PTTF ~ 2003 
2003 Port Townsend Film Festival - September 26-28, 2003
The fourth Port Townsend Film Festival is scheduled for September 26-28,
2003. Once again we create a film-lover's block party celebrating great films
and filmmakers.
Special guest appearances, an outdoor movie, presentations and a host of
other exciting activities make this event a wonderful experience!
Greetings from the Director
It's funny how things change.
Earlier this year, we thought that financial reversals experienced last
year would force us to scale back this year's celebration of film. Indeed,
we even announced that it would. But then, things began to happen. Business
sponsorships increased. Passes sold well. And instead of one guest, we'll
have three: Vera Bloom, Peter Fonda, and Shirley Knight, plus some directors
and producers. And a terrific line-up of films.
As of this writing (August 1) the festival promises to be bigger and better
than ever. We will offer the standard festival features as well as some
new activities: Standard festival items include our usual venues , A Very
Special Evening with Shirley Knight (with a screening of her 1969 film,
The Rain People, directed by Francis Ford Coppola), outdoor movies, and
Northwest film critic Robert Horton will serve as host of several film presentations.
Among the new things we're planning are an opening night presentation (Peter
Fonda and Verna Bloom in The Hired Hand),Midnight Movies on Friday and Saturday
at the Rose, musical groups playing throughout the day on Taylor Street,
an awards presentation for the best feature film, documentary and short
films, and on Sunday night at the outdoor theater we're going to screen
one of the festival's audience favorites.
So, instead of hunkering down, we're expanding. Sometimes good things happen.
I hope you'll enjoy the festival.
Peter Simpson
Executive Director
Select Quotes
I'm fascinated by the marriage of this total inexplicable thing called
acting to this total inexplicable thing called camera. On stage you have three
dimensions. On film you have two, so all your energy goes to putting back
the third element. That's a challenge I can't ignore, so I'll keep on making
films. Peter Fonda quoted by Rebecca Redshaw, Notesfromhollywood.com
"We have more filmmakers coming than we've ever had", continued
Simpson. Several movies are making their Pacific Northwest debut. There's
a lot here for the person who wants to know how films are made. - Martha
Worthley, PT Leader
Come by, pull up a straw bale and listen to everything from samba drumming
to jazz guitar, marimba to big band, country blues to show tunes. - PT
Leader
We shot a ketchup-laden bug-killing scene in our friend Jim Overly's
bathtub. We find out after we're done that the smell of ketchup makes Jim
violently ill. Sorry buddy. Kevin Murphy, film 2880 contestant, as quoted
in the PT Leader AE Sept. 24-30, 2003
Last Saturday, after dark but with a gentle warmth still in the air,
you could stand at the top of the historic outdoor staircase above downtown,
look down at a massive movie screen on Taylor Street, and see the flawless
upturned faces of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, as high
as a building and as clear as the star-flecked sky. If movie moments come
any better than this - well, bring them on. - Moira MacDonald, The Seattle
Times
She (Shirley Knight) chose to screen Dutchman, a little-known 1966 film
based on the controversial play by LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka), in which
she plays an apple chopping siren who taunts a young black man in a subway
car... "Wasn't that woman scary?" (Shirley) Knight asked the audience,
confessing that ... she couldn't eat apples for two years after making it
(Dutchman). - Moira MacDonald, The Seattle Time
John O'Brian, director of the festival's winner for best feature film,
Nosey Parker, said he had been to Sundance and the Berlin Festival, but Port
Townsend Film Festival was by far the best. Having made his fourth movie about
a small-town community, he declared, "You have it here." -
Martha Worthley, The PT Leader
It has a distinct personality, a very present personality. It's not shy.
But in an attractive way... Everyone you talk to has a different story, a
different interesting story, and they're willing to share it. It's not hidden
and reserved. - Executive produce of Dopamine, Eric Kriovisto, on the
persona of Port Townsend as quoted by N.P. Thompson, Vigilance
Film 2880
Theme: passion
Prop: Strainer
Dialog line: That bug's on a suicide mission.
Best Feature Narrative: Nosey Parker by John O'Brian
Best Feature Documentary: Power Trip by Paul Devlin
Best Short: Zagati by Edu Felistoque and Nereu Cerdeira
Official Audience Selection: Corazon de fuego (The Last Train)
by Diego Arsuaga
Special Guests
Vera Bloom, star of The Hired Hand; Peter Fonda, star of The Hired Hand and
Easy Rider; Hanna Elias, writer/director of The Olive Harvest; Kamran Elehian,
producer of The Olive Harvest; Stewart Stern; Mark Decena, director, Dopamine;
Robert Horton; John O'Brien, director, Nosey Parker.
Guess-the-Guest Contest
Clue Number 1: In 1946, our guest and her sister auditioned
for the Horace Heidt's radio amateur hour. Her sister won and appeared in
the program's finale singing Alice Blue Gown. The guest came in second and
didn't advance to the finals. The guest started out to be an opera singer
and won a first at the Kansas State contests, singing a Mozart aria. At age
14, the guest was also a published short story writer in a national children's
magazine.
Clue Number 2: Our guest studied drama with Jeff Corey in
classes that included Jack Nicholson, Robert Blake, Dean Stockwell and Sally
Kellerman. The guest has appeared in plays by such important American playwrights
as Tennessee Williams, William Inge, Edward Albee, and Horton Foote. Like
our guests in 2001 and 2002, the guest has appeared in a film with Paul Newman.
