The 12th annual Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival will celebrate nearly 30 films, each with a connection to the island, all day this Sunday, April 18, at the Historic Lynwood Theatre.
The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council event began as part of the Bainbridge Island Arts Walk, but like any good cinematic zombie mob, grew into its own, unearthing a day or more’s worth of movies either made on Bainbridge or featuring an islander in its cast or crew.
In previous years, the festival has included Woody Allen’s “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?,” Sherman Alexis’ “Smoke Signals” and “The Last Detail,” with Jack Nicholson. Here are a few highlights of this weekend’s free showings, see after the jump for a full listing:
“Atilla, a Love Story:” In this feature, Atilla the Hun travels from Russia to Venice, but gets only as far as Seattle before deciding he needs a flesh-and-blood vessel to carry him the rest of the way. He chooses a dying billionaire named Fazon, who lives on Bainbridge Island, to inhabit. The story that results is an improbable but easily digestible mix of fantasy, love story, and travelogue, and as Fazon (played by former islander Ken Sellen) meanders between Seattle and Tacoma in a taxi, waiting for his private jet to be fueled for the trip to Italy, it emerges as more of a paean to the Puget Sound area. Length: 55 min. Island connection: Sellen, and filmmakers and artists Michael Yaeger and Sarah Clementson.
“Veiled Voices:” This documentary dives into the world of three Muslim religious leaders, who say women were always meant to be powerful within the religion. Filmed over the course of two years in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, it reveals a world rarely documented, exploring both the public and private lives of these luminary women. Length: 60 min. Island connection: Brigid Maher (producer and director) and Karen Bauer (co-producer and writer) both graduated from Bainbridge High.
“Ringside Seats at Victory Point:” This narrative short is set in a fictitious country at the end of a long nuclear standoff. Isolated from the rest of civilization is Victory Point Station, where two men discuss their chances of survival and listen to civilian radio stations dying one by one. Length: 23 min. Island connection: Filmmaker Marshall Langohr grew up on Bainbridge.
“Outsourced:” This modern day comedy of cross-cultural conflict and romance follows Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton), who spends his days managing a customer call center in Seattle until his job — along with those of the entire office — is outsourced to India. Adding insult to injury, Todd must travel to India to train his new replacement. As he navigates through the chaos of Bombay and an office paralyzed by constant cultural misunderstandings, Todd yearns to return to the comforts of home. But it is through his team of quirky yet likable Indian call center workers, including his friendly and motivated replacement, Puro (Asif Basra), and the charming, opinionated Asha (Ayesha Dharker), that Todd realizes that he, too, has a lot to learn. He soon discovers that being outsourced may be the best thing that ever happened to him. NBC is in the process of developing a pilot for a 30-minute TV series based on the film. Length: 103 min. Rated PG-13. Island connection: Director/Co-writer John Jeffcoat spent a few of his formative years on Bainbridge, where he worked at Village Video on Winslow Green; Editor Brian Berdan lives with his family on Bainbridge; and island actor Matt Smith is featured as “Dave,” the heartless boss who sets the plot in motion.
Full schedule:
10 a.m. “Atilla, a Love Story”
11:10 a.m. “Veiled Voices”
12:15 p.m. “Stand with Us”
12:35 p.m. “Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter & the Wolf”
1:30 p.m. “Bridge of Glass”
2:05 p.m. “Ed Carriere: Holding to Form”
2:15 p.m. “Fumiko Hayashida: The Woman behind the Symbol”
2:35 p.m. “Jonathan Evison,” “Author and Bunny Lover” and I Won’t Back Down — Todd’s Story”
3:10 p.m. “Spokesman Bike Rack — How It’s Made!”
3:20 p.m. “Dream Big: Bainbridge Island Rowing”
3:40 p.m. Coming Attractions
4:15 p.m. “Rhondavision”
4:35 p.m. The Sight Below — “Life’s Fading Light”
4:45 p.m. MTV Series: $5 Cover — Seattle
4:55 p.m. “Death Plays the Piano”
5 p.m. “Rachel”
5:25 p.m. “Ringside Seats at Victory Point”
6 p.m. “Outsourced”
7:50 p.m. “Birth of a Salesman and Tex: Vampire Hunter”
8:20 p.m. “Zombies of Mass Destruction”
