PORT TOWNSEND — The third and final clue in the 13th annual Port Townsend Film Festival Guess the Guest contest “may well be the key that unlocks our annual mystery,” said film festival officials.
The Port Townsend Film Festival — which will be Sept. 21-23 this year — always hosts a special guest star.
The closely guarded identity of the special guest becomes a guessing game in which the first person to supply the answer gets bragging rights and a picture taken with the star.
The identity of this year’s guest, and the winning entry, will be disclosed next Wednesday, July 11.
The third and last clue is:
“Our Special Guest probably wasn’t weirded out or hopping mad — although filmgoers may have been — when our guest saw a close relative star in this twisted tale.”
The first clue, issued two weeks ago, is:
“Our Special Guest could have been a Kennedy, given these high-level political connections.”
The second clue, which was released last Wednesday, is:
“The favorite movie of one of this Special Guest’s characters could have been ‘Rooster Cogburn.’”
In years past, the festival has hosted many popular stars, including Tony Curtis, Cloris Leachman, Malcolm McDowell, Debra Winger, Dyan Cannon and Buck Henry.
Aside from several public appearances, the guest always screens a movie of his or her choice.
During the contest, Janette Force, executive director of the film festival, refers to the guest as “the sardine” so the name isn’t inadvertently used.
This year’s festival will feature the Northwest premiere of “Go Ganges!” from J.J. Kelley, whose film “Paddle to Seattle” was an audience favorite in 2009, Force said in a statement.
The film documents a trip on the Ganges River in India “using any means possible,” she said.
“Yes, there are kayaks, and there are also sacred cows,” she added.
The trailer for the film can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/7qyxl7w.
Also featured this year will be “Kinyarwanda” and director Alrick Brown, who, as an associate of Goddard College, Brown assisted Rwandan storytellers in capturing the spirit of their nation, Force said.
Accompanying Brown to Port Townsend will be Jessica Markowitz, a Seattle woman who, at age 11, founded Richard’s Rwanda IMPUHWE to support educational opportunities for girls in Rwanda in the rural village of Nyamata.
For more information, visit www.richardsrwanda.org.
Three free movies will be screened outdoors on Taylor Street in downtown Port Townsend.
Festival passes for other films are available online at www.ptfilmfest.com and range from $35 to $185.
There also are volunteer opportunities for people to help run the festival, transport filmmakers or assist with parties.
How to guess
Guesses are accepted by email to info@ptfilmfest.com with “Contest” in the subject line, by hand or by regular mail to the Port Townsend Film Festival office, Mount Baker Block, 211 Taylor St., Suite 32-A, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
Entries must include the guess along with the guesser’s name, mailing address, daytime phone and email address.
For more information, visit www.ptfilmfest.org or phone 360-379-1333.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.