Early bird discounted passes to Friday Harbor Film Festival available now

||| FROM ELLEN ROBERTS & KAREN PALMER for FRIDAY HARBOR FILM FESTIVAL ||| 

Mark Your Calendars: The 14th Annual Friday Harbor Film Festival Returns October 22–25, 2026. The countdown is on. Friday Harbor Film Festival (FHFF) is thrilled to announce that the 14th annual festival will light up San Juan Island October 22–25, 2026 — an extended weekend built to entertain, inspire, and enlighten through powerful documentaries, filmmaker conversations, and island community.

Lock in the best pricing of the year with Early Bird Passes. Get the best seats — and the best prices — before anyone else. Starting Sunday, July 5, Early Bird Passes give you first access to reserved seating and real savings on the two ways to experience the whole festival.
Save money when you get your pass early:

● Patron Pass — $325 (regular $375): every screening, Opening Night Gala, a shareable pass, and an exclusive reserved-seating window ahead of everyone else.
● All-Access Pass — $185 (regular $225): every screening and the Gala, with early reserved-seating access. Prefer more flexibility? 6-Pack and Day Passes join the lineup August 16, when all passes go on sale at full price. Explore all pass options now at fhff.org.

This year’s festival will once again fill two Friday Harbor venues — the Whittier and Gubelman theatres at San Juan Community Theatre, and the Front and Back theatres at the Palace Theatre — with 30+ feature documentaries and 20+ documentary shorts across three themes: Things to Consider, Explorers & Adventures, and Tales from the Heart.

The weekend kicks off with our Opening Night Gala, where attendees mingle with visiting filmmakers ahead of a weekend of storytelling and the presentation of our Lifetime Achievement Award. Friday also brings the Young Filmmakers Showcase, spotlighting the next generation of documentary voices. Throughout the weekend, audience members rate every film they see, with winners awarded by popular vote across all three categories — plus overall Best Short and Best Feature. Don’t miss the Filmmakers Forum, a free, unticketed conversation about the craft of documentary filmmaking hosted by director Amy Herdy — it fills up fast, so arrive early. And we close out the weekend with the beloved Audience Choice Awards, where this year’s winners are announced live.

The full lineup and schedule will be released September 15 at fhff.org — stay tuned.