Calendar
Molly Monster
Seattle premiere!
Feb 05
(Ted Sieger, Michael Ekblad & Matthias Bruhn, Germany/Switzerland/Sweden, animated, 2016, 70 min, in English)
Molly Monster is the little only-monster of Popo and Etna Monster. She spends her days in familiar surroundings playing with her best friend Edison, a clockwork toy with a life of his own. But when Mama gives birth to an egg, Molly sets out on a journey to find her new place in the family.
Pure Imagination
Jan 28 - Feb 05
Ever wondered how a forest full of talking trees and fish would look? What if tiny musical bands filled our lives with marvelous melodies? Put on your favorite imagination cap, and join in on this journey through magical worlds filled with love and adventure.
Open Screenings at the Film Forum
Feb 09 - Feb 06
* FEB. 6th OPEN SCREENING CANCELED FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER *
Are you a local filmmaker looking to share your work? Seeking feedback on your film? Want to see what other people are currently working on? Come join us for our monthly opening screening! Hang out with new and established filmmakers and experience films being made right here in our community.
Quinceañera
Free event!
Feb 08
(Richard Glitzer & Wash Westmoreland, US, 2006, 90 min)
A young Latina teenager in LA’s Echo Park gets pregnant and is kicked out of her home before her 15th birthday, forced to move in with her great grand uncle and her cousin, who has been kicked out of his house for coming out as gay. Under the roof of a small backyard cottage, each faces their own challenges and finds support in one another. Quinceañera tackles issues of affordability, gentrification, and tenants’ rights that are major challenges for Seattle today.
I Think You Are Totally Wrong: A Quarrel
Caleb Powell, David Shields, & Charles Mudede in conversation Feb. 15!
Feb 08 - Feb 15
(James Franco, US, 2016, 87 min)
David Shields and his writing collaborator and fellow-combatant, Caleb Powell, decide to put their friendship on the line by spending four days together in a cabin in the Cascades. The men barely make it down the driveway before an argument breaks out. As the weekend continues, something altogether more surprising happens — genuine and real communication.
Daughters of the Dust
25th anniversary digital restoration!
Introduction by Erika Massaquoi on Feb. 10;
Introduction by Tariqa Waters on Feb. 23
Feb 09 - Feb 23
(Julie Dash, US, 1991, 112 min)
At the dawn of the 20th century, a multi-generational family in the Gullah community on the Sea Islands off of South Carolina – former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions – struggle to maintain their cultural heritage while contemplating a migration to the mainland, even further from their roots. The first wide release by a black female filmmaker, Daughters of the Dust was met with wild critical acclaim when it initially opened in 1991.
This Is the Way I Like It 2
Seattle premiere!
Feb 09 - Feb 11
(Ignacio Agüero, Chile, 2016, 86 min)
During the height of Chile’s dictatorship, Ignacio Agüero made a short film in which he questions his colleagues about the meaning of their work. Thirty years on, post-Pinochet, the Chilean film scene is enjoying international success and Agüero resumes his inquiry about the future of Chile’s cinema.
Documenting J20: Protest and Resistance in the streets of DC
Director Georg Koszulinski in attendance! A discussion will follow the screening.
Feb 10
Seattle-based documentary filmmaker Georg Koszulinski will present a rough cut of his feature documentary, America is Waiting, which chronicles the events that transpired in Washington, DC, on the day of Donald T. Trump's inauguration.
Shine On
Jan 29 - Feb 11
What makes you shine? The characters in these sweet and funny films have special things that make them glow and grow. Join them as they play with words, make new friends, tend a garden, and dig themselves out of holes and take journeys to near and far. If you close your eyes and make a wish, you might even be able to join them on a trip to the moon!
Destination
Jan 28 - Feb 11
Join kids in eight different countries as they play with their friends, go to school, make clever schemes, and explore. This program of live action shorts from around the world features funny, shy, and creative kids just like you.
At Eye Level
US premiere! Presented with Portland German Film Festival / Zeitgeist Northwest.
Feb 11
(Evi Goldbrunner & Joachim Dollhopf, Germany, live action, 2016, 98 min, in German with English subtitles)
Eleven-year-old Michi lives in a children's home, every day fighting to win the respect of the other kids and dreaming of the day he will find his dad. But then he meets Tom – who happens to be a dwarf — and his fantasies turn into complex reality.
