Festival FAQs
The 11th annual Seattle Asian American Film Festival will be a hybrid event, with the in-person festival taking place February 23-26, 2023 at Northwest Film Forum and the virtual festival will be online Feb 27-March 5, 2023. We have a total of 19 film programs with 10 feature-length films and 81 short films.
All films will be screened during the in-person film festival. Select films will not be available online or will only have limited online tickets. Films that will only be shown in-person will be marked as such in the schedule “(IN-PERSON ONLY)”. Shorts that are programmed with in-person only features will be available online in other shorts programs. If you are searching for a specific film, you can search by film to find its online program.
All films online are available to watch throughout the United States, except select film programs that are geoblocked to allow access only to viewers in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR, ID), or the US West Coast states (WA, OR, CA). Geoblock restrictions are listed on each individual film program webpage.
For all the latest information, please visit http://bit.ly/SAAFF2023.
- All tickets can be purchased online at bit.ly/SAAFF2023. Online ticket sales for in-person screenings end two hours before each showtime. Tickets will still be available at our box office unless it specifically indicates ‘Sold Out’. We will have rush line tickets if any in-person screenings sell out, but ticket availability cannot be guaranteed.
- Buy a Hybrid Festival Pass for access to all our films, online and in-person screenings except for Opening Night Party. For access to our online content, buy a Virtual Festival Pass or Virtual Shorts Pass at bit.ly/SAAFFpass23.
- We also have a Festival 6-Pack deal that gets you six tickets for the price of 5. These tickets are valid for any in-person or online film programs with general tickets, except Opening Night Party.
- Tickets for Opening Night Party MUST be purchased separately.
- Note: No refunds or exchanges. Service fees and taxes apply to all purchases. Films are not rated for content and viewer discretion is advised.
In-Person Screening Ticket Prices:
- General Ticket: $13-30 sliding scale
- Access Ticket: $11
– For those who self-identify as a(n) student, senior, artist, disability, and/or un(der)waged person
- Festival 6-Pack: $65
– Six tickets for the price of five, good for any online and in-person screenings, except for the Opening Night Party. You must redeem any in-person screenings you plan to attend in advance.
- Hybrid Festival Pass: $150
– Access to all film programs in-person and online except for Opening Night Party. You must redeem any in-person screenings you plan to attend in advance.
- Opening Night Party Only: $25-$100 sliding scale
- Opening Night Film & Party: $35-$100 sliding scale
- Opening Night Film Only: $13-30 sliding scale
(NWFF membership discount does not apply)
Online Screening Ticket Prices:
- General Ticket: $13-30 sliding scale
- Access Ticket: $11
– For those who self-identify as a(n) student, senior, artist, disability, and/or un(der)waged person
- Festival 6-Pack: $65
– Six tickets for the price of five, good for any online and in-person screenings. After purchasing your ticket pack, you will be able to select your films online. Ticket pack can also be redeemed for in-person screenings, except for Opening Night Party.
- Virtual Only Shorts Pass: $80
– Access to all shorts programs available online from 2/27-3/5.
- Virtual Only Festival Pass: $120
– Access to all film programs available online from 2/27-3/5.
Free (By Donation) Programs:
- Friday 2/24 9pm: Explore the Unknown (Shorts Program)
- Sunday 2/26 11am: New Roots: Stories About Youth (Shorts Program)
Doors open at 6:00pm Thursday night for the Opening Night Film and at 9:00pm for the Opening Night Party.
Theater doors and box office will be open 30 minutes prior to the scheduled time of each screening. For opening night and closing night films, once Theatre 1 is at capacity, we will seat folks in Theatre 2 and begin the screening 15 minutes later.
If advance tickets are no longer available, you are encouraged to line up for rush tickets that will be released at the box office in the theater lobby 5 minutes before showtime. Lines may start forming as early as 15 minutes prior to the screening.
Yes! If you can’t make it to the Opening Night Film but want to attend the party, doors for the party at Washington Hall will open at 9:00pm. You can purchase tickets for only the party at the door or online at http://bit.ly/saaffparty23.
This year’s festival will be held in-person at Northwest Film Forum in Capitol Hill from February 23-26 and virtually on Eventive from February 27-March 5.
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave, Seattle
Film screenings, Thursday-Sunday, February 23-26
Washington Hall
153 14th Ave, Seattle
Opening Night Party, Thursday February 23, 2023
There is a concession stand and beer is available for purchase at Northwest Film Forum. Many restaurants are within walking distance of the theater. We also partner with local restaurants so see us at guest services for the list of businesses offering discounts.
Northwest Film Forum and Washington Hall are ADA accessible.
