A family movie about a teenage soccer star, a documentary about a vivacious 93-year-old actress and a drama about two women, one Jewish Orthodox and the other Muslim, finding common ground and friendship, were the top draws at the Gig Harbor Film Festival, which wrapped up Sunday. Screenings were held at the Galaxy Uptown multiplex.

The soccer movie “Her Best Move,” shown Friday, was the best attended picture on the schedule, nearly selling out its 6 p.m. showing, said festival president Marty Thacker. Seats were mostly filled with young girls in soccer jerseys, drawn both by the subject matter and the fact that organizers had arranged for two members of the Seattle Sounders professional soccer team to come and sign autographs and talk to the kids before the picture started.

There were no other sell-outs, but “Hats Off,” which screened Friday afternoon and chronicled the career of nonagenarian actress Mimi Weddell, and, Saturday morning’s “Arranged,” about the friendship of the Muslim and Jewish women, both preparing for arranged marriages, were very well-attended, Thacker said.

With this year’s inaugural festival now in the history books, organizers are already looking ahead to next year. They’re pondering lessons learned this past weekend and considering changes in the way the 2009 festival will be run. This year the first full day of screenings – there were 10 in all – was Friday, a day most people are at work. Thacker said next year’s opening is likely to be pushed back to Saturday, when folks have the day off.

Another lesson: “I think we’ll do more personal outreach,” said Paula Lillard, the festival’s vice president. Paid advertising and news stories about the festival are all well and good, Lillard said, but the personal touch is even better. Next year Lillard plans to speak to groups and clubs to tout specific movies on the schedule. She said she felt that approach, if used this year, might have boosted the audience for “Abel Raises Cain,” a documentary about a rascally hoax artist. As it was, "Cain" was one of the most sparsely attended movies on the schedule.

The festival began small – public screenings were scheduled Friday and Saturday – and is likely to stay small for the foreseeable future. For now, a festival lasting a weekend seems just the right size, Thacker said.