
Make Believe Seattle
March 22-26, 2023 - Venues Around Capitol Hill
MAKE BELIEVE SEATTLE is an imagination-focused genre festival located in the Capitol Hill section of Seattle, dedicated to shining a light on the best in genre cinema, while also expanding the definition of what ‘genre’ means for a new generation of cinephiles. The backdrop of the Pacific Northwest lends a mysterious and fantastical energy that already courses through its veins, and our diverse and unpredictable programming aims to take even the most ardent genre fans out of their comfort zones. Let’s make believe…together.
For tickets, passes, and more info, visit www.makebelieveseattle.com.
Mister Organ - West Coast Premiere
3/26 at 12:15pm
MISTER ORGAN
WEST COAST PREMIERE
Documentary; 2022; New Zealand; 96-minutes; David Farrier
Journalist David Farrier (the documentary “Tickled”) is drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a mysterious individual. Delving deeper, he unearths a trail of court cases, royal bloodlines, and ruined lives, in this true story of psychological warfare.
Smoking Causes Coughing + A Folded Ocean
3/26 at 1:45pm
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING
PACIFIC NORTHWEST PREMIERE
Narrative; 2022; France; 80-minutes; Quentin Dupieux
From the the eclectic and acclaimed French auteur behind “Rubber”, “Deerskin”, and “Mandibles” come his latest sojourn into the weird, wild, and wonderful. A group of vigilantes called the ‘tobacco-forces’ is falling apart. To rebuild team spirit, their leader suggests that they meet for a week-long retreat, before returning to save the world.
Valentine Crush + Baby Fever
3/26 at 2:15pm
VALENTINE CRUSH
Narrative; 2022; USA; 64-minutes; Jamie Wede
With shades of both “Fatal Attraction” and “Whip It”, this kitschy blood-soaked gem has been enjoying quite the run on the festival circuit. Filmmaker Jamie Wede has taken his love of horror, roller derby, and bad ass women, and turned it into one of the most enjoyable mid-lengths we’ve seen in some time. Here is the plot, if you even need it now: A roller derby woman gets in a little over her head when she meets her number one fan.
BABY FEVER
Short; 2022; USA; 26-minutes; Hannah May Cumming
A popular teen's dream to be crowned Prom Queen is threatened when she discovers she is pregnant with something even worse than her dumb jock boyfriend’s offspring.
The Five Devils presented by MUBI
3/26 at 3:30pm
8-year-old Vicky possesses a special power: a hyper-acute sense of smell. She spends her days exploring this gift, and lives happily with her mother Joanne, a swimming teacher whom she adores exclusively - to the despair of her firefighter father. When her mysterious aunt Julia suddenly reappears in their lives, secrets from their past resurface both violently and magically. Starring Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”).
Shorts Block: Final Girls (90 min.)
3/26 at 3:45pm
A block dedicated to complicated women on disparate journeys whose travels take them through monsters, obsessions, psychological turmoil, and weird and wild wonders.
Shorts Block: Guy Maddin Mixtape (83 min.)
3/26 at 4pm
Co-curated by the filmmaker himself, Guy Maddin, this block features a fabulous mixtape of some of Guy's most celebrated and imaginative works over the past decades. Featuring: ACCIDENCE, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, SISSY-BOY SLAP-PARTY, MY DAD IS 100-YEARS-OLD, THE HEART OF THE WORLD, THE EYE LIKE A STRANGE BALLOON MOUNTS TOWARD INFINITY, NIGHT MAYOR, SPANKY TO THE PIER AND BACK and STUMP THE GUESSER.
Little Richard: I Am Everything
3/26 at 5:45pm - One of our spotlight films and a must-see!
From CNN Films and HBO Films comes a long overdue chronicle of one of the most creative, eccentric, and influential musical arts of all-time. Little Richard shaped a generation of performers and musicians with his larger-than-life persona, and made a name for himself going against the norms of music and performance at the time . Featuring musical legends Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, and more - “Little Richard: I Am Everything” chronicles his career, his music, and his ongoing contributions to the field of imagination.
Shorts Block: Go Bump (106 min.)
3/26 at 6pm - Dark and twisted shorts from around the globe!
A block dedicated to those unknown terrors creeping around the dark recesses of your home or your heart, with special attention paid to design, costuming, and atmosphere. Featuring: FOLK, SLEEP STUDY, THE RINGMASTER, GUSSY, BURY YOUR FISH, OLD TIME RADIO: YOUR MOVE and THE HOUSE SITTERS.
Sorcery - West Coast Premiere
3/26 at 6:15pm
On the remote island of Chiloé in the late 19th century, an Indigenous girl named Rosa lives and works with her father on a farm. When the foreman brutally turns on Rosa's father, she sets out for justice, seeking help from the king of a powerful organization of sorcerers. Here's a film with a lot on its mind and incredible imagery to help convey it. Fresh off a successful world premiere at Sundance, we're thrilled to have it for Year One.
Closing Night: Poundcake - World Premiere
3/26 at 8pm
From Onur Tukel, one of the most astute and fearless satirists of his generation, comes “Poundcake”, a bold and edgy film about a serial killer who targets straight white men. While some residents of The Big Apple feel empathy and concern for the situation, others feel like the victims are getting what they deserve. From the filmmaker behind “Applesauce”, “Summer of Blood”, and “Catfight”, comes a dark and twisted ode to gays everywhere that answers the important question - “What’s one more dead straight white dude?”