While no UFOs were spotted in the skies over the city during the Chehalis Flying Saucer Party Sept.13-14, a total of 27 indie films were screened at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater during the second annual Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest.
Up for grabs were the prestigious Orbies presented by Flying Saucer Party organizer Vince Ynzunzu. The awards are designed similar to the Oscars, but a little more green than gold.
“It was on June 24, 1947, a pilot named Kenneth Arnold flew out heading towards Yakima, and over Mount Rainier he saw nine flying craft, and he clocked their speeds at like at 1,600 mph, unheard of at the time,” Ynzunza said. “Later when he was asked how these craft flew, he described them as if they were skipping over the water like saucers, and that’s where the term ‘flying saucer’ came from. We’re here to celebrate that.”
While the inaugural Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest had 19 films, Ynzunza said he had 48 submissions this year, He had to make cuts to keep the film festival at around three hours.
The second annual Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest was also dedicated to John Henricksen, who died earlier this summer at 79. A 1963 W.F. West High School graduate and stalwart volunteer, community advocate and more, Henricksen won both the best documentary and the audience choice Orbies awards during the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest last year.
His film is called ”Stuck In Orbit” and features Henricksen, under the moniker “Burt Burtson,” attempting to get people to believe his story after being abducted. Henrickson made the film with the help of his family, including his grandson, Enoch Lui, who directed the film. “Stuck In Orbit” can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/868014471.
Along with best documentary and audience choice, the other Orbies award categories this year included best film, best alien, best animation, best music video and best first-time filmmaker.
The winners of the second annual Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest included:
• “Dark Forest” won the Orbie for best film. Directed and written by London Homer-Wambeam, “Dark Forest” features the story of a man fighting off an alien invader while camping. “Dark Forest” can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/27prjkx9.
• “No Oats!” won the Orbies for both best animation and best first-time filmmaker. Directed by Hali Morlin, “No Oats!” tells the story of a couple who create a cake so delicious aliens invade their home for the recipe. The film is currently being screened at other film festivals and is not yet available online. To find out when it is released online, follow the No Oats! Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/no__oats/.
• “The Flying Saucer Film” won the Orbie for best music video. Directed by Riley Gibson, “The Flying Saucer Film” features “John Lennon” and “Harry Nilsson” meeting at a bar and creating a song together. “The Flying Saucer Film” can be seen at https://vimeo.com/36775651.
• ”The Shaver Mystery” won the Orbie for best documentary. Directed by Dean Bertram, “The Shaver Mystery” takes a look at the life and writings of Ray Palmer and the creation of modern UFO beliefs in an abridged version of Bertram’s full-length documentary. “The Shaver Mystery” can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/4t766kvr.
• “Aftermath” won the Orbie for best alien. Directed by Katrina Brede and Jason Connelly, “Aftermath” tells the story of a young woman struggling to survive and keep her sanity following a devastating alien attack. “Aftermath” can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/999017403.
• “Regoob won the Orbie for audience choice. Directed by Doug Lee Gardner, “Regoob” tells the story of brothers Doug and Steve as they attempt to film Bigfoot investigation content for their Youtube page but encounter extraterrestrial beings instead along with an extraordinarily runny nose. “Regoob” can be seen online at https://vimeo.com/993909470.
This year’s audience choice winner took home a $300 cash prize along with a custom Orbie award made by Max Reinhart using recycled old film reels from Something Weird Video.
The other 21 films featured during the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest on Friday, Sept. 13, included:
• “New Ship on the Block,” a short film that tells the story of a pair of friends being abducted during a Fourth of July camping trip which was directed by Steve Mauer. “New Ship on the Block” is being screened at other film festivals but will eventually be available on Mauer’s website at https://www.buddyandbuddy.com/short-films.
• “The Trent Saucer,” a documentary that looks at two old photographs of an alleged “flying saucer” taken in rural Oregon over a farm. It was directed by Wes Skotko. “The Trent Saucer” can be seen at https://tinyurl.com/33szu4bt.
• “My UFO,” a music video dedicated in remembrance of Jim Sullivan who was abducted outside of Santa Rosa, New Mexico, in 1975, was directed by Katie Small. My UFO can be seen online at https://vimeo.com/476665602.
