Calendar
Summer Pasture
Dec 30 - Jan 05, 2012
(Lynn True Nelson Walker & Tsering Perlo, 2010, Tibet/China, 2011)
This is not your typical “Free Tibet” film. More family drama than political exposé, this documentary of a young nomadic family from eastern Tibet is both intimate and unromantic. Summer Pasture successfully documents a way of life in transition. In a classic example of “show, don’t tell,” no filmic commentary explains the situation, yet the harshness of the landscape and political conditions are undeniably evident.
Urbanized
JANUARY 19th SHOW CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
Additional dates added by popular demand!
Jan 06 - Jan 22, 2012
(Gary Hustwit, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 85 min)
The new documentary from the director of Helvetica and Objectified explores the design of cities, looking at the issues and strategies behind urban design through interviews with some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders and thinkers.
"A beautifully photographed, elegantly edited film about 21st-century urbanization. What makes the doc so impressive is that it’s less about facts and more about ideas." —The Stranger
"May open your eyes to the deliberate way some cities are designed—and the accidental ways in which others become distorted." —Seattle Times
The Beat Is The Law: Fanfare for the Common People
Seattle Premiere!
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
Jan 06 - Jan 08, 2012
(Eve Wood, 2010, UK, DigiBeta, 90 min)
Glastonbury Festival, 1995: The Stone Roses pull out of their headline set after a mountain bike accident and Rod Stewart is unavailable. As last minute replacements, Pulp take to the stage to face 80,000 people. They deliver a set regarded as one of the best in the festival’s history and are catapulted to the forefront of the Britpop movement—an achievement that ten years earlier seemed like an impossible dream. Made with the full cooperation of Pulp, The Beat is the Law brings together original interviews, performances, promos, newly unearthed live footage and home videos to tell the story of Pulp and their contemporaries’ journey from the darkest industrial depths of Sheffield to the pinnacle of pop via the consciousness-raising techno/house of Warp Records. Featuring original interviews with Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Candida Doyle and Nick Banks, plus Richard Hawley (Longpigs), Mark Brydon (Chakk/FON/Moloko), Rob Gordon (FON/Warp), Adi Newton (Clock DVA) and many more!
"The Stranger Suggests: It’s deeper and richer than your average music doc, diving into the political and economic realities underlying the music, and it’s terrific." —The Stranger
Art History
Jan 09, 2012
(Joe Swanberg, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 74 min)
Mumblecore director Joe Swanberg’s film Art History is a backstage-drama surrounding a sexually explicit film shoot. When the actors take the romance off screen, the filmmaker, played by Swanberg himself, becomes jealous. The ambiguity between film and reality, love and desire is explored in this meta-film with the audience privy to all.
“Joe Swanberg may not be a Jean Renoir just yet, but he is a young person brimming with ideas.” —Brigitta Wagner, Senses of Cinema
Silver Bullets
Jan 10, 2012
(Joe Swanberg, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 70 min)
Director Joe Swanberg stars as a struggling filmmaker in Silver Bullets, a meta-film that took him nearly two and a half years to create. Loosely based around the creation of a werewolf flick, Swanberg’s film-without-a-script comes out fully formed. Silver Bullets addresses previous criticism of Swanberg’s work and his personal struggle as an artist. The improvised dialogue, the bold score by Orange Mighty Trio and the mixture of HD and super-8 footage cause Silver Bullets to erupt beyond Swanberg’s reputation as a realist filmmaker and into a new realm of innovation.
The Zone
Jan 11, 2012
(Joe Swanberg, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 70 min)
Joe Swanberg’s third meta-film, The Zone, is a generously revised remake of Pasolini's Teorema, an Italian film from 1968. Following its original plot structure (a sexy stranger comes to town and seduces every member of a household), Swanberg complicates the premise by absorbing the tropes of a remake into the film-within-his-film.
