01/17 Short Film Fest (Americas) – Blind Tasting Buddies
Wine Tasting, Saturday January 17th, 2026, Seattle
Wine Lineup:
- NV Mumm Napa California Sparkling Wine Cuvée M Red Napa Valley, CA
- 2022 Echeverría Curico Valley Chardonnay ¡ No Es Pituko ! Valle Central, CL
- 2021 Rocamadre Criolla Uco Valley, AR
- 2020 Sass Winery Gamay Noir Walnut Ridge Vineyard Willamette Valley, OR
- 2017 Vinícola Adobe Guadalupe Red Wine Rafael Baja California, MX
- 2022 Chalk Hill Syrah Sonoma County, CA
- 2007 Château des Charmes Savagnin Icewine St. David’s Bench Vineyard Niagara Peninsula, ON – half bottle
To kick off an exciting 2026 season of events with Medium Plus, we present a film-wine collab with M+ cellar manager Jordan Hayward, and wine dictator Nick Davis.
Film is a shared interest between Jordan and Nick, and both enjoy the artistry and technique of fine cinema, which are often hightened by the constrained parameters of short-form works. The first film event by Medium Plus dates back to 2016, in the hosting of the SOMM 2 debut in Seattle and Walla Walla, followed by other film events in future years. We are excited to again highlight the wonderful world of film, along with some wonderful wines to enjoy during the showing!
For this event, all of the films in this program come from the Americas, spanning North, Central, and South America, plus the Caribbean, for a wide-angle look at short-form cinema across the hemisphere.
Remarks by Jordan Hayward, Medium Plus cellar manager:
“What unites each of these films is their interest with a state of transition. The short film format capitalizes on each filmmakers’ resistance to complete resolution, instead these stories trust the viewer to sit with these incomplete narratives. Rather than providing clear cut endings, this collection aims to showcase cinema as an experiential medium: a way to feel time, space, and self shifting.”
List of films, notes by Jordan:
Terminal Norte (North Terminal) – (2021, Argentina, 37 min)
I selected North Terminal for its quiet attention to movement and waiting—how transit spaces become emotional landscapes. Lucrecia Martel’s doc, set during the 2020 lockdown, captures a feeling I’m drawn to: being suspended between departure and arrival, where meaning is felt more than explained.
Time Piece – (1965, USA, 9 min)
Time Piece feels like cinema discovering its own elasticity. A hidden gem from the man who brought us the Muppets. I chose it because it treats time as something playful and physical, reminding us that film can bend, stretch, and joke with our expectations while still revealing something deeply human.
Christmas at Moose Factory – (1971, Canada, 13 min)
This film was chosen for its unvarnished intimacy. Christmas at Moose Factory comes from the perspective of children, presented in doodles made in crayon. It resists sentimentality while still feeling warm, allowing daily life and ritual to speak for themselves. I’m drawn to how it observes without interpreting, trusting the viewer to meet it halfway.
Nimic – (2019, USA/Greece/Germany, 12 min)
A short from Yorgos Lanthimos, a director who has recently been in the spotlight with hit feature films like Poor Things (2023) and Bugonia (2025). I included Nimic because it unsettles identity in a way that feels both absurd and eerily plausible. It asks how much of who we are is performance, habit, or imitation—questions that linger long after its final, disorienting turn.
Amblin’ – (1968, USA, 26 min)
The film which started it all for legendary director Steven Spielberg. Amblin’ is here as a reminder of how much can be said with almost nothing. Its simplicity—two people moving through space—becomes quietly profound, capturing freedom, uncertainty, and companionship without a single line of dialogue.
Multi-Facial – (1995, USA, 20 min)
Before he became the face of the hit franchise Fast & Furious, Vin Diesel helmed this short indie film about mixed racial identity. I chose Multi-Facial for its raw urgency and direct confrontation with how identity is read, misread, and weaponized. It’s formally spare but emotionally charged, and it speaks to systems that haven’t changed nearly as much as we pretend they have.
Verde (Green) – (2016, Mexico, 22 min)
Alonso Ruizpalacios is one of my favorite Mexican filmmakers operating today. Green stood out to me as a meditation on landscape as an emotional force. It’s less about narrative than sensation, using color and environment to evoke a sense of unease that feels ecological, psychological, and strangely intimate.
Recife Frio (Cold Tropics) – (2009, Brazil, 22 min)
Kleber Mendonça Filho presents this mockumentary shining a critical light on issues around climate, urban development and social interaction. I included Cold Tropics for its hypnotic attention to bodies, labor, and climate. It blurs the line between documentary and abstraction, inviting us to sit with repetition and texture until they begin to feel quietly political.
Attendance:
- Nick D.
- Michele D.
- Jordan H.
- Andrea M.
- Peter N.
- John Z.
- Laura Z.