Jeffrey
Seattle premiere!
Feb 11
(Yanillys Perez, Dominican Republic, live action, 2016, 78 min, in Spanish with English subtitles)
Jeffrey, who christens himself “La Pesadilla” (“The Nightmare”) dreams of escaping his street work (cleaning the windshields of cars at red lights) to become a reggaeton singer, following in the footsteps of one of his older brothers.
Dreaming of a Better World
Feb 04 - Feb 11
This program of thought-provoking films will make young activists want to go out and change the world. These films feature brave young people who persevere against all odds and clarify the social context for their struggles. You’ll meet a boy who dreams of being the Robin Hood of Senegal, an American girl who protests the racist policies that have imprisoned her brother, and a young Syrian refugee who just misses his mom and dad.
CFFS 2017 Closing Ceremony
Feb 11
We close out the 2017 festival by screening films made during the past week in our workshops, announcing the winners of our Children’s Jury Prizes, and celebrating with a surprise selection of outstanding short films made by international filmmakers.
MA
Seattle premiere! Filmmaker in attendance!
Feb 11 - Feb 12
(Celia Rowlson-Hall, US, 2015, 80 min)
A wordless retelling of the Mother Mary story rendered purely through physical and emotional movement, MA unfurls across a Southwest road trip. Tropes abound and are then distorted; wood-paneled motels with cerulean pools; endless stretches of hot, dusty roads; foreboding cowboys and mysterious travel companions.
Historic Seattle presents Shot on Location: Architectural Landmarks on Film
A talk with film critic Robert Horton!
Feb 12
In this talk illustrated with generous film clips, Seattle Weekly film critic Robert Horton looks at how the movies have employed some of our most iconic buildings and monuments as story elements as well as ciphers for mood, character, and meaning.
Special pre-screening of Superhero, Kore Ionz’s new music video
Free event!
Feb 13
Join Northwest Film Forum and Kore Ionz for a special pre-screening of the new Superhero music video before it goes public on Valentine’s Day!
Veracity Shorts Program
Feb 16
This shorts program spans, both geographically and thematically, vast territory through succinct means, touching upon Civil War in Colombia; the power of a song on the island of Réunion; an experimental anthropology of Lampedusa; a nature film set in occupied territory, and a tribute to first-person filmmaking by Syrian teenage girls living in refugee camps in Jordan.
Torrey Pines
Live score!
Feb 16
(Clyde Petersen, US, 2016)
Torrey Pines is an autobiographical stop-motion animated film accompanied by a live musical score by the band Your Heart Breaks. Raised by a schizophrenic mother, Clyde Petersen's life story unfolds in a series of baffling and hallucinated events.
The Son of Joseph
Seattle premiere!
Feb 17 - Feb 19
(Eugène Green, France, 2016, 115 min)
A nativity story reboot that gently skewers French cultural pretensions, The Son of Joseph follows a young man who lives with his mother and has never known his father, and heads off to look for him. In Paris, he meets a cynical and Machiavellian man who works as a literary publisher, but eventually finds warmth from a benevolent stranger.
Moving History Returns: Saving Our Magnetic Media
MIPoPS presents an archival screening night. Happy hour at 7pm!
Feb 17
Moving History is back with new selections of rare archival material from Seattle-area heritage organizations, including the Sally Sykes Group dance troupe, Scarecrow Video, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Public Schools, and the Wing Luke Museum, as well as previous participants King County Archives, Seattle Municipal Archives and the UW Libraries Special Collections.
The 2017 South Asian International Documentary Festival
Northwest Film Forum welcomes the 2017 South Asian International Documentary Festival! All screenings are FREE.
Feb 18 - Feb 19
As the only South Asian Documentary festival in the Northwest, SAID offers films on a wide range of subjects that represent a diverse array of South Asian communities. The festival aims to provide quality documentaries that speak directly to the issues relevant to South Asia and its diaspora.
Trends in Latin American Experimental Animation
Curator in attendance!
Feb 20
Curated by Lina X. Aguirre y Cecilia Traslaviña
Moebius animación, a curatorial project dedicated to Latin American experimental animation, presents a selection of 16 recent short films from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Puerto Rico by independent filmmakers and artists. This compilation is the result of their effort to map out the artistic field of experimental animation and its intense dynamic during the last decade.
