NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Sept. 19.
PORT TOWNSEND — The 6-Pack pass is popular. But then so are the free movies.
And dozens of them — outdoor and indoor screenings, documentaries and features and shorts — are lighting up the town during the film lover’s block party, aka the Port Townsend Film Festival, today through Sunday.
One of the event’s venues is Taylor Street, where an outdoor cinema is set up — giant screen, straw bales for seating — for three free classics, each screening at 7:30 p.m.
First up this evening: the tale of an Irish girl who discovers an island — and her family’s mystical story — in “The Secret of Roan Inish” (1994).
To add to the magic tonight, John Sayles, the celebrated director of “Secret” and the film festival special guest, will personally welcome festival-goers to his movie.
On Saturday night, the free outdoor film is “The Black Stallion” (1979), starring the recently deceased Mickey Rooney, and Sunday night, the third and final outdoor show will be “Annie Hall” (1977), starring Woody Allen and a young, nattily dressed Diane Keaton.
“Annie” was chosen for its groundbreaking traits, said Jan Halliday, the festival’s development director.
Keaton’s fashion sense, coupled with her character’s wit and honesty, were “an eye-opener,” Halliday added.
An eye-popping film will have its festival premiere: “Return of the River,” the Elwha River restoration story, will screen today at 6:30 p.m. at the Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St., and then at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at the Peter Simpson Free Cinema, aka the American Legion Hall at Water and Monroe streets.
Pass-holders and those who buy rush tickets can catch tonight’s showing, while Saturday’s matinee is free — and in an improved environment, Halliday said.
The sound inside the Peter Simpson Free Cinema has been less than pristine in past years, but First Federal and Centrum have provided 48 sound blankets. Port Townsend Sails grommeted them up, and, Halliday promised, they make an audible difference.
“Return of the River” is one among 11 movies and film-shorts programs to screen at the Peter Simpson Free Cinema.
Others include “A Thousand Times Goodnight” starring Juliette Binoche at 3:15 p.m. today and “The Starfish Throwers,” the story of three people’s efforts to feed the poor in India and the United States, tonight at 6:15.
Port Townsend’s Jessica Plumb, co-director with John Gussman of “Return of the River,” is feeling the festival rush.
“We are thrilled,” she said, noting that “Return” coincides with the sighting of chinook near the former site of Glines Canyon Dam. The 210-foot barrier was finally demolished this summer.
The documentary, like the salmon’s resurgence, is “a dream come true,” Plumb said.
Plumb’s and Gussman’s documentary will go on to be the opening-night film at festivals in Bend, Ore., and Friday Harbor on San Juan Island this fall. Still other film festival-goers in Sonoma, Calif., and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will have a chance to see “Return of the River.”
Alongside its 80 movies at six venues, the Port Townsend Film Festival offers panel discussions with filmmakers, post-screening question-and-answer sessions with directors and actors, and other special programs.
For ticket information, visit www.PTFilmfest.com or stop by the festival’s hospitality center at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St., through Sunday.
Outside the free screenings, rush tickets are $12, while hungry movie buffs can go for a festival pass, which includes Port Townsend Film Institute membership and access to the festival library and events through the year.
A 1-Pass costs $35 and covers one film screening; the 6-Pack, at $100, provides admission to six films and can be shared with other moviegoers.
The $185 Festival Pass gets the holder into as many screenings as he or she wants to see. Then there’s the Director Pass for $650, which covers unlimited films and festival party invitations plus “concierge service,” aka no waiting in line.
The festival lives downtown, where parking is limited. A free shuttle bus runs between theaters and the Jefferson Transit Park-and-Ride, 1615 W. Sims Way, and from the Visitor Information Center, 440 12th St.
And the venues are:
■ The Rose Theatre, 235 Taylor St.
■ The Taylor Street Outdoor Cinema, right outside the Rose.
■ The Starlight Room, upstairs at 237 Taylor St.
■ The Peter Simpson Free Cinema, 209 Monroe St.
■ The Northwest Maritime Center, 431 Water St.
■ Key City Playhouse, 419 Washington St.
Movies are screening from 9 a.m. till around midnight all three days of the festival. It’s a chance to immerse yourself in cinema and rub elbows with scores of filmmakers, Halliday said.
“We have staggered the film start times,” the program notes, “to help you see as many films as possible.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
