I had been on pins-and-needles about whether the Orcas Island Film Festival would happen this year; so the announcement that they were still planning to host their annual festival in Eastsound was a rare pleasant surprise in a roller-coaster year of cancellations, reconfigurations, and delays.
They’ve since announced a full lineup and it’s a doozy packed with some of the most buzz worthy entries from the festival circuit and a sneak preview of some of the fall season’s most promising new releases. Julia and C’mon C’mon open the festival on Thursday October 7th; Becoming Cousteau, A Hero, The Electrical Life of Louis Wain play Friday; Petite Maman, The Rescue, Jockey, and Spencer make up Saturday’s programming; Flee, One Second, Bergman Island, and The Hand of God screen on Sunday; with Memoria, The Worst Person in the World, and The Velvet Undergroud closing out the long weekend of exceptional films on Monday.
Full series passes are sold out and if any seats are left, individual tickets will go on sale next week.
In the midst of putting the finishing touches on their event, the festival’s leadership trio — Donna Laslo, Jared Lovejoy, and Carl Spence — were kind enough to make some time in their busy schedules to chat with me over e-mail to share some insights about the the practicalities of re-launching the in-person festival in the midst of a pandemic, highlights from a stacked schedule of film, and some recommendations for a visit to Orcas Island.
So … the Orcas Island Film Festival is back for 2021! Can you say anything about what went into the decision to hold the event as a fully in-person event vs. virtual or hybrid?
Donna Laslo (Co-Director + Co-Producer): We felt like it was important to forge a path to a new normal as the vaccine rates progressed. Our county has the highest vaccine rate with the lowest rate of infection in the country and no deaths. We studied the safety protocols set forth by the state and local health departments for returning to the theatre.
With many of us with Covid fatigue, we thought we’d just go for it! Even knowing that if things got bad again, we might have to cancel. I personally loved the challenge to find a creative way to present even under these unprecedented conditions. Not looking at what we couldn’t do but what we could do safely.
Jared Lovejoy (Co-Producer + Creative Director): We spent a lot of time discussing this and decided that a smaller event that is fully Vaxed and Masked with spacing was the safest we could do. Also the high vaccination rate and the low incidence of the Delta variant in San Juan County was a factor. So far it looks like we’re sold out so we’re feeling pretty positive about our decision to move forward and have a festival this year.
I just got back from Telluride and so far I haven’t heard of any outbreaks (I did get an exposure notification, which luckily turned out to be a false alarm). Have you been able to take cues from other festivals about safety protocols? How will these be incorporated into this year’s OIFF?
Donna: Actually, not really. I think we all came to the same conclusion by following the CDC and Health department’s guidance with subtle differences. There’s been such great guidance and resources for theaters. It was good to get confirmation from festivals like Telluride that were ahead of us in the schedule that we were following the same kind of industry standards for reopening.
Jared: We chose the most conservative route. We’ve even left time between each screening to fully clear and sanitize the atmosphere in the theater along with new whole building air filters. Its the best version we’ve seen around.
Donna: I think we are going above and beyond what is required right now, like disinfecting by fogging between screenings, upgraded HVAC system to the highest filtration rate, and creating space between screenings.
Along these lines … looks like you’re focusing on one location (the SeaView theater) and minimizing the “party” aspect of the festival. How much of this was a Covid consideration vs. a decision to scale back?
Donna: All of it was due to Covid. It’s all about limiting contact. Every part of the festival has been designed to limit contact with each other. It’s also about numbers. We did not want to create a super-spreader event that would challenge this island and our fragile local health care system and community.
Jared: We will have an outdoor lounge on the side of the SeaView Theater where folks can hang out between films, have a drink, get a bite to eat and discuss the films. We’re hoping this can fulfill that desire to connect with each other in person about the films.
How have things been on the island? Has tourism been slower than usual?
Donna: I think we have had a record numbers of visitors than pre pandemic! I think that the cityfolk flocked to the island for all of our safe outdoor activities. Hiking, kayaking/boating, camping etc.
Have the usual excellent mix of dining and drinking establishments weathered the pandemic?
Jared: Most of the island business are still here thank goodness. Its actually been real busy here and we haven’t had a major outbreak this whole time because people took it seriously and followed the guidelines.
Donna: Like everywhere, the service industry is challenged to find staff. We lost a few businesses on the island, including our beloved Rose’s Cafe. I think that, for some, it was time to move on or close and the pandemic just made it clear. On the bright side, there’s room now for some new businesses to give it a go.
