When I phoned Seattle community organizer and filmmaker Sophie Amity Debs to chat about the second Seattle Trans Underground Film Festival, known as STUFF, taking place October 15–18 at the Northwest Film Forum, I admittedly didn’t know what to expect. What I did know is how much I appreciated Debs and her fellow lead programmer Kory Caldwell for stepping into the void after Three Dollar Bill Cinema was forced to discontinue the popular TRANSlations Film Festival after 20 years.
“I think when [Kory and I] heard that there wasn't going to be a dedicated spot for Trans film in Seattle, we were really concerned,” said Debs. “I think, especially at a time when there's a lot of attacks nationwide on Trans rights and even locally against the Trans community, it felt important for us that the ways that Trans people are expressing themselves can be seen … by not just other Trans people in our community but by everyone.”
“Basically, I love to see something that I think the community needs and then try to make it happen,” she continued. “I also throw the Seattle Zine Fest, and I also built up this program for helping Trans folks relocate [to Washington] and other blue states around the country.”
“STUFF became … like a crossover effort between myself and Kory. We pulled our experience throwing events together, and then with the Seattle Trans Film Union, which had been doing movie nights and zines and things like that, the festival emerged from there.”
Emerge it did. Last year’s inaugural event was an immediate hit, selling out almost every showing throughout the October weekend. Now Debs is back with a second iteration, and she and her fellow programmers are getting the final lineup solidified for the four-day event.
“It's a lot of fun,” she admitted happily. “But also exhausting. We have been watching films since the submissions started rolling in. I think if we played them all back-to-back, it would be almost three full days. … We really look for what we think will speak to people and also try to find voices that people don't get to hear from that often… people from different backgrounds, or people who just have a really unique take, or films that I think are not necessarily going to get reception from the mainstream — stuff like that. While we’re always excited when there's a Trans director who makes it, like Jane Schoenbrun, that's absurdly rare. I think Trans cinema has kind of always been on the margins.”
Programming
This gets into the core mission Debs sees for STUFF, and why she’s thrown herself into making the festival a success with such abandon. “We want to uplift the films of Trans people, and especially Trans people who are working on the margins,” she said. “One of my favorite films from last year’s STUFF, I Can Be Killed, was about a Trans guy who goes through a DIY top surgery, and it's a kind of an erotic horror film. I think we like to program stuff that we think will excite people, but also make sure that we've got something for everybody.
“This year, we've got a bunch of fun documentaries as well as a bunch of narrative pieces. There's one I'm excited about that we might be able to program for [those] interested in animation. But we also have films for people who are interested in nature, people who are interested in comedies, people who are interested in slashers. We try and find the programs that we think will really speak to people.”
For Debs, the hardest and most infuriating part of programming an event like STUFF is having to go back to so many filmmakers and tell them that their submission won’t be a part of the program. It’s certainly a feeling I could relate to, having assisted in programming TRANSlations back in its early days. “It's so heartbreaking,” said Debs. “It’s the worst. I think we feel like every submission has a lot of heart. We wish that we could play literally everything. I think we see a lot of good in every submission, and to every single filmmaker that's submitted to STUFF, we send a personalized note telling them aspects of their film that we responded to. I think that type of response is important.”
Trans film
Just because TRANSlations has gone away, that does not mean Trans film has suddenly vanished. Attacks on the Trans community more virulent and vicious than ever, so having a festival like STUFF is more important than ever.
“We're very lucky that Trans people are having such a wide variety of experiences that, even in the midst of all of these attacks, there is so much Trans joy and Trans love and Trans laughter to be found,” said Debs. “I think we should appreciate that.
“We don't actually get a ton of submissions that are just like, ‘I am being attacked by the government.’ Almost zero. I think actually most of the horror and of the bad things that we're programming are people's very intimate depictions of dysphoria and violence or just things unrelated to being Trans, like slasher flicks that just happened to feature a Trans ensemble.
“In film, we can explore things that we aren't necessarily able to do in our lives or that are dangerous. We can explore those feelings and ask where we go from there, where we take this oppression and see where we go next. I think being able to explore the ways that it makes us feel and the ways that Trans people are still thriving and still fighting through all of this … is really powerful.
“Yes, a lot of what we see [in the submissions] is informed by the current political landscape, but I also think the current active repression is inspiring a lot of Trans people to say, ‘I have got to get my voice out there. I have to get people to hear it.’”
NWFF
None of this would be possible without STUFF’s continued partnership with the Northwest Film Forum. “They're incredible,” said Debs. “We absolutely adore the Northwest Film Forum. I live on Capitol Hill, and before we were throwing this festival, I was always at NWFF. It's such an institution. They've been hugely supportive. Also, as we are a masked event, NWFF is one of the very few venues that accommodates that. We want to make sure that we are keeping our community safe when we were doing this.
“We're lucky that Northwest Film Forum platforms Trans film year-round. This is awesome. We actually program ‘WTF! Wednesday Trans Film’ with NWFF every month on the third Wednesday. This was … something that they approached us with. We're very aligned on the mission of uplifting Trans film and making sure that there is a place in Seattle where people can see them… [in the] hub for Trans life here in Seattle.”
For people who want to volunteer or make a donation to keep STUFF happening each year, Debs is eager to have them get involved. Donations can be made at https://seattletransfilmfest.org, or contact [email protected] to join the mailing list, to volunteer, or to get involved in any capacity.
“I think the main thing is just getting the word out,” Debs said. “We're really excited to have the biggest audience ever for STUFF 2026. We look forward to seeing everyone there.”
The Seattle Trans Underground Film Festival will run October 15 thru 18, with all screenings at the Northwest Film Forum. The full lineup for this year’s festival was announced on September 15.
Go to https://seattletransfilmfest.org for additional information about STUFF and for a full lineup of WTF! Wednesday Trans Film selections through January 2027.
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