AUGUST 12 – 14
Putting the independent back in film festival, the Vashon Island Film Festival (“VIFF”) is an annual 3-day event held on picturesque Vashon Island, WA, every second weekend of August.
The inaugural VIFF shall be held on August 12 – 14, 2022.
2022 Festival Badges
The following tiers of film festival badges are available for purchase. Get your badge today to save 10% off the price of single tickets.
Platinum Badge
12 film screenings + Opening Night Gala + Saturday Night Soiree + Awards Ceremony
$117
Gold Badge
6 film screenings + Saturday Night Soiree + Awards Ceremony
$72
Silver Badge
3 film screenings + Saturday Night Soiree or Awards Ceremony
$36
Valid for one screening only. Admittance not guaranteed. See “Attendance” below.
Attendance
Attendance to VIFF is made available through badges, of which there are three tiers (Platinum, Gold, and Silver), or single screening tickets. A finite number of badges and tickets are available for sale, but are transferable. Badge access is restricted by type, as detailed above. Each screening allotted per badge (and each single screening ticket) is valid for one screening only and cannot be used for multiple entrants. Badge-holders and single screening ticket holders may form a queue 1-hour before each screening and will be admitted at the scheduled showtime. Admittance is not guaranteed and closes once capacity has been met. Tickets for VIFF’s Seminar/Lecture series are sold separately. Badges can be picked up from the Vashon Theatre.
VIFF 2022 LINE UP
NARRATIVE FEATURES
1-800-Hot-Nite
Director: Nick Richey
Cast: Dallas Dupree Young, Gerrison Machado, Mylen Bradford, and Ali Richey
Produced by Vashon’s own Zach Mann and Mark Mathias Sayre, 1-800-Hot-Nite follows 13-year-old Tommy (Dallas Dupree Young) after he loses his father to a drug raid, embarking upon an urban odyssey guided by a phone sex operator (Ali Richey) and with the help of his two best friends, O’Neill (Gerrison Machado) and Steve (Mylen Bradford).
A film festival favorite (Santa Barbara International Film Festival/Deadcenter) and the 2022 Dances with Films Audience Award Winner for Fusion Features, writer/director Nick Richey’s follow-up to the hit indie Low Low (2019) has been revered by critics as “… a great tale of redemption and growth” (Movie-Blogger.com) that is “surprisingly heartfelt and realistic” (Film Threat), and star “[Dallas Dupree] Young is a revelation.” Fans of coming-of-age stories won’t want to miss this special film.
Showtime: Friday, August 12, 2022 | 5:30PM | Vashon Theatre
Website/Social
www.instagram.com/1800hotnitefilm
www.tiktok.com/1800hotnitefilm
Crabs!
Director: Pierce Berolzheimer
Cast: Dylan Riley Snyder, Allie Jennings, Jessica Morris, Bryce Durfee, Robert Craighead, Chase Padgett
A horde of murderous crab monsters descends on a sleepy coastal town during prom night, and only a ragtag group of outcasts can save the day.
The reviews speak for themselves:
“Stupid, ridiculous, inept… AMAZING!… Feeling like a product of 50s creature-feature B-movies… Crabs! is a film lover’s dream… It’s like watching a horror movie version of Power Rangers…” – Phil Wheat, Nerdly
“Some films are created with such a passion for genre cinema that they literally blow up the screen… nothing can prepare you to discover this film… an improbable but successful cross of Goonies vs. giant monsters.” – Mulderville
“Outlandish, offbeat, and almost exhausting in just how many sharks (or crabs?) it threatens to jump. By the credits, it feels like Berolzheimer and co. have surpassed the B-movie pantheon of “so bad it’s good” many time overs.” – Ben Robins, Heyuguys
Showtime: Friday, August 12, 2022 | 9:00PM | Night Light Drive-In at Open Space
Trailer: https://youtu.be/pzIDAOZcu2A
Social
www.facebook.com/crabsmovie
www.twitter.com/crabsmovie
Freedom’s Path
Director: Brett Smith
Cast: Gerran Howell, RJ Cyler, Ewen Bremner, Carol Sutton, Afemo Omilami, Steven Swadling, Harrison Gilbertson, Thomas Jefferson Byrd
William (Gerran Howell), a Union soldier, flees from battle and is serendipitously rescued by Kitch (RJ Cyler), a black man. Risking everything, Kitch takes William to the seclusion and safety of his adopted home: a community of freed slaves who run a portion of the Underground Railroad. But when a ruthless and desperate slave catcher (Ewen Bremner) discovers the network, he conspires to bring it burning down to the ground…and everyone with it.
