To deeply understand the importance of protecting environmental sustainability…

The ancient world in the intertidal zone of repeated waves belonged to the land for a while and returned to the ocean with the rhythm of the tide. Thanks to this beach where the sea and land blend together, the company sets out to appreciate its profound understanding of the intertwining of life between organisms and the environment. Wisdom reproduces and evolves endlessly between the high and low tides and is all-encompassing.

When art intervenes in reality to speak out for environmental sustainability, can we really bring about changes?

Cost: $12.00
Purchase tickets in advance here

Website: kuntzandco.org/documenting-grace-a-dance-film-festival

CASCADIA International Film Festival presents:

The FIREHOUSE GOES FRENCH with "My Donkey, My Lover & I"

Join other lovers of film and all things French. Sample French macarons, chocolate and a beverage in the FireHouse Garden. Then make your way inside to enjoy the warmly hilarious and adorably French film, "My Donkey, My Lover & I" (“Antoinette dans les Cévennes”).

Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s, "Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes," the film "My Donkey, My Lover and I" is more of a misadventure comedy than a rom-com. School Teacher Antoinette, played by the splendid Laure Calamy, spends more time with her donkey than with her secret lover. Calamy’s effortless charm and comedic chops are wonderful to watch as she tries her best to get Patrick the donkey to cooperate. Of course, they form an unlikely bond.

French with English subtitles. Adult themes. NR

Cost: $20.00
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: Cascadia International Film Festival

Why Be Good? is a classic flapper comedy from the jazz age, released at the tail end of the silent film era.

Karen Rentko and her K-Kats put a lot of time into arranging a traditional jazz live score to accompany the movie and it came through brilliantly. They completed a score for this full-length film, ranging from sound effects matching the action to full-on songs featuring a guest vocalist.

The lively tunes accompanying the dance sequences are exciting, and the trumpet/trombone duet as the onscreen characters sang “Sweet Adeline” is hilarious. There will be a costume contest with pizes before the movie, so we hope the audience will be dressed up in their 1920s finest, so it will be a hotsy-totsy bash full of old-timey fun for everyone involved.

Cost: $20.00 at the door

The Kalliope Project film is a student-made documentary film that depicts the process of The Kalliope Project, a photography portfolio created by WWU students Maesie Halliday and Sophia Robertson.

The film documents the creative process of the project, depicting behind the scenes footage and interviews from project creators Halliday and Robertson. The film will run approximately 45 minutes and emphasize the important aspects of women-led creative projects and the reclamation of women's stories by women. It is a film that depicts the exploration and celebration of femininity, the complexities of womanhood, and the hard work put into the projects by its creators, models, and sponsors, showcasing the vibrant community of creative women in Bellingham. 

Cost: This event is not ticketed. However, cash donations of appreciation are gladly accepted.

The Trail Running Film Festival

The Trail Running Film Festival is back on tour and coming to Bellingham for a great night of films, inspiration, and community. You’re invited to celebrate with us running as a universal practice. Come explore our collective and individual potential, and let’s pursue our wildest dreams. We’re excited to bring you stories from around the world by filmmakers sharing their work of adventure, inclusivity, wilderness, art, and diversity across the trail and ultra community. Following the resounding success of the 2023 tour, the festival is set to reach new heights by featuring an expanded selection of captivating films in locations across the globe. Among the 2024 films are:

Know To Run: Yatika
Jordan Marie Whetstone - (10min)

Red Needle
Dom Bush and Simon Sylvester - (6min)

Brian Reynolds: The Leadville Trail 100
Michael Grasela - (16min)

Run Like a Kid
Guy Tucker - (1min)

Girls Run Ultras 
Ellie Windham - (15min)

Well Worn Life with Dani Reyes-Acosta
Daniel Mitchell and Trent Sugg - (6min)

Plus two to be announced

Watch the Festival teaser on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/876444350/4330ea333e
Get more information at https://outdoorartsandrec.org/and https://trailfilmfest.com/tour/

Cost: TBD
Purchase advance tickets here

Website:  trailfilmfest.com.

