Dear Editor: It takes a village to start a new festival! On behalf of the American Documentary Film and Animation Festival, I’m truly grateful and amazed by the generosity of our community and everyone’s support in making AmDocs Sitka 2025 such a successful film festival!
From the beginning, I was impressed with the enthusiasm for starting a new arts event in Sitka. Many thanks to Sitka Fine Arts Camp and all the volunteers at the Performing Arts Center for making opening night such a great experience for our visiting filmmakers and everyone who participated. A special Gunalchéesh to Lillian Young and the Sheet’ká Kwaán Na Kahidi dancers who gave a wonderful performance to open the festival. And everyone appreciated the cookies thanks to the Sitka Film Society bakers!
Many thanks to Luke and Cambria Bruckert for hosting the festival at the Coliseum Theater on Saturday and Sunday. With the ongoing theater renovation, we especially appreciate their efforts. A special thanks goes to our moderators for the Q & A sessions: Lisa Busch, Ellen Frankenstein, and Alana Peterson, and cellist Annika Krafcik who opened the Sunday programs with lovely music. I’m grateful for Bobbi Jordan who captured lots of images through the whole weekend.
Thank you Old Harbor Books for selling those beautiful paper tickets that Ashia Lane created!
Sitka Public Library hosted a wonderful Directors’ Forum and we enjoyed hearing from each filmmaker thanks to Ellen Frankenstein, moderator, and Margot O’Connell, who came up with the forum idea. What a great opportunity to learn about a filmmaker’s journey when they craft a documentary. Thank you, Ellen and Margot!
In the spirit of downtown Sitka, many thanks to Ken and Rachel Fate at Fate Accompli, and Steve and Katia Pflipsen at Artist Cove, for hosting a lovely meet-and-greet reception for the visiting filmmakers at their beautiful galleries.
As part of this festival’s tradition, filmmakers are invited to stay with local residents as part of our Home Stay Host program. A big thanks to our fantastic hosts: Toby and Norm Campbell, Grace Brooks and Charlie Morgan, Brent and Val Edwards, Hank Moore, and Linda Behnken and Kent Barkhau. The filmmakers loved their experiences with you!
Another thanks goes to Allen Marine for a fantastic whale watching experience and the generous support of Alaska Wilderness League and Sitka Conservation Society. Katie Riley offered wonderful insights, sharing her knowledge about the natural world as a life-long Sitkan.
The filmmakers were very grateful for our fresh seafood! A huge thank you to Beth Short-Rhoads, of Fireweed Dinner Service, for preparing an amazing dinner to honor the filmmakers. We are also grateful to The Beak and Mean Queen for their delicious meals. Thanks to the AmeriCorps volunteers for helping with ticketing and set up: Amanda Bauer, Raven and Ellie; and to Bobbi Jordan and Rebecca Poulson for their art donations.
A big round of applause for everyone who promoted the festival and spread the word through interviews, PSAs, social media and news stories: Ryan Cotter and Brooke Schafer at KCAW, Shannon Haugland and the Sitka Sentinel news team, AJ at KIFW, Paul FitzGibbon at Mt. Edgecumbe High and his news team, Drew Sherman and Roger Schmidt at Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Suzanne Portello, Katie Sill, Samantha Edinberg, Robin and Casey Miller, and of course, Jeff Budd!
A final thanks to the generosity of our partners and sponsors who made this festival happen. Sitka Fine Arts Camp, Coliseum Theater, Sea Mart Quality Foods, Southeast Resort, Rotary Club of Sitka, Harry Race, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Wilderness League, Sitka Conservation Society, Artist Cove, Fate Accompli, the Beak, Mean Queen, Simply Salmon, ArtChange, Inc., Fireweed Dinners, Sitka Film Society, Allen Marine Tours, Sitka Sentinel, Deborah Lyons, and the Supple Foundation.
Thanks to a positive response, we are already planning for AmDocs Sitka 2026, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 9, 10 and 11. If you have any feedback or suggestions for next year, or would like to volunteer, please feel free to drop an email to debbiesmiller@hotmail.com. We hope you enjoyed the documentaries. If you had a particular favorite film or program, would love hearing from you.
Debbie S. Miller, Coordinator
for AmDocs Sitka 2025
