Northwest Film Forum

11/19/2020

“Emily in Paris” and the Rise of Ambient TV

Thoughts and discussion welcome!
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EXCERPT:

The purpose of “Emily in Paris” is to provide sympathetic background for staring at your phone, refreshing your own feeds—on which you’ll find “Emily in Paris” memes, including a whole genre of TikTok remakes. It’s O.K. to look at your phone all the time, the show seems to say, because Emily does it, too. The episodic plots are too thin to ever be confusing; when you glance back up at the television, chances are that you’ll find tracking shots of the Seine or cobblestoned alleyways, lovely but meaningless. If you want more drama, you can open Twitter, to augment the experience. Or just leave the show on while cleaning the inevitable domestic messes of quarantine. Eventually, sensing that you’ve played two episodes straight without pausing or skipping, Netflix will ask if you’re still really watching. Shamed, I clicked the Yes button, and Emily continued being in Paris.

In this and other recent programming, Netflix is pioneering a genre that I’ve come to think of as ambient television. It’s “as ignorable as it is interesting,” as the musician Brian Eno wrote, when he coined the term “ambient music” in the liner notes to his 1978 album “Ambient 1: Music for Airports,” a wash of slow melodic synth compositions. Ambient denotes something that you don’t have to pay attention to in order to enjoy but which is still seductive enough to be compelling if you choose to do so momentarily. Like gentle New Age soundscapes, “Emily in Paris” is soothing, slow, and relatively monotonous, the dramatic moments too predetermined to really be dramatic. Nothing bad ever happens to our heroine for long. The earlier era of prestige TV was predicated on shows with meta-narratives to be puzzled out, and which merited deep analyses read the day after watching. Here, there is nothing to figure out; as prestige passes its peak, we’re moving into the ambient era, which succumbs to, rather than competes with, your phone.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/emily-in-paris-and-the-rise-of-ambient-tv?fbclid=IwAR2_gp7zUhiot_bP3PpxcyjsLmKc7Vbfazn6NJTIDX_DlCREhIok0dJiciI

In its recent programming, Netflix is pioneering a genre of television that you don’t have to pay attention to in order to enjoy.

11/18/2020

Virtual Catalog | Romanian Film Festival Seattle 2020 [Online]

ROMANIAN FILM FEST is happening through Sunday! On our incredible roster of films includes Marona’s Fantastic Tale, an award winning animated film by director Anca Damian.

ABOUT MARONA’S FANTASTIC TALE:
Marona is a little dog who, after surviving a car accident, recalls all of her masters whom she loved unconditionally. Beautifully told and colorfully drawn, this animation presents ordinary episodes in a pet’s life from the pet’s point of view, imagining, or rather revealing, what animals go through in a world controlled by humans.

Selected at numerous festivals, Marona’s Fantastic Tale won Best Animated Feature at the Bucheon International Animation Film Festival, the Dublin Film Critics’ Special Jury Prize, the Audience Award at Gijon, and the Grand Prize at the Tokyo Anime Awards.

MARONA’S FANTASTIC TALE TICKETS:

FULL FEST:
http://bit.ly/romanianfilmfest2020

11/18/2020

We're at the point where we have to combine our efforts to remember how many festivals we have coming up. Friday adds five programs of contemporary Brazilian film to our robust roster: the second-ever Travessias Brazilian Film Fest will be online for ten tremendous days, Nov. 20–29! Big thanks to our co-presenters, the Center for Brazilian Studies at UW, Show Brazil, Brazil Center and Black Cinema Collective. Browse the lineup: https://mailchi.mp/nwfilmforum/on-the-marquee-travessias-brazilian-film-festival-2020

11/17/2020

Uppercase Print | Uppercase Print (Discussion on Nov. 15) | Romanian Film Festival Seattle 2020 [Online]

ROMANIAN FILM FEST = Nov. 13-22 at Northwest Film Forum in Seattle: http://bit.ly/romanianfilmfest2020

** Live Discussion with film critic Monica Filimon took place on Nov. 15 at 7:30pm PST!... view it below at https://youtu.be/MeVmHYLuVBE

(Radu Jude, Romania, 2020, 128 min)

Mugur Călinescu, a high school student in a provincial city, writes graffiti messages about food shortages and a lack of freedom. He is caught, and his family, neighbors, and friends all are subjected to intimidation and interrogation to break any form of resistance.

