Zia Mohajerjasbi’s debut feature “Know Your Place” is coming home. The acclaimed Seattle-set drama, which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2022, returns to SIFF Uptown for two special screenings on Saturday, July 5 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 6 at 7:30 p.m. Both nights will include post-screening Q&As with Mohajerjasbi and members of the cast.

“Know Your Place” landed with impact when it first hit the festival circuit, sweeping SIFF’s top prizes with the Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film and the New American Cinema Competition win. Since then, it’s carved out a dedicated following through a string of festival screenings and community events, earning a reputation as one of the most quietly powerful and authentic portrayals of immigrant life in modern Seattle.

Timed alongside Seattle hosting the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America’s annual gathering, the screenings carry added significance. The film delves deep into immigrant and first-generation identities, following 15-year-old Robel Haile (Joseph Smith), an Eritrean-American teen sent on a mission to deliver a suitcase packed with medicine and cash to a family in need. What starts as a simple errand turns into an odyssey across a city in flux, joined by his best friend Fahmi (Natnael Mebrahtu), an Ethiopian-American teen navigating his own coming-of-age journey amid rapid gentrification and shifting cultural landscapes.

Mohajerjasbi captures their friendship with nuance and honesty, showing how everyday moments become rites of passage in a world that doesn’t always see them. Previously known for directing music videos for Macklemore and Blue Scholars, he has proven himself a natural storyteller with a keen eye for the complexities of community, place, and identity.

With its return to SIFF, “Know Your Place” continues to connect with the community that inspired it. These screenings offer audiences another chance to experience Mohajerjasbi’s thoughtful storytelling and his genuine care for the people and places that shape Seattle’s cultural fabric.