Film

Feature films, short documentaries, upcoming festivals, calls for filmmakers, and more. Mark your calendar for SpIFF, the annual Spokane International Film Festival, going strong for over twenty years. Visit local independent theater gems like the Magic Lantern and Garland Theater, who screen work by local filmmakers. 

Visual
Artist
Hasson Harris

Hasson Harris has been creating works in Fashion Photography , Baking, film, digital art and painting since 2007. Before relocating to the PNW area in 2017 from Los Angeles, he was an industry standard fashion photographer and stylist which lead him to open and head his own agency Slater Management. Once relocating to Spokane he dived into another passion of film making, writing and directing his first horror short Manic Macabre. Manic Macabre is now in pre production for a full length feature entitled Buck Eighty, continuing story. His work, heavily inspired by pop culture , 90s Nostalgia and Music. All these aesthetics shaped what he believes to be his signature style. Born in the Bronx Ny, and raised a military brat, he has always been surrounded by diversity which plays a very big part in his creative outlets for inspiration. He is never not creating without music. Tom Tom Club, Genius of Love being his personal theme, with Stacey Lattisaw’s Attack of the Name Game running close behind. He enjoys dabbling in all forms of creativity and its outlets for as he says “it’s just heartbeats for my monster.”
Visual
Artist
Courtney Castleman

I’m a digital artist with ADHD who specializes in hand-drawn illustrations, comics, and storyboarding! I occasionally do traditional acrylic paintings as well. I was born and raised in Spokane, my grandfather’s art career was one of the things that inspired me growing up. I’m trying to kickstart my art career as best as I can. Eventually, I’d like to be able to fully support myself with art as my career. In my free time outside of my current job, I am taking care of my Shiba Inu named Nyva! She’s a cutie, and sometimes a troublemaker haha!
Film
Event: Opens July 15
Benny & Joon 30th Anniversary

This July, Spokane celebrates the 30th anniversary of Benny & Joon! The locally-filmed cinematic treasure screens at the one and only Garland Theater on Saturday, July 15th, followed by a short film by Hamilton Studio commemorating the anniversary, and a live in-person Q&A with select local cast and crew. All month long, participating businesses throughout Spokane will create a city-wide trip down memory lane – including Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane Public Library, Ferguson’s Cafe, The Scoop, Spokast!, Hamilton Studio, and more. Join us to keep up to date on our plans at @bennyandjoonspokane on Facebook & Instagram.
Cultural
Event: Opens August 26
The Root Experience Festival

The Root Experience is a 2-night festival featuring BIPOC talent from various cultures and disciplines. The festival celebrates regional filmmakers, artists, culture bearers, musicians, and the stories they weave through their art. The goal is to uplift their narratives of culture, family, beauty, and resilience to create a network that empowers living stories and heals elements of the past and present. When talking about indigenous cultures, we must recognize the borders (state & continental) that have been placed by the act of colonization. In doing so, people of the same/ similar cultures have had their homelands divided and people they love placed on opposite sides of these borders. The Root Experience is hoping to help erase these borders by decolonizing art and social practice, providing safe and inclusive spaces to present, while connecting, partnering, and sparking conversation with our communities in the Pacific Northwest (defined as Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Alberta (CAN), and British Columbia (CAN)).
Film
Event: May 25
9th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival

The Spokane Riverkeeper is thrilled to bring the greater Spokane community together for our 9th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Please join us again LIVE at the Garland Theater on Thursday, May 25th from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. for an array of environmental films that will leave you inspired. This event is a benefit for the Spokane Riverkeeper and all proceeds support the work we are doing to protect your River. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Films start at 7:00 p.m.