A bow by itself doesn’t make any sound.

It is only after the hair hits the string and is drawn, that it makes the clear ringing notes of music.

A silent servant to the violin, a well constructed bow is vital for string musicians. And in Port Townsend, a group of five artisans are continuing the traditional craft of bow making.

These bowmakers—occasionally referred to as the “Port Townsend Five”—are the subject of a new documentary called “The Bowmakers,” made by local director Ward Serrill and produced by Rose Theatre owner Rocky Friedman.

“Internationally, in the music world, people know about Port Townsend,” Serrill said. “It’s the mecca of bow making. We heard it in Brazil, we heard it in France, we heard it in New York. They know about Port Townsend and they know the bowmakers here on a first-name basis.”

The film, which will premiere at the Rose Theatre at 6 p.m. on August 17, follows the bow from the master bow makers creating them here in Port Townsend, to when they reach the hands of musicians all over the world.

“It’s a film about the value of beauty in the world and the value of handmade craft,” Serrill said.

Serrill is known for directing the film, “The Heart of the Game,” a documentary that came out in 2005 and followed Bill Resler, a university professor who coached a high school girls basketball team. He has also created more than 90 short films, including Building One House with Robert Redford, and has produced and directed 50 films on education reform for Paul Allen’s Vulcan Productions in Seattle.

His work often focuses on mixing entertainment with social causes. In this film, which he has been working on with Friedman for over two years, his social cause is showcasing the beauty of hand crafting bows, which in turn create music.

“Beauty matters,” he said. “It makes life possible. The more upheaval that we’re experiencing, the more beauty is necessary for survival.”

“The Bowmakers” is Friedman’s first feature film production. After a long conversation with a friend about just how many artisans have made Port Townsend their home—not just bowmakers, but luthiers, reed makers, instrument makers of all kinds—Friedman pitched the idea for a documentary about bow makers to Serrill, who took him up on it.

“I always wanted a documentary to be in my future,” Friedman said. “Within 48 hours of talking about it, we had met with bow maker Charles Espey. I walked away saying I would be foolish not to be part of this project.”

Espey is often called the grandfather of modern bow making. He and Paul Martin Siefried brought the craft to Port Townsend and have trained several of the other bow makers in town.

“They are known internationally,” said violin maker David Burgess, who lives and makes violins at his shop in Ann Arbor, where there is a similar cluster of artisans who make violins. “And it’s because they’re good at what they do.”

Serrill described the bow makers as a quiet bunch, but all five, including Espey, Siefried, Ole Kanestrom, Robert Morrow and the youngest, 24-year-old Cody Kowalski, agreed to be interviewed for the film, sharing access to their studios and the secrets of bow making.

Because of the level of detail and an eye for art that the artisans have, Serrill decided to do all the filming himself. Though a viewer might not be able to tell, many of the scenes were produced with just Serrill and a bow maker alone in a woodworking studio.

“It was clear to me that I needed to really establish a relationship with all of the bowmakers,” Serrill said. “I wanted them to be working and we’re just talking. I wanted the intimacy that would arise from just me and the person.”

The film especially highlights the magic that happens between a bow maker and a musician. Each bow is made specially to what a musician wants.

“The musicians throw out these words, like, ‘I want this bow to be luminous,’ and then they translate that into wood,” Friedman said.

Beyond following this special relationship and the work that goes into making bows, the film also tells the history of bows, from when bows were first perfected by French creator Francois Tourte 230 years ago. Not only that, but the filmmakers also took a trip to Brazil, to learn about the special wood called Paubrasilia. To help illustrate these aspects, Serrill and Friedman hired local animator Andrea Love, who handcrafts felt stop-motion animation.

Woven throughout the film is music, as quartets and soloists demonstrate what comes from a handcrafted bow. And although neither Serrill or Friedman are string musicians themselves, the beauty of music was important for them to showcase.

“I have a musical soul, but never the focus or discipline to play,” Serrill said. “I consider myself a poet as a filmmaker.”

And since the bow makers are local to Port Townsend, it was fitting that two local filmmakers, with a local animator and a local sound producer, Rossana Gomes, collaborated to create the film about them.

“This film is like a bow,” Serrill said “It’s handcrafted, it has exquisite attention to detail and it’s one of a kind.”

The film will show at the Port Townsend Film Festival and will run at the Rose Theatre starting September 27. Tickets to the premiere will be available July 26 at the box office or at rosetheatre.com.