LOCAL F I L M F E ST I VA L
SEPTEMBER25 - OCTOBER4
LOCALSIGHTINGS.ORG
Local Sightings is the Northwest’s premiere showcase of new films, putting homegrown talent in front of Seattle audiences and connecting artists from Alaska to Oregon in a week-long celebration of cinema from the region. Produced by Northwest Film Forum, the festival features new films, juried prizes and killer parties. The 2014 festival includes new features, shorts and documentary programming, as well as conversations with filmmakers and film industry networking events. In 2012, Seattle Weekly called Local Sightings the “Best Film Festival” in Seattle.
LETTER FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR An evil alien force invading peaceful Northwestern woods. . . A woman standing at a crossroads under Missoula’s cirrus cloud-scattered sky. . . A richly textured subculture of Vietnam War re-enactors. . . A man fending for himself on a post-apocalyptic planet. . . A hand-drawn string bean cursed with interstellar pica and a lisp. . . . . .and everything in between. For the past seventeen years, Local Sightings has proudly convened the finest new films produced in the Pacific Northwest. From the striking to the stunning, the weird to the wacky, and with generous doses of humor and social commentary thrown in, this year’s festival slate truly represents the many-splendored voices and styles of independent film from our fair region. This year at Local Sightings, expect to see an eclectic and vibrant group of films, and the talented filmmakers who made them—up close and personal. For the first time in the festival’s history, we’re expanding Local Sightings to ten packed days, filling the schedule with new events like our opening night PechaKucha-style bash, and spotlighting the people who make this region so fertile for filmmaking. If you’re working in film and other creative industries, we encourage you to check out our expanded Seattle Film Summit throughout the festival week. Local Sightings on-screen delights run the gamut from our opening film, Bella Vista, making its first U.S. appearance after a world premiere at the prestigious Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands, to Bubble Bubble Meows and the Meteor Stomachache, making its first festival appearance after being stitched together in Photoshop, in the director’s home. New filmmakers from your own backyard. Discovery awaits! See you at the cinema.
Courtney Sheehan Festival Director
OPENING NIGHT Low Down, Get Down
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 AT 7PM
This year the opening night of Local Sightings features a jam-packed preview of what’s to come in the ten day festival, presented by the filmmakers, speakers, and teachers who make the movie magic happen! Expect a few surprises and a lot of dancing.
Opening Night Party at 9PM
Sponsored by
Opening in Fall 2014!
OPENING FILM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 AT 8PM
Bella Vista Vera Brunner-Sung Missoula, MT 83 min
Pre-screening reception at 7pm Sponsored by
U.S. premiere! A meditation on displacement and adaptation in the contemporary American West, Bella Vista follows the lives of outsiders in Missoula, Montana. Teaching English to a group of international students, thirty-something Doris finds herself increasingly alone. While she grasps for the connection that might save her, it’s her students who understand what it takes to belong. Brunner-Sung’s unobtrusive camera captures objects, people and landscapes in ways that reveal understanding of her characters without the crutch of exposition. It is this formal mastery and human insight that signals the arrival of a major directorial talent. Shot in only 12 days and directed, written, edited, produced and DP’d by women, Bella Vista had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
VIP Passholders: Don’t miss an exclusive opening night reception at 6pm. Email localsightings@nwfilmforum.org for invitation details.
FREE INSTALLATION PROGRAM:
Join us before the screening at 6:30pm for Feeling Time, an installation-style screening of new experimental work. The looped program includes:
Express/Local
Adam Sekuler | Seattle, WA | 25 min An ordinary subway ride turns into a rhythmic exploration of passing moments.
Progression #1
Milla Krivdina | Seattle, WA | 5 min Ocean waves and lights create layers of experience.
A Thauma-Tale
Ben Popp - Portland, OR | 3 min Storytelling inspired by a thaumatrope optical toy.
Organic Video Study
Brandon Aleson | Seattle, WA | 4 min A time-lapse video of molding organic berries transforms this object into a living, breathing organism.
CLOSING NIGHT T H U RS DAY, O CTO B E R 2 N D
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: TOWN HALL CAUCUS 6PM After a dozen discussions, convene one final time during Local Sightings with fellow filmmakers and industry leaders for a culminating talk and chance to weigh in on important next steps for the local film community.
LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM AWARD CEREMONY 7:30PM Join us as we celebrate the juried winners of Local Sightings 2014, present the Seattle Composers Alliance award for film music scoring and hear the people’s vote in the Naked City Audience Awards.
