The Grand Illusion

SECS Fest is a sex-positive international film festival presented by the Seattle Erotica Cinema Society (SECS), celebrating the artistry of erotic cinema while inspiring diverse communities to engage in adult conversations about sex.

This year’s festival lineup is as follows:

CAFÉ FLESH (new 4K restoration) – Nov. 8 at 7pm

DARK FANTASY (short films) – Nov. 8 at 9pm

OLD-SCHOOL/NEW-SCHOOL (short films) – Nov. 9 at 3pm

POST-P**N (short films) – Nov. 9 at 5pm

ROOMMATES (new 2K restoration) – Nov. 9 at 7:30pm

SEX 101 (short films) – Nov. 10 at 4:30pm

HIDDEN FLORA – Nov. 10 at 7pm

Series Passes are also available!

Free screening in honor of Native American Heritage Month!

Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis disappeared over two years ago from the Tulalip Indian reservation. Because the investigation is at a standstill, her sisters and other tribal members set off to discover what happened to her. Their quest uncovers a harsh reality: indigenous women are murdered at an alarming rate. Most crimes go unsolved and are committed by non-natives in 2020. Her story exposes how hundreds of indigenous women continue to go missing in the USA, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on Indian reservations. From the filmmaker of THE STATE OF TEXAS VS MELISSA Sabrina Van Tassel. Executive produced by Deborah Parker, activist and the ex-Vice Chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes. 

“Though viewers may walk away infuriated and angered by the continued cycle of destruction and injustice towards indigenous women, Missing From Fire Trail Road does a great job of explaining the problem. It also shows there will be no lasting solutions until laws and the people in control who perpetuate ongoing colonialism and all the trauma it brings, change. Through it all, however, every woman featured in the film is a force that will inspire, and might even move every member of the film’s audience to take action.” Leslie Combemale, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Screenings are co-presented with Mother Nation and we ask that you support them with a donation this month. You can donate directly to them at their website or in-person at these screenings.

FYI, free ticket reservations will begin one week prior to the film’s showtime.

Funding for this screening provided by 4Culture’s Sustained Support grant.

HAPPY GNAWLIDAYS! - 7th and 8th encore screenings added!

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

Created by Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, the duo behind the modern cult hit LAKE MICHIGAN MONSTER (2018).

“Starts strange, gets stranger, and yet remains resolutely adorable… embraces the defiant glee of art cinema and distills it into something so thoroughly pure and sincere that it is surely hard not to fall in love with it.” Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Alliance of Women Film Journalists

“It’s sure to develop a significant cult following with its unique mix of silent-era slapstick, animation elements, theme-park-style critter costumes, and general air of inspired absurdity.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“Steroidally swollen with gags and smarts.” Guy Maddin

In the heart of a bustling Times Square kitchen, dreams and desperation collide as the back-of-house staff each chase the elusive American dream. When money goes missing from the till, the spotlight falls on Pedro (Raúl Briones), a passionate dreamer entangled in a tumultuous love affair with Julia (Rooney Mara), a waitress grappling with her own commitments. As tensions rise and shocking revelations unfold, the relentless pace of the kitchen threatens to shatter the hopes and aspirations of those who keep it running. It's a high-stakes drama that explores the intersection of the personal ambition and systemic exploitation of undocumented immigrant workers within the pressure-cooker environment of a Times Square New York restaurant.

In English and Spanish (with English subtitles).

“A monumental work of righteous anger… a wonder to see, feel, and take in.” Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com

“A chaotic symphony [that] mixes biting social critique with stylistic bravura… If the United States is a melting pot, this is the furnace.” Peter Debruge, Variety

PLAYLAND conjures a time-bending night in Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bar. Featuring an eclectic ensemble of queer performers, including drag icon Lady Bunny and POSE’s Danielle Cooper, this transdisciplinary film sees music, dance, archival footage, tableaux, opera, and performance art layered into an ethereal piece subverting all boundaries. The work of queer fantasy and history takes place inside the empty husk of the Playland Café. Although the cafe shut down in the late ’90s, PLAYLAND stages one last bawdy night on the town for the ghosts of their LGBTQ+ ancestors.