Clue Number 3: 'My goal was not to be famous or rich, but
to be good at what I did,' our guest (hereafter referred to as OG) said in
1995. As a result, OG has two Academy Award nominations, three Emmy awards
for television work, a Tony for Broadway, a jury prize from the Cannes Film
Festival, and a best-actress award from the Venice Film Festival. Her late
husband was a well-known writer for stage, television, and screen, including
one James Bond credit.
Winner: Chris Hill of Seattle
Films
Almost Midnight Movies
G-SALE
USA, 2003, 87 min
Best of the Fest Sarasota Film Festival 2003
Director: Randy Nargi
Producer: Jessi Bardami
Cinematographer: Eric Browne
Editor: Randy Nargi
Cast: Jesse Badami, Scott Burns, Tracey Conway, Henry Dardenne, Ted D'Arms,
Robin Douglas
You don't find what you want. What you want finds you.
Inspired by the mockumentaries of Christopher Guest (Waiting for Guffman,
Best in Show), Randy Nargi has tackled, with gleeful enthusiasm, the wacky
world of garage sales. Anyone with a passing interest in g-sales, as they
are referred to in the fictional community of Bogwood (where g-sales are almost
a religion), will recognize either themselves or someone they have met at
one. The competition is fierce and the tongue in cheek humor at first had
this viewer wondering if I was watching an actual documentary.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
Australia, 1994, 103 min
Director/Writer: Stephan Elliott
Producer: Al Clark, Michael Hamlyn
Editor: Sue Blainey
Cinematographer: Brian J. Breheny
Costumes: Tim Chappel, Lizzy Gardiner
Cast: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce
Finally, a comedy that will change the way you think, the way you feel,
and most importantly... the way you dress.
Outrageous comedy playing on the clash between two drag queens, an aging
transsexual and the Australian Outback. Offered a gig in Alice Springs, Teke
(Hugo Weaving) and Adam (Guy Pearce) convince Bernadette (Terence Stamp),
who is grieving over the loss of a love, to join them on their wisecracking
road trip of glamour and dust. Bitching about everyone and everything, they
manage to win friends and put on a great show. Terrific musical numbers; come
dressed to excess and prepared to sing along.
DIY Filmmaking
BRIEN BURROUGHS NO BUDGET IMPROV FILMMAKING-A DOUBLE
FEATURE
It's been said that the secret to a successful film production is a great
script, intensive rehearsing, a decent budget, and lots of preproduction planning.
Fearless and determined director Brien Burroughs has produced two feature
films, on film, with no script, no preproduction, no rehearsals, and no budget.
His critically-acclaimed and very funny films, SUCKERFISH and SECURITY,
are both completely improvised and have been featured at festivals around
the country.
The most important aspects of a no-budget film project are fantastic actors,
great food, and a competent crew.
Please join us for the screenings of both films and a discussion with the
director on the process and pitfalls of no-budget improvised filmmaking.
SUCKERFISH
USA, 1999, 88 min
Director/Producer: Brien Burroughs, DP: Christopher Brown,
Editor: Gail Mallimson
Cast: Tim Orr, Dan Donovan, Gerri Lawlor, Kurt Boden
In the dog eat dog world of the pet supply business it's hard to figure who's
your best friend.
SECURITY
USA, 2003, 95 min.
Director/Producer:Brien Burroughs
Producer/DP: Geraldo Merino
Editor: Melissa Lawson, Beatrice Lawson.
Cast: Tim Orr, Bill Lillehammer, Stephen Kearin, Pat Sullivan
Two security guards at a chocolate factory take their job very seriously.
When some top-secret prototypes go missing on their shift, the investigation
leads them through the dark corridors of industrial espionage.
SECOND ANNUAL FILM 2880 - FAST FILMMAKING CONTEST
A theme, a prop, a line of dialog.....and 2,880 minutes.
Film 2880 is a no-holds-barred, guerrilla-filmmaking rally race that took
place from 7pm Friday September 12th, to 7pm Sunday September 14th 2003. 2880
exists to challenge the resourcefulness and creativity of local and international
filmmakers, film students, and anyone crazy enough to sign up. Teams were
required to write, shoot and edit a 5-10 minute short film without any creative
work done prior to 7pm Friday. To keep everyone honest and make things interesting,
each team received an email directive at exactly 7pm Friday giving them a
theme, prop and line of dialog which must be incorporated into the film.
Films are judged on originality, production value, use of prop, use of assigned
dialog, and adherence to theme.
Documentaries
POWER TRIP
USA 2003, 78 min
Georgian with English subtitles
Director/Producer/Editor: Paul Devlin
Camera: Paul Devlin, Valery Odikadze
An absolutely riveting documentary! Pervasive corruption, high drama, and
hot tempers rule the day as an American power company tries to keep the lights
on in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. In an environment of pervasive
corruption, political assassination, and street rioting, the story of chaotic
post-soviet transition is told through culture clash, electricity disconnections
and blackouts.
AES Corp., the massive American global power company, has purchased the
privatized electricity distribution company in Tbilisi, capital of former
Soviet Republic of Georgia. AES manager Piers Lewis must now train the formerly
communist populace that in this new world customers must pay for their electricity.
Meanwhile the Georgians, from the meter readers to the Energy Minister, devise
ever more clever ways to steal it.
In this chaotic and dramatic environment, Lewis balances his love for the
Georgian people with the hardships his company creates for them as they struggle
to build a nation from the rubble of Soviet collapse.
CINEMANIA
USA, 2002, 88 min.
Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Hamptons International Film Festival
Director: Angela Christlieb, Stephen Kijak
Producer: Gunter Hanfgarn
DP/Editor: Angela Christlieb,
Editor: Stephen Kijak
Movies can be a cure for what ails us, an elixir fueling emotions and a
gigantic escape from the world. What if the movies are what ails us? In this
endearing and alarming portrait of five obsessive compulsive movies goers
in New York City, the envy conjured up by the devotion of these folks deep
knowledge of what they want, need and have figured out exactly how to get
out of life is humbling. Their satisfied quality undercuts any possibility
of poking fun.
