The Capitol Hill cinema that used to go dark on Mondays and Tuesdays will screen films every night starting Monday, Oct. 5.

Northwest Film Forum (NWFF), the nonprofit art-house theater at 1515 12th Ave., is expanding to a full seven-day schedule for the first time with paid staff. The move follows a 62 percent jump in attendance between 2024 and 2025, with numbers already up another 27 percent this fall, The Stranger first reported.

The turnaround is sharp. In April 2024, NWFF laid off nearly half its staff. Now the organization is hiring additional projectionists to cover evening screenings across the expanded schedule.

"Once we were seeing higher attendance, it felt really justified," Executive Director Jill Busby told The Stranger. Busby took over as full-time executive director in January.

More than a decade ago, NWFF ran daily screenings, but those depended on volunteer labor. The new schedule puts paid staff in the booth every night. Volunteers will still participate.

The extra screening days open a practical door for distributors who require "clean screen" runs, where a film plays for a set stretch on its own dedicated screen. NWFF previously lacked the capacity to meet those terms.

Busby said the expansion also creates room for more community events, rentals and partnerships. The Seattle Trans Underground Film Festival, known as STUFF, returns to the venue Thursday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 18.

Director of Exhibition Cole Wilder, whom Busby called a "programming wizard," has shaped much of the recent lineup. October screenings include a restoration of Rufus Butler Seder's 1984 film "Screamplay" on Saturday, Oct. 10, and E. Elias Merhige's 1989 experimental horror film "Begotten" starting Friday, Oct. 23. The month closes with "Collide-O-Scope Halloween," a found-footage event, on Friday, Oct. 30.

NWFF sits a short walk from the Capitol Hill light rail station, between Pike and Pine streets, accessible by bus routes including the 10, 11, 43 and 49. The calendar already lists Monday and Tuesday screenings of "Chronovisor" for Oct. 5–6.