Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) was started in 2005 by a group of filmmakers whose feature film Swamper was rejected by the Seattle International Film Festival. STIFF was modeled after the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City UT as a way to champion local and true independent films that they felt were being left out of the local film program. The Stranger film critic, Andrew Wright described it as “like a belch in church (in the best possible way)” All films that screen at STIFF receive a one-of a kind award called a “STIFFY”. Past STIFFIES run the gamut from “Best Buddy Movie”, to “Hottest Zombie”. On average, STIFF receives over 600 submissions per year and screens over 125 films as part of the nine-day event.
In 2013 STIFF announced they would go forward as The Seattle Transmedia and Independent Film Festival and in addition to showing independent film would include categories for new media, video games, video art, digital comics, music videos and storytelling with emerging technologies. STIFF is Seattle's first festival devoted to exploring the new frontiers of immersive storytelling, i.e. virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and 360 degree films.
In 2015 STIFF ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to provide a Transmedia Gallery free to the public during the 2015 Festival. The gallery re-opened as the Pop-Up Shop 5000 University Way NE, Seattle WA 98104.
STIFF was the second largest film festival in Seattle. The festival's web site no longer functions. On Film Freeway, multiple filmmakers noted that all communication about plans for the 2020 festival ended abruptly. https://filmfreeway.com/STIFF
Venues
STIFF takes place at multiple venues throughout Seattle and strives to screen movies at unique theaters that serve food, beer, wine and alcohol during the screening. In 2012 STIFF moved to the University District screening films at the Grand Illusion, Jet City Improve Theater and Lucid Lounge. Past venues have included the Seattle Art Museum, Northwest Film Forum, The Jewel Box at The Rendezvous’, Central Cinema, The Showbox and Nuemos.
(L to R): Brian Shelley, Moby, Clint Berquist, Jessica Foss
Music and comedy
The festival has grown in the past several years to include music and comedy with performances by such notable musicians as SassyBlack (Cat, of THEESatisfaction), Metal Chocolates, DJ OCnotes, Moby and comics Emmett Montgomery, Derek Sheen & Daniel Desrosiers.
Leadership
History. STIFF was the brainchild of Clint Berquist, who retired from the festival in 2010. Kevin Gilbert served as the first STIFF program director and retired after the 2007 festival concluded to focus on his acting career and Mixed Martial Arts. Program Director duties were taken over at that time by Brian Shelley who also retired in 2010. Executive Director Timothy Vernor retired from the festival in 2018.
STIFF Nights
From September 2006 - 2009, STIFF began hosting a monthly screening series at Central Cinema called STIFF Nights. The goal was to feature an up-and-coming True Independent film. STIFF Nights was curated by Spencer Fornaciari screened award-winning films such as Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell, Murder Party, Blood Car, SNUFF, High Score, and Nerdcore For Life.
HUMP! censorship flap
STIFF got into a censorship flap with a printer (Wright Business Graphics) when they refused to print their program on moral grounds that it had an advertisement for The Stranger's HUMP! contest. Renowned indie director, and STIFF alum Lynn Shelton has since directed a film about that contest called Humpday which was accepted into the Sundance film festival and many other festivals.
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more than three weeks, in May/June, and features a diverse assortment of predominantly independent and foreign films, and a strong contingent of documentaries.
Charles Tonderai Mudede is a Zimbabwean writer, filmmaker, and leftwing cultural critic. Though born in Kwekwe, he spent much of his childhood in the United States, and returned to Zimbabwe shortly after independence. Between 1982 and 1988, his mother, Tracy Mudede, was a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, and his father, Ebenezer Mudede, was an economist for the Zimbabwe government. Between 1990 and 2001, his father worked as an economist for the Botswana government and his mother lectured at the University of Botswana. In 1989, he moved to the US to study literature, art history, and political philosophy. His parents moved to the US from Botswana in 2002 for medical reasons. The Mudedes are Manicas and were once close to Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa, the prime minister of the short-lived coalition government called Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979–1980).
Hugo House is a non-profit community writing center in Seattle, Washington.
The National Film Festival for Talented Youth, held annually in Seattle, Washington, showcases work by filmmakers 24 and under from across the U.S. and the world. It was created in 2007 with the goal of becoming the most influential youth-oriented film festival in North America. The festival includes film screenings, filmmaking workshops and panels, concerts by youth bands, and a gala opening night.
William Ray Robison is an American physical theatre artist.
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The Three Rivers Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Dollar Bank (1998–2017) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the festival features foreign-language films, American independents, documentaries, shorts, local works and experimental cinema. Founded as part of the Three Rivers Arts Festival in 1981, the first annual festival was June 4, 1982. Thirteen films premiered that year, including the locally shot Knightriders starring Ed Harris, Patricia Tallman and Tom Savini. In 1993 the festival moved its programming to the fall. The festival briefly reconnected for one year with the Three Rivers Arts Festival in 2018. The festival is the oldest and largest annual film festival in Western Pennsylvania.
