PORT TOWNSEND — The most-watched screening of the 2021 Port Townsend Film Festival was not one film but a set of seven shorts: titled “Jane’s Faves,” it’s a mix of movies about music, connection, transcendence and love.
Festival programmer Jane Julian picked them all out, and one of them, “How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic,” won the fest’s prize for best short documentary.
This week, “Jane’s Faves” is reappearing: It’s the final PTFF Pic of 2021, available for streaming through Sunday at www.ptfilmfest.com.
A $10-per-household ticket unlocks the films plus a recorded interview between Julian and Janette Force, the festival executive director about to retire.
Julian also will introduce the program by describing how she finds these films.
Profits from ticket sales for this PTFF Pic will benefit the nonprofit Dove House, which offers help to people in recovery from domestic and sexual violence, homelessness, mental illness and substance use. Dove House also has a 24-hour crisis line, 360-385-5291.
The prize-winning film “How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic” is one of the shorts in the “Jane’s Faves” package available for streaming this week from the Port Townsend Film Festival. (Port Townsend Film Festival)
The “Jane’s Faves” short films are:
• “Mother of the Sea,” a feature using traditional Inuit storytelling, animation and live action;
• “How Are You Tonight?” about a street photographer who connects with the unsheltered residents of Seattle;
• “The Long Today,” a documentary that follows a Saskatchewan canoe trip marking a father’s 70th birthday;
• “The Beauty President,” about the bravado of a 1992 presidential candidate who sought office based on his fabulousness;
• “A Concerto is a Conversation,” an Oscar-nominated documentary about a young Black composer, produced by Ava DuVernay;
• “Sonnie,” the story of a father determined to provide a better life for his son;
• “How to Fall in Love in a Pandemic,” a nonfiction love story about two people who meet online, then schedule a visit and are forced to move in together in Ireland.
With its films ranging from nine to 17 minutes in length, the program totals an hour and 20 minutes.
Trailers for many of the movies can be found on the Port Townsend Film Festival website by clicking on the PTFF Pics link on the homepage.
As the year comes to a close, so does Force’s time at the helm. Danielle McClelland has been hired as the new executive director; information about her can be found on the festival site.
On Dec. 14, the board and staff will throw a sendoff party, an open house from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Vintage by Port Townsend Vineyards, 725 Water St. Face masks and proof of vaccination are required to enter.
This past week, Force, who has been executive director for 12 years and a volunteer for 20, did some planning for one more event: Women & Film, the spring festival that began in 2015.
“Absolutely, yes, there will be Women & Film, April 22-24, 2022,” Force said with her signature enthusiasm.
It will be “definitely virtual and dreaming of live — the filmmakers are lining up to share their amazing work with our audiences,” she added.
As for the larger fall festival, that is set for Sept. 22-25, although its format — virtual, hybrid or in person — has yet to be determined.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsuladailynews.
