The 25th annual Port Townsend Film Festival runs through the weekend of Sept. 20-22, bringing a host of offerings with it.

Filmmakers Catherine Hardwicke and Louie Schwartzberg are among this year’s honored guests.

Hardwicke’s first film as a director (and co-writer) was the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama “Thirteen,” which won numerous awards at film festivals around the world, including the dramatic directing award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, along with Golden Globe nominations for both Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, and an Academy Award nomination for Hunter.

Hardwicke then directed the commercially successful 2008 film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling vampire novel “Twilight,” launching a blockbuster film franchise that earned nearly $3.4 billion at the global box office.

Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who has spent his notable career providing breathtaking imagery using his time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography techniques.

Schwartzberg’s 2019 documentary “Fantastic Fungi” employs celebrity narration by Brie Larson, and a first-person biography of mycologist Paul Stamets, to tell the epoch-spanning history of the biological evolution, environmental contributions and human uses of the planet’s fungi.

Schwartzberg is a visual artist who makes the invisible visible, connects with audiences, and tells stories that celebrate life and reveal the mysteries and wisdom of nature, people and places.

Indoor screenings of short and feature-length narrative and documentary films will take place about four times a day each at the Rose Theatre, the Rosebud Cinema and the Starlight Room on Taylor Street, as well as at the Key City Public Theatre, the Pope Marine Building and the American Legion’s Marvin G. Shields Memorial Post 26 hall, while 821 Washington hosts workshops on filmmaking throughout all three days of the film festival.

This year’s PTFF kicks off Sept. 19 with an opening gala dinner and a screening of the documentary “Fish War” at the Rose Theatre, while the outdoor screen on Taylor Street will screen free family-friendly films each night from Sept. 20-22.

Taylor Street Happenings

Organizers say the heart of the Festival is watching free outdoor movies on Taylor Street, but seating is limited. Bring a chair as well as layers and a blanket, just in case. No pets please. All films start at 7:30 p.m. 

 

Friday: American Graffiti

A group of teenagers in California’s central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals. From Universal Pictures.

Year: 1973

Runtime: 110 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: George Lucas

Screenwriter: George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck

Producer: Francis Ford Coppola

Co-Producer: Gary Kurtz

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat

Cinematographer: Jan D’Alquen, Ron Eveslage

Editor: Verna Fields, Marcia Lucas

Music: George Lucas

 

Saturday: Fantastic Fungi

A time-lapse journey about the magical, mysterious and medicinal world of fungi and their power to heal, sustain and contribute to the regeneration of life on Earth that began 3.5 billion years ago.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m. 

Year: 2019

Runtime: 81 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Louie Schwartzberg

Screenwriter: Mark Monroe

Producer: Lyn Davis Lear, Louie Schwartzberg

Executive Producer: Regina K. Scully, Geralyn White Dreyfous

Cast: Brie Larson, Paul Stamets, Michael Pollan

Editor: Kevin Klauber

Sunday: The Muppet Movie 

Kermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit. From Universal Pictures.

Year: 1979

Runtime: 97 minutes

Language: English, French

Country: United States

Director: James Frawley

Screenwriter: Jerry Juhl, Jack Burns

Producer: Jim Henson

Executive Producer: Lew Grade, Martin Starger

Co-Producer: David Lazer

Cast: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson

Cinematographer: Isidore Mankofsky

Editor: Christopher Greenbury

Production Design: Joel Schiller

Composer: Paul Williams, Kenny Ascher

 

Dinner Break

Enjoy live music on Taylor Street while enjoying PTFF Picnic Meals from participating restaurants. This is a chance to experience some of the other great artists in Port Townsend, meet new friends, and talk to others about what movies they’ve seen.

Friday — Chaotic Noise - Over the top marching band from Seattle!

Saturday — AVE - a rapper, singer, writer, and multi-instrumentalist born and raised in Washington State. Their music is hip hop blended with other genres such as Filipino Harana–or traditional serenade music.

Sunday — Harbor Jazz Ensemble - For more than 15 years, HJE has provided sophisticated jazz bands for cocktails and dining, dancing, romancing and just great listening.

Participating restaurants in the PTFF Picnic Meals are: La Cocina; Dogs A Foot; The Old Whiskey Mill; Lily’s Chinese Dumplings & Dim Sum; Alchemy Steak & Seafood; Getables.

