PORT TOWNSEND FILM FESTIVAL
SEPT 21 - 25, 2023
Welcome to the 2023 Port Townsend Film Festival!
Need a pass? Want more info about the 5-day schedule or the films? Check out the links below.
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Buy Passes
Want the full festival experience? Just a taste? Passes for how you want to fest.
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How to Fest
Nuts & bolts info about ticket reservations, event venues, voting, and more.
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Festival Schedule
Screening times and locations for films and other in-person events.
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Film Guide
Find descriptions and other important details about the 2023 films.
A glimpse of the 2023 Port Townsend Film Festival season.
We are thrilled to welcome the Indigo Girls as the grand finale of the 2023 Port Townsend Film Festival. (tickets for this are SOLD OUT! Updates here)
FESTIVAL OVERVIEW & HIGHLIGHTS
Welcome to the largest, oldest film festival on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. Each year PTFF welcomes approximately 2,000 attendees, 30+ filmmakers, 50+ films, and hundreds of volunteers to our stunningly beautiful seaside village every year.
Special Events
Opening Night Gala
Thursday, Sept 21, 5:30-7:30pm
Maritime Center
Deluxe Pass holders, donors, sponsors, filmmakers, and special guests are invited to don their best “creative black tie”, walk the red carpet, sip craft cocktails, and relish a PNW feast while supporting PTFF. Attendees will be the first to hear a special announcement about the future of film in Port Townsend! Reservation deadline Sept 11.
Photo Deja View Photography
Filmmaker Parade | Friday, Sept 22, 5:30pm
Washington and Taylor Street
Join in the parade with our visiting filmmakers and special guests by dressing as your favorite movie character and dancing down Washington Street to the beat of Chaotic Noise, a Seattle-based renegade marching band.
Photo Deja View Photography
Awards Party | Saturday, Sept 23, 8:30pm
Vintage by PT Vineyards
All Deluxe and Festival Pass holders are invited to celebrate with our visiting filmmakers and special guests at this wine and hors d'oeuvres event by the water.
Click here for more information.
Daily Dinner Break | Fri-Sat-Sun, 5:30-7pm
Taylor Street
Enjoy grab and go picnic meals from our participating restaurants between films or as you’re gathering for the outdoor movies. Enjoy live music and strike up conversation with fellow attendees while you eat. Bar Car will be offering craft cocktails, beer, and wine 3-9pm.
Click here for more information.
Photo Mark Saran
Let’s Celebrate Music!
PTFF celebrates music in many ways this season.
INDIGO GIRLS
Grand Finale of the festival!
At McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden.
Film: It’s Only Live After All
Closing Night Film. A powerful documentary about the iconic folk rock duo Indigo Girls.
Click here for more information.
Film: Glitter & Doom
Spotlight Film. An original jukebox musical romance featuring remixed hit songs of the Indigo Girls. Dance Party: Glitter & Doom Dance Party to follow Friday’s screening of the film, around 8:30pm.
Film: Red, White & Brass
Opening Night Film at the Legion, preceded by the short film joyful.
Film: Joan Baez I am a Noise
Centerpiece Film. A feature documentary looking back on the singer’s 6-decade career.
Live music: on Taylor Street
Bring or buy a picnic and enjoy the music at
5:30pm - Friday, Saturday, & Sunday.
Featuring Chaotic Noise, Jonathan Doyle Trio, and more!
Film: Omoiyari: A Song Film By Kishi Bashi
A musical journey by violinist and songwriter Kaoru Ishibashi.
Free Outdoor Movies on Taylor Street
The heart of the festival has always been watching outdoor movies at the Taylor Street Outdoor Theatre. Welcome to a Port Townsend community tradition! Come join the fun – for free!
James and the Giant Peach
USA | 1996 | 80 min | PG
Director: Henry Selick
An orphan who lives with his two cruel aunts befriends anthropomorphic bugs who live inside a giant peach, and they embark on a journey to New York City.
Friday, 7:30pm
Click here for more information.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
USA | 1971 | 98 min | G
Director: Mel Stuart
A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
Saturday, 7:30pm
Click here for more information.
Matilda
USA | 1996 | 96 min | PG
Director: Danny DeVito
A girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to deal with her mean, distant family and free her kind teacher from their cruel headmistress.
Sunday, 7:30pm
Click here for more information.
All movies on Taylor Street, outdoors on the street. Limited benches available. Bring a chair, if possible. No pets please. Bring layers and a blanket, just in case. Fun under the stars!
Filmmaking Forums
Filmmaking seminars, panels, workshops, and networking opportunities for film lovers and industry professionals. To attend, make a ticket reservation in advance using your pass or ticket bundle. Also available as a single ticket purchase. All Forums take place at the Cotton Building.
Documentary Lab with Doug Blush and Lisa Klein
Do you have an idea for a documentary but are not sure where to start? Doug and Lisa have decades of experience in telling fact-based stories with emotional impact and award-winning results. Learn from the best in two easy sessions that will leave you inspired and ready to move forward with a concrete plan.
Click here for more information.
Mini-Pitch Workshop with Kiwi Smith
An opportunity for filmmakers to present their loglines, concepts and ideas in a constructive forum (with a blockbuster writer and producer), building confidence and honing ideas into engaging nuggets, designed to entice financiers and studios.
Click here for more information.
Music Supervision with Jessica Berndt
Ever wonder how that great soundtrack came to be? From sourcing songs to licensing music, this seminar will show you how and answer all your questions. As a Music Supervisor for Secretly Group, a family of American independent record labels, Jessica has mastered the process from start to finish.
Click here for more information.
Screenplay Crash Course with Mark Schwartz
An overview of what makes a screenplay cook, from captivating concept to story structure to strong characters. Along the way, Mark, a Peninsula College film instructor, shares tips on visual storytelling, inciting incidents, character development, plot vs story, elements of a great scene, and different types of endings.
Click here for more information.
Acting for the Screen with Amy Hesketh
Amy works with student and professional actors all the time as an active filmmaker and tenured faculty at Olympic College’s OC Film School. Join zir in exploring the foundations of The Method and Meisner Technique, discussing and practicing these techniques in a series of exercises.
Click here for more information.
Photo Deja View Photography
Filmmaker Panels
Enjoy tales from behind the scenes told by the people who live and breathe movie-making! These panel discussions led by PTFF staff bring together groups of our visiting filmmakers for compelling conversations on their career paths, their filmmaking journeys, the touching moments when film changes lives, and everything in between.
Click here for more information.