Roberta, banned for life from the Museum of Modern Art, obsessively saves
all her tickets; when an usher accidentally tears one, she pummels her. Jack
goes to films eight hours a day, seven days a week. Carefully chronicling
all his films, he admits, with remarkable comfort, that indeed he is overtaken
by his obsession, but he enjoys it. Bill, the philosopher and writer searching
for a mate on the internet, knows his lack of a sex life is due to his mania.
Eric will watch anything and Harvey knows the running times of all movies.
The five cinemaniacs watching a rough cut of this documentary is a mind bending
view into the depths of their devotion to cinema as life.
Preceded by:
ZAGATI
Brazil, 2001, 16 min
Director: Edu Felistoque, Nereu Cerdeira
If the art of cinema creates great men, then Zagati is a cinematic warrior.
MOUNTAIN AND SEA - Two Short Documentaries
FOUND ON EVEREST
USA, 2002, 47 min
Director/Producer/Writer/Editor: Riley Morton
'Found on Everest' documents the daily struggles of the 2001 Mallory and
Irvine Research Expedition as they search at 27,000 feet for clues to the
mysterious disappearance of Mallory and Irvine in 1924 as they climbed towards
what may have been Everest's first ascent. Looking for one thing, but finding
another, the team abandoned their own summit bid to save the lives of four
climbers who spent the night out at 28,500 in the second highest rescue in
history.
ALONE AGAINST THE SEA - The Dangers of Solo Sailing
USA, 2003, 49 min
Laszlo Pal will attend
Director: Laszlo Pal
Producers: Laszlo Pal, Susan Pal, Dan McConnell
Editors: Laszlo Pal, Ken Coble
More people have traveled into space than have sailed around the world alone.
Alone Against the Sea documents the human drama of five sailors in life threatening
situations as they battle hurricane winds, equipment failures, lack of sleep
and medical emergencies on the 27,000 mile solo around the world sailing race.
Modern video technology has made it possible for these intrepid folks to record
their journeys. The result is an absolutely hair-raising and life affirming
profile of five very brave and determined people.
UNCONQUERING THE LAST FRONTIER
Director Robert Lundahl and Native Storyteller Elaine Grinnell will attend.
USA, 2003, 60 min
Director/Producer: Robert Lundahl
Editors: Robert Lundahl, Chris Simon
Music: Tony Saunders
In 1910, in the name of progress and in violation of Washington State law,
the Olympic Power and Development Company erected a dam on the Elwha River.
Over the course of the ensuing years, it became clear that the river with
the largest salmon run in the world had been sacrificed for hydropower development.
This progress occurred at tragic expense to the Native American, Elwha Klallam
people who relied upon the river for their sustenance. The film tells the
story of the 90 year long struggle of the Elwha tribal community to challenge
the perception of the cheap and clean power source and the eventual lobbying
of congress for the removal of the dams and for restoration of the rivers
ecosystem.
Elaine Grinnell is a S'Klallam tribal storyteller. The legends and stories
she brings to life represent the oral history of the S'Klallam people, a history
that references tribal presence over an amazing time depth on the Olympic
Peninsula.
The characters, Raven, Killer Whale, Thunderbird, and many others taught
the native people how to be fully human and how to live in the lush green
garden they have always called home. In a time of environmental rebalancing,
these stories can help us all to feel at home in our hearts.
THE SAME RIVER TWICE
USA, 2003, 78 min.
Director/Producer/Cinematographer: Robb Moss, Associate
Producer: Linda Morgenstern,
Editor: Karen Schmeer
Working as river guides for much of the 70s, the director and his friends
lived an unscheduled, communal, (often naked) outdoor life. Cutting between
images of a month- long river trip filmed twenty-five years ago and the current
lives of five of these former riverdogs, director Robb Moss explores bodies,
time and living one's choices. The scenes of the now 50ish group watching
their exuberant, naked selves prior to divorces, children, cancer, career
changes, etc. are remarkably poignant.
Preceded by:
THE FIELD
USA, 2003, 12 min.
Director/Writer: Mark Hager
For 12 year old Anthony the Cuban Missile Crisis affects him in ways that
his friends don't understand
ROBERT CAPA: IN LOVE AND WAR
USA, 2003, 90 min
Director: Anne Makepeace
Producers: Anne Makepeace, Joanna Rudnick
Writer: Anne Makepeace
Camera: Nancy Schreiber
Editor: Susan Fanshell
Music: Joel Goodman
Born a Hungarian Jew named Andr Friedman, Robert Capa arrived in Paris in
the 30's and in an effort to get his work noticed reinvented himself as an
American photographer. In his 40 short years, Robert Capa photographed five
epic conflicts on four continents. His life had an unprecedented, international
reach, arching from Hungary through China and Vietnam as well as America,
North Africa and all of Europe. With deft editing of newsreel footage, hundreds
of photographs and interviews with friends, family and colleagues, Anne Makepeace
has created a riveting portrait of an accomplished artist and one of this
century's greatest chroniclers of the horrors of war.
HOOFBEATS AND HEARTBEATS
With Stewart Stern
60 min
Screenwriter Stewart Stern (REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, THE UGLY AMERICAN) reminisces
(in person) about growing up in New York, spending his allowance on the Broadway
of the '30s and '40s when the Sheep Meadow in Central Park really had sheep
and the trolleys only cost a nickel.