Special Events

Opening Night Gala 

The annual fundraiser for all of PT FIlm’s year-round programming, where PTFF supporters don a “creative black tie” outfit, walk the red carpet, sip craft cocktails, and relish in a PNW feast. Filmmakers are in attendance, and both special guests, Louie Schwartzberg and Catherine Hardwicke, will speak on their careers and how film festivals have been integral to their success. Patron Passes include a ticket to the Gala (but reservation is required). All others are invited to purchase their tickets as a standalone event. Catering by Hills and Valley Catering will include your choice of Seared Maple Dijon Salmon, Grilled Rosemary Chicken, or Stuffed Portobella Mushroom (vegan). Open bar by Bar Car.

Thursday, Sept. 19, 4:30 p.m., NW Maritime Center 

 

Filmmakers Parade 

One of PTFF’s best traditions. Organizers say to dress as your favorite movie character and dance to the beat of the marching band and welcome visiting filmmakers and special guests to Port Townsend.  

Friday, Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m. at Taylor Street

Reception  —
Documentary Filmmakers

Filmmakers, Presenters, and Patron Pass holders are invited to join Ali Scattergood of the Seattle Documentary Association to meet, greet, and munch with other Documentary filmmakers and their special fans. No ticket reservations required. Ali is a SeaDoc Board member and Co-Director of Climate Diaries, which is screening at the Festival.

Seattle Documentary Association (SeaDoc) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to cultivate and support an equitable and professional community of nonfiction storytellers. SeaDoc was founded more than ten years ago by a group of independent documentary filmmakers dedicated to creating a platform for emerging and established doc filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 5:30 p.m., The CoLab 

 

Awards Party 

Filmmakers, Presenters, Industry Pass, Patron Pass, and Festival Pass holders are invited to munch, mix, and mingle at this beautiful venue which features local wines and a gorgeous view of the water. Jury Awards will be announced at approximately 10pm.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 8:30 p.m., Vintage by Port Townsend Vineyards  

 

Closing Night Party

Filmmakers, Presenters, Industry Pass, and Patron Pass holders are invited to munch, mix, and mingle at this beautiful venue with a gorgeous view of the water.

Sunday,  Sept. 22, 8:30 p.m. The Belmont Hotel

Feature Narratives

All Happy Families

An actor-writer awaits his big break while his brother finds sitcom-stardom. The weekend before a new tenant moves into their childhood home, the siblings and their parents find themselves under the same roof again.

Year: 2022

Runtime: 90 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Haroula Rose

 

Breakup Season

When a young man brings his girlfriend to his rural Oregon hometown to meet his family, things do not go as planned.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 102 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: H. Nelson Tracey

 

Gondola

Two cable car attendants plan ways to entertain themselves while they meet every half hour as their gondolas drive past each other, until one evening they meet after hours.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 85 minutes

Language: No Dialogue

Country: Germany

Director: Veit Helmer

 

Good Bad Things

A young man with muscular dystrophy is disillusioned by failed relationships, but steps out of his comfort zone into the world of online dating. An enigmatic photographer sparks his journey into discovering the beauty of his unique body.

Year: 2023 

Runtime: 96 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Shane D Stanger

 

Malu

An unemployed actress lives with her conservative mother in a Rio de Janeiro slum. She dreams of her theater past as mother-daughter arguments arise but the imminence of death brings unexpected lightness to relationships.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 101 minutes

Language: Portuguese

Country: Brazil

Subtitle Language: English

Director: Pedro Freire

 

Màma Gloria

A six year old is devastated to learn that her beloved nanny must return to Cape Verde to care for her own children. The young girl visits the island and the two must make the most of their last summer together.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 84 minutes

Language: French, Cape Verdean Creole

Country: France

Director: Marie Amachoukeli

 

Reflections in a Room

A mature, upper class woman has been hiring the services of a professional escort for some time. On a day when an inexperienced escort arrives, she distrusts the young man and insists he leave, but he’s not easily dismissed.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 72 minutes

Language: Spanish

Country: Spain

Subtitle Language: English

Director: Ceres Machado

 

Stakes Is High

Will is the everyman of this moment, living off the fumes of his dreams, turning to gig economy with hopes of fame, money, and a better future, only to find a rat race to the bottom.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 90 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Jean-Pierre Caner

Producer: Shaz Bennett

 

Thirteen

A 13-year-old befriends the most popular girl at school and finds her world is turned upside down when she’s introduced to a world of sex, drugs and cash. It isn’t long before this new world takes a toll.