The Shadow Council
Feb 22
The Shadow Council is a panel discussion show / people’s legislative body / satirical current events forum hosted by Brett Hamil (of The Seattle Process). The audience will submit and vote on legislation and resolutions, which will be presented to elected officials. There'll be public comment, live music, civic-minded hilarity and hard-hitting debate.
UNCODE at the Forum
Come celebrate Black History Month with a special screening of UNCODE!
Feb 23
On February 23, UNCODE joins the Northwest Film Forum for the debut of a new collection of films to celebrate Black History, Present, and Future. Come support Black art and filmmaking and meet the UNCODE creators.
Seattle Asian American Film Festival
Feb 23 - Feb 26
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) showcases feature-length and short-format films by and about Asian Americans across North America, with an emphasis on filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest.
SAAFF: Better Luck Tomorrow
15th anniversary screening! This film is part of Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF). Tickets are sold through SAAFF, not Film Forum.
Feb 25
(Justin Lin, US, 2002, 101 min)
An accomplished high school student, Ben seems to excel at almost everything except winning over his dream girl, Stephanie. When he begins an unlikely friendship with trouble-seeking tough guy Daric, Ben becomes involved in petty crime that gets increasingly dangerous, with his various illegal ventures extending to include Stephanie and her wealthy beau, Steve. Can these restless teens curb their criminal activities before it’s too late?
Local Sightings Naked City Audience Award Encore Screening
*This screening is at the Naked City Brewery & Taphouse in Greenwood* Filmmakers in attendance! Free screening!
Feb 28
Join us for an encore screening of your Audience Award picks from this year's Local Sightings Film Festival!
I'm Not Crying, You're Crying: 50 Years of Political TV Satire
Mar 01
How do you satirize the fact that our country elected a reality TV star to the highest office in the nation? Join us for a screening of some of the best political satire sketches of the past 50 years of television, followed by a discussion with comedians and TV experts about political satire’s role and where we go from here.
The Dazzling Light of Sunset (Daisis miziduloba)
Seattle premiere!
Mar 02 - Mar 04
(Salomé Jashi, Georgia / Germany, 2016, 74 min)
The town of Tsalenjikha (pop. 8,900) in western Georgia is scarcely newsworthy, a reality which broadcast journalist Dariko must confront as she attempts to report, with some journalistic objectivity, the town’s droll proceedings.
Puget Soundtrack: Your City Sleeps presents Enemy Mine
Live score! Buy Tickets Now >
Mar 03
(Wolfgang Petersen, US & West Germany, 1985, 108 min)
Enemy Mine is a tale that I feel will always be relevant; a story of mortal enemies settling their differences and realizing how similar they are. It is about finding who you truly are. This is a story that anyone can relate to. It is a gift. It is heart-wrenching and timeless. – Miles Kazemian, Your City Sleeps
XX
Mar 03 - Mar 05
(Roxanne Benjamin, Sofia Carrillo, Annie Clark, Karyn Kusama, & Jovanka Vuckovic, Canada & US, 2017, 81 min)
XX is a new all-female-helmed horror anthology of four dark tales written and directed by fiercely talented women: Annie Clark (St. Vincent) rocks her directorial debut with The Birthday Party; Karyn Kusama exorcises Her Only Living Son; Roxanne Benjamin screams Don’t Fall; and Jovanka Vuckovic dares to open The Box. Award-winning animator Sofia Carrillo wraps these four suspenseful stories of terror together.
International Day for Women and Trans People: Centering Intersectional Feminist Performance, Film, Dialogue, Art, and More
Buy Tickets Now to see Sister Spit at noon. Free event after 1:30pm!
Mar 04
For the third year, Northwest Film Forum partners with multiple departments at UW-Bothell to present a day of performances, screenings and conversations in celebration of International Women's Day (March 8th). The day-long event will include a special performance by Sister Spit.
Road to Nickelsville - Encore Screening!
Filmmaker in attendance!
Mar 05
(Derek McNeill, US, 2017, 47 min)
Caution, survival, and hope. The residents of Nickelsville, an organized homeless encampment in Seattle Washington, share how they became homeless; caution how quickly it can happen, and how they persevere.