allen, Darren Aronofsky, Salman Rushdie, Jodie Foster, and many other cinematic luminaries. Come find out which delightfully bad slice of cinema Warren knows by heart and would defend to the death. Hint: it's probably hilarious.