Radu Jude’s film combines archival footage from Romania’s infamous secret police, old TV clips, and a cinematic recreation of Gianina Cărbunariu’s “documentary play” by the same title. Camera, like in Jude’s other films, is not simply a recording device, but a conscious witness that adds its own point of view to the story.

Uppercase Print is inspired by a real event from 1981, and was nominated for the Best Feature Film award at IndieLisboa Independent Film festival in Portugal and at the Transilvania International Film Festival.

TICKETS:

FULL FEST: http://bit.ly/romanianfilmfest2020

A high school student in a provincial city graffitis complaints about food shortages and lack of freedom in communist Romania in this remarkable docudrama, stitched together from archival footage from Romania’s infamous secret police, old TV clips, and a cinematic recreation of Gianina Cărbunariu...

11/17/2020

COLLECTIVE POWER FUND is accepting applications for $500 in relief funding thru Nov. 30!!! Thanks to Northwest Polite Society for these gorgeous wheatepastes around our new emergency aid fund, and for always supporting local arts organizations.

Northwest Film Forum has just launched our Collective Power Fund as the The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts' first King County grantmaker for their Regional Regranting Program. The Fund will distribute a total of $70,000 in relief grants to visual-based artists impacted by COVID-19. $500 unrestricted, one-time grants will be awarded to 140 artists living in incorporated and unincorporated King County, with applications in Spanish and Chinese, to better serve some of the area's most racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.

Apply via bit.ly/collectivepowerfund or collectivepowernw.org

As one of 32 partner organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, NWFF will work in partnership with the Foundation to fund artists’ experimental projects and collaborative undertakings.

"Northwest Film Forum is honored to be in connection with the other forward-thinking, cutting-edge arts organizations that comprise the Regional Regranting Program," states NWFF Executive Director Vivian Hua. "This opportunity solidifies our reputation as an interdisciplinary organization dedicated to serving diverse artistic communities throughout our entire region."

The application is now live and closes Monday, November 30 11:59 PM PST. The selection process is lottery-based and priority considerations will be given to communities impacted disproportionately due to COVID-19, including: BIPOC, LGBTQ2SIA+, gender non-conforming, non-binary, femme, women, d/Deaf and/or disabled.

Apply via bit.ly/collectivepowerfund or collectivepowernw.org

11/16/2020

Malmkrog Discussion - Seattle Romanian Film Festival

ROMANIAN FILM FEST is still going strong! Check out this Zoom Q&A for Malmkrog, ft. film critic Monica Filimon, author of Cristi Puiu: Ineffable Experiences of the Profane World. GET TICKETS: http://bit.ly/rffs2020malmkrog

ABOUT MALMKROG:
Cristi Puiu’s most recent film is a three-in-one project: it is an adaptation of Vladimir Solovyov’s Three Conversations, a period drama beautifully recreating the turn of the twentieth century, and a philosophical symposium. Divided into 6 parts—one for each protagonist—this study of the well-mannered, yet intellectually fierce and, at times, condescending, theoretical debates, present a “slice of life” that froze in its eternal futility.

Only years before WWI, in an aristocratic manor somewhere in Transylvania, the wealthy businessman Edouard, the landowner Nikolai, the young and naïve Olga, the mature and ironic Madeleine, Ingrida—the wife of a Russian general—and the butler Istvan exchange ideas on war and peace, good and evil, religion, identity, and politics.

Malmkrog is a grand feast for the eye as it is for the mind: the abundance of visual details is matched by the dialogue packed with hard concepts. Winner of the Encounters Award for the Best Director at Berlin Film Festival, Cristi Puiu declared that his film is “prophetic.”

