The Port Townsend Film Festival was started in 1999 by a group of volunteers in Port Townsend, Washington, United States. The festival is billed annually as "A film lover's block party celebrating great films and filmmakers." The festival recently completed its seventh year September 15-17, 2006.
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Noteworthy guests
In addition to Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, who is a regular festival guest, the following people have made noteworthy appearances at the event:
- 2000
- Actor Tony Curtis
- 2001
- Actress Eva Marie Saint
- 2002
- Actress Patricia Neal
- Screenwriter Stewart Stern ("Rebel Without a Cause", "The Ugly American")
- 2003
- Actor Peter Fonda
- Actress Shirley Knight
- 2004
- Actress Jane Powell
- Former Child Actor Dickie Moore
- 2005
- Actress Debra Winger
- Actor Arliss Howard
- 2006
- Actor Malcolm McDowell
History
The non-profit Port Townsend Film Institute was formed to promote the festival. With the efforts of more than two hundred local volunteers, the festival made its debut on September 22, 2000. Taylor Street in downtown Port Townsend was closed off three days to make way for a giant Turner Classic Movies outdoor cinema. In the first year, the festival screened 24 documentaries, features and shorts in three venues. Recent years have seen more than 50 features shown throughout the weekend event.
Founders
The Port Townsend Film Festival founders were Jim Ewing, Rocky Friedman, Jim Westall and Linda Marie Yakush, all of them veteran attendees at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. That festival served as the model for the Port Townsend event. The founders began their initial planning in September 1999 and they soon established an organizing committee consisting of Erik Andersson, Nancy Biery, Michael Harvey, Sherry Jones, Peter Simpson, and George Yakush.
Future festival dates
September 28-30, 2007
September 26-28, 2008
September 25-27, 2009 - 10th anniversary festival
External links
References
Port Townsend Film Festival. Retrieved on September 23, 2005.