“West’s film is a haunted house, a tribute to these ghosts and the living queers most deliciously possessed.” Drew Gregory, Autostraddle

An up-close cinematic walkabout through the life of Gary Young, the original (and highly unlikely) drummer of indie rock royalty Pavement. His booze and drugs-fueled antics (on-stage handstands, gifting vegetables to fans) and haphazard production methods (accidentally helping launch the lo-fi aesthetic) were both a driving force of the band's early rise and the cause of his eventual crash landing. Leaving a wake of joy and/or destruction at every turn, Gary teeters the thin line between free-form self-expression and chaotic self-destruction. Thirty years on with scoliosis, blood clots, and a shriveled liver, Gary continued drumming with no regrets.

Starring Gary Young and featuring Pavement members Stephen Malkmus, Scott Kannberg, Bob Nastanovich, and Mark Ibold.

“As unique and wide-ranging as its subject’s venerated drum skills.” Mike DeAngelo, The Playlist

“A must-watch film for any Pavement fan, especially those wanting to know more about the indie rockers’ formative days.” David Roy, The Irish News

“Not only a film about Pavement percussionist Gary Young, but also a shattering exploration of destiny, creativity, and existence.” Alyssa Miller, No Film School

Free screening in honor of Native American Heritage Month!

Buddy Red Bow (A Martinez) is struggling, in the face of greedy developers, to keep his nation on a Montana Cheyenne Reservation financially solvent and independent. Philbert (Gary Farmer), his easygoing friend, pursues Native wisdom and lore wherever he can find it—even on “Bonanza.” As the two set off on a journey to bail out Buddy’s imprisoned sister, Philbert’s gentle faith challenges Buddy’s hard-edged view of the world, and together they face the realities and dreams of being Cheyenne in the modern-day U.S. Native American spirituality abounds in this bittersweet portrait of two Cheyenne men on a journey through the American West and their own identities.

Screenings are co-presented with Mother Nation and we ask that you support them with a donation this month. You can donate directly to them at their website or in-person at these screenings.

Free ticket reservations will begin one week prior to the film’s showtime.

Funding for this screening provided by 4Culture’s Sustained Support grant.

“One of the reasons we go to movies is to meet people we have not met before. It will be a long time before I forget Farmer, who disappears into the Philbert role so completely we almost think he is this simple, openhearted man – until we learn he’s an actor and teacher from near Toronto. It’s one of the most wholly convincing performances I’ve seen.” Roger Ebert

These days, there’s a lot of talk about outsiders in politics, but very few people can claim outsider status like Joe Keithley, punk legend turned a dedicated environmentalist and city councilor. SOMETHING BETTER CHANGE follows Keithley’s absolutely fascinating life and career, showing us both his time as the front man of the formative hardcore punk band D.O.A., as well as his campaigns for city council as a Green Party candidate in his hometown of Burnaby, British Columbia. Featuring interviews with other punk luminaries like Jello Biafra and Ian MacKaye, as well as an appearance from Beto O’Rourke, whether you’re a hardcore punk fan or just a civically engaged citizen, Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine director Scott Crawford’s latest film has a little something for everyone. – Daniel Abelow

Featuring an in-person Q&A with Joe Keithley and filmmaker Scott Crawford!

10th anniversary director's cut! Q&A with filmmaker Scott Crawford.

SALAD DAYS examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows - without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.

This director’s cut will only be available in cinemas and not available on physical media or streaming (at least anytime soon).

30th anniversary! New 35mm print of Quentin Tarantino's groundbreaking crime classic!

Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions, whose story is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), his wife Mia (Uma Thurman), struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), and a nervous pair of armed robbers, "Pumpkin" (Tim Roth) and "Honey Bunny" (Amanda Plummer).