Thomas Allen Catlin was an American football player and coach. He spent a total of 37 years in the National Football League, including stints as defensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills (1978–1982) and Seattle Seahawks (1983–1992). Earlier, he had been a pilot in the United States Air Force. He was born in Ponca City, Oklahoma and died in Seattle, Washington.
Mahjongg was a band based in Columbia, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois. Formed by multi-instrumentalist Hunter Husar and guitarist Jeff Carrillo in 2001, their sound combined guitar, synthesizer and computer manipulations with dense rhythmic textures derived from Afrobeat, funk, and post-punk.
Holly Jane Kenyon is an English actress who won a scholarship to study at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in central Hollywood. She appeared in The Kindness of Strangers (2010) and was invited to attend the film's screening at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.
The Cincinnati Film Festival, is a yearly cultural event and international film competition held in Cincinnati, Ohio, supporting surrounding tri-state region. Since 2010, the all-volunteer staff had screened over 1000 submitted films from 36 countries.
Mad Rad is a Seattle-based hip hop/electronic music group that consists of five members; three vocalists, a DJ, and a drummer. Four members of Mad Rad have stage names which are as follows; Nathan Quiroga, Peter Robinson, Gregory Smith, Ty Finnan, and their drummer's name is Trent Moorman. Mad Rad formed in 2007 and have released two full-length albums, their most recent in 2010.
Timothy Tau is a Taiwanese-American writer, engineer, attorney, law professor and filmmaker. Tau won the 2011 Hyphen Asian American Writers' Workshop Short Story Contest for his short story, "The Understudy", which was published in the Winter 2011 issue of Hyphen magazine, Issue No. 24, the "Survival Issue." Tau also won Second Prize in the 2010 Playboy College Fiction Contest for his short story, "Land of Origin". He has also directed a number of short films and music videos that have screened at various film festivals worldwide and on YouTube.
The Seattle Asian American Film Festival was founded in 1985 and has been revived over the years by different producers. The current iteration was founded in 2012 and made its debut in 2013 by co-founders Kevin Bang and Vanessa Au. It is a revival of of the previously running Northwest Asian American Film Festival, which was directed by Wes Kim from 2003 to 2007 and which had experienced a five-year hiatus. The inaugural film festival was also held at the Wing Luke Asian Museum from January 25 to 27, 2013. The festival is currently run and directed by Executive Director, Vanessa Au, and Festival Director, Victoria Ju.
Waxie Moon is a documentary directed by Wes Hurley and centered on the gender-bending Juilliard-trained burlesque performer, Waxie Moon. The film captures the burgeoning and mostly-queer neo-burlesque community in Seattle in the 2000s. It features interviews with dozens of performers and artists, including the burlesque icons Miss Dirty Martini and Tigger!, author and performer Marya Sea Kaminski, drag superstar BenDeLaCreme, and many others. The film also includes the original song, titled "Waxie Moon", which was inspired by James Bond scores. The song was composed by Eric Lane Barnes of the Seattle Men's Chorus and Seattle Women's Chorus, and performed by Sarah Rudinoff and Paul Rosenberg.
Dennis Nyback is an independent film archivist, found footage filmmaker, historian and writer.
Shaun Scott is an American filmmaker, film director, film editor, writer, historian, activist, and former candidate for Seattle City Council.
Pony Time are a two-piece garage rock band from Seattle, WA consisting of two members: Luke Beetham on bass/baritone guitar/vocals and Stacy Peck on drums. The band has been praised by the likes of CMJ and Spin Magazine
Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival (BITS) is an annual film festival in Canada. It was founded by Kelly Micheal Stewart in 2012 as an offshoot of his then ongoing monthly film series entitled "Fright Nights at the Projection Booth" which were held at the former Projection Booth theater in Toronto, Ontario. With a considerable number of Canadian films all vying for a spot in the showcase, Stewart decided to put together the first edition of what would become a yearly film festival that replaced the monthly series. After a first edition entitled "Fright Nights :Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival weekend", Stewart shortened the name and re-imagined the construct of the festival, bringing on a programming team and sharpening its focus with the aim of promoting, spotlighting and helping to develop the independent contemporary genre filmmaking community across Canada. The festival has branched off in its efforts to become visible all year round with a public access television interview show and a podcast.
Tracy Rector is an American filmmaker, curator, and arts advocate based in Seattle, Washington. She is the executive director and co-founder of Longhouse Media, an Indigenous and POC media arts organization and home of the nationally acclaimed program Native Lens. She has worked as an education consultant at the Seattle Art Museum, as a native naturalist for the Olympic Sculpture Park, and has developed curriculum for IslandWood, an environmental education center.
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