PORT TOWNSEND — The whole room is likely to be rooting for Bruce Dern at the Port Townsend Film Festival’s Oscar party Sunday.
Dern, 77, is the 2012 film festival guest who has been nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for his work in “Nebraska.”
“This year, the Oscar is especially important to Port Townsend because Bruce Dern left Port Townsend and immediately filmed ‘Nebraska,’” Janette Force, Port Townsend Film Institute executive director, has said.
Sunday’s party starts at 3:30 p.m., with a walk on the red carpet, live music, champagne and hors d’oeuvres at the Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St.
A buffet dinner by Silverwater Cafe at 5 p.m. will be followed by fruit and cheese, dessert and chocolate, and a no-host bar.
“For anyone who wants to eat all night, the opportunity will be right there,” Force said.
The big-screen broadcast of the 86th annual Academy Awards will be at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets to the party
Tickets are available online for $55 until 4 p.m. today. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door for $65.
Force expects the event to sell out before Sunday evening. As of Wednesday afternoon, about 90 of the available 125 tickets had been sold.
T.R. Boyce, producer of “The Forgotten Kingdom,” which won Best Narrative Feature at the 2013 film festival, will serve as host for the evening.
Guests are encouraged to dress up, Force said, and it can be any way they want, from a formal tuxedo or gown to pajamas to looking like their favorite movie star or character,
“We hope to see some imaginative costumes,” she said.
“We could have people dress up as [the bedraggled] Bruce Dern in ‘Nebraska,’ but they look like that around here all the time.
“Maybe we’ll see more ‘American Hustle,’” she said, referring to a Best Picture nominee that is set in the disco era of the 1970s.
“People can come in their finest regalia or come in their street clothes. We don’t care,” she said.
“That’s what Port Townsend is all about.”
Auction items
Several items from art to experiences will be auctioned off during the evening.
The silent auction will include such items as private coffee roasting lessons, a getaway to San Francisco and an exclusive tour of Protection Island.
Force said the Oscar party is the film festival’s “only significant fundraiser” and helps pay for its educational programs.
An anonymous donor has pledged to match up to $10,000 of the proceeds from the matching grant. Force hopes the party will raise enough to take full advantage of the grant.
The 2014 Port Townsend Film Festival will be Sept. 19-21.
For more information, phone 360-379-1333 or visit www.ptfilmfest.com.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
