Sunset Flicks
Silent movies under the stars, with live music by the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
August 28, 2026
Outside the Pickford Film Center
Bellingham, WA
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and Pickford Film Center teamed up for a second year to present a free outdoor screening of silent films with live music in downtown Bellingham, WA. The family-friendly event also included a raffle and prizes, as well as food trucks and a beer garden.
The films were curated by Spencer Sundell of The Sprocket Society, and included comedies, western drama, early stop-motion animation and, of course, a cartoon.
The films were accompanied live by the 11 piece BSO Chamber Orchestra plus, for selected films, improvised piano by Andrea Rackl.
The 2026 film program included:
- The Koko the Clown cartoon Fishing (1921) by the legendary Fleischer brothers
- Laurel and Hardy in Big Business (1929), one of the greatest comedies of all time
- William S. Hart's western drama Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915)
- French political satire with The Nursemaids’ Strike (La grève des nourrices, 1907)
- Stop motion animation by Ladislas Starevich in The Frogs Who Wanted a King (Les Grenouilles qui demandent un Roi aka Frogland, 1922)
- Actuality films of the Scenes from Gold Rush Seattle waterfront shot in 1897
All movies were shown digitally.
The program was made possible in part by a Downtown Activation grant from the City of Bellingham.
About the music
Andrea Rackl improvised live scores on piano for three films: Fishing, Scenes from Gold Rush Seattle, and The Nursemaids’ Strike. She was the principal keyboardist for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra for 28 years, beginning in 1998, and maintains an active career as a teacher, performer, improviser, arranger, and composer. Rackl has been teaching privately for more than 30 years, and is active with the Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA). As a pianist, Rackl has participated in countless solo and collaborative concerts over the years, performing locally in Bellingham House Concerts and with the Western Washington University Symphony Orchestra, and as far afield as Japan.
Julia Zuzanna Sokolowska composed a new score for Bad Buck of Santa Ynez. A Los Angeles/Bellingham based composer, orchestrator, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist, Sokolowska has worked across film, television, and media in both the US and internationally. Her credits include Netflix’s Filthy Rich, as well as The Book of Life (Warner), Beauty and The Beast (Disney), Empire (FOX), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC), The Whistle (PBS) and other narrative and documentary projects.
Kevin Woods composed new scores The Frogs Who Wanted a King and Big Business. Woods is a trumpeter/composer who has emerged as one of the most emotive voices in improvised music in the Northwest. He is in demand as a band leader leader and a sideman as well as a composer, arranger, and clinician. Woods lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he is active as a performer, educator, author, composer/arranger, and serves as Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University.
The musicians
The film scores by Sokolowska and Woods were performed by the BSO Chamber Orchestra, led by Guest Conductor Ryan Dudenbostel (Director of Orchestral Studies at WWU).
- Violin I: Dawn Posey
- Violin II: Lisa Humphrey
- Viola: Morgan Schwab
- Cello: Brian Coyne
- Bass: Mark Tomko
- Flute/Piccolo: Gena Mikkelsen
- Oboe: Gail Ridenour
- Bassoon: Phillip Thomas
- Trumpet: Karolyn Labes
- Percussion: Kay Reilly
- Harp: Jill Whitmas
About the presenting partners
About the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the historic Mount Baker Theatre. It performs seven concerts per season in addition to a variety of community and youth engagement programs across the calendar year. Details about the BSO and ticketing information for the current season are available at bellinghamsymphony.org.
About Pickford Film Center
Pickford Film Center, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. Since its founding in 1998, it has been the only independent cinema, operating 365 days a year, between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. For more information and what’s playing, go to pickfordfilmcenter.org.
About Downtown Activation with the City of Bellingham
Sunset Flicks is made possible by a grant from the City of Bellingham to activate downtown spaces. Learn more about this program and how the City of Bellingham is working to keep downtown Bellingham beautiful and vibrant and bring joy to our community.