'Do you remember when they made the horses wear rubber horseshoes, how quiet
it got in the mornings?'
Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams - Screenplay by Stewart Stern
The era of Frances Farmer in Golden Boy...Eva Le Gallienne in Peter Pan...Orson
Welles in Dr. Faustus...Otis Skinner in Uncle Tom's Cabin...Ethel Waters in
Cabin in the Sky...Jimmy Durante in Jumbo...Laurette Taylor in The Glass Menagerie...Laurence
Olivier in Oedipus the King...Beatrice Lillie, The Funniest Woman on Earth
...The Civic Repertory Theatre...The Group Theatre...The Mercury...The Hippodrome...and
how my father in his spats and cane showed me a dairy farm near First Avenue
and walked me through the Hooverville in Central Park.
Featuring video clips from The Royal Family with Eva LeGallienne, and various
songs and sketches of Beatrice Lillie performed on the Ed Sullivan show and
on the first Bob Hope TV Special.
WHY VIVALDI?
USA, 2003, 70 min
Director Teddy Grouya will attend
Northwest Premiere
Director/Writer/Producer: Teddy Grouya
Editor: Teddy Grouya, Andrea Zonder
In Why Vivaldi? Ted Grouya leads us through unusual territory. Over the
past several years there has been a surge in interest in Vivaldi's music;
he has been outselling all the other classical composers. Grouya visits with
Vivaldi scholars and devotees from different countries, different backgrounds,
with different tastes - all of whom are drawn to the music of Antonio Vivaldi.
Grouya takes us to Venice where Vivaldi, known as the red priest, lived
and wrote his music. We visit the very rooms Vivaldi inhabited, the church
in which his music was performed. Venice is probably the most filmed city
in the world but Grouya leads us to see the place anew. His shots are selected
with a cinematic eye and an unmistakable affection for his subject. We meet
a baroque ensemble and time stands still as they play Vivaldi's music with
the actual instruments of the time. In this lovely, compelling film you will
find the answer to its title.
Features
A VERY SPECIAL EVENING WITH SHIRLEY KNIGHT
Hosted by Robert Horton
HIRED HAND
USA, 1971, 92 min
With special guests Peter Fonda and Verna Bloom
Director: Peter Fonda
Producer: William Haywood
Writer: Alan Sharp
Restoration Producer: Frank Mazzola
Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond
Editor: Frank Mazzola Music: Bruce Langhorne
Cast: Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Verna Bloom, Robert Pratt, Severn Darden.
Peter Fonda's directorial debut was part of the revolutionary new wave of
films that ushered in Hollywood's 1970s golden age. Set in 1881, THE HIRED
HAND reconfigured the traditional western to a story that emphasized the human
reality underlying the cowboy myth. Its gorgeous, intricately layered images,
gentle pacing and evocative sound complemented the narrative approach. The
restoration was overseen by original editor Frank Mazzola, who in the process
declared the film better looking than the original.
It has been seven years since Harry Collings (Peter Fonda) abandoned his
family to roam the West. Now, tired and disillusioned by the hardship and
violence of the nomad's life, Harry wants to return home to his wife and little
girl. Accompanied by his loyal friend Arch Harris (Warren Oates), Harry makes
his way back to the small homestead he left behind.
He does not receive the welcome he expected. Surprised by Harry's sudden
reappearance, Hannah Collings (Verna Bloom) regards her husband warily. In
Harry's absence, Hannah has become a resourceful, independent woman who has
single-handedly managed their land holdings and over the years has taken a
few ranch hands into her bed. Hannah allows Harry back, but only as a hired
hand who must sleep in the barn with Arch. She makes no apologies for her
previous liaisons, and Harry realizes that he will have to work hard to regain
her trust and rebuild their marriage. As the days and nights pass, Hannah
and Harry grow close again, and Arch understands that the time has come for
him to move on. But an old fight will soon come back to haunt Harry, as he
is forced to make a tough choice of loyalties between his wife and his best
friend.
DOPAMINE
USA, 2003, 80 min.
Winner: Alfred P. Sloan Prize, Sundance Film Festival 2003
CLOSING NIGHT NORTHWEST PREMIER with Director Mark Dacena
Director: Mark Dacena
Producer: Debbie Brubaker, Tad Fettig
Screen Writer: Mark Decena, Timothy Breitbach
Camera: Robert Humphreys
Editor: Jessica Congdon
Cast: John Livingston, Sabrina Lloyd, Rueben Grundy, Bruno Campos
Romantic comedy are two words almost guaranteed to provide predictable and
impossibly cute moments requiring suspended belief so towering one could get
vertigo. Dopamine (the natural amphetamine our bodies produce when we're falling
in love) takes the subject straight out of that rut and into the new millennium.
With our ability to pinpoint the chemistry of love, create a computer pet
that responds to affection, could we perhaps remove the mystery of attraction?
Rand (John Livingston) is a computer animator, long versed in his father's
explanation of the scientific basis of love. Sarah (Sabrina Lloyd) is a preschool
teacher with some gaping holes in her life. When Rand brings Koy, his computer
generated pet designed to teach kids responsibility, to Sarah's class for
a test run the sparks fly. Is it programmed, chemicals or just fate at work?
With a sly wit and a truly charismatic pairing of actors, Sarah and Rand slog
through their fundamental differences in approach. Love, chemistry, whatever,
it's not always easy, not always pretty, but probably always a mystery.
Preceded by:
This is JOHN
USA, 2002, 8 min
Director: Jay Duplass
A man vs. his message machine.
EASY RIDER
USA, 1969, 95 min
Peter Fonda will introduce EASY RIDER.
