By Isabel Ashley

The Friday Harbor Film Festival will begin its 11th annual, three-day in-person event Oct. 26-29, followed by a week-long, on-demand festival from Oct. 30-Nov. 5. The festival includes screenings of 25-30 feature-length documentaries and 15 short films in five venues. According to Karen Palmer, Executive Director of FHFF, the festival expects nearly 1200 attendees, a little under half coming from outside of San Juan County.

Palmer, who retired after working 30 years in the film and media programming industry, said she “recognized the power of good storytelling in documentary films that can ignite powerful emotions and evoke empathy among its audiences,” and thus co-founded the festival.

In addition to the film screenings, there are several special events that occur throughout the festival, including an opening-night gala to honor the filmmakers, the Filmmaker’s Forum for the filmmakers to discuss their art and the presentation of awards.

One such award is the Lifetime Achievement Award, which according to Palmer, “honors a person or organization that has made outstanding contributions to raising the general public’s awareness of important issues, either through activism or filmmaking.”

This year’s FHFF Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is Dr. Deborah Giles, one of the world’s leading experts on the Southern Resident Killer whales. Giles first came to the island to see whales for her 18th birthday, and in 1999, she met with Albert Shepherd, then curator of the Whale Museum, who challenged her to get her degree and do an internship at the museum.

Giles began professionally studying the Southern Residents on the island in the summer of 2005 as an intern for the Soundwatch Boater Education Program. Since then, she has worked for numerous organizations to collect data on vessel effects and the health and behavior of the Southern Residents. These organizations include the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the Center for Whale Research and UW’s Killer Whale Scat Project, which focuses on collecting non-invasive conservation research by using a highly trained scent-detection dog, Eba, to locate scat samples to study different indicators of the whales’ health. In 2017, Giles joined Wild Orca, a non-profit organization which took over the Scat Project in 2021.

Wild Orca’s mission and practice of conservation biology focuses on using collected data to promote public participation in whale conservation and communicate with elected officials to inform policy decisions.

“We are very purposefully recognizing that we are studying species in crisis and therefore we don’t have the right to just do science for science’s sake,” said Giles. “We need to be asking questions to help drive policy in order to recover these species.”

As the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for her activism, Giles’ work with Wild Orca has created many ways to educate and involve the public on whale conservation, such as distilling complex studies into simplified language for the public to better understand, and providing scripted talking points, example letters and elected officials’ contact information for the public to call.

“In this way, it’s like we are arming the public with the knowledge they need to effectively advocate on behalf of the whales,” said Giles.

Giles’ work also involves frequently meeting with elected officials to inform them on their latest findings and advocate for policy decisions that benefit the whales, such as limiting recreational fishing on the west side of the island and incentivizing larger vessels to slow down within the Salish Sea to improve the whales’ echolocation abilities.

Despite the risk of burn-out from tirelessly working to improve the worsening conditions for whales, Giles is still just as passionate about the cause.

“Because the whales haven’t given up, I haven’t given up. I will continue to be excited, honored and privileged to be a voice for the whales as long as I live,” said Giles.

In response to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Giles said, “I see this as an award for the whales, made possible by the dedication of so many people who are working hard for their recovery.”

Another award that will be presented during the festival is the Local Hero Award, which is given to a “present or former San Juan Islands resident who has made outstanding contributions to our quality of life, impacting people, animals, the arts, health, or the environment,” said Palmer.

This year’s Local Hero Award will go to award-winning documentary film producer and journalist Amy Herdy. Herdy started her career at the assignment desk in TV news for NBC and ABC affiliates before switching to print. In 2002 while working at the Denver Post, she co-authored an investigative series called “Betrayal in the Ranks,” which detailed the U.S. military’s mishandling of sexual assault and domestic violence. After the series sparked reforms, Herdy was invited to work on a documentary about sexual assault in the military, which became the Oscar-nominated film, “The Invisible War.”

“…when the film came out two years later [in 2012], it created far more impact than the Post’s print series. Once I saw what a documentary film could accomplish, I was hooked,” said Herdy.

Since then, Herdy has produced numerous documentaries that have garnered national attention and accolades. Many of her works have continued to cover topics of sexual assault: her second film, “The Hunting Ground” (2015), focused on sexual assault on college campuses and lead to changes in school policies around the country; her fourth documentary, “On the Record” (2020), centers around the story of music executive Drew Dixon and her decision to speak out as one of the first women of color during the #MeToo movement; and “Allen v. Farrow” (2021), her co-created HBO series about the sexual accusations against Woody Allen involving then seven-year-old daughter Dylan Farrow, was nominated for seven Emmys.

“Sexual assault is a topic surrounded by so much pain that many find it too difficult to discuss, let alone cover,” said Herdy. “I tell these stories because we need to change our archaic culture of shaming and blaming survivors in order to discredit them and protect perpetrators.”

In spite of the dark and grim nature of investigative work, Herdy says she remains inspired by the resilience and grace of those whom she has met through her projects over the years. As for receiving the Local Hero Award, “Just living here gives me so much already,” said Herdy. “This island’s peaceful, natural beauty is a sanctuary for me, and I have a deep appreciation for the resourcefulness and generosity of my fellow islanders. This award is the cherry on top.”

In addition to this year’s outstanding award recipients, Palmer believes there are many things to look forward to at this year’s festival.

“We are excited about the many award-winning documentaries we will offer, and especially the presence of visiting filmmakers, as well as those who will participate in Q&As by Zoom.”

Palmer hopes to evolve the film festival in the coming years to “encompass activities and special events each month throughout the year bringing culture, education and entertainment to the San Island Community.”

Tickets for individual films, events and passes can be purchased online in advance or during the festival at the FHFF office or at the screening venues. For more information, visit fhff.org.