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“A spectacularly entertaining piece of pop culture.” Todd McCarthy, Variety

“It’s a film that still satisfies like a ‘quarter-pounder with cheese’ – then hits like a bullet to the gut.” Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent

A new restoration of one of the great cult classics of the 1980s, starring character actors Kevin J O’Conner and Harris Yulin, with a supporting cast featuring real-life music legends Tom Waits, Leon Redbone, Joe Strummer, Dr. John, David Johansen and more. CANDY MOUNTAIN combines the keen eye of legendary photographer Robert Frank with novelist/screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer’s mythic American prose to produce the quintessential road movie.

New York City, 1980s. A struggling, deadbeat musician named Julius has fallen on hard times. With no guitar, band or paying gigs, he cooks up a get-rich-quick scheme – to find the legendary, yet elusive guitar-maker Elmore Silk. Considered one of the greatest luthiers in the business, Silk’s disappearance from the scene has only made his work more coveted by musicians and executives looking to make a buck off his name. Julius agrees to track the man down and sets out on the road. Meant to be a simple journey upstate, Julius stumbles down a long, winding road full of dead-ends and wrong turns towards an eventual revelatory conclusion in the Canadian wilderness.

“Ambling along like a wry, laid-back Heart of Darkness, this likable and touching film makes good use of Frank’s remarkable photographic eye and Wurlitzer’s witty, acerbic, and quasi-mystical handling of myth that has served him well in his novels.” Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

“Watching Candy Mountain, we’re lulled into a mood of uncertain but pleasurable anticipation. It’s the kind of sensation that comes from not quite knowing where you are, or where you’ll wind up next, like driving through unfamiliar territory without a map. This isn’t an experience that we encounter much at the movies these days, and that’s not meant as a criticism; it’s high praise.” Hal Hinson, Washington Post

BOOM chronicles one of rock ‘n’ roll’s wildest and most influential bands: The Sonics. For the first time ever, all five original members explore how a relatively unknown band from the Pacific Northwest became a worldwide phenomenon 50 years later, shaping music for decades to come. Featuring interviews with homegrown heroes and breakthrough artists alike, including Pearl Jam, The Sex Pistols, Heart, Mudhoney, and many, many more.

Filmmaker Jordan Albertsen scheduled to be in attendance for a live Q&A at each screening!

“Brilliantly displays why The Sonics are so important. It’s clear that this film will further cement the legacy of one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time.” Glen Casebeer, Northwest Music Scene

“The spirit of BOOM is as righteous and undeniable as Gerry Roslie’s howl.” Dave Segal, The Stranger

THIS SEARCH FOR MEANING charts Placebo’s ongoing impact and legacy through a visual meditation on contemporary themes such as surveillance culture & scrutiny, sexuality & gender identity, addiction & trauma, as well as the climate crisis. These significant and weighty themes are explored in both an informal and personally authored manner through brand new interviews with band members Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal.

The film’s overall narrative is structured around incredible and completely new performances of Placebo’s latest songs, captured at Britain’s legendary Twickenham Film Studios. The documentary also features rare archive interviews with David Bowie, along with exclusive interviews with Yungblud, Shirley Manson, Joe Talbot of Idles, Robbie Williams and others.

Free screening in honor of Native American Heritage Month!

Conceived by Navajo Nation Museum director Manuelito Wheeler and his wife Jennifer, this version of STAR WARS: EPISODE IV – A NEW HOPE is dubbed in the Navajo language and voiced by nearly 70 Navajo voice actors. It is the first major motion picture ever dubbed into a Native language. In Navajo with English subtitles (obviously!).

PLEASE NOTE: it is based on the "Special Edition" of STAR WARS with the added scenes and CGI.

Screenings are co-presented with Mother Nation and we ask that you support them with a donation this month. You can donate directly to them at their website or in-person at these screenings.

FYI, free ticket reservations will begin one week prior to the film’s showtime.

Funding for this screening provided by 4Culture’s Sustained Support grant.

