As this year will mark the 75th anniversary of Chehalis pilot Kenneth Arnold’s historic flying saucer sighting, the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest is now accepting short film entries to be shown at the Chehalis Flying Saucer Party starting on Sept. 22.
The deadline for submissions is July 15 and the film festival will benefit the Lewis County Historical Museum.
To apply, filmmakers must be residents of Washington, Oregon or Idaho. All types of films will be accepted, whether they be short films, documentaries, animations or music videos.
Films cannot be longer than 30 minutes and must be related to the UFO genre, meaning they can be about UFOs themselves, extraterrestrials, men in black, alien invasions or alien technologies.
“You can have a bigfoot in your movie but he better be flying a spaceship,” states an excerpt from the film submission page.
Custom trophies and bragging rights will be given to all award category winners, along with a $200 cash prize for best film, and $100 cash prize for the audience’s favorite film.
Award categories include best film, best documentary, best animation, best music video and audience choice.
The best film winner will also be screened on the second day of the Chehalis Flying Saucer Party, Sept. 23, right before a classic flying saucer feature film. The classic film has yet to be announced.
To submit a film, visit https://filmfreeway.com/nwflyingsaucerfilmfest and click on the “submit now” button.
There is a non-refundable $20 entry fee per film; however, filmmakers who have their submissions chosen will receive a VIP pass to the 2023 Chehalis Flying Saucer Party, along with free admission to the film festival itself to be held at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater.
Organizers ask that filmmakers keep entries family friendly, meaning no excessive cursing, no sex or nudity and no racism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia. Any submission not originally in English must include English subtitles.
McFiler’s Chehalis Theater is located on 558 North Market Blvd. in downtown Chehalis.
