How much does it cost to see the movies?

$18.00. Filmmakers screened at the festival are admitted free.

How many seats does the Market Theater have?

The atmospheric Market Theater has 230 seats. The screenings encourage audience dialogue, a let’s-watch-some-movies-together-and-talk-about-them atmosphere. It’s casual.

How long does the festival last?

The festival is a half-day event ending in the late evening. It has traditionally been divided into five screening segments with 20-minute discussion breaks following each group. Breaks for merry-making at the Alibi Room are also encouraged between segments and at the end of the last screening to talk movies. With its rise in popularity the festival is considering expansion.

Where does the money go?

Proceeds benefit the Pike Market Childcare and Preschool which resides in Pike Place Market, Seattle, and serves the low-income community. The festival also benefits WIF/Seattle, part of the international WIF, a non-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing opportunities for women in the film, television, video and new media industries. WIF also supports programs supporting women in the entertainment industry.

Are there any awards given?

Yes. There is an “Audience Choice” trophy awarded. So please vote.

What’s the size of the festival?

Post Alley Film Festival is small, but growing; therefore, judging is very selective. Some films are solicited by the curator; other submissions are judged by a review panel of Seattle film industry professionals. The festival screens about two dozen hand-picked short films, ranging from five to twenty minutes in length. 

How do I submit a film?

Get a submission form from our website now, or download it from Women in Film web site (www.womeninfilm-seattle.org).

How long does the festival last?

The festival is a half-day event ending in the late evening. It has traditionally been divided into five screening segments with twenty-minute discussion breaks following each group. Breaks for merry-making at the Alibi Room are also encouraged between segments and at the end of the last screening to talk movies. With its rise in popularity the festival is considering expansion.

What’s the history of the Market Theater?

The Market Theater was a stable for the horses of farmers who began the Public Market, back in 1907. The Economy Building, where the theater now resides, was later sectioned off into warehouses. In 1977, after Pike Place Public Market was saved from development, the Pike Place Public Development Authority wanted to encourage an evening trade. They leased the space to cinema entrepreneurs who built a movie house. It included old movie theatre seats, a brass front door from a New York theatre and carpet remnants from the original Radio City Music Hall lobby (believe it or not!) Unfortunately these cinema buff speculators were unable to turn a profit, and the cinema closed, circa 1989. It became home to Unexpected Productions (UP) in 1991.

What’s with all the gum on the wall?

Patrons standing in line for shows created the Gum Wall soon after Unexpected Productions moved into the Theater. Someone birthed it by sticking a penny to the wall. Soon the wall was covered with coins: alternative graffiti. Then some financially challenged person, it’s suspected, stripped off all the coins leaving only the gum. Now it has become a funky jumble of gum, coins, and various other designs. For years Pike Place Market PDA asked UP to clean the Gum Wall, but UP decided it's now part of the Market's history and has a certain charm; so the Gum Wall stayed. It's a stop on Market tours and was mentioned in USA Today as one of the ten great places illustrating quirky Americana.