Tag Archives: Northwest Film Forum

Arts & Culture

Learn About Washington’s Nuclear Waste at the International Uranium Film Festival

‘Richland’ delves into Hanford’s lasting legacy: an overwhelming radioactive cleanup challenge.

by Glen Milner

The International Uranium Film Festival (IUFF) — dedicated to nuclear issues worldwide — runs from Friday, April 12, to Sunday, April 14, at the Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) at 1515 12th Ave. The festival’s 2024 U.S. tour began on March 7 in Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo (Diné) Nation, with respect for the Native American Peoples who are suffering most from the consequences of uranium mining and nuclear testing. The IUFF is showing films in over 10 U.S. cities and in Vancouver, B.C. The selection of films is chosen to address nuclear activities in that part of the country — including the use of nuclear mining, nuclear power, nuclear weapons and testing, and nuclear waste.

Continue reading Learn About Washington’s Nuclear Waste at the International Uranium Film Festival →
Arts & Culture

Black Punk Weekend Puts Black Punks in the Spotlight

The James Spooner-curated Black Punk Weekend at Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) and Black & Tan Hall highlights the diverse history and contribution of Black punks across the globe.

by Jas Keimig

Next weekend, from Friday, March 29, to Sunday, March 31, Black punks are taking over the Black & Tan Hall and Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) for Black Punk Weekend. In a three-day-long event dreamed up by the Sankofa Film Society; NWFF; and comic artist, filmmaker, and tattooer James Spooner, the rich tradition and diversity of Black punk communities will be on full display, with film screenings, shows, and a delicious brunch. 

Continue reading Black Punk Weekend Puts Black Punks in the Spotlight →
Arts & Culture

Seattle Asian American Film Festival Returns With 12th Anniversary

As we welcome the Year of the Wood Dragon, SAAFF’s theme focuses on growth and transformation.

by Jenn Ngeth

This year’s Seattle Asian American Film Festival (SAAFF) celebrates its 12th year of virtual and in-person screenings. Explore the complexity of dynamics through this festival — from complicated mother-daughter relationships to future dystopias that distort reality, this year’s lineup will satisfy all festivalgoers. With 17 programs, eight feature-length films, and 55 shorts, the audience can enjoy a variety of narrative, documentary, and animated films by Asian American filmmakers from a wide spectrum of experiences. This festival will feature numerous award-winning films like unseen, The Accidental Getaway Drive, A Dire Strait, and many more. The in-person screenings will take place at the Northwest Film Forum from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 and virtually on Eventive from Feb. 26 to March 3.

Continue reading Seattle Asian American Film Festival Returns With 12th Anniversary →
Arts & Culture

‘Fantasy A Gets a Mattress’ Captures the Surreality of Being an Artist in Seattle

1 Comment

by Jas Keimig

It’s a perilous time to make art in Seattle.

Not only have rents skyrocketed to apocalyptic levels, but venues are closing left and right as artists are hightailing it out of the city in search of greener, more affordable pastures. As a city once known for our alternative, cutting-edge art scene, the outlook on fostering that kind of community once again here in Seattle often feels bleak. But in that darkness is hope, which comes in the form of Fantasy A Gets a Mattress, a fever dream of a movie that understands the absurdity of what it means to be an artist in Seattle right now — ridiculous rent, cruel landlords, buses that hardly ever come on time.

Continue reading ‘Fantasy A Gets a Mattress’ Captures the Surreality of Being an Artist in Seattle →
Arts & Culture

Northwest Film Forum’s Collective Power Fund Recognizes Radical Artists

The fund rewards “work that’s nontraditional, anti-institutional, and also underrepresented.”

by Amanda Ong

On June 21, the Northwest Film Forum (NWFF)’s Collective Power Fund announced its 14 newest grant recipients. The fund, currently in its fourth installment, is created in partnership with the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and presented as a part of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program. The spring 2023 grants gave a total of $60,000 to support individual, visual-based artists in King County in increments of $10,000 for Artist Team or Arts Collective, $5,000 for New Work/Projects, and $2,000 for Research & Development.