Year: 2003

Runtime: 100 minutes

Language: English, Spanish

Country: United States

Rating: R

Content Warning: Drug use, self destructive violence, language and sexuality - all involving young teens

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Screenwriter: Catherine Hardwicke, Nikki Reed

Producer: Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Michael London

Executive Producer: Tim Bevan, Liza Chasin, Eric Fellner, Holly Hunter

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Nikki Reed, Holly Hunter

Cinematographer: Elliot Davis

Editor: Nancy Richardson

Production Design: Carol Strober

Composer: Mark Mothersbaugh, Brian Zarate

Sound Design: Frank Gaeta

Music: Amy Rosen, Michelle Norrell 

 

We Strangers

A commercial cleaning woman in Gary, Indiana, stumbles into a new job cleaning the homes of several rich, suburban families. While working, she tells one small lie that spins out of control.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 79 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Anu Valia

Short Narratives

Ashes Ashes
We All Fall Down

After forgoing her mother’s funeral, a young woman confronts her grief and guilt when she receives some of her mother’s ashes while, desperate for cash, she takes a gig to be a paid mourner at an absurd funeral.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 17 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Brooke Trantor, Maren Hill

 

B Word

At a baby shower, a 30-something woman who doesn’t want kids loses yet another bestie to motherhood. In a quest to find new friends, she stumbles into a cringeworthy misunderstanding.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 15 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Honora Talbott

 

BELIEF

When a man and his family move into their new home, the contents of a box reveal that his mother’s singular decision defined his destiny.

Year: 2023 

Runtime: 14 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Christian Loubek

 

Camping in Paradise

A philosopher and his girlfriend involuntarily spend a night at a nudist campsite, far beyond their comfort zone. An encounter with a friendly couple reveals underlying conflicts, creating tension in their relationship.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 23 minutes

Language: Norwegian

Country: Norway

Subtitle Language: English

Content Warning: Contains nudity 

Director: Eirik Tveiten

 

Clean Bill of Health

A young man goes to see the doctor for the first time in many years and may not be back anytime soon after his visit.C

Year: 2024

Runtime: 4 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Leila Ebrahimzadeh Block

 

Glampire

Dying to boost their fame and followers, a brash social media influencer hunts down an ancient vampire and gives him a brand makeover.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 11 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Amy Hesketh

Screenwriters: Jordan Lucas, Winda Benedetti

Producer: Aaron Drane

 

Julian

A reconciliation brunch between two estranged sisters goes awry when someone brings an unexpected guest.

Year: 2022

Runtime: 7 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Vivian Kerr

 

Lichtblick —
Glimmer of Hope

A cashier’s monotonous day is transformed when the women in the queue form an impromptu choir to soothe an unhappy baby.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 5 minutes

Language: Bulgarian, English, German, Persian, Romanian, Tigrinya, Ukrainian

Country: Germany

Subtitle Language: English 

Director: Sophia Tamaro

 

Love Photosynthesis

Within the microscopic realm of a leaf, Water embarks on an improbable love story with Chloroplast while the duo struggle to overcome their differences.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 4 minutes

Language: No Dialogue

Country: Ukraine 

Director: Alisa Zolonz

 

An Ode to Procrastination

A young artist tries to create the imagined project of her lifetime, but can only spout motivational quotes while she besets herself with a myriad of reasons to procrastinate.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 5 minutes

Language: English

Country: Lithuania 

Director: Aleksandra Kingo

 

Parting Out

Two women search for love and missing pieces in a vintage auto salvage yard.

Year: 2022

Runtime: 19 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Susan Buster Thomas

 

The Path

The journey of a mysterious pod drifting through tree vignettes in various states of relationship while reflecting on love and memory in a landscape interwoven with humanity.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 3 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Michelle Hagewood

 

Service Me!

A woman pulls into a gas station, but instead of asking the attendant to “Fill it up!” she makes some odd requests.

Year: 2022

Runtime: 4 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Tom Cavanaugh

 

Stalled In Eight Etudes

Eight lives intersect in a municipal courthouse bathroom and find a surprising humanity.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 15 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Kersti Bryan

 

The Storyteller

An Iraq war veteran suffering from PTSD and working nights as a janitor at a car museum is captivated by photos of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles after they won Le Mans in 1966.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 8 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Allison Volk

 

Tennis, Oranges

A robotic vacuum quits its burnout hospital job, then seeks community and a greater purpose on a quiet street with two lonely rabbits stuck in perpetual loops.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 11 minutes

Language: Mandarin Chinese

Country: United States 

Director: Sean Pecknold

 

Thatch to the Future!

