Join us as we celebrate another year of insightful storytelling, amazing visuals, and memorable moments in social justice film.

The Social Justice Film Festival is a unique celebration of social justice storytelling. We are more passionate than ever about championing social justice films and independent voices, providing a platform for diverse artists. Our festival is not just about entertainment but also about highlighting activism and the work that challenges us to be better, reflecting the diversity of our world.

Artists and the audience come together to celebrate and discover new films, have constructive conversations, and learn about social justice issues in their community. Through the Social Justice Film Festival, the public has access to narratives and documentaries introducing them to different ethnicities, lifestyles, cultures, languages, religions, and thought-provoking themes and perspectives.

Schedule of Events:

Wednesday, April 9, 2025

6:30 pm - 9:30 pm: SJFF 2025 Opening Night - How We Look at Prisons

Our opening night event is How We Look At Prisons , a collection of documentary films followed by a panel discussion that examines mass incarceration and encourages individuals to envision and strive for a world without policing. Our opening night feature film, Path to Freedom , is a collaboration between the Social Justice Film Institute and Families Shoulder to Shoulder.

Thursday, April 10, 2025

3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 3:00 pm Film Block

During World War II, an extraordinary group of women toiled secretly behind the scenes for the iconic Gibson guitar company, creating the "Banner Gibsons" cherished by musicians and collectors worldwide. - amMA's PRIDE chronicles Valli's trials and tribulations as she watches her trans daughter Srija, fall in love, marry, and fight for state recognition of her marriage in a traditional small town in South India.

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 6:00 pm Film Block

Steve Exxonmobil of The american Petroleum Institute has a message of reassurance for americans. - Young track runner Lucy makes a painful discovery, forcing her to choose between herself and the people close to her. - This documentary weaves interviews with 14 LGBTQ2S+ artists, organizers, and educators across Florida into an intersectional climate justice narrative.

8:30 pm - 10:30 pm: Social Justice Peer Pitch 2025 *FREE EVENT!*

The Social Justice Film Festival will host its Social Justice Peer Pitch program at the Northwest Film Forum on April 10th at 8:30 pm. This unique program will enable four social justice filmmakers to present their new projects to fellow filmmakers and the general audience for feedback, providing everyone with valuable insights and new connections to enhance their filmmaking.

Friday, April 11, 2025

11:00 am - 12:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 11:00 am Film Block - Drama Room

THE HAPPINESS SHOP is more than a retail shop on the streets of Vietnam. It was founded with the unique mission of providing meaningful employment opportunities for women with disabilities. - Lauren shares her story of pregnancy loss and her journey to build a family. - Returning to the IL-Laikipiak Maasai village that her parents left when she was a child, Malih experiences ancestral ways of passing down essential knowledge and modern education methods.

12:30 pm - 2:15 pm: SJFF 2025 - 12:30 pm Film Block - Auditorium

I WISH YOU LOVE reflects that everyone can love others, the world, and themselves. The filmmaker hopes that making great wishes and taking action can fulfill our lives and build a beautiful future for the world. - The story of one man's legal battle to regain american citizenship for more than 5,000 americans of Japanese ancestry forced to renounce amidst turmoil and violence at the Tule Lake Segregation Center.

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 2:00 pm Film Block - Drama Room

An animated dream of displacement and apocalypse. - Dadaab is the world's second-largest refugee camp. Fardowsa, a stateless journalist born and raised in the camp, uses the camp's radio station to become a voice for the voiceless. - The film's hero is an ordinary Moscow schoolboy who experiences what the children in Russia experienced and are experiencing both today and 70 years ago.

3:00 pm - 4:45 pm: SJFF 2025 - 3:00 pm Film Block - Auditorium

Set in Portland, Oregon, NO PLACE TO GROW OLD is the first documentary to capture a growing crisis unfolding quietly across america: older adults aging into homelessness. - A playwright and advocate brings new life into a long-abandoned theater, creating a visual metaphor of recovery and rehabilitation for both the theater and those living in the opiate crisis in Maine.

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 4:00 pm Film Block - Drama Room

This surfing documentary depicts the timeless connection between Great-Great-Grandmother Ocean and her great-grandchildren. HAAGUA recognizes a cultural practice and recreates an original lifestyle. - Niitstitapi (The Real People) journeys across the vast ancestral territory of The Blackfoot Confederacy - an ancient alliance of Blackfoot speaking people bound together by land, language, and culture. - WAITING FOR JUSTICE tells the story of the Isle a la Cross Residential School.

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 5:00 pm Film Block - Auditorium

The Strike is a feature documentary that tells the story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement and, against all odds, launched the largest hunger strike in U.S. history.

