EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Beth de Araújo’s breakout year is continuing with the announcement of a signature award from the upcoming Orcas Island Film Festival in Washington state.
The festival announced Tuesday it will honor the director of Josephine with its Jean-Marc Vallée Vanguard Award, named for the late filmmaker and frequent guest of the Orcas Island Film Festival. The award celebrates “bold, distinctive artists” whose work embodies Vallée’s “spirit of creative independence and discovery.”
OIFF, which runs October 14-18, also announced producer Pamela Koffler, co-founder of Killer Films, as its Marquee Industry Guest. In November, Koffler and her longtime producing partner Christine Vachon will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Motion Picture Academy’s Governors Awards. Vachon and Koffler’s extraordinary body of work includes Past Lives, Carol, May December, Boys Don’t Cry, Far from Heaven, Still Alice, First Reformed, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Happiness, I’m Not There, Zola, A Different Man, and Materialists.
Koffler will take part in a conversation about her work on Saturday, October 17, to be moderated by Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist.
The Orcas Island Film Festival lineup features a bold slate of Oscar-contending films, among them de Araújo’s Josephine, starring Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum, which won the Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the festival’s Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic. It’s joined in the program by Fjord, the Palme d’Or winner directed by Cristian Mungiu; La Bola Negra, which won the Best Director prize at Cannes for filmmakers Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, as well as the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award for Best Film; Bitter Christmas, directed by Pedro Almodóvar; The Debut, directed by Jesse Eisenberg; Lukas Dhont’s Coward, which won acting prizes at Cannes for Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne; All of a Sudden, directed by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, which earned Cannes Best Actress prizes for Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto; Rose, the film directed by Markus Schleinzer that won actress Sandra Hüller the Berlin Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance; Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone, which is generating Oscar buzz for lead actor Andrew Scott, and The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, directed by Noah Segan, which is attracting Oscar buzz for lead actor John Turturro.
The nonfiction lineup is similarly stacked with Oscar contenders like Once Upon a Time in Harlem, directed by David Greaves and produced by Liani Greaves; Barbara Kopple’s Union Town; Boatbuilders, directed by Luke Lorentzen; Rehearsals for a Revolution, directed by Pegah Ahangarani, and Nuisance Bear, directed by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman.
“This program captures what makes Orcas such a special destination for film lovers: audiences can discover some of the year’s most celebrated international films, major awards contenders and singular new voices, then meet and hear directly from the filmmakers and artists behind them,” said Carl Spence, OIFF co-founder and co-director. “From Palme d’Or and Sundance prize winners to leading international Oscar submissions, an exceptional documentary program, the Jean-Marc Vallée Vanguard Award, Pamela Koffler and our visiting filmmakers and industry guests, this is one of the strongest and most exciting festivals we’ve presented. What makes OIFF unique is the intimacy of the experience—extraordinary cinema, meaningful conversations and unforgettable celebrations, all together on Orcas Island.”
OIFF describes itself as a “destination festival without the lines.” Last year’s event attracted attendees from 25 U.S. states and nine countries “to experience acclaimed international cinema against the spectacular backdrop of the San Juan Islands.”
“We want the OIFF experience to feel special from the moment you arrive on Orcas—not stressful,” commented Donna Laslo, OIFF co-director. “With reserved seating for every screening, we’ve virtually eliminated the long lines and uncertainty that come with general admission. You can choose your films, select your favorite seats in advance, and then simply show up and enjoy the festival. Very few film festivals offer reserved seating, and for our guests, it makes an enormous difference.”
OIFF will also host an industry panel bringing visiting filmmakers, artists and industry guests together for intimate conversations about storytelling, filmmaking and the journey from the festival circuit to awards season. True Stories, Unscripted, on Friday, October 16 at Parish Hall, will feature special guests from this year’s documentary lineup and take audiences behind the scenes of nonfiction filmmaking—from the first spark of an idea to the remarkable characters and unexpected moments that could never have been scripted.
ALL OF A SUDDEN | Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | France | 196 min
Oscar winner Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s sweeping new drama stars Cannes Best Actress winners Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto in a luminous story of elder care, mortality, dignity, and unexpected human connection.
Sundance Special Jury Award winner Stephanie Ahn’s acclaimed debut stars Moon Choi and Son Suk-ku in an intimate Korean American drama about family expectations, old wounds, identity, and second chances.
BITTER CHRISTMAS | Dir. Pedro Almodóvar | Spain | 111 min
Pedro Almodóvar returns with Bárbara Lennie, Patrick Criado, and Leonardo Sbaraglia in a witty, melancholic puzzle where an actress mines real lives for a screenplay—and may herself be someone else’s character.
Documentary. Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Sundance Award-winning director Luke Lorentzen’s beautifully observed documentary follows craftspeople of Brooklin Boat Yard across four seasons as they transform raw timber into a magnificent 56-foot sailboat—a celebration of craftsmanship, community, and purpose.
LA BOLA NEGRA | Dir. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo | Spain | 155 min
Cannes Best Director winners Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi unite Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close in a sweeping drama linking three eras through desire, inheritance, Spanish history, and Federico García Lorca.
