Olympia Film Festival 2018

Independence. Inclusion. Discovery. The 35th Annual Olympia Film Festival is a celebration of curiosity, boundless creativity, and the importance of cinematic exploration. The Capitol Theater in Olympia, Washington has been screening dramatic narratives and documentary features since 1924, and our belief in arts, inclusivity, and emerging directors has been the staple of our programming.

Olympia Film Festival
Named one of the "Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" by MovieMaker Magazine in 2018, the Olympia Film Society has hosted the annual Olympia Film Festival since 1983. The gathering is a ten-day, around-the-clock extravaganza of films, filmmakers and film-related guests, special performances, discussion panels, and educational workshops. The festival attracts between 5,000 and 7,000 attendees each year.

The festival is well known and respected throughout the film world and is hosted around the Olympia, Washington downtown area, mainly inside the Capitol Theater, a 1924 concert and movie palace owned and operated by the Olympia Film Society. This organization supports a small staff and board of directors along with over 125 dedicated volunteers who select films, organize events, and run the Capitol Theater.

Recent guests of the festival include: Todd Haynes, SJ Chiro, Crispin Glover, Chantel Akerman, Elliott Gould, Mudhoney, Ian Svenonius, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Matt Smith, Mary Woronov, Hari Kondabolu, Denise Crosby, Carl Gottlieb, The Julie Ruin (with Kathleen Hanna), William Nolan, Wendy Jo Carlton, Vanessa Renwick, Jolie Holland, Richard Elfman, Fred Willard, Philip Kaufman, Les Blank, Kevin Nolting, Megan Griffiths, Gillian Wallace Horvat, and many more!