Calendar
The Case of the Three-Sided Dream
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5!
Oct 19, 2014
(Adam Kahan, United States, 2014, Blu-Ray, 87 min)
Blinded at birth, multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk was destined to open the eyes and ears of many with his breathtaking talent, fearless activism and inspiring spirit of determination. Rahsaan Roland Kirk wore as many hats as he played instruments (frequently all at once). He overcame obstacles as formidable and diverse as paralysis and racial prejudice to live out the vivid dreams that shaped his identity. From tenor sax to flute, he was an unstoppable showman who continued to play music and tour even after a stroke left him effectively one-handed.
Beket
Introduction by AJ Epstein, Artistic Director at West of Lenin
Oct 21, 2014
(Davide Manuli, Italy, 2008, 80 min)
An “existentiabsurdist” film loosely based on Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Beket takes place in a no-man's land outside of time, when mankind no longer inhabits the planet. Protagonists Freak and Jaja meet at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere and embark on an absurd, existentialist journey filled with apocalyptic imagery.
Stations of the Elevated
New restoration!
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5!
Oct 21, 2014
(Manfred Kirchheimer, United States, 1981, DCP, 45 min)
Among the first-ever documentations of graffiti on film, Stations of the Elevated weaves together vivid images of elevated subway trains crisscrossing New York City's gritty urban landscape. With a complex soundtrack that combines the ambient sounds of the city with the music of Charles Mingus and Aretha Franklin, Stations of the Elevated captures the height of the 1970s graffiti movement in New York, featuring the work of early legends including Lee, Fab 5 Freddy, Shadow, Daze, Kase, Butch, Blade, Slave, 12 T2B, Ree, and Pusher.
Videoasis
Oct 22 - Feb 18, 2015
Videoasis is a celebration of music videos and the artists who create them. Our quarterly showcase is a thematic mixture of locally made videos, some new, and some definite throwbacks.
Swim Little Fish Swim
Seattle premiere!
Oct 24 - Oct 30, 2014
(Ruben Amar and Lola Bessis, United States, 2013, DCP, 95 min)
Inspired by New York filmmakers Jim Jarmusch, John Cassavetes and Spike Lee, and by their own experiences of the city, French filmmakers Ruben Amar and Lola Bessis have crafted a delightfully engrossing domestic drama for their feature debut.
Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story
Film subject Ed Reed in attendance!
Film introduction and hosted Q&A by jazz journalist Robin Lloyd!
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5!
Oct 25, 2014
(NC Heiken, United States, 2014, 84 min)
Frank Morgan was a prodigal alto sax player who, like so many of his fellow musicians of the era, saw his career plagued by drug addiction. What sets Frank apart is not just his exceptionally beautiful, classic alto playing, but also the amazing fact that he survived 30 years of revolving door incarceration and drug abuse, and went on to a comeback career in the last 22 years of his life.
The Crow + SuperTrash
20th anniversary screening of The Crow!
Oct 29 - Oct 31, 2014
(Alex Proyas, United States, 1994, Blu-ray, 102 min)
Grunge virtuosity reigns supreme in The Crow, a gothic cult classic filled with extreme performances, anguished romance, delicate oblivion and unchecked sadism. Perfect for Halloween. Join us on October 31 to celebrate the related release of author Jacques Boyreau's new Fantagraphics book, SuperTrash: Hermaphro Chic, Movie Fetish, 21st Century Anxiety.
The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga
Nov 01, 2014
(Jessica Oreck, United States/Russia/Ukraine/Poland, 2013, 72 min)
An iconic fairy tale reveals its philosophical roots (and ripple effects) in this journey deep into the forest. The widely-known Eastern European folk tale of Baba Yaga tells of a witch with a cabin on chicken’s legs, and a penchant for children’s flesh. But Yaga’s world took on new meaning during wartime, when those who once feared her began to flee into the woods in search of refuge.
Surviving Cliffside
Director Jon Matthews in attendance! Conversation at 4pm before the screening with Jon Matthews, filmmaker Amy Benson, and program director Courtney Sheehan
Nov 02, 2014
(Jon Matthews, United States, 2014, 65 min)
Surviving Cliffside opens with a title card that reads, “dedicated to my homestate of West Virginia and all her complexities, contradictions, and immense beauty.” Those complexities and contradictions are explored through tender contemplation and unconventional narrative structure in this rare portrait of rural West Virginia.
In Medias Res
Nov 03, 2014
(Luciana Fina, Portugal, 2013, digibeta, 72 min)
In the 1950s, Portuguese architect Manuel Tainha grew up as a young architect in Lisbon’s exciting modernist movement, and later became an acclaimed professor, going on to create work that subverted established standards for architectural form. More than a biographical documentary about a renowned architect, In Medias Res creates dialogue between space and time, filmmaker and viewer, inside and outside, architecture and other art forms.
