Calendar
Celine and Julie Go Boating
New 35mm Print!
Jun 29 - Jul 05, 2012
(Jacques Rivette, France, 1974, 35mm, 192 min)
An elaborate fairy tale with literary roots in Lewis Carroll, Henry James and Borges, this whimsical story involves a white rabbit chase through Montmartre, a mysterious old house in the Paris suburbs and strange potions in the form of little candles placed on the tongue.
The Beat Hotel
Jun 29 - Jul 01, 2012
(Alan Govenar, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 88 min)
Alan Govenar's new film goes deep into the legacy of the American Beats in Paris during the heady years between 1957 and 1963. Allen Ginsberg, Peter Orlovsky and Gregory Corso fled the obscenity trials in the United States surrounding the publication of Ginsberg's poem "Howl," taking refuge in a cheap no-name Paris hotel. They were soon joined by others from England and elsewhere in Europe, seeking out the "freedom" that the Latin Quarter of Paris might provide.
Reach of Resonance
Seattle Premiere!
Jul 02 - Jul 03, 2012
(Steve Elkins, USA, 2010, Blu-ray, 116 min)
Beginning with the humbling notion that music is simply vibrations moving through the air, Reach of Resonance examines four “noise-making” musicians in a philosophic and sonic journey. In this compelling film meant for more than just noise fans, Elkins revises cultural notions of music and instrument.
Search & Rescue
Jul 05, 2012
Revel in a smorgasbord of cinematic frivolities, hand-selected by visiting archivist Gem Seddon from the Film Forum’s collection of educational, instructional and downright catastrophic 16mms reels. With subjects ranging from the intricacies of molluscoidea to newsreels of faded beauty queens, our vault houses the past in all its imperfect glory.
The Color Wheel
Jul 06 - Jul 12, 2012
(Alex Ross Perry, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 83 min)
We’re bringing back The Color Wheel following its smash screening at our American.Film.Week in 2011. This black-and-white comedic symphony stars Carlen Altman and Alex Ross Perry (who also directs) as mutually loathing siblings on a road trip in the latest American film to drolly capture the mood of a generation caught in deferred adulthood.
El Velador / The Night Watchman
Jul 06 - Jul 12, 2012
(Natalia Almada, Mexico, 2011, digiBETA, 72 min)
The brutality of Mexico’s drug war and the quiet that falls between the moments of violence is on display in El Velador, which follows a night watchman in Culiacan cemetery, a space populated with large mausoleums of once-powerful men, now casualties of the conflict.
The Pony Man
Free event!
Filmmakers in attendance!
Jul 07, 2012
His job: outsourced. His home: commandeered by his couch-potato daughter. But Ed Heller's not losing hope. Inspired by a homeless street clown, Ed's decided to reinvent himself. With a Polaroid camera slung around his neck and a pony at his side, Ed's going door to door. Will Seattle put out the welcome mat? This screening of The Pony Man is free and open to the public.
A Trip to the Moon
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 09, 2012
Three classic silent film shorts are presented for your lunchtime viewing pleasure, including Georges Melies' seminal A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la lune), and two of Charlie Chaplin's hilarious classics.
Piccadilly
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 09, 2012
A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act. The film stars the luscious Anna Mae Wong, who casts intense glamour and enchantment over a nightclub in danger of decline in a tale of betrayal, forbidden love and murder. Year: 1929.
You're Lookin' At Country: Hillbillies in Hollywood Edition!
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
Jul 12, 2012
(Live music and DVD, 80 min)
Join us for cold beers, hot live music and sweet celluloid memories from a time when country music stars cavorted on the big screen. Thrill to the sight of Kris Kristofferson’s long and tawny torso. Shudder as you witness Johnny Cash as a crazed psycho killer. Gaze into the gauzy beauty of Dolly’s pre-op face.
Unfinished Spaces
Special introduction by architect and author John Loomis opening night!
Jul 13 - Jul 15, 2012
(Alysa Nahmias & Benjamin Murray, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 86 min)
On the heels of revolution, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara commissioned three architects to build a new National Arts School. Today the ambitious structure remains unfinished. Forty years after their design fell out of vogue in the changing Cuban political climate, the building’s architects return to Havana to resume work on a beautiful Cuban classic.
Grand Illusion
New 35mm Print!
Jul 13 - Jul 19, 2012
(Jean Renoir, France, 1937, 35mm, 114 min)
Often cited in the same breath as Citizen Kane as the best film ever made, Grand Illusion is French director Jean Renoir's anti-war masterpiece, produced two years before Europe plunged into World War II. Join us to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Grand Illusion, a film that continues to pulse with energy and powerful intelligence.
Juan of the Dead
35mm screening!
