In August, I had the joy of traveling to Whidbey Island for an event called ‘ThrivingFest‘ with Danielle McClelland, the director of the Port Townsend Film Festival, and with a local advisor to Thriving Communities. We arrived with a shared curiosity: What impact can film have on a community? And how might telling the stories of nonprofit organizations through film inspire people to become more engaged in the places where they live? ThrivingFest offered a compelling and inspiring response!

The event was created by Thriving Communities, a Whidbey Island-based organization that produces professional documentary films about people and organizations developing local solutions to the challenges of our time. Since 2012, it has created more than 60 films and donated each one to the organization featured. But its work does not end when the film is finished. Thriving Communities uses these stories to bring people together, foster conversation, and spark new relationships and collaborative action.

This summer’s event, ThrivingFest, was a special celebration of the founders, volunteers, and visionaries who have helped important Whidbey Island organizations take root. It also invited participants to look toward the horizon and ask what the community needs next—and who will help cultivate it. The stories shared at ThrivingFest also demonstrated that film can be much more than a tool for promoting the work of an organization. A thoughtfully crafted story can help people recognize themselves as part of something larger. It can introduce neighbors who might otherwise never meet, make an overlooked solution visible, attract resources, and invite someone to take a first step toward involvement.

Thriving Communities has seen its films and gatherings help buoy both new and longstanding organizations, community gardens, volunteer partnerships, successful grants and funding, and community land trusts. These outcomes show what becomes possible when storytelling is paired with intentional opportunities for people to connect and act.

I left the event floating — both literally on the ferry back across the water to Port Townsend, and also on a wave of creative inspiration. Throughout the festival, I was reminded that resilience is not simply a community’s ability to endure difficulty. It is also the ability to learn, adapt, regenerate, and create meaningful responses together.

The experience also invited ideas about the potential for this kind of storytelling in Jefferson County.  Already we enjoy the benefits of the Port Townsend Film Festival, with the 27th annual festival coming up the last weekend of September. Since its first “film lover’s block party” in 2000, the Port Townsend Film Festival has grown into a beloved community institution supported by hundreds of volunteers. In addition to bringing filmmakers and audiences together each fall, PTFF offers year-round screenings, conversations, educational programs, and support for filmmakers. JCF was glad to help sponsor the PTFF’s Focus series this year, which partners with local nonprofits to present films that amplify their missions and deepen our community’s understanding of the issues involved. Such events uplift the art of film and grows community in the process.

We’ve also seen a number of local nonprofits and filmmakers use film to inform, inspire and catalyze action– from Centrum’s video about the Youth Artists Society to Jefferson County Farmers Market Association’s “Meet Me at the Market” video to the “Dark and Tender” short film from Color of Sound to the Michael and Damian documentary. These stories reflect back to us who are and what’s possible when we rally compassionate and creative forces around a mission.

What might become possible if our community storytelling capacity was connected even more with the work of our local nonprofits? Films could illuminate challenges that are difficult to explain through impact reports and statistics alone, introduce neighbors to community needs and opportunities, and help people see meaningful roles for themselves as changemakers, whether as volunteers, donors, advocates, or collaborators.

I returned home from Thriving Fest with a full heart of admiration for what committed people can build together over time, gratitude for those who tell their stories, and tremendous excitement about what those stories might help our own community imagine—and grow—next.