IN COUNTRY Mike Attie & Meghan O’Hara | Seattle, WA | 80 min
8PM
Deep in the Oregon woods, the heat of a reenacted Vietnam battle sheds light on America’s complicated relationship with war and its veterans. In Country is a feature documentary that follows the 2/5 1st Cav (Reenacted), a “platoon” of hardcore Vietnam War reenactors. Weaving together verité footage of the reenactments with flashbacks to the characters’ real lives, and archival footage from the Vietnam War, In Country blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy, past and present to tell a story about men trying to access the past. The question at the center of In Country is “why?” Why would these men—many of them combat veterans of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan haunted by their own experiences on the frontline—try to recreate a war that so many have tried to forget?
CLOSING NIGHT PARTY AT VERMILLION ART GALLERY & BAR 1508 11th Avenue between Pike and Pine Open to passholders and Closing Night ticketholders only!
9:30PM
SPECIAL EVENTS
NIGHT OF THE NORTHWEST ROAD-RASH: ARCHIVAL SEATTLE SKATE VIDEOS OCTOBER 1 | 6:30PM Seattle skater establishment Marshall Reid dove deep into ancient annals of Seattle skateboard lore and dug up some true buried treasures. We’ve dusted off the VCR to behold the yesteryear glory of Seattle’s finest skate punks and “Ave” rats! Watch rippin’ skating, lip tricks and gnarly maneuvers of the hairiest kind! If you’re into music from greats like Mudhoney, Nirvana and Coffin Break, thrashin’ speed and the best of boardin’, this program is for you. Includes The Mission and Board Crazy.
PULLING FOCUS OCTOBER 1 | 7PM Washington Filmworks and Northwest Film Forum are pleased to announce the return of Pulling Focus, a panel series that focuses on the business of film. Panel discussions, moderated by Warren Etheredge (Host of Reel NW and Editor-At-Large of Media Inc.), are designed to speak to a diverse audience, from screenwriters to actors, from directors to producers and on to musicians. The goal is to elevate the conversation and give the Washington film community a rock-solid education about how to make passion for film into a career. Join us post event for a reception at 8pm.
SEATTLE 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT: 10TH ANNIVERSARY OCTOBER 3 | 7PM Watch a “best of” screening program from a decade of Seattle’s 48 Hour Film Project, a yearly competition that asks local filmmakers to conceptualize, create and finish a short film in just two days.
LA VOZ DE LOS SILENCIADOS Maximón Monihan | 2013 | 80 min
OCTOBER 3 | 8PM
Described as “Chaplin meets Eraserhead,” La Voz de los Silenciados is truly modern silent film. Olga, a deaf teenager, is coaxed from her home in Guatemala to travel to New York City, ostensibly to attend a Christian school for the deaf. Rather than being greeted by a charitable school, however, she’s enslaved in an international criminal scheme and forced to beg on the subway. Olga uses courage, cunning, and even humor to face an unimaginable nightmare-on-loop that ravages the audience. Based on the true story of modern day slavery in the heart of the American metropolis, LVDLS deftly weaves together social critique, silent film aesthetics, magical realist humor and surreality, coupled with a low frequency soundscape so grippingly immersive that it merits its own place in the history of sound cinema.
CLASSES
STUDENT SHOWCASE AND EDUCATION OPEN HOUSE Free event!
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3PM
Join us to view some recent film work and final projects made by Northwest Film Forum students. We’ll also have an opportunity for you to meet with esteemed instructors and network with returning students—and learn more about new and upcoming classes happening at the Film Forum this fall.
BOTANICOLLAGE WORKSHOP Instructor: Caryn Cline
OCTOBER 4
Filmmaker Caryn Cline will teach a workshop on the “botanicollage” technique, made famous by Stan Brakhage and his film Mothlight. Participants will create handmade film frames using local botanicals, art materials and film supplies to produce a short, collaborative film that will screen at the conclusion of the workshop.
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT
The Seattle Film Summit is a professional development event for anyone in Washington who has a stake in the production or distribution of media content, including filmmakers, actors, video game creators, transmedia geeks, editors, media lawyers, film community leaders, legislators, gaffers and writers. In 2014, the Seattle Film Summit is expanding beyond a single-day conference, with panels and events throughout Local Sightings, including the opening and closing nights of the festival. The mission of the Seattle Film Summit is to empower and inspire Washington state media producers, especially filmmakers, to discover and develop innovative methods of storytelling, funding and distribution. Full conference schedule at localsightings.org
2014 Events Include:
Sharks vs. Jets: Tech and Design Opportunities From LA to Vancouver: Competition or Collaboration Balancing Commercial and Artistic Worlds Indie Contracts Made Simple Multi-Platform Storytelling And more.