Director: Dennis Hopper
Producer: Peter Fonda
Writers: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern
Cinematographer: László Kovács
Editor: Donn Cambern
Original Music: Hoyt Axton, Mars Bonfire, Roger McGuinn.
Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Phil Spector.
It's the movie that everyone from that particular generation remembers.
We laid claim to the spirit, the music was ours and regardless of our points
of origin, it seemed we were all heading out on the highway. The yearning
vision was of a different way of life in a new America, full of optimism and
the self-satisfied entitlement of characters who'd grown up in an age of abundance.
We knew this was our movie, we had a voice; the misunderstood, the imagined
outlaws.
If you weren't there: two hippie motorcyclists set out from LA looking for
their own American Dream. Funded by a drug deal and fueled by copious amounts
of drugs, they discover sunsets, rolling hills, a vast mysterious continent,
and rednecks. Even though he had 20 forgettable films to his credit by this
time, this is the one that launched Jack Nicholson to the stratosphere in
Hollywood. Still one of the coolest sound tracks.
THE LAST TRAIN
Corazón de fuego
Uruguay/Argentina/Spain, 2002, 90 min.
In Spanish with English subtitles
2003 Official Oscar Submission-Foreign Language Film
Best Screenplay Montreal Film Festival, Latin American Film
Director: Diego Arsuaga
Producer: José Sánchez Varela, Pablo Bossi, Carlos Mentasti
Screen Writer: Diego Arsuaga, Beda Docompo Feijoó, Fernando
León de Aranoa
Camera: Hans Burmann
Editor: Fernando Pardo, Daniel Marquez,
Music: Hugo Jasa
Cast: Héctor Alterio, Federico Luppi, Pepe Soriano, Saturnino García,
Gastón Pauls.
To the battle cry of "Our heritage is not for sale!", a thrilling
ride begins as three elderly gentlemen spring into action to save Uruguay's
last steam train that is about to be sold to Hollywood. Accompanied by the
grandson of one, the foursome hijack the train and go chugging off to an uncertain
fate with the train's owner and police in hot pursuit. Each with a personal
struggle, they gather and lose momentum by turns. As the train travels through
communities isolated by the loss of the railroad, these elderly radicals become
folk heroes of the people who see them as a sign of hope. A rollicking ride
in the tradition of the great western. Appropriate for the whole family (that
can read).
MAROONED IN IRAQ
Avazhaye Sarzamine Madariyam
Iran, 2002, 110 min
Farsi with English subtitles
Director/Producer/Screen Writer: Bahman Ghobadi
Camera: Saeed Nkzad
Editor: Hayedeh Safiari
Music: Arsalan Kamkar
Cast: Shabab Ebrahimi, Allah-morad Rashtian, Faegh Mohammadi, Iran Ghobadi
This visually stunning film opens in Iranian Kurdistan. Mirza, an aging
well-known Kurdish singer, along with his musician sons, Barat and Audeh,
are about to embark on a journey in search of his ex-wife Hanareh. Once the
singer in a band of musicians that also included Mirza's friend Seyed, Hanareh
left Mirza 23 years ago to marry Seyed in Iraqi Kurdistan and continue to
sing there. Now, Mirza has received word that she is singing for the Kurdish
refugees on the Iran-Iraq border and is in need of his help. To persuade his
reluctant sons to accompany him on this perilous journey, he tells them he
really did not divorce Hanareh but only claimed he did to save the family's
honor. Barat, the older son, and Audeh, the younger son who says he needs
to stay home to take care of his seven wives and thirteen daughters, grudgingly
agree to go. Their misadventures are skillfully woven together with humor
and heartbreak as the trio make their way into ever more desolate terrain.
From the director of A Time For Drunken Horses.
SWING
France, 2002, 90 min.
In French and Manouche with English subtitles
Official Selection Berlin Film Festival 2003
Northwest Premiere
Director: Tony Gatlif
Producer: Nathalie Duran, Laurent Dusothoit
Writer: Tony Gatlif Camera: Claude Garnier
Editor: Monique Dartonne
Cast: Oscar Copp, Lou Rech, Tchavolo Schmitt, Fabiene Mai, Ben Zimet
From the director of the lyrically intense and crowd pleasing film about
gypsy music, Latcho Drom. Tony Gatlif takes us into another rich landscape
of gypsy culture. During a summer spent living with his grandmother in Alsace,
the very thoughtful 10 year old Max develops a passion for manouche (French
Gypsy) music. He visits the caravans to see if he can barter for a guitar.
Swing, the beautiful and confident young gypsy who befriends Max, takes him
to meet Miraldo, who will teach him to play in exchange for his reading and
writing skills. Max falls into the lives of his new friends, giddy with the
thrill of the first tingling of love, the magic of their musical nights and
the astonishing freedom of their lives. A tender and visually rich film that
sweeps through the country on the heels of two beautiful children. Appropriate
for older children, subtitles.
Preceded by:
TERMINAL BAR
USA, 2002, 22:22 min
Director/Editor: Stefan Nadelman
Winner Grand Jury Prize Best Short Sundance Film Festival 2003
Over 10 years of bartending managing at the Terminal Bar, Sheldon Nadelman
photographed the clientele (over 2500 portraits) and the activity inside and
outside the bar.
THE BURIAL SOCIETY
Canada, 2002, 95 min.
Winner Canada Screenwriters Award, Vancouver International Film Festival 2002
Director: Nicholas Racz
Producer: Richard Baumgartel, Howard Dancyger
DP: Danny Nowack, C.S.C.
