PORT TOWNSEND — A diverse collection of eight short films produced in the Pacific Northwest, including the Olympic Peninsula, will screen at the Port Townsend Film Festival this weekend.
“It’s exciting to see stories rooted in places we know,” said Christy Spencer, Port Townsend Film Festival’s program director. “It reminds us that these landscapes and communities aren’t just settings or backdrops, they’re part of the story.”
The program will take place at the American Legion Port Townsend, 209 Monroe St., tonight at 9:30 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Single tickets can be purchased for $15 before fees at tinyurl.com/5n943jhf.
The films also can be viewed as part of PTFF’s virtual fest, which will run from Monday through Sept. 28.
Virtual passes and all other passes can be purchased at tinyurl.com/4h5eenxp. The program will go for two hours with runtimes ranging from five to 16 minutes.
Documentary “Style: A Seattle Basketball Story” tells the story of the Rotary Boys & Girls Club in Seattle’s Central District, which has incubated the basketball lives of several notable star players.
“It really captures the energy and the spirit of local sports, but also the story feels universal, like it could be dropped into any city and be talking about basketball among youth,” Spencer said.
The film features interviews from former NBA star Jamal Crawford, the Orlando Magic’s 2022 first overall draft pick, and 2023 Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, as well as a number of key pillars of the community program.
Documentary “Home From Work,” directed by Alex Fleming-McNeil and Michael Beuttler, explores the pitfalls of employee housing on Orcas Island.
The film portrays the perspectives of an employee living in employee housing, a woman who was evicted from employee housing when her job was terminated and an employer who provides housing on the island.
Documentary “Managed to Extinction,” directed by Jessica Plumb, focuses on the interconnection between the survival of the orca whales, the salmon and the indigenous people who rely on them.
The film highlights perspectives of Jay Julius, former chairman of the Lummi Nation, who stresses the need for human society to align more harmoniously with nature.
“Thousands of miles of blockage for salmon for the purpose of resources, power, money, justified for freeways and roads and cities, us humans, we’re almost thinking we’re god-like disrupting this beautiful art and creation and painting and making it fit our needs,” Julius said. “We have to right those wrongs if we want to have a future and not have your kids looking back 10 years from now saying, ‘Oh, wow, there used to be killer whales and salmon.”
Documentary “Wings for Ships: The Chimenti Family and the Art of Sailmaking” centers around the history of Marrowstone Island’s Chimenti family and their sailmaking business, Force 10 Sailmaking and Rigging. It was directed by Ward Serrill.
“Erwin,” a short documentary directed by Annie Fergerson, is beautifully photographed portrait of 71-year-old Port Townsend surfer Erwin Dence. The film features a trip to an Olympic Peninsula surf break where Dence hangs out on the beach and gets into the straight for a session.
Having sustained injuries while surfing, Dence rides a long board on his knees.
Dence started surfing as a child and continued until he was 27 years old. In his 50s, a friend at the Port Townsend shipyard mentioned a longboarding competition, and he decided to return to the sport.
Dence recalled an on-the-water run-in with someone with whom he worked. He said he’s generally grumpy while at work; when his co-worker said he looked happy, Dence said it was because he was.
“I’m 71, I’m going to surf as long as I can, and I’m going to surf as competitively as I’m able to every time I go,” Dence said. “I’m just here to surf.”
In “A Fateful Weekend,” produced in Bremerton and directed by Tony Doupé, a man processes a nationally historic moment as memories from his childhood play on the screen.
Short narrative “Morning” is the tender story of a young girl left sleeping on a porch who is found by the boy who lives in the home. The film was directed by Lynn Wegenka and produced in Port Townsend.
“An Old Friend,” directed by Nuk Suwanchote, is a whimsical story about an imaginary friend whose sole purpose is to bring joy to his child, only find out his child is a 90-year-old man on his death bed.
“Whether it’s a Northwest coastal town or a neighborhood you’ve never seen on film before, the place itself becomes a character,” Spencer said. “Seeing stories play out in familiar but rarely represented landscapes feels like a gift. It makes you look at your own backyard with fresh appreciation.”
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
“Home From Work” will screen as a part of the Port Townsend Film Festival’s Our Northwest short film program.
“Wings for Ships: The Chimenti Family and the Art of Sailmaking” will screen as a part of the Port Townsend Film Festival’s Our Northwest short film program.