Buttons
Jan 12, 2012
(Josh & Benny Safdie, Alex Kalman, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 70 min)
Josh & Benny Safdie (Daddy Longlegs, The Pleasure of Being Robbed), Alex Kalman (creator of myblocknyc.com) and Factory 25 present this feature-length program of found moments from the everyday—films that showcase the wonder, beauty, sadness, love, aggression and magic that goes unnoticed on the hectic streets of NYC and elsewhere.
Screens with a one-shot by the Safdie brothers, Straight Hustle,commissioned by Northwest Film Forum’s One-Shot film program.
Framing Pictures
Free!
Jan 13 - Jun 15, 2012
Join us for a monthly discussion with three longtime Seattle film critics (and occasional guest commentators) who have much to say on the subject of cinephilia past, present and future. The conversation includes former Film Comment editor Richard Jameson, Everett Herald/KUOW critic Robert Horton and MSN.com critic Kathleen Murphy.
El Sicario, Room 164
JANUARY 19th SHOWS CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
Seattle Premiere!
Jan 13 - Jan 19, 2012
(Gianfranco Rosi, 2010, USA/France, 35mm, 80 min)
Former Chihuahua police commander “El Sicario” has murdered hundreds in the service of Mexico’s cartels. In Gianfranco Rosi’s El Sicario, Room 164, the assassin meets with journalist Charles Bowden in a Juarez hotel room and gives testimony of his experience.
"A great film. For drug-war neophytes, it will open the gates to a very real, pertinent hell. For others, it will present more questions than it answers." —The Stranger
House of Bamboo
JANUARY 19th SHOW CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER New 35mm print! *Please note updated showtimes
Jan 13 - Jan 19, 2012
(Samuel Fuller, 1955, USA, 35mm, 102 min)
Samuel Fuller is highly regarded as a forerunner to and influence on the French New Wave as well Tarantino, Scorsese and Jarmusch. His narrative-tabloid-noir filmmaking has always been controversial. In House of Bamboo, the director who famously said “film is a battleground” goes to US-occupied post-war Japan.
Run to the East
Co-presented by Longhouse Media
Jan 14, 2012
(Henry Lu, 2010, USA, 87 min)
News headlines all over the West reinforce negative stereotypes of Native Americans: they live in communities associated with drug use, alcoholism and random acts of violence. But that isn't the entire story. Endurance running has long been a key spiritual element of Native American cultures—one through which individuals can demonstrate strength and resilience. Its importance has declined as modern problems have emerged, but many still believe in its benefits. Through endurance running, the next generation can learn mental toughness, the value of proper nutrition and the gratification that comes from winning. Can the high school seniors presented in this documentary use running to beat the odds and earn a scholarship to a prestigious college?
The Off Hours DVD Release Party
Free!
Jan 17, 2012
Northwest Film Forum is opening our doors to help celebrate the official release of The Off Hours on DVD! The event is open to the public and free! DVD's will be available for sale, and we'll be screening some of the Special Features on the big screen! Drinks and general merriment to follow.
Happy Hour Saloon
Enjoy drink specials from 5-6:30!
Nov 17 - Feb 16, 2012
This Thursday, please join NWFF and special guest Xan Aranda, Director of Andrew Bird: Fever Year for happy hour drinks. Film lovers and film makers: Come out to the Saloon -- make new acquaintance and mingle with old friends! As always, our hand-selected wines and beers are $1 off (which makes beer $3, house wine $4 and wine specials $6).
A Drummer's Dream
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
Jan 20 - Jan 22, 2012
(John Walker, 2010, Canada, Blu-ray, 85 min)
Featuring Nasyr Abdul Al-Khabyyr, Dennis Chambers, Kenwood Dennard, Horacio “El-Negro” Hernadez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Mike Mangini and Raul Rekow, A Drummer's Dream engages viewers with rich music styles and influences that are as dynamic as the performers themselves. The creative and spiritual freedom of expression these artists display is overwhelming—from Latin rhythms to the wildly original compositions of Kenwood Dennard.
