With award-winning films, panels and parties, the Orcas Island Film Festival, Oct. 7-10, promises to be another exciting weekend. As many readers probably know OIFF is fast becoming a world class festival that hosts emerging Oscar contenders.

This year there is another stellar line-up with many Oscar and award-winning contenders. Leading the pack is “Manchester by the Sea” with Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler starring in this emotionally overwhelming drama from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan about a reclusive handyman who must face his past when he returns to his Massachusetts hometown after the sudden death of his older brother.

Another buzz-worthy mention is foreign film “Neruda.” Director Pablo Larraín weaves an engrossing metafictional fable around the 1948 manhunt for poet and politician Pablo Neruda.

All of the films and tickets are at www.orcasfilmfest.com. Volunteers can contact mieka@orcasfilmfest.com.