The Mermaid Museum, a movie produced by the Washington State Arts Commission and directed by Dark & Stormy Productions, has earned a First Place Award as the best SciFi, Fantasy, Supernatural movie at the 2025 Alternative Film Festival in Toronto.

The Mermaid Museum is the story of a young filmmaker on a weekend getaway with her “fun” aunt to visit the International Mermaid Museum located between Aberdeen and Westport. As the two women explore, they discover that “anything can happen.” The 15-minute film is filled with scenes in Grays Harbor featuring everything from razor clam digging to “who is Kurt Cobain?”

Grays Harbor residents and visitors can see the movie on April 18 and 19 at the historic 7th Street Theatre. It will be shown just before their feature film, The Neverending Story. Tickets are available at https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6491368. The 7th Street Theatre is located at 313 7th St., Hoquiam. For information on the show, call 360-537-7400.

The film’s directors, Jessica Sanders and Jacob Miller, will be at the 7th Street Theatre giving away The Mermaid Museum movie “swag” along with yearlong memberships to visit the International Mermaid Museum. Movie goers can even have their photo taken in front of the movie’s “red carpet” screen.

This special showing of the movie is in conjunction with the annual Mermaid Festival held every weekend in April from noon to 4 p.m. at Westport Winery Garden Resort. The festival is free to attend. It features mermaids, aerial acrobats, unicorns, food, crafts, art and other activities.

The International Mermaid Museum is a non-profit dedicated to teaching ocean ecology from seashore to sea floor immersed in mermaid mythology, uniting world oceanic cultures. The museum is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. year around. For more information go to www.MermaidMuseum.org.