Jul 13 - Jul 14, 2012
(Alejandro Brugués, Cuba, Spain, 2011, 35mm, 90 min)
The buzz is huge on Juan of the Dead, a satirical comedy about life in Cuba and a zombie genre spoof. A violent plague is unleashed on the streets of Havana, on the anniversary of the revolution, with zombies multiplying exponentially by the minute. While the authorities blame imperialistic maneuvers from the North for the vicious takeover, they're soon overwhelmed by mounting chaos.
Impossible Voyage
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 16, 2012
Two silent film classic shorts are featured in this lunchtime program, including Georges Melies' fantastical Impossible Voyage and Chaplin's iconic Tramp caring for The Kid.
L'Argent
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 16, 2012
L'Argent (1928) is a gripping exposé of the destructive power of money, featuring ruthless stock-market speculators, desperate bids, ruined rivals, and sexual seduction. In the film, business tycoon Nicolas Saccard is nearly ruined by his rival Gunderman when he tries to raise capital for his company. To push up the price of his stock, Saccard plans a publicity stunt involving the aviator Jacques Hamelin flying across the Atlantic to Guyana and drilling for oil, much to the dismay of Hamelin's wife Line. While Hamelin is away, Saccard tries to seduce Line. Line finally realizes that she and her husband were pawns in Saccard's scheme, and she accuses him of stock fraud.
I Want My Name Back
Sponsored by Easy Street Records
Jul 18 - Jul 19, 2012
(Roger Paradiso, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 93 min)
They kicked it off in '79 with the hit song “Rapper’s Delight,” but where did Master Gee and Wonder Mike end up? I Want My Name Back chronicles the rise and fall of hip-hop pioneers the Sugarhill Gang, from the album that went platinum to their mob-financed label, Sugar Hill Records, stealing their profits and publishing rights.
ByDesign 12: Gareth Smith and Jenny Lee
Jul 20, 2012
Smith & Lee Design is a husband-and-wife team known for creating inventive title sequences for such films as Thank You for Smoking, Up in the Air, Juno, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Young Adult, Jeff, Who Lives at Home and HBO's Cinema Verite. We are honored to have Gareth Smith and Jenny Lee with us to show their work and discuss their practice of using typography, drawings, photographs, animation and live-action filmmaking to create openers and special sequences for films and television.
ByDesign 12: Opening Night
Free event!
Jul 20, 2012
Join us for the opening night of ByDesign 2012, our series exploring intersections of design and the moving image and celebrating artists who transform our visual culture. This free party features food, drinks, films by Andrew Rohrman and a live audiovisual set by Eric Moon and Randy Jones.
ByDesign 12: New York In Motion
Jul 21 - Jul 25, 2012
(2011, USA, Graham Elliott, 60 min)
Capturing the contagious energy of New York City, designer/filmmaker Graham Elliott's new documentary is a captivating look behind the scenes and screens of New York's thriving motion graphics industry. More than 50 influential players in the field shed light on the ever-changing state of technology, shared sensibilities, the drive for creative innovation and New York City as an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
ByDesign 12: Taken By Storm: The Art Of Storm Thorgerson And Hipgnosis
Director Roddy Bogawa in attendance!
Followed by a reception and live performance by Chris Brokaw!
Jul 21, 2012
(2011, USA/UK, Roddy Bogawa, 95 min)
Storm Thorgerson's album covers are some of the most evocative and visually-arresting images in popular culture. After studying film, he co-founded famed graphic art company Hipgnosis in the late 60s. Taken By Storm illuminates his career and unique process, and includes interviews with musicians and contemporary visual artists. This special screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director and a reception with live performance by musician Chris Brokaw, who created original music for the film.
ByDesign 12: Visions Of Future Spaces In Film
With cultural critic Charles Mudede!
Co-presented by ARCADE!
Jul 22, 2012
In this special program, critic Charles Mudede discusses visions of future architecture and interior spaces in science fiction films. With images and movie scenes from films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Gattaca, Mudede will explore how films have reflected, reinterpreted and rejected our notions of architecture and design as they look forward in time.
ByDesign 12: Entropy Shorts and Music Videos
Jul 22 - Jul 24, 2012
ByDesign's Entropy program showcases innovative short films and music videos by artists and groups from around the globe. Using a variety of creative techniques, these films reflect the rapidly dissolving lines between design, art, movies and music. This year's survey features over a dozen new works, including a demented, animation movie intermission film from Kansas City-based group MK12, an elegant essay film by UK collective The Light Surgeons and music video for Jim Guthrie by Seattle artist Andy Rohrman.
