5th Seattle Shorts Film Festival Brings More Female Stars to Its Jury

Seattle, WA, February 16, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The Seattle Shorts Film Festival returns in 2015 to celebrate great films and filmmakers. In 2014, the one-day festival packed the SIFF Film Center with three sold out screening blocks and 28 filmmakers and actors attending from across the country. This year, the jury will be adding four bright new minds to its all female cohort. Seattle Shorts Film Festival recognizes the huge impact women have had in the film industry, and believes that celebrating female voices is vital. The festival is proud to have an all female jury for the second year in a row.

Joining the 2015 Jury will be actress Alicia “Lecy” Goranson, whose career spans two coasts, indie film, television and New York theater. Well known for her role as Becky Conner on ABC’s Roseanne, she was also in Boys Don’t Cry, The Extra Man, Ludlow, Sex and The City, Fringe, Damages, Law and Order: SVU, and is currently a member of Ensemble Studio Theater NY. Actress Lucy Walters gained notoriety as the Woman on the Subway in Steve McQueen's Shame, and was also in The Brass Teapot, Growing Up and Other Lies, B- Side, Big Words, Bastards of Young, and Lies I Told My Little Sister. Lucy has appeared on Bones, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, and Gossip Girl, and currently plays Holly Weaver on Starz’ Power. Actress Shannon Maree Walsh made a splash playing opposite Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, and Adam Levine in Begin Again, which premiered at Toronto in 2013 and closing the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. When she isn’t acting, Shannon works with kids with special needs and has a long-running relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Seattle based film publicist and communications professional Ryan Davis has worked in almost every aspect of the film business, as well as for local nonprofit indie arts organizations including Northwest Film Forum and Northwest Folklife. Ryan is assistant director of Couch Fest Films, serves on the jury for the International Documentary Challenge, and is a film content contributor to the online magazines American Standard Time and examiner.com. She has placed stories in CNN and The New York Times, and Co-founded Smarthouse Creative, an agency focused on promoting and amplifying the work of independent filmmakers.

The festival call for entries is currently open. Films from 5-30 minutes in length can be submitted through Withoutabox and Film Freeway till June 30th. Submission categories are Narrative, Documentary, Animation, and College Student Shorts, which features a entrance fee of just $10. The 2015 festival will expand to 2-days, November 14th and 15th. Queen Anne’s beautiful Marqueen Hotel will be returning this year as the official hotel sponsor.

The Seattle Shorts Film Festival brings Seattle film lovers the very best of short films from around the globe. The festival is held at the SIFF Film Center, a state-of-the-art 95 seat jewelbox cinema inside the Seattle Center. For a full listing of films, special events and upcoming announcements visit the official Seattle Shorts Film Festival website.