Spokane Comedy Film Festival to makes its debut at the Garland

Just for Laughs, arguably the premiere comedy festival in the world, was once a small gathering when it commenced in 1983 in Montreal. Now it’s a massive event, which attracts the biggest names in comedy.

Who knows what the first Spokane Comedy Film Festival will be in the future? What is known is that the event, which is slated for Tuesday at the Garland Theater, will showcase 25 to 35 comedic shorts ranging from 2 to 7 minutes.

The films have yet to be selected by festival CEO Josiah Carlson. “I’m still looking at the films,” Carlson said. “I’ll figure it out soon.” Carlson, an animator at digital agency Seven2, is so selective that he doubts he’ll feature one of his own shorts.

“I’m going to show the best since I want this to be a fun evening,” Carlson said. Carlson, 36, isn’t featuring any stand-up. “I’m not going to do that yet, but who knows what we’ll do next year.”

The Mead High School graduate, who is a self-taught animator, started as a stand-up just last year. “I thought it would be fun to try, so I’ve been doing open mics at the Spokane Comedy Club, Market Street Pizza and Bolo’s in the Valley. I do open mics four to five nights a week.”

It’s one thing to become a fledgling stand-up but another to start a comedy festival. “I know,” Carlson said. “I thought it would be cool. I believe this city can support a comedy festival. Spokane is the perfect size for a comedy festival.

“Look around. We have all of these big things here, but you can still park. We have good movie theaters, like the Garland. We have the Spokane Comedy Club, which is an amazing venue for a city of this size.”

The winner of the festival will receive $100. “It’s a start for our festival,” Carlson said. “I’ve had so many entries from the Inland Northwest. The response has been tremendous.

“I can see having multiple categories next year, but I’m focusing on this year. I’ll get through the entries. We’ll screen them, and I hope that a lot of people come out to the Garland and eat a lot of popcorn.”

Garland Theater general manager Jasmine Barnes is excited about the event. “It’s a really cool idea to showcase short films that are comedy-based,” Barnes said. “It makes sense to have this event since the Spokane comedy scene is getting bigger and bigger.”

The quirky Carlson decided the initial event would be slated for a Tuesday when he glanced at the calendar and noticed a special date. “This festival had to be on 2-2-22,” Carlson said. “How cool is that?

“It’s not happening on the weekend, but the festival is starting out on a number to remember. I’m hoping those numbers are lucky and that this is the first of many comedy festivals in Spokane.”