Tomorrow!
Festival Kick-Off Event, Pass Sales, and an Earlybird Special!
Join PTFF as we celebrate the 2026 Filmmaker in Residence, H. Nelson Tracey, who is a little more than halfway through a four week stay in Port Townsend, exploring two different scripts that could be set in our lovely seaside town. Nelson will share a little about his unique approach to residencies as community-building moments and tell us more about the scripts he’s been working on.
In addition, we’ll be unveiling the 2026 Port Townsend Film Festival poster, a dynamic collage creation by Loretta Atkins and Ben Bauermeister. Utilizing images from a variety of locations, creative placement, and brilliant color, these long-term PT artists have brought to life the energy of this exciting gathering. In addition to the traditional English language poster, this year also features a Spanish language poster in honor of featured film Native Sons, a documentary about the Chicano rock band, Los Lobos.
Finally, for those in attendance, you can be the first to purchase passes, which officially go on sale June 15. Early bird discounts give you 10% off Festival, 6-Pass, 3-Pass, and Virtual Passes.
Also, for a very special benefit awaits those purchasing a Patron Pass. Patron Passes raise funds for the Peter Simpson Free Cinema Fund, which gives free passes to community members who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend the festival (no questions asked) and supports the passes provided to our volunteers through work-trade. Patron Pass holders receive unlimited access to in-person screenings, presentations, and the virtual festival - plus ALL the parties. Double plus - a special shoutout to Patron Pass holders from the stage before each screening!
And now - Patron Pass holders also receive exclusive Pre-sale ticket access from June 20 -June 22 to the Los Lobos concert at McCurdy Pavilion.
Special announcement!
Los Lobos at Port Townsend Film Festival AND in concert Monday, Sept 28, 7pm at McCurdy Pavilion, Fort Worden.
For all the trailblazing musical acts who’ve emerged from Los Angeles, very few embody the city’s wildly eclectic spirit more wholeheartedly than Los Lobos. Over the last five decades, the East L.A.-bred band has made an indelible mark on music history by exploring an enormous diversity of genres—rock-and-roll and R&B, surf music and soul, mariachi and música norteña, punk rock and country—and building a boldly unpredictable sound all their own.
The numbers are staggering: 100+ gigs a year for five decades running, crossing millions of miles to rock millions of fans. And that’s just at the live shows. In between they’ve recorded 17 studio albums, 7 live LPs, 3 compilations, 2 EPs, 2 DVDs, and contributed 40+ guest appearances on their friends’ recordings—all garnering 4 Grammys, an Austin City Limits Hall of Fame induction, the ALMA Ritchie Valens Pioneer Award, NEA and Hispanic Heritage Foundation Honors, Congressional recognitions, plus countless “Keys to the City” and “Los Lobos Day” celebrations. Quite simply, they are one of the tightest, one of the best, one of the most prolific bands ever. And, amazingly, with the original founding members as the pack the entire time. Unprecedented. As their liner notes put it, quite simply: “Los Lobos still are David Hidalgo, Louie Pérez, Jr., Cesar Rosas, Conrad Lozano, Steve Berlin.”
Los Lobos will be part of a special Q&A with the filmmakers following the screening of Native Sons at 4pm on Sunday, Sept 27 at the American Legion. Tickets to the concert at McCurdy Pavilion go on sale to the public on Tuesday, June 23, at 10am Pacific Time. Pre-sale for Patron Pass holders is available June 20-June 22.
Why upgrade to Patron Pass?
When you purchase a Patron Pass for the September Festival, you support free passes for volunteers and the Peter Simpson free Cinema Fund.
The Peter Simpson Free Cinema Fund allows students, seniors, working families, and individuals, facing economic hardship, to attend festival screenings and events that might otherwise be out of reach. This helps cultivate new audiences for independent film while reinforcing the Port Townsend Film Festival as a welcoming and uplifting event.
Patron Pass Purchaser Bonus! Tickets to the Los Lobos concert at McCurdy Pavilion go on sale to the public on Tuesday, June 23, at 10am Pacific Time. Exclusive Pre-sale for Patron Pass holders is available June 20-June 22.
2026 Poster Artists - Loretta (Libby) Atkins and Ben Bauermeister
Libby has been creatively involved from childhood, starting out as a piano player and including a deep dive into collage work in the early 2000’s when she made over 1,500 collages. This immersion in one specific art form gave her the confidence to call herself an artist, and she credits art with refining her ability to pay attention.
Ben’s formal training began with a fine arts degree from Occidental College and led to a career integrating visual arts, typography, and technology. Throughout his work life he applied his expertise in typography with his creative spirit for innovation. Ben continues to weld, cast, snip, cut, glue, shoot, and mouse his artwork projects forward. “Anyone’s art is about piecing together the things that you’ve experienced, found, or invented along the way and packaging them into a single, hopefully cohesive, expression.”
Citing the fact that the film festival is her family’s favorite festival of the year, Libby approached the poster project as an exploration very much like the adventure that is exploring new films. “I never fail to come away with a new perspective on any number of topics,” she said. Ben enjoyed the challenge as well, saying “I learned that flexibility is the key to success and that the totem pole was a gift to the Northwest Maritime Center from the Jamestown S’Klallam. I discovered that bull kelp are the palm trees of the northwest and that the symbolism of a clock and a moon have about a thousand metaphoric overlaps.”
PTFF is thrilled with the result of their collaboration. Enjoy!
Another clue!
Host a Filmmaker!
We’re currently seeking Homestay Hosts for the September Festival (Sep 24-27) and occasional year-round guest visits. If you have a cottage, ADU, guest apartment, or even a spare room, you could play a direct role in welcoming artists to our community while experiencing the Festival from an entirely new perspective.
Thinking about attending PTFF this September? Volunteers can earn a free pass to the Festival, and now is the perfect time to get involved. Simply create an account below and we’ll follow up with all the info you need to join!