FEATURES
BUBBLE BUBBLE MEOWS AND THE METEOR STOMACHACHE Matt Orefice | Seattle, WA | 82 min
SCREENS WITH: MIDNIGHT TOURIST
SEPTEMBER 30 | 7PM Coloring book happy hour at 6pm!
What do chicken beak butter, kitten eyelashes, and watermelon spray all have in common? They are the key ingredients in a casserole cure for stomach aches caused by meteor consumption. It’s up to the painstakingly animated cat Bubble Bubble Meows to find these medicinal elements and save his friend, a stringbean with interstellar pica and a lisp. Along their journey they encounter Paul, a hyper-caffeinated feline who has long since blown past the coffee threshold, a coffee-slinging duck voiced by the director’s mother-in-law, and a pile of cottage cheese named Mr. Knowitall. Tangential motifs include expository voiceover by a Japanese narrator and the proletariat struggles of a trumpet animalcule named Nuncio. Surely no poorly-drawn cat has ever driven a baked potato car with as fine a theme tune on such kookoo bookoo bonkers adventures! Audiences may find themselves exclaiming, “oh wowsh!” upon exiting the theater. Not for the unaltered of mind.
CHAT Greg Lundgren | Seattle, WA | 82 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
One webcam, one woman, one take: Chat turns the male gaze on its head (and knees it in the balls for good measure) in this dark comedy, shot in a day. One lackadaisical day, a woman sits down in front of her computer to make the rent by titillating a chat room full of anonymous men (we assume). Our camgirl protagonist racks up the dollars by peeling off layers of clothing but her anonymous customers reveal much more of themselves through the things they say and the questions they ask of her. Without hesitation, she waves away the gross and gratuitous comments, engaging only when there’s something at stake to be discussed, like the feminist dimension of her work. Juggling, atrocious violin playing, a pervy landlord and a pervier cop all make appearances on screen, as the audience merges with the POV of the chat room.
DOWN RIVER Ben Ratner | Vancouver, BC | 93 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 7PM
A hugely popular success at film festivals across Canada, the star-studded Vancouver drama Down River charts the circle of friendship of four women who live in the same building: an actress struggling to reconcile her religious beliefs with her professional ambitions, an artist living under her father’s stern gaze, a hard-partying rock singer, and at their center, Pearl, a caring older woman who acts as a mentor and mother for them all. When Pearl abruptly departs from their lives, the younger women must find strength within themselves to face their personal and professional challenges. Down River is a rare drama led by strong female performances, especially Helen Shaver, who plays the benevolent but sly Pearl. Director Ben Ratner, himself an actor, wrote the parts specifically for the actresses he cast, and infuses their soulful performances with his powerful insights into how challenging it is to thrive as an actress in an industry dominated by men.
KOINONIA Andrew Finnigan | Port Orchard, WA | 94 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 9PM
Casting the Pacific Northwest as an expansive, open air nightmare, Koinonia meditates on the horror of looking at yourself in the mirror, if you are the last human alive. John (Tony Doupe) might be the final person on Earth, and the film follows his somber slump towards a faint hope—the fabled last human city, Faraday—that he probably made up while playing backgammon with himself. Director Andrew Finnigan’s take on post apocalyptic sci-fi builds an atmosphere of lonely, steady ache, with an eye for desolate detail in the dystopian wilderness. Every tree looks abandoned, and every horizon engulfs. In these moments the film succeeds quietly, hovering on the nostalgic look flashed by John when he sees a new face in a long-lost photograph.
MIND ZONE: THERAPISTS BEHIND THE FRONT LINE Jan Haaken | Portland, OR | 50 min
SCREENS WITH: CLIPPED WINGS SEPTEMBER 28 | 7PM
A documentary about therapists working in the 113th Army Combat Stress Control detachment. Their mission is two-fold (and contradictory): protecting soldiers from battle fatigue and keeping these same soldiers in the fight. Director Jan Haaken’s mission is also two-fold: to tell the story of the psychological impact of war from the perspective of soldiers who experience it, and to contextualize this within the field of psychology. With psychiatric casualties mounting, the United States Army ups the deployment of mental health detachments to war zones— an undertaking on a scale previously unimaginable. As the 113th is deployed to Afghanistan and trains for their dual roles as soldiers and healers, Colonel David Rabb and his team of therapists are equipped with a wide arsenal of psychological techniques. But as they arrive to replace the previous Combat Stress Control unit, they learn the gravity of the tasks ahead and face daunting challenges in carrying out their conflicting missions.