7:00 pm - 9:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - King County Reparations Project - Auditorium

Produced at Cascade PBS, this documentary is the first chapter in a series dedicated to capturing the stories of Black individuals who have seen their homes, businesses, and cultural landmarks vanish.

8:30 pm - 10:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 8:30 pm Film Block - Drama Room

In Almeria Province, Spain, a sea of plastic covers the land, creating the largest collection of greenhouses in the world. These hothouses are staffed by African migrants who work in extreme heat conditions. - The intimate story of one woman's attempt to uncover the truth about her father's participation in a lynching, find a way to hold her family accountable, and face the dawning awareness of her own unconscious racism.

Saturday, April 12, 2025

11:00 am - 1:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 11:00 am Film Block - Drama Room

Three different friends find renewed connection as they await pregnancy results at their Los Angeles High School. - 1001cuts explores the careers of Title IX daughters through the experiences of surgeons. It documents the pervasive stereotypes that persist in workplaces designed for and still controlled by men. - I'M RIGHT HERE; MamA offers a raw and intimate look into the life of filmmaker Cristi Bundukamara.

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 12:30 pm Film Block - Auditorium

This short documentary told through the eyes of a young volunteer, follows the activities of an Italian Ukrainian association and other local organizations since the invasion.

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 2:00 pm Film Block - Drama Room

United in purpose in the darkest times, Maggie and Tope pooled resources to establish a children's home, women's empowerment program, and school in Nepal.

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 3:00 pm Film Block - Auditorium

Set in Portland, Oregon, NO PLACE TO GROW OLD is the first documentary to capture a growing crisis unfolding quietly across america: older adults aging into homelessness. - A playwright and advocate brings new life into a long-abandoned theater, creating a visual metaphor of recovery and rehabilitation for both the theater and those living in the opiate crisis in Maine.

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 4:00 pm Film Block - Drama Room

Born from the horrors of wartime sexual violence during the Bosnian War, three members of the Forgotten Children of War Association come forward to share their stories. - In September 1943, 17-year-old Stanis?aw Zalewski was arrested in Warsaw as a member of a Polish resistance group. Now, for the first time, he tells his stirring life story.

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 5:00 pm Film Block - Auditorium

Gath and K'iyh is a community-led creative arts project in Alaska centered on climate change. The community comes together to create music with Yo-Yo Ma as a critical part of collective healing. - In the heart of the amazon Rainforest, the Huni Kuin people are experiencing a profound renaissance of their identity. After enduring decades of cultural suppression, they are embracing their true heritage.

7:00 pm - 9:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - Rites of Passage: Senegal - Auditorium

Rites of Passage is a 25-minute film that highlights a group of African american high school students from Seattle and their journey to Dakar, Senegal.

8:30 pm - 10:00 pm: SJFF 2025 - 8:30 pm Film Block - Drama Room

Mai is a climate activist in South Australia. As the planet burns, hopelessness and despair take their toll on Mai, but she fights on despite seemingly insurmountable odds. - Clad in lingerie, Australian model Stefania Ferrario and influencer Tash Peterson teamed up in Melbourne to raise awareness of animal agriculture's devastating impact on the climate, animals, and people.

Sunday, April 13, 2025

10:30 am - 11:45 am: SJFF 2025 - 10:30 am Film Block - Pacific Tower -Panoramic Room

MONALISA - A CLIMATE STORY portrays a young indigenous woman from the Dayak people who joins a reforestation organization to solve the conflict in her community. - A WOMAN'S ROLE provides commentary on the progress and obstacles to achieving gender equality. - DISCOVERING CATHARINE is a documentary that uncovers the life and legacy of Catharine Waugh McCulloch, a pioneering lawyer, suffragist, and women's rights advocate.

12:00 pm - 1:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 12:00 pm Film Block - Pacific Tower -Panoramic Room

Featuring acclaimed Albuquerque, New Mexico poet Marcial Delgado, "Savior" is a call to action, a cry for help, and a harsh indictment of U.S. Immigration policy. - Inspired by a true story, NEIGHBORHOOD ALERT tells the story of a Black mother who is forced to take extraordinary action to ensure the safety of her teenage son.

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm: SJFF 2025 - 2:00 pm Film Block - Pacific Tower -Panoramic Room

Pending an eviction from their landlord, a brother and sister have no choice but to take matters into their own hands to raise the money and stay off the streets. - For the Cree Nation of Mistissini, land and culture have always been interconnected. People's Story aims to raise awareness of the importance of those two pillars and how they relate to their community.

Date:
April 9 - 13, 2025

Location:
Various Venues in Seattle, WA

Click here to Buy Tickets

Click here for more information