The Director Series provides movie lovers the opportunity to view impactful documentary films highlighting heroic adventures, sustainable agriculture, marine ecology, social justice, the environmental crisis, and human-interest stories.

Friday Harbor Film Festival will present films on-demand 24/7 for 10-14 days each month through September. Each will include a scheduled livestream, interactive Q&A with the filmmaker and expert panelists discussing the issues raised by the film. Q&A sessions will be recorded and available on-line free of charge.

January 7 - 17: The importance of public lands.

THE DIRECTOR SERIES

A PLEA

FOR REFUGE

Daniel Holmes, Director

2020 | 30 minutes

$3.95

Two adventurous friends, Jeff Shapiro and Cody Tuttle, have a desire to experience one of the last, raw, and truly preserved wilderness areas on the North American continent. Through the attempt to hike and fly paragliders across the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the eastern Brooks Range of Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle, they gain a necessary and visceral connection with the importance of fiercely protecting its nature. 

A PLEA FOR REFUGE Official Trailer:

Join us for a FREE livestream Q&A with filmmakers and cast from A PLEA FOR REFUGE on January 14, 8pm PT.

January 18 - 31: Farming innovations.

A DIRECTOR SERIES DOUBLE-FEATURE

VERTICAL:

THE FUTURE OF FARMING

Director

Scott Morris, Jay Windland

$5.95

2020 | 16 minutes

VERTICAL: THE FUTURE OF FARMING follows a new generation of urban, indoor farmers, whose approach to food production offers the potential to combat climate change while feeding hundreds of millions. From New York City, to Portland, Oregon to Singapore, these farmers are turning agricultural conventions on their head by utilizing vertical space in cities, rather than expansive rural fields. The result, according to retired Columbia Professor Dickson Despommier, represents the "next evolutionary jump in humanity's quest for a reliable, sustainable food supply."

GROWING SOLUTIONS looks at real-life solutions to challenges plaguing farmers, such as water scarcity, soil degradation and the ravages of climate change. The flip side of that coin is a regenerative agriculture that means farmers can rebuild degraded natural resources and be more resilient in the face of mounting challenges. It highlights new milestones on the road to creating a perennial polyculture that could replace our current model that relies on annual crops planted in monoculture. This emerging model mimics Nature's eminently resilient prairie ecosystems. 

FEBRUARY

PRE-RECORDED FILMMAKER Q&A AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Join us each month as we present free livestream Q&A's with filmmaker and expert panelists.  Browse our previously recorded livestream filmmaker Q&A's below: