Calendar
Women Without Men
Seattle Premiere Sponsored by the Henry Art Gallery
Special introduction before the 7pm screening on July 9 by Henry Art Gallery Associate Curator Sara Krajewski
Jul 09 - Jul 15, 2010
(Shirin Neshat, Iran, 2009, 35mm, 95 min)
New York–based visual artist Shirin Neshat’s feature film debut is an adaptation of the novel by exiled Iranian writer Shahmush Parsipur. Set in Iran during its infamous 1953 CIA-backed coup, the film follows four women from different social classes as they take refuge in a metaphorical orchard.
"Neshat is one of the more amazing artists in the world, and typically she makes video installations and photographs, but this is her first feature film. Do see it." —The Stranger
Doxita: Life is a Progress
Jul 15, 2010
(Various, 2010, DVCAM, 75 min)
People adapt their behavior to get through everything from war to displacement to growing up. These four films capture stories of people’s survival and their ways to cope with self-preservation.
Package Deals: Finland
West coast premiere!
Jul 16 - Jul 18, 2010
(Various artists, Finland, 2010, Beta-SP, 90 min)
Suomi, Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Oulu… What happens in these little known urban centers of Finland? This program shows there’s freak folk, heavy metal, contemporary art, new media, reindeer and perhaps a Laplander or two.
Helsinki, Forever
West Coast Premiere
Jul 16 - Jul 18, 2010
(Peter von Bagh, Finland, 2009, DigiBeta, 75 min)
Peter von Bagh, a distinguished film critic, historian and one-time director of the Finnish film archive, brings his wealth of knowledge and infectious cinephilia toHelsinki, Forever. Von Bagh’s “fabulous and rather Markeresque documentary…is a lovely city symphony which is also a history of Helsinki (and incidentally, Finland, Finnish cinema, and Finnish pop music)" (Jonathan Rosenbaum).
"worthy of several viewings" —Seattle PostGlobe
"The documentary... is about the city and the art form that, as Walter Benjamin once pointed out, best represents it: cinema." —The Stranger
The Living Room of the Nation
West Coast Premiere
Jul 16 - Jul 18, 2010
(Jukka Kärkkäinen, Finland, 2009, DigiBeta, 74 min)
Finlanders are known more for their buttoned-up silence than their willingness to share their most intimate thoughts. But as producer Sami Jahnukainen proves with The Living Room, a single camera can produce hours of footage of Finns addressing their deepest, darkest thoughts.
Calamari Union
Jul 16 - Jul 17, 2010
(Richard Lefebvre, USA, 2009, Beta-SP, 84 min)
Richard Lefebvre’s re-make of Aki Kaurismaki’s Calamari Union, an ultra-hip absurdist comedy that brought Kaurismäki’s trademark blend of deadpan humor, idiosyncratic irony, mannered minimalism and compelling humanism to the fore, is screened here as a work in progress. Lefebvre has recruited a volunteer motley crew of Northwest musicians and icons for various roles.
Call + Response
In partnership with Intiman Theatre and Seattle Against Slavery
Jul 19, 2010
(Justin Dillon)
Call + Response, a feature documentary film, looks deeply into an uncomfortable fact: there are more slaves today than ever before in human history. Call + Response investigates places where slavery is thriving—with 100% of the film’s profits going to fund global field projects on the front lines of this issue.
Citizen Architect
Co-Presented by Space.City Screenings followed by a Q&A with UW Professor Steve Badanes
Sponsored by JAS Design Build
Jul 20, 2010
(Sam Wainwright Douglas, USA, 2009, DigiBeta, 60 min)
Architect Samuel Mockbee began a radical educational design/build program known as the Rural Studio deep in poverty-stricken Hale County, Alabama, hoping to instill his passion and philosophy in a new generation of "citizen architects." Mockbee works on instilling architecture's future practitioners with the knowledge and passion to improve their community's quality of life by putting compassion and ethical responsibilities at the heart of their design.
