Exceptional people, documentaries honored at Friday Harbor Film Festival

||| FROM ELLEN ROBERTS for FRIDAY HARBOR FILM FESTIVAL |||

During an exciting weekend of fantastic films, inspiring interviews with filmmakers, and special events, the
Friday Harbor Film Festival was delighted to present many special awards. We welcomed visiting
filmmakers and film lovers from around the US and the world. Thank you to everyone who participated in
the 2024 festival, volunteered their time, and voted for their favorite films.

Audience Choice Awards recognized the films chosen by votes of audience members.

• Young Filmmakers Showcase, ages 13-17: Kuinerraq, Magnus Shipe – Director & Lisa Spencer – Producer
• Young Filmmakers Showcase, ages 18-26: Belov: A Life at Sea, Tiago Abubakir – Director
• Best Short Film: Range Rider, Colin Arisman – Director
• Tales from the Heart: All We Carry, Cady Voge – Director
• Explorers & Adventures: A Dream Takes Flight: Tim Angevine – Director & Laura Palis – Producer
• Things to Consider: Fish War: Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, and Skylar Wagner – Directors & Kari Neumeyer – Producer

Best Overall Feature: Porcelain War, Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev – Directors & Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPre Pesmen, Camilla Mazzaferro, and Olivia Ahnemann – Producers
 
The Andrew V. McLaglen Lifetime Achievement Award highlighted Morten Lauridsen’s extraordinary life
and career as the most performed US choral composer. The audience applauded this resident of San Juan
and Waldron islands for his stellar contribution to the local community and musicians worldwide. His wife
Amber Lauridsen led the San Juan Master Chorale singing one of his favorite compositions, Contra Qui,
Rose. The documentary about Lauridsen’s life, Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen, was
screened.

The Local Hero Award celebrated San Juan Islander Cynthia Burke for her decades of community
involvement as a business owner and humanitarian. She provided a low-cost kitchen for developing food
businesses and began XYZ Movement Arts, providing space with minimal rent for yoga and dance teachers
to work. She inspire many neighbors to participate in Kitchen Sink Dinners, providing 5000 meals to anyone
wanting a meal, and in offering free coats on the rack outside Cynthia’s Bistro.

If you missed seeing some of the wonderful documentaries in person, the Online Festival runs from
Monday, October 28 through Sunday, November 3. Passes to view nearly all the features, shorts, Young
Filmmakers films, and recorded Q&As are available for only $15 at fhff.org/tickets View your favorites from
the comfort of your favorite chair!