SFCS banner │ Courtesy of Seattle Film Critics Society
Filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest has had its ups and downs. After the boom of film production in Seattle in the 1980s-1990s, major studios have often used other places as stand-ins for our region, typically in film-friendly Vancouver, B.C. At best you'll get an establishing shot of the Space Needle or one of Portland's many bridges. Yet, there have been many filmmakers who live and work in our region that have seen the beauty, culture, and unique atmosphere of our home. Makers like Gus Van Sant, Kelly Reichardt, and the late Lynn Shelton have based many of their illustrious productions here and have shown off what a special place the Pacific Northwest is.
Since 2022, the Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS)—of which I am a member, full disclosure—has as part of its annual awards given out a special award for Best Pacific Northwest Film. The award honors filmmakers who create in our region. Some of their films were produced for very little and have a scrappy sensibility to them. Others have had a bit more money behind them and show off the talent in our region. The nominees this year are a handful of the best of the best out of the Pacific Northwest.
The films are as diverse as our scenery and come from all corners. This year SFCS will honor six PNW features and five shorts as nominees for the award. To kick off the excitement around these films and our neighbors who made them, five of the features will be shown during a special screening series November 13-15 at the SIFF Film Center. The five shorts will play as a block on November 14. The sixth feature, Wildwood, is currently playing in many local theaters.
Here’s an idea of what will be playing during the weekend:
A Simple Machine, directed by Mark Alan Hoffman, is a lush black and white film that takes place in Portland, OR. The story feels real for a lot of us, with debts that keep us from feeling human. Nick (Richard Blackmon) takes drastic steps to get out from under his debt. He makes a choice not many of us would do in the same situation, but comes at it from a point of great grief in his life. The film is as much a cautionary tale as it is a film about hope for finding a way back into the light. It is a unique look at where we are now as a culture that cares too deeply about the material world.
Powwow People, directed by Sky Hopinka, is a documentary about Native American powwow culture. The film was shot at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle, WA. It's an immersive documentary where the cameras are with the dancers in the circles or in the circle with the drummers. The people interviewed are not shown sitting in chairs speaking to a camera, but out with the people doing what they love. It's a fascinating portrait of a group of people keeping tradition and culture alive, while also celebrating new ways and experiences.
Courtesy of Seattle Film Critics Society
Again Again, directed by Mia Moore Marchant and Heather Ballish, was shot in and around Aberdeen, WA. The film is about Agatha (Mia Moore Marchant) who has been stuck in a time loop for 10 years, but wakes up one day to find out she's somehow escaped. This film is a beautiful blend of heady sci-fi ideas with deep, emotional relationship drama. The brilliance of it is not in its effects, but in the way the story weaves around the concept.
The Joyless Economy, directed by Marjorie Conrad, is a documentary about a movie collection that triggers a woman's infidelity. Much of the film functions like an essay. It’s hypnotic in the interplay of home movies and objects, which are mostly physical VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray covers. You'll feel as if you're not getting it and suddenly a line will connect with an image in a way that opens up something in you. A unique exercise in nonfiction storytelling.
The Life We Leave, directed by J.J. Gerber, is a documentary that follows the crew at Return Home, a terramation (human composting) burial and cremation alternative in Auburn, WA as they develop a first of its kind funerary experience. The film is full of incredible science and a deep human empathy. The business of death is both financially and logistically complicated; it helps to have a community of people who see you less as a client, but as part of their community. The film is full of warmth, humor, sorrow, business talk, and lots of conversations around death.
These films, along with the shorts, make up a unique set of ideas, concepts, and artistic visions from some tremendous talents. This screening weekend is a great way to experience homegrown stories that will inspire and entertain. The Q&As are sure to be thoughtful and the conversations about the films in the lobby after the showings are sure to be invigorating. Enjoy learning about our neighbors and the minds our PNW inspires.
