ID: A dark blue starry banner with an orange pink octopus with a helmet with text: “Seattle Deaf Film Festival, April 2026” from the left edge with flying popcorns scattered throughout the banner. Text on right: “April 10-12, 2026, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA. Streaming: April 13-26, 2026”.
Back for the 8th time, Seattle Deaf Film Festival will premiere 38 films from 12 countries with English subtitles at Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA from April 10-12, 2026 and stream amazing films online from April 13-26, 2026 through Eventive.
For in-person tickets, in-person passes and hybrid passes, online sales are now closed for all programs. Yes, we will sell tickets and passes at the door this weekend.
We offer three experiences: in person, hybrid or virtual.
All passes and tickets will be available for sale on Eventive. There are 9 programs in the festival. Each program will be apx 1.5 hours long. Each program may have one film or more films as a bundle. Please look at the program options below!
IN PERSON: Watch films at Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, WA with other avid cinema fans. (April 10-12, 2026).
An individual ticket will grant you to a specific program during the festival weekend. There are 9 programs.
A Day pass will grant you a day full of films either Saturday, April 11th or Sunday, April 12th.
If you buy a Saturday pass, you will see 5 programs in one day.
For Sunday pass only, you will see three programs and have an opportunity to attend the Closing Night Reception.
A festival pass will give you access to view ALL films / 9 programs during the weekend (April 10-12, 2026).
HYBRID: A Hybrid festival pass will grant you both experiences: in person (April 10-12, 2026) and enjoy the films from your comforts of your home with your homemade popcorn (April 13-26, 2026).
VIRTUAL: You can view all films from your comforts at home with your homemade popcorn. (April 13-26, 2026). This option grants no discount or additional access to in-person festival programming at Northwest Film Forum. A virtual festival pass will grant you streaming experiences from April 13-26, 2026 where you can watch 9 programs from your home!
All passes and tickets are priced on a sliding scale: pay what you can to support the work that we're doing!
Patron- supports the Sliding Scale
Supporter -covers the Cost of Festival
Inclusive - Art is for Everyone!
IN PERSON PRICES
INDIVIDUAL TIX
Inclusive -$15
Supporter - $25
Patron - $35
FESTIVAL PASS
Inclusive -$120
Supporter - $210
Patron - $300
SUNDAY PASS
Inclusive -$50
Supporter - $90
Patron - $130
SATURDAY PASS
Inclusive -$60
Supporter - $110
Patron - $160
HYBRID PRICE
FESTIVAL PASS
Inclusive -$120
Supporter - $210
Patron - $300
ID: Flyer for “Fireside Chat with SIREN Director”, with an illustrated image showing an octopus’ appendages on the bottom. Popcorn kernels dot the image. Text under title: “Friday, April 10.” Cutout photo of Irene Taylor on the right side, with her name in text on the left side.
Film Screening & Interview: SIREN: The Voices of Shelley Beattie
Friday, April 10 from 7-8:30 PM @ Northwest Film Forum Interview & Opening Night Reception to follow
Come and see Irene Taylor, SIREN Filmmaker in person on Friday, April 10th evening for the film screening and one-on-one interview with our festival director, MJ Kiego! Many thanks to HBO Documentary Films for the special screening opportunity!
Taylor is a CODA, an Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker. Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements (Mountainfilm 2019) is her second documentary memoir, following Hear and Now, which won the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award as well as a Peabody. Both films portray her immediate family members — tenderly and unflinchingly — and examine their varied experiences with deafness, mortality and beyond.
ID: Flyer for “Family Ties Panel”, with an illustrated image showing an octopus’ appendages on the bottom. Popcorn kernels dot the image. Text under title: “Saturday, April 11.” Three cutout photos in a row: Douglas Ridloff, Leah Egan, and Adam Membrey. Name tags below each photo.
Screening & PANEL: FAMILY TIES
Saturday, April 11 from 12:30 PM to 2 PM @ NWFF
New update! Family Ties program will have a post screening panel in person featuring Douglas Ridloff (Idle Hands), Leah Egan (I See a Voice), and Adam Membrey (Idle Hands). Andrea Passafiume, our Festival programmer will facilitate the questions. Come and see their thoughts and processes of making their films.
