Artist Interview: Amy Camp

Meet Amy Camp - Festival Director of the West Sound Film Festival 

Film and art—what could be more perfect? Bremerton First Friday Art Walk is excited to feature the West Sound Film Festival this month. It’s the perfect chance to start the weekend with art on Friday evening and enjoy an amazing lineup of films all weekend long.

The West Sound Film Festival is an international festival showcasing a wide range of genres, including experimental films, short documentaries, comedies, horror, feature films, and more. The festival is organized into thematic blocks of short films—each lasting about an hour to an hour and a half—or single-feature blocks highlighting a longer film. When filmmakers are present, many blocks are followed by interactive Q&A sessions with the audience.

The full film list, including stills and synopses, can be found at westsoundfilmfestival.com. Visitors to the website can also purchase tickets, grab a 3-day or Saturday pass, sign up to volunteer, or make a donation to support the festival.

In the meantime, enjoy a few interview questions from the film festival director, Amy Camp.

Q: What role does Bremerton play in the identity of the festival?

A: Bremerton is such a friendly town that filmmakers and attendees always mention it in their reviews of the festival. We have businesses that year after year that donate to the festival, offer discounts and a welcoming environment to the filmmaking community. We couldn't have the festival without our community, local artists and supportive attendees! The festival also gives a chance for us to show off our amazing town to a whole new set of creatives that may have never thought to visit before. We have hosted a lot of filmmakers from out of state and sometimes even out of the country, and they have raved about how great their experience was in Bremerton.

Q: Why is it important to bring independent film and filmmaking to the West Sound region?

A: Filmmaking is a fantastic venue for storytelling and a way to present different perspectives and ideas. We have such an incredible filmmaking community right here in Bremerton and adding their stories to ones from all over the world provides the opportunity for an expanded world view while supporting our locals as well.

Q: How do you see the festival growing or changing in the next few years?

A: I'd love to see the West Sound Film Festival expand to create more opportunities for filmmakers for stories to be shared to have their voice amplified to a larger audience. I'm so proud of our returning filmmakers whom we've seen grow in their craft throughout the years and I'd love for us to provide more resources to the arts community as a whole. It has been so rewarding watching the festival grow and seeing the same faces every and and witness their excitement for each screening.

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Are you an artist interested in sharing your work with the community?

We’d love to feature you on our blog and social media! If you’d like to be interviewed and showcased in a future post, reach out to us at firstfriday@downtownbremerton.org. Let’s celebrate the amazing artists in our local art scene together!