Told through the perspective of an Indigenous port worker from a Brazilian rainforest town, Maya Da-Rin’s feature narrative contrasts the noisy distraction of an industrial worksite with the quiet intimacy of the worker’s home. Between the two settings, profound rifts emerge in language, culture, history, and privilege, as the film cleverly uses a mysterious illness and a metaphysical creature to illustrate the threats of modernization and capitalism to old ways of life.

(Maya Da-Rin, Brazil, France & Germany, 2019, 98 min)

“Delicate and dangerous, like nature itself, The Fever is testament to Maya Da-Rin’s extraordinary ability to dig down deep into the lives of her protagonists, listening with interest to what they have to say before transposing it all into images.” – Cineuropa

The program seeks out short films under 3 minutes created by Pacific Northwest artists that will play before select feature films in the Forum’s Virtual Cinema. As it creates unique pre-show experiences for audiences, Local Shortiez will provide local work with an avenue to potentially international viewership.

Northwest Film Forum will screen each selected short film for up to four weeks online, offer the film on its Vimeo page (when possible), and also record an interview with each selected filmmaker. A stipend will be provided to the filmmaker, and selected films are eligible for screening at Local Sightings Film Festival in the fall.

All genres and types of moving image media are eligible for Local Shortiez. Projects must be finished within 18 months prior to submission date, and the filmmaker(s) must live in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia, or the Yukon Territories) or have had the majority of their production (over 50%) based in these states. Local Shortiez does not require festival premiere status. All films must include captions.

Submissions are currently open, with rolling deadlines to accommodate for programming that will span the next few months. Filmmakers are encouraged to submit as soon as possible.

For full submission details, rules, and eligibility guidelines, visit the Local Shortiez Film Freeway page!