Alaskans in Washington, D.C., and some of their allies in Congress celebrate passage of the Alaska Statehood Act.

The Anchorage International Film Festival got underway last Friday and continues through this weekend. We’ve been highlighting some of the local film screening during the festival, and the next one screens Sunday at the Bear Tooth. It’s called “Statehood! The Birth of Modern Alaska.”

Filmmaker Larry Goldin’s documentary traces the Alaska statehood movement that began to take hold early in the 20th century among residents in what was then the Alaska territory. The story addresses Outsiders’ changing attitudes toward the territory during its 40-year struggle for self-government, the territory’s relationship with those Outside interests and details the successful strategy that led to the Alaska Statehood Act’s passage in 1958.

Told through interviews with a number of the statehood movement’s primary participants, including the late Sen. Ted Stevens, the film also links the legacy of the movement’s achievements with North Slope oil development, the Permanent Fund Dividend and the Alaska Native Claims Act.

“Statehood! The Birth of Modern Alaska” screens 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Bear Tooth. Included in AIFF pass fees, or $8 for the individual screening.

--Matt Sullivan