We were thrilled to see that the Orcas Island Film Festival was planning a big return for 2022 after a slightly-subdued 2021. Since then, they’ve released their full lineup — a jaw-dropping collection of some of the top prize-winners and most buzzworthy titles from many of the year’s most prestigious festivals. Along with potentially Oscar-bound international films and heart-stirring documentaries, the re-expanded program will pose scheduling conundrums for attendees trying to decide how to best plan a weekend of seeing some of the year’s best films well in advance of their neighbors. For lovers of first-look films, it’s among the best kinds of problem to have!

Amid their busy schedules planning for this year’s festival, which runs from October 6th-10th in Eastsound, they took time to chat about last year’s event, their thoughts about this year, and the value of in-person events in building community. A lightly edited version of our conversation follows.

So … it looks like theis back to normal for 2022 with two venues, three screens, and over three dozen films. Before we get into this year, I’m curious about how last year’s festival went in terms of safety and attendance? (I sadly didn’t make it because of a positive test the day before I packed up to head to the ferry).

Donna Laslo  (Co-Director + Co-Producer): I feel really great about our festival last year.  I think we were the only in-person festival in Washington state.   We were pretty strict with our Covid policies and we had no incidents of Covid.  All attendees had to provide proof of vaccine and wear masks at all times when in the theater.  We also limited attendance and created spacing between parties with no eating or drinking in the theater.  We sold out our passes in record time and there were very few individual tickets available for sale. 

To make up for this we set up a huge festival concessions tent that had a super fun food truck serving up fresh farm-to-table fare.  This ended up being a fantastic way for our attendees to grab a bite to eat between films and share conversations about the films.   It actually was a gem of a festival….with only 16 films you could just binge and watch all of the films one after the other if you wanted instead of having to choose from three venues and 35 films.  

That makes sense. It must have been quite a precarious endeavor to bring the festival back last year and all the more impressive how well it seems to have gone. We’re in a slightly different environment now, are any of last year’s Covid-related protocols making a return?

Donna: Seems like we are opening in phases. We went from no festival in 2020 and moved to a Virtual Online Cinema; then opened a pop up Drive-In for the summers of 2020 and 21; then last year we hosted a one venue, 16 film, in-person, vaccine-only, no concessions, no parties, festival.  It’s been a hell of a road that led to this year where we are back to three venues. 

As an organization I think we have to be responsible, yet figure out creative ways to gather safely.  Vaccines are not required, but masks are going to be required for all volunteers and staff as well as attendees when not actively eating or drinking.  We hope that this will not be the case next year. 

We will again have an outdoor festival tent with a food truck and vendors will be at all three venues for a quick bite between films. 

What has it been like programming this year’s OIFF? It seems like the balance from other festivals is swinging from hybrid events in the (Sundance, SXSW, SIFF) to fully in-person events this fall (Venice, Telluride, TIFF). How has this changed the way you thought about festivals in general and Orcas specifically? 

Carl Spence (Co-Director + Chief Curator):  I did not want to have a virtual component to our festival this year. Film Festivals work best when audiences come together to watch a film in person without the distraction of phones and everything else that is calling for our attention in our homes. The collective experience of watching films is exciting and what I’ve always loved most about being involved with a film festival.

Is it a relief to be going back to “normal” after last year’s more compact event? 

Donna: I think everyone is really ready to move on with their lives. It feels really great to be back. Through the isolation of Covid, we all realized how much we missed being together. Covid is not, and probably will not, ever go away and we have all learned how to live with it.

The lineup was released last week and it’s – as always – an astonishing collection. Anything you’re  particularly excited to bring to the OIFF audience?

Carl: There is something I love about every single film in this year’s line-up. That is the beauty of having a tightly-curated selection of 37 features and one short film from 25 countries!

You’re too diplomatic! I can say that looking through the program I see some films that, freshly home from two weeks of Telluride and TIFF, are easily contenders for my favorites of the year so far. Banshees of Inisherin is can’t miss for fans of soulful dark comedies, the intense dramas TÁR and Women Talking, a mesmerizing father-daughter reminiscence in Aftersun, a vital documentary about Nan Goldin’s activism in Laura Poitras’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed. I also hope that adventurous viewers make time forJerzy Skolimowski’s EO, a dreamlike donkey adventure, and prepare to squirm and laugh uproariously at the follies of the rich with Cannes winner Triangle of Sadness. Just an exceptional lineup! 

And there are many others that I’ve missed and am looking forward to catching. The people of Orcas and guests are so lucky to have all these standouts so close to home! Aside from all these wonderful films, what are your plans for festival guests this year? 

Carl: I’m always trying to get as many guests as possible but this is a tricky proposition given that our festival occurs at the same time as the New York Film Festival, The Hamptons Film Festival, London Film Festival. Closer to home, the Vancouver Film Festival is also going on…

I’m excited to bring Jacqueline Bisset to Orcas. She is a legendary actress and one of the nicest people I’ve met. We also have some of the documentary filmmakers coming along with some of the subjects from their films, including Bad Axe, Sam Now, and Wildcat.

Harry Styles [My Policeman] won’t be coming due to schedule conflicts (lol),  but we are also working on getting a few other international guests to attend – will have more info on that soon! 

It sounds like, by necessity, last year worked well for a festival primarily focused on passholders. With greater capacity, do you see that changing back to a mix of passes and individual tickets? 

Donna: One of the great changes that came out of the pandemic for us is assigned seating.  Attendees will have the opportunity to choose their seats in advance.  This really reduces the waiting and lines at the door. 

Unlike last year, though, we’ve opened the doors to full capacity.  We will have a lot more room this year so we will be selling passes and individual tickets. Patron Passholders will have the first chance to choose their seats for all of their screenings.

Are parties and events back for 2022 or is that element still scaled back?

No parties this year, just focusing on our fantastic films and guest artists.

Has tourism rebounded on the island this year? If people are taking a break from films, any new places that you’d recommend we check out? Or old favorites that have weathered the storm?

Donna: Tourism has definitely rebounded with people wanting to escape the congestion of the cities and get some fresh air and enjoy the great outdoors.  

We do have some great restaurants on the island.  Here’s some noteworthy picks:  New on the island this year is Monti, a  Roman-inspired Restaurant  Bakery & Wine Shop. There’s also Mijita’s, an island favorite authentic Mexican restaurant with great scratch made margaritas. Wild Island, a farm to table restaurant that uses only fresh, organic local ingredients and Matia Kitchen & Bar is a James Beard nominee. The Mansion Restaurant at Rosario Resort and The New Leaf Cafe at the Outlook Inn are great brunch & happy hour.  

Don’t forget The Barnacle, an Island treasure and a cozy craft bar & restaurant in Eastsound that serves creative cocktails made with locally produced, house-infused spirits.

I can vouch for most of those places, too! It’s always so hard to choose which ones to visit while still making time for movies! To this list, I’d also add that anyone who needs to sneak away to suffer through a Seahawks game or … lest I jinx it … bask in the unfamiliar sensation of a postseason Mariners game might want to snag a table at the White Horse or make a claim on a barstool at the Lower.

Thanks, as always, from taking some time out of your busy schedules to chat. Before we go, anything else that our readers should know about?

Carl:  Just that single tickets go on sale on October 1st. Want to see more films? Passes are on sale now and are cheaper if you buy before October 1st.