Film festival was great | Letter

Published 10:54 am Tuesday, October 28, 2014

My husband, parents, father-in-law, friends and I attended the Orcas Island Film Festival this past weekend, having all traveled there from Seattle. As an enthusiastic film-goer, I wanted to thank the organizers and volunteers of the festival for putting on such a wonderful cultural event. Everyone had a great time.

I also received one of the three short film grants that were distributed as part of OIFF’s inaugural year; it allowed me to gather material on Shaw and Orcas for two weeks and engage in pure cinematic experimentation. As a filmmaker, I would like to say an extra thank you to Jared Lovejoy, Ian Woolworth, Amanda Sparks, the OIFF team and community sponsors, SIFF and Orcas Open Arts for establishing and supporting this grant program. Making the short was a deeply fulfilling experience  and one I will never forget.

Financial support for independent filmmakers, especially those producing short-form and non-commercial work, can be rare and hard to come by. Such grants help us fill in the gaps in our careers, giving us the gift of time and money to try out ideas that we might not otherwise attempt. They are therefore invaluable sources of support for individual filmmakers and help create a healthy cinema culture. I cannot wait to see the films by regional filmmakers that future OIFF grants help make possible, and to attend the Orcas Island Film Festival next year and beyond. Thank you all.

Nell Carden Grey

Seattle