Orcas Island Film Festival Returns with 30 Stellar Films

Award-winners and Oscar contenders head the line-up of films at the 2nd annual Orcas Island Film Festival

— from Shannon Borg for the Orcas Island Film Festival —

Orcas Island Film Fest happens next weekend, October 9-12

An impressive lineup of world-class films establishes the 2nd Annual Orcas Island Film Festival (www.orcasfilmfest.com) as a festival to watch for cutting edge cinema from around the world. With 30 films from seventeen countries, the diversity and creativity of the work and the natural beauty of the location, make this new festival—co-sponsored by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) —a unique experience worthy of an annual pilgrimage. The festival takes place from October 9 to 12, 2015 in the arts-rich village of Eastsound on Orcas Island.

SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence curated the films for the OIFF, and feels Orcas Island is the perfect place to start an edgy new film festival. “We are lucky in that there are some major film industry people who have a home on Orcas Island,” says Spence. “We have some of the world’s best filmmakers, American Independent films and hard-hitting documentaries.” Spence says many of the films are Academy Award contenders and will be in the New York Film Festival just prior to their debut on Orcas.

During the festival, directors, producers and actors will be on hand for lively Q&A sessions and special events, including the early screening of ROOM (dir. Lenny Abrahamson) a film based on the Booker-shortlisted bestseller by Irish-Canadian novelist Emma Donoghue, which most recently won the Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award. ROOM is a tale of survival and endurance about a young woman and her young son who escape captivity and their journey to rejoin society. Other highlights include HOCKNEY, a documentary about the painter David Hockney, directed by U.K filmmaker Randall Wright, and JAMES WHITE, the directorial debut from producer Josh Mond, starring Cynthia Nixon as a woman dying of cancer as her twentysomething deadbeat son James struggles to deal with her illness and his own issues.

“The majority of these films haven’t come out yet – they are early views,” says Spence. “It’s sort of surprising how many amazing films we have. I am very impressed with the caliber of the line-up.”

There are a total of 30 films from the U.S., Canada, Chile, France, Iceland, Ireland, Iran, Jordan, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan. Other highlights include:

• DHEEPAN, winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes, this powerful drama from director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust & Bone) follows a former Tamil Tiger soldier as he flees from the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war to begin a new life in a Parisian suburb.

• A BRILLIANT YOUNG MIND, a film about a socially awkward teenage math prodigy who finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.

• 45 YEARS, starring British acting legends Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, 45 Years is writer-director Andrew Haigh’s immensely moving and nuanced portrait of long-term love and marriage.

• GOOD ‘OL BOY, a heartwarming comedy which follows a 10-year-old Indian immigrant boy in ’70s suburban America. His parents want to maintain his culture and all he wants is to watch “Happy Days” and eat Kentucky Fried Chicken.

• GOOSEBUMPS, the long-awaited film adaptation of R L Stein’s hugely popular “Goosebumps” books.

Short film contest

As of October 3rd you can view and vote for Best Short Film online at www.orcasfilmfest.com/voting. The three grant-winning films are: ESCAPE, by Lacey Leavitt of Seattle, Washington; THE GHOST IN RED by Cali Bagby of Orcas Island, and THE COMMUTE by Milla Prince of Lopez Island. This year’s winner will have the honor of being featured in the Seattle International Film Festival in 2016.

About the OIFF

The Orcas Island Film Festival is presented by Orcas Opens Arts co-presented by the Seattle International Film Festival. The films be shown at Seaview Theatre, Random Howse and Orcas Center. A full schedule of films, ticket information and more is available at www.orcasfilmfest.com.

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 (www.oicf.org) 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) (www.siff.net) 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 and more information available at www.orcasfilmfest.com/sponsorship.