Northwest Film Forum

Lyall Bush is interim executive director of Northwest Film Forum. In his previous position as executive director of the literary arts 
center, Richard Hugo House, he raised the profile of the organization, re-focusing the mission on new writing and creating the 
Hugo Literary Series. Previously he has also directed several film festivals, led a year-long college course for adults in poverty, and written and published on books and films (and filmmakers) for over a decade. In addition to his work at Northwest Film Forum he is at work on a memoire and a collection of short stories.
 
Email Lyall at: lyall@nwfilmforum.org

Susie Purves has been traipsing the tidelands of visual art for over fifteen years. Along with curation, programming, and project development, her experience in small arts organizations (Center on Contemporary Art, Kirkland Arts Center, On the Boards, Seattle International Children's Festival) has resulted in a spectrum of pencil pushing skills. 

Email Susie at: susie@nwfilmforum.org

Adam Sekuler comes to Northwest Film Forum with 5 years of film programming experience. Before arriving in Seattle he was programmer for the nation's first and only dedicated non-fiction theatre, The Bell Auditorium. He is co-founder of Search and Rescue, an ongoing effort to present and preserve discarded archives of 16mm films. He also programmed for the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and Sound Unseen. In his early years he booked music for the Whole Music Club, Minneapolis' only all ages venue. During his spare time, Adam makes short films that have screened at festivals and museums. You can find him scheming about bus cabarets and penciling in words on crossword puzzles on the weekends.

Email Adam at: adams@nwfilmforum.org

Peter has worked with Northwest Film Forum for the past 6 years to present music films, documentaries, and special series exploring the intersections of art, design, and architecture with moving image media. He has also contributed programming for the Seattle International Film Festival and Sound Unseen Film and Music Festival, and has organized independent art exhibits, film screenings, and collaborative multimedia events in Austin, New York, and Seattle.

Email Peter at: peter@nwfilmforum.org

Liz Shepherd is the former director of the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. She has served on the juries of the Seoul International Family Film Festival, the Moscow International Festival of Films for Children and Young People, India's International Film Festival for Children and Young People, and the Cairo International Film Festival for Children. She was also Secretary/Treasurer of the International Centre of Films for Children and Young People, based in Montreal, Canada. Since moving to Vashon Island in 1997, she has worked as director of Seattle's Center on Contemporary Art (1997-1999) and curated special children's film programs and workshops in Seattle for the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, and the Children's Museum. She is most importantly the mother of twins Ellie and Isaac, first-graders who are already well on their way to becoming discerning cinephiles.

Email Liz at: liz@nwfilmforum.org

As the studio director, Dave Hanagan manages the education programs, filmmaking equipment facilities and artist access programs. He also serves as the festival director for the Local Sightings Film Festival. Before moving to Seattle, he studied graphic design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dave has made numerous short films, his latest, Circadia Sees the Moon, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and was completed with support from 4Culture, Artist Trust, and the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Since 1997, he has worked as a cinematographer, gaffer, editor and producer on over 50 independent, artistic media projects including Guy Maddin's Brand Upon the Brain!, Webster Crowell's Borrowing Time, and Matt Wilkin's Buffalo Bill's Defunct.

Email Dave at: dave@nwfilmforum.org

Matt Cunningham began working for the Northwest Film Forum as a projectionist at the Grand Illusion in November of 1998. Since then he has remained a steadfast figure in the Film Forum's projection booths, always striving to make sure the audience gets the best show in Seattle. Matt has been a projectionist for over thirteen years and has manned the equipment in a mind-boggling variety of booths throughout the Seattle area. As Technical Director and Manager of Cinema Rentals, Matt gets to spend quality time in the booth, as well as interact with real people! Matt smokes too much and enjoys fixing broken things.

Email Matt at: matt@nwfilmforum.org

Ryan has been active in the Seattle film community since she arrived in the Northwest. She had been involved with Northwest Film Forum as an intern, projectionist, and contributing filmmaker before taking the reins of Communications Director. Ryan is a native of New York State by way of Brunswick, Maine, but has called Seattle home since 2004.

Email Ryan at: ryan@nwfilmforum.org

Over the last fifteen years, Stan has become a fixture in the Seattle film and performing arts communities. He served as the Company Manager of Theater Schmeater under Sheila Daniels, managed outside events for Capitol Hill Art Center, and has worked at the Seattle International Film Festival for the last four years in a variety of programming and organizational roles. He has also worked with Cornish College of the Arts, On The Boards, and is on the steering committee of (2008 Mayor’s Arts Award winners) 14/48: the world’s quickest theater festival. Stan is a regular producer and performer in the Seattle theater community.

Email Stan at: stan@nwfilmforum.org

Wen Marcoux had a diverse background in the visual arts. She has been an artist and a painter for over 20 years, dabbling in graphic design, performance art, curation, set design/construction, and mural design/execution. She delved into filmmaking several years ago, co-editing a women's skateboarding documentary in Los Angeles, CA and filming one such event in New Jersey. When not crunching numbers at the Forum, she can be found working on one of several film projects and preparing for her next art exhibition.

Email Wen at: wen@nwfilmforum.org

Coming soon!

Email the Volunteer Coordinator at: volunteer@nwfilmforum.org

Jennifer Schneider has worked for various nonprofits on both coasts including Prochoice USA, American Film Institute and EMPSFM.  She's been coordinating membership fulfillment and services for NWFF since the summer of 2007.

Email Jennifer at: membership@nwfilmforum.org