ZOOM Q&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJgsjtIFHVE&feature=youtu.be

MALMKROG TICKETS: http://bit.ly/rffs2020malmkrog

FULL FEST: bit.ly/romanianfilmfest2020

11/16/2020

💞 A Letter from NWFF's Executive Director: https://mailchi.mp/nwfilmforum/annual-fund-letter-from-vivian-november-995308

2020 is a year where structures of systemic inequality have been revealed, thus illuminating pathways towards authentic change. Turbulent personal and social transformations have galvanized a broad constituency of allies and alliances, working together in ways never seen before. Chaos has created space for moments of pause, which in turn has reminded us of the human interactions and spiritual safe havens which add so much value to our lives.

11/16/2020

LAST DAY OF SOVEREIGN FESTIVAL! Earth Pearl Collective @earthpearlcollective presents a queer Black women film festival themed around Life, Love, and Liberation. GET TICKETS: https://bit.ly/sovereignfest2020

Ft. Generation Y by Khamaree D. Owens & Chelsea Holmes McKnight

Program 1: LIFE -- "Witness the trials and triumphs of the everyday life events that build resilience in queer Black women, and tune in Nov. 13 at 7pm PST for a panel discussion with Sex Therapist Dr. Katrina Sanford and Spiritual Therapeutic Counselor Chioma Petway."

Program 2: LOVE -- "From self love to first loves, this series of films will delve into sex, relationships, and intimacy. Featuring a special curated program for audiences 18+, by Washington D.C. based production company Haux Hive – available Nov. 14 at 8pm PST only."

Program 3: LIBERATION -- "It is time to reimagine the future of queer Black women. This series will venture into Afrofuturism, social media trends, and hilarious friendships. Join the afternoon panel at 2pm PST to hear from featured directors in the program about how seeing Black joy on screen increases Black joy in life."⠀

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In the rest of the festival, Seattle-based artists like poet/songstress Jessica Rycheal and dancer/visual artist Takiyah Ward will be premiering new work. Earth Pearl Collective supports the work of women living at the intersections of the African Diaspora who are dedicated to healing their communities through creative collaborations. Presented in partnership with the Northwest Film Forum, and with support from The Hansberry Project, this year's festival focuses on queer Black women film artists and directors. We will be showcasing films from Nairobi, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and from all over the United States.

#experimentalfilm #experimental #sovereignfestival #sovereignfest #blackfilm #blackfilms #blackfilmmaker #blackfilmmakers #earthpearlcollective #seattlefilm #seattlefilms #seattlefilmmaker #experimentalfilmmaker #nwff #nwfilmforum #seattleartist #seattleartists

11/15/2020

Throwaway Style: An Interview With Crane City's Gary Campbell

NEWCOMER is screening now via NWFF!: https://bit.ly/nwffnewcomer

Viewers can also catch a convo with filmmaker Gary Campbell on Tuesday night during our weekly GET TOGETHER meetup: bit.ly/thegettogetheronline

Says KEXP: "NEWCOMER stretches the idea of the concert film to an artistic extreme. Its performances are sub-minute snippets artfully arranged to resemble something like a field recording of Seattle’s rap scene. The film, compiled from sets taking place between 2017 and February of this year, is about the moments we experience – as lovers of live performance – just as much as the performances themselves. It’s about Khris P pouring Rainier into a Solo cup while he raps; bodies packed into regional landmark ETC Tacoma; Sassyblack improvising a song urging concertgoers to buy her merch; the delightfully awkward dance moves of white people in KEXP’s Gathering Space with Kevin Cole in the DJ booth working the Afternoon Show."

https://www.kexp.org/read/2020/11/12/throwaway-style-interview-crane-city-gary-campbell/

Throwaway Style is a monthly column dedicated to examining all aspects of the Northwest music scene. Whether it’s a new artist making waves, headlines affecting local talent, or reflecting on some of the music that’s been a foundation in our region; this space celebrates everything happening in ...