Participants at a climate conference in the year 2033 make use of a time machine to travel back and influence a climate fix when they can’t agree on any other solution.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 8 minutes

Language: English

Country: Luxembourg 

Director: Nicolas Neuhold

 

Tina

When two people meet for an Internet first date, they quickly learn they already share a past together. They also discover they are no longer the same people they once were.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 15 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Laura Sweeney

 

Ubuntu — The
Baobab Tree Story

Highlighting the essence of Ubuntu (I Am Because We Are), a group of children are given the opportunity to compete against each other, they instead choose the Path of Cooperation and share the prize together.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 4 minutes

Language: English

Country: Zimbabwe 

Director: Kudzai Tinago

 

The Unseen

Timo is busy making his nest, when he hears a reply to his mating call. Desperate to find his mate, he takes flight, only to find the source of the reply is not what he had hoped.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 3 minutes

Language: No Dialogue

Country: United Kingdom 

Director: Francesco Guarini

Feature Documentaries

399: Queen
of the Tetons

Known by her research number, #399 has been a much-photographed fixture in Grand Teton National Park since 2007. Follow #399’s struggles to raise an unusually large litter in the face of human encroachment and climate change.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 87 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Elizabeth Leiter

 

Between the
Mountain and the Sky

On a gap year in 2005, Maggie met a now grown Nepalese orphan, caring for orphaned children. The two established a children’s home, women’s empowerment program, and a school in Nepal.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 92 minutes

Language: English, Nepali

Country: United States

Director: Jeremy Power Regimbal

 

A Binding Truth

In 1965, Jimmie transferred to an affluent Charlotte high school becoming their first Black football star. This swept him into one of NC’s most volatile civil rights cases at the explosive intersection of football and race.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 91 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Louise Woehrle

 

Call Me Dancer

Torn between his artistic dream and his parents’ expectations, a Mumbai hip-hop dancer makes a precarious choice after a chance encounter with a difficult and world-renowned ballet master.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 84 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Lesley Shampaine, Pip Gilmour

 

Champions of
the Golden Valley

Competitive skiing in Bamyan, Afganistan, brings rival ethnic groups together vying for the crown while learning the values of camaraderie and resiliency.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 80 minutes

Language: English, Persian

Country: United States

Director: Ben Sturgulewski

Producer: Katie Stjernholm, Baktash Ahadi

Executive Producer: Doug Blush

 

Farming While Black

The historical plight of Black farmers in the US meets the rise of a generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and ancestral roots.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 75 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Mark Decena

 

Fish War

When WA state made it illegal for tribes to fish for salmon in their accustomed places it was a declaration of war. A 1974 court case affirmed the tribes’ treaty right to fish and established them as managers of the resource.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 80 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Jeff Ostenson, Charles Atkinson, Skylar Wagner

 

Linda Perry:
Let it Die Here

Icon Linda Perry, one of the most outspoken and recognizable artists of the past 30 years, has been even more successful as a songwriter and producer for artists like Dolly Parton, Christina Aguilera, and Pink.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 85 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Don Hardy

 

Maya and the Wave

After nearly drowning in a devastating wipeout, a surfer perseveres and eventually returns to the water to break records and make history in the male-dominated world of big wave surfing.

Year: 2022

Runtime: 100 minutes

Language: English, Portuguese

Country: United States

Director: Stephanie Johnes

 

A New Kind
of Wilderness

In a forest in Norway, a family lives an isolated lifestyle in an attempt to be wild and free, but a tragic event changes everything, and they are forced to adjust to modern society.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 84 minutes

Language: English, Norwegian

Country: Norway

Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen

 

Porcelain War

Under roaring fighter jets and missile strikes, Ukrainian artists choose to stay behind and fight. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that it’s hard to destroy their passion for living.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 87 minutes

Language: Ukrainian

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English

Director: Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev

Robert Shields:
My Life as a Robot

Robert Shields, bullied for being “different,” turned his uniqueness into an art form and created ‘The Robot’, inspiring generations of street dancers and artists all over the world.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 87 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Mark C Bonn

 

Secret Mall Apartment

In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way and creating a deeply meaningful place for all involved.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 91 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Jeremy Workman

 

Secret Screening

An unexpectedly humorous feature-length documentary about a women’s uprising that sparked a revolution.

Friday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., American Legion

 

Story & Pictures By

Meet the stars of the new “”golden age”” of kids lit, who create experimental work that reflects the mysteries of childhood and champions the marginalized, even when the creators’ own lives are not fairy tales.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 85 minutes

Language: English, Spanish

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English

Director: Joanna Rudnick

 

Who’s Afraid
of Nathan Law?

