The Team that 'Makes this so'
Janette Force, Executive Director
A Washington native who attended WSU, her passion for theatre & public art led her to PTFF in 2003. Her first job with the festival- collecting cash from the venues in stiletto heels and carrying a violin case led to the next 6 yrs applying her small business management experience to Special Events Coordinator. She helped to establish our hospitality as legendary on the film festival circuit. At the Board of Directors request, she became Executive Director in November, 2009. Enormously proud to be at the helm of the Good Ship PTFF in this new decade, Janette is casting a broad net to bring new voices, new energy and deeper roots to our mission of media literacy thru independent film. Feel free to sign on!
Joyce Morton and Cherel Lopez, Festival Administrators
After retiring from a career in social work, Joyce Morton moved to Port Townsend from Berkeley, CA with her husband John in 2005. She was delighted to find an opportunity to combine two life long interests, volunteer work and a love of films and filmmaking. She began volunteering in 2005 as Merchandise Manager, then Volunteer Coordinator and is currently Festival Administrator.
Just four years ago, Cherel Lopez retired from a short career as a 4th grade teacher and moved to Port Townsend with her husband Jim. Her film festival experience began as a volunteer in the merchandise booth on Taylor. After seeing 13 films that first weekend, she was hooked. That led to Guest Services Coordinator for two years and now Festival Administrator. She looks forward to being more involved with the passionate effort it takes to put this festival on each year.
Monica Mick'Hager, Operations Manager
In 1985, Monica chose Port Townsend as the community to raise her young family and start up her landscaping business. She signed on to be one of our festival volunteers ten years ago and was an usher in the Rosebud. After two years she became our Movie Venue Operations Manager and for the last 5 years our Festival Manager.
Jane Julian, Programmer
After moving to Durango, Colorado in 1991, I discovered that the ONLY movie theater in town was playing TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES all summer (totally true)! After being coaxed back from the ledge I joined a small non-profit called the Durango Film Society to bring foreign and independent films to Durango once a month.
In 2000 this same organization founded the Durango Film Festival, which since morphed into the Durango Independent Film Festival where I’ve served as a board member, programmer, fundraiser, event planner and jack of all trades. I started attending other film festivals to find films and learn more about this fascinating world. I met Port Townsendites, Rocky Friedman and Linda Yakush at the Telluride Film Fest, which, I understand is where the idea for PTFF was germinated. I was like a kid in a candy store and have not missed this fest in over 12 years.
I was excited and nervous to be asked to program the Port Townsend Film Fest last year and was delighted to be asked back for another go for 2010. I’ve had the incredible opportunity to spend the past several months traveling to other festivals from Sundance to Nashville looking for gems for the PTFF. I hope you will be happy with the selections we’ve chosen for 2010!
Crew Leaders
Darlene Quayle
Darlene Quayle has been volunteering in the Port Townsend Film Festival since its inception in 2000. She began as a venue Volunteer, became an Assistant Manager at the Rose Theatre, Manager of the Rosebud, and Manager of the Broughton Theatre at Port Townsend High School. She has been Volunteer Coordinator and Database “Ace”, cleaning up the PTFF’s computerized files, and continues to assist Monica during the festival as Assistant Festival Manager. This year, Darlene chairs the Film Review Committee, coordinating film selection for the 2010 Film Festival, and will continue to be actively on the headset during the Festival.
Board of Directors 2010
Linda Yakush - President
Jane Champion - First Vice President
It all began growing up watching movies in the beautiful, ornate Orpheum Theater in her Midwest hometown. While in college, greatly inspired by the foreign cinema, Jane Champion pursued a degree in Film Studies and Production…launching a lifelong career in film and video production.
From TV News Videographer and Editor for an ABC affiliate to Chief Producer in the corporate world, Jane has directed hundreds of promotional, educational and documentary programs. Highlights include filming and editing a half hour TV special “Kids, Cults and You”; producing the Children’s Miracle Network, an annual, 20-hour live event which raises millions for the Children’s Hospital of Iowa; and crewing for New York choreographer/dancer, Bill T Jones on his production of “Still/Here.”
Fulfilling a dream to own her own production company, Jane moved to Port Townsend in 1999 and founded Champion Video Productions, whose mission is: “Through our vision…your voice is heard.” Her clients include International Clinical Educators, City of Port Townsend, Northwest Maritime Center, Jefferson Land Trust, Marine Science Center, Northwest Natural Resource Group, Fort Worden State Park and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She also enjoys collaborating with artists, (choreographers, dancers, painters, poets, photographers) producing documentaries and live performance productions.
