What began as a successful experiment last year has become an annual tradition this year, as the Port Townsend Film Festival’s free “Backyard Movies at the Fort” return to Fort Worden State Park this August.

The Port Townsend Film Festival is partnering with Fort Worden Hospitality and the Friends of Fort Worden to bring back this popular outdoor community event, which PTFF Marketing and Development Director Keith Hitchcock touted as combining “our beautiful parklands” with “two free family-friendly movies under the stars.”

Hitchcock noted that the films would have the “magnificent backdrop” of Admiralty Inlet, with its “evergreen trees and historic architecture,” while PTFF Executive Director Danielle McClelland presented this year’s “Backyard Movies” as a continuation of the film festival’s “Women and Film” mini-festival of the past several years.

McClelland said that the Port Townsend Film Festival is integrating “Women and Film” into both the “Backyard Movies” and its main film festival in the fall.

“We wanted to showcase fun, upbeat, family-oriented films, suitable for kids aged 10-14, which would feature amazingly inspiring young people, and particularly young women, expressing themselves and triumphing over considerable odds,” McClelland said. “This year’s two ‘Backyard Movies’ should leave audiences on their feet cheering, regardless of their gender.”

McClelland recalled that “Backyard Movies at the Fort” was borne out of the idea that Fort Worden is Port Townsend’s “backyard” and “favorite park.”

While each of last year’s screenings drew about 100 people per show, which started between 9-9:30 p.m. in July, she acknowledged that this year’s “Backyard Movies” are starting earlier in the evening, but later in the season.

By kicking off the screenings at 8:30 p.m. on the Saturdays of Aug. 10 and 17, McClelland hopes to attract around 200 people per screening, since it shouldn’t be as cold as last year’s July was, although she still advised prospective attendees to bring warm clothing and picnic blankets with their lounge chairs, in case the evenings’ temperatures dip.

“This is the kind of communal cultural experience that creates lasting memories, and strengthens the bonds between neighbors and friends,” McClelland said. “There’s something very powerful about storytelling under the open night sky. This was true even centuries before motion pictures were invented.”

Aug. 10 showcases 2002’s “Whale Rider,” rated PG-13 and directed Niki by Caro, which lasts 101 minutes and centers on Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, who believes she’s destined to be the new chief, even though her grandfather, Koro, is bound by tradition to pick a male leader.

Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him, and a thousand years of tradition, to fulfill her destiny.

Aug. 17 showcases 2006’s “Akeelah and the Bee,” rated PG and directed by Doug Atchison, which lasts 112 minutes and centers on Akeelah, an 11-year-old girl living in South Los Angeles, who discovers she has a talent for spelling, which she hopes will take her to the National Spelling Bee.

Despite her mother’s objections, Akeelah doesn’t give up on her goal, and finds help from a mysterious teacher, along with overwhelming support from her community.

“Backyard Movies at the Fort” are set to be screened at Littlefield Green, next to the McCurdy Pavilion, at Fort Worden State Park.

Admission to the films is free, while a selection of snacks and beverages, including adult options, will be available for purchase.

For more information, visit ptfilm.org/free-summer-movies online.