Douglas Ridloff is a producer, director, and ASL consultant championing authentic Deaf representation in film and television. His award-winning short Idle Hands earned Best Director at Clin d’Oeil. He has worked on major projects including A Quiet Place, Marvel’s Eternals, Hawkeye, and Echo, and currently serves as a consulting producer on a Netflix series.
Leah Egan is an Award-winning Actor-Director & Filmmaker from Ireland. With 14 years experience under her belt she has worked extensively across Ireland, the UK & Canada. Leah's début short film won the Westmeath Film Award in 2024. She is Founder & Artistic Director of her own production house in Ireland, Spinster Production.
Adam Membrey is a teacher, writer, husband, and father living in Austin, TX. He is the writer of IDLE HANDS and hopefully many more future projects.
ID: Flyer for “Fireside Chat with PASSENGERS Director”, with an illustrated image showing an octopus’ appendages on the bottom. Popcorn kernels dot the image. Text under title: “Sunday, April 12.” Cutout photo of Dickie Hearts on the right side, with his name in text on the left side.
Film Screening & Interview: PASSENGERS
Dickie Drew Hearts,director of PASSENGERS, will be in town for their one-on-one interview with Phelan Conheady on Sunday, April 12th. Please join us!
Hearts is an award-winning Deaf, LGBTQ+ actor and director pushing Deaf authenticity & ASL representation onscreen. Creator of the romantic comedy pilot Passengers, he’s earned wins at Easterseals, Project Greenlight, and AT&T Create-A-Thon, appeared on Netflix and HBO, and received an Obie Award for Dark Disabled Stories.
Details: Sunday, April 12 at 3 PM @ NWFF
Interview & Closing Night Reception to follow
FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
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MJ Kiego
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
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Michael Anthony
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
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Buddy Elledge
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
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Anna Mansell Karagiannis
ACCESS LEAD
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Sam Kelly
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
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Patty Liang
LOGISTICS
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Danica Metlay
VOLUNTEER LEAD
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Toj Mora
STREAMING LEAD
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Andrea Passafiume
SCREENING COMMITTEE LEAD & PROGRAMMING LEAD
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Julie Spigner
HOSPITALITY
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Napal Tesfai
HOSPITALITY
FESTIVAL SPONSORS
ID: 4Culture Logo - a white background with a green logo with a shadow: "4" and CULTURE without shadow.
ID: Artsfund Logo -a white background with orange "A" with two leaves sprouting from left and black capitalized text: ARTS (bold) FUND.
ID: ArtsWA Logo - a Washington shaped icon with geometric triangles in different colors: teal, orange, red, yellow and dark green with white capitalized text: ARTS (BOLD) and WA (thin) inside the state. Teal capitalized text: Washington State Arts Commission.
ID: Final Draft logo- a large black text across the center, "Final Draft". Smaller text undreneath, slightly off to the side: "A Cast & Crew Company". Three overlapping yellow triangles border the edge of the large text, suggestigng the top corner of a sheaf of pages being flipped through.
ID: diagonal blue cursive font: molly moon’s
ID: Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Logo - a white background with blue logo "C" over "A&" and text: Office of Arts & Culture with a line over SEATTLE.
ID: Logo for Silver Cloud Inn. Grey letters "S" and "C" connected with "I" behind "C", a leafed plant growing out of "I." Underneath is grey text: "Silver Cloud Hotel. Seattle - Broadway."
ID: Stoup Brewing Logo- a hexagon with a light rail train in front of a city skyline across the top, with “Stoup” in orange text below, and “Capitol Hill” in dark text on bottom, matching the color of the border around the hexagon.
ID: Tulalip Tribes Logo - Native art of black and white orca with red text: "Tulalip Tribes" above. Website: TulalipCares.org
ID: a black and white group photo of SDFF 2016 Committee.
SDFF ARCHIVES
Deaf Spotlight believes in bringing authentic stories by Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing creatives to the screen. Please browse through our past festivals.