FH Film Festival | Free Best of the Fest Documentary series

||| FROM FRIDAY HARBOR FILM FESTIVAL |||

Join us for a powerful evening of documentary film and conversation! Friday Harbor Film Festival’s Best of the Fest Series kicks off the 2025 series with a free screening of ALL WE CARRY, winner of the 2024 FHFF Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary in the Tales from the Heart category, on January 24 at 7 pm at the San Juan Island Grange.

Immediately following the screening, director Cady Voge will join us live via Google Meet for an interactive Q&A. Don’t miss the chance to learn more about the filmmaking process, the real-life events that inspired the film, and the family’s ongoing journey. Details are available at fhff.org.

The First Film: All We Carry
All We Carry follows a young Honduran family as they flee persecution and violence —migrating in cargo trains across Mexico, claiming asylum at the US border, and enduring separation in detention before being released in Seattle. It is a love story about healing, community, and marriage, the story of a family coming together to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds in their attempt to find their way home. Mirna and Magdiel are an ordinary family living under extraordinary circumstances. They are sponsored by a synagogue in Seattle, who lend them an empty beachfront mansion while they wait for their asylum verdict. Over three years, this young family navigates countless moments–both life-altering and mundane–where grief, memory, and joy collide.

The Best of the Fest Series Schedule
Each month through September Best of the Fest presents award-winning documentaries along with Q&As with the films’ directors and subjects. Programs begin at 7 pm. Some are in collaboration with the San Juan Island Library; others are at the San Juan Island Grange. Since they’re on Fridays, they are a great “date night” activity. Here’s the schedule:

SHORTS BLOCK:

• Managed to Extinction, Range Rider, Facing the Falls – February 28 at the Grange
• Porcelain War – March 28 at the Library
• Out There: A National Parks Story – April 18 at the Grange
• Wilding – May 16 at the Grange
• Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers – June 20 at the Library
• Resident Orca – Special Event in July, details pending
• A Dream Takes Flight – August 8 at the Grange. Special Event! Fly-In at the Airport on August 9.
• Hvaldimir – September 12 at the Library

Details about the films in the series are available on the fhff.org website. FHFF appreciates the sponsorship of The Journal of the San Juan Islands! Mark your calendar and plan to view the exceptional Best of the Fest documentaries.