NOTHING AGAINST LIFE Julio Ramírez | Seattle, WA | 90 min
SPOTLIGHT ON FISCAL SPONSORSHIP SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
A fearless, moving drama that addresses the social implications of living with depression, and stigmas surrounding suicide and mental health, Nothing Against Life peers into the lives of four disparate characters whose paths intertwine, as they navigate the razor’s edge of life. Directed by Seattle filmmaker Julio Ramirez, and featuring performances from Cynthia Geary (Northern Exposure), Fernando Noriega (Where The Road Meets The Sun, TV Azteca’s Morir en Martes), Hillary Pickles (Police Beat) and Keifer Grimm (Cthulhu, The Summer Before), Nothing Against Life is the story of strangers making the most important decision of their lives: whether to embrace reality and all of its contradictions, or to put their lives away.
PLAIN DEVIL Tonija Atomic | Seattle, WA | 56 min
SCREENS WITH: MAUREEN SEPTEMBER 29 | 9PM
On the tough streets of Seattle, a girl gang of she-devils takes on an Eastern European immigrant, in the style of John Waters-meets-Perfect Strangers. A new girl must prove herself worthy of joining the ranks of the ferocious gang by prevailing in cat fights and wars of words. Jam-packed with tattoos, street cred, arcade brawls, hater shades, astounded immigrant parents, bowtied nerds, matching jackets and loitering, for a camptastic good time.
RETURN OF THE RIVER John Gussman & Jessica Plumb | Port Townsend, WA | 83 min
SCREENS WITH: CATCH IT SEPTEMBER 28 | 7PM
The history and the story of the building of the Elwah Dam is, in many ways, the great Pacific Northwest Epic. Here are “villains” who are actually just ambitious people who want reasonable things (hydro-electric power and jobs for the people of Port Angeles), and “heroes” who want equally reasonable things (to set the Elwah River free, to allow the salmon—so critical to the health and well-being of the region—to spawn naturally, to return dignity to the indigenous people of the area). Framed by a beautifully written narration told from the point of view of the great Elwah itself, stunningly photographed and infused with a rare optimism, this is a documentary that will make you proud to live in the PNW.
SPEED OF SOUND Brian Perkins | Seattle, WA | 56 min
SCREENS WITH: THE MAURY ISLAND INCIDENT SEPTEMBER 29 | 7PM
Dave (Zach Weintraub) awakes one day to a mysterious text message from a friend who passed away a year ago. Dave tries to go about his day as usual by meeting up with a friend for a game of tennis, and makes camping plans with his girlfriend. But uncanny connections to the past begin to emerge. Friends and stories that are connected. to the ghost force Dave to confront his relationships, and what happened to his friend.
THE DEVICE Jeremy Berg | Burien, WA | 87 min
SCREENS WITH: LANDING SHIP X-1 SEPTEMBER 27 | 7PM
The most effective thrillers are never solely about the monster, the psycho or the bug-eyed alien. Jeremy Berg’s second feature meditates on family, marriage, technology, memory and trust, while serving up healthy doses of the creeps. Sisters Abby and Rebecca have been divided by an awful incident neither is keen to discuss. They gather to spread the ashes of their recently-deceased mother at the family Lake House (creepy cabin in the woods: check). They are joined by Calvin, husband of Abby and seemingly every woman’s ideal of the sympathetic partner (yet there is something not quite right with him). All goes well until the two sisters visit the site of the awful incident years ago, and uncover The Device that will change their lives forever.
THE EXHIBITION Miho Yamamoto & Damon Vignale | Vancouver, BC | 92 min
SCREENS WITH LA TROCHA SEPTEMBER 30 | 8PM
Mid-’90s, Vancouver, B.C.: a series of young, marginalized women and many Aboriginal go missing. Despite inescapable evidence this is the work of a serial killer, and despite the emergence of an extremely likely suspect, the indifferent Vancouver police delay and largely ignore the case, ultimately costing multiple more women their lives. What is eventually discovered is the largest serial killer case in Canadian history. In response, renowned artist Pamela Masik attempts to mount a confrontational art exhibit featuring portraits of the victims. Despite what appears to be a sincere, self-funded attempt to draw attention away from the killer and towards the victims and the societal issues that cause such crimes to occur, her motivations are questioned. The Exhibition is a moving documentary about a disturbing part of Vancouver’s past. It raises questions about the meaning of art, censorship, cultural identity and the systematic forgetting of marginalized peoples’ lives and deaths.