Maidan
Nov 04, 2014
(Sergei Loznitsa, Ukraine, 2014, 131 min)
Both timely and timeless, Maidan captures the massive public demonstrations in late 2013 and early 2014 that catalyzed the Ukranian Revolution and deepened rifts between Russia and the West. Director Sergei Loznitsa (My Joy, In the Fog) lets the people speak for themselves, opting for long static shots and refraining from imposing voice over narration or traditional interviews.
Song from the Forest
Nov 05, 2014
(Michael Obert, Germany, 2013, Blu-ray, 96 min)
As a young man, burgeoning musicologist Louis Sarno was gripped by a Bayaka pygmies song he heard on the radio. After researching the song’s homeland, he traveled to the rainforest of the Central African Republic to learn more. 25 years later, he has recorded thousands of hours of Bayaka music, raised a son in the forest and lives with the Bayaka people.
The Seattle Documentary Summit
Nov 07 - Nov 08, 2014
Join many of Seattle's top non-fiction professionals as they discuss the important issues surrounding the industry. Topics include: storytelling to help raise money, storytelling in production, interactive storytelling, legal issues and new distribution models.
Indigenous Showcase: Misty Upham Tribute Screenings
Nov 08, 2014
Join us for a free community screening this November of August: Osage County and Frozen River, part of our Indigenous Showcase collaboration with Longhouse Media. This event is presented in tribute to the life and work of Misty Upham, the talented local actress who passed away in October 2014. Join us to remember and celebrate Misty's life and work.
The Barefoot Bandit
Seattle premiere!
Director Carly Bodmer in attendance!
Nov 11, 2014
(Carly Bodmer, 2014, United States, 72 min)
A telling of the life of Colton Harris-Moore, the notorious young airplane thief from Camano Island, Washington, who amassed tens of thousands of online fans before and after his capture in 2010.
Horror on a Shoestring: How to Make a Horror Flick with a Micro-Budget
Free event!
Happy hour at 6:30pm
Talk at 7pm
Nov 12, 2014
Join local film writer/producer team Ramon Isao and Ian Bell as they discuss the fine, frustrating and life-affirming art of crafting independent genre movies. Through the phases of writing, re-writing, pre-production, re-RE-writing, onset travails, post and beyond, Ramon and Ian will share some strategies that stretch dollars and release films.
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!
American Interior
With an introduction by director/musician Gruff Rhys! Come see the film before Gruff's show around the corner at Barboza
Bring your concert ticket stub and get a $1 off your movie ticket!
Nov 14, 2014
(Dylan Goch, Gruff Rhys, Wales, 2014, Blu-Ray, 91 min)
Gruff Rhys of Welsh electro-psych rock outfit Super Furry Animals embarks on a quest into the American interior to retrace his ancestor’s footsteps. In the late 18th century, Welsh explorer John Evans became convinced that a fellow countryman had discovered the Americas. To prove his point, he set out on his own in search of a Welsh-speaking Native American tribe, and along the way mapped the Missouri river (a document that proved handy for Lewis and Clark) and entrenched himself in the contested frontier.
Norte, The End of History
Nov 14 - Nov 20, 2014
(Lav Diaz, the Philippines, 2013, 250 min)
Acclaimed Filipino auteur Lav Diaz, who won best film for his latest at the 2014 Locarno Film Festival, has created a masterful rumination on the traumatic and transformative effects of global capitalism in his homeland. The saga follows Fabian, a student riled by the socioeconomic debris of the developing world left in the wake of advanced capitalism—what historian Francis Fukuyama referred to as “the end of history.”
A Spell to Ward Off Darkness
Director Ben Russell in attendance for a film introduction and Q&A!
Pre-screening reception with bartender/film critic/moderator Jay Kuehner, and Ben Russell, at 6pm!
Nov 15, 2014
(Ben Rivers and Ben Russell, 2013, Estonia/France/Germany, DCP, 98 min)
The first major collaboration of celebrated film and media-makers Ben Rivers (Two Years at Sea) and Ben Russell (Let Each One Go Where He May) proposes a different dialectic for artistic partnership. A mysterious loner roams across three movements: a commune on a small Estonian island, the majestic wilderness of Northern Finland, and a black metal concert in Norway. The lead performance by Brooklyn-based musician Robert A.A Lowe fuses the psychedelic, mystical threads of Russell's work and the dedicated nomadism of Rivers'.
Ilo Ilo
Free screening!
Nov 17, 2014
(Anthony Chen, 2013, Singapore, 99 min)
Set in Singapore in 1997, Ilo Ilo chronicles the relationship between a family of three and their newly arrived Filipino maid, Teresa, who has come to Singapore, like many other Filipino women, in search of a better life.