Preparing the Red Carpet for the 27th Annual Port Townsend Film Festival

PORT TOWNSEND, WA — In just a few weeks, the 27th Annual Port Townsend Film Festival will glitter the streets and theaters of Port Townsend. This year’s festival highlights Latino filmmakers and is anchored by the Pacific Northwest premier of Los Lobos Native Sons, a documentary about the prolific American rock band, known for their genre-defying mix of Mexican folk music. “It was a big get for us,” said Danielle McClelland, PTFF’s Executive Director. Inspired by the success of a combination Indigo Girls film and concert, McClelland jumped at the chance to showcase Los Lobos for the Port Townsend community. 

Co-directed by Doug Blush and Piero F. Giunti, band members will join the filmmakers for a Q&A following the screening on Sunday, September 27 at 4:30 p.m. at the American Legion. For Blush, a director who has brought over ten films to PTFF, the excitement never wears off. “It’s not like any other festival I’ve been to,” he said, in an interview with PTFF. Fans new and old can see the band perform live on Monday, September 28 at 7 p.m. at the McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden. As of writing, tickets are still available. 

The weekend kicks off with a Filmmakers Parade where visitors and special guests are welcomed in a three-block extravaganza of whimsy. The parade culminates at the intersection of Taylor and Washington with a big red carpet. This year, the Bull Kelp Brigade and the Nudibranchs will join, dancing along to the tunes of the Orca-stra. “We love a spectacle,” said Christy Spencer, PTFF Program Director.

The 70 feature-length and short films are the real spectacle. Playing in four screening blocks each day, from September 25-27,  the films run the gamut from nature documentaries to narrative dramas, from political satires to fables about basic chores. For the past three years there have been record pass sales; McClelland said that last year 58 percent of screenings sold out and this year is on track to break last year’s record. 

Many filmmakers from this year’s festival expressed appreciation for the filmmaking community in Washington. Celia Beasley, whose film Fitted Sheet is part of the Local Voices shorts program, described her neighbors shuttling cars around to make room for filming outside her Seattle home—and then showing up to screenings at the Seattle Film Festival in support. Beasley decided to finally try her hand at directing after a long career as an editor and came up with the concept after watching her husband try to fold a fitted sheet; “it’s a hero’s journey,” she said, through the very relatable task. Fitted Sheet will screen with other shorts from western Washington filmmakers on Friday, September 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Key City Public Theatre and on Sunday, September 27 at 10:00 a.m. at the Rose Theatre.

Dead Deer High, about a high school slam poetry team finding its way after a tragedy, has already received buzz on the festival circuit and was filmed just across the way in Bremerton. “Washington was a wonderful setting for the movie and we're grateful that the local community embraced us and supported our project,” said director Jo Rochelle. “We had crew members who are from or based in Port Townsend. We're so honored and excited to show our film here.” Dead Deer High will play on Saturday, September 26 at 4:30 p.m. at American Legion and on Sunday, September 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the Starlight Room. 

Every year, festival organizers aim to create multiple ways for people to mingle in the spirit of movies. On Saturday and Sunday The Intermission will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Taylor Street. No pass is needed to come hang out, compare film notes, and listen to the music of Spider Monkey Beats featuring Latin-electronica artist Angel Garcia (Saturday) and PT’s own DJ David Bonobo (Sunday).

PTFF also has a longstanding tradition of showing free movies each night on Taylor St. during festival weekend and, following this year’s theme, the three films are Latin-focused. “The idea of seeing movies for free, outdoors, with your whole community, under the stars, is a special treat,” said McClelland. Friday night is La Bamba, Saturday is Coco, and Sunday is Stand and Deliver. La Bamba and Coco will each have Spanish subtitles on screen. 

For film buffs, McClelland said Versalles is not to miss. A Mexican film directed by Andrés Clariond, it promises to be both hilarious and politically relevant, centering on a scorned politician who reinvents himself as a monarch, ruling over the employees at his hacienda “with mounting delusion and excess.” It will screen twice, on Friday, September 25 at 1:30 p.m. in the Rosebud and on Sunday, September 27 at 10:00 a.m. at Key City Public Theatre.

McClelland also highlighted the Indigenous Storytelling through Film forum, which will feature a discussion with Setting Sun Productions, a group of filmmakers from the Lummi nation, about their creative process and how they use film to preserve culture. They are bringing two films to the festival: The River Remembers, about the Elwha and Klamath River dam removals, and the pilot of an anticipated 10 episode series called The Sound. The films will be shown on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Key City Public Theatre and the forum will be held that same day from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at the Pope Marine Building. 

PTFF has a reputation for being unique, with enough glitz and glam to lure in big names while maintaining an intimate atmosphere where filmmakers feel cared for without getting lost in the lineup. McClelland noted that Washington’s film community is constantly growing and that the festival presents a mix of new films along with a chance to highlight the talented population of filmmakers in the area. To catch all the action, passes will be available through September 20 and individual ticket sales will begin September 21. The Peter Simpson Free Cinema Fund, named for the festival’s original Executive Director, helps anyone with limited funding to partake—just reach out to PTFF to request a pass, no questions asked.