As Tony put it in his excellent post from yesterday about what you can do to support independent theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic:
In addition to terrific, adventurous programming, The Northwest Film Forum on Capitol Hill has evolved into a space for community engagement as well as film, hosting scores of community-focused screenings and events. The nonprofit Forum’s managed to turn the latest edition of their acclaimed ByDesign Film Festival into a virtual event opening on March 18, with virtual admission on a sliding scale (virtual admission can be purchased here). You can also make a general donation to the Forum here.
I wanted to highlight the ByDesign Festival because I think it’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen locally to make independent film programming available to home audiences when they can’t legally patronize theaters.
Tonight, the festival kicks off, and here are the relevant details:
ByDesign Festival 2020 is STREAMING ONLINE! Northwest Film Forum’s physical space is temporarily closed in light of public health concerns around COVID-19, but community, dialogue, and education through media arts WILL persist.
• • HOW TO WATCH • •
- Purchase a ticket or festival pass through BrownPaperTickets as usual
- 30 minutes before each screening, NWFF will send a link and password to your registered e-mail address! (Don’t see it? Check your spam filter.) The password will expire 30 minutes after the start of the film. No late seating!
• • STREAM THIS PROGRAM – MARCH 18 at 7:30PM! • •
(2019 | Argentina | 71 minutes | Miguel Baratta) ByDesign [Online] Festival 2020
Inspired by abuses in Argentina’s dictatorial past but maintaining a global perspective, Hidden highlights the art of suppressed personal ideologies, experiences, and memories. Director Miguel Baratta dissects the morphology of design and the potential to resurrect hidden stories through physical objects—from the bones of victims of the Mapuche genocide to the remnants of songs written by Holocaust prisoners. Hidden opens windows into the past while considering the possibilities of art to transcend oppression in the future.
Screens with Space Needle: A Hidden History
(2019 | USA | 18 minutes | B.J. Bullert)
Space Needle: A Hidden History unfolds like a mystery to create a new origin story of this icon of the region, tracing the creative inspiration for the Needle’s shape back to a wooden sculpture called “The Feminine One.” The film connects dance, art, and architecture, and explores the creative legacies of architect Victor Steinbrueck and Seattle-born African-American dancer, Syvilla Fort.
The rest of the festival looks quite interesting, too. You can explore it here, and purchase series passes here.