Newsletter September 2024: Announcing the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival!

Hello Seattle Worldcon Fan!

Announcing the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival!

Seattle Worldcon 2025 is proud to dedicate a room for all five days of the convention exclusively for showcasing speculative fiction films. This room will be the home of the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival.

If you’re a cinephile, a filmmaker, or just a lover of speculative fiction, make sure to spend some of your time at the Worldcon in the festival room. The festival promises to be an exhilarating celebration of creativity, diversity, and the magic of the silver screen.

The Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival is not your run-of-the-mill film event. It’s a carefully curated showcase of independent films that fall under the umbrella of speculative fiction. Whether you’re into mind-bending science fiction, epic fantasy, or spine-tingling horror, this festival has something for everyone. And the best part? It’s a judged festival, so you’ll be treated to the cream of the crop—films that push boundaries, challenge conventions, and transport you to otherworldly realms.

Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival logo, with the text over a stylized film strip.

Calling All Filmmakers

Are you a filmmaker with a passion for speculative storytelling? This is your chance to shine! The submission window for the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival opens on September 1, 2024 and closes on March 31, 2025. We encourage filmmakers from all backgrounds to submit their works. And here’s the icing on the cake: if you’re a BIPOC or a woman director, the submission fee is waived. So, dust off that camera, polish your script, and get ready to share your vision with the world. For more information on submitting films, please see the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Film Festival webpage on FilmFreeway.

“Best of” Samplers From Other Film Festivals

But wait, there’s more! The festival isn’t just about showcasing submitted films. We’re also rolling out the red carpet for “best of” samplers from other fannish film festivals. If you run a festival—whether it’s on the West Coast or beyond—reach out to our festival director Shawn Marier (shawn.marier@seattlein2025.org). Let’s cross-pollinate creativity and promote the incredible work happening in the world of speculative cinema.

Seattle Worldcon Member Registration Portal Has Launched

After many months of software development, our registration portal is live! The portal provides a one-stop, self-service kiosk where you can:

  • Look up your membership information
  • Upgrade an existing membership
  • Purchase a new membership; and/or
  • Make a donation to Seattle Worldcon 2025 or the Seattle Worldcon 2025 Community Fund

Start from our memberships page which explains membership options and the Worldcon membership structure, or go directly to the portal. The portal gives you an option to log in through a Google account or receive a sign-in link through an email address. If you have a membership already, be sure to use the same Google account or email address which is associated with the membership. The first time you log in, you will be asked to enter or verify personal information, and you will need to click a box agreeing to abide by our code of conduct. You will also be given the opportunity to indicate special interests, such as volunteering, or participating in the program, dealers’ room, or art show.

Once this information is entered, you will be taken to a screen showing items available for purchase. If you do not have a membership, please remember that purchasing an attending or virtual membership is a two-part process; you must first choose “WSFS Membership (50.00)” to see the attending membership and virtual membership options. If you already have a membership, the options you will see will be upgrade and donation options. If you are unsure what the options mean, you can click “Home” to verify what membership level you currently have. A help page is available, and if you get stuck you can email registration for assistance.

We anticipate that regular attending membership rates will rise in October (date to be announced), so if you need to upgrade from a WSFS-only membership, this is a good time. While the regular rate will rise, the special Friend of Worldcon membership and reduced rate attending membership levels will remain the same.

Thank you to the ConTroll™ team for their work adapting their registration system to the needs of our Worldcon.

Facilities Update!

Hotels: We expect reservations to open no later than October 15. Links will be posted for the Sheraton, the three Hyatt group properties, and the Mayflower. If you are interested in booking a suite at the Sheraton, see below.

Parties: The Sheraton is the headquarters hotel and the only property that will permit outside food and beverage service in hospitality rooms. If you intend to host an open party, you will want to be in the Sheraton. Closer to the convention, please contact our party support staff for additional information.

Suites: If you wish to obtain a suite for hospitality purposes at the Sheraton, or for personal use, we will have a separate application process. After reservations open, we will take requests and determine how to allocate the suites we have available at the Sheraton.

Staffing: The Facilities Division is hiring. Please see the volunteers page for information.

The Sheraton Grand Hotel Seattle against the Seattle downtown skyline on a bright sunny summer day.

Accessibility Needs?

Will you have any accessibility needs at Seattle Worldcon 2025? We want to help! Please let us know in the registration portal, by selecting the appropriate checkbox in the “Edit Interests” section. We will follow up to request/provide more information.

With our hotel blocks expected to open up in the near future, we will communicate to people who have checked this box about the process for early booking of accessible rooms. Do this ASAP so you don’t miss it! Accessibility assistance may also include help with mobility scooter rental, sign language interpretation, and other services as available.

A light-skinned person wearing pink and purple retro-futuristic clothing and helmet sits in a floating chair, holding one hand out gesturing to the viewer's right.

Come work with us!

Volunteer positions are currently available and many more will be opening up as the convention approaches. Let us know you are interested by filling out the volunteer form early! You can find it here on the website, and keep an eye on this page as more roles become available.

Seattle’s program will feature a lot of hands-on and interactive content. Want to be a panelist? Here’s the form: Panelists and Presenters. Have panel suggestions? Tell us: Panel Suggestions.