Want more? Here's everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.
‘Art for Everybody’
July 3–7
Thomas Kinkade’s whimsical landscapes of fairy cottages, Christmas villages, and enchanted gardens turned him into one of the most successful painters of all time, while at the same time establishing for him a reputation as an unabashed capitalist and sellout. Documentarian Miranda Yousef’s film Art for Everybody explores the troubled man behind the bucolic images through the vault of uncharacteristically dark paintings he left behind—Kinkade died of a lethal drug and alcohol pairing in 2012. The film reevaluates the infamous kitsch creator as not just a businessman, but a performance artist who profited off an American society starved for unrealistic beauty and idealism. The film will be presented by filmmaker Miranda Yousef and the artist’s daughter, Chandler Kinkade. (SIFF Film Center, various times) AUDREY VANN
2025 Queer and Trans Film Festival
July 10–12
Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s annual film festival is celebrating “30 years of queer cinema and 20 years of trans storytelling” this year with “iconic shorts and features from festivals past, a brand-new lineup of trans-made and trans-led short films, and a spotlight on the brilliant local voices that shaped our scene.” I’m particularly excited to see some of my favorite LGBTQ classics, like Saving Face, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and Tangerine on the lineup, as well as lesser-known throwbacks like the 2008 teen fantasy musical Were the World Mine (in which a high school boy casts a spell to turn his entire small town gay) and the 2001 transmasc road trip buddy movie By Hook or By Crook (featuring a cameo from Joan Jett!). (Broadway Performance Hall and Erickson Theater, various times) JULIANNE BELL
‘Showgirls’
July 13
What can I say about Paul Verhoeven’s landmark 1995 erotic drama that hasn’t already been said? That I felt like a changed person after watching it for the first time? That it is tacky and absurd to a degree approaching transcendence? That never in my 34 years have I seen anything quite like Gina Gershon flirting with Elizabeth Berkley by talking about eating doggy chow? Whether you love or hate the critically panned camp classic, I’m willing to bet that you’re probably not indifferent. (I’m solidly in the love camp myself, in case you couldn’t guess.) See the psychosexual NC-17 sensation (and its bevy of naked breasts) on the big screen at Here-After. (Here-After, 7 pm, 21+) JULIANNE BELL
‘Little Darlings’
July 29
I watched this underrated ’80s teen sex dramedy as a high schooler and almost never hear people talking about it, so I’m thrilled to learn that Here-After will be screening it. At the all-girls summer camp Camp Little Wolf, tough girl Angel and sheltered rich girl Ferris clash upon meeting and make a bet to see who can lose their virginity first. Roger Ebert wrote that the movie “somehow does succeed in treating the awesome and scary subject of sexual initiation with some of the dignity it deserves.” I love the queer subtext, the gay-as-hell vintage denim and shag haircuts, and the fact that the film allows its teen girl subjects to be horny and messy in a way they aren’t often permitted to be. Keep your eyes peeled for a young Matt Dillon and 13-year-old Cynthia Nixon’s film debut as the camp’s resident flower child, Sunshine. (Here-After, 7:30 pm, 21+) JULIANNE BELL
More
To Live Is to Dream: A Northwest Tribute to David Lynch Through August 10, various locations
Salute-vision: Top Gun July 4, Central Cinema, 7 pm
Unstoppable 2025 Summer Tour July 6, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 4:30 pm
Good Garbage: Deep Blue Sea July 9, Here-After, 6 pm, 21+
Epic Movie Night: Casino July 10, Central Cinema, 8 pm
Sorry, Baby Opens July 10, SIFF Cinema Uptown
The Cartoons of Max Fleischer July 11–24, Northwest Film Forum, various times
The Sandlot Special Event with the Cast July 11, Neptune Theatre, 7 pm
DreamWorks Animation in Concert July 11–13, Benaroya Hall, various times
Hecklevision: Stargate July 13, Central Cinema, 9:45 pm
Hecklevision: The Mummy July 14, Central Cinema, 7 pm
Baron von Terror Presents: The Blob July 17, Central Cinema, 8 pm
Mourning Sickness with Miss Monday Mourning: Barbie July 20, Northwest Film Forum, 8 pm
SIFF ‘n’ Stitch: Little Miss Sunshine July 20, SIFF Cinema Uptown, noon
Koyaanisqatsi: Live with Philip Glass Ensemble July 22, Benaroya Hall, 8 pm
Children’s Film Festival Seattle 2025 July 23–27, Northwest Film Forum, various times
Art House Theater Day: Tomboy and Tangerine July 24, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 5:30 pm and 7:45 pm
Ed Wood: Made in Hollywood USA with Will Sloan July 25, The Beacon, 7:30 pm
Movies at the Mural Every Friday, July 25–August 22, Mural Amphitheatre, 9 pm
She/Her Fest July 26, SIFF Film Center, 7 pm
Unstreamable: Secret Screening #2 July 31, SIFF Cinema Uptown, 7:30 pm
Early Warnings
CatVideoFest 2025 Aug 8–10, SIFF Cinema Uptown, various times
Silent Movie Mondays: The Freshman Aug 25, Paramount Theatre, 7 pm, all ages
L.A. Noir: Shadows in Paradise Sept 10–Nov 12, SIFF Cinema Uptown
Twilight in Concert Sept 13, Paramount Theatre, 2 pm and 7:30 pm, all ages
2025 SIFF Marquee Gala Sept 18, Fremont Studios
20th Tasveer Film Festival & Market Oct 7–12, Tasveer Film Center
The Rocky Horror Picture Show—50th Anniversary Oct 28, Paramount Theatre, 7:30 pm
