Woods Hole Film Festival starts July 27. Here's what's screening this year.

The stars will be out and on screen July 27 - Aug. 3 for the 33rd Annual Woods Hole Film Festival.

If you can’t make it to all the screenings you want to see, you will be able to stream the festival films online Aug. 4-11.

This year’s festival includes 120 films from 16 countries.

"It's not the biggest festival we've done," said Judy Laster, festival founder and executive director, "but it's the first year since the pandemic when we feel like we're returning to normal. All year, our dinner-and-a-movie (events) have been selling out. People are coming out again."

Films will be shown at the Redfield Auditorium and Cornelia Clapp Auditorium in Woods Hole and Simon Center for the Arts at Falmouth Academy . Some screenings will be followed by question-and-answer sessions with the filmmaker, director or actors.

“The nearly 1,000 submissions were narrowed down to a program of 47 feature-length and 73 short dramas, comedies, documentaries, and animation from 19 countries — with six world, two US, and 59 New England premieres by both first-time and veteran filmmakers,” according to a written release from festival organizers.

The festival’s other activities will include, organizers write, ”master classes, workshops, panel discussions, an awards ceremony, and parties with some of the best live music in New England.”

What is new this year?

New this year is a local music project, curated by Cape Cod singer-songwriter Kim Moberg, which will have even more live or recorded music playing at festival parties and before some screenings. Some of the recorded music has been used in the Festival’s trailer, said Ellen Gitelman, a festival spokesman.

"We always want to make the festival festive and include as many local artists as possible," Laster said.

Also new, Laster said, is the Blue Green Union, described as “a naturally dyed textile installation printed with seaweed” that is the first of many art pieces going in to create an immersive experience about the Cape Cod environment called Water World on Water Street.

What kind of films are playing?

Local favorite “In the Whale,” based on commercial diver Michael Packard’s experience being swallowed by a whale, is showing at Redfern Auditorium July 26, at a special event on the eve of the festival, but screening of the 2022 film is already sold out.

"We could show this film every day and it would sell out, and not just on Cape Cod," Laster said. "I don't know what it is about this film."

Themes in this year’s festival include movies set in New England, putting science on screen and stories of activism.

What are the first screenings?

Woods Hole Film Festival begins with two documentaries and a narrative film.

Dawn Porter’s film  “Luther: Never Too Much” (produced by Jamie Foxx and Colin Firth) recaps Luther Vandross’s Grammy award-winning musical career and looks at his personal life, including health problems and his quest for respect and recognition.

”Porcelain War,” which won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of three Ukrainian artists who chose to stay and fight for their homeland. Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev are the filmmakers.

In “Katie’s Mom,” the character played by Aaron Dominguez (Selena Gomez’s love interest in season 2 of “Only Murders in the Building”) is seduced by his girlfriend’s mother. Filmmaker Tyrrell Shaffner’s narrative film is told by the older woman, reminiscent of Mrs. Robinson in ”The Graduate.”

Where can I get a list of events and buy tickets?

Find a full list of events at woodsholefilmfestival.org . Most films are $16, $12 for festival members or $10 for students and military. Packages are also offered. Tickets are available online where there is a searchable database of all the films or at the box office, open 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily from July 27-Aug. 3 at 89 Water St., second floor, in Woods Hole.

"People rely on us as a community organization not only to see the films but to see each other," Laster said of the returning crowds. "I think there is a general sense of people knowing they can breathe again."

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Woods Hole Film Festival starts July 27. Here's what's screening this year.