Northwest Film Forum

Northwest Film Forum is overseen by a volunteer board consisting of 5 to 19 members.  The role of the board is to advance the mission and long-term welfare of the organization.  The board is made up of a group of diverse artists and professionals working in the film, arts, non-profit and business communities.

Line Sandsmark (Treasurer) brings fifteen years’ experience in the film industry from Scandinavia and Europe. She has commissioned, developed, financed and produced award-winning films through her production company, Kaliber Film Production, and as head of the West Norwegian Film Centre in Bergen, Norway. Her short films have competed around the world, including at Cannes and the Festival du Film Fantastique (Grand Prix). Since 2005, Sandsmark has focused on development and financing of feature and documentary films for Svensk Filmindustri. Sandsmark holds a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington and completed her post-graduate work in Critical Studies and Film Analysis at the University of Paris.  She is co-founder of the Nordic and Baltic Animation Festival and was a coordinator for the Norwegian Short Film Festival. Sandsmark has previously served on boards in Norway. 

Peter J. Vogt (Vice-President) is an award-winning filmmaker with over 30 years experience in the film industry. His work has premiered at festivals such as Sundance, New York Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Bumbershoot, as well as art centers such as the Center On Contemporary Art. His work regularly runs on regional and local PBS, and his 2004 “Up Thornton Creek” aired nationally. Highlights include: “Hype!” which premiered at Sundance and achieved worldwide theatrical release; “Nuts&Bolts,” winner of a special jury prize at the 2000 Seattle Film Festival and shortlisted for the prestigious AFI's digital film award. Peter is part owner of Optimistic Camera.
 

John DeShazo (Secretary, 2000) is an actor, theatre and film technician, and woodworker. He has collaborated creatively on projects with Northwest Film Forum, Annex Theatre, Typing Explosion, The Film Company, Megan Murphy, Matt Wilkins, Web Crowell, Herbert Bergel, Firehouse Theatre Project, Ampersand, and Empty Space Theatre. John works for Meyer-Wells.
 

Shep Salusky attended the San Francisco Art Institute at the age of 17, where he made "Night of the Moles," a black and white 16 mm science fiction parody starring Jerry Mathers (the Beav.)  He went on to receive a degree from Berkeley, which was followed by doctorate in Psychology from the University of Washington and a fellowship at Yale. Today he has a private practice in clinical psychology and continues to make films, including “Expert Witness, starring Charles Napier, which has been seen around the world. and Once completed, it was sold in quite a few foreign markets.  In 2006, Shep completed another feature film, The Greenan Tapes, which opened the Local Sightings Film Festival. (Each of these films won several awards.) His other projects include a hip hop music video, a dance project, a documentary on Native American health in the Puget Sound region, and several scripts in development.

Jennifer Roth (President, 2003) is a 20 year veteran of the film industry. She was recently the executive producer of Darren Aronofsky's film "Black Swan" which stars Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel and Mila Kunis. In 2008 she was the executive/line producer on the Darren Aronofsky film “The Wrestler” starring Mickey Rourke which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Her other producer credits include  “World’s Greatest Dad”, “Smart People” and “The Squid and the Whale”. Her early production credits include “Bad Lieutenant”, “Smoke”, “The Crow” and “Deadman”. 

 

Lyall Bush, Executive Director (ex officio) is the Executive Director of the Northwest Film Forum, a Seattle based film arts organization dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of film as an art form. We inspire and facilitate the creation of artistic film and support the development of the local film community through exhibition, education and artist support. Previous to the Film Forum he was executive director of Richard Hugo House. He has published personal essays and pieces on film for over a decade and is at work on a collection of short stories, which he periodically showcases along with the singer-songwriter, Devin Sullivan.

Alan Pruzan is a founding partner of Forrest-Pruzan Creative, product invention studio specializing in games and toys. He was one of the original game-makers at ENTROS in Seattle, creating a wide variety of physical and social entertainment experiences. His background is in film and video arts, and he worked for many years in the media arts scene, both as a facilitator and as a multi-media artist. 
 

Jim Brown is a business entrepreneur, amateur musician, film producer, and father of two. His background includes book publishing, work in the software industry, and filmmaking. Jim is a partner in Base Capital, LLC, a real estate development firm, the owner of Jet City Guitars, and part owner of Boise Hawks Baseball Club. 
 

Brad Lenz (2008) is the owner and executive producer of LenzFilms, a Seattle-based company specializing in the production of television commercials and industrial films. A graduate of the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, he has taken part in over 2000 film and video projects. He began his career as an intern at Alpha Cine in Seattle and later joined the staff at Kaye Smith Productions. He went on to found Beggar Boys Films, a music video production company, and OberLenz Films, the production company responsible for a Seattle Super Sonics ad campaign that won a coveted Golden Lion at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. 

Rebecca Luke is a stylist who has worked on award-winning independent films such as “The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle” and “The Whole Truth.” She has worked with Seattle Repertory Theater, the Paramount Theater, the Meany Theater and organizations such as the Seattle Art Institute. She has been an event producer and image consultant for a decade and a half. In 2000 she founded Les Egoistes, an image based creative services company based in Seattle, with a studio in New York City, which offers complete image packages for a client base across the country. Its mission is to create, communicate and manage every aspect of a client’s image, allowing clients to focus on their work and goals.
 

Steven Schardt began his relationship with Northwest Film Forum as a committed audience member and volunteer. His volunteer efforts resulted in the Film Forum’s popular callboard, which now has nearly 900 members. Steven studied English and American Literature at Harvard College. He worked at D.E. Shaw & Co, a hedge fund in New York, and at Amazon.com in Seattle, Washington, and Paris, France, working in recruiting, business development, and marketing. Since 2004, Steven has directed short films and is directing his first feature film, “Treatment,” in Los Angeles later this year. Recently, he co-produced “Humpday,” a feature by Lynn Shelton, which garnered a Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and had its European premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight category at the Cannes Film Festival.
 

Megan Griffiths has been a member of the independent film community for a decade.  As a Seattle-based freelancer, she has been a much sought-after assistant director, cinematographer and editor, working on such projects as “The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle” (Sundance ’09), “Humpday” (Sundance ’09) and “Zoo” (Sundance ’07). In 2002, Megan made her debut feature “First Aid for Choking,” which screened at festivals around the U.S. In the past few years, Megan has directed three projects commissioned by the Seattle International Film Festival, the Northwest Film Forum and MTV.com. The resulting films were the narrative shorts “Moving” and “Eros,” and the short documentary “KEXP: The B-Side.” Before relocating to Seattle, Megan received her MFA in Film Production from Ohio University School of Film. Megan is currently in post-production on her second feature film, “The Off Hours.”
 

Nicholas Hanauer is Chairman and CEO of Avenue A Internet Media, a founding partner of Second Avenue Partners, and Executive Vice President of Pacific Coast Feather.


Sandy Cioffi, Seattle Central Community College

John Comerford, Paradigm Studios

Bob Cumbow, Graham & Dunn

Ben-Alex Dupris, The Hatchery

Norm Hill, 518 Media

Gregg Lachow, The Film Company

John Mullen, Financial Consultant

Andy Pratt, Andy Pratt Negative Cutting

Cathy Sarkowsky, Community Representative

Steven Shaviro, Media Studies Professor/Theorist

David Skinner, ShadowCatcher Entertainment