Calendar
Short and Sweet
Jan 27 - Feb 03, 2013
This gentle line-up of animated films is a perfect introduction to big-screen magic for your little one. Meet a dancing teddy bear, see some pixies and play with a mischievous hen and other lovely creatures.
See Me Shine
Jan 27 - Feb 01, 2013
A program filled with incredible kids who have taken the reins to make a difference in the world. You’ll meet a boy who stays true to a special pet, kids who draw their way out of difficulties, brave girls and boys who stand up to bullies, a talented girl who dreams of being a star and a patient from Seattle Children’s Hospital who shows us her world through her talent for photography.
Small is Powerful
Jan 27 - Jan 30, 2013
A not-so-silly goose saves the day, a puppy unwraps some big presents, a brave girl gets ready to jump into the unknown and one little red brick makes a big difference, in this program filled with glorious animation.
Shiver and Shake
Jan 27 - Jan 31, 2013
Spend an hour on the edge of your seat with these international shorts. A few of the films will make you crack a smile, while others are sure to raise a goose bump or two. If you’re ready to face down floating heads, space aliens, spooky dolls and puppets, big black birds, dark shadows and skeletons, then this program is for you!
Captain January
World premiere live score by Leslie McMichael!
Jan 27 - Feb 03, 2013
(Edward F. Cline, USA, 1924, live action, 61 min)
For decades, this charming film was a forgotten, barely-flickering relic of the silent film era. Now, thanks to efforts by Milestone Film and Video and UCLA Film and Video Archive, audiences are once again falling in love with its star, the irrepressible Baby Peggy — a child actress who took the silver screen by storm ten years before the success of Shirley Temple. At the dawn of film, Peggy Montgomery was the world’s first five-year-old millionaire, churning out two-reelers and features, and becoming the subject of magazine covers, Baby Peggy dolls and look-alike contests. Behind the bright lights, the child star’s life was hard, and she was eventually blacklisted from studios after her manager-father got into bitter arguments with producers. Today, Diana Serra, the actress who played Baby Peggy, is still alive, and the subject of a stirring documentary, Baby Peggy: The Elephant in the Room.
Gattu
Northwest premiere!
Jan 27, 2013
(Rajan Khosa, India, 2011, live action, 82 min)
In a small town in central India, a young, illiterate urchin is obsessed with flying kites and dreams of bringing down a mysterious kite named Kali that seems to rule the skies. Without money, an education or a loving family, the boy’s goal seems impossible, but with pluck and inventiveness he sets out to make his dream come true. This new film from Children’s Film Society India has won acclaim worldwide for its story of an indomitable child who rises above countless obstacles to achieve his goal. Ages 7 and up. In Hindi with English subtitles. The leading character, a young boy, is treated cruelly at times in the film — an honest depiction of the hardship and poverty that millions of children throughout the world must endure.
Tom Sawyer And His Friends
U.S. premiere!
Jan 27 - Jan 28, 2013
(Norbert Lechner, Germany/Austria, 2012, live action, 96 min)
A new adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, seamlessly transported to 1948 postwar Bavaria. Both those familiar with the story and those new to the thrilling yarn will delight in the characters of Tom and Hacke — two adventurous, fatherless boys who experience the thrill and terror of being on their own in a sometimes dangerous world. Ages 8 and older. In German with English subtitles. Do you remember Tom Sawyer? There is a murder, a haunted house and many scenes involving danger, though violence in the film is not graphic.
Ready, Set, Grow
Jan 27 - Feb 01, 2013
What do kids in Seattle, Germany, Portugal, Australia, Italy, Canada and Colombia have in common? These live action films capture poignant, funny and bittersweet moments when children suddenly grow older, and wiser, in a matter of minutes.
Hang On for the Ride
Jan 27 - Feb 01, 2013
There’s never a dull moment in this action-packed collection of live action and animated shorts, filled with intrepid kids, bugs, bears, cats and even a pair of very ornery space aliens.
Maria's Tightrope
International premiere!
Jan 27, 2013
(Eduardo Goldenstein, Brazil, 2012, live action, 80 min)
With a surreal style and colorful flair that recalls the magic of Fellini, Maria’s Tightrope is a gem from Brazil that follows young Maria as she must leave her happy home at the circus to live with her grandmother in the city. As she revisits memories and comes to terms with her past, Maria sets out on a journey of self-discovery, walking forward on her own tightrope line towards the future. Ages 10 and up. In Portuguese with English subtitles. Includes suspenseful tightrope scenes, spooky dream sequences and subject matter dealing with death and a child’s grief and separation from her parents.