PRODUCING SPONSORS
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SUPPORTING SPONSORS
MEDIA SPONSORS
MAJOR ANNUAL SUPPORT
THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS
CALENDAR
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 7PM 9PM
LOW DOWN, GET DOWN OPENING NIGHT PARTY
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 6PM 6:30PM 7PM 8PM
VIP PARTY INSTALLATION PROGRAM OPENING RECEPTION BELLA VISTA
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 11AM-4PM 5PM 7PM 7PM 9PM 9PM
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT CONFERENCE SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT HAPPY HOUR DOWN RIVER THE DEVICE CHAT LOVE & LOSS
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 11AM 12:30PM 2PM 3PM 3:30PM 5PM 5PM 7PM 7PM 9PM
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: INDIE CONTRACTS SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: SEATTLE COMPOSERS ALLIANCE SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: BUILDING USER BASES STUDENT SHOWCASE AND EDUCATION OPEN HOUSE LOCAL FACES, LOCAL SPACES DEAL WITH IT SISTER NOTHING AGAINST LIFE RETURN OF THE RIVER MIND ZONE KOINONIA
FEATURES
SHORTS
CLASSES
EVENTS
SUMMIT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 6:30PM 7PM 8PM 9PM P
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: MULTI-PLATFORM STORYTELLING SPEED OF SOUND SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: GET IN THE GAME PLAIN DEVIL
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 6PM 6:30PM 7PM 8PM 9PM
COLORING BOOK HAPPY HOUR SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: DIY DISTRIBUTION BUBBLE BUBBLE MEOWS AND THE METEOR STOMACHACHE THE EXHIBITION PUSH & PULL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 6:30PM 7PM 8PM
ARCHIVAL SEATTLE SKATE VIDEOS PULLING FOCUS PULLING FOCUS RECEPTION
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2 6PM 7:30PM 8PM 9:30PM
SEATTLE FILM SUMMIT: TOWN HALL CAUCUS LOCAL SIGHTINGS AWARDS CEREMONY IN COUNTRY CLOSING NIGHT PARTY AT VERMILLION ART GALLERY + BAR
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 7PM 8PM
SEATTLE 48 HOUR FILM PROJECT: 10TH ANNIVERSARY LA VOZ DE LOS SILENCIADOS
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4 11AM-4PM
BOTANICOLLAGE WORKSHOP
SHORTS
LOVE & LOSS
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM SOLE MATE
SERENADE
Chad Perkins | Renton, WA | 3 min
Kendra Ann Sherrill | Serenade, WA | 8 min
THE TALK
WALKS LIKE A…
Hadley Hillel | Seattle, WA | 5 min
Arlin McFarlane | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 3 min
REMAINS
DATE STORIES
Nathan M. Miller | Seattle, WA | 14 min
Heather Pilder Olson | Seattle, WA | 11 min
THE BIG DAY
THE NEW WEST
Quinn Armstrong | Seattle, WA | 5 min
Peter Edlund | Seattle, WA | 15 min
COPPICE
THE THIRD WHEEL
Shirlyn Wong | Milton-Freewater, OR | 4 min
SJ Chiro | Seattle, WA | 4 min
HANNAH & OTTO Chris Volkmann | Seattle, WA | 6 min
LOCAL FACES, LOCAL SPACES SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM MAIKARU Amanda Harryman | Edmonds, WA | 7 min
THE NIGHT SHIFT Shannon Snider & Stefanie Malone | Seattle, WA | 3 min
THE SCORE Stefanie Malone | Seattle, WA | 5 min
A MODERN CREATION STORY Elke Hautala | Seattle, WA | 13 min
SHACKITECTURE David Wulzen | Seattle, WA | 8 min
THIS IS A FINITE PLACE Lars Andersen, Brian Cunningham | Seattle, WA | 8 min
YOU WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHING Ben Wyatt | Seattle, WA | 3 min
WORKING CLASS HERO Taylor Grigsby | Seattle, WA | 10 min
REACHING BLUE Ian Hinkle | Victoria, British Columbia | 20 min
DEAL WITH IT SISTER SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM SLEEPING WITH SIRI
5112
Marty Riemer | Seattle, WA | 28 min
Charles Conatzer | Seattle, WA | 3 min
WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE
ROWING SMITTY
Christy X-NC17 | Seattle, WA | 7 min
Jenna Pool | Seattle, WA | 6 min
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK
THE BEAST INSIDE
Kyle Nixon | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 9 min
Amy Enser, Drew Christie | Seattle, WA | 4 min
DEAL WITH IT SISTER
ONE NIGHT IN FLORIDA
Julie Robinson | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 4 min
Tess Martin | Seattle, WA | 1 min
PUSH & PULL TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM CONNIE Abbey Sacks - Kirkland, WA - 1 min
COLD LIGHT DAY Dayna Hanson | Seattle, WA | 6 min
DIANA Erin O. Kay | North Hollywood, CA | 8 min
BRILLIANT THOUGHTS Sarah Ferrier | Seattle, WA | 1 min
MARIO Tess Martin | Seattle, WA | 3 min
MARIA TV Rodrigo Valenzuela | Seattle, WA | 18 min
LATE SPRING Luke Sieczek | Seattle, WA | 6 min
9 Kimberly Warner | Portland, OR | 15 min
5112 Charles Conatzer | Seattle, WA | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
Protesters at May Day 2012 were captured on film by a multitude of local news stations. This film shows what viewers at home didn’t see: footage from the activist’s perspective.