CARL SAGAN: WE ARE MADE OF STAR STUFF | Dir. Nanette Burstein | USA | 98 min
Documentary. With unprecedented access to Carl Sagan’s personal archive, this documentary reveals the life behind the visionary astronomer, exploring the ideas, relationships and questions that shaped his understanding of the cosmos and humanity, from Academy Award-nominated director Nanette Burstein and producer Seth MacFarlane.
CLARISSA | Dir. Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri | Nigeria | 134 min
Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo leads David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, and a superb ensemble in this reimagining of Mrs. Dalloway, transposed to contemporary Nigeria with romance, memory, and trauma.
Cannes Acting Prize winners Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne lead Lukas Dhont’s deeply moving drama about grief, masculinity, friendship, and the pressure to become who others expect. Belgium’s official Oscar submission marks a powerful return from the acclaimed director of CLOSE and GIRL.
From director Alain Gomis, this New York and Berlin Film Festival selection intercuts a memorial in Guinea-Bissau and a Paris wedding, revealing one family’s bonds across continents, generations, ritual, migration, memory, and community.
Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti star in Jesse Eisenberg’s theater-world comedy about a neglected housewife who joins a community musical and discovers that losing herself onstage may help her find herself.
THE DREAMED ADVENTURE | DIR. VALESKA GRISEBACH | GERMANY | 162 MIN
Winner of the Cannes Jury Prize, Valeska Grisebach’s quietly thrilling new film about a middle-aged archaeologist searching for a missing former flame on the fragile border between Eastern and Western Europe gradually shifts into a wide-ranging crime saga.
ELSINORE | DIR. SIMON STONE | UNITED KINGDOM | 111 MIN
Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, and Johnny Flynn star in the deeply emotional and inspirational true story of Ian Charleson, a gifted actor whose greatest challenge becomes his greatest triumph. Facing his own mortality with unflinching honesty, wit, and grace, Charleson delivers a courageous performance that becomes a source of healing and inspiration for those around him.
THE ENDLESS FRONTIER | Dir. Marilyn Ness | USA | 82 min
Documentary. Emmy-winning filmmaker Marilyn Ness follows scientists confronting disease, climate change, and other urgent threats while revealing the political and financial pressures jeopardizing American research—and the discoveries, progress, and lives that depend on it.
EVERYTIME | Dir. Sandra Wollner | Austria | 121 min
Cannes Un Certain Regard Prize winner EVERYTIME, Sandra Wollner’s haunting drama (and Germany’s Oscar submission) stars Birgit Minichmayr in a dreamlike family story where grief, memory, reality, and mourning begin to blur.
FATHERLAND | Dir. Paweł Pawlikowski | Germany | 82 min
Cannes Best Director winner Paweł Pawlikowski directs Hanns Zischler and Sandra Hüller in a striking postwar drama about Thomas and Erika Mann confronting exile, memory, guilt, and Germany’s devastated moral landscape.
Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as Romanian immigrants in Norway whose family is upended by abuse allegations, igniting a tense battle over trust, culture, and institutional power.
OIFF 2026 | 5GENTLE MONSTER | Dir. Marie Kreutzer | Austria | 114 min
Léa Seydoux, Jella Haase, and Catherine Deneuve lead Marie Kreutzer’s Cannes Competition thriller about a police raid, a fractured family, and one woman’s terrifying uncertainty over what to believe about her husband.
Zou Jing’s intimate critics’ prize-winning coming-of-age drama follows a young girl abruptly removed from her mother and rural home, tracing abandonment, resilience, identity, and the emotional scars of growing up between families.
Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize winner LA GRADIVA turns a school trip to Naples into a vivid coming-of-age drama as attraction, jealousy, class tension, and longing erupt among teenagers wandering ruins and volcanic landscapes.
HUMBOLDT USA | Dir. G. Anthony Svatek | USA | 89 min
Documentary. Across three very different American places named for Alexander von Humboldt, this lively, visually inventive documentary explores nature, technology, climate, and the surprising ways our lives remain connected to the world around us. Director G. Anthony Svatek is scheduled to attend.
Oscar winner Peter Farrelly directs Anthony Ippolito, Stephan James, and Matt Dillon in the irresistible true story of Sylvester Stallone betting everything on starring in Rocky—the role that changed movie history.
IN WAVES | Dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen | France | 91 min
Lyna Khoudri, Paul Kircher, and Rio Vega voice this acclaimed graphic-novel adaptation, a visually distinctive animated romance blending surf culture, memory, young love, and grief in fluid, expressive style.
Venice and Telluride Festival hit INK stars Guy Pearce, Jack O’Connell, and Claire Foy in Danny Boyle’s propulsive, darkly funny story of Rupert Murdoch, tabloid disruption, populism, ambition, and the birth of modern media culture.
Cannes Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize winner IRON BOY is a tender animated adventure about a ten-year-old forced into an iron corset who discovers music, friendship, rebellion, and a new sense of self.
This Sundance Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner stars Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum and follows a young woman who is haunted by the trauma of witnessing a disturbing event that opens her eyes to the violence around her. Jean-Marc Vallee Vanguard Award Winner.