While camping in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Jane discovered the Telluride Film Festival, where over the years she met many favorite filmmakers, including Werner Herzog, Ken Burns, and Michael Moore. Now Jane is honored to be serving on the board of directors for her other favorite film festival…and helping steward the Port Townsend Film Festival and Institute into the next decade.
http://www.championvideo.com/
Joan Broughton - Treasurer
Joan Broughton is a film lover, Seattle native and University of Washington graduate who worked for 30 years in Corporate and Business banking as well as economic development in the Seattle area and Western Washington region. Joan realized her 30 year dream of moving to Port Townsend in late 2007 and now works as a VP and Senior Commercial Relationship Manager at the Port Townsend Branch of Frontier Bank.
Joan specialized for part of her banking career in managing relationships of non-profit organizations and is proficient in non-profit accounting and financial analysis. In addition to the PT Film Institute, she currently serves on the boards of OlyCAP, the NW Maritime Center and the PT Rotary. She has served full terms on the boards and executive committees of Artist Trust and Family Services, Seattle and has worked as a political campaign treasurer and PONCHO Auction volunteer. For 18 years, she was an active fund raising and sports boosting parent at her children’s Seattle schools.
Since arriving in Port Townsend, Joan has connected enthusiastically with our film festival, working as hospitality tent volunteer manager the first year and a film juror both years before accepting a board position in 2009.
Marlies Egberding - Secretary
Margo Groves
Margo Groves nestled into the Port Townsend community after decades of visiting her grandfather, who was a farmer near Manresa Castle beginning in 1924. Fond memories of picking berries, hiking Fort Worden, wandering beaches and having picnics at Chetzemoka Park drew her back to the area in 2001.
Her career path meanders, although the theme of social justice is a constant thread. She began as a licensed counselor with autistic, mentally disabled and ill children and adolescents. This spawned anti-militarism activity, which led to her becoming an anti-nuclear community organizer. In order to authoritatively speak the language of power, she returned to graduate school to study business.
Her next career move was to become a policy analyst studying and constructing economic development/defense conversion activities, sponsored by local, state and federal governments, policy institutes and labor unions to create opportunities for conversion of defense businesses to peacetime activities. In 1987, she and her partner founded a scientific instrument company, where she acted as Chief Financial Officer until the business was sold in 2000.
She made five trips to Africa in the last three years, working in and studying infant malnutrition, reforming adoption laws and treaties, working with community-based and non-governmental organizations, and working with the government of Malawi, all charged with providing shelter, healthcare and saving lives.
For the PTFF board, Ms. Groves brings a passion for film as a medium which is accessable and immediately enlightening, amusing, informing, engaging, and, if we’re truly blessed by the filmmaker, transformative.
Jim Ewing
Jim actually was a rocket scientist long ago. Then through hundreds of coaching engagements at TRW, Apple Computer, BP and others, Jim evolved another science and technology for transformative leadership, which the Festival now enjoys. Jim was one of the original four who began the Festival.
But forget the day jobs. Jim's techy, media side got started with an 8mm spoof of Dragnet, made with pals in 1955. He did documentary film studies at Cornell and mock-umentaries of fraternity life, made the film ‘24 Minutes of Lemons‘ with the Porsche Club of Los Angeles and founded and taught community storytelling with the NorthWest School of Documentary Vision. Jim's While I Can, a touching portrait of community artist John Craig, has been shown at our festival.
Brad Mace
Brad is a film lover who believes that film in general and independent film in particular can help people understand themselves, their world and most importantly, other people and cultures. A native of Washington state, Brad, his wife Christina and their dog Simon have been in Port Townsend for six years.
Brad has over 20 years experience in all aspects of art, design, build, technical logistics, producing, directing and production/technical management for film and broadcast television ranging from PBS, TBS, MTV, Nickelodeon and a host of other clients on projects ranging from independent films to Hollywood movies as well as live events and tours ranging in size from 100 to 12,000 attendees for theatre, music, corporate and non-profit events. Brad is Creative Director and a partner at Touch Worldwide, an international creative services and strategy firm serving Fortune 500 clients globally as well as supporting an entertainment division with two films currently in pre-production.
Pam Dionne
Pam has taught writing, critical thinking, and communications. She was the force behind the nonprofit online zine Literary Salt and the original founder of Discovery Bay Games. Her products are now distributed in 10 languages and 40 countries. Port Townsend has been her home since 2000.
Pam spent years galloping all over King County with a group of film crazy friends trying to hit every venue offered at the Seattle International Film Festival. Then along came PTFF and her joy was unbounded. An obvious film addict she has been a PTFF pass holder since the very first festival. "Our block party/film festival ROCKS THEM ALL!"
Rocky Friedman
