Bainbridge Island Film Festival founder and director Charles Poekel hopes the annual event serves as a convergence zone for local and out-of-town filmmakers. Now in its fourth year, the gathering is taking place Nov. 12-15, featuring an array of works from documentaries to foreign films. 

For this year’s selection, Poekel and his team reviewed around 200 submissions, and narrowed down the itinerary to about 40 shorts and features. About half of the feature films are directed by women. 

“Diversity of stories and filmmakers is very important to us,” Poekel told West Sound magazine in an email. 

In addition to submissions, the festival team keeps, throughout the year, an ear out for what other film festivals are showing, including local and regional festivals. If the team believes it would land with its audience, then the crew seeks it out. 

This year has several buzzy films on the docket, like the Pacific Northwest premiere of Portland-based filmmaker Eddie Sanchez’s documentary “Mexicanamerican,” which won the audience award for best documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. “Chasing Summer,” which was directed by Josephine Decker and premiered at Sundance in January, will also be showing. 

For the last few years, Poekel has noticed how many filmmakers have ties to Bainbridge Island. “Ghost in the Machine,” which debuted this year at Sundance and is directed by Bainbridge Island High School alum Valeria Veatch, will be showing at the festival. 

This September, Bainbridge Island-set “Detention” took to screens across the region and was produced by writer, director, actor, and island resident Emma Cameron.

“As a filmmaker myself, I wanted to create a festival that brought together both local and out-of-town filmmakers,” the event’s founder said. “I was seeing how much talent there was in our area and I wanted our community to show up and celebrate those filmmakers, as well as give those filmmakers a chance to meet and network with out-of-town peers.”

Following audience feedback, this year the festival added several screenings starting before noon, allowing attendees to catch movies, either at Lynwood Theatre or at Bainbridge Cinemas, earlier in the day. 

The festival’s agenda also includes Q&A sessions with several filmmakers and free-to-attend events like its annual Buster Keaton screening at Island Center Hall and a presentation from film historian Robert Horton on blacklist-era  Hollywood. 

When asked about what Poekel most looks forward to at the festival each year, he cited the people the festival garners.

“When you see someone engaged in a filmmaker Q&A or walking out of a screening invigorated, that’s what makes it all worthwhile.” 

Find the full lineup of happenings and how to get tickets here.