Not too long ago I told you about a new series on KCTS devoted to local filmmakers and local communities. It’s called About Us, it started up last week, and it will continue on Thursday nights (with repeats on Sundays and Mondays). On September 30 they’re showing A Great Wonder, an interesting tale of Sudanese immigrants in Seattle that played at the Little Theatre a while back, and the series continues on October 7 with three short pieces that deal with immigrants. Though upcoming episodes are “safely PBS” in their styles and subject matters, I hold out hope that some of our more adventurous local filmmakers may eventually break through. Meanwhile, local filmmakers should be aware that the submission deadline for Slamdance is October 12, and now that the festival is being directed by former Seattleite Kathleen McInnis, you should submit if you have something worthy.
The Northwest Asian American Film Festival runs through the weekend at Theatre Off Jackson, with Sunday’s closing-night movie at the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park. Part of the joy of film festivals is the chance to meet filmmakers, and at press time most of the shows were expecting filmmakers to be present. Of extra special note, Mina Shum is scheduled to attend with the Seattle premiere of her latest, Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity, her second feature collaboration with actress Sandra Oh. I also want to mention the closing-night film The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming. Vancouver writer-director Fleming has brought some of her earlier work to Seattle before, and I can attest that she is as charming as her films.
Speaking of visiting filmmakers, the Northwest Film Forum is continuing its tradition of bringing directors to town when Kelly Duane presents her movie Monumental: David Brower’s Fight for Wild America, which plays Friday-Sunday, October 1-3. The movie is about how Brower turned the Sierra Club from a regional hiking group to a national political force, and includes a bunch of his own movie footage. On Friday night Duane will do a Q&A, after which there will be a party of sorts with live music by soundtrack artists Eric Johnson and San Strack of the Fruit Bats, as well as Sientific American.
On Wednesday, October 6, Cinema Seattle’s Screenwriters Salon is inviting you out for “An Evening with Academy Award-Nominated Screenwriter Ron Nyswaner.” Looking at his filmography on the IMDb, you’ll notice a 10-year gap between his Oscar-nominated script for Philadelphia and last year’s Showtime movie A Soldier’s Girl. Was that because of those traditional Hollywood tales of “development hell” and creative differences? Not according to his new memoir Blue Days, Black Nights, where he writes about falling in love with a hustler, experimenting with crack cocaine and crystal meth, and finding other ways to sidestep depression. Needless to say, this should be an interesting discussion for screenwriters and non-screenwriters alike.