Forget having to try not to roll your eyes at all the films that dubiously pretend Vancouver, Canada, is the Pacific Northwest. The Northwest Film Forum’s annual Local Sightings Film Festival is here to provide another year’s worth of films made right here in our damp, moss-covered region by the artists who call it home. It’s a place to discover not just exciting new artists who boldly challenge the medium—with the experimental shorts proving to be especially strong this year—but an opportunity to see the PNW through other people’s eyes, as you rarely get to on screen. 

Now in its 28th year, Local Sightings has shown a commitment to the region that makes it a special festival worth supporting. In a world where it can feel like art is being lost in the movie industry—how many Spider-Man reboots have there been now?—Local Sightings stands out as a champion of local films, and a vital resource for the filmmakers who make them. 

Here are five picks to see at the festival, which runs September 19–28 at Northwest Film Forum. (Another film-forward organization deserving of your ongoing support.)

Police Beat 

(2005, 80 min., Dir. Robinson Devor)

Kicking things off is a special screening of Robinson Devor’s enduring Seattle film Police Beat, which was cowritten by The Stranger’s own senior staff writer Charles Mudede! If you somehow weren’t aware of it, here’s what you need to know: Based on real-life police reports from Mudede’s since-retired column of the same name, Police Beat follows Senegalese bike cop Z (Pape Sidy Niang) through the city while he ponders the state of his relationship. With each new encounter and reflection, we are taken further into a truly original film. Captured with a sharp eye for the vibrant colors of the city, an attention to detail in the writing that makes it all come alive, and an utterly captivating performance from the late, great Niang, it’s a genuine Seattle classic. Whether you’ve already rented this unstreamable gem from Scarecrow Video or have yet to watch it, it’s forever a must-see on the big screen. (Friday, Sept. 19, 7 pm)

Not One Drop of Blood

(2024, 103 min., Dir. Jackson Devereux & Lachlan Hinton)

There are many great documentaries that capture a moment in time or a specific incident. Then there is the magnificent Not One Drop of Blood, a gentle yet haunting film that captures an entire region as few others have. Directed by Jackson Devereux and Lachlan Hinton, it examines real incidents of mysterious cattle mutilations that have been happening for decades in Oregon. What is causing them? No one knows. It’s a striking film that feels as if the documentary master Frederick Wiseman set his sights on the breathtaking rural landscapes of the PNW while also remaining distinctly its own work. With every seemingly small tableau of people that Devereux and Hinton capture, the film accumulates into something expansively existential that isn’t afraid to look deeper into how the bizarre horrors are impacting the communities most affected. (Saturday, Sept. 20, 3:30 pm)

Trash Baby

(2025, 90 min., Dir. Jacy Mairs)

A film that’s far from trash, Jacy Mairs’s Trash Baby tells a messy story that still manages to break through all the noise it creates for itself to find something quietly moving. Following the young Stevie (played by an excellent Esther Harrison) as she navigates the summer in a trailer park full of eccentric and troubled characters, she soon struggles with deciding on what it is that she wants for her life. Does she really want to fit in with her peers by any means necessary? This is a deeply personal question that draws from Mairs’s own life, and the way the film explores Stevie’s journey makes for a reflective work of autofiction that finds slivers of humble beauty in its specificity. It’s a film that doesn’t shy away from pain, just as it stumbles into some gently poetic observations about life, with one critical closing conversation near the end perfectly tying it all together. (Saturday, Sept. 20, 6:30 pm)

Wolf Land 

(2025, 72 min., Dir. Sarah Hoffman)

This documentary would make for a fascinating double feature with Not One Drop of Blood, as it, too, examines the relationship between humankind and the natural world that surrounds us. However, what Sarah Hoffman’s Wolf Land is most interested in is whether there is another way to protect livestock while coexisting with wolves. Specifically, it creates a compelling portrait of the compassionate “wolf-protecting cowboy” Daniel Curry and his partner, the kindly fourth-generation rancher Jerry Francis, as they work to find a new way forward. It’s simple yet effective, eschewing the typical conventions of documentaries that rely on talking-head interviews to immerse us in an urgent, unique story of one man fighting to create harmony in a world that seems hell-bent on mayhem. At one point, when he howls at the wolves and they howl back, you realize this maniac might be onto something. (Friday, Sept. 26, 6:30 pm)

Firebreak 

(2024, 72 min., Dir. Kenzie Bruce)

Last but not least is Firebreak, which, while more conventional, is willing to complicate what could be an overly tidy exploration of its subject matter. Kenzie Bruce’s documentary focuses on incarcerated firefighters and how two men, Brandon and Royal, go from serving time to starting a nonprofit that helps other prisoners turn their work into a career. Rather than just become shallow “inspiration porn” designed for people to feel good about themselves without looking any deeper into these men’s realities, this documentary spotlights the ways in which the system is broken—and the people working to fix it. It’s overflowing with care for its subjects, and clear-eyed in showing why so much still needs to change. (Sunday, Sept. 28, 3:30 pm)

Shorts to See at Local Sightings

SEPTEMBER 21

Playing in the Homelands shorts program: 

There Have Always Been Horizons
Diana Emily de Leyssac 

SEPTEMBER 27 

Playing in the All in My Head shorts program:

Rash
Lyssa Samuel

SEPTEMBER 28

Playing in the Afterimages: Experimental Shorts program:

Hyperborea
Dan Sokolowski

The Peace of Swim Teams
Foteini Tina Jacobson

倾听銌们鎏裶‘声: Listen to the beating of our hearts
Wen Wen Lu

44 Houses
Kari Fisher

Something Went Click
Caryn Cline

All Windows Look Inwards
I. Fredericks

Testosterone Gel 1.62%
Avian de Keizer

Gorg O Mish (Twilight)
Radin Khodadadi