The Trail Running Film Festival is back on tour and coming to Bellingham for a great night of films, inspiration, and community. You’re invited to celebrate with us running as a universal practice. Come explore our collective and individual potential, and let’s pursue our wildest dreams. We’re excited to bring you stories from around the world by filmmakers sharing their work of adventure, inclusivity, wilderness, art, and diversity across the trail and ultra community. Following the resounding success of the 2023 tour, the festival is set to reach new heights by featuring an expanded selection of captivating films in locations across the globe. Among the 2024 films are:

Know To Run: Yatika
Jordan Marie Whetstone - (10min)

Red Needle
Dom Bush and Simon Sylvester - (6min)

Brian Reynolds: The Leadville Trail 100
Michael Grasela - (16min)

Run Like a Kid
Guy Tucker - (1min)

Girls Run Ultras 
Ellie Windham - (15min)

Well Worn Life with Dani Reyes-Acosta
Daniel Mitchell and Trent Sugg - (6min)

Plus two to be announced

Watch the Festival teaser on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/876444350/4330ea333e
Get more information at https://outdoorartsandrec.org/and https://trailfilmfest.com/tour/

Cost: TBD
Purchase advance tickets here

Website:  trailfilmfest.com.

ADUMU - An African Choreographer Fernando Anuang’A creates a dance show drawing on contemporary dance and Maasai tradition.

DANCE FOR CHANGE - In Dzaleka refugee camp, Malawi, home to over 40,000 people across Africa, a dance scene is emerging...a vehicle for rehabilitation and change.

WHY I DANCE - French choreographer Louis Clément da Costa worked with a group of young dancers in Kigali, Rwanda. The question they asked: "How do we find freedom despite the limitations in life and the country in which you live?"

Cost: $12 General Admission, $6 for Students/Seniors
Purchase advance tickets here (bundle pricing for all 4 films in the series)

Website: Kuntz and Company Events, ADUMU Trailer, Dance for Change Trailer

“The Dancing Man-Peg Leg Bates” brings to the screen the remarkable story of the legendary tap dancer and entrepreneur, Clayton “Peg Leg” who broke down barriers for Black Americans and all people with disabilities. The arc of Bates’ epic career stretches from Southern minstrel shows to the golden age of television when he entered America’s living rooms as a regular on the Ed Sullivan Show. 

The enormous impact of Peg Leg Bates on Black culture, and by extension American culture, is summed up by Ruth Brown, “In those days, there were two great things for Black people. One was that Peg Leg Bates was going to be on television and the other was that Joe Louis was going to fight.”

A Film By Dave Davidson

Cost: $12 General Admission, $6 for Students/Seniors
Purchase advance tickets here (bundle pricing for all 4 films in the series)

Website: Kuntz and Company Events

The love of dance and glitter bonds an unlikely group of 60-plus women in southwest Florida - The Calendar Girls. But under the veil of fake lashes and unicorn horns lurks the deeper truths of what aging women face within society. Sisterhood, love, loss - all come into play in this uplifting film about trying to age on your own terms and refusal to become invisible.

A feel good dance documentary directed and produced by Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen. 

Cost: $12 General Admission, $6 for Students/Seniors
Purchase advance tickets here (bundle pricing for all 4 films in the series)

Website: Kuntz and Company Events, Calendar Girls Trailer

In this moving and inspiring documentary, six diverse dancers from the acclaimed Battery Dance company travel the world, working with young people who’ve experienced war, poverty, sexual violence and severe trauma as refugees.

The goal: to teach them the tools of choreography so that they can tell their stories through dance. With just one week till performance, the film captures the struggle, frustration, determination, and transformation of students and teachers alike. 

a film by Rob Fruchtman, Cornelia Ravenal, Mikael Södersten and Wendy Sax

Cost: $12 General Admission, $6 for Students/Seniors
Purchase advance tickets here (bundle pricing for all 4 films in the series)

Website: Kuntz and Company Events, Moving Stories Trailer

"a piece about water ... or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change"

Kuntz and Company's newest work, Tidal, explores photography by Helen Scholtz, poetry by Jessica Ardis, music by Charlie Halka, and movement by numerous dancers and community members.

Cost: Suggested donations $1.00-$20.00
Attendees must reserve a seat, by going here

Website: https://www.kuntzandco.org

"a piece about water ... or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change"

Kuntz and Company's newest work, Tidal, explores photography by Helen Scholtz, poetry by Jessica Ardis, music by Charlie Halka, and movement by numerous dancers and community members.

Cost: Suggested donations $1.00-$20.00
Attendees must reserve a seat, by going here

Website: https://www.kuntzandco.org

"a piece about water ... or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change"

Kuntz and Company's newest work, Tidal, explores photography by Helen Scholtz, poetry by Jessica Ardis, music by Charlie Halka, and movement by numerous dancers and community members.