9 Kimberly Warner | Portland, OR | 15 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
A ballet class can’t contain this young girl’s imagination.
A MODERN CREATION STORY Elke Hautala | Seattle, WA | 13 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Glass blower Preston Singletary prepares a daringly ambitious project: a large-scale totem pole made entirely out of glass.
A THAUMA-TALE Ben Popp | Portland, OR | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 26 I 6:30PM
Storytelling inspired by a thaumatrope optical toy.
BRILLIANT THOUGHTS Sarah Ferrier | Seattle, WA | 1 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
One woman’s inner monologue stands still against the bustling streets of Seattle.
CLIPPED WINGS Leo Pfeifer, Duncan Gowdy, Coleman Andersen | Seattle, WA | 14 min A personal look at discrimination from the Boyscouts of America.
SEPTEMBER 28 I 7PM
COLD LIGHT DAY Dayna Hanson | Seattle, WA | 6 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
Two dancers partake of a snack on the long dock of the Lakebay Marina.
CONNIE Abbey Sacks | Kirkland, WA | 1 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
A rhythmic interpretation of a short story by Joyce Carol Oates.
COPPICE Shirlyn Wong | Milton-Freewater, OR | 4 min One man attempts to cope with the death of his mother.
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
DATE STORIES Heather Pilder Olson | Seattle, WA | 11 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
A film that travels through time, exploring the ways dating is portrayed on screen.
DEAL WITH IT SISTER Julie Robinson | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 4 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
Mallory’s expressions on living with Charge syndrome.
DIANA Erin O. Kay | North Hollywood, CA | 8 min Two men travel through the desert, tracking the path of their lost companion.
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
HANNAH & OTTO Chris Volkmann | Seattle, WA | 6 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
A casual encounter with a stranger on the street becomes something more.
LA TROCHA Ian Bell | Seattle, WA | 15 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 7PM
The story of the Wounaan, an indigenous community plagued by industry, and “a government who does not see the indian.”
LATE SPRING Luke Sieczek | Seattle, WA | 6 min One man grapples with the scary realities of his past.
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
MAIKARU Amanda Harryman | Edmonds, WA | 7 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
The story of Maikaru, an artist, who survived a childhood of human trafficking.
MARIA TV Rodrigo Valenzuela | Seattle, WA | 18 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
Soap opera stereotypes are subverted by the Latina women they purportedly portray.
MARIO Tess Martin | Seattle, WA | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 30 | 9PM
This paint and glass combine to animate the life of an old Italian Playground song.
MIDNIGHT TOURIST Koray Kocaturk | Everett, WA | 5 min For one little boy, Seattle literally comes to life.
SEPTEMBER 30 | 7PM
ONE NIGHT IN FLORIDA Tess Martin | Seattle, WA | 1 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
A stop-motion short about Trayvon Martin, using audio from Obama’s reaction speech in 2013.
ORGANIC VIDEO STUDY Brandon Aleson | Seattle, WA | 4 min
SEPTEMBER 26 | 6:30PM
A time-lapse video of molding organic berries transforms this object into a living, breathing organism.
PROGRESSION #1 Milla Krivdina | Seattle, WA | 5 min Ocean waves and lights create layers of experience.
SEPTEMBER 26 | 6:30PM
ROWING SMITTY Jenna Pool | Seattle, WA | 6 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
Six men build three dories and row 165 miles to Canada to raise funds to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease.
REACHING BLUE Ian Hinkle | Victoria, British Columbia | 20 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
A documentary about the effects of climate change on the Salish sea, as told by the people who live, work and study there.
REMAINS Nathan M. Miller | Seattle, WA | 14 min One man’s personal struggle to deal with his mother’s remains.
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
SERENADE Kendra Ann Sherrill | Serenade, WA | 8 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
Pre-pubescent love is a complicated thing.
SHACKITECTURE David Wulzen | Seattle, WA | 8 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Architect and builder Doug Potter shows how a house is more than just materials: it’s a home.
SLEEPING WITH SIRI Marty Riemer | Seattle, WA | 28 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
One journalist experiments with the stresses of the digital age, spending one week fully plugged in and the next completely disconnected.
SOLE MATE Chad Perkins | Renton, WA | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
One man’s not-so-average day in a world where everyone looks the same.