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra and Pickford Film Center teamed up for a second year to present a free outdoor screening of silent films with live music in downtown Bellingham, WA. The family-friendly event also included a raffle and prizes, as well as food trucks and a beer garden.
The films were curated by Spencer Sundell of The Sprocket Society, and included comedies, western drama, early stop-motion animation and, of course, a cartoon.
The films were accompanied live by the 11 piece BSO Chamber Orchestra plus, for selected films, improvised piano by Andrea Rackl.
The 2026 film program included:
- The Koko the Clown cartoon Fishing (1921) by the legendary Fleischer brothers
- Laurel and Hardy in Big Business (1929), one of the greatest comedies of all time
- William S. Hart's western drama Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915)
- French political satire with The Nursemaids’ Strike (La grève des nourrices, 1907)
- Stop motion animation by Ladislas Starevich in The Frogs Who Wanted a King (Les Grenouilles qui demandent un Roi aka Frogland, 1922)
- Actuality films of the Scenes from Gold Rush Seattle waterfront shot in 1897
All movies were shown digitally.
The program was made possible in part by a Downtown Activation grant from the City of Bellingham.
About the music
Andrea Rackl improvised live scores on piano for three films: Fishing, Scenes from Gold Rush Seattle, and The Nursemaids’ Strike. She was the principal keyboardist for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra for 28 years, beginning in 1998, and maintains an active career as a teacher, performer, improviser, arranger, and composer. Rackl has been teaching privately for more than 30 years, and is active with the Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA). As a pianist, Rackl has participated in countless solo and collaborative concerts over the years, performing locally in Bellingham House Concerts and with the Western Washington University Symphony Orchestra, and as far afield as Japan.
Julia Zuzanna Sokolowska composed a new score for Bad Buck of Santa Ynez. A Los Angeles/Bellingham based composer, orchestrator, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist, Sokolowska has worked across film, television, and media in both the US and internationally. Her credits include Netflix’s Filthy Rich, as well as The Book of Life (Warner), Beauty and The Beast (Disney), Empire (FOX), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC), The Whistle (PBS) and other narrative and documentary projects.
Kevin Woods composed new scores The Frogs Who Wanted a King and Big Business. Woods is a trumpeter/composer who has emerged as one of the most emotive voices in improvised music in the Northwest. He is in demand as a band leader leader and a sideman as well as a composer, arranger, and clinician. Woods lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he is active as a performer, educator, author, composer/arranger, and serves as Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Western Washington University.
The musicians
The film scores by Sokolowska and Woods were performed by the BSO Chamber Orchestra, led by Guest Conductor Ryan Dudenbostel (Director of Orchestral Studies at WWU).
- Violin I: Dawn Posey
- Violin II: Lisa Humphrey
- Viola: Morgan Schwab
- Cello: Brian Coyne
- Bass: Mark Tomko
- Flute/Piccolo: Gena Mikkelsen
- Oboe: Gail Ridenour
- Bassoon: Phillip Thomas
- Trumpet: Karolyn Labes
- Percussion: Kay Reilly
- Harp: Jill Whitmas
About the presenting partners
About the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra
The Bellingham Symphony Orchestra is the resident orchestra of the historic Mount Baker Theatre. It performs seven concerts per season in addition to a variety of community and youth engagement programs across the calendar year. Details about the BSO and ticketing information for the current season are available at bellinghamsymphony.org.
About Pickford Film Center
Pickford Film Center, a nonprofit organization, provides a forum and resource for independent cinema, strengthening community through education, dialogue and the celebration of film. Since its founding in 1998, it has been the only independent cinema, operating 365 days a year, between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. For more information and what’s playing, go to pickfordfilmcenter.org.
About Downtown Activation with the City of Bellingham
Sunset Flicks is made possible by a grant from the City of Bellingham to activate downtown spaces. Learn more about this program and how the City of Bellingham is working to keep downtown Bellingham beautiful and vibrant and bring joy to our community.
