PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Film Festival has announced a four-day packed schedule from Sept. 18-21.
An attendee could see 16 or 17 films over the course of the weekend, said Danielle McClelland, the festival’s executive director.
The festival will include a total of 71 films, including features and shorts, they said.
The programming touches on many topics and tones, McClelland said. Comedy and processing death and the end of life are recurring trends, they added.
Many of the films are funny, but there are two films that deal directly with stand-up comedy.
“Anxiety Club” is an exploration of anxiety among stand-up comedians. It includes comedians Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, Marc Maron, Aparna Nancherla, Mark Normand, Baron Vaughn and Eva Victor.
“American Comic” is a mockumentary about stand-up comedians.
“Come See Me In The Good Light” is a film which is about spoken-word poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley dealing with Gibson’s diagnosis with terminal cancer, McClelland said.
“Of course, because Andrea Gibson was an amazing spoken-word poet and writer, their reflection on that situation is incredibly deep and meaningful and eloquent,” McClelland said. “Also, Andrea and their partner just have a very comedic relationship and laugh a lot with one another as we’re watching them address this new stage. It’s funny.”
PTFF is one of the few festivals which were given a chance to show the film before it comes out on Apple TV in November, McClelland said.
“Grace and Grit” is a feature narrative based on Ken Wilber’s biography by the same name. The film follows Ken and Treya Wilber as they move through Treya’s terminal breast cancer, illness, treatment and death.
“Ken Wilber is also a really prolific writer and thinker around transcendental meditation and new-age philosophies,” McClelland said. “For him particularly, in addressing this situation, where his wife is dying, it brings into the story brilliant, amazing insights into maybe the nature of the world and the nature of humanity. That all finds its way into the film.”
Mena Suvari — known for her role as Angela Hayes in “American Beauty” — plays Treya in the film. Suvari will be one of the special guests at this year’s festival and will discuss the film and her career at the screening.
Tom Skerrit will speak before “Top Gun,” Sunday’s free film on Taylor Street.
“He plays the general in “Top Gun,” McClelland said. “Kind of the father figure to Tom Cruise and his buddy.”
On Sept. 19, following the free Filmmakers Parade, wherein filmmakers get to choose a classic car in which to arrive at the corner of Water Street and Taylor Street, “Grease” will be screened.
Attendees are invited to dress up as their favorite movie character and walk in the parade. Those dressed in character can purchase a $1 alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink at the Outdoor Festival Lounge on Taylor Street.
On Sept. 20, Pixar’s “Soul” will be screened on Taylor Street.
“(It’s about the) afterlife, reckoning with death really,” McClelland said.
The animated film follows the death and afterlife of a jazz pianist.
Passes for the festival go on sale next weekend.
The Patron Pass has first access to ticket reservation on Aug. 21 for $850. The Festival Pass is for sale for $265 on Aug. 28. 6-Pass and Virtual Ticket reservations go on sale Sept. 4 and cost $80 and $125, respectively. A 3-Pass ticket reservation is on sale for $42 on Sept. 11. Standalone tickets can be purchased starting Sept. 15.
Passes can be purchased online at ptff2025.eventive.org/passes/buy or in person at Northwind Arts’ Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St.
Through the Peter Simpson Free Cinema Fund, the purchase of a Patron Pass will fund a 6-Pass for someone with limited financial resources.
For those interested in receiving a free 6-Pass, email info@ptfilm.org.
Beyond the free Taylor Street screenings, the festival will host community discussions Sept. 19-21, also free and open to the public, at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
The Sept. 19 discussion will take place at 4 p.m. and will focus on the topic of housing. The discussion will follow the screening of “Michael and Damian,” which documents the relationship between a Port Townsend social worker and a person experiencing homelessness in the city.
On Sept. 20 at 11:30 a.m., the community discussion will focus on attendees and what it means to grow up in Port Townsend and in general.
The Sept. 21 discussion, which will begin at 11:30 a.m., will revolve around comedy.
“We want to just open up the opportunities for people to think deeply and share with one another about what comedy and the films around comedy have brought up for them, and what laughter means in their lives,” McClelland said.
For a full schedule of films and events, visit tinyurl.com/y29bxbcu.
For a list of 10 venue locations for PTFF events and screenings, visit ptfilm.org/ptff-2025-how-to-fest.
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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.
“Damian and Michael” documents the relationship between a Port Townsend social worker and a person experiencing homelessness, starting in 2020.
“A Look Through His Lens,” a film about Academy Award-winning cinematographer Philippe Rousselot, will screen on the opening night of the festival.
“Come See Me In The Good Light,” which follows poet Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley following Gibson’s terminal cancer diagnosis, finds humor in the couple’s relationship.
