Festival offers feast of award-winning independent films
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025
Vashon Film Institute, the island nonprofit dedicated to fostering independent filmmaking in the Pacific Northwest, has announced the slate for its fourth annual Vashon Island Film Festival, set to unspool from August 7-10, at Vashon Theatre.
The festival will screen nine features and fifteen shorts, plus the opening night film “The Balconettes” — all culled from the national and international film festival circuit.
Founded by Film Institute president and longtime island resident Mark Mathias Sayre, who also serves as the CEO of motion picture distributor The Forge, VIFF will serve up an array of features and shorts curated by a team including Stacey Oristano, an actress known for her work in “Friday Night Lights,” “Shameless and other films.
The festivities will kick off on Thurday, Aug. 7 and will include the 7 p.m. screening of “The Balconettes,” a film that was included in the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
This horror comedy film, screening out of competition at VIFF, features an ensemble cast starring Souheila Yacoub, Sanda Codreanu, Noémie Merlant, and Lucas Bravo, with Merlant also writing and directing. It follows three women who get stuck in a Marseille apartment during a heat wave, finding themselves trapped, terrified and longing for freedom.
Narrative features
Laurent Slama’s “A Second Life,” screened in the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, is set during the Olympic Games. It explores the unexpected bond that forms between a hearing-impaired American and a free-spirited wanderer in the vibrant streets of Paris. The film screens at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10.
Ari Gold’s “Brother Verses Brother” was included in the 2025 edition of Austin’s famed SXSW festival. This one-shot “improvised” musical follows twin brothers on an urgent journey through San Francisco, searching for their missing father. The film will be screened at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9.
Ernesto Martinez Bucio’s “The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)” was the Best First Feature prizewinner at Berlinale 2025. The film follows five siblings who mimic the fears of their schizophrenic grandmother, dissolving the barriers between what is real and imaginary as they try to stay together. It plays at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8.
Georgi M. Unkovski’s “DJ Ahmet,” which won two major prizes at Sundance this year, tells the story of a 15-year-old Yuruk boy from a remote North Macedonian village who escapes into music amidst parental expectations, societal conservatism, and forbidden love for a promised girl. It will be screened at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8.
Henry Bernadet’s “Gamma Rays” comes to Vashon following its Slamdance 2025 win for Best Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize. It tells the story of three souls: Abdel, whose summer is upended by the arrival of his cousin; Fatima, who craves a stable life while she begins a new job as a supermarket cashier; and Toussaint, who finds a bottle washed up on the shore, containing a message. It will be screened at 3 p.m. Aug. 9.
Phil Moniz and Kevin Claydon’s “Racewalkers,” winner of Slamdance 2025 Best Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize, follows a failing racewalking coach who joins forces with a former baseball pro who shows natural walking talent. The film, starring Robbie Amell, plays at 12 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10.
Documentary features
Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno’s “Coroner To The Stars” — winner of the Slamdance 2025 Best Documentary Feature Audience Award — chronicles former Los Angeles Chief Coroner Dr. Noguchi, known for his work in infamous cases from Marilyn Monroe and Robert Kennedy to Sharon Tate and Natalie Wood. The film plays at 12 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9.
Brittany Shyne’s “Seeds,” Sundance 2025’s U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner, is a look into the lives of Black generational farmers, exploring the challenges of maintaining legacy and the value of land ownership. It screens at 12 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8.
Benjamin Flaherty’s “Shuffle,” winner of SXSW 2025 Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award, was shot over three years, following three people navigating a dangerous treatment industry rife with insurance fraud as they try to get out alive. It plays at 12 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7.
Short films
The festival’s narrative short film program plays at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9. It includes Alex Thompson’s “Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting,” Chi Thai’s “Lullaby,” Aisling Byrne’s “Turnaround,” Daisy Friedman’s “Unholy” and Bianca Politti’s “Video Barn.”
The documentary shorts program, playing at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, includes Mark Shapiro’s “The Invisible Enemy,” Lesley Loksi Chan’s “Lloyd Wong, Unfinished,” Charles Frank’s “Shanti Rides Shotgun,” Loren Waters’ “Tiger,” and Christopher Radcliff’s “We Were the Scenery.”
Animated shorts, playing at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, include Natalia León’s “As If the Earth Had Swallowed Them Up (Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado),” Olivia Marie Valdez’ “Dormilón,” John Kelly’s “Retirement Plan,” Calleen Koh’s “My Wonderful Live,” and Emerson Tenney’s “Vibrantea.”
All the short films shown in these three programs have garnered bookings and/or major prizes at prestigious film festivals worldwide.
A program of local shorts, ShortCutz, will play at 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7, and include the world premiere of the student film, “Pizza Purge,” directed by local teen filmmaker Levi Cobb and featuring an all-star cast of his island friends along with a few off-island teens. The film was made through a partnership between Vashon Film Institute and McMurray Middle School’s film club.
Prizes
Features compete for the Quartermaster Award and the Audience Award for Best Feature, as well as Red Bicycle Awards in each category, as determined by the VFI’s programming team. Shorts compete for the Burton Award and the Audience Award for Best Short. The awards ceremony takes place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, August 10.
Quartermaster and Burton Award winners are selected by VIFF’s jury in an anonymous voting process. This year’s jury consists of VIFF alumni: Jury President Jewerl Keats Ross, Olivia Blue, and Jonathan Hsu and Nick Richey. Audience Awards are determined by festival attendees.
General admission to VIFF is available through single screening tickets or an all-access pass to all screenings. Those looking for additional perks —particularly local supporters — can become VFI members for $79.99 per year, which includes an all-access pass and other member benefits.
Vashon Film Institute
Vashon Film Institute has has three flagship programs: the Vashon Island Film Festival, held annually during the second week of August; the Quartermaster Lab (“Qlab”), a collective of filmmaker development programs; and VFIpresents, a sales, distribution, and release arm that also curates community events.
2025 sponsors of the Vashon Island Film Festival and Vashon Film Festival include Little Cup, C’Mon Barber, and O Sole Mio.
Find out more about all festival and get tickets at vashonislandfilmfestival.com.