Killing Kasztner
Director in attendance opening weekend! Sponsored by JT News
*Please note updated show times
Jul 16 - Jul 22, 2010
(Gaylen Ross, USA, 2008, DVCAM, 120 min)
One of the most provocative and acclaimed documentaries in recent memory, this is the shocking tale of Rudolf Kasztner, the Jewish-Hungarian journalist and lawyer who single-handedly negotiated with Eichmann to save 1,600 Hungarian Jews in 1944. Killing Kasztner is a deep investigation into the thorny definition of heroism, the intricacies of Israeli politics and the complexities of Jewish identity.
"Crammed with vivid detail...The film fascinates even as the man himself remains elusive. " —Seattle Times
"You need to see Killing Kasztner. The film is a true-life political-espionage thriller" —The Stranger
Karaoke Film Challenge Screenings - Cancelled!
*We're sorry, but this event has been cancelled!
Jul 22, 2010
Northwest Film Forum and Three Dollar Bill cinema have once again invited Seattle filmmakers to participate in the Karaoke Challenge. Ever wonder who’s behind those Karaoke videos you sing along to at the bar on Friday nights? We asked Seattle filmmakers to grab a camera, pick a song, and become one of them!
Eccentricities of a Blond Haired Girl
Seattle Premiere
Jul 23 - Jul 29, 2010
(Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, Spain, France, 2009, 35mm, 64 min)
For his 100th birthday, director Manoel de Oliveira gave us a present with this marvelous adaptation of a novel by his Portuguese countryman Eça de Queiroz. Eccentricities is a wry, moving tale of a pure, if frustrated, love.
"3 1/2 stars: We're privileged to be witnessing the timelessly exquisite formalism (visual, editorial and aural) of a man who knows more about life — and highly refined filmmaking — than anyone else on the planet." —Seattle Times
"[A] great film...perfectly composed and paced" —The Stranger
Leon Morin, Priest
New 35mm Print!
Jul 23 - Jul 29, 2010
(Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1961, 35mm, 117 min)
Our Dual of The Cool champion Jean-Paul Belmondo returns in this new 35mm print of French director Jean-Pierre Melville’s Léon Morin, Priest. A midcareer masterpiece, only now receiving an American theatrical release.
"The movie is amazing." —The Stranger
Cropsey
Screenwriter (Zoo) and The Stranger associate editor Charles Mudede will introduce the Friday, 11pm screening
Jul 23 - Jul 24, 2010
(Joshua Zeman, Barbara Bramcaccio, USA, 2009, Digi-Beta, 84 min)
Have you ever wondered the true origins of “boogeyman” tales told to you as a child?
Growing up in Staten Island, NY, documentarians Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio always heard stories of Cropsey, the escaped mental health inmate that supposedly abducted and murdered neighborhood children. These stories were the things of campfire circles and sleepovers. But then in the summer of 1987, 13 year-old Jennifer Schweiger disappeared.
Volunteer Appreciation BBQ
3-6pm at Cal Anderson Park
Jul 24, 2010
Join us, active Northwest Film Forum volunteers, at the annual Volunteer Appreciation BBQ! Meet your fellow good citizens, enjoy a veggie (and meat) burger on us, and let us raise a glass to you in appreciation of all that you do for the organization.
We'll be eating, drinking and making merry from 3pm-6pm in Cal Anderson Park (look for us by the chess tables). We'll also be giving out the annual Gracie Award for Volunteer Superstardom. Plus, there will be badminton!
LET'S DO IT AGAIN! - another night of sex worker made media
Jul 29, 2010
After the successful screening last quarter, we're bringing back our night of sex worker made media! LET'S DO IT! is a night of experimental and documentary shorts dedicated to human rights and advocacy for sex workers across the globe.
of Montreal: Family Nouveau
Director In Attendance!
Jul 30 - Aug 01, 2010
(Spenser Simrill, USA, 2010, DV, 45 min)
of Montreal: Family Nouveau follows the band's 2009 European Tour, documenting their whimsical world of sacrificial pigs, dancefloor ninjas, late night karaoke and push-ups…lots of push-ups.
Recollections of the Yellow House
Free screening & post-film discussion for Film Forum members!
Jul 30, 2010
(João César Monteiro, Portugal, 1989, 35mm, 122 min)
João de Deus is a destitute man living in a cheap boarding house for families in an old section of Lisbon in 1989. He is sick and stricken by every possible adversity. While interned in an asylum he meets a mentally ill man, who gives him a ‘rich and strange’ mission to reenter society and "Go and make them sweat!” With clever antics and great comedy, he does just that.
"Cosmic and wonderfully crazy" —The Stranger
God's Comedy
Jul 31, 2010
(João César Monteiro, Portugal, 1995, 35mm, 170 min)
Dryly comic, disturbing and deservedly honored with the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion when it was released, God’s Comedy is one of the most flagrantly perverse films you’re likely to see.
John Wayne's Hips
Aug 01, 2010
(João César Monteiro, Portugal, 1997, 35mm, 148 min)
After a lengthy rehearsal of a Biblical play, João de Deus, the play's director, finds Henrique, the actor portraying God, asleep in a boat that is part of the scenery. Inspired by a dream of Henrique's, the two embark on an odyssey to the Arctic in which the pair shares a vision of John Wayne wonderfully swinging his hips at the North Pole. And so begins the strange, spiritual and philosophical journey of João and Henrique…
God's Wedding
Aug 02 - Aug 04, 2010
(João César Monteiro, Portugal, 1999. 35mm, 150 min)
Bawdy and irreverent Monteiro reprises his role as João de Deus, the loveable and lustful tramp first seen in Recollections of the Yellow Housewho is granted wealth and earthly power. João's meteoric rise and cataclysmic fall from grace unfold in a formal display of slapstick, satirical and deadpan humor.
Come and Go (Vai e vem)
Aug 03 - Aug 05, 2010
(João César Monteiro, Portugal, 2003, 35mm, 179 min)
The film is a continuation of the life of João du Deus, a widower, dandy and faux-intellectual. Beautifully incarnated by his director, João is an articulate and cultured clown; his movements and dour speeches are captivating throughout.
Dog Star Man
Co-presented by The Sprocket Society and Third Eye Cinema
Aug 04, 2010
(Stan Brakhage, 1961-64, USA, 16mm, 75 min)
Join us for a rare screening of an essential film of the 20th century avant garde. This influential and much-revered abstract work is widely regarded as the masterpiece of legendary filmmaker Stan Brakhage, who made more than 350 films over 50 years.
"This one time showing of the film in its original 16 mm projection is an opportunity to experience the film as Brakhage intended, and those who carelessly apply terms like ‘painting’ to anything visually superior to television will see what it really means to paint with film." —Seattle Post Globe
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Aug 06 - Aug 12, 2010
(Tamra Davis, USA, 2009, DigiBeta, 88 min)
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child is about the artist and phenomenon who became notorious for his graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late 1970s on the Lower East Side scene. Appreciated by both the art cognoscenti and the public, Basquiat was launched into international stardom. Soon, however, his cult status began to override the art that had made him famous in the first place.
"[See it] for what it unintentionally reveals about art, celebrity, and race in contemporary America." —The Stranger
"Davis' homage—tender, never hagiographic—also contains some biting analysis of the racism, both overt and insidious, that Basquiat was up against." —Seattle Weekly
Hausu
New 35mm print!
Aug 06 - Aug 08, 2010
(Nobuhiko Obayashi, Japan, 1977, 35mm, 87 min)
Get ready to have your mind blown! This exceptionally wild and funny horror-fantasy is like nothing you’ve ever seen before—we guarantee it. Hausu is a truly absurd and thrilling rediscovery.
"The Stranger Suggests: Absolutely something to see!" —The Stranger