As the Cascadian Film and Television Critics Association, we believe that it is our moral duty to highlight local films and celebrate them. Our members represent the Cascadian region, which ignores country borders and instead marks the bioregion that connects us. There are three criteria that the films have to meet to be eligible. The director should either be from or based in Cascadia, the film should be shot in the region, and the story must be reflective of the Cascadian experience. It isn’t a hard rule that all criteria must be met by a single film, but it ideally meets most of them. Below is a list of the five nominees for our 2025 CFTCA Best Cascadian Film Award. The winner will be announced later this month. Our previous winners were Sometimes I Think About Dying (2024, from Oregon) and Riceboy Sleeps (2023, from British Columbia).
Follow us on Letterboxd and track all the films that received consideration!
Check out last year’s crop of nominees and our winner Sometimes I Think About Dying.
Blue Heron – directed by Sophy Romvari
The film Blue Heron is split into two parts. In the first half, a Hungarian family has just recently immigrated to Canada to live on Vancouver Island with their four children. We see the world through the lens of young Sasha, an eight year old. We witness as her oldest sibling Jeremy, a teen, struggles to adapt to this new life both behaving mysteriously and acting out in increasingly violent and unsafe ways. The parents grow concerned for not only the wellbeing of Jeremy, but the welfare of their entire family. The second half of the film focuses on a now adult Sasha who is a documentarian looking at her own past for answers. She presents her brother’s case file to a group of psychologists to get their opinion on what might have been troubling him and even travels back to her childhood home to see what she could learn. The film enters a spectre-like trance that blends the past and the present together in a haunting and beautiful manner. Director Sophy Romvari based the film on her own childhood and family with Sasha being a stand-in for herself.
Foreigner – directed by Ava Maria Safai
Moving to a new country is always difficult, but teenagers often feel extra pressure to fit in with their new peers. In Foreigner, a father and daughter move from Iran to Vancouver after the passing of their wife and mother. Young Yasamin badly wants to fit in at her high school. She memorizes colloquial dialogue and humour from a Friends-like sitcom instead of doing homework to improve her English skills. Eventually a group of mean girl types take Yasamin under their wing, led by leader Rachel, who teach her to do viral dances and other socially appropriate things. Rachel and her girlfriends convince Yasamin to dye her hair blonde as a way of fitting in better. After changing her hair colour against her dad’s wishes something awakens in Yasamin, akin to a demon or ancient curse. The film combines Mean Girls social politics with The Exorcist’s level of possession and demonic behaviour. Director Ava Maria Safai shows us the terrors that lay in the suburbs blending teen comedy with psychological horror.
Train Dreams – directed by Clint Bentley
Train Dreams presents a dreamy telling of Robert Grainier’s life, spanning nearly 80 years. Robert finds work amongst the migratory tree felling and railroad construction industries, taking him across the Pacific North West where money can be made. The film is narrated, making the movie feel like the book it is adapted from, allowing Robert to remain silent for long portions of the film and letting star Joel Edgerton’s weary face tell us everything. Robert struggles to understand the racism of the railroad construction industry, which treated mostly Chinese born workers like chattel. Eventually, when he falls in love with Gladys and has a daughter, he hopes to settle down without having to travel far distances for long periods of time. His hopes are soon dashed as Robert spends the rest of the film yearning for the loves of his life. The movie shows the passages of time, and the scars that deepen blending David Lowrey’s A Ghost Story with the meditative works of Terrance Malick. Director Clint Bentley shows us the beauty and destructive power that nature has to offer.
Twinless – directed by James Sweeney
Losing a loved one is always difficult, but losing a twin is a special kind of devastation. Rocky has just lost his twin brother Roman, and in an attempt to unpack this tragedy, he moves into his brother’s Portland home. Rocky starts attending a twinless support group, where he meets Dennis, another young man who has lost his twin brother. The two bond quickly as they feel like they aren’t used to living day-to-day life alone and help comfort each other. Rocky starts to see a life in Portland, between being close to Dennis and beginning a relationship with Marcie, a colleague of Dennis’. Unfortunately Dennis starts to get jealous of the time Rocky and Marcie are spending together, and his backstory soon comes under scrutiny as Marcie realizes some inconsistencies about his dead twin. Things get turned on their head as the film turns nonlinear and we see events that preceded Rocky coming to town to attend Roman’s funeral. James Sweeney plays a dual role as not only the director but as the mysterious Dennis as well. The film highlights the vibrancy of both Portland and Seattle and utilizes mirrors and sets of twins like viewers have never seen before.
The Wedding Banquet – directed by Andrew Ahn
A remake of the classic 1993 Ang Lee film, this new version sees a modern take on queer couples finding creative ways to first hide their identities then realize only being their true selves leads to happiness. Angela and Lee are a lesbian couple who are on their second round of IVF to become parents. After it fails, arguments over trying a third time for both financial reasons and Angela potentially carrying the baby instead of Lee leave the couple at a crossroads. Min and Chris are a gay couple, and Min, who is on a visa, proposes to Chris in order to stay in the country and avoid family responsibilities. Chris rejects the proposal as Min hasn’t come out to his conservative Korean family and who will surely disown him and revoke a large family inheritance he is scheduled to get. From there we get a traditional farce set up with Angela agreeing to marry Min in order to please his family. But after a drunken bachelor/bachelorette party that sees Angela sleeping with Chris, both couples crumble as the fake wedding comes closer. Director Andrew Ahn blends a stirring queer story with humour and pathos all within the backdrop of Seattle’s vibrant art and tech communities.