Calendar
The Hawks and the Sparrows
Aug 23 - Aug 25, 2013
(Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italy, 1966, Digital, 89 min)
The Hawks and the Sparrows stars the beloved, stone-faced clown Totò as an Italian everyman, and Ninetto Davoli as his good-natured but empty-headed son. Roaming the countryside, they meet a speaking crow, who tells them the story of two monks, also played by Totò and Ninetto, who preach the commandment of love to the birds. The Hawks and the Sparrows is Pasolini's profound comedy; of all the films he made, this one was his favorite.
The Gits
Aug 25, 2013
(Kerri O'Kane, 2007, Digi-BETA, 80 min)
This July marked the twentieth anniversary of the legendary Seattle singer (and Capitol Hill musician) Mia Zapata’s death; August 25 would have been her forty-eighth birthday. To honor the life and music of The Gits' legendary front woman, we present this special screening of a great documentary. One part The Filth and The Fury, one part CSI: Seattle, The Gits is a rock testament that is as engaging and powerful as the music that inspired it.
Centro Historico
West Coast premiere!
Aug 26 - Aug 29, 2013
(Aki Kaurismaki, Pedro Costa, Víctor Erice, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, 2012, Digital, 89 min)
This Portugese-set quartet of films from four of cinema's master filmmakers offers a layered omnibus on the historic town of Guimarães in Northern Portugal. Centro Historico's four parts are directed by Pedro Costa, Manoel de Oliveira, Victor Erice and Aki Kaurismäki.
Code of The West
Post screening Q&As every evening, with drug policy and enforcement experts!
Aug 30 - Sep 01, 2013
(Rebecca Richman Cohen, USA, 2012, Digital, 71 min)
Once a pioneer in legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes, the state of Montana is poised to become the first in the nation to repeal its medical marijuana laws. Set against the sweeping vistas of the Rockies, steamy lamplight from marijuana grow houses, and the bustling halls of the State Capitol, Code of the West follows the 2011 Montana State Legislature as it debates the fate of the law. Join us each evening for special post-screening Q&As with drug policy experts.
Museum Hours
Seattle premiere!
Aug 30 - Sep 05, 2013
(Jem Cohen, Austria/United States, 2012, DCP, 106 min)
It's winter in Vienna, and Johann (a guard at the grand Kunsthistorisches Art Museum) meets Anne, a foreign visitor called to Austria for a medical emergency. New to the country and with little money, she wanders the city in limbo, taking the museum as her refuge. Johann is initially wary, but eventually offers help, and the two are drawn into each other’s worlds. Their meetings spark an unexpected series of explorations of their own lives and the life of the city, and of the way art can reflect and shape daily experience.
The Harder They Come
New restoration! Concert ticket giveaway!
Sep 05, 2013
(Perry Henzell, 1974, Jamaica, DCP, 105 min)
In anticipation of Jimmy Cliff’s appearance at the Neptune this September, we present the film that launched reggae to an international phenomenon, casting this rhythmic music in an anti-establishment role while also propelling Jimmy Cliff to fame (and this film into the status of a classic).
Heaven's Gate
New restoration!
Sep 06 - Sep 12, 2013
(Michael Cimino, 1980, United States, DCP, 219 min)
Never has a film seen such a critical turnaround as Heaven’s Gate, which was almost universally derided on its release as the worst film ever made. Decades later it is celebrated as a masterpiece. This Western’s legendary cast and crew include its director—who had just finished work on The Deer Hunter—alongside Christopher Walken, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Bridges, John Hurt and even a young Willem Dafoe. Together the ensemble tells a mythic tale of class warfare in the wilds of Wyoming, centered on a love story between a marshal, a mercenary and a brothel madam.
Off Label
Directors in attendance Friday & Saturday!
Sep 06 - Sep 12, 2013
(Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri, 2012, United States, Digital, 80 min)
Like an urban legend, the specter and scope of America's pharmaceutical dependence keeps most of us from even dwelling on the issues it provokes, which is what makes Off Label a miraculous investigation. Telling the stories of those affected by the pharmaceutical industry (from patients to physicians to professional guinea pigs) while keeping their stories human and even humorous, directors Mosher and Palmieri expose the causes and tragic consequences of overmedication.
October Country
Directors in attendance Saturday!
Sep 07 - Sep 08, 2013
(Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri, 2009, United States, 35mm, 80 min)
In an age when reality TV regularly makes public examples of unusual families, the grace of this documentary is in its refusal to treat its subjects as anything but individuals. Living practically under the same roof are four generations of the Mosher family, a clan where domestic violence is passed from mother to daughter and where only Desi, the youngest of them, insists she is “smarter” than to resign herself to her relatives’ way of life. Tracking the family’s trials between one Halloween and the next, this exquisite family portrait is a Faulkner-style epic.
Mole Cartoons
Sep 07, 2013
(Zdenek Miler, Czech Republic, Variety/16mm, 90 min)
Internationally renowned Czech animator Zdenek Miler got his start in the 1940s working with the legendary Jiri Trnka, the father of Czech animation. Seeking inspiration for a character to star in his own cartoon feature, Miler was walking through the woods when he (quite literally) stumbled over a mole hill. From this chance encounter was born Miler’s 1957 cartoon How the Mole Got His Trousers. The loveable Mole (or Krtek in Czech) returned to the screen in the early sixties and went on to star in a half hundred different cartoons and short films that have entertained audiences in over 80 different countries around the world.
Framing Pictures
Free event!
Jan 18 - Sep 13, 2013
Join us for a monthly discussion with three long-time 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.
Le Joli Mai
New restoration! 50th anniversary!
Sep 13 - Sep 16, 2013
(Pierre Lhomme and Chris Marker, 1963, France, DCP, 145 min)
Exactly half a century ago, a small film crew took to the streets of Paris to tell a story about the city’s people. Like magic, their unassuming interviews of random Parisians—simple questions about their private and public lives—turned into a groundbreaking work of essay filmmaking, even collage. If you have ever wondered whether one hour (or two or three) is enough time to capture a society at a fleeting moment in its history, then come celebrate this film’s return, as it screens in this country for the first time in 50 years.
Music Craft: Leonard Cohen
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5 and Easy Street Records
Sep 14, 2013
The bed may be narrow but his arms are open wide. This I'm Your Man tour concert was performed in San Sebastian, Spain, and recorded for Spanish television on May 20, 1988. Cohen's sound and performance are the stuff of legend. Part of Music Craft, our ongoing series featuring rare concert footage from music legends.
First Stories: Early Film Narratives, 1901-1913
Sep 16, 2013
(Various directors, United States/France/Britain, 16mm, 90 min)
Tonight the Sprocket Society presents a program of short films that trace the early evolution of narrative cinema, with famous and obscure selections from America, France, and Britain, circa the early 1900s.
Annual Member Meeting
All current Film Forum members invited to attend
Sep 23, 2013
Members, join us on September 23 as we vote on our board of directors, discuss the state of the organization and local filmmaking, network with other filmmakers and film lovers, and enjoy a drink. This is your chance to guide the direction of Northwest Film Forum, meet the board and staff, and hear about the year past and the year ahead. All current members are welcome to attend.