An intimate portrait of Hong Kong’s most famous dissident, Nathan Law, tells the story of what happens to freedom when authoritarian power goes unchecked.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 87 minutes

Language: English, Yue Chinese (Cantonese)

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English

Director: Joe Piscatella

Short Documentaries

Baseball Behind Barbed Wire

Stripped of constitutional rights during WWII, Japanese Americans found themselves incarcerated in desolate concentration camps. They reaffirmed their identity through that great American game, baseball.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 32 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Yuriko Gamo Romer

 

Broken Flight

Dedicated avian advocates work to rescue the birds that collide with Chicago’s skyscrapers, arriving downtown before dawn to look for injured birds.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 18 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Erika Valenciana, Mitchell Wenku

 

Call of the Orcas

Exploring the effort to recover endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales of the PNW, researcher Ken Balcomb’s work over 50 years helped people see the Orcas as individuals, in family groups, and led to a subspecies listing under the US Endangered Species Act.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 10 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Jessica Plumb

 

Climate Diaries; Heather’s Story

One of the only female geoduck divers in the Suquamish tribe goes underwater as she explores the personal, spiritual and economic impacts of the climate emergency on the Salish Sea.

Year: 2022 

Runtime: 9 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Ali Scattergood, Berit Anderson

 

Dancing Warrior

On the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the team Dancing Warrior competes in the traditional horse race known as “Indian Relay” while facing the struggle of teenage life on the reservation.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 11 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Rachel McDonald, Peter Goetz

 

Forward

In her twenties a woman takes up hiking to improve her mental health while navigating myriad challenges. Despite her improved well-being, she noticed a lack of plus-sized women of color on the trail.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 16 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Palmer Morse

 

A Home on Every Floor

In an electrifying spoken word performance, poet Hanna Asefaw reimagines in miniature the apartment she grew up in Oslo with her Eritrean family in the late 90s.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 11 minutes

Language: Norwegian

Country: Norway

Director: Signe Rosenlund-Hauglid

 

If You Give a
Beach a Bottle

Recalling a children’s book about a piece of plastic that travels the globe, an artist joins a beach cleanup in pristine Alaska and discovers there is much more plastic beneath the surface than he imagined.

Year: 2021

Runtime: 5 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Max Romey

 

Is Gay Marriage Next?

In 2003, a Newsweek cover featuring a lesbian couple ignited a spark. Two decades later, in a post-Roe world, the question resurfaces with a twist: is gay marriage next — to go?

Year: 2023

Runtime: 16 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Emily Clark

 

The Last Observers

For 36 years, a couple’s regularly measured the weather at a lighthouse, making over 100,000 observations and witnessing climate change. Theirs is Sweden’s last manual weather station, soon to become automated.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 24 minutes

Language: English

Country: Sweden

Director: Maja Karlsson

 

Last Stand: Saving
the Elwha River’s Legacy Forests

When an ecologically sensitive forest in the Elwha River Watershed was identified for harvest, the Earth Law Center, Keystone Species Alliance, and Center for Whale Research began using all legal means to halt the impending clear-cut.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 23 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Director: Dan Herz

 

Líť’sit yiká· xá·bil-ts: Quillayute River Restoration

The Quileute Tribe of Washington State is on a mission to restore the river they depend on for their livelihoods, culture, and identity.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 6 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Jennifer Moslemi, Marita Davison

 

Planetwalker

After witnessing the 1971 oil spill in San Francisco Bay, John “Planetwalker” Francis was determined to travel across America on foot–and in silence.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 27 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Dominic Gill, Nadia Gill

 

Save the Cat

After a Ukrainian refugee family is forced to flee their home, a group of strangers from around the world come together to help their daughter reunite with her beloved cat, Arsenii.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 24 minutes

Language: English, Russian

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English 

Director: Jordan Matthew Horowitz

 

Saving Superman

When a man with autism spectrum disorder in a small suburb outside Chicago faces eviction, his community comes together when he needs saving.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 11 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Adam Oppenheim, Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian

 

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

When Zooey Zephyr was expelled from the Montana House of Representatives for speaking on a bill banning transgender medical care, she made a nearby bench her “office.”