THE BEAST INSIDE Amy J. Enser & Drew Christie | Seattle, WA | 4 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
A teen in a homeless family describes his challenges and creative resistance in this animated short.
THE BIG DAY Quinn Armstrong | Seattle, WA | 5 min Jared doesn’t spend his big day as expected. . .
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
THE NEW WEST Peter Edlund | Seattle, WA | 15 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
A classic revenge tale begins in a schoolyard and ends at the heart of the modern frontier.
THE NIGHT SHIFT Shannon Snider & Stefanie Malone | Seattle, WA | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Beth’s Cafe is more than just a place to order a 12 egg omelette: it’s a family.
THE SCORE Stefanie Malone | Seattle, WA | 5 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
A spotlight on Seattle music duo Miles & Karina, this film highlights the unique experience of seeing a movie with a live score.
THE TALK Hadley Hillel | Seattle, WA | 5 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
When parents tell their child that they’re getting a divorce, things escalate.
THE THIRD WHEEL SJ Chiro | Seattle, WA | 4 min
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
A quintessentially Seattle take on a noir classic.
THIS IS A FINITE PLACE Lars Andersen, Brian Cunningham | Seattle, WA | 8 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Seattle’s rapid expansion seen through the eyes of one music venue.
WALKS LIKE A… Arlin McFarlane | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 3 min A film that acknowledges how young family experiences stick with us.
SEPTEMBER 27 | 9PM
WORKING CLASS HERO Taylor Grigsby | Seattle, WA | 10 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Local muralist Ryan ‘Henry’ Ward shares his perspectives on making art in Seattle on the occasion of his solo show.
WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE Christy X-NC17 | Seattle, WA | 7 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
A documentary about the West Seattle Helpline, a non-profit organization that offers emergency assistance for those in need.
YOU DON’T KNOW JACK Kyle Nixon | Whitehorse, Yukon Territories | 9 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 5PM
A perspective often unseen: living with someone who has non-verbal autism.
YOU WANNA BE STARTIN’ SOMETHING Ben Wyatt | Seattle, WA | 3 min
SEPTEMBER 28 | 3:30PM
Words to wise about gardening, featuring Jose Gonzales of City Peoples Garden Store.
Proudly Presenting the 4th Annual Naked City Audience Awards 8564 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 (206)838-6299
NakedCityBrewing.com
FILM AWARDS Film Awards Every year, Local Sightings awards one feature and one short film with a cash prize. Festival programmers select outstanding films for the festival’s competition, and guest jurors view the competing films during the festival to decide final awards. The winning feature filmmaker receives $500 in cash and a theatrical run at Northwest Film Forum. The winning short filmmaker receives $250 in cash and $250 of studio time and equipment rental.
Composition Prize The Seattle Composers Alliance announces the third year of its Local Sightings award for best original score, for features and shorts. Judges include notable local Seattle composers, educators and producers. The winning feature composer receives $500 and the short composer $250.
Audience Award Naked City Brewery announces the fourth year of its Local Sightings audience award, featuring the people’s choice for best feature and short films. The winners will receive an encore at The Screening Room, at the Brewery Taphouse in Greenwood. Look for voting boxes in the Film Forum lobby following each festival screening.
JURY PRIZE NOMINATED FILMS F E AT U R E S
S H O R TS
BELLA VISTA
THE NEW WEST
IN COUNTRY
REMAINS
KOINONIA
CONNIE
DOWN RIVER
MARIO LA TROCHA LATE SPRING COPPICE
JURORS KRISTEN FITZPATRICK is the Director of Acquisition & Exhibition at Women Make Movies, the world’s leading distributor of films by and about women. Kristen has been on numerous film festival juries around the world and spoken on numerous panels focusing on distribution, promotional strategies and impact campaigns for social justice documentary. She was recently on the board of NewFest, and was also a long-term member of the selection committee for the New York International Asian Film Festival. Kristen currently serves annually as a judge for the Student Academy Awards (The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), is a judge for the Northeast Emmys, and was recognized as an Emerging Leader by the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC).
RICHARD HERSKOWITZ is the director of Cinema Pacific, a festival of Pacific Rim cinema hosted by the University of Oregon in Eugene, where Herskowitz teaches cinema studies and arts administration. He is also artistic director of the Houston Cinema Arts Society, presenter of the annual Houston Cinema Arts Festival. From 1994 to 2008, Herskowitz was director of the Virginia Film Festival in Charlottesville. Prior to this, Herskowitz directed the Cornell Cinema media arts center, where he presented over 500 films annually from 1982-94, and served as the film and video curator at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca, N.Y.
