The Imagination Award will be presented at a 30th anniversary screening of Guy Maddin’s film Careful.
There’s a new film festival coming to the big screen in Seattle. Enter the Make Believe Seattle Film Festival, the region’s first-ever dedicated genre film festival spotlighting horror, science fiction, fantasy, animation, and more.
“Make Believe is all the things I have ever wanted in a genre film festival,” said Make Believe Seattle founder Billy Ray Brewton in a prepared statement. “There are few areas of the country more steeped in the mysterious and fantastical than the Pacific Northwest. We plan to harness that energy coursing through this region’s veins to celebrate the many facets of the genre film category.”
The festival will screen exclusively in person at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Northwest Film Forum, West Hall (part of Century Ballroom), and Queer/Bar from March 23-26.
Festival passes are now available here. Individual tickets go on sale Feb. 22.
Make Believe Seattle will feature 31 programs, including narrative features; documentaries; mid-length films; short film blocks; the Be Kind, Rewind series of archival and anniversary screenings; and the inaugural Imagination Award presented to filmmaker Guy Maddin, the release said.
The Imagination Award will be presented at a 30th anniversary screening of Maddin’s film Careful. The 1992 film is about residents of a 19th-century mountain village who must tread carefully and speak softly lest they cause an avalanche. Before the screening, Maddin will accept the award (virtually) and discuss his decades-long career.
Make Believe Seattle will present juried awards for Best Feature, Best Short, Best Mid-Length, and "Mindbreaker." Each jury award will receive a $500 cash prize. Audience choice awards will also be awarded for Best Feature and Best Short. The recipients of these awards will also each receive a $500 cash prize.