Since 2022 the Seattle Film Critics Society (SFCS) has specifically honored Pacific Northwest filmmaking as part of our annual awards. This award, Best Pacific Northwest Film, is meant to celebrate the many talented filmmakers who produce work here.
Beginning in 2025, SFCS additionally honored short films as part of this effort.
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
“…relevant to almost everyone in America, as affordability becomes one of our biggest worries.” —Tim Molloy, MovieMaker
Saturday November 14
Powwow People
🎟️ Saturday Nov 14 – 3:00pm
Director Sky Hopinka in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Trustee Eric Zhu
“the audience is the real winner for the privilege of having shared the company of so many talented people, the rich textures and engaging sonic environment of a powerful summer day’s gathering” – Josh Bis, The SunBreak
Again Again
🎟️ Saturday Nov 14 – 6:30 pm
Director Mia Moore Marchant in attendance for Q&A with SFCS Trustee Sara Michelle Fetters
“Again Again tasks its characters to live their lives as if today were their last and the unknown possibilities of tomorrow were far from a given. And it wants everyone in the audience to do the same. It’s scary stuff. It’s also beautiful.” – Sara Michelle Fetters, Seattle Gay News
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 Trustee Eric Zhu
“A bracingly, beautifully confessional film that’s as formally inventive as it is emotionally illuminating, Marjorie Conrad’s documentary … is a daring demonstration of all that independent cinema can be.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap
The Life We Leave
🎟️ Sunday Nov 15 – 6:00pm
Director JJ Gerber in attendance for conversation with SFCS member Kathy Fennessy
“Gerber’s film makes one consider that how we leave this world may matter less than what we choose to leave behind. Is death an ending, or merely a continuation?” – Mike Ward, Should I See It
Award History
Train Dreams
Clint Bentley
OTHER NOMINEES:
- Not One Drop of Blood – Jackson Devereux, Lachlan Hinton
- To Kill a Wolf – Kelsey Taylor
- Twinless – James Sweeney
- Wolf Land (Director’s Cut) – Sarah Hoffman
- WTO/99 – Ian Bell
Rainier: A Beer Odyssey
Isaac Olsen
OTHER NOMINEES:
- All We Carry – Cady Voge
- Fish War – Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, and Skylar Wagner
- Gasoline Rainbow – Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross
- Strange Darling – J.T. Mollner
Showing Up
Kelly Reichardt
OTHER NOMINEES:
- Dreamin’ Wild — Bill Pohlad
- Even Hell Has Its Heroes — Clyde Petersen
- Fantasy A Gets A Mattress — Noah Zoltan Sofian & David Norman Lewis
- Richland — Irene Lusztig
Sweetheart Deal
Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller
OTHER NOMINEES:
- All Sorts — J. Rick Castañeda
- Kimi — Steven Soderbergh
- Know Your Place — Zia Mohajerjasbi
- Sam Now — Reed Harkness
Eligibility
Full information is available for annual award timeline and eligibility; key details relevant to the PNW award are highlighted below.
The SFCS Board convenes nominating committees for the Pacific Northwest Awards.
Short Film and Feature Film committees consider both documentary and narrative films for these awards, with a focus on those whose primary production was in the Pacific Northwest: specifically in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho (USA).
All traditionally eligible feature films are available for consideration. Films may additionally qualify via presentation at the Seattle International Film Festival, the Local Sightings Film Festival, or other festivals deemed appropriate by the Board.
The nominating committees will present a slate of PNW feature and short film nominees to the full membership no later than one month prior to the SFCS general awards nomination deadline. Nominees for Best Pacific Northwest Feature are automatically eligible for other SFCS feature film awards.
The winners of the Best Pacific Northwest Film Awards will be decided by a vote of the full SFCS membership.
Submissions
No official submission is required. However, filmmakers, studios, their representatives, or other interested parties wishing to officially bring a film to the attention of the Nominating Committee should fill out the form below with the name of the film, the year of its release, and a digital screener that can be viewed by SFCS members.
To allow a thorough review of all potential films, the PNW Nominating Committee would greatly appreciate digital screeners by October 1.