What was programming like for this year’s OIFF? Were you able to travel to some of the other festivals to catch a sense of buzz or did most of the curation and conversations happen virtually?
Carl Spence (Co-Director + Chief Curator): I’ve been spending the last year living in Valencia, Spain and while I’ve been able to participate virtually at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals, it was quite exhilarating to be able to attend the Cannes Film Festival in July in-person along with Venice in August and the San Sebastian Film Festival a few weeks ago.
It definitely helped to be able to see films early and meet filmmakers and film suppliers in person in terms of getting the best films of the fall season. Of course, I wish we could have been able to show more films. There are so many exceptional films in our program and also many more that we would ordinarily be able to show in a normal year.
Between Sundance, Telluride, and TIFF, I’ve been fortunate to catch a decent number of the films on the recently-released program and it really looks like you’ve been able to keep to the festival’s tradition of bringing some of the year’s best films to Orcas Island. Without choosing favorites, are there any that you’re particularly excited about screening?
Carl: I’m excited about all 16 films including C’mon C’mon, Spencer, Julia, The Worst Person in the World, The Velvet Underground and more!
Will any guests be making it to this year’s event either in person or via Skype? (Is it even an OIFF without Jean Marc Valee?!?)
Donna: We decided to keep it simple. Not create another Zoom or virtual experience. And just focus on this amazing lineup of films and having an in-person festival.
We actually had scheduled a conversation with Jean-Marc Valee and Bryan Skype, but we decided to cancel due to the challenges of crossing the US–Canadian border and then getting over to Orcas. We decided to postpone and do something really cool next year!
It looks like the early focus is on selling full festival passes (individual tickets closer to the event). I imagine that will help with planning as well as keeping track of vaccination and testing.
Donna: So many of our film lovers do want to see all of the films, so the passes are the way to go. Our patron pass has a built in donation and it provides front-of-the-line service allowing them the first chance to select seats. I think it’s a great way to support our efforts and get a great perk.
Reducing capacity for many festivals and theaters is simply not feasible or worth operating. During our shut down, we didn’t do much fundraising so yes, our focus has been passes. Passes also really do help with streamlining the door process and limiting contact. Every pass will have a photo and a QR code that is attached to the vaccination card. The QR code won’t be active if the vaccine card is not uploaded. We are taking all of our protocols very seriously as we are managing our attendees comfort level as they re-enter the theater.
For some people, our festival will be the first time they will be in the theatre for two years. So it’s important that we take care of them. This is not casual for us. We are taking all of our protocols very seriously as we are managing our attendees comfort level as they re-enter the theater. We are in a serious public health crisis and we need to respond with utmost care and responsibility. It’s a trust issue. We want people to trust us not only now but in the future.
Are you holding some space for individual ticket sales or could the whole festival conceivably be full series pass holders?
Donna: As far as individual tickets, the pass sales have been so robust that I’m not sure if we will have many individual tickets available. We are operating at 75% capacity. This is such a challenge! We want to create space between parties and safely accommodate as many people as possible. It’s a delicate balance. I think this our greatest challenge for our festival.
Aside from moviegoing, OIFF is always a great weekend for enjoying great food and drink. Any new spots on the island that we should plan to add to our usual rotation?
Yes, you got to check out a new restaurant in Eastsound: MATIA. A NY times food writer [J. Kenji López-Alt, a suddenly influential local instagrammer] said “This is the best, most exciting restaurant I’ve been to in at least a decade or longer. I can’t remember being so blown away by the food and wine program … Local food and casual dining at its finest.”
Anything else that I missed?
Donna: Our Covid protocols are that attendees must show proof of vaccination and wear masks at all times in the theatre. There is no eating or drinking in the theatre. (We want the masks to stay on). While this is a bummer, it’s really important.
So we are providing concessions in another way. As Jared mentioned, will have an outdoor event tent with a food truck, tables, chairs, a bar just outside in the theatre parking lot that will be open one hour before and after films to make eating and drinking easy between films.
It may even be a great way to digest a film by discussing them with others. We hope that this will be a fun addition to the festival and we will probably do again next year. We are living in a great experiment but we are confident it will all work. We are working hard so that everyone has a great, safe time.
Thanks for sharing all of your insights and for the tips (any hints on getting a table would be appreciated!); looking forward to getting a taste of the film lineup and island life next weekend!