The Crocodiles: All For One
West Coast Premiere!
Jan 26 - Jan 31, 2013
(Wolfgang Groos, Germany, 2011, live action, 80 min)
Fans of The Crocodiles films, rejoice! The intrepid gang of kids is back for a third adventure, masterminding a high-stakes prison break that will save the life of one of their friends. The first two Crocodiles films, based on the characters from Max von der Grün’s bestseller, have been seen by more than one million cinemagoers in Germany alone and won countless national and international prizes, including the top prize at Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2010.
Animate Your World
Jan 26 - Feb 03, 2013
During this program of gorgeous animation, you’ll navigate the world through darkness with eyes that hear and smell, find a pen pal in a different climate, follow a cat through the Russian countryside, take off to Venezuela for a music lesson and more.
Made In Seattle
Jan 26 - Feb 03, 2013
This retrospective offers animated and live-action charmers from the best and brightest of Seattle’s vibrant film community. There’s something for everyone here — music, legends and fairy tales, history lessons, an homage to the silent screen and even a film shot at the Space Needle! A viral video showing off the strength and resolve of patients at Seattle Children’s Hospital rounds out the show.
Caleidoscopio! Films From Latin America
Co-presented with the Caleidoscopio de Sueños Festival of Children’s Film
Jan 26 - Feb 02, 2013
This very special program — co-presented with the Caleidoscopio de Sueños festival of children’s film in Bogota, Colombia — will take you on a live action and animated journey to beaches, back roads, jungles and bustling cities throughout Latin America. Get ready for a ride filled with music, exuberant kids, surprise endings and luminous magic.
China Fantasia
North American Premiere!
Jan 26 - Feb 02, 2013
Master animator Joe Chang’s new film is a swirl of color, music and story, blending the magic of well-known Chinese folk music with tales told in ink and wash, paper-cut and traditional Chinese realistic painting.
Path Waves: An Indigenous Showcase
Co-presented by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
Jan 26 - Jan 30, 2013
Learn about the lives of indigenous people in the United States, Canada and Australia. See how the exuberance of youth filmmakers meets the polished sheen of professionals in this collection of traditional tales, video poems about Native perspectives and stories of families and friendships.
Continent Hop
Jan 26 - Feb 03, 2013
Welcome to your passport to a trip around the world, where you’ll experience life as a kid in different cultures through imaginative animation, captivating documentary and children’s drawings brought to life. Ready, set, go to Istanbul, India, Uganda and Belize – and while you’re at it, soar all over above Europe atop a magic piano!
For the Beauty of the Earth
Jan 26 - Jan 31, 2013
Toys In The Attic
Seattle exclusive engagement!
Jan 31 - Feb 02, 2013
(Jiří Barta, Czech Republic, 2009/2012 English language version, animated, 74 min)
Legendary Czech film director Jiří Barta creates a fantastic and secret world in an old attic, full of discarded knick-knacks, toys and assorted junk. Peace reigns over the abandoned toys until Buttercup, a beautiful doll, is taken prisoner by an evil cabal on the other side of the attic, igniting a battle to save her and restore tranquility to the kingdom of toys. It’s an adventure fairy tale full of imagination, vision and unbounded inventiveness, combining multiple forms of animation. Featuring the voice talent of Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes. Grand prize winner at the 2010 New York International Children’s Film Festival. Ages 8 and older. Especially sensitive young viewers will find some scenes and characters scary. There is a happy ending!
Noah's Ark
Feb 01 - Feb 02, 2013
Beautiful animation for kids who love critters both large and small. It’s filled with animated tales about elephants, birds, foxes, hens, cats, mice, pigs, hedgehogs, dogs and even a very hard-working ant!
Consuming Spirits
Feb 01 - Feb 07, 2013
(Chris Sullivan, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 135 min)
A small-town Appalachian noir, a backwoods baroque, Consuming Spirits spins a narrative of three characters connected by crime and the local newspaper. Shot frame-by-frame in 16mm over the course of fifteen years, director Chris Sullivan skillfully utilizes cutout, pencil-drawn, collage, and stop-motion animation—sometimes all within one scene. These variations in style are crucial to the narrative, raising the familiar hard-boiled aesthetic to new heights. Wholly original, Spirits is a stubbornly analog aesthetic that's both beautiful and unsettling.
