PTFF News
Newsletter ArchivesSeptember 2005 Newsletter
Contents- 2005 Film Program Now On-line
- Day Passes Now on Sale
- Still Time to Enter Film 2880
- West Coast Live! to return
- Arliss Howard appears on NBC tonight; Debra Winger up for Emmy on Sunday
1. 2005 Film Program Now On-line
The program for the sixth annual Port Townsend Film Festival is now on-line at the festival's website: www.ptfilmfest.com. Included are 12 feature-length narrative films, 13 documentaries, 23 short narratives and documentaries, plus an additional 21 films that will be screened at the festival's new venue, Digital Port Townsend's Drop-In Theatre.
The opening night film is a visually stunning road film from Germany, Peas at 5:30.
A special feature will be the appearance of Debra Winger and Arliss Howard after a Saturday night screening of their 2001 film, Big Bad Love. Winger's 1981 film, shot mostly in Port Townsend, An Officer and a Gentleman, will be screened with a special print made especially for the festival.
Films from Canada, Columbia, Cuba, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States will be screened throughout the three-day event, September 23-25.
In addition, a series of panel discussions will be held with filmmakers from around the country and Canada participating. Film 2880, the two-day filmmaking contest, will present this year's winners. And Reel World Flix, a filmmaking project featuring short films by Jefferson and Kitsap County youths, will screen their results.
Outdoor movies are planned again for all three nights, one of which is in 3-D, complete with glasses.
Almost Midnight films are scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights.
The closing night film is a remarkable account of the history of the dance company that changed dance in America during the middle years of the twentieth century, Ballets Russes. Co-directors Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, and 92-year-old dancer, Marc Platt, the first American to dance with the company who later went on to movie fame, will all attend the film which is having its West Coast premiere in Port Townsend.
Access to detailed information can be gained by going to the website, clicking on "program" at the bottom of the page, then "films." The festival's printed program will be issued on Wednesday, September 14, as a supplement to the Port Townsend Leader. Copies of the program will be mailed to out-of-county passholders.
2. Day Passes Now on Sale
As of September 1, day passes are available for sale at $90 for either Saturday or Sunday. A day pass provides entry to any film or panel discussion on a space available basis. Regular passes are still available at $175 for all three days of the festival, including the Friday night dinner provided by the Silverwater Café on Taylor Street. Individual tickets are available at $8 and are sold fifteen minutes prior to each screening, again on a space available basis.
Additional information and pass orders can be made by either calling 360-379-1333 or visiting the festival's website: www.ptfilmfest.com.
3. Still Time to Enter Film 2880
Film 2880 is a Pacific Northwest-based, no-holds-barred, guerilla-filmmaking contest that takes place from 7pm Friday, September 9, to 7pm Sunday, September 11, 2005.
Teams are required to write, shoot and edit a five- to ten-minute film in 2,880 minutes (48 hours). No one is allowed to do any creative work on the film prior to 7pm Friday. To keep everyone honest and make things interesting, each team receives an email directive at exactly 7pm Friday, September 9, containing a theme, prop and line of dialog which must be incorporated into the film. Films will be judged on how well they use the prop, theme and line of dialog. Teams also get points for originality and production values. This year there will also be an audience choice award.
Filmmakers can work from anywhere in the world.
Winning films will be shown on the final day of the 2005 Port Townsend Film Festival at the Rose Theatre and will be included in a special 2005 Film 2880 DVD. Filmmakers interested in participating should visit the contest's website: www.film2880.com.
4. West Coast Live! to return.
West Coast Live!, a two-hour weekly National Public Radio variety show produced and broadcast live-to-satellite Saturday mornings from San Francisco to audiences around the world, will have a return engagement at the sixth annual Port Townsend Film Festival on Saturday, September 24. The program originated from Port Townsend last year also.
Headliners from the festival will be interviewed by host Sedge Thomson from the stage at the Upstage Theatre and Restaurant in downtown Port Townsend.
The show entertains and enlightens audiences with music, ideas and humor from a rich mix of writers, thinkers, comedians, and musicians, drawn mostly from the Pacific Rim and the Western United States, but also from further afield "as feels right to do," according to a program spokesperson.
The program broadcasts from locations that convey the culture and sounds of the West to its radio listeners, while allowing its theater audience to discover new venues.
Tickets to attend the live broadcast from Port Townsend are available at $12 in advance ($15 at the door) and $5 for children 12 and under. Film festival passholders may obtain tickets at $10. Tickets may be obtained on www.ticketweb.com, by calling the West Coast Live voice mail (415-664-9500), or at the Port Townsend Film Festival office, 211 Taylor St., Ste. 16, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
In the Puget Sound region West Coast Live! is broadcast on KUOW2, the station's secondary outlet, Saturdays from 10 am to noon. People can listen online by going to www.kuow.org and clicking on the KUOW 2 link on their home page (which also lists the schedule).
5. Arliss Howard appears on NBC tonight; Debra Winger up for Emmy on Sunday
Port Townsend Film Festival special guest Arliss Howard has two prime time appearances on NBC before his arrival at the festival next week with his wife Debra Winger, so now's your chance to become acquainted with this fine actor's work. He will appear on the hit show, MEDIUM, at 10:00 PM on Channel 5 (KING-TV) tonight, Monday September 12, and again next Monday, September 19. "Reprising his role from the pilot episode, Arliss Howard guest stars as Capt. Kenneth Push of the Texas Rangers who literally puts his life on the line to help Allison (Patricia Arquette) find a serial killer before he can claim his next victim."
Howard has been making movies and appearing on television for more than 20 years. He stars in, directed and co-wrote BIG BAD LOVE, which PTFF will screen on 7:00 PM Saturday, September 24, at the Broughton Theatre as part of our annual "Very Special Evening With..." event. He also showcases his acting talents in the very funny and enjoyable WILDER NAPALM (again with Winger) as well as FULL METAL JACKET, TEQUILA SUNRISE, TO WONG FOO THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR and THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK. In January of this year he directed Winger in the Lifetime cable television movie, DAWN ANNA, which lead to her nomination for an Emmy. The awards will be announced Sunday, September 18, at 7 pm on CBS (Channel 7-KIRO).
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