Local Sightings Sighted

With all the great films finally starting to hit the mainstream theaters, it's certainly the most wonderful time of the film year™. But don't forget your local indie moviehouse, as the NWFF kicks off their 10th annual Northwest film fest, Local Sightings:

Northwest Film Forum's premiere showcase of Northwest filmmaking is back, bigger than ever, October 4-11, 2007. The festival, which happens at NWFF's theaters in Seattle, features great prizes, filmmaker parties, archival Northwest films, and an impressive national film industry jury looking for strong Northwest work.

The annual festival includes both feature film presentations as well as short film programs and special events with live film performances, installation art, audience participation, and parties. This year's festival takes place in the cinemas of Northwest Film Forum from October 4-11. Included in this year's festival will be the usual assortment of fiction, documentary and experimental films as well as a featured presentation of a historical Seattle film, a staged reading of this year's Washington State Screenplay Competition winning script, and an opening party that will ignite Seattle's film scene Thursday night and keep it bleary eyed Friday morning.

Said raging party occurs this evening, from 9pm to 2am at the Northwest Film Forum's homebase at 1515 12th Ave (between Pike & Pine). Tickets are $7 for NWFF members/$10 general public and can be purchased here. That entry fee will get you food, drink, DJs, live musicians, film/video projections, and the requisite much much more.

And then there's the big event closing the festival, the two-night live cinematic spectacle of Guy Maddin's Brand Upon the Brain!, held within the friendly confines of the Cinerama. Local Sightings is going all out with this one, so the silent film extravaganza will feature guest narrators (on Wednesday, Karen Black and on Thursday, Mr. Maddin himself), a full orchestra, the Aono Jikken Ensemble providing sound effects, and one gen-yoo-wine em-effing castrato.

As you might be able to tell by that last inclusion, dear Guy likes things nice and weird. We fully expect the film to be lovely and poignant, cold and Canadian, totally touching and completely nutballs. If you can't catch it at the Cinerama (or you don't wish to pay $25 for the full experience), the filmed-in-Seattle Brand Upon the Brain! will also run at the NWFF theater October 12th-15th with pre-recorded narration care of Maddin's muse Isabella Rossellini.