MAXIMÓN MONIHAN was raised in the Central District (“CD never flee”), where he was a regular installment in the city’s early-80s “Ave Rat” punk skater scene and member of the notorious band The Butt Pirates. By the late ‘80s, he was sponsored by the legendary H-Street skateboard team and was featured in, and worked on, numerous landmark skate films, most notably Shackle Me Not and Hokus Pokus. By the mid ‘90s he relocated to Brooklyn and stopped skating professionally, to instead make skate films for his former sponsors. In 2005, Monihan launched his own production company, Bricolagista!, and has shot a number of short films, online TV series and music videos for artists ranging from Prince Paul and Talib Kweli to Dead Kids and Negroes On Ice. His first feature film, La Voz de Los Silenciados, has screened extensively on the international festival circuit. Local Sightings will be its U.S. premiere.
ARTIST SUPPORT Supporting film artists is central to Northwest Film Forum’s mission as a comprehensive film arts center. We look forward to Local Sightings every year as an energetic celebration of the quality and drive of new film in the Northwest, but we also provide resources and services that keep local filmmaking great all year ‘round. Whether you shoot films on your smartphone and edit them for your friends, or are working in the film industry, we are here to support you.
EQUIPMENT We rent professional filmmaking gear, at reasonable rates, to local artists. Our equipment for rent includes digital and analog film cameras, lighting kits, sound gear, screens, stands and more.
POST-PRODUCTION SUITES Our Capitol Hill venue hosts several editing spaces, including our digital, non-linear suite, with a full range of current editing software.
CLASSES Our year-round schedule of classes has something for everyone (general audiences and working artists alike), including an education in the tools required by current film technology, certification on a variety of equipment, insightful lectures on film history and culture, master classes with visiting artists and more.
CINEMA RENTALS We rent our cinemas to local non-profits (including fellow film organizations like the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and the Social Justice Film Festival), artists (local fundraising parties and/or cast and crew screenings are regular events), and other organizations.
FREE RANGE FILMMAKERS Every year, Northwest Film Forum provides hundreds of local artists, filmmakers and film students with a suite of crucial services, including classes and workshops to build skills, affordable rentals of filmmaking gear and postproduction facilities, post-production facilities, and more. This fall you can support a local emerging artist through our Free-Range Filmmaker donation opportunity, starting Thursday, September 25. We will accept your donation of $50 and gift, in turn, membership benefits to a local film professional. Your donation supports Northwest Film Forum’s year-round work, and also directly benefits film learners and filmmakers working in Seattle by providing them with access to the Film Forum’s resources. Make a donation at the festival box office or online at localsightings.org.
NORTHWEST FILM FORUM STAFF Lyall Bush Executive Director Matt Cunningham Technical Director Christopher Day House Manager Craig Downing Education Manager David Falcon Ayala Business and Systems Manager Molly Michal Marketing Manager and Development Associate Line Sandsmark Development Director Courtney Sheehan Program Director Liz Shepherd Youth Programs Director Laurie Polisky Local Sightings Intern/Assistant Programmer Sarah Strunin Local Sightings Intern
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Vermillion Gallery + Bar
All Local Sightings festival events are held at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Avenue between Pike and Pine on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. The festival Closing Night Party is held at Vermillion Gallery + Bar, on the corner of East Pike and 11th Avenue.
Getting Here Bus: The Film Forum is located within ½ mile of the #2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 43, 49, 60 and 84 Metro bus routes. Parking: We recommend Seattle Central College’s Harvard Garage at 1609 Harvard Avenue (at E. Pine Street), which is open and available 24/7. An affordable pay parking lot is also available 3 blocks from the Film Forum, at the Greek Orthodox Church at 13th and Howell (please note this lot may be closed for special events). Free street parking is available Monday-Saturday after 8pm and all day on Sundays.
Accessibility The entrance, cinemas and restrooms of Northwest Film Forum are fully wheelchair accessible; please email us at house@nwfilmforum.org with any questions about access.
Local Discounts The bustling Pike/Pine commercial corridor is steps from the Film Forum’s front door. Our neighbors are offering food & drink discounts for Local Sightings ticket-holders—check the festival website for details. localsightings.org
LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL 2014 Presented by Northwest Film Forum
FIND US ON CAPITOL HILL 1515 12th Avenue (between Pike & Pine) Seattle, WA 98122
GET TICKETS localsightings.org or nwfilmforum.org or Brown Paper Tickets: 1.800.838.3006
Full Festival VIP Pass $250 ($180 Film Forum Members) Opening or Closing Night $12 ($8 Film Forum Members) Individual Tickets $11 ($6 Film Forum Members)
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