A simple direct message on Instagram brought three young filmmakers from Issaquah together, who not only built a friendship through their passion for filmmaking but a shared vision that developed into the Issaquah Film Festival and partner organization, Tarot 77 Entertainment, in January 2023.
“We felt very lucky to find each other,” said Beckett Hobbs, a co-founder of the Issaquah Film Festival and Tarot 77 Entertainment.
Now preparing for the second Issaquah Film Festival on Aug. 3-4, the founders have a vision that will expand upon the inaugural event.
Henry Shriber, 19, Beckett Hobbs, 18 and Logan Sarzalejo, 20, created a film festival that gathers novice and veteran filmmakers from Washington, Idaho and Oregon and audience members to unite the Pacific Northwest film community.
“When we started the Issaquah festival for our first year, one of our biggest goals…was to create a big community event. So we can not only gather together filmmakers that other filmmakers could collaborate with, but also create a fun and unique community event that residents of Issaquah and nearby cities and businesses in the Northwest can enjoy,” Sarzalejo said.
This year, the Issaquah Film Festival will unfold at the Regal Issaquah Highlands Theater at Grand Ridge Plaza.
“I think we’re both really grateful to have been on the service industry end of the film industry. To have that consumer experience. It’s given us a lot of perspective,” Shriber said, adding that he was heading to a shift at the theater later that day.
Throughout the two-day event, the founders plan to infuse several networking opportunities for filmmakers, such as a pre-festival mixer at the Grand Ridge Plaza and panelists in between films.
The founders said they would announce the film lineup on July 7, with ticket sales launching a few days prior. Attendees can anticipate a range of ticket options, including day and weekend passes and discounted youth tickets.
“We’re really incentivizing youth to be able to attend the event,” Shriber said.
The founders have also included an Issaquah resident submission category and a student submission category — for participants 18 years old or under — at discounted rates.
This year, film submissions — closing on July 1 — will include a broader spectrum of categories than the previous year. These will range from narrative, documentary, and animated short films to music videos and feature films. The co-founders anticipate a showcase of around 50 films.
The Issaquah Film Festival will culminate with three awards: the Grand Ridge Jury Prize, the Student Scholarship and the Audience Award.
Further details regarding the awards will be released as the event date approaches, according to the website.
The idea behind the Issaquah Film Festival
Hobbs noted that both the Issaquah Film Festival and Tarot 77 Entertainment stemmed from the lack of film community and presence in their school and the Issaquah community.
“We wanted to be able to create an institution in Issaquah so that other young filmmakers can have the same opportunities and really create a filmmaking community across the Pacific Northwest,” he said.
What began as a modest notion for an Issaquah School District film festival evolved into something grander.
“Our idea just quickly got larger and larger until we realized that this could be an opportunity for the entire city,” Shriber said.
Hobbs noted that both the Issaquah Film Festival and Tarot 77 Entertainment stemmed from the lack of film community and presence in their school and the Issaquah community.
When the founders began to craft their vision into reality, Shriber and Hobbs attended separate Issaquah high schools while Sarzalejo was a freshman at a Los Angeles film school.
Despite the challenges posed by their geographical locations and the complexities of securing city support, funding and a suitable venue, Hobbs emphasized how imperative the Issaquah Film Festival was for the community post-COVID.
“A lot of the arts programs have been slowly building up after [COVID]. Sadly, film, which is what we are really passionate about, sort of got thrown to the wayside,” he said.
In under three months, the founders connected with the Issaquah Arta Commission, securing funding for a venue at The Fleming Art Center. This allowed them to successfully host the one-day event in March 2023, drawing an audience of over 100.
The founders mentioned selecting The Fleming Art Center because it was grounded in downtown Issaquah.
“We felt like it was close enough, where people could go out and spend money at different businesses and restaurants and really get a taste of the city,” Hobbs said.
Paying homage to Issaquah, the place the co-founders call home, even Hobbs — who has moved 17 to 18 different times — was a core reason for anchoring the film festival in Issaquah instead of places such as Los Angeles or New York — known for their thriving film industries.
“I would say [the film festival] is like our love letter to the city that brought us all together, that nurtured us into becoming filmmakers and pursuing it as a passion,” Hobbs said.
Last year, 100% of the Issaquah Film Festival profits went to the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank — the co-founders said they plan to find another charity this year.
Although Shriber, Hobbs and Sarzalejo are all currently honing in on their filmmaking skills, building their film portfolios and attending separate universities in California and Boston, the three have continued to plan the festival remotely and stay committed to providing platforms for aspiring filmmakers to access opportunities.
“We want to make this industry better, more equitable, more fair,” Shriber said. “Because of that, we think the time is now to start giving back.”
For more information about the festival, tickets or to submit a piece, go to the Tarot 77 Entertainment website.