Cost: Suggested donations $1.00-$20.00
Attendees must reserve a seat, by going here

Website: https://www.kuntzandco.org

"a piece about water ... or a piece about influence and connection, inevitability and change"

Kuntz and Company's newest work, Tidal, explores photography by Helen Scholtz, poetry by Jessica Ardis, music by Charlie Halka, and movement by numerous dancers and community members.

Cost: Suggested donations $1.00-$20.00
Attendees must reserve a seat, by going here

Website: https://www.kuntzandco.org

Kuntz and Company's newest work, Tidal, explores photography by Helen Scholtz, poetry by Jessica Ardis, music by Charlie Halka, and movement by numerous dancers and community members: Alona Christman, Cara Congelli, Vanessa Daines, Rebecca deGraw, Shoshanah Epstein, Dudley Evenson, Joyce Harvey-Morgan, Bailer Kager, Pam Kuntz, Susan Marriott, Marissa Moeri, Annie Molsberry, Lucy Morse, Katy Mullen, Angela Sebastian

Research is ongoing, including a May 25th community exchange. Watch, Respond, and Question the creators as a part of their research journey in creating their new work TIDAL.

Time TBD - will be in the evening.

Cost: Free (donations are certainly welcome)
Attendees must reserve a seat, by going here

Website: kuntzandco.org

It seems like two separate realms. One is occupied by acclaimed dancers from Brooklyn’s world renowned Mark Morris Dance Group, the other by people with Parkinson’s disease. Capturing Grace is about what happens when those two worlds intersect.

Filmed over the course of a year, Dave Iverson’s remarkable documentary reveals the hopes, fears, and triumphs of this newly forged community as they work together to create a unique, life-changing performance. It’s a story filled with compelling moments and enduring characters who demonstrate the transformative power of art and the strength of the human spirit…and in so doing rediscover the meaning of grace.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

The Trail Running Film Festival

The Trail Running Film Festival is back on tour and coming to Bellingham for a great night of films, inspiration, and community. You’re invited to celebrate with us running as a universal practice. Come explore our collective and individual potential, and let’s pursue our wildest dreams. We’re excited to bring you stories from around the world by filmmakers sharing their work of adventure, inclusivity, wilderness, art, and diversity across the trail and ultra community.

Cost: $20
Purchase advance tickets here

Website:  trailfilmfest.com.

A piece of news halfway across the world leads a group of people from different backgrounds to put something that seemed impossible into practice: children with motor disabilities being protagonists on a theatre stage.

For families who have been suffering many defeats for years, something as seemingly ordinary as taking their children to dance classes is a major change in their lives. The voices of all those who make up this small dance company share an inspiring experience.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

In the spring of 2017, four older women and men started the monumental task of choreographing dances with a diverse group of New York seniors, most of whom had never danced on a stage before.

Over a few intense months, these choreographers, including the first black artist to have won a Tony award for choreography and a 92-year old former dance partner of pioneer Martha Graham, brought to life their ideas and sparked immense joy in the senior dancers.

The film documents this unlikely event and, in the process, reveals the heroic dedication and determination of the choreographers and dancers, for whom age does not impede but molds.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

Experience Finland Through Film -- Showcasing the unique perspectives from the land of a thousand lakes. 
You can find us on the web, at ffsuomi.com or on Facebook, where you can read more about the Film Festival and how to purchase tickets.

• $10 per film - $5 for students

• $25 per day (Saturday or Sunday)

• $50 for the entire festival weekend

The final day of the film festival brings us the beloved Moomins, a series of animated adventures that speak to the child in us all.

This is followed by a special short film from our local Sister Cities chapter. With 2020’s Tove, the creative life of Tove Jansson, the artist behind the internationally acclaimed Moomins, is brought to the big screen. We are presenting these two features free of charge. 

Afterward, experience the flavor of Finland’s southern neighbor, Estonia, with the inspiring 2015 film, The Fencer (Miekkailija).

Then, step back into the past with The White Reindeer (Valkoinen peura), the 1952 fantasy/horror film and the only Finnish film to win a Golden Globe.

Note: All films will be in English or English subtitles. The Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter was founded in 2010 in Bellingham, WA. The national Finlandia Foundation’s mission is to promote Finnish-American culture in the United States and ancestral ties with Finland. 

Experience Finland Through Film -- Showcasing the unique perspectives from the land of a thousand lakes.

