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Seattle Film Critics spotlight the best of the Pacific Northwest this weekend at SIFF

by Josh

As the leaves on the trees start to turn warmer colors, the air grows colder, and the nights dim darker, movie season shifts to its most important season: awards. Just as we’re all scoping out Oscar Contenders and starting to burrow into curating a top ten list, it’s equally important to remember the films made in our beautiful neck of the woods. Last month, SFCS announced the official nominees for both the 2026 Pacific Northwest Feature Film as well as Pacific Northwest Short Film award. Now in its fifth year, the award celebrates filmmakers and films with connections to the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho), recognizing the creativity, talent, and distinctive storytelling emerging from the Pacific Northwest.

PNW Feature Film Nominees

  • Again Again, directed by Mia Moore Marchant and co-directed by Heather Ballish
  • The Joyless Economy, directed by Marjorie Conrad
  • The Life We Leave, directed by J.J. Gerber
  • Powwow People, directed by Sky Hopinka
  • A Simple Machine, directed by Mark Alan Hoffman
  • Wildwood, directed by Travis Knight

PNW Short Film Nominees

  • Dicks-A-Thon (dir. Dylan Young)
  • Katya (dir. Timofey Pozhitkov)
  • Oh Whale (dir. Winslow Crane-Murdoch)
  • Roll Modelz (dir. Oliver Rodriguez Dickson & Yahir Tzec-Carrasco)
  • Scout’s Honor (dir. Isabel Pask)

Many of these films flitted through local festivals or short run engagements throughout the year, but if you missed them then (or just want a second look), you’re in luck! This weekend, the Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) is doing just that with screenings of five feature-length films* and all five shorts at SIFF Film Center. Even better, all screenings will have filmmakers in attendance for conversations hosted by local critics!

Tickets and information about the screenings are available at siff.net/sfcs. Readers of the SunBreak can get discount tickets by applying the code 2026SFCS20 at checkout.

Screening Series

Friday November 13

A Simple Machine
🎟️ Friday November 13 – 6:30 pm
Director Mark Alan Hoffman and author Evan P Schneider in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Awards Coordinator Mike Ward
We didn’t get a chance to review this when it made a brief appearance in Seattle, but Mark Allan Hoffman’s adaptation of Evan P Schneider’s book is gorgeously shot in evocative black and white. It’s an extremely Portland story of a man who tries to simplify his life in the wake of a personal loss, shedding possessions and expenses and embracing the fixed gear bike lifestyle. Strong performances and storytelling capture a time and place with remarkable specificity.

Saturday November 14

Short Film Showcase
🎟️ Saturday Nov 14 – 12:00pm
Filmmakers will be in attendance for a panel Q&A hosted by SFCS’s Thomas Stoneham-Judge

  • Dicks-A-Thon (dir. Dylan Young): 26.3 Miles. 5 Dick’s. 5 Meals. 1 wild tradition to honor a friend, and give back to the outdoors. Learn about Seattle’s most unique marathon, and the touching story behind it.
  • Katya (dir. Timofey Pozhitkov): A homesick immigrant mother makes the difficult decision to return to Russia with her young daughter, concealing plans from her ex-husband. 
  • Oh Whale (dir. Winslow Crane-Murdoch): When news anchor Paul Linnman arrived in Florence OR on November 12th, 1970, he had no idea that the story he was about to tell would forever define his career. Following a small Oregon town, an exploding whale, and the man who made the story famous, Oh Whale is about how we don’t get to choose our fate, only what we make of it.
  • Roll Modelz (dir. Oliver Rodriguez Dickson & Yahir Tzec-Carrasco): As forces threaten to divide and silence Latino communities, a lowrider club in rural Washington transforms personal tragedy into a rolling act of resistance.
  • Scout’s Honor (dir. Isabel Pask): Desperate to attend the concert of their dreams, two friends join the legions of a fake girl scout troop in hopes of earning the money in time.

Powwow People:
🎟️ Saturday Nov 14 – 3:00pm
Director Sky Hopinka in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Communications Director Eric Zhu
Sky Hopinka’s experiential documentary reaches from past to present and culminates in a thrilling unbroken scene of a traditional dance competition. [Reviewed at SIFF 2026]

Again Again
🎟️ Saturday Nov 14 – 6:30 pm
Director Mia Moore Marchant in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Trustee Sara Michelle Fetters

A time-looping treatise in identity and personal growth, the beautifully filmed (in Aberdeen!) Again Again has been a major hit on the festival circuit. [Reviewed at SIFF 2026]

Sunday November 15

The Joyless Economy 
🎟️ Sunday Nov 15 – 3:00 pm
Director Marjorie Conrad and producer John Tuthill in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Communications Director Eric Zhu

Cinephile fans of physical media will delight and do the “Leo pointing at the screen” meme a hundred times during Marjorie Conrad’s hybrid documentary/confessional about the role of movies in influencing (or inducing) her infidelity. Shot in and around Seattle in grainy black and white (with some charming appearances by a house cat), the hypnotic film is told in soothing second-person narration in a series of confessions “created for one viewer”. The film premiered at Cannes and closed out the Local Sightings festival this autumn.

The Life We Leave 
🎟️ Sunday Nov 15 – 6:00pm
Director JJ Gerber in attendance for conversation with SFCS’s Kathy Fennessy

Human composting sounds like the punchline to the most PNW joke of all time, yet in JJ Gerber’s capable hands, the transformational story of a new form of deathcare being pioneered and practiced in our region is anything but. A tremendously moving documentary closes out the series. [Reviewed at SIFF 2026]

Note: Wildwood is still in theatrical release and is not part of the series. The staggering achievement of stop motion animation is recommended nonetheless!