11/15/2020

Earth Pearl Collective @earthpearlcollective presents Sovereign, a queer Black women film festival themed around Life, Love, and Liberation. GET TICKETS: https://bit.ly/sovereignfest2020

Program 1: LIFE -- "Witness the trials and triumphs of the everyday life events that build resilience in queer Black women, and tune in Nov. 13 at 7pm PST for a panel discussion with Sex Therapist Dr. Katrina Sanford and Spiritual Therapeutic Counselor Chioma Petway."

Program 2: LOVE -- "From self love to first loves, this series of films will delve into sex, relationships, and intimacy. Featuring a special curated program for audiences 18+, by Washington D.C. based production company Haux Hive – available Nov. 14 at 8pm PST only."

Program 3: LIBERATION -- "It is time to reimagine the future of queer Black women. This series will venture into Afrofuturism, social media trends, and hilarious friendships. Join the afternoon panel at 2pm PST to hear from featured directors in the program about how seeing Black joy on screen increases Black joy in life."⠀

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In the rest of the festival, Seattle-based artists like poet/songstress Jessica Rycheal and dancer/visual artist Takiyah Ward will be premiering new work. Earth Pearl Collective supports the work of women living at the intersections of the African Diaspora who are dedicated to healing their communities through creative collaborations. Presented in partnership with the Northwest Film Forum, and with support from The Hansberry Project, this year's festival focuses on queer Black women film artists and directors. We will be showcasing films from Nairobi, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and from all over the United States.

11/14/2020

Acasă, My Home: Q&A with director Radu Ciorniciuc and Raluca Negulescu-Balaci

Acasă, My Home: Q&A with director Radu Ciorniciuc and Raluca Negulescu-Balaci

11/12/2020

Join UiPath Foundation Executive Director Raluca Negulescu-Balaci for a conversation with Radu Ciorniciuc, director of Acasă, My Home!

Acasă, My Home screens as part of American Romanian Cultural Society's first-ever online edition of Romanian Film Festival Seattle, and will be available to view any time from Nov. 13–22 (only for viewers in the U.S.!) at bit.ly/rffs2020acasa . This Zoom Q&A will be available on the Facebook Live pages of Northwest Film Forum, UiPath Foundation, and American Romanian Cultural Society's, where it will also be archived after the event for later viewing.

Browse the full festival schedule at bit.ly/romanianfilmfest2020

About the film:

As it records the life of a family with nine children, who live in a shack in the Delta Văcăresti in Bucharest with neither electricity nor running water, this documentary raises questions about nature and civilization, individual freedom and society rules, happiness, and standards of living.

Radu Ciorniciuc's debut documentary received several international awards, among which were the Special Prize of the Jury at the Saloniki Film Festival, the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at Sundance Film Festival, the Human Rights Award at Sarajevo, and the Golden Horn at Krakow.

11/12/2020

FISCAL SPONSEE SHOUT-OUT! For Since I Been Down directed by none other than Gilda Shepherd:

What's better than a Sunday afternoon sipping coffee while cuddled up on the couch?

A Sunday spent listening to Director Gilda Sheppard, Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of CA, Santa Cruz @AngelaDavis, King
County (WA) Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, and Executive Director of Abolitionist Law Center Robert Holbrook discuss how we can support all children through restorative and transformational
justice. Join DOC NYC on Facebook LIVE at 12pm PST/3pm EST and get involved in the conversation!

ABOUT SINCE I BEEN DOWN:
Since I Been Down explores the complicated balance and tensions between violent crime, punishment, justice, activism, and compassion. The documentary invites viewers to take an in-depth look at incarcerated men and women, in order to better understand processes of their transformations and their ultimate role, as models for all of us on being human.

The documentary follows men and women in Washington State prisons, incarcerated between 13 and 25 years of age for violent crimes, and who are remarkably turning their lives around and creating social justice programs from within prison in spite of the controls of public life.

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ABOUT NWFF'S FISCAL SPONSORSHIP:
https://nwfilmforum.org/education/artist-services/nonprofit-fiscal-sponsorship-filmmakers/

Click here to learn more:
https://www.docnyc.net/film/since-i-been-down/