Northwest Film Forum: Ticketing, concessions, cinemas, restrooms, and our public edit lab are located on Northwest Film Forum’s ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. The upstairs workshop room, which will serve as SAAFF’s private volunteer and staff room, is not wheelchair accessible.
Washington Hall: The main hall can be accessed up a ramp and an elevator.
In-Person Screenings: Limited films will have captions. Please check our website for a detailed list of films with captions.
Virtual Viewing: Please check individual films for online captioning availability.
We’ll have the lobby open for the duration of the festival, where you’ll find:
- Guest Services
- Merchandise
- Step & Repeat photo area
- Community resource table with information about Asian American organizations in the Greater Seattle area.
You will need to provide an email address that will be linked to your festival pass. All festival passes are only allotted 1 ticket per program.
In-person: Go to the box office in the theater lobby and provide your email address. They can then reserve a ticket for any upcoming screening(s) and you will receive an order confirmation email.
Online: You will need to create an Eventive account to access the films online. Make sure you are logged in with the same email address used to purchase your festival pass. Browse our festival schedule and find the film program you’d like to attend and/or watch. Click on “Select a Showing”. In-person events will have a date, time and venue listed and online options will say “stream online” at the end. Once you have chosen, if the program is available, you will see a “Buy Tickets” or “Unlock Now” button. Select the general ticket and you have now redeemed a ticket to that film program.
All films are available for viewing online starting from Monday, February 27 12:00am PST to Sunday, March 5 11:59pm PST across the United States unless they are geoblocked. Once you start watching a film program, you will have 48 hours to finish it (even if you click play on March 5 at 11:59pm PST).
Yes. Similar to in-theater screenings, there are capacity limits established by film distributors and producers that we are obliged to adhere to, so get your tickets and/or passes early!
All film screenings are eligible for Audience Choice Awards. We have ballots available for in-person screenings as well as online screenings.
For online viewers, after you finish watching each film, there will be an option to rate the film from 1 to 5 (5 being the best) on the watch page directly under the video player as pictured below.
Voting will end at 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, March 8, 2023.
We will announce the Festival and Jury Awards on Sunday, February 26, and the Audience Choice Awards on Friday, March 11, 2023.
Northwest Film Forum is located in Capitol Hill.
Public Transport
- The Capitol Hill Link Light Rail Station (140 Broadway East)
- First Hill line of the Seattle Streetcar (Broadway & E Pine St)
- Metro Bus Routes: 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 43, 49, 60, 84
From I-5 Southbound
Take Exit 166 toward Stewart St./Denny Way. Merge onto Eastlake Ave E. Take a slight right onto Stewart St. Take a hard left onto Denny Way. Continue straight on Denny up the hill (remain in the right lane to avoid a mandatory left turn). Turn right at 12th Ave. The Northwest Film Forum is located on the right side of the street past Pine St., past the East Precinct Police Station.
From I-5 Northbound
Take Exit 164A for Dearborn St. toward James St./Madison St. Keep right, follow signs for Madison St./Convent Pl. Merge onto 7th Ave. Turn right onto Madison. Turn left on 12th Ave. The Northwest Film Forum will be on your left past Pike St.
Washington Hall is located in the Central District.
Public Transport
- First Hill line of the Seattle Streetcar (14th Ave S & S Washington St)
- Metro Bus Routes: 3, 9, 27, 36
From I-5 Southbound
Take Exit 165A toward James St. Use the right lane to merge onto 6th Ave. Turn left onto Yesler Way. Turn left onto 14th Ave S. Washington Hall will be on your left after E Fir St.
From I-5 Northbound
Take Exit 164A for Dearborn St. toward James St./Madison St. Keep right and follow signs to S Dearborn St. Turn right on S Dearborn St. Turn left onto Rainier Ave S. Take a slight right on 14th Ave S. Washington Hall will be on your left after E Fir St.
Northwest Film Forum
- Street parking in Capitol Hill is metered from 8:00am – 10:00pm, Monday – Saturday, and free all day on Sundays.
- Seattle Central College’s Harvard Garage at 1609 Harvard Avenue (at E. Pine Street) is open and available 24/7.
Washington Hall
- There are 2 hour free street parking spots around Washington Hall on the residential streets.
Eventive Virtual Festival is an online ticketing and streaming platform that hosts all of our films. In order to purchase tickets or passes and watch our virtual screenings, you will need to create an Eventive account.
We encourage you to visit Eventive for Attendees for technical FAQs and video guides. They also have technical support available 9am to 9pm 7 days a week to answer your questions through Live Chat.
Find us on social media!
Email questions to info@seattleaaff.org, or message us on Facebook or Instagram.