We’re thrilled to welcome back our partnership with the Friday Harbor Film Festival and bring free Best of the Fest screenings to Lopez once again. The 2026 season kicks off in January with a powerful double feature: Checkpoint Zoo, winner of the 2025 FHFF Audience Choice Award for Best Overall Documentary, paired with Lina, winner of the 2025 Audience Choice Award for Best Overall Short Film. Both films will be screened on San Juan and Lopez islands, continuing FHFF’s commitment to shared regional storytelling through film.
Checkpoint Zoo, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, documents an extraordinary real-life rescue as zookeepers and volunteers risk their lives to save nearly 5,000 animals from a Ukrainian zoo caught on the front lines of war. Lina offers an intimate companion story, following a five-year-old girl and her family as they flee Russian occupation and grapple with the lasting trauma of war.
The Best of the Fest series runs January through September with screenings rotating between the Grange, the Community Center, and the Library. The first screening takes place Saturday, January 31 at 7:00 pm at the Grange. Watch this newsletter for monthly film announcements—and join us for another season of moving, meaningful cinema close to home.
To learn more about the series, check out FHFF’s press release