Today’s featured member, Derek Edamura, executive director of Northwest Film Forum, said the nonprofit is a film and arts center located in the heart of the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The mission of the organization seeks to incite public dialogue and creative action through collective experiences. The team works collaboratively with their community towards a vision where all people have the power to to express themselves and connect with one another through visual storytelling and culture.
How are you/is your business active in your community?
Northwest Film Forum connects with the community by presenting hundreds of films, film festivals, community events, multidisciplinary performances, and public discussions. We also offer the community access to education workshops, mentoring programs, and artist services for film and media makers at all stages of their professional development. Artist services include access to space, gear, fiscal sponsorship, grants, and edit labs and technology.
What does an equitable and inclusive regional economy look like to you?
We believe that equity and inclusion in our region means that we focus our resources in the areas that have been historically underserved and marginalized in order to inspire and mentor communities that have not traditionally had access to our industry. We believe that across all sectors our collective strength is uplifted through the infusion of new perspectives and ideas, and we strive to create opportunities for dialogue and collaboration at all levels of the local film industry.
What does your Chamber membership mean to your organization?
We are so excited to be a part of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce because we are at an exciting moment in our organization’s history. We are looking to grow, scale and deepen our impact and engagement with the local community and also throughout the region, and we can only do this by creating meaningful partnerships and connections with local businesses and partners. We believe that we can also help support the growth and development of others by leveraging our traditional skills in visual storytelling, and so we are excited to engage in this community going forward.
Thank you to Northwest Film Forum for being part of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce network. Here at the Chamber, we have 2,500 companies across the region and 13 different business sectors, from your favorite neighborhood restaurant to brands known around the world. Our member feature program is based on referrals. If you would like to learn more about how to be featured in our member features series, please contact Cori Lumens.