Happily Ever After
Feb 02 - Feb 03, 2013
This program stirs up a cauldron full of mystery, magic and mischief — an all-animated collection of fables, legends and tongue-in-cheek fairy tales.
Taking Chances
U.S. premiere!
Feb 02, 2013
(Nicole van Kilsdonk, The Netherlands, 2011, live action, 86 min)
When her father heads to a war zone to work as a doctor, imaginative 9-year-old Kiek begins to worry. After her mother and teacher try to ease her fears by explaining the concept of statistical odds, she devises a plan that will improve her father’s chances of survival. Based on the award-winning book A Small Chance, by Marjolijn Court, this film has won a slew of top prizes on the international festival circuit. Ages 10 and up. In Dutch with English subtitles. Includes tense scenes involving the potential deaths of a mouse and family dog.
Krish, Trish And Baltiboy
U.S. premiere!
Feb 02, 2013
(Munjal Shroff and Tilakraj Shetty, India, 2009, animation, 80 min)
Set out with three loveable storytellers — Krish the cat, Trish the monkey and Baltiboy the donkey —on a colorful, exciting and very musical journey to discover Indian folktales from Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab. This film, from Children’s Film Society India, lights up the screen with wonderfully crafted animation. Ages 4 and up. In Hindi with English subtitles.
Zarafa
Festival opening night!
Washington State premiere!
Jan 24 - Feb 03, 2013
(Rémi Bezançon, Jean-Christophe Lie, France/Belgium, 2012, animation, 78 min)
This gorgeously colorful animated film marks the feature debut of Rémi Bezançon, who teams up here with The Triplets of Belleville supervising animator Jean-Christophe Lie to tell the thrilling story of an escaped slave boy and the baby giraffe he befriends, following them on an incredible journey from Africa to Paris.
Le Grand Amour
New 35mm print!
Feb 06, 2013
(Pierre Étaix, France, 1969, 35mm, 86 min)
Étaix plays Pierre, married to Florence (Annie Fratellini) - though he figures he could have married one of numerous other women. He enjoys a largely happy marriage and a satisfactory, albeit not exactly stimulating, life. Then the arrival of a new secretary, 18 year-old Agnes (Nicole Calfan), turns his world upside down.
Consumed by a passion which he is convinced must be love, he indulges in increasingly absurd and charmingly innocent romantic fantasies, utterly distracted from his day-to-day life. Over time, he becomes convinced that the only way he can be happy is to consummate his new-found love. But the dilemmas this presents him with are overwhelming.
Yo Yo
New 35mm print!
Feb 07, 2013
(Pierre Étaix, France, 1965, 35mm, 92 min)
Yo Yo spans many decades, mirroring the silent film arena in the early 20s. Étaix plays a millionaire longing for his first love—an equestrienne in the circus. When he loses everything in the crash of 1929, dialogue is introduced and he joins the circus to be with his lover. They have a son together and he grows up to be a famous performer. Étaix steps in as the adult son, showcasing his clowning skills and talent in both silent and audible styles comedy.
Tabu
Two weeks!
Feb 08 - Feb 21, 2013
(Miguel Gomes, Portugal, 2012, 35mm, 118 min)
If one film this year will send your daydreams reeling into new visions of what a story can be, then that film will likely be Tabu, an unpredictable epic with one foot in the romance genre and the other in post-colonial commentary. Miguel Gomes’s gracefully filmed “diptych”—two stories told in sequence, unrelated at first glance but laden with aesthetic similarities—takes place first in contemporary Lisbon, then in a Portuguese colony in Africa several decades earlier. After delighting audiences at the Berlin Film Festival, Tabu comes to the United States with a promise to provoke, enchant and mystify. Mark our words, this is THE film of 2013.
As Long As You're Healthy
New 35mm print!
Feb 13, 2013
(Pierre Étaix, France, 1966, 35mm, 78 min)
The Suitor
New 35mm print!
Feb 14, 2013
(Pierre Étaix, France, 1963, 35mm 83 min)
Under parental pressure to find a wife, Pierre becomes a bookworm on the prowl. According to Pamela Hutchinson of The Guardian, the story is “…essentially the tale of a man being dragged through Paris by his own recently awakened libido.” His plans not unexpectedly go awry in Pierre Étaix’s delightful first feature.
Screens with short film Rapture
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.
Movie Night
Dec 14 - May 24, 2013
DJs Jon Francois and Nik Gilmore return Movie Night to our screens as they remix quirky feature films with some of the finest vinyl records, live! Feast your eyes on odd cinematic gems, as the DJs replace almost the entire soundtrack (including music, sound effects and dialogue) of classic flicks. Special ticket pricing: $5 online or at the door!
