The Spokane International Film Festival logo and showing dates graphic from their website.

For avid film lovers, the Spokane International Film Festival (SpIFF) has you covered. This year, it began on Friday, Feb. 28, at 6 p.m. with an opening party and, an hour later, its showing of “Quiet Explosions” as well as a collection of shorts from the Pacific Northwest.

Led by Alena Schoonmaker, director of the festival, SpIFF completed its showings Saturday, March 7, with an encore showing of “Bias.” The films of SpIFF were primarily shown at the Magic Lantern Theatre in downtown Spokane, with the opening night party and films held at the Garland Theatre in the Garland District. The closing party was held at the Osprey in the Ruby River Hotel, and the encore was shown in Washington State University’s Riverpoint SEWC Auditorium. Both jury and audience choice awards were given out on closing night, with the jury consisting of programmers who have seen the most films out of those shown at the festival.

The festival’s tickets ranged in price from $10-12, but students could receive “student rush tickets” at the door, an hour or two before the film starts, for a discounted price, at around $6. Ticket sales are a huge part of funding the festival, Schoonmaker said, as well as sponsors, such as Eastern Washington University and STCU which played an equal part in helping fund SpIFF. Despite their funding limitations in the past, Schoonmaker said SpIFF hopes to help aid other film festivals in Spokane in the upcoming years.

SpIFF has been running for about 20 years, starting in 1999, with the goal of the festival being to bring U.S.-based, local, and international films to the awareness of the Spokane community who otherwise wouldn’t see these films. This year, the festival had films from 19 different countries covering five continents. The goal for next year is to expand this to six continents (adding Antarctica), according to Schoonmaker.

SpIFF obtains most of their films by utilizing a website called FilmFreeway, where filmmakers are able to independently submit their films to SpIFF directly. This year, SpIFF received over 300 submissions from FilmFreeway alone. This method is the cheapest option for obtaining films, as distributors often charge for usage of their films.

In addition, SpIFF offers chances to meet with filmmakers at certain showings. Primarily those from the Pacific Northwest area and depending on the film, audience members can ask questions during Q-and-A periods after some showings. The director for “Bamboo and Barbed Wire,” as well as the directors of “Stories of Us: Camp Second Chance” and “The Hidden Homeless” were all present after the showings and gave the audience a chance to ask questions about the makings of their films and the subject matter of each film.

SpIFF also offers volunteer or intern-type positions for those interested in participating in the production of next year’s festival. Schoonmaker encourages those interested in film or film festivals to contact her for more information at the email address info@spokanefilmfestival.org. Positions working for SpIFF are on a first-come, first-served basis, though, but working for SpIFF would provide an excellent resume credit for anyone interested in working in the film industry.