Kingdom of Fairies
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 23, 2012
Let Buster Keaton and George Melies spirit you away on your lunch break in the Kingdom of Fairies and The Cameraman, two classic silent films.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 23, 2012
This 1925 epic was the most elaborate and expensive silent film ever made, a legendary production, whose costs were overshadowed only by the film's box office, over $9 million! Young Arrius, the adopted son of a Roman nobleman, is acclaimed as the most accomplished chariot racer in all the Empire. Few people know that Arrius is really a former Jewish slave, Prince Judah (Ben-Hur), who was thought to have perished. Young Arrius decides to accept an offer to race horses in an upcoming chariot competition in order exact his revenge on a Roman Tribune named Messala.
ByDesign 12: Seattle Moves Panel Discussion
Jul 23, 2012
Seattle designers/directors from World Famous, Oh Hello and Superfad will show recent projects and discuss their inspirations, creative processes and the behind-the-scenes techniques involved in creating title sequences, visual effects, commercials and short films.
ByDesign 12: Splitting The Screen
With ByDesign curator Peter Lucas!
Jul 23, 2012
In the 1960s, multiple-screen film presentations and new split-screen composite techniques brough graphic design dynamics into film and expanded the cinematic language. ByDesign curator Peter Lucas will discuss influential works of the era, including multiple-screen World's Fair films, experimental films and split-screen sequences in movies that are the root of a media language now common and taken for granted in today's virtual culture.
ByDesign 12: Sean Pecknold: The Universe And You
Director Sean Pecknold and collaborator Britta Johnson in attendance!
Jul 24, 2012
Sean Pecknold has used a variety of stop-motion animation techniques and live-action photography to create surreal short films, commercials and music videos for Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Elvis Perkins, Here We Go Magic and others. This program features work created by Pecknold over the past five years. He and collaborator Britta Johnson will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion, sharing extra, behind-the-scenes material.
Invisible Ink
DVD release party!
Jul 24, 2012
Shot in central New York state, Invisible Ink is composed of three separate but interweaving short stories. July 24th marks the national release of the film on DVD and online after a massive remastering process that improved the look of the film. Come celebrate with a screening of the film, selected special features and a Q&A with the the Seattle-based director, Christopher Julian.
ByDesign 12: Design The New Business
Jul 25, 2012
(2011, Erik Roscam Abbing, 40 min)
As our world becomes more complex, the challenges to business grow. "Design Thinking" is playing a central role in creatively solving problems and driving future development. This new documentary investigates contemporary issues and the evolving relationship between design and business. Design The New Business features interviews with an international group of designers, service providers, educators and businesses that have incorporated design as a part of their core approach.
Soul Nite!
Jul 26, 2012
Our funky soul celebration is back! Join us for this special summer get-together celebrating the songs, moves and grooves of great 60s soul music. Peter Lucas hosts an evening of electrifying performance footage on the big screen, and of course drinks and dancing in the cinema. Doors open a half hour before showtime.
Confluence
Jul 27 - Aug 02, 2012
(Vernon Lott & Jennifer Anderson, USA, 2011, 53 min)
Special Jury winner at our Local Sightings Festival in 2011, Confluence documents a series of disappearances on the Idaho/Washington state line. As we hear from victims’ families and law enforcement officers, the story twists into an even more gruesome tale as the methods and motivations of a serial killer begin to take shape. The landscape is an ever-present character as Philip Bloom’s immaculate cinematography underlines the eeriness by seducing us with a portrait of vast open hills and a limitless sky.
The Graduate
New 35mm print!
45th Anniversary!
Jul 27 - Aug 02, 2012
(Mike Nichols, USA, 1967, 35mm, 106 min)
Glamorous, sexy and sad, The Graduate is an emotional touchstone for an entire generation. Benjamin Braddock is a recent college graduate in search of life direction, who soon starts an affair with the wife of his father's partner, Mrs. Robinson. The film darkly and humorously captures the restlessness and ennui of the era and remains a glorious classic of the American screen.
Gustafer Yellowgold
Jul 29, 2012
Northwest Film Forum is excited to welcome back Gustafer Yellowgold, a multi-media performance of live music, animated illustrations and storytelling. Gustafer and his menagerie of friends (an eel, a pet dragon named Asparagus, a bunch of mustard slugs, a tuxedo-clad pterodactyl) put on a show, presenting songs alongside large-screen animations with karaoke-style subtitles for early readers.
Rips' Dream
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 30, 2012
Buster Keaton and Georges Melies join together in this lunchtime program of classic silent films, in stories of cowhands and Rip Van Winkle.
The King of Kings
At the Paramount Theatre
Jul 30, 2012
Cecil B. Demille's biblically-proportioned King of Kings (1927) mixes sex and religion, turning the redemption of Mary Magdalene, a high priced courtesan and possible lover of Jesus, into a vamp. At the start of this classic story, Mary Magdalene becomes angry when Judas (now a follower of Jesus) won't come to her feast. After going to see Jesus, she becomes repentant. From there the Bible story unfolds through the crucifixion and resurrection.