Citizen Screen is a monthly column dedicated to film and film-related topics, sourced and curated by Port Townsend Film Festival. This month’s column is by Ricardo Gomez, a professor of information science at the University of Washington who has lived in Port Townsend since 2023.
Returning to the Port Townsend Film Festival for a second year, I experienced the event through an entirely new lens. The festival itself maybe hadn’t changed dramatically, but my understanding of its essence certainly had.
Last year, after having just moved to town, I approached the festival with a singular focus: to watch as many films as possible. I was alone, and I filled my days with four screenings each day, believing this marathon viewing was the core of the festival experience. How mistaken I was…