• “The Alien Mask,” a short film about a dad finding an alien mask and his kids hoping it doesn’t actually turn him into an alien like a werewolf mask did, was directed by Atreyu Koch and Cade and Grayson Birkett. The Alien Mask can be seen online at https://filmfreeway.com/TheAlienMask900.
• “The Out of Towner,” a short film about “agent 206” reporting back to the “cat commander” about events during an exploratory mission in Portland, was directed by Amara Dumlao. “The Out of Towner” can be seen online at https://bit.ly/TheOutofTowner.
• “The Past has yet to Begin (Interlude)”, a short film about a man reminiscing about his childhood and dysfunctional family during the Dust Bowl, was directed by William Stancik. The “Past has yet to Begin (Interlude)” can be seen online at https://vimeo.com/445017035.
• “Spaceship Hazard,” a short film about an alien abducting a journalist to reveal an astonishing secret, was directed by Benel Aguirre. “Spaceship Hazard” can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/mrxspxdc.
• “Coffee Break from Reality,” an experimental film made using AI generated film about a radio talk show discussing aliens and UFOs, was directed by Mike Wellins. “Coffee Break from Reality” can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/5n942h79.
• “Candy Thieves,” a short film about YouTube stars searching for whoever or whatever stole their massive candy stash, was directed by Atreyu Koch and Cade and Grayson Birkett. “Candy Thieve”s can be seen online at https://filmfreeway.com/CandyThieves.
• “The Collective,” a short film about an mysterious alien force known as “the collective” intercepting the Voyager 1 space probe, was directed by Joseph Piano.
• “Life Force,” a short film about a man looking back on his own encounter with otherworldly forces, was directed by Marc Canas.
• “Weekend at Maury Island,” an animated film telling the story of two couples sharing a cabin near Maury Island who are visited by a fleet of extraterrestrial visitors, was directed by Bradly Wilkinson. “Weekend at Maury Island” can be seen online at https://vimeo.com/850345056.
• “Conspiracy Chronicles: Aliens,” a documentary film looking at science-based evidence as to whether or not Earth has been visited by aliens, was directed by Charlton “Chuck” Hall. “Conspiracy Chronicles: Aliens” can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/yrupz6hs.
• “UFO,” a short film about a lonely man witnessing a UFO crash and finding a new best friend, was directed by Jasper Merrill. “UFO” can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/2w5cb7nm.
• “Echos,” a short film about the grandson of an investigator discovering evidence after his grandfather dies showing a government cover up an alleged 1947 Maury Island UFO encounter, was directed by David Over. “Echos” can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/58pys6ce.
• “Space Mice,” a short film about “space mice” traveling across the galaxy to retrieve a dangerous war criminal who has disguised themself as a family cat, was directed by Atreyu Koch and Cade and Grayson Birkett. It can be seen online at https://filmfreeway.com/SpaceMice.
• “Route 83 Revisited,” a short film about a trucker encountering aliens during his long-haul trip, was directed by William Stancik. It will be available to view at https://www.laslofilms.com/.
• “ChemCon Alert,” a short film about how a limited number of commercial aircraft are not taken into consideration when the chemtrail phenomenon is examined, was directed by Gus Frederick. It can be seen online at https://vimeo.com/943305741.
• “Speed Trap,” a short film about a deputy getting more than she bargained for during a routine traffic stop, was directed by T.E. Hirschler.
• “Invaders from Beyond the Sponge,” a short film about extraterrestrial loofahs invading Seattle and controlling peoples’ minds, was directed by Erik Showacy. It can be seen online at https://www.filmvandals.com/.
• “Solar Y,” a stop-motion film featuring the story of a wealthy man wanting to invest in solar energy but wanting to investigate the sun in person, was directed by Kevin Jones. It can be seen online at https://tinyurl.com/3j2feapt.
For more information on the Northwest Flying Saucer Film Fest, follow the event on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3Xx7ai0. To learn more about the Chehalis Flying Saucer Party, visit https://www.flyingsaucerparty.org/.
