Welcome From the Festival Directors

Happy birthday to us! We're five years old, and we've come a long way from the days when we kept the festival headquarters going by stealing office supplies from our day jobs. Let's take a walk down memory lane...

How many of you remember the, uh, mishap with the FIRST film of the FIRST festival, the premiere of BEAUTIFUL THING, on opening night of year one? The film started off just fine, but when it came time for reel two, the picture was suddenly upside down. Not an auspicious start...

Behind the scenes there were some sticky moments too. For most of our first year, the festival "staff" consisted of one wizard behind the curtain­our founder Skylar Fein. Alone in the office, Skylar juggled multiple phone personalities (and the voices to go with them): receptionist, festival director, graphic designer, projectionist...

And then there was the year when, in pursuit of a particularly hot film, we had to impersonate a certain larger local film festival (which shall remain nameless) to get the studio execs to take our calls.

Or the year when we stayed up all night, night after night, to get the program finalized (oh wait, we still do that...).

Since those early days, we've doubled the number of films we show, tripled our ticket sales, and quadrupled our corporate sponsorship. We've moved from the cozy upstairs auditorium at the Harvard Exit to the spacious and newly-renovated Egyptian, the Little Theatre, and the Broadway Performance Hall.

It's been a remarkable five years for queer film too. Many of the films you saw here first have gone on to win prestigious awards and critical acclaim­ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, BOYS DON'T CRY, EDGE OF 17, MA VIE EN ROSE, and SHOW ME LOVE­and we continue to bring you the best in new queer film. With 120 films and videos from a dozen countries, this year's crop of remarkable features and shorts represents the most innovative and inspiring work being created by queer media makers today.

We couldn't have done it without... Seven Gables/Landmark, which has given this festival a home from the very beginning. As we've grown, however, we've needed more places to show our movies. We're excited to be working with our friends at the Little Theatre and the Broadway Performance Hall who have also rolled out the welcome mat.

We'd like to thank those sponsors who have been with us all along: the Stranger, Seattle Weekly, Ticket/Ticket, Girlie Press, Flying Fish, Re-bar, Café Flora, the Wild Rose, Gay City, Linda's, and the Lesbian Resource Center. You took a chance on us and we hope you think it's paid off! And a warm welcome to all the new sponsors, especially the Gay and Lesbian Internet Bank which has raised the bar for corporate sponsorship of queer arts.

We'd also like to recognize the staff and board members who've been with us since year one: Jason Plourde, Dillon Kreider, Sam Whiting, and Gary Tucker. Over the years the festival has attracted an extraordinary and dedicated group of people. A heartfelt thank you to all the staff and board members whose long hours and high standards have made this festival fabulous.

Audience support is the lifeblood of this festival, and we're thrilled that so many of you have chosen to become members of Three Dollar Bill Cinema in the past year. Together we make this fruity festival happen. Without you it's not a full basket. Enjoy the festival!