NWFF's Local Sightings Film Festival is coming!

Programmed closely with community partners as curators, Northwest Film Forum's 22nd Annual Local Sightings Film Festival invites regional artists to experiment, break, and remake popular conceptions around filmmaking and film exhibition.

Over the course of 10 boundary-pushing days, the festival showcases the growing complexity of creative communities in the Pacific Northwest, by uplifting new talent, providing educational opportunities for youth and adults, supporting the regional film industry, and promoting diverse media as a critical tool for public engagement.

OPENING NIGHT: Friday, September 20, 2019 – 7:30pm
HOW IT FEELS FILM PREMIERE, DANCE & KARAOKE
How it Feels follows the development and performance of Amy O’Neal’s acclaimed evening-length show, Opposing Forces, which debuted at On the Boards five years ago. Exploring fears of the feminine through the masculine dance form of Breaking, How it Feels will debut alongside two music video premieres: Alana Belle's The New Romantic: A Mood Film (dir. Quintin Allen Bell) and Street Loop (dir. Hanan Hassan). Local dancer and choreographer Dani Tirrell will host a post-screening Q&A with the production team and six dancers featured in How it Feels. Donation-based dance and karaoke afterparty to follow are co-presented with TeenTix and NFFTY, featuring a DJ set by WD4D.

CLOSING NIGHT: Sunday, September 29, 2019 – 6:30pm
LIVING HISTORY SHORTS PROGRAM @ LANGSTON
Held off-site at LANGSTON, Local Sightings' closing night short film program and panel discussion celebrate key African-American elders and freedom-fighters through short films and storytelling! Featuring the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party, civil rights leader Jack O’Dell, a diverse chapter of local veterans, and more. Co-presented with LANGSTON, CD Forum, and CAIR-WA.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

SPECIAL CO-PRESENTATIONS

• Saturday Morning Cereal, a family-friendly, cereal-filled screening, co-presented with Children's Film Festival Seattle!
• Motion Reel + Frame by Frame, two programs of dance shorts featuring a curated selection of works from submissions, Cornish's Screendance Program, NWFF's <1 Min Dance Film Challenge, and Velocity's Strictly Seattle Dance Film Track (Sep. 22)
• Where the House Was w/ Z-Sides, world premiere for the short film on gentrification, poetry, and cultural space, co-presented with Hugo House and writer and host Jekeva Phillips.
• Indigenous Showcase, two back-to-back film programs co-presented with Longhouse Media, continue to work by indigenous and Native filmmakers (Sep. 28)
• Local Sightings: After Dark, a series of late-night presentations for the wickedly inclined among us, include: horror shorts co-presented by Nocturnal Emissions (Sep. 21), Amy Enser's Magic-Mike-meets-Full-Monty doc The Long Haul (Sep. 27), and femme-centered alternative porn and performances brought to you by ScumTrust & Earth Pearl Collective (Sep. 28)
• Plus: 15 short film programs and 13 feature film blocks!

LIVE PERFORMANCES & INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCES

• VR, 360 & Interactive works, including the room-scale Unceded Territories, featuring the work of First Nations artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, co-curated with North Bend Film Festival (Sep. 21 & 22)
• Dolphin Midwives + aesthetic.stalemate, an immersive audio-visual performance (Sep. 21)
• Puget Soundtrack: Arrington de Dionyso presents The Emergency Labyrinth, a free jazz freakout that will flame-broil your little brains! (Sep. 26)

INDUSTRY EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

• Direct Cameraless Animation workshop presented by Engauge Experimental Film Festival (Sep. 21)
• Intro to Unity teaches students about virtual production and game engines (Sep. 22)
• Working with Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming Talent teaches best-practices in inclusivity (Sep. 22)
• BTS Stories w/ The Paper Tigers gives a first-glimpse into writer-director Bao Tran's recently wrapped kung-fu feature film (Sep. 22)
• MovieMaker Pitchfest gives up-and-coming productions the opportunity to win up to $250,000 in production services, co-presented with MovieMaker Magazine! (Sep. 22)
• Producers Symposium: Marketing Your Film Begins Yesterday kicks off a quarterly series co-presented with SIFF, Seattle Film Summit, and Thin Pig Media! (Sep. 23)