Citizen Screen: Port Townsend in the Movies
[caption id align="alignnone" width="3024"]
Local Filmmaker Annie Fergerson. Photo courtesy of PTFF [/caption]
Citizen Screen is a monthly column dedicated to film and film-related topics, sourced and curated by Port Townsend Film Festival.
This month’s column is by Danielle (Danni) McClelland. With supporting side careers as a professional cook, journalist, field hand, and union organizer, Danni has worked consistently in the arts for the last 30 years. Focus on social change, civic engagement, and entrepreneurship have marked all areas of their professional life. They spent several years as a consultant for multiple civic entities in the Midwest and 19 years as the founding Executive Director of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a 600-seat historic film and live performance venue in Bloomington, IN. Now the Executive Director of the Port Townsend Film Festival, they grew up in the Seattle area, and have visited family in Port Townsend regularly since 1997.
The Port Townsend Film Festival(PTFF) is gearing up for its 26th annual incarnation, Sept 18-21. Our staff, board, and long-time volunteers are feeling the buzz of excitement from around the community. This year, we're especially excited by the dynamic offerings from local and western Washington filmmakers, as well as the exciting news of a feature-length production being filmed in Port Townsend this fall.
Here are just a few of the local films and forum events:
Gabe Van Lleyveld will premiere his first feature documentary, Michael and Damian, which chronicles the developing friendship between a passionate advocate for recovery and aspiring spiritual healer dealing with the dual stresses of addiction and homelessness at 1pm on Friday, Sept 19 at the American Legion.
Tony Doupe’s A Fateful Weekend follows a seven-year-old boy as he tries to make sense of the Kennedy assassination and its impact on his family. In addition to leading Shoreline Community College’s film certificate program, Tony spent years in Port Townsend as part of the legendary Water Street Theater group.
[caption id align="alignnone" width="800"]
The legendary Ward Serrill. Photo courtesy of PTFF [/caption]
Producer and Director Rocky Friedman and Ward Serrill are midway through a five-part series of short films showcasing local creatives whose work has national impact. Andrea Animates: A Woolly Love Story and Wings for Ships: The Clementi Family and the Art of Sailmaking are both part of the robust shorts offerings.
The subject of Andrea Animates, felt creator and stop motion animator, Andrea Love, will lead a Forum event, A Journey in Felt, sharing more about her career and allowing participants to see some of her characters, sets, and even test out the first-ever felted video game.
Producer Ben Wilson’s project, Dark and Tender, which had a preview screening at PTFF last year and has graced the screen at multiple festivals around the country, is in the midst of expansion and will receive expert advice from MadPix Films Academy-Award winning directors and producers Doug Blush and Lisa Klein during the pre-Festival Documentary Lab.
Annie Fergerson, who has been a video producer and director in Washington state for nearly 25 years, brings us Erwin, an engaging profile of a 71-year-old PNW surfer.
Three of the top short screenplays submitted to the short screenplay competition this year will be performed / table read on Saturday, Sept 20 at 7pm. Get a sneak peek at the winning film, Charles and Charlie, which PTFF will produce in conjunction with the Olympic College Film School in July of 2026. Also featured are Deerassic Park, about a solution to Port Townsend’s deer problem gone awry, and Stray, about a failed relationship and a therapy cat who opens doors to new connections. These works by Matthew Jacob Ibbotson, Carrie Hilman, and Aba Kiser will be performed by Saltfire Theatre.
Another Forum event will introduce 2:22 Productions’ film-in-progress to the Port Townsend community. Starting in late October, this Seattle-based production company will be installing itself in town to film The Absence of Violet, a mystery about three misfits who come together to try to find their friend who vanished seven years ago.
This flurry of new work is not arriving out of the blue. In 2022, the Washington State Legislature greatly increased the annual funding for the Washington Filmworks Motion Picture Competitiveness Program. Cash rebates for film productions filmed in Washington State, particularly in rural counties, are now possible for even smaller budget productions. Consequently, a production filming in Port Townsend could receive 45% of the cash back on what they spend on making the film.
[caption id align="alignnone" width="2000"]
A Fateful Weekend creator Tony Doupe. Photo courtesy of PTFF [/caption]
Strong growth in our area’s film education programs is also inspiring a growth in the output of local film. Olympic College (OC), located in Bremerton, now offers “the most affordable film school in the nation” through their four-year bachelor's degree in filmmaking. A Washington Filmworks grant made it possible for OC Film School to offer free Production Assistant workshops this past spring.
Port Townsend High School’s Media Lab, led by teacher David Egeler, has journeyed to Seattle and LA to learn more about the film industry. Introduction to Hollywood CPR, a union-backed training program that prepares students with the art and trade skills of the filmmaking process, is inspiring more young people every year. Both PTFF and The Rose Cinema and The Starlight Room have supported Media Lab student screenings.
Every month, the Jefferson County Filmmakers Collective meets at the PTFF Office, bringing a revolving group of 10-20 people with all levels of experience to share, network, and learn from one another. Formed initially by Jessica Plumb of Plumb Productions and Gabe Van Lleyveld of Whaleheart Productions, the group started by meeting around a campfire in Gabe's backyard. Open to all, the Collective has offered guidance, feedback, and support to multiple productions that will grace the PTFF screens.
The ongoing popularity of The Rose Cinema and Starlight Room with both locals and visitors marks Port Townsend as a “film town” in every season. The long-term investment by our community in highlighting and utilizing film in so many aspects of their lives has sparked a robust, growing film ecosystem.