The first full day of the film festival highlights a series of documentaries. You can find us on the web, at ffsuomi.com or on Facebook, where you can read more about the Film Festival and how to purchase tickets.

• $10 per film - $5 for students

• $25 per day (Saturday or Sunday)

• $50 for the entire festival weekend

First, the 2016 Tale of a Lake (Järven Tarina) takes a spellbinding journey through the seasons into the life of lakes and their connections with Finnish mythology.

Next, you will learn of the Sami people’s present-day struggle to maintain their indigenous culture and way of life with 2021’s Our Silent Struggle (Eatnameamet).

Followed by Any Day Now (Ensilumi), the 2020 exploration of an Iranian refugee family awaiting asylum in present-day Finland.

Finally, Aki Kaurismäki’s 1985 near-cult film Calamari Union is a hilariously absurd tale centered on fourteen Finnish men named Frank.

Note: All films will be in English or English subtitles. The Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter was founded in 2010 in Bellingham, WA. The national Finlandia Foundation’s mission is to promote Finnish-American culture in the United States and ancestral ties with Finland. 

Experience Finland Through Film -- Showcasing the unique perspectives from the land of a thousand lakes.

Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter presents an eclectic, three-day Festival of Finnish films Friday February 3, Saturday February 4, Sunday February 5

Throughout the first weekend of February 2023, the Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter will be presenting a showcase of films from Finland. This will be a weekend with something for everyone: from hard- to-find remastered classics, new takes on beloved characters, to current perspectives in present-day Finland.

You can find us on the web, at ffsuomi.com or on Facebook, where you can read more about the Film Festival and how to purchase tickets.

• $10 per film - $5 for students

• $25 per day (Saturday or Sunday)

• $50 for the entire festival weekend

The festival kicks off with a showing of the classic 2002 film, The Man Without a Past (original title Mies vailla menneisyyttä), by acclaimed director Aki Kaurismäki.

Attendees are also invited to a talk by University of Washington Scandinavian Studies professor Andy Nestingen. 

Note: All films will be in English or English subtitles. The Finlandia Foundation Suomi Chapter was founded in 2010 in Bellingham, WA. The national Finlandia Foundation’s mission is to promote Finnish-American culture in the United States and ancestral ties with Finland. 

Over the past seven decades, Anna Halprin has redefined the meaning of modern dance. Breath made visible is the first feature-length documentary about her life and work. At the heart of the film is Anna Halprin’s relationship with her husband, architect Lawrence Halprin (Roosewelt Memorial), making the film a universal story about survival and the arts – well beyond dance.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

Six women perform ancestral dances. They move, weaving recollections of a dictatorship that is still folded into their biographies, their memory, their bodies. If horror is the limit of language, then the dance is there, like the underside of the fabric.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

Invitation to Dance is an eye-opening insider’s account of disability in 21st century America. Simi Linton’s story forms the narrative backbone of the documentary.

The film is a never-before-told coming out story of disabled people staking their claim to “equality, justice, and a place on the dance floor!” Closed-captioned and described for the visually impaired.

Cost: $12 general
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org

“Lean in,” Kuntz and Company’s newest work, explores what it means to show up and lean into possibility.

Creators and performers include Naquoia Bautista, Alona Christman, Vanessa Daines, Brooke Evans, Pam Kuntz, Ella Mahler, Caitlin Schafte, Angela Sebastian, and Kate Stevenson.

Bellingham dance audiences may remember these artists from past Kuntz and Company work, Bellingham Repertory Dance Company performances, and/or WWU dance concerts. Many of them have performed together for years and have developed an intimate knowledge of each others’ tendencies and strengths, allowing for a wildly imaginative and wholly collaborative approach to the creation of this new work.

While Kuntz is always collaborative in her approach to creating work, she typically identifies a theme (motherhood, body image, HIV/AIDS) and partners with non-trained community members to tell their stories surrounding that theme. This time Kuntz’s only collaborators are trained dancers and what they bring to the table: a wide range of personal stories wrapped inside of their movement truths and capabilities.

This time the piece is about the dancers themselves, and what they bring to and bring out of each other. There is a chance that “Lean in” is about what it means to be a dancer at the age of 25, 35, 45 and 53 – Kuntz hasn’t quite hit the 55 mark – but that wasn’t the goal. It really is about showing up and seeing what could be discovered. We hope audiences will show up and do the same.

Cost: $16 general, $12 students.
Purchase advance tickets here

Website: kuntzandco.org