BY KAREN BOSSICK

LOCALS IN AND BEHIND THE LENS:

“Blood Road,” starring local mountain bike champion Rebecca Rusch as she pedals along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in search of the site her father was shot down during the Vietnam War. 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sun Valley Opera House; 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Community School Theatre. Rusch will be in attendance.

“L.A.Times,” Dree Hemingway appears in this movie about a neurotic couple who compare their relationship to happy couples. 7 p.m. Friday, Sun Valley Opera House. Hemingway will field questions.

“Big Sonia,” about a quirky tailor shop owner who is also an inspirational speaker at schools and prisons as a Holocaust survivor. Filmmakers Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday will hold a Q&A. 6 p.m. Sunday, Sun Valley Opera House.

“Charlie vs. Goliath,” Community School alum Reed Lindsay story of a former priest who at 75 ran for Senate in Wyoming. 5:30 p.m. Friday, nexStage Theatre. Lindsay will field questions.

“Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale,” 4 p.m. Friday, Community School. 6 p.m. Saturday, The Liberty Theatre in Hailey. Cinematographer Bob Poole will field questions following Friday’s screening.

“The Tenth Step,” Ketchum kayaker Gerry Moffatt’s 4,000-mile motorcycle ride across the Himalaya to revisit a river that nearly killed him 20 years ago. 3:30 p.m. Sunday, nexStage Theatre. Moffatt will field questions.

FREEBIES

“Manchester by the Sea,” the Academy Award-nominated film produced by Chris Moore, host of the festival’s High Scribe Competition and a Coffee Talk personality during the 2016 festival. 11:15 a.m., Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cinetransformer.

“Before the Flood,” the Leonardo DiCaprio documentary looking at climate change produced by Brett Ratner, the festival’s Pioneer Award recipient, 2 p.m. Thursday, Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cinetransformer.

“Beetlejuice,” in honor of the festival’s 2017 Lifetime Vision Award recipient Geena Davis, 3 p.m. Saturday, Liberty Theatre.

Future Filmmakers Forum, 5 p.m. Saturday, nexStage Theatre with reception. Young filmmakers grades seven through 12 present short works and Chace Crawford of “Blood and Oil” and “Gossip Girl” presents the awards.

“Naledi,” the tale of an orphaned elephant, 4 p.m. Friday Community School. Free to Blaine County students and passholders with limited tickets available for purchase by non-students.

“Wild to Inspire” Three filmmakers will screen their works in Nat Geo WILD’s short film competition. 5:15 p.m. Friday, Sun Valley Opera House.

1 Potato Screening and Reception—4 p.m. Thursday, nexStage Theatre. Includes screening of last year’s two winning films.

FREE COFFEE TALKS, 10 a.m. nexStage Theatre.

Friday--Allison Williams, star of HBO’s “Girls” and the horror comedy “Get Out.”

Saturday--Brett Ratner,  director of “Rush Hour” and “X Men: The Last Stand” with Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM’s Motion Picture Group.

Sunday--Peter and Bobby Farrelly of “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something about Mary.”

SVFF SALON TALKS, noon at Festival Headquarters

Thursday—Bob Poole, Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer

Friday—Kenneth Biller, writer and producer of “Smallville,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and showrunner of Nat Geo’s “Genius.”

Saturday—Directors Suzannah Herbert of “Break the Hold” and Suzi Yoonessi of “Unlovable” with Michelle Morgan of the Los Angeles Times discussing being female directors in a male-dominated industry.

For Festival and Party passholders only.

“THE SCORE”

DJ Chris Douridas, music supervisor for “American Beauty,” “Captain Fantastic” and “Shrek 2,” and composer Nick Urata, who composed the score for “Crazy, Stupid Love” and “Naledi,” will discuss musical scores. 2 p.m., Friday, Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cinetransformer. Individual tickets are available.

CONVERSATION WITH THE ORIGINALS—7:45 Saturday, nexStage Theatre. Idaho’s Native Americans and others who are part of the Standing Rock movement will show clips from the documentary “Akicita” at tout the Standing Rock uprising  and discuss as part of the discussion. Individual tickets available.

FILM LAB (Works in Progress)—“Unlovable,” a sex-addicted woman learns what real love means when making music with a recluse, 4:30 p.m. Friday in Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cinetransformer.

“Break the Hold,” four young athletes in a depressed Alabama community learn that wrestling is about breaking the limits imposed by their circumstances, 4:30 Saturday at Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cinetransformer.

SCREENWRITERS LAB—Charles Randolph, Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “The Big Short” hosts a look into the process of writing for film. 2 p.m., Saturday, nexStage Theatre.

SVFF Awards Bash—Features the Lemon Twigs, an American pop rock and from Long Island, N.Y., and a free frosty beer courtesy of Stella Artois, 10 p.m. Saturday, Whiskey Jacques.

FESTIVAL PASSES start at $75. Individual film screenings and tickets to the Film Lab Content and Conversation with Native Americans are $10. Tickets and passes are available at www.sunvalleyfilmfestival.org or Festival HQ at the Warfield Distillery at Main Street and Sun Valley Road.