Editor: Jeremy Presner
Cast: Rob LaBelle, Jan Rubes, Allen Rich, Bill Meilen, David Paymer,
Seymour Cassel
Black comedy's least likely criminal, Sheldon Kasner is a man of quiet desperation,
working as a loan manager at the Hebrew National Bank, where he's under-appreciated
and overworked. In an effort to surpass the limitations of his mundane life,
he is one day drawn into the underworld of money laundering in a desperate
attempt to overcome his mediocre existence. Unfortunately for Sheldon, events
don't unfold as he expects, and some missing money has him begging for his
life as he's dangled from a bridge in the opening sequence. Forced to consider
his strategy, he concocts an elaborate plan involving the Chevrah Kadisha
(burial society), devout Jewish men who prepare dead bodies for burial. Their
quiet anonymous nature is perfectly suited to Sheldon's plan to disappear.
He offers his services to the burial society, who have been looking for someone
to carry on their fading tradition. But nothing is as it seems as the old
men teach him the ritualistic ways of the Chevrah Kadisha. A plot-twisting
thriller with a documentary-like view of an ancient tradition.
WHAT ALICE FOUND
USA, 2003, 96 min.
Northwest Premiere
Special Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival 2003
Director/Writer: A. Dean Bell
Producer/Cinematographer: Richard Connors
Editor: Chris Houghton
Cast: Judith Ivey, Bill Raymond, Emily Grace, Michael Maronna, Justin
Parkinson, David Rose
On the highway, it's easy to get lost.
The film begins as 18 year-old Alice (Emily Grace) slips out of her cold
New Hampshire town, driving south to join her friend Julie in Florida. When
Alice's car breaks down and the money she had hidden under the seat disappears,
a retired, middle-aged couple in a motor home, Sandra and Bill (Ivey and Bill
Raymond), come to her assistance. Sandra is a fun, bawdy southern belle who
takes Alice in like her own daughter, while Alice happily accepts this surrogate
family and the luxury she finds herself traveling in. But as it becomes clear
how Sandra and Bill earn a living (Bill calls his RV the Honey Bunny Wagon
on his CB Radio), Alice is faced with a difficult choice.
Ivey's compelling portrayal of Sandra renders a fine line between the character's
self-awareness and lack thereof: she is either a monster or a saint, but either
way she's accepted who she is, and what's more, she makes us understand why.
A. Dean Bell's screenplay and direction present these complex characters with
sympathy and compassion in a narrative that thwarts expectations.
Preceded by:
EASY STREET
Ireland, 2003, 11 min.
Director: Shane Conaty
How far will Vincent and his lads go to get to Easy Street? As intense and
complex an 11 minute drama as you're ever likely to see.
NOSEY PARKER
With Director John O'Brien
USA, 2003, 105 min
Jury Prize for Direction Nantucket Film Festival
Northwest Premiere
Director/Writer/Producer/Editor: John O'Brien
DP: David Parry
Cast: George Lyford, Natalie Picoe, Richard Snee
Sheep farmer, justice of the peace, filmmaker and lifelong resident of Tunbridge,Vermont,
John O'Brien has crafted a love letter to the folks and quirky ways of his
small town. Sick of suburbia, Natalie (Natalie Picoe) and Richard (Richard
Snee) move to rural Vermont where they build a trophy house in an effort to
rejuvenate their marriage. The construction of this dream house leads to an
unannounced visit from the local tax assessors, known in Vermont as listers.
Over the course of two inspections Natalie and one of the listers, George,
strike up a friendship and Natalie hires George to do some chores around the
place. As their friendship grows the strains in the marriage become more apparent,
and George is just nosey enough to get details. Some pretty funny stuff develops
as the locals go about making their own decisions regarding what is going
on up in the big house.
With largely improvised dialogue and actors mainly drawn from his community,
O'Brien has struck gold with a charming and sweet natured film that I hear
distributors feel is too regional to have broad appeal. Hardly; this film
rings with charm and warmth I can't imagine being lost on anyone. Family friendly
film.
HUKKLE
Hungary 2002, 75 min.
Director/Writer: György Pálfi
Producer: András Böhm, Csaba Bereczki
Cinematographer: Gergely Pohárnok
Editor: Gábor Marinkás
Music: Balázs Barna, Samu Gryllus
Cast: Ferenc Bandi, Józsefmé Rácz, József Forkas,
Ferenc Nagy, Jánosné Nagy.
With brilliant close-ups of what's going on underground, underwater and
in the fields, this dialogue-free thriller bears more than a passing resemblance
to a National Geographic special. In the idyllic Hungarian countryside an
old man sits hiccuping on a bench as bees buzz, grass grows and flowers bloom,
but something is amiss. This remarkable debut from 27 year-old director György
Pálfi is full of surprises and the gentle hum of villagers going about
their everyday lives. The finely tuned images are impeccable, and the wordless
world a marvel of surreal mystery and humor.
Preceded by:
OCULARIST
USA, 2002, 9 min
Director/Editor: Vance Malone
A fascinating look at artist Fred Hawin's work as a creator of artificial
eyes.
SEXLESS
USA, 2003, 102 min
Jury and Audience Awards SXSW Film Festival 2003
Director/Writer: Alex Holdridge
Producer/DP: Brian McCormick
Editor: Sandra Adair
Cast: Alex Holdridge, Brian McGuire, Kelly Dealyn, Camille Chen, Michelle
Fairbanks, Scoot McNairy, Kierstin Cunnington, Babs George, Kerry Glamsch,
Paul Norton.