VIFF’s Saturday night headliner, discover why early audience reactions have been littered with praise of the highest order for Freedom’s Path: “Oscar potential”; “Deeply emotional”; “Original, powerful, and beautiful film”; “This is poetry on screen”; “Best film I’ve seen in years”; “A MUST WATCH!!!”
Showtime: Saturday, August 13, 2022 | 5:30PM | Vashon Theatre
Trailer: https://youtu.be/a_FFOdMNaFc
Website
Good Girl Jane
Director: Sarah Elizabeth Mintz
Cast: Rain Spencer, Patrick Gibson, Odessa A’zion, Eloisa Huggins, Jules Lorenzo, Olan Prenatt, Diego Chiat, Shakewell, Yeek, with Gale Harold and Andie MacDowell
Failing to find intimacy in her broken home, a lonely young girl falls hard for a charming drug dealer and becomes entangled in his meth ring run by LA teens.
The winner of both the Founders Award for Best U.S. Narrative Feature and Best Performance (Rain Spencer) for a U.S. Narrative Feature at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, this “… gritty character study is punctuated by moments of poignancy” (We Got This Covered) as “[director Sarah Elizabeth] Mintz’s intense and bracing gaze… allows her to chart her own singular path” (The Playlist). The Independent Critic’s Richard Propes notes: “Good Girl Jane announces the presence of Rain Spencer in a way that should have Hollywood knocking on her door.”
Showtime: Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 3:00PM | Vashon Theatre
Social
www.instagram.com/goodgirljanefilm
I Love My Dad
Director: James Morosini
Cast: James Morosini, Patton Oswalt, Claudia Sulewski, Lil Rey Howery, Rachel Dratch, Amy Landecker, Ricky Velez
Inspired by writer/director/star James Morosini’s true life experience, I Love My Dad follows Chuck (Patton Oswalt), an estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his depressive son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son’s life, Chuck impersonates a waitress (Claudia Sulewski) online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl and wants nothing more than to meet her in-person, as Chuck inadvertently ‘catfished’ his own son.
The winner of SXSW 2022’s Grand Jury Award in the Narrative Feature Competition and boasting a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I Love My Dad showcases “terrific performances” (Austin Chronicle) as “[Morosini] takes an embarrassing thing that happened to him and turns it into a squirm-inducing (albeit surprisingly accepting) father-son comedy” (Variety) that “has moments that are downright hysterical, while others [are] cringe-worthy and disturbing in the best of ways. It is both funny and tenderhearted, and [there is no] film quite like it” (Awards Daily). Critic Andrea Thompson concludes: “That [Morosini] pulls this off so successfully is doubtless an indicator of a filmmaker at the cusp of a long career” (A Reel of One’s Own).
Showtime: Saturday, August 13, 2022 | 3:00PM | Vashon Theatre
Trailer: https://youtu.be/__FXp-MiY1o
Website/Social
www.magpictures.com/ilovemydad
www.facebook.com/ilovemydadfilm
www.instagram.com/ilovemydadfilm
www.twitter.com/ilovemydadfilm
Juniper
Director: Katherine Dudas
Cast: Madison Lawlor, Decker Sadowski, Olivia Blue
Mack (Madison Lawlor) attempts to spiritually connect with her recently deceased sister by escaping to her family’s rustic cabin. But her seclusion is cut short when her type-A childhood bestie, Alex (Decker Sadowski), crashes the private grief retreat with her own offbeat friend, Dylan (Olivia Blue). Emotions run high as Alex attempts to bond with an increasingly resentful Mack, and tensions mount as Dylan’s true feelings for Alex begin to show.
Premiering at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival early this year, Juniper is “a solid entry into the mumblecore genre… [it] excels in the performances, particularly that of the lead trio… Another strength is that [the film] is thoroughly and unapologetically a female-centered film, with the leads, writers, producers, editors, and directors almost all being women. Key themes include the delicate balancing act women face between being themselves and pleasing others and all the shades in between rivalry and support” (Film Threat). Bello echoes this sentiment about Juniper: “It’s time to feel EMPOWERED. It’s time to be feel BOLD. It’s time to feel FREE.”
