Beneath the Same Sky Finds Its First Festival Home

What Being Selected by the Everett Film Festival Represents

A First Festival Is a Real Threshold

Every film has a first moment when it steps out of private space and into public view. For Beneath the Same Sky, that moment will happen this spring at the Everett Film Festival, where the film will screen and where I have been invited to participate as a featured presenter.

This is the film’s first official festival selection. It is also my first time bringing a professional short film into a festival environment as a filmmaker.

That distinction matters. Not because it marks an endpoint, but because it confirms that the work is ready to be seen, discussed, and carried forward.

Why the Everett Film Festival Is the Right Beginning

The Everett Film Festival has a long history of elevating stories that explore women’s lives, lived experience, and emotional truth. What began as the Everett Women’s Film Festival in the late 1990s has grown into a respected regional festival with a clear point of view and a deeply engaged audience.

Beneath the Same Sky is a quiet, human story about grief, dignity, and connection. It was made with local cast and crew in Washington State, shaped through collaboration, and supported by public arts funding. It belongs in a festival that values context, care, and conversation.

Having the film’s first screening happen in this environment feels aligned rather than accidental.

From Submission to Selection

The path to selection was straightforward and grounded. The festival reached out with interest in viewing the film. A link was shared. Time passed. Then came the invitation to include the film in the 2025 program.

There was no spectacle in the process, and that is worth noting. This is often how real progress looks. Professional communication. Clear expectations. Mutual respect for the work.

The festival also invited me to attend the screening and participate as a presenter. That request carries its own meaning. It signals that the film is not only being screened, but engaged with.

Showing Up Matters

A film does not fully exist until it is shared with an audience. Being present for that moment matters.

I plan to attend the screening with my producer, and depending on availability, a few members of the cast. This film was built collaboratively, and it deserves to be represented that way.

Festival screenings are not just about exhibition. They are about conversation, reflection, and connection. They allow a story to move beyond the screen and into a shared space.

What This Selection Confirms

This selection does not mean the work is finished. It confirms that the work holds up outside the edit room.

It confirms that the story resonates beyond those who made it.
It confirms that the process was sound.
It confirms that the film can carry a room.

For a first professional short film, that confirmation matters.

Looking Ahead

The Everett Film Festival screening on April 5 and 6 marks the beginning of the film’s public life. More submissions are underway. More conversations are ahead.

What matters most is that Beneath the Same Sky now has a place to begin.

I am deeply grateful to the Everett Film Festival team for their care, their professionalism, and their support of local filmmakers. I look forward to sharing the film with their audience and to participating fully in the festival experience.

This is not the end of the journey.
It is the first public chapter.

Written by Thomas Scott Adams for Gray Matter
Featuring Beneath the Same Sky by Ragged Films

Location: Seattle, WA, USA

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