Picks from Seattle Art and Performance
by Julia Raban
Find a complete list of film events in Seattle this fall on our Things To Do calendar.
THROUGH OCT 1
Local Sightings
Khalik Allah, the photographer and filmmaker who directed the gorgeously hypnotic Field Niggas and was one of the cinematographers for Beyonce's equally gorgeous but far more commercial Lemonade, will be one of three jurors at this year's Local Sightings. This event, which features the best films that our region has to offer, will have an astounding 21 features and 77 short films. Allah, along with Paula Bernstein and Sudeep Sharma, will select the winners and hand out prizes to the best of our best. The festival will also include an Indigenous Showcase by Tracy Rector, one of the nominees for this year's Stranger Genius Awards. All of this is very exciting, and I think we have NWFF's new executive director, Courtney Sheehan, to thank for much of this excitement. CM
Northwest Film Forum
SEPT 29-OCT 6
French Cinema Now
See a showcase of new films in French—including Lost in Paris, Irreplaceable, and Made in France—at SIFF's annual mini-festival French Cinema Now.
Various locations
SEPT 29-DEC 8
Shadowland Film Noir Series
On Thursdays this fall, the Seattle Art Museum will present a film noir series about the shadowy place between past and future, good and evil. On December 1, the series will turn to Charles Mudede favorite Sweet Smell of Success, about which he writes: "Those of us who work in the newspaper business can only watch this 1957 film with a heavy sadness. Why? Because it takes place at a time when newspaper columnists ruled the world and could crush their opponents with a sentence and completely change public opinion on the most important matters of the day. The lions of that time have become the mice of our moment. This is the sorrow you feel at the end of this energy-packed noir, which was directed by Alexander Mackendrick and stars Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis."
Seattle Art Museum
SEPT 30-OCT 9
Seattle Latino Film Festival
This eighth annual celebration of Latino film will include an opening night gala at SAM with a screening of Duana: Gone with the River, which will kick off this year's spotlight on guest country Venezuela.
Various locations
OCT 7-9
Irish Reels Film Festival
American films dominate world cinema, with British TV sometimes grabbing its share of public attention, but how often do we get to sample Ireland's rich independent film culture? There's something here for every filmic interest: animated documentaries, imaginative shorts, and features with stars like Aiden Gillen.
SIFF Film Center
Kinofest Seattle
Presented by The Portland German Film Festival in collaboration with Northwest Film Forum, this festival will highlight the latest and greatest in German-language cinema, with films including Margarethe von Trotta’s The Misplaced World, about an unnerving doppelganger, and Then Is It the End?, a “cinematic homage” to film critic Michael Althen.
Northwest Film Forum
OCT 12
Puget Soundtrack: Chris Cheveyo and Garrett Moore Present Mr. Blot's Academy
Puget Soundtrack, presented by Northwest Film Forum, invites musicians to create a live score for a film of their own choosing. This time, Chris Cheveyo and Garrett Moore will create a live soundtrack for Akademia Pana Kleksa, a Polish musical from 1984.
Northwest Film Forum
OCT 13-16
Campout Cinema: Hocus Pocus
Bring blankets and pillows for these special screenings of the fantasy comedy film that features a badass trio of witches (played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker) who want to suck out children's souls. The Sunday screening is all ages, and Thursday and Saturday are 21+.
EMP Museum
OCT 13-23
TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival
The 21st year of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival brings new films as well as a new, more inclusive name: Twist, the Seattle Queer Film Festival. There will be ten days of screenings at a variety of venues across Seattle, showcasing the diversity and impressive talent of queer filmmakers and queer films from around the world.
Various locations
OCT 14-23
24th Seattle Polish Film Festival
Don’t miss the 24th Seattle Polish Film Festival—playing for two weekends at SIFF Cinema Uptown—featuring new releases, independent films, documentaries, and old classics. All films in Polish have English subtitles.
SIFF Cinema Uptown
OCT 14-25
The Seattle Social Justice Film Festival
Celebrate progressive causes and learn more about pressing social issues at the Seattle Social Justice Film Festival.
Various locations
OCT 15-25
SSAFF: Seattle South Asian Film Festival
Celebrate South Asian cinema at the 11th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival, with screenings of 23 feature films (and 22 shorts) at many locations across Seattle. This year, they'll highlight films from Bangladesh and celebrate the theme #LoveWins.
Various locations
OCT 22
Roger Corman Double Feature
Celebrate Roger Corman's 90th birthday with a double screening of his low-budget, crowd-pleasing films Monster from the Ocean Floor and Ski Troop Attack, with a special introduction by Professor Fred Hopkins, host of Movie Marvels on Seattle's Community College TV channel.
Northwest Film Forum
OCT 28
Campout Cinema: Carrie
Carrie is a Brian De Palma classic about telekinesis, religious extremism, and the horrors of being a high school student. Watch it under the LED stars at this special 21+ screening, which will have trivia, giveaways, drink specials, and other surprises.
EMP Museum
OCT 31
Silent Movie Mondays: Nosferatu
Celebrate Halloween with a screening of F.W. Murnau's stupendously influential 1922 vampire film Nosferatu, with live music by Christian Elliott played on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.
Paramount Theatre
NOV 3-13
12th Annual HUMP! Film Festival
At HUMP!, watch erotic homemade films at SIFF Uptown and On the Boards. Amateur porn stars will get their five minutes of fame in movies featuring every kind of sex imaginable—as long as it follows three basic rules: No poop, no animals, and no minors. Extra credit goes to films that manage to incorporate a (knockoff) "Make America Great Again" hat and/or an accordion.
Various locations
NOV 10-17
Cinema Italian Style
The ninth annual Cinema Italian Style is an eight-day-long SIFF mini-festival featuring the best in contemporary Italian cinema.
SIFF
NOV 11-13
Seattle Shorts Film Festival
The sixth annual Seattle Shorts Film Festival is perfect for an engaged and artsy audience—no lengthy attention span required. In addition to a number of new and exciting short films, they promise guest speakers and special talks.
SIFF Film Center
DEC 5
Next Dance Cinema 2016
See gems in dance cinema at this one-night-only event, presented by Velocity in partnership with Northwest Film Forum.
Northwest Film Forum
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