Everett Women’s Film Festival opens Feb. 27

The Everett Women’s Film Festival is offering up a buffet of delights this year that includes a main course of heart-tugging drama, a complement of side-splitting comedy served up with catered treats including savory cheesecake, skewered goodies and that perfect duo of mozzarella cheese and basil.

The 12th annual festival celebrates the creativity, diversity, and spirit of women with eight films. The event launches at 6 p.m. Friday with an opening night gala of nibbling and socializing before the documentary “Good Food” begins, a lively tour of Washington state farms and ranches that have adopted healthier organic methods. Other film offerings for Friday include a lyrical comedy about an orphaned boy raised by dogs and a true story of an orca whale who tries to make friends with humans.

The festival continues at 10 a.m. Saturday with a story of America’s first all-female mariachi band, a dark comic fable about an underground village where all the townsfolk dread a terrible monster, the story of a Bangladeshi woman who leaves behind her home for an arranged marriage, an animated short about coming of age during the Iranian Revolution and a documentary as told by children in New Orleans who survived the hurricane that changed their lives.

The film festival runs Friday and Saturday at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., Everett. The price of the two-day festival, including the catered gala, is $40 for adults and $25 for seniors, students and military. The price for Friday only, including the gala, is $20 for adults and $15 for seniors, students and military. Tickets for Saturday only are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors, students and military. Call the Everett Performing Arts Center box office at 425-257-8600 or 888-257-3722.

There are also hotel and festival packages being offered. For a complete list of the movies and more information, go to www.everettfilmfest.com.

Theresa Goffredo is a reporter for The Herald newspaper in Everett.