Santa Claus is coming to town... and this time he’s got an axe! Community leaders tried to stop it. The P.T.A. fought to ban it. Now, one of the most controversial slasher films of all time is back for its 40th anniversary, restored from the original camera negative. SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT is the demented story of little Billy Chapman, traumatized by his parents’ Christmas Eve murder and then brutalized by sadistic nuns in an orphanage. When Billy grows up and dresses as Santa, he goes on a yuletide rampage to punish the naughty with extreme prejudice. Robert Brian Wilson and Linnea Quigley (NIGHT OF THE DEMONS) star in this harrowing horror classic that continues to ruffle the feathers of angry parents and stuffy critics forty years later.

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“Buried beneath the blood-soaked Santa suit, Silent Night, Deadly Night has something a lot of slasher films lack – a unique identity, and thus cult film status.” Matthew Rozsa, Salon.com

“I would like to hear the filmmakers explain to their children and their grandchildren that it’s only a movie.” Roger Ebert

75th anniversary! Join us for this special fundraiser screening of Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN. We need your help to build an even grander Grand Illusion and the proceeds from your $25 ticket purchase will go towards our relocation. Plus you get to see one of the greatest films of all time restored in 4K!

Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives in a bombed-out, post-war Vienna at the invitation of his childhood friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) only to find him dead. Martins develops the ultimate conspiracy theory after learning of a “third man” present at the time of Harry’s death, butting up against interference from British police officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), and falling head-over-heels for Harry’s grief-stricken lover Anna (Alida Valli).

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“The best revelation in all of cinema.” Martin Scorsese

“Exquisite! Encapsulates all the reasons we go to the movies!” Stephanie Zacharek, The Village Voice

“I’ve seen it 50 times and it’s still magic.” Roger Ebert

50th anniversary!

Years before he crafted the ultimate comedic yuletime experience, A CHRISTMAS STORY, genre pioneer Bob Clark gave us one of the most influential Hitchcockian slashers of all time. When sorority sisters Olivia Hussey (ROMEO & JULIET), Margot Kidder (SUPERMAN) and Andrea Martin (SCTV) are under attack from a vicious, obscene killer, it’s up to police chief John Saxon (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) to even the odds. But what about Keir Dullea (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY), the brooding art-school pianist? Could he have something to do with the Christmas rampage? One part frosty Christmas atmosphere, one part stalk ‘n’ slash magnificence, and all parts awesome, BLACK CHRISTMAS is a timeless, terrifying, and demented holiday tradition that gets everything right.

Part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration Series!

“Bob Clark’s Black Christmas is a masterful exercise in tension. That it happens to be one of the most progressive horror films of the ’70s is just an added bonus.” Trace Thurman, Horror Queers Podcast

“There’s no doubting that Black Christmas had all the advantages of being first of its kind. The film stands as the mother of the modern slasher. It was able to make its own rules, and subsequently created a template for the films that came after.” Jourdain Searles, Thrillist

Anime Expo Cinema Nights (AXCN) presents a special concert film of the band BABYMETAL with their worldwide tour Legend - 43. In April 2023, SU-METAL (Vocal, Dance), MOAMETAL (Scream, Dance), and MOMOMETAL (Scream, Dance) entered a new stage as the newly born BABYMETAL. Since then, they have embarked on their largest world tour, "BABYMETAL WORLD TOUR 2023 - 2024," which took them to 25 countries, including Japan. The headline tour, excluding festivals and guest acts, drew a cumulative audience of more than 280,000 people for a total of 98 performances. The final chapter of the world tour, the first Okinawa performance "TOUR FINAL IN JAPAN LEGEND - 43", has been fully filmed. The film is BABYMETAL's first live film that allows viewers to experience all of the diverse music, unique worldview, and production that only a tour finale can offer, and the overwhelming performance of BABYMETAL, which has evolved even further during their world tour.

“With just over 80 minutes onstage, the band fly through each song with a sense of unstoppable energy and infectious joy that leaves no question as to how they’ve managed to take pride of place as one of the biggest success stories of 21st Century metal.” Rich Hobson, Metal Hammer