Northwest Film Forum

Lyall Bush is 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 film festivals and directed a year-long college course for adults in poverty. He has also written and published on 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 at 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 at nwfilmforum.org

Liz Shepherd curates year-round family film programs at Northwest Film Forum and is the director the annual Children's Film Festival Seattle, the Northwest's largest annual competitive festival of its kind. She is also the curator of REDCAT International Children's Film Festival, which is held annually at Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theatre in Los Angeles. Before arriving in Seattle, she was the director of Chicago International Children's Film Festival, and she served on the juries of children's film festivals in Korea, Russia, India, and Egypt. She was also Secretary/Treasurer of the International Centre of Films for Children and Young People, based in Montreal.

Email Liz at: liz at 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 at 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 at 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 at nwfilmforum.org

Wen Marcoux has 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 at nwfilmforum.org

Shanika is fairly new to the Nortwest film and arts scene. After realizing what a positive impact the arts has on individuals and a community, she decided to dedicate most of her free time volunteering and interning for various non-profit organizations throughout Seattle, including music, vaudville theatre, and more recently film. In addition to learning about arts management, she has also begun her own creative journey by learning different art forms and creative outlets.

Email Shanika at: membership at nwfilmforum.org

Ilana Holmes graduated from New York University with a BA in History in 2005, and has since cultivated extensive experience working in arts administration in both the private sector and with nonprofit institutions. Impressed with the vibrancy and intimacy of the Seattle’s artistic community, she moved here in September of 2008. Ilana has since been an active community volunteer, working with 826 Seattle and the Museum of History and Industry.

Email Ilana at: ilana at nwfilmforum.org

Tom is a recent graduate of The Evergreen State College, Tacoma Campus. He is proud of the student documentary film he created while at Evergreen that explores his diverse, unique neighborhood, White Center. Tom has volunteered his portrait photography skills with numerous not-profit organizations since moving to Seattle in 1999. Tom became involved in NWFF after having a wonderful experience attending the Basic Videography and Final Cut Pro workshops at NWFF.

Email Tom at: volunteer at nwfilmforum.org