Port Townsend Film Festival 2008

A group of scientists travel to a remote island to study the effects of nuclear weapons’ tests, only to become stranded when their airplane explodes. The team soon discovers that the island has been taken over by crabs that have mutated into enormous, intelligent monsters. To add to their problems, the island is slowly sinking into the ocean. Print Source: New Concorde

“August Evening” follows an undocumented aging worker, Jaime, and his young widowed daughter-in-law, Lupe, as their lives are thrown into upheaval. Lupe is more of a daughter to Jaime than his own children, and the two try to stick together . ..but change is inevitable. Northwest Premiere Awards: 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival: Target Award for Best Film and Best Acting Ensemble Award. Print Source: Chris Eska Email: chriseska@hotmail.com

A gleaming silhouette rockets through the cosmos. She is The Aviatrix, and she exists in the mind of Anne, a young woman battling cancer. Print Source: toddyburton@earthlink.net

“People never really talk unless they’re dying,” observes one character early on in “Barcelona (A Map).” This moody meditation on identity and change is based on Lluisa Cunille’s play, “Barcelona, Map of Shadows.” An elderly former doorman at the opera is dying of cancer. One by one he and his wife tell the tenants of their Barcelona apartment they must leave so that the couple might enjoy privacy in his final days. A series of tête-à-têtes with the three tenants reveal secrets, stir painful memories and confront inexorable truths. Afterward, the couple reunites for one final, transformative “aria.” “Barcelona (A Map)” is like the city itself—classic and modern, culturally distinct and highly original.” – Margarita Landazuri. Variety review: "Big issues in small rooms" could be an alternate title for "Barcelona: A Map," a typically thought-provoking (film) ….set in dingy Barcelona apartments, each dealing with solitude, defeat and ways of escape, the script is brilliantly brought to life by a gathering of fine thesps…. its deftness of touch and sheer humanity make it surprisingly accessible fare. Northwest Premiere Awards: 2007 Barcelona Film Award: Nominated Best Film in Catalan Language; Nominated, Best Score. 2008 Goya Awards: Nominated, Best Screenplay. Print Source: Latido Films Email: oalonzo@latidofilms.com

An unvarnished look at the life in a village in Labrador. Six savvy, gutsy young people talk about addiction, suicide, lack of jobs, hopelessness. “I first thought about suicide when I was 7,” one 16-year-old says. Interviews with elders, grandparents and teachers round out this portrait of a community in crisis. Print Source: Documentary Educational Resources Email: Brittany@der.org

Three high school juniors hatch a plan to fix their grades, but when news of their success gets around the school, they quickly get in too deep and must try to change everybody’s grades without letting the faculty know what’s going on. A first narrative feature by a Shoreline filmmaker. Email: craigpackard@gmail.com

While travelling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship they are sailing on. When the ship sinks both Alec and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. Alec befriends the horse, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training The Black to race against the fastest horses in the world. “The Black Stallion is a perfect gem.” —Variety Print Source: Swank Motion Pictures, Inc Email: bclaussen@swank.com

Carrie White is a shy girl who doesn't make friends easily. After her classmates taunt her about her horrified reaction to her unexpected first menstrual period, one of them takes pity on her and gets her boyfriend (and class hunk) to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Meanwhile another girl who has been banned from the prom for her continued aggressive behaviour is not as forgiving and plans a trick to embarrass Carrie in front of the whole school. What she doesn't realise is that Carrie is ... gifted, and you really don't want to get her angry. Or her mother. Roger Ebert: “The scariest horror stories -- the ones by M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oliver Onions -- are like (‘Carrie’). They develop their horrors out of the people they observe. That happens here, too. Does it ever.” Print Source: United Artists

Kai is a street performer who lives in an old church. She is in love with a young man, Jason, who cannot love her back. The film takes place in a single day, in which the Jason reappears in her life in order to apologize for not having taken her seriously. Email: noelpaul@u.washington.edu