EVERETT — People can discover new films and gain new perspectives at the upcoming 22nd annual Everett Film Festival.
Nine independent films make up this year’s slate.
Festival director Teresa Henderson and her team review the films and arrange the festival. She can’t pick a favorite, but can say they’re flying in a filmmaker from New York as well as hosting a short from a moviemaker who shot on downtown Everett’s streets.
A gala with a rich dinner from Lombardi’s restaurant opens the festivities Friday night.
In the documentary “Pick of the Litter” that is the centerpiece for Friday night, people get to follows puppies in training to become guide dogs for the blind. Guide dog trainer Rebecca Minelga from Snohomish, who’s featured in the film, will speak at the festival and bring one of her guide dogs.
“Pick of the Litter” is a movie you can dig even if you’re not a “dog person,” Henderson said, because it has broad appeal: “You really get caught up in the stories of the five puppies.”
Saturday’s showings take most of the day. The afternoon shows are “Return of the River” and “Julieta.”
“Return of the River” speaks to how the community in the North Olympic Peninsula adapted to changes after the opening of the Elwha River’s dams. “Julieta” is an acclaimed melodramatic film.
Saturday evening, people can get a kick out of the documentary “Take My Nose... Please” by beauty magazine journalist Joan Kron, who documented social attitudes toward cosmetic surgery. The film picked up the Knight Documentary Achievement Award at the 2017 Miami Film Festival.
Kron is flying in from New York to speak at the festival. She made it when she was 89 years young. At age 91, Kron’s already begun her next film. It’s about Botox.
The Everett Film Festival is all volunteer-run, and all revenues go back into the festival itself. The festival also receives grant money from Everett’s Cultural Arts Commission. Last year’s event brought more than 250 people.
It began as the Everett Women’s Film Festival in 1997 with the intent to highlight unique voices and ideas.
Tickets through the discount website Groupon are $20 for Friday night, $25 for Saturday or $35 for a ticket covering both days. Regular prices at the door are $30 for Friday, $35 for Saturday or $60 for both days.
Organizers do not sell tickets for individual movie showtimes because the intent is to watch multiple films in one sitting.
Everett Film Festival
The Everett Film Festival opens Friday, Feb. 15 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and has a second day Saturday, Feb. 16 from 12:30 to 9 p.m.
The festival is at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave.
Tickets can be purchased through www.everettfilmfestival.org
For more information, call 425-210-2939
