The movies featured in the 17th annual Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival run the gamut from intense to hilarious and feature a range of subjects from Syrian refugees to low tide discoveries, from incognito special agents to the true story of the largest military post of the World War I era.
The popular yearly festival begins at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 with a special opening night celebration at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art which features beverages, hors d’oeuvre, a chance to meet the filmmakers and this year’s premiere film, “Salam Neighbor” by Chris Temple and Bainbridge Island native Zach Ingrasci, at 8 p.m.
The duo, who first gained public attention in 2013 for living on a budget of $1 a day in Guatemala while filming the acclaimed “Living On One” documentary, spent a month alongside 85,000 Syrians struggling to restart their lives inside Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp, just seven miles from a raging war, for their latest film, which premiered at the American Film Institute Docs Film Festival in Washington, D.C. in June.
The cinematic offerings of the second day, Sunday, Oct. 25, “Film Immersion Day” at the historic Lynwood Theatre, begin a little more light-heartedly with Jon Brenner’s “Pisces Pieces” at 9:30 a.m. The 30-minute music video actually began as a concept album celebrating the underwater world beneath us.
The festival’s lineup gets even more varied from there and continues throughout the day with at least one new movie screening every hour until 6:30 p.m., each with a Bainbridge Island tie through a central filmmaker or actor.
The lineup:
10:05 a.m.: “Exploring at Low Tide” (11 minutes) – John Williams, filmmaker.
Seeing the beach at low tide through the eyes of various narrators.
10:20 a.m.: “Seeing the Forest” (32 minutes) – Alan Honick, filmmaker.
A sequel to a documentary Alan made in 1996, “Torrents of Change,” that told the story of a major storm that hit the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon, and the early efforts toward restoring the damage that had been done by years of clear-cut logging.
11 a.m.: “It’s Past Time” (15 minutes) – Max Weber, filmmaker.
A documentary about the funding crisis in Washington schools, the film covers the teacher walkout on Olympia on April 30.
11:20 a.m.: “Art Grice, Island Treasure” (15 minutes) – Steve Stolee, filmmaker.
An entertaining profile of Art Grice, a recipient of last year’s Island Treasure Award.
11:45 a.m.: “Vixen’s Voyage” (14 minutes) – Nicole Halabisky, filmmaker.
Eleven years ago, Bruce and Tiffany Halabisky decided to give up on a conventional lifestyle, buy a small wooden boat and sail around the world (having two children along the way.)
Noon: “NW Coast Indian Canoe Project” (11 minutes) – Rich Deline, filmmaker.
The Canoe Legacy Project provides insights into both traditional and modern techniques of how to shape, carve and steam (spread) the cedar log into an elegant seaworthy canoe.
12:30 p.m.: “Passing the Torch: the building of Fort Lewis 1916-1939” (20 minutes) – Donald Sellers and Lucy Ostrander, filmmakers.
It was by far the largest post of the World War I era, constructed in record time for the least cost. Built on land donated by local citizens, the fort’s initial recruits were drawn from the West, cowboy soldiers of an army dependent on horses and mules.
1 p.m.: “Barely Lethal” (96 minutes) – Dove Cameron, actress.
Seeking a normal adolescence, a special-operations agent (Hailee Steinfeld) fakes her own death and enrolls in high school as an exchange student.
2:45 p.m.: “Run Away” (4 minutes) – Garrett Gibbons, filmmaker.
The death of a relationship, told through dance.
3 p.m.: “Helpless” (8 minutes) – Dylan Arnold, actor.
On the floor of the library, Leah and Chayse discuss fellow students, the hypocrisy of happiness, and the tragic thought of “what could have been” on the eve of prom.
3:15 p.m. “The River” (7 minutes) – Matt Longmire, filmmaker.
The story of five men abducted into an underground game of No Limit Texas Hold’em where the winner will receive $1 million, but the losers will die.
4:30 p.m.: “WRECKED” (16 minutes) – Liz Ellis, filmmaker.
A web comedy for adults. The show follows Spencer, an unemployed television writer who’s been forced, for financial and emotional reasons, to move back in with her estranged brother in Seattle.
5 p.m.: “Rosa – These Storms” (11 minutes) – Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple, filmmakers.
Rosa, a young Mayan woman, sits alone. She stares directly into the camera and for the first time has the courage to share her story. She has wrestled with rejection, forgiveness and the fight to keep her child alive. Now 27, she must overcome her past to follow the dreams she once thought impossible.
5:15 p.m. “Salam Neighbor” (76 minutes) – Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple, filmmakers.
The festival’s finale film, “Buffalo Rider” (94 minutes), by Joel Soisson, begins at 6:40 p.m. It tells the story of a rebellious Thai-American girl, sent to live with relatives in rural Thailand, who clashes with an entire village when she befriends a mute peasant boy and inspires him to compete in the annual buffalo race.
Visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2321921 to purchase tickets.
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What: The 17th annual Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival.
When: A reception, premiere film and artist reception on Saturday, Oct. 24 and a full lineup of films on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Where: The Bainbridge Island Museum of Art and the historic Lynwood Theatre.
Admission: Tickets for Saturday’s opening night celebration are $75 each and include access for all the Sunday screenings as well. Tickets for Sunday only are are $9 for adults and $4 for kids.
Visit www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2321921 to purchase.