Writer, director and star Alex Holdridge takes a pithy and very funny look
at the self indulgent love lives of twenty-somethings whose every decision
in life seems to have been negotiable. Karen (Kelly Dealyn) and Andy (Holdridge)
are having an anti-marriage party to celebrate the fact that they have finally
decided to tie the knot, but not before taking a one month break (read: opportunity
to fool around). Clarissa (Camille Chen) and Andy's best friend, Robert (Brian
McGuire) throw caution to the wind and get together for two weeks before she
goes off to graduate school. A lot of sex happens and a lot of feelings get
hurt but they all learn something along the way. The youthful Austin based
crew has a fresh faced excitement in a film that looks like it was as fun
to make as it is to watch.
Preceded by:
eRATicate
USA, 2002, 9 min.
Director/Editor/Writer: Ross Williams
A new boyfriend comes between a girl and her pet rats.
THE OLIVE HARVEST
Mousem Al Zaytoun
Palestine/USA, 2003, 94 min
Arabic with English subtitles
Northwest Premiere
Director/Screen/Writer: Hanna Elias
Producer: Kamran Elahian
Camera: Ofer Harari
Editor: Sabine Jamil
Music: Mark Adler
Cast: Muhamad Bacri, Raeda Adon, Taher Najeb, Mazen Saade
Writer and director Hanna Elias tells a complex love story in his first
feature film amidst the backdrop of settlements, road blocks and the intoxicating
landscapes in Palestine. Upon his release from an Israeli prison, older brother
Mazen ( Mazen Saade ) develops romantic feelings for his childhood friend,
Raeda ( Raeda Adun ). However, Raeda is already engaged to Mazen's younger
brother Taher ( Taher Najeeb ), their love kept a secret because of the tradition
for the eldest brother to wed first. The two brothers become estranged soon
after reuniting as they struggle to win over Raeda's heart. All three of the
central characters find themselves painfully torn between conflicting choices
in this tale of love and loyalty to family, to those that they love, and to
the land that they are connected to.
MY VOICE
Nha Fala
Portugal/France/Luxembourg, 2002, 90 min.
In French and Capverdian with English subtitles
Northwest Premiere
Director: Flora Gomes
Producer: Jani Thiltges, Luís Galvao Teles, Serge Zeitoun
Writer: Flora Gomes, Franck Moisnard
Camera: Edgar Moura
Editor: Dominique Paris
Music: Manu Dibango
Cast: Fatou N'Diaye, Jean-Cristophe Dollé, Angela Torres, Bia Gomes,
Jorge Biague
An absolute delight, vibrant colors, knockout musical numbers and an astonishingly
beautiful leading lady; Flora Gomes's musical comedy celebrates singing as
a symbol of freedom. Before leaving for Europe to pursue her studies, Vita,
a young African woman, promises her mother that she will never sing. A family
legend has it that any woman in her family who sings is cursed and will die.
In Paris, Vita meets Pierre, a young musician and falls in love. Full of joy,
she lets herself go and sings. Vita is horrified by what she has done, but
Pierre, overwhelmed by her talent, convinces her to make a record. The record
is an overnight success. Fearing her mother will learn that she broke her
promise, Vita decides to return home to die. Aided by Pierre, Vita stages
her own death and resurrection, showing family and friends that anything is
possible, if you have the courage to dare.
Oracle
ANIMATION SHORTS
USA/CANADA, 2003
A lively and refreshing look at animation.
FILMMAKING BY THE SEAT OF THE PANTS-7 DAY FILMMAKING WORKSHOP
Teenagers' & Women's Films:
With 7 days to write, shoot, edit and score a film, two groups of Port Townsend
and Clallam Country teenagers and a third group of PT women got an intense
hands-on experience in the joys, tedium and chaotic world of filmmaking. Guided
by screenwriter Nancy Alvarez and documentary filmmaker Dana Schuerholz, the
students have the last word on all editorial and content decisions. Some members
of the groups will be on hand to answer questions about the program.
The Teenagers' films will be screened with PT High School student Dylan
Quarles' short thriller, LES NUITS DES VAMPIRES.
OUR HOUSE
USA, 2002, 83 min.
Grand Jury Prize No Dance Film Festival 2003
Director: Sevan Matossian
Co-director: Greg Shields
Producers: Sevan Mattossian, Bessie Katerina Morris, Greg Shields
The daily drama and humanity that unfold in this documentary about an assisted
living facility for disabled adults is raw, honest and totally engrossing.
With minimal narration and an unflinching eye, the director portrays the struggle
of Laura, who suffers from Tourette's and fetal alcohol syndrome, as she tries
to get a job and solve her problems with witchcraft. Tim, who was born with
cerebral palsy and now battles alcoholism, must face the possibility of finding
a new home and Tim S., with Down's Syndrome, struggles with aggression. Filmed
over one year by the director who lives and works at the home, the documentary
strings together a riveting mosaic of humor and pain.
TRIBAL JOURNEY - CELEBRATING OUR ANCESTORS
USA, 2003, 66 min
Scott Macklin will attend
Director/Producer/Editor: Scott Macklin
Traveling from Vancouver Island, Puget Sound and Washington's Olympic Coast,
TRIBAL JOURNEY documents the voyage of more than 20 ocean-going dugout canoes
representing 25 Native American and First Nations from the US and Canada.
TWO ENVIRONMENTALIST-SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
THE WARMTH OF LOVE
Canada, 2001, 33 min
Director/Producer/Writer: Terry Jacks
A loving portrait of 87 year old environmental activist Sophie Thomas, a member
of Saik'uz First Naiton, who travels all over Canada sharing her vast knowledge
of traditional medicine. Located near Vanderhoof, BC, Saik'uz are part of
the larger Carrier Nation.
TOXIC GARDENS
USA, 2003, 11 min
Patricia O'Brien will attend.
