One film runs just two minutes, others for two hours. They include personal and global stories, animated shorts and somber documentaries. The Everett Women’s Film Festival brings the world of cinema to downtown Everett tonight and Saturday.
Fourteen films will be screened over two days at the Historic Everett Theatre on Colby Avenue. With refreshments and a social hour, an opening gala at 6 tonight gives festival-goers the chance to talk about movies before the lights go out.
Since its start a decade ago, the festival’s aim has been to feature films created by and about women. If there is another unifying theme, it may be found in differences.
“If I were to characterize it, I would say this year is really international,” said Theresa Schaudies, who’s organizing the event. “We go from India and China to Denmark, Canada, Norway, Germany and Iran. I can say the films do celebrate diversity.”
A committee of about 20 people work for months watching and selecting films for the final program.
“We get a lot of unsolicited entries to view,” said Schaudies, 54, of Everett, who’s been involved with the event for five years. With many to choose from, Schaudies said the group narrows the final choices down to create a quality festival, with films from small independent companies and individuals.
“We really go out and try to look for the best films. And the people on the committee are good at finding them,” she said.
The festival continues to build on a solid foundation set by its founders. They include Eileen Simmons, now director of the Everett Public Library; Annie Lyman; Judy Matheson and Carolyn Powell, Schaudies said.
Many in the audience come year after year. “We start getting phone calls around the first of the year asking when it is,” said Schaudies, adding that the event draws 500 to 600 people, most of them attending both days.
There’s no formal competition and no awards given out. For festival-goers, the prize is seeing movies they might otherwise miss, and not having to drive to Seattle to see them.
Having screenings at one theater is an advantage, too. “A lot of festivals, like the Seattle International Film Festival, have multiple venues. This one is designed so all the attendees can see everything,” Schaudies said. The schedule is so packed, she said, that box lunches will be offered on Saturday.
Two directors are expected to attend and take part in filmmaker forums Saturday. They are Catherine Ryan, who’ll talk about “Soldiers of Conscience,” and “Island Roots” director Lucy Ostrander.
A decade ago, Lyman spoke with The Herald about the fledging festival, which was patterned after the Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo. “It may be one year or 20 years,” Lyman said of the Everett event, which began with just six films.
Year after year, the festival has come back through the work of a committed group. Schaudies, a Navy veteran who retired in 1999 from the USS Abraham Lincoln, sees a bright future.
“It really is a community thing,” Schaudies said. “Friends invite friends from the greater Seattle area. I think it pleases them, that a smaller community has such a thriving arts scene. We’re not going away. It’s just going to get bigger and bigger.”
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