This year the annual PNW focused Local Sightings Film Festival will not only celebrate work and artists from across the region from September 16-25, but also a quarter century of local film. Presented by Capitol Hill’s Northwest Film Forum, this year’s festival will feature 82 works, including narrative films, documentaries, experimental films, animation, web series, and music videos.
“It’s really a brilliant sort of broad and delicious sampling of all of the different things that folks working [and] living in the region are getting up to,” said Rana San, artistic director of NWFF.
Local Sightings Film Festival 2022
Hybrid — Online and in person at 1515 12th Ave’s NWFF
Sept. 16-25, 2022
Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 25th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a virtual-and-in-person showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2022 program, which runs from September 16–25, features a competitive selection of curated short film programs and feature films, inviting regional artists to experiment, break, and remake popular conceptions around filmmaking and film exhibition. Local Sightings champions emerging and established talent, supports the regional film industry, and promotes diverse media as a critical tool for public engagement.
As 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of the festival, it also makes one year since NWFF has been open to the public following pandemic-related closures. To show its commitment to accessibility, NWFF will host the festival in a hybrid format, although a couple of films will only be showcased in person, such as the 55-minute documentary Our Block which follows the rise of CHAZ, the fall of CHOP, and the impact on Seattle.
Submissions generally consist of films that are made within the last 18 months, according to San, who said how each year’s themes may look different based on what filmmakers are focusing on.
“We go into programming with a completely open mind and we let the submissions from each year inform and dictate what is programmed and what themes emerge,” said San. “The filmmakers are the ones who are telling the stories–they’re the ones who’re identifying what is most important in this moment.” Continue reading