Logo: Vee Hua
Continue reading Northwest Film Forum’s Collective Power Fund Recognizes Radical Artists →
Arts & Culture

Step Into the World of Fantasy at the 18th Annual Children’s Film Festival Seattle

by Victor Simoes

The Northwest Film Forum kicked off their 18th Annual Children’s Film Festival Seattle (CFFS) on Feb. 3. The weeklong festival dedicated to celebrating productions made for youth and family will include feature and short films and additional workshop activities with both in-person and online options. 

Continue reading Step Into the World of Fantasy at the 18th Annual Children’s Film Festival Seattle →
Arts & Culture

‘And Other Oppressive Dynamics’ Explores Toxic Work Culture in the Nonprofit World

by Patheresa Wells

And Other Oppressive Dynamics opens this weekend during the Northwest Film Forum’s 25th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival. The film examines the toxic work culture and discrimination faced by many nonprofit workers in the Seattle area. The premiere will take place in person on Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. at Northwest Film Forum at 1515 12th Ave. An online option will also be available for viewing from Sept. 16 to Sept. 25. 

Continue reading ‘And Other Oppressive Dynamics’ Explores Toxic Work Culture in the Nonprofit World →
Community

The Black Trans Comedy Showcase Brings Black Laughter When We Need It Most

1 Comment

by Patheresa Wells

The Black Trans Comedy Showcase will take place on June 22, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. at the Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue, Seattle. It will feature local PNW comedians and is hosted by Moltyn Decadence, Miss Gay Washington 2022. The showcase, held virtually and in person, is a fundraiser for the Lavender Rights Project (LRP). The organization’s mission is to elevate “the power, autonomy, and leadership of the Black intersex & gender diverse community through intersectional legal and social services.” 

Continue reading The Black Trans Comedy Showcase Brings Black Laughter When We Need It Most →
Arts & Culture

All-BIPOC Music Festival, BAZZOOKAFEST, Cranks Up the Volume in Jefferson Park

by Mark Van Streefkerk

This Saturday, Aug. 28, BAZZOOKAFEST will transform Beacon Hill’s Jefferson Park into a free music and film festival featuring a packed all-BIPOC lineup. Musicians include indie folk headliner Kimya Dawson, pop punk artist Haley Graves, alternative rockers King Youngblood, pop singer-songwriter CarLarans, five-piece femme band Razor Clam, dance pop trio Mirrorgloss, and soulful rock band Stereo Sauna. POC members of drag collective BeautyBoiz will perform, and once the music’s over, a screening of short films submitted by BIPOC filmmakers will take place. As if you needed another reason to attend, the event will also feature a pop-up market featuring all Black and POC vendors. 

BAZZOOKAFEST is all-ages and open to all. The festival starts at 3 p.m. and goes till about 10 p.m. Masks are required. 

The first-ever BAZZOOKAFEST takes place this Saturday, Aug. 28, at Beacon Hill’s Jefferson Park. (BAZZOOKA promo designed by Vivian Hua)
Continue reading All-BIPOC Music Festival, BAZZOOKAFEST, Cranks Up the Volume in Jefferson Park →
Arts & Culture

Virtual Event Sunday to Honor Donnie Chin’s Legacy as CID Advocate

by Ronnie Estoque

The recent rise in violent attacks against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) nationally has galvanized community organizers, old and new, to take a stand for justice. History shows us that such hate-fueled violence is not new in any way, and activist legacies left by the likes of Seattle’s Chinatown-International District’s (CID) Donnie Chin continue to inspire the next generation of young AAPIs to organize and protect those most targeted and vulnerable in our neighborhoods.

Donnie Chin was a respected Seattle Asian American activist and organizer. Chin left his impact on the CID community through the establishment of the International District Emergency Center (IDEC), which started in 1968 as the Asians for Unity Emergency Squad. He was inspired by the Black Panther Party to support the CID community with a block watch patrol, free emergency medical services, de-escalation, substance-abuse and mental health check-ins that city departments failed to provide.  

“Donnie Chin was a selfless defender of this Chinatown-International District community,” said Robert Fisher, Collections Manager at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience. “He spent his entire life helping others and the community. His daily presence is missed even more today.”

Continue reading Virtual Event Sunday to Honor Donnie Chin’s Legacy as CID Advocate →