Year: 2023

Runtime: 14 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Kimberly Reed

 

The Silverback

Humans capture the essence of groups of animals in the names we assign to them so it’s no surprise that a group of gorillas is a “family,” since we share 98% of our DNA and see beautiful human-like qualities in them.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 16 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Andrew Ackerman

 

Terminus

A memorial for an ancient glacier that will fade out of existence in this generation. Young brothers share what they have learned about this vanishing glacier in Olympic National Park.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 6 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English 

Director: Jeremy Hunter Rubingh

 

Then Comes the Body

A self-taught ballet dancer finds no ballet schools in his native Nigeria so he opens Leap of Dance Academy in his front yard: humble, rigorous, and free to anyone with dedication.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 15 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English 

Director: Jacob Krupnick

 

Ultimate Citizens

Jamshid, an extraordinary Iranian immigrant working in Seattle Public Schools, coaches the children of refugees and immigrants at Ultimate Frisbee, helping them to heal.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 39 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States

Subtitle Language: English 

Director: Francine Strickwerda

 

Water Poetry

A practice and passion of underwater filmography leads an individual to write poetry about a mental health journey with schizophrenia, expressing the relationship developed with these natural places.

Year: 2024

Runtime: 3 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Josh J Valley

 

Winding Path

An Eastern Shoshone medical student recounts her childhood spent on her family’s Wind River Indian Reservation ranch with her beloved grandfather: a cowboy, teacher and tribal judge.

Year: 2023

Runtime: 10 minutes

Language: English

Country: United States 

Director: Alexandra Lazarowich, Ross Kauffman

Shorts programs

Characters with Character

Extraordinary people when faced with adversity don’t give up! True heroes!

Featured in this collection of Short Documentary films:

Forward

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr

Winding Path

Baseball Behind Barbed Wire

Is Gay Marriage Next?

 

Humankind

There are people in the world who are making a difference. They all have love in their hearts. Be inspired, moved….uplifted. Walk away with a smile on your face and maybe a tear in your eye. (In a good way).

Featured in this collection of Short Documentary films:

Ultimate Citizen

Planetwalker

Broken Flight

Save the Cat

 

Local

A collection of San Juan Islands and Olympic Peninsula-produced short films that celebrate our local storytellers. Featured, is the recently completed Glampire, PTFF’s first ever screenplay competition winner.

Featured in this collection of Short Local films:

Last Stand: Saving the Elwha River’s Legacy Forests

The Path

Climate Diaries; Heather’s Story

Terminus

Call of the Orcas

Water Poetry

Clean Bill of Health

Líť’sit yiká· xá·bil-ts: Quillayute River Restoration

Glampire

Forum Events

FRIDAY

 

Cutting Edge of Film Technology with Louie Schwartzberg

Louie Schwartzberg is the only cinematographer in the world who has been shooting time-lapse 24/7 continuously for well over three decades. Now working in 3D IMAX for films like Mysteries of the Unseen World with National Geographic, narrated by Forest Whitaker, and Wings of Life, a feature-length documentary for Disneynature, narrated by Meryl Streep, using time-lapse, high-speed and macro cinematography, Louie continues to push the edge of what it’s possible to see. He also curates Moving Art(TM), the world’s first collection of 2D and 3D moving images created as fine art for digital screens, and recently premiered an Earth Day presentation on the exterior of The Sphere in Las Vegas. Join Louie for a lay-person’s explanation of the ways technology has allowed him to more deeply explore his art.

Friday, Sept. 20, 10 a.m., Pope Marine Building 

 

Small Town Film Production Success Story - Pigasus Pictures

CEO and Founder of the Indiana-based film company, Pigasus Pictures, as well as an accomplished actor, Zachary Spicer will regale the audience with the tale of starting a film production company in an out-of-the way place. With the tagline, “Dreams Aren’t Dumb,” the story of Pigasus Pictures and the accompanying Q&A will inspire us all to keep pushing forward on our “filmmaking in PT” plans.

Zach has produced over ten films in the last ten years including The Good Catholic (Danny Glover and John C. McGinley - “Best Festure” at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, distributed by Broadgreen Pictures); Ms. White Light (Roberta Colindrez, Judith Light, and John Ortiz - SXSW Official Selection, Torino International Film Festival Press and Audience Award); and Pranthana Mohan’s The Miseducation of Bindu (Executive Producers Mark and Jay Duplass; Official Selection PTFF 2020); and Runner (World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2022 and Special Jury Prize winner at San Sebastian Film Festival, 2022).

Friday, Sept. 20, 1 p.m., Pope Marine Building 

 

Black Filmmakers and the PNW - a Dark and Tender Experience

Three dynamic black filmmakers discuss making movies in the Pacific Northwest, including a sneak preview of the recently completed short documentary Dark & Tender, filmed in part on Whidbey Island and in Port Townsend, and build on the message of community, called for in the film with a song circle. Featured: Anthony Tackett, Commissioner of the Seattle Film Commission, Founder of the Seattle Filmmakers of the African Diaspora (530+) strong) and Director and Chair of the Board at LANGSTON; Donte Felder, Founder of South End Stories, Member of the Board of Directors of the Hugo House, and ArtsCorp, and Organizer of the Social Justice Film Festival and Conference; and Aaron Johnson, director of Dark and Tender, an earth builder, activist, and teacher of closeness.

Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., Pope Marine Building

 

From Idea to Audience: Developing Your Short
Film Part 1

A multifaceted workshop that helps creatives develop and strategically plan the release of attendee’s short films. This inclusive workshop meets filmmakers wherever they are in the short film process and helps demystify it. Learn from two rising stars in two easy sessions that will leave you inspired and ready to move forward with a concrete plan. Covering three distinct phases of filmmaking: Idea to Page, Preproduction and Production, and Finding Your Intended Audience, this workshop will prepare you to not just make the movie, but get it seen!

Director and co-writer of PTFF 2023’s Women & Film Festival Audience Favorite Short Film, Oh, Baby!, Brooke Trantor is joined by Jess Berry, two-time PTFF Alumni, including her short film Daughters, which won the Audience Choice Award at the Indy Shorts Festival.

Friday, Sept. 20, 7 p.m., 821 Washington

 

 

SATURDAY 

 

The Film That Blew My
Mind Podcast LIVE with Catherine Hardwicke

The hit podcast comes to Port Townsend for a special episode taped LIVE before a festival audience. Host John Cooper welcomes Catherine Hardwicke for a lively conversation and a dive deep into Hal Ashby’s 1971 cult classic, Harold and Maude.

Hardwicke’s first film as director (and co-writer) was the critically-acclaimed coming-of-age Thirteen, which won numerous awards in global film festivals, including the Director’s Award at Sundance, Golden Globe nominations for Holly Hunter and Evan Rachel Wood, and an Academy Award nomination for Hunter. Hardwicke has since become best known as the director of Twilight, which launched the blockbuster franchise and earned nearly $400 million at the global box office. Hardwicke’s other credits include: Lords of Dogtown (Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch) and Miss You Already (Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette), among many others including work as a Production Designer on films including Vanilla Sky, Three Kings, Tank Girl, and the classic western,Tombstone.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 10 a.m., Pope Marine Building 

 

Documentary Lab Part 1

Do you have an idea for a documentary film but are not sure where to start? Have you begun interviewing or writing but struggle to know how to shape the information you’re discovering? Learn how to go from concept to film in this two part workshop led by award-winning directors/producers Doug Blush and Lisa Klein.

Doug and Lisa have decades of experience in telling fact-based stories with emotional impact, including the Academy Award-winning documentaries 20 Feet From Stardom and The Elephant Whisperers. Learn from the best in two easy sessions that will leave you inspired and ready to move forward with a concrete plan.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 1 p.m., 821 Washington

 

Erasure: What Exists Beyond the Social Veils - PGM Session

Forum leaders from Well Organized / Black Lives Matter Jefferson County invite people of the global majority to gather for a solidarity circle in this first hour of the session. Showcasing the work of both narrative and documentary filmmakers, this discussion will illuminate how people of the global majority are often limited to one-dimensional participation in dominant culture rather than allowed to show up fully. Presented in partnership with Well Organized and Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County.

Saturday, Sept 21, 1 p.m., Pope Marine Building 

 

Erasure: What Exists Beyond the Social Veils - Open Session

Forum leaders from Well Organized / Black Lives Matter Jefferson County invite all people to join for the second hour of the session. Showcasing the work of both narrative and documentary filmmakers, this discussion will illuminate how people of the global majority are often limited to one-dimensional participation in dominant culture rather than allowed to show up fully. Presented in partnership with Well Organized and Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County.

Saturday, Sept 21, 2 p.m., Pope Marine Building 

Intersectional Agro Convo:
The Legacy of Stolen Land
& Stolen People

Referencing the documentaries Fish Wars and Farming While Black, a group of local agriculturalists of African and Indigenous descent bring the films into the context of the challenges and triumphs of rematriation, place-making, and socio-economic consequences and opportunities in western WA. Presented in partnership with Well Organized and Black Lives Matter of Jefferson County

Saturday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m., Pope Marine Building

 

Pitch Workshop
with Kiwi Smith

This 80-minute interactive workshop with writer/producer Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith provides an opportunity for writers to present their loglines, concepts, and presentation in a constructive forum. Participants will receive feedback and advice for future development. This workshop offers an opportunity to build writer/filmmaker’s confidence in pitching, with a focus on how to hone ideas into engaging, pitchable nuggets, designed to entice financiers and studios. Kiwi Smith is a screenwriter, novelist, poet and producer. She co-wrote the hit films Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s The Man and The House Bunny among others. Kiwi created and executive produced Trinkets, a multi-Emmy award-winning Netflix series based on her YA novel. She also authored YA novel in verse The Geography of Girlhood, inspired by her experiences growing up on the Olympic Peninsula, and she co-wrote the graphic novel series Misfit City. As a producer, she developed and produced Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, Whip It, as well as Noah Centineo’s feature film debut, SPF-18. She is currently writing and producing a comedy for producer Jason Blum and actress Kathryn Newton, and she has feature films in development with Amazon and Roth/Kirschenbaum Films. 

