Is being single in Seattle more difficult than being single in other cities around the country?
It’s an issue that inspired a major Hollywood movie, “Sleepless in Seattle,” and now the independent documentary, “Single in Seattle,” by Ryon Ownbey, 38, who is originally from Potlatch.
Ownbey was a single person in Seattle who started wondering why it was so difficult for not only himself, but many others, to begin and sustain relationships.
“I started questioning my own role as a single person,” says Ownbey, whose question inspired him to make a three-volume documentary that explores how Internet dating, technology and independence have changed the dating scene, making the single lifestyle in Seattle something of a norm.
Each volume of his film is about 85 minutes long and features personal interviews with Seattle singles of all ages and backgrounds, along with dating experts and matchmakers including:
< Seattle’s Sleepless Singles, a group named after the film “Sleepless in Seattle” that has more than 250 members.
< James Donaldson, a former NBA All-Star, Seattle SuperSonic, and Washington State University basketball player.
< Shalonne, a black woman in her early 30s who runs a fashion company.
< Sophia Andreeva who runs the matchmaking company Sophisticated Matchmaking.
< Randy, a guitar instructor and member of an operatic heavy metal group.
< Robin, who shares what it’s like to be dating near retirement age.
< Katherin Scott, one of Seattle’s premier dating coaches.
< Robert Glover, a relationship specialist who defines the term “the Seattle Freeze.”
Ownbey’s family moved to Seattle from Potlatch after the town’s mill closed and he spent many years there, along with attending Watkins College of Art and Design and Film in Nashville, Tenn. He recently returned to Potlatch to care for his grandmother and is now making a documentary about the town’s history, along with short fiction films.
“Single in Seattle” took Ownbey three years to make. He is still single but he says if the film taught him anything it would be not to give up.
“There’s somebody out there for you,” he says. “If you really want something you have to work on it.”
“Single in Seattle” is available through Amazon.com where it can be rented by the volume for $2.99 or downloaded for $7.99. DVDs are available for $14.99 per volume.
