FH Film Festival to receive a $20,000 grant from National Endowment for the Arts

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

Friday Harbor Film Festival is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $20,000. This grant will support the FHFF Documentary In-Person Festival in October, the Online Festival, the Best of the Fest monthly film series, and special programs throughout the year. The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants. 

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including the Friday Harbor Film Festival.”

“We are thrilled to share that the Friday Harbor Film Festival has received a meaningful award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2025, recognizing the hard work and passion that goes into celebrating the art of filmmaking,” Karen Palmer, FHFF Executive Director.

FHFF brings the art of filmmaking to a rural setting and, in person and online, reaches thousands of people with inspiring, entertaining, and thought-provoking documentary films. The festival provides a showcase for documentary filmmakers and facilitates connections between them. The festival contributes to the local economy and builds community through diverse partnerships.

FHFF’s January events include the free Best of the Fest screening of All We Carry on Friday, January 24 at the SJI Grange beginning at 7 pm, and a free concert and poetry reading event titled, Twelve Songs for Twelve Poets on January 31 at the Brickworks Event Center. Visit FHFF.org for details on both events.

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.

Mark your calendar and plan to view the exceptional Best of the Fest documentaries. The 2025 Best of the Fest screenings are sponsored by The Journal of the San Juan Islands.

See you at the movies!