My Louisiana Love: Indigenous Showcase
Director in attendance!
Dec 15 - Feb 16, 2013
(Sharon Linezo Hong, USA, 66 min)
Northwest Film Forum continues its partnership with Longhouse Media to present a monthly series showcasing emerging talents in indigenous communities. This exciting program exemplifies how Native American and indigenous filmmakers are at the forefront of the industry, successfully establishing a dialogue and creating images that are challenging and changing long-established cultural attitudes towards indigenous culture. Join us on February 16 for My Louisiana Love, which traces Monique Verdin's quest to find a place in her Native American community--the Houma Nation--as it reels from decades of environmental degradation.
Music Craft: Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek
Sponsored by KPLU 88.5
Feb 16, 2013
(1974, 60 min)
Pianist prodigy Jarrett and saxophonist Garbarek, along with Jan Christensen on drums and Palle Danielsson on bass, are captured with a multiple camera set-up in the NRD TV studio in Hannover, Germany, 1974. This explosively subtle, tenderly masochistic performance of moods and grooves drops you in outer inner space.
Land of Milk and Honey
New 35mm print!
Feb 21, 2013
(Pierre Étaix, France, 1971, 35mm 80 min)
Filmed the summer after the protests of 1968, Étaix captures the French on vacation. In his first and only documentary, audio interviews entertain the director’s fixation with modern living. The result is a satirical juxtaposition of leisure and violence.
Nothing But A Man
New 35mm print!
Feb 22 - Feb 28, 2013
(Michael Roemer, USA, 1964, 35mm, 95 min)
Adapted from a 1933 stage play and proclaimed “one of the most sensitive films about black life ever made in this country,” Nothing But a Man tells a story whose realism and universality needs no embellishment. Duff Anderson, a black railroad worker, falls in love with and marries schoolteacher Josie, but their marriage is threatened by Duff’s struggle to keep a steady job while fighting for his dignity in a world of economic and racial inequality. As pressures personal and societal bring the tension in Duff’s life close to breaking point, will his marriage to Josie be his ruin or his deliverance?
Arcadia
Director in attendance!
Feb 22, 2013
(Olivia Silver, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 91 min)
Independent film favorite John Hawkes, riding on a series of award-nominated performances over the last two years, stars in Arcadia as a single father trying to move himself and his children across the country, to California. Though he promises his daughters a life of luxury and sunshine, Tom struggles to keep his head up while dealing with the difficult truth about his children’s mother, which threatens to tear his family apart.
The Bitter Buddha
Director and comedian in attendance, with a Q&A moderated by Linas Phillips!
Feb 23, 2013
(Steven Feinartz, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 90 min)
Ever been to a famous city and gone on an underground tour with a friend who’s lived there for years? The Bitter Buddha is a side-streets tour through the world of comedy, hosted by names most of us know (Dana Gould, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis) and spotlighting a comic most people don’t: Eddie Pepitone, secret cornerstone of today’s young comedy tradition. Though he’s never been a household name, Pepitone continues to craft his hilariously livid stage persona. In Buddha, a wide circle of Pepitone's friends come together to help tell the story of his decades-long “rise and fall.”
Smokin' Fish
Feb 24, 2013
(Luke Griswold-Tergis and Cory Mann, USA, 2011, Blu-ray, 81 min)
Cory Mann has a background that many of us can identify with: he comes from two very different histories, and has spent his life trying to reconcile the two. Smokin’ Fish chronicles the summer Mann spent away from the mass art production industry, learning instead to make his great-grandmother’s specialty, a recipe for smoked salmon handed down through generations of Tlingit Indians. This lighthearted documentary offers an up-close view of the recent history of the Tlingit people in Alaska, set against Mann’s gorgeous visual odyssey through the state.
Ape
Feb 25, 2013
(Joel Potrykus, USA, 2012, Blu-ray, 86 min)
If you had to guess the likelihood of various career professionals making a deal with the Devil, you’d put a small-time comedian at either the very top or the very bottom of the probable list. A deal is exactly what failing comedian Trevor Newandyke does in Joel Potrykus’s blunt debut, as his bargains cause his world to spiral into madness (as one might expect with Satan in the mix). A favorite this year at the Locarno International Film Festival, the tragedy of Trevor, played brilliantly by newcomer Joshua Burge, offers a closer look at what might happen if we let our quiet desperation take over.