"Recommended: They do things with drumsticks you can't even imagine!" —The Stranger
My Joy
Jan 20 - Jan 26, 2012
(Sergei Loznitsa, 2010, Germany/Ukraine/Netherlands, 35mm, 127 min)
Sergei Lozitsa’s debut feature My Joy premiered in competition for the Palme D’Or at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. A veteran documentarian, Loznitsa traveled extensively through the Russian provinces and now carries that experience into his latest work, a feature film that profiles several days in the life of truck driver Georgi (Viktor Nemets). Challenging and beautiful, Loznitsa’s discursive narrative unravels absolutely and unforgettably.
"A maddening vision and one of the year's must-see provocations." —Seattle Weekly
Tempest
At the Paramount Theatre
Jan 23, 2012
(Sam Taylor, 1928, USA, 35mm, 102 min)
Tempest is a feature silent film directed by Sam Taylor. V.I. Nemirovich-Dantchenko wrote the screenplay and William Cameron Menzies won an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for his work in the film in 1929, the first year of the awards ceremony. The film is set during the final days of Czarist Russia and revolves around a peasant who rises through the ranks of the Russia army ending up a Lieutenant.
Marrow
Director in attendance!
Jan 24 - Jan 25, 2012
(Matt Wilkins, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 92 min)
With a tour-de-force performance from actress Frances Hearn, Marrow is an intense psychological drama about ordinary horror. Writer/Director Matt Wilkins’ wrenching drama dives into the deepest, most secret places in the life of a family in this haunting exploration of mortality and regeneration.
"Seattle Weekly Pick: Wilkins is at his best churning up the volatile emotional space in scenes that rise and fall unexpectedly and authentically. ...There are genuine moments of connection and love." —Seattle Weekly
2012 Children's Film Festival Seattle
Jan 26 - Feb 05
Northwest Film Forum is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for the 7th edition of Children's Film Festival Seattle — the largest international festival of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. The ten-day extravaganza celebrates the best and brightest in children's cinema, and includes almost 150 films from all over the world. It's a mind-blowing mélange of live performances, animation, features, shorts and fantastic hands-on workshops, all crafted with care to appeal to the next generation of movie lovers — and their parents.
Flaherty Seminar Shorts: The Artist and the Process— Works by Lillian F. Schwartz and Frank Scheffer
Jan 26, 2012
(Various directors, Various years, Various countries, DigiBeta, 78 min)
Join us for a program of highlights from this year's Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, Sonic Truth, curated by Dan Streible. The touring program features three short videos: The Artist and the Computer (1980), Pixillations (1970) and U.F.O.s (1971), by computer art pioneer Lillian Schwartz, who has experimented at the intersection of art and technology since working at Bell Labs four decades ago. Followed by a newly edited version of Dutch documentary maker Frank Scheffer's From Zero (2011, 60 min), featuring never-before-seen footage of American composer John Cage.
How The Fire Fell
Jan 27 - Feb 02, 2012
(Edward P. Davee, 2011, USA, Blu-ray, 81 min)
Winner of our Local Sightings Film Festival, How the Fire Fell imagines Corvallis, Oregon in 1903. Edmund Creffield set out to teach the true word of God to those who would listen, and in doing so gave birth to a religious cult. Poignant and beautiful, How the Fire Fell evokes the brilliance of Bergman, Malick and Tarkovsky.
"A breath of fresh air...a film that can suck in the viewer." —IndieWire
"Haunting...Cinematographer Scott Ballard's gorgeous, silvery images, the compressed energy of Davee's framing and a remarkable cast make this a unique experience." ‚—Seattle Times
Street Angel
At the Paramount Theatre
Jan 30, 2012
(Frank Borzage, 1928, USA, 35mm, 102 min)
Street Angel is a 1928 silent film about a spirited young woman, played by the beautiful Janet Gaynor. This is a beautiful and charming film with a romantic depth that could never be equaled today. Angela (Gaynor) finds herself destitute and on the streets before joining a traveling carnival, where she meets a vagabond painter.