Saturday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m., 821 Washington

 

The Magic of Special
Effects with Steve Johnson

Join Steve Johnson, a 30-year veteran and award-winning special effects and makeup artist as he shows examples of his work, demonstrates a few of his special techniques, and shares stories from some of the wildest sets of all time. Steve Johnson is an American special effects artist whose career has spanned more than thirty years. His work has appeared in over 200 films, countless television shows, theme parks, commercials, and music videos. Some of his best-known creations include Slimer for Ghostbusters (1984), the alien seductress Sil for Species (1995), Robin Williams’s robotics for Bicentennial Man (1999), and Doctor Octopus’s arms for Spider-Man 2 (2004).

Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Pope Marine Building

SUNDAY

 

Storyteller’s Panel

Join long-time Programmer Jane Julian as she invites a hand-picked group of new and returning filmmakers to the front of the room, ready with stories of their wildest, most moving, and/or most challenging moments. A crowd-pleasing annual event, a favorite with artists and audiences, this panel will delight you with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the folly, finesse, and fabulousness that is the making of a movie.

Sunday, Sept. 22, 10 a.m., Pope Marine Building

 

Documentary Lab Part 2

Do you have an idea for a documentary film but are not sure where to start? Have you begun interviewing or writing but struggle to know how to shape the information you’re discovering? Learn how to go from concept to film in this two part workshop led by award-winning directors/producers Doug Blush and Lisa Klein.

Doug and Lisa have decades of experience in telling fact-based stories with emotional impact, including the Academy Award-winning documentaries 20 Feet From Stardom and The Elephant Whisperers. Learn from the best in two easy sessions that will leave you inspired and ready to move forward with a concrete plan.

Sunday, Sept. 22, 1 p.m., 821 Washington

 

The Making of Glampire Panel

Winda Benedetti (writer), Jordan Lucas (writer), Amy Hesketh (director), Aaron Drane (producer), and PTFF Executive Director Danni McClelland relive the whirlwind experience of writing, submitting, producing, and premiering PTFF’s first short screenplay competition winner, Glampire. 

Sunday, Sept. 22, 1 p.m., Pope Marine Building

 

Women & Film Panel

Program Manager Christy Spencer will dive into the experiences of a handful of this year’s Women & Film filmmakers and presenters. Panel members include Kiwi Smith, PTFF Alum, 2024 Feature Narrative Jury, 2024 Forum Presenter; Lisa Klein, PTFF Alum, 2024 Short Documentary Jury, 2024 Forum Presenter; Shaz Bennett - PTFF Alum, Producer of 2024 Official Selection Stakes is High; Vivian Kerr - PTFF Alum, Director and Lead of 2024 Official Selection: Julian; Yuriko Romer - Director of 2024 Official Selection: Baseball Behind Barbed Wire. Get ready to explore the dynamic perspectives of these talented women-identified artists as they discuss their journeys in independent film, the transformative power of film festivals, and the evolving landscape of the industry. It’s a session bursting with insight and inspiration!

Sunday, Sept. 22, 4 p.m., Pope Marine Building

 

From Idea to Audience: Developing Your Short
Film Part 2

A multifaceted workshop that helps creatives develop and strategically plan the release of attendee’s short films. This inclusive workshop meets filmmakers wherever they are in the short film process and helps demystify it. Learn from two rising stars in two easy sessions that will leave you inspired and ready to move forward with a concrete plan. Covering three distinct phases of filmmaking: Idea to Page, Preproduction and Production, and Finding Your Intended Audience, this workshop will prepare you to not just make the movie, but get it seen!

Director and co-writer of PTFF 2023’s Women & Film Festival Audience Favorite Short Film, Oh, Baby!, Brooke Trantor is joined by Jess Berry, two-time PTFF Alumni, including her short film Daughters, which won the Audience Choice Award at the Indy Shorts Festival.

Saturday, Sept 21, 7 p.m., 821 Washington