All are invited to enjoy a presentation and screening of “The Maury Island Incident” film at the Museum of Flight on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, starting at 2 p.m.
The award-winning, locally produced and shot 30-minute film – celebrating its 10th anniversary – will be screened at the William M. Allen Theater at the museum in Tukwila (map below). There will also be a presentation before and a Q&A with filmmakers afterwards.
This film is based on the incredible and often forgotten story of Harold Dahl, who on June 21, 1947, alleged a UFO sighting over Puget Sound that led to what filmmakers say was the first UFO-related “Men in Black” encounter, as well as the first fatalities in the history of the then-new U.S. Air Force.
History meets pop culture and J. Edgar Hoover in a sensational 1947 Northwest tale that challenges the historical foundations of UFO mythology and the origin story of the “Men in Black,” and was honored with a resolution by the Washington State Senate in 2017. It took place during the start of the “Summer of the Saucers” phenomenon, which launched the modern UFO era, and Washington State was ground zero for alleged sightings.
Discover how two local filmmakers learned about the infamous “Maury Island Incident,” then chose to reject the usual tropes, speculations and sensationalism surrounding UFO stories and instead tackled the project as “incidental historians.” You’ll learn – as they did – from FBI records about how a Tacoma-based FBI Special Agent charged to investigate a mysterious B-25 Bomber crash east of Kelso, Washington, reported the Maury Island Incident facts directly to J. Edgar Hoover and re-framed the entire historical narrative, providing the inspiration for award-winning 30-minute film “The Maury Island Incident” (that will screen as part of the program).
Scott Schaefer, the film’s director, said:
“We wanted to capture the dramatic tension that just leapt off the pages of the declassified FBI interview records from 1947. People will argue forever about what happened that day. But it doesn’t matter. Lives were lost and lives were destroyed. Pop culture was changed forever. And when the team – including our wonderful Executive Producer John White – realized the common narrative about Maury Island being a hoax was wrong and the truth sealed for 50 years – we had to make the film.”
“This film has been a wonderful, decade-long journey that just doesn’t end,” said Steve Edmiston, Screenwriter and Co-Producer. “We had no idea how people might react to us taking a controversial subject like a UFO sighting and approaching it as a historical event. This is why we relied so heavily on the FBI investigations and J. Edgar Hoover’s role. And it seemed to work.”
Video
Below is a trailer for the film:
Event Details
- WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, from 2 – 4 p.m.
- COST: FREE with Membership and included with general admission.
About the Filmmakers
Steve Edmiston, Writer/Producer
Steve Edmiston is a business, intellectual property, and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, and independent film screenwriter and producer. in addition to four released feature films, his award-winning short films include “The Maury Island Incident” (writer/producer). He is founder of Quadrant45, the Maury Island Incident Historical Society, and The Men in Black Birthday Bash Festival (MIBBB Fest). He is a 2021-2023 and 2024-2025 appointee to the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau, and has keynoted for the Pacific Northwest History Conference, Washington State Historical Museum, Smith Tower Rumrunner’s Club, McMenamins History Pubs, and numerous film festivals, conferences, and business organizations.
Scott Schaefer, Director/Producer
Scott Schaefer is a three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (for “Bill Nye the Science Guy“) with over 35 years’ experience in media, including over 20 as a Director and Producer, six of which were spent in the trenches of Hollywood. His credits also include shows “Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!“, where he was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for Outstanding Directing in a Reality Show (2005), “The Arsenio Hall Show” (Paramount), and KING-TV’s “Almost Live!” (where he won 6 Local Emmys). Scott is the founder of South King Media, a network of eight award-winning “hyperlocal” news websites for South King County (including The Waterland Blog).
Presented as part of the Museum’s new Home Beyond Earth exhibition.
The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108-4097:
