Off the Edge Film Festival coming in ten days!
— from Shannon Borg for Orcas Island Film Festival —
Five contenders for Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film award, representing five countries and three continents, will headline at the first annual Orcas Island Film Festival – Off the Edge, to take place from October 10 to 13, 2014. Two Days, One Night from Belgium, Mommy from Canada, To Kill a Man from Chile and Living is Easy with Eyes Closed from Spain and Human Capital from Italy will join 30-plus films with 17 countries represented from around the world at four venues on Orcas Island.
During this edgy new film festival, directors, producers and actors will be on hand for lively Q&A sessions, and special events, including the early screening of The Imitation Game – which many critics are already touting as one of the best pictures of the year with standout performances by Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. This film will not be released until December in the Seattle area. Renowned filmmakers with films in the festival include Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Xavier Dolan, David Trueba, Lynn Shelton and Lucas Moodyson amongst others.
A full schedule of films, ticket information and more is available at orcasfilmfest.com.
There is also still time to view and vote for Best Short Film online at orcasfilmfest.com/voting. The three grant-winning films are: A Reverence For Excellence, filmed and directed by Andrew Plotsky, an intimate and honest portrait of Maple Rock Farm and Hogstone’s Wood Oven. Drift, produced by Travis Alley, Aaron Wheetman and Dallas Artz, follows the journey of a broken branch as it travels between the San Juan islands. All These Waters are Within, directed by Nell Carden Grey, is an experimental observational documentary that tracks daylight around the San Juan Islands from sunrise to sunset.
Some other highlights include Oil and Water, a documentary produced by Laurel Spellman-Smith and Francine Strickwerda, about two boys from different cultures, both working towards ending pollution from crude oil. Song of the New Earth: Tom Kenyon and the Power of Sound, by Sophie Jane Mortimer and Ward Serrill of Port Townsend, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in May. Crew members from several films will be on hand for question-and-answer sessions during the festival.
Sponsored by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) and Orcas Open Arts, OIFF is dedicated to fostering an informed, aware, and vibrant community of film lovers in the San Juan Archipelago. “Our mission is to harness the creative energy of film to build a more inspired and vibrant community in the San Juan Archipelago,” says OIFF creative director, Jared Lovejoy. “We want to encourage new work from amazing filmmakers from the islands and from around the world.”
Orcas Open Arts on Orcas Island based non-profit focused on creating and supporting a variety of arts programs in the San Juan Archipelago. Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) was founded in 1976, with the mission of creating experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films around the world through the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education. The festival is looking for sponsors. More information is available at orcasfilmfest.com/sponsorship.
