PTFF News
Newsletter ArchivesJuly 2005 Newsletter
Contents- 2005 Guest-the-Guest contest begins.
- Festival Awarded Grant for Radio Advertising.
- KUOW-FM is Festival Media Sponsor.
- Submissions Triple in Number.
- High School Documentary Filmmaking Class
- Film Tip: See Brothers
1. 2005 Guest-the-Guest contest begins. The first clue in the Port Townsend Film Festival's annual "Guess-the-Guest" contest was revealed today as the countdown begins for the sixth annual weekend movie marathon, September 23-25.
Hidden within four clues offered over a four-week period is the identity of festival's featured guest. Previous guests have included such film stars from the fifties and sixties as Tony Curtis, Eva Marie Saint, Patricia Neal, Shirley Knight, Peter Fonda, Jane Powell and Dickie Moore.
The first 2005 clue reads:
Roles include a superhero sibling and a western army man.
The second clue will be issued on July 13, the third on the 20th, and final clue will be announced on July 27. The identity of the guest will be revealed on Wednesday, August 3.
The winning contestant will be selected at random from among those who correctly identify the name of the guest by Monday, August 1. The winner will be introduced and have his or her photograph taken with the guest at a special reception during the festival.
Entries can be made in one of three ways:
- By mail (Port Townsend Film Festival, PO Box 594, Port Townsend, WA 98368),
- By email contest@ptfilmfest.com, write "Guest" in the subject line.
- By hand-delivery (Port Townsend Film Festival office, Mount Baker Block, 211 Taylor St., Suite 16, second floor, at the corner of Water and Taylor Streets).
In addition to listing the name of the guest, contestants should include their mailing address, email address (if they have one), and a daytime phone number.
The featured guest will be among several filmmakers attending the sixth festival.
"We anticipate as many as last year, perhaps more," according to Peter Simpson, the festival's executive director who has taken on the responsibilities of programming. In 2004, nearly a dozen filmmakers attended the three-day event, the one coming the farthest being from Bhutan. "This year," Simpson reports, "we will have filmmakers from Canada, and perhaps Germany and Spain, as well as the U.S."
Panel discussions with filmmakers are planned for the festival in a new venue. The featured guest will be interviewed on stage Saturday night along with a screening of one of his (or her) films.
2. Festival Awarded Grant for Radio Advertising. The Port Townsend Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, known colloquially as L-TAC, announced last week that it had awarded the Port Townsend Film Festival $3,000 to advertise the 2005 festival on radio in an effort to increase out-of-town festival attendance. The LTAC money is derived from a retail tax that is assessed on commercial lodging facilities and is used exclusively to attract tourists. The festival will place announcements on stations in Portland (KBOO-FM) and Seattle (KING-FM and KUOW-FM).
3. KUOW-FM is Festival Media Sponsor. In a totally separate action, KUOW-FM of Seattle has selected the Port Townsend Film Festival as one of the regional events for which it will act as a media sponsor. The selection will provide the festival with several links to KUOW publications and announcements, in addition to those the festival will purchase through its LTAC grant.
4. Submissions Triple in Number. Each year the number of films submitted to the festival for selection has grown, and 2005 has witnessed a quantum leap in interest in screening at the Port Townsend Film Festival. During the first year, films were obtained by invitation only. Although submissions were not accepted, a few were sent anyway. Submissions continued to come in during the second year, so, finally, the festival decided to encourage them. In the third year, perhaps 40 films were submitted. In 2003, the number increased to more than 50. Last year, better than 70 were received. Early in 2005 the festival joined an international clearinghouse called, "Without-A-Box," which serves as a distribution service for filmmakers. The festival increased its exposure to filmmakers worldwide, and as a result received 234 submissions.
Along with nearly 90 films sought directly by the festival, the several reviewers engaged by the festival will have watched more than 300 movies under consideration. Between 40 and 50 will be selected.
"The increase in submitted films has made the job much harder this year," according to Peter Simpson, executive director who is also directs the programming, "but it's a good problem to have. I'm very pleased with and impressed by the quality of the films that have been sent to us."
July 2005 Newsletter Update
High School Documentary Filmmaking Class
High school age students who dream of becoming filmmakers will have an opportunity this summer to experience a short, but intensive workshop. Led by Jane Champion and Jessica Plumb, workshop will take the students from concept to edited product in just one week. The basic steps of creating a documentary video: developing a story and a vision, pre-production planning, choosing a production style, shooting with different techniques, and finally editing the piece from a visual and narrative standpoint.
The resulting films will be screened and critiqued by professional filmmakers during the 6th annual Port Townsend Film Festival, September 23-25.
The workshop will be held from Saturday, August 27, through Thursday, September 1, from 10 am to 4 p.m. Each day. The workshop is open to students ages 14-18. Cost is $275. Some scholarship funds are available.
To register or find out additional information, contact Jane at 360-379-1861 (days) or email Jessica at jessica@plumbproductions.com.
Film Tip: See Brothers
In the search for films for the festival, we invariably come across some gems that we'd love to have, but distributors have also discovered them and get them into theatres before the festival begins. Exhibition of films at festivals can be gratifying, even exciting, but if you're a filmmaker, general distribution to theatres is better.
One such film is the Danish drama, BROTHERS, which has a very short (and late night) run at the Rose Theatre this weekend. This extraordinarily moving film will play only tonight (Friday, the 22nd) and tomorrow (Saturday, the 23rd) at 9:10 PM. Despite the hour, I recommend that you take a late afternoon nap, drink a little black tea about 8 o'clock, then head for the theatre. You won't be disappointed.
In his opening statement, Rocky wrote in this week's Rose Theatre listings:
Few relationships have as much potential for interpersonal fireworks as the ones between siblings, and few films are as fearless in the face of raw and intense emotions as the compelling Danish feature called simply BROTHERS.
I personally recommend this film. Peter Simpson
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