LANDSCAPES OF MEMORY | Dir. Leah Galant | USA | 77 min
Documentary. Filmmaker Leah Galant turns family history into a provocative documentary examining Holocaust memory, inherited trauma, Jewish identity, Palestinian suffering, and the political uses of remembrance across generations. Director Leah Galant is scheduled to attend.
OIFF 2026 | 6LOOK BACK | Dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu | Japan | 100 min
Visionary filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda brings Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga to life in a tender, beautifully observed story of two young artists whose friendship, rivalry, and shared passion for drawing shape their lives—and reveal creativity’s life-changing power.
A MAN OF HIS TIME | Dir. Emmanuel Marre | Belgium | 155 min
Cannes Best Screenplay winner A MAN OF HIS TIME stars ANATOMY OF A FALL’s Swann Arlaud as a Vichy civil servant whose faith in government collapses amid collaboration, bureaucracy, and moral surrender.
THE MELTDOWN | Dir. Manuela Martelli | Chile | 100 min
Cannes Un Certain Regard selection THE MELTDOWN follows a nine-year-old in the Andes after her teenage friend vanishes, with Saskia Rosendahl and Jakub Gierszał uncovering adult secrets beneath a child’s perspective.
MINOTAUR | Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev | France | 138 min
Cannes Grand Prix winner Andrey Zvyagintsev returns with a gripping drama of jealousy, power, and corruption as a wealthy executive’s suspected affair exposes patriarchal entitlement, moral rot, and a wider political sickness.
MOUSE | Dir. Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson | USA | 120 min
MOUSE stars Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Chloe Coleman, Sophie Okonedo, David Hyde Pierce, and Iman Vellani in a tender, funny 2002-set story of friendship, family, and growing apart.
NUISANCE BEAR | Dir. Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | USA | 90 min
Documentary. Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize winner NUISANCE BEAR transforms a familiar polar-bear story into a visually daring documentary about survival, spectacle, tourism, Indigenous perspective, and human coexistence in a rapidly changing Arctic.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HARLEM | Dir. William Greaves, David Greaves | USA | 100 min
Documentary. In 1972, filmmaker William Greaves gathered legendary Harlem Renaissance figures for an
extraordinary conversation; more than fifty years later, his son completes the cinematic time capsule—an official selection at Cannes and the New York Film Festival.
THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK | Dir. Noah Segan | USA | 88 min
John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Steve Buscemi, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tatiana Maslany headline this Sundance-premiered New York crime film about old-school street craft, a changing city, and consequences catching up.
This Cannes and New York Film Festival selection stars Adam Driver, Miles Teller, and Scarlett Johansson in James Gray’s gripping 1980s New York thriller about brotherhood, crime, pollution, family, and ambition’s dark side.
POSSIBLE LOVE | Dir. Lee Chang-dong | South Korea | 164 min
South Korea’s Oscar submission stars Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Cho Yeo-jeong, and Zo In-sung in Lee Chang-dong’s layered drama of class, marriage, labor conflict, ethics, and emotional betrayal.
RADIOHEART: THE DRIVE AND TIMES OF DJ KEVIN COLE | Dir. Peter Hilgendorf, Andrew Franks | USA | 83 min
Documentary. From Minneapolis dance floors to Seattle’s KEXP, legendary DJ Kevin Cole looks back on five decades of music, community, discovery, and the revolutionary power of radio. Subject Kevin Cole, Director Peter Hilgendorf, and Producer Susan Benson scheduled to attend.
REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION | Dir. Pegah Ahangarani | Czech Republic | 95 min
Documentary. Winner of the Best Documentary prize at Cannes, filmmaker and actress Pegah Ahangarani turns her own family archive into a profoundly personal chronicle of Iran’s long struggle for freedom. Drawing on home movies, street-protest footage, newspapers, sketches, photographs, and recorded voices, Ahangarani intertwines her life story with more than four decades of political upheaval.
ROSE | Dir. Markus Schleinzer | Austria/Germany | 94 min
Berlin Silver Bear winner Sandra Hüller stars in Austria’s Oscar submission ROSE, a gripping black-and-white drama about a woman living as a man after the Thirty Years’ War, risking property, marriage, freedom, and survival.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Abbi Jacobson, Bryan Cranston, and Seth Rogen lead the voice cast of this Cannes Film Festival animated adaptation about a daughter returning home to help care for her mother with Alzheimer’s.
Documentary. Two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple returns to labor documentary filmmaking with a Venice Film Festival selection following UPS, Amazon, and app-based delivery workers organizing across New York in a timely fight for solidarity and power.
Orcas Island’s own Ken Kwapis dramatizes the stranger-than-fiction story of The Shaggs, three sisters pushed into a band by their father whose failed musical dream later became outsider-art legend—funny, odd, and unexpectedly moving. Director Ken Kwapis is scheduled to attend.
A woman’s carefully ordered life is upended by an unexpected romantic encounter in Alice Vial’s warm French comedy about timing, vulnerability, and the surprises love still has in store.
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