Showtime: Friday, August 12, 2022 | 3:00PM | Vashon Theatre
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/616164216
Website/Social
www.instagram.com/juniperfeaturefilm
Traveling Light
Director: Bernard Rose
Cast: Tony Todd, Danny Huston, Stephen Dorff, Matthew Jacobs, Olivia d’Abo, Duke Nicholson
Set against the isolation of the Covid lockdowns, Uber driver Caddy (Tony Todd) searches for his missing son, who has been living on the streets. He crosses paths with Harry (Danny Huston), a cult leader holding a bizarre happening/ceremony on Mulholland Drive where Todd (Stephen Dorff) and Mary (Olivia d’Abo) are attending as acolytes.
The latest entry from renowned writer/director Bernard Rose (Candyman, Immortal Beloved), and executive produced by Oscar nominee and Seattle native S. Leigh Savidge (Straight Outta Compton), Traveling Light is funny and frightening in equal measure; a Bunuelian satire of bourgeoisie life in Los Angeles and the irreverent madness of the pandemic.
Showtime: Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 12:30PM | Vashon Theatre
Trailer: https://youtu.be/0jK74_5p9Es
Wes Schlagenhauf is Dying
Director: Parker Seaman
Cast: Devin Das, Parker Seaman, Wes Schlagenhauf
After learning that their best friend Wes Schlagenhauf is dying, filmmakers Parker Seaman and Devin Das decide to document their journey to see Wes one last time… all in the name of Hollywood success.
A mockumentary film about filmmaking set during the pandemic, Wes Schlagenhauf is Dying recently premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, where its “laugh-out-loud bluntness” (Hammertonail) had audiences in stitches: “Seaman and Das have made a feel-good buddy comedy that never tries to make itself self-important, and ends up having you believe in the power of friendship. Whether they disagree on what shots to get or squabble over the other’s Disney+ password, Parker and Dev have got each other’s backs. Audiences are in for a short but hilarious and very gratifying road trip.”
Showtime: Sunday, August 13, 2022 | 10:00AM | Vashon Theatre
Social
@wesisdying
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts
Director: Dru Holley
Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts explores the often-contradictory role played by Black soldiers throughout American history, with particular emphasis on the settling of the American West and colonialism abroad.
Fresh off the heels of its world premiere at the Seattle International Film Festival, The Stranger’s Charles Mudede hails the documentary as “expertly edited and researched,” further confirmed by Film Threat’s Josiah Teal: “[The film] asks questions of its audience and holds a mirror to the world… one cannot help but acknowledge its sheer historical value.”
Showtime: Friday, August 12, 2022 | 12:30PM | Vashon Theatre
Trailer: https://youtu.be/QvopfQQxdIg
Website/Social
https://www.facebook.com/buffsolFOTF
https://www.instagram.com/buffalosoldiersdoc
Tiger 24: The Making of a Man-Eater
Director: Warren Pereira
When a wild tiger kills men who enter his territory, he is declared a man-eater and locked up in a zoo. This galvanizes massive social uproar and activists take their cause to the streets, online, and all the way to the Supreme Court.
Living in a space between nature and true crime documentary, Tiger 24 is in a class all its own. Counting Tiger King’s Carole Baskin among one of its most vocal advocates, it “… is a compelling and dramatic story for animal lovers and fans of crime procedurals” (Film Threat). “Even shorn of its subtexts, Tiger 24 contains intimate, unguarded footage of large predators that would make David Attenborough green with envy” (Oregon Arts Watch).
Showtime: Saturday, August 13, 2022 | 12:30PM | Vashon Theater
Trailer: https://youtu.be/pCyMXlukFTk
Website/Social
https://www.facebook.com/tigernumber24
https://www.instagram.com/Tiger24Film/
https://twitter.com/TigerNumber24
SEMINARS/LECTURES
From Script to Screen: The Evolution of an Edit – click to buy tickets!
Born and bred on Vashon Island, director Anthony O’Brien explores the significant metamorphosis a film undergoes before it is presented to audiences. Drawing from real life experience during the filming of his epic Western The Timber, O’Brien deconstructs what can go right and what can go wrong during each stage of film production, and how to navigate the middle ground between.
Showtime: Sunday, August 14, 2022 | 10:00AM | Vashon Center for the Arts
Schedule
