Don’t miss our largest Opening Night ever on Thursday, March 29. Join the Sebastopol Film Festival at Analy High School Auditorium, where for the first time we will screen only one film to the biggest audience in our history.

Aptly titled, The First Movie is a “lyrical and uplifting testament to the enduring power of imagination. At once magical and honest, it stirs the soul like some Iraqi Cinema Paradiso.”(Larushka Ivan-Zadeh)  Watch as director Mark Cousins exposes children in a small Kurdish village in Iraq to the magic of cinema by screening films for them, most watching movies for the first time ever, then giving them small video cameras to make their own films. The results are enchanting and profound, and we are able to see a side of Iraq away from war. Do you remember your first movie?

Following the screening, join us at Sebastopol Center for the Arts for our Opening Night Gala Reception.  Mingle with the audience and filmmakers as we kick off this year’s festival and get ready for a weekend filled with documentaries, special programs, and events.

About the Film Festival:

Additional goals of the Festival are to:

• Bring together the local film community.


• Develop a strong Latino film program.


• Develop a strong youth program for local children and teens to experience the art of independent filmmaking.


• Become a catalyst for educational and other film programs, such as monthly film screenings and salons, showcasing other genres of independent film, including narrative and experimental work.