OUR MISSION

Scarecrow Video is dedicated to championing the indispensable role of film arts in community, cultural, and civic life.  

OUR GOALS

We are committed to: building film literacy, ensuring full public access to the largest privately held video and physical media archive in the United States, advancing cultural and educational enrichment through community-based programming, and supporting the arts capacity of civic groups, educational institutions, and nonprofits in the Puget Sound area.

OUR VISION

Scarecrow Video is founded upon a very basic value: We believe all people, everywhere, should have the opportunity to access the film arts. Film is a portal to a wider world of culture including drama, entertainment, music, literature, human diversity, history, science, travel and much more. Scarecrow Video ensures people have the resources and opportunities to explore the world of film and build their own arts-rich communities.

Uniting people and creating communities around film is what gave Scarecrow Video life in 1988. Today Scarecrow is building upon this legacy of community impact. We want to share our expertise and stoke enthusiasm for the unique and compelling art form that is film.

WHAT WE DO BEST

Providing access.

Scarecrow Video has over 130,000 titles in our library, including rare, noncommercial, hard-to-find and out of print titles, and complete collections otherwise inaccessible to the general public. Our wide range of formats means our collection is not limited to streaming technology or homogenized by commercial value: Scarecrow keeps everything on hand, just as a public library would. Over 125 years of film and cultural history from 129 countries reside within our walls.

Our inclusive inventory is carefully cultivated, curated and archived by people who love film and are passionate about universal access.   The Scarecrow Project combines accessibility, affordability, consistency, and popular formats with one of the world’s genuine film treasure troves.

Supporting film literacy and expanding cultural opportunities for everyone.

In addition to its unparalleled collection, Scarecrow offers regularly scheduled free screenings of films, ranging from entertainment classics to documentaries to great screen performances. We host programs on site and in the community, featuring guest speakers, film producers and directors, media experts, historians, and writers. We also offer expanded arts programming beyond visual images to include poetry and spoken word, puppetry, cartoons, world cultures, literature and other creative arts showcases.

Ensuring teachers, learning communities, nonprofits and civic groups have the resources to support arts in education

Educators, schools, community and cultural organizations, and the general public can count on the Scarecrow Video staff who are film experts and generously share this expertise and offer project support, whether it’s finding films, making recommendations, helping with researching titles and background history: We are film experts. Our seasoned and knowledgeable staff has a wealth of insight and training and we love evangelizing the importance of film arts to the public!

Strengthening the ability of individuals and groups to have arts-rich communities

Scarecrow Video is focused upon building up both film literacy and the arts overall throughout the Seattle area. In addition to our inventory and staff, we support collaborative programming and shared resources so we can maximize and bolster our reach and the reach of other community groups.

Our community room is a busy place, hosting film clubs, classes, screenings, and providing no-cost meeting space for citizen groups. We enjoy program partnerships with some of Seattle’s best arts organizations like the Grand Illusion Cinema, the Northwest Film Forum, SIFF, Reel Grrls and the Seattle Theater Group – and we are always happy to add new partners!  We connect the public with filmmakers, actors, and other artists. Community artists, film students, local and other indie filmmakers also have a home at Scarecrow Video.