Director/Producer/Editor: Patricia O'Brien
A toxic plume is traveling under Georgetown homes. Community leaders in this
historic Seattle neighborhood are struggling to clean up a poisonous industrial
legacy.
NEVER TRUST A SERIAL KILLER
USA, 2002, 84 min
Best First Feature Houston World Fest 2002
Director/Editor: Juan Carlos Garza
Producer: Juan Carlos Garza, Daniel Villarreal
Writers: Juan Carlos Garza, Daniel Villareal
Cast: Del Zamora, Cris Franco, Valente Rodriquez, Richard Prado
Straight-laced Latino yuppie, Bobby, has his whole world turned upside when
an old college buddy turns up on his doorstep with a wild mission to capture
Satan's Hand, a notorious serial killer who is terrorizing Southern California.
Lots of silly humor in Garza's first feature.
Preceded by:
THE DAY I TRIED TO LIVE
USA, 2003, 12 min
Director: Sam Goldberg
Wes decided to become a better man by losing his insecurities and seizing
the day; he just chose the wrong day.
OUR NORTHWEST-TWO SHORT DOCUMENTARIES
THE LIVING COAST
USA, 1998, 50 min
Ian Hinkle will attend.
Director/Producer/Cinematographer: Ian Hinkle
Three friends take a kayak journey down the Inside Passage. Along with the
natural beauty the trio discover the rugged individuals who inhabit this wonderful
place.
THE RED PINES
USA, 2003, 12 min
Lucy Ostrander will attend.
Director/Producer: Lucy Ostrander
RED PINES tells the story of the struggle of the Japanese-Americans on Bainbridge
Island and the legacy of their culture in the present day community.
FTW-FOUR SHORT FILMS
1. LET'S FACE IT
USA, 2003, 26 min
Most Inspirational Film Santa Cruz Film Festival 2003
Director: Wendy Oser
Producer: Wendy Oser, Joan Levinson, Beverly Spencer
Editor: Wendy Oser, Elaine Trotter
Seven midlife women discover their ambivalence, vanity, anxiety, joy and
acceptance of growing older through honest and funny revelations with their
friends.
2. SIGNED, STAMPED, DATED: The Story of the Typing Explosion
USA, 2002, 29 min.
Director/Writer/Producer: Gina Mainwal
Editor/DP/Sound: Timothy Demmon
This spirited documentary profiles the amazing success of three women who
type poems on demand (on vintage typewriters) wearing 60's secretarial uniforms
and forcing their audience to follow the rules.
3. JUST A LITTLE SCARED
USA, 2003, 6 min.
Director/Producer/Editor: Jane Champion
A fantasy portrait of a Port Townsend sidewalk artist.
4. WOMEN'S SEAT OF THE PANTS FILM
MY TERRORIST
Israel, 2002, 58 min.
Winner Special Jury Prize Jerusalem International Film Festival
Director: Yulie Cohen Gerstel
Editor: Boaz Lion
Cinematographer: Oded Kirma, Moshe Gerstel, Yulie Cohen Gerstel
In August 1978 Yulie Cohen Gerstel was a flight attendant on an El Al flight
when she first encountered Fahad Mihyi as he pointed a machine gun at her
in a terrorist attack. Twenty-three years later, in an effort to help break
the cycle of violence, Yulie considers writing a letter in support of Mihyi's
parole, thus thrusting herself into the turbulent world of Middle East politics.
MY TERRORIST asks hard questions about the meaning of forgiveness and hate
and the possibility of reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis.
Outdoor Cinema
THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY
Botswana, 1980, 109 min.
Director/Producer: Jamie Uys
Music: John Boshoff
Cast: N!xau, Marius Weyer, Sandra Prinsloo
When a coke bottle falls from the sky in a remote desert of Africa, Bushman
Xixi (N!xau) finds it the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. It becomes
a labor saving device and it can also make music. Finally it is recognized
as an evil thing as the competition among the clan for it creates much dissent.
For the source of the conflict to be removed the bottle must be returned to
the Gods by throwing it over the edge of the earth. On the journey Xi encounters
a zoolologist studying elephant dung, guerrillas intent on overthrowing a
banana republic, school children, police and courts. In memory of N!xau, who
passed away in June while out gathering firewood.
ROMAN HOLIDAY
USA, 1953, 118 min.
Director/Producer: William Wyler
Writers: Dalton Trumbo (story) Ian McLellan Hunter (screenplay)
Cinematographer: Henri Alekan, Franz Planer
Editor: Robert Swink,
Costumes: Edith Head
Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert,
In memory of Gregory Peck, who passed away in July.
Princess Anya (Audrey Hepburn) is the epitome of charm and elegance as a
princess on a tour of Europe. While in the public eye she maintains an impeccable
facade, but the toil of endless engagements and no time for herself is slowly
driving her to despair. She decides to escape for a night on the town, but
unfortunately she has been given an injection to sleep. Unable to stay awake,
she is rescued from a night spent sleeping on a wall by the begrudging Joe
Bradley (Gregory Peck). It isn't until the light of morning that journalist
Joe realizes who this beautiful girl is. Like any good newspaperman he knows
a good story when he sees one and decides to take the princess on a tour of
Rome while keeping his photographer (Eddie Albert) in the shadows. Princess
Anya treats all these activities with wide-eyed delight, steadily eroding
the rather grumpy Bradley until romance begins to blossom. Filmed entirely
in Rome, the location is as beautiful as the stars.
BEST OF THE FEST
Sunday 7:30 Turner Classic Movies and DishNet's Taylor Street Outdoor Theater
We will show an audience favorite from the regular festival line-up outdoors
on Sunday.
