CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival announces 2022 lineup

The CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival returns to the theater this year with a slate of 32 films from 12 countries, all directed by women.

The festival will spotlight in-person viewings of features, shorts, documentaries, animation, experimental and narrative films at the Pickford Film Center in the Bellingham Downtown Arts District May 12-15. For those who may not be comfortable returning to the in-person festival, an online viewing will be available May 19-30.

Executive director Cheryl Crooks said she’s most excited to return to the theater after two years away. “To keep everyone safe, we require everyone to be fully vaccinated to attend the in-person viewings,” Crooks said.

CASCADIA will continue the festival tradition of showcasing work by Indigenous and women directors of color with feature films selected by program director Claudia Puig and members of the program’s selection committee.

Opening night will feature a retrospective of five short films from the first five years of CASCADIA followed by three additional features shown in previous festivals before closing with two of the new feature films. Crooks said she is excited to have a retrospective to honor and celebrate how CASCADIA has matured as a festival. 

This year’s films represent a variety of styles and stories told by women directors from around the world. “Only a handful of festivals do what we do,” Crooks said. “CASCADIA has showcased more than 125 women directors since the festival began in 2017.” 

The short films include “7 Star Dinosaur Entertainment”  directed by Vaishali Naik, “The Tracker” directed by Sarah Menzies, “71 Seconds”  directed by Jazmin Bryant, “Artistic”  directed by Nina Lee, “Le Monde En Soi” co-directed by Sandrine Stoïanov and Jean-Charles Finck and “Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color”  directed by Cherie Gaulke.

Director Jazmin Bryant, based in Los Angeles said she is excited to have her film showcased in the upcoming festival. “71 Seconds” is a depiction of the Trayvon Martin story and the tragedy that occurred February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida. 

“My goal is to show audiences we are more alike than we are different,” Bryant said. “The tone of this film resonates with our current political culture and aims to uplift and humanize young men of color.”

Bryant said she admires CASCADIA’s push for inclusivity and hopes to attend the in-person festival and discussion panels in May.

The lineup of full-length features include “Daughter of a Lost Bird”  directed by Brooke Pepion Swaney, “Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest” directed by Nancy Svednsen, “Secret Name”  or “La Place d’Une Autre”  directed by Aureila Georges and “Valley Girl” directed by Martha Coolidge.

Director Brooke Pepion Swaney said she is honored her film will be screened at CASCADIA among many accomplished and powerful storytellers. She said she is especially excited because the film’s protagonists have strong ties to the Lummi Nation.

“Daughter of a Lost Bird” explores the ethics surrounding Native American adoption, via a singular story as an entry point into a more complicated national issue, Swaney said.

“As a film, the approach to the story and topic has always been character driven – one woman’s journey to reconnect,” she said. “In so doing, we hope that audiences will have a deep emotional connection to the issues, and a better understanding of why it is important to keep Indigenous children connected to their
cultures.”

Tickets and passes for this year’s festival went on sale April 1 and can be purchased through the festival’s website, cascadiafilmfest.org. “I expect “Daughter of a Lost Bird” and “Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest’’ to sell out quickly, so if people want tickets they should buy them as soon as possible,” Crooks said.

She also said the directors are excited to interact with the audience again through the viewings as well as the two back-to-back “Film as Activism” discussion panels on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Bellingham Downtown Arts District. The panel will be made up of directors who will be able to answer questions on the films.

A script studio will be hosted the following day on Sunday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mount Baker Theater Encore Room. This event provides an opportunity for four script writers, chosen by submission, to read their work to film professionals and receive feedback.

Each year, CASCADIA selects an honored guest to recognize during the festival. The honored guest is a woman who is chosen based on her career’s achievement, contribution to the film industry and role as an advocate for women in the industry.

This year’s honored guest is director Martha Coolidge. Crooks said she is very excited about this nomination because Coolidge is a well-known advocate for women and has opened many doors for women directors since the creation of her feature film “Valley Girl.”

Those who may want to get involved with the festival as a volunteer are more than welcome; the only requirement for getting involved with the festival is proof of Covid-19 vaccination.

“Film can entertain, educate, inspire and enlighten,” Crooks said. “If people walk away from this festival having felt one of those four things, then we’ve done our job.”