The Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) is an nonprofit independent art house cinema and film-focused organization in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. that hosts screenings, multiple film festivals, film workshops, and public events.[1][2]
History
In late 1994, filmmakers Jamie Hook and Deborah Girdwood received a King County Arts Commission Grant, to form the non-profit WigglyWorld Studios—the organization which Northwest Film Forum originates from.[3][4] Launching in 1995, WigglyWorld Studios was a filmmaking artist collective located on Capitol Hill in the Capitol Hill Arts Center, a former Odd Fellows meeting hall.[5] The organization provided film screenings, filmmaking equipment, post-production suites, and workshops to the public and independent filmmakers.[6][7]
Initially operating as a nomadic organization, screening films at various venues, in 1997 the Northwest Film Forum bought the Grand Illusion Cinema.[8] "WigglyWorld" was now the name of the educational and outreach wing of the nonprofit. In 1998, NWFF bought a space on 19th and Mercer that became The Little Theatre, opening in 1999 as an 64-seat art house dual cinema and live theater.[8][9]
NWFF began to expand its programming and outreach efforts, with the support of Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer and other donors, and in 2008 moved to a 8,000-square-foot facility.[10][8][11]
NWFF annually hosts the Local Sightings Film Festival, which programs exclusively films by Pacific Northwest filmmakers.[12][13]
