Adventures in Cinematic Story Telling: Here Comes Orcas Island Film Fest

— from Donna Laslo for Orcas Island Film Festival —

The fall film festival season is in full swing and the Orcas Island Film Festival, along with the other major fall festivals Telluride, Venice, and Toronto, take the lead in screening the films that will dominate the cinemas this winter.

The Orcas Island Film Festival has delivered films that have garnered a total of 25 nominations and six Oscars at the Academy Awards. Past films include Oscar winners Manchester By The Sea, The Salesman, Room, The Imitation Game and Son of Saul along with critically acclaimed films such as Loving, A Man Called Ove, 45 Years, and more. Attendees at the festival will see these films before their official theatrical release.

With 30 films shown over four days, gala parties, and filmmaker panel discussions, the Orcas Island Film Festival provides a unique opportunity for filmmakers and film lovers to connect and share the cinematic experience. OIFF film curator Carl Spence says, “This year’s line up of films will deliver some extraordinary stories and Oscar worthy performances.”

Highly anticipated films include Borg vs McInroe, the story of the epic rivalry between Swedish tennis legend Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and his greatest adversary, the brash American John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf); Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, a lyrical road movie, as funny as it is heartbreaking, is a tale of three aging Vietnam-era Navy buddies — Doc (Steve Carell), Sal (Bryan Cranston), and Mueller (Laurence Fishburne) — from one of America’s finest filmmakers.

Remarkably, the theme of immigration is woven into a number of films including Human Flow, from renowned Chinese artist and filmmaker Ai WeiWei, who explores the contemporary wave of immigrant and refugee migration affecting 63 million displaced people from 22 countries, and Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki’s great fiction tragicomedy about a Syrian refugee struggling to survive the maze of Scandinavian functionaries and bureaucracies after having successfully escaped bombed out Aleppo.

There are a number of comic and charming films including EMO The Musical, a winning Australian teenage angst musical, and dry humorist Bob Byington’s Infinity Baby starring Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Kieran Culkin.

Genre films are also highlighted with the thrilling car-racing crime/heist thriller Racer and the Jailbird starring international superstars Matthias Schoenaerts and Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Before We Vanish, a throwback to 1980s sci-fi where an advance crew of three aliens journey to Earth in preparation for a complete takeover of the planet from Japanese art-horror director Kiyoshi Kurosawa. These are a few of the extraordinary world class films to unspool at the 4th edition of the Orcas Island Film Festival.

There are a number of Directors/Filmmakers being hosted at the festival this year. Most notable is director Jean Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club, Wild, Demolition) who will be here for the entire festival. His HBO mini series, Big Little Lies is currently nominated for 16 Emmy awards including Best Director. He will be available for a Q & A after the screening of his acclaimed and never before released in the US film, C.R.A.Z.Y.

For those who are interested in a cutting edge film experience you can visit the Rock Island Internet Cafe and try out a virtual reality/VR, augmented reality/AR and 360°immersion film experience curated by Wondertek and sponsored by Rock Island Communications.

The OIFF 2017 grant winners’ films are now posted on the festival website and available for voting. Short films are; It Takes An Island by Tashi Litch, Falling Into Place by Einar Johnson, and RIGGED! A Tail of Corruption by Heidi Cuda.

Random Howse will be the Festival Party Hub this year where the Opening Night Reception, The Awards Party and after hours meet and greets will take place. Random Howse will also provide daily grab and go meals for film lovers rushing off to their next film.

The Film Festival is made possible each year by generous donors and business sponsors. If you’d like to help support the Orcas Island Film Festival there are a number of ways you can help. One of the best ways to support is to buy Festival passes, on sale now. Individual tickets went on sale September 15. Visit orcasfilmfest.com for details.

On September 23 at 6 p.m., Red Rabbit Farm will host a fundraiser and farm to table experience at with special guest Carl Spence, OIFF Film Curator and former Seattle International Film Festival director. Guests will be treated to a preview of the Orcas Island Film Festival 2017’s hottest new films, followed by a Q & A. If you’re a film buff, you’ll want to hang out with him. Dinner is $75 per person and all net proceeds will benefit OIFF. Purchase dinner tickets at redrabbitfarmdinner.bpt.me.

Orcas Island Film Festival dates are October 6-9, 2017, www.orcasfilmfest.com.