PORT TOWNSEND — In her interview with “The Girl Who Wore Freedom” filmmaker Christian Taylor, Janette Force talks about “the impossible dream.”
It’s worth pursuing, said Force, executive director of the Port Townsend Film Festival and host of Women & Film, a 10-day showcase that wraps this weekend. This festival of 16 selections, all with female directors and topics, highlights 18 dreams, aka films.
Passes, which include all movies plus Force’s interviews with the filmmakers, are $45 while single tickets are $12. These are found, along with links to film trailers, synopses and streaming instructions, at ptfilmfest.com. Information is also available via info@ptfilmfest.com and 360-379-1333. Women & Film ceases streaming its lineup at 11 p.m. Sunday.
“The Girl Who Wore Freedom” is one of the festival’s nine feature-length documentaries. It’s about the massive Normandy invasion of June 6, 1944, and all that came after — for the American veterans and the French people. The film took Taylor three and a half years to research, fund and finish; she worked her day job as a voice actor throughout.
Since September, she’s brought “Girl” to 28 festivals in the United States and France; this was after 150 submissions, Taylor noted.
‘Press on’
Her advice to creative people with seemingly impossible dreams: “You cannot give up. You must press on.”
Women & Film features movies about other women who did and are doing that. There’s “The Big Scary ‘S’ Word,” Yael Bridge’s documentary about socialism; “I Am Jane Doe,” Mary Mazzio’s investigation of child sex trafficking; “Killing Eleanor,” Rich Newey’s story of life, death, addiction and recovery; and “The Dilemma of Desire,” Maria Finitzo’s exploration of women’s sexuality.
The fest’s shorts program, titled “How We See Ourselves,” arrays five films, from the 5-minute “Broken/Fixed” about noses to the 39-minute “Mondays at Racine,” a visit to an unusual hair salon in Long Island, N.Y.
The shorts lineup is Women & Film’s most popular selection so far, said K.C. Upshaw, Port Townsend Film Festival development and promotion director. The others on the most-watched list are “Acting: The First Six Lessons,” starring Emily Bridges and her father Beau Bridges; “More Beautiful for Having Been Broken,” Nicole Conn’s romantic drama, and “Killing Eleanor.”
Viewers can rate the films on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest praise. The audience choice awards will be announced later in May, Upshaw said.
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Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@ peninsuladailynews.com.
“I Am Jane Doe” is among the documentaries screening during the Women & Film festival, which runs through Sunday via PTfilmfest.com. (Photo by R.Schultz/Courtesy Mary Mazzio)
