Come laugh on September 18 when Rebel with a Clause plays on San Juan, Lopez, and Shaw Islands

||| FROM ELLEN ROBERTS for FRIDAY HARBOR FILM FESTIVAL |||

Rebel with a Clause, the docu-comedy that was nominated for the 2025 FHFF Audience Choice Award for “Best Explorers & Adventures” Feature Film, screens on Friday, September 18 at 7 PM, simultaneously at the San Juan Island Library in Friday Harbor, the Lopez Island Library, and the Shaw Island Community Center. The film will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with director Brandt Johnson and subject Ellen Jovin. This is a free event. Come out and bring your friends for a humor-filled evening at the Grammar Table.

Rebel with a Clause
One folding table, a homemade sign, and fifty states—Ellen Jovin’s Grammar Table turned sidewalk grammar chats into a nationwide phenomenon. This joyful documentary follows Ellen and filmmaker husband Brandt Johnson across America, where strangers gather to laugh, debate semicolons, and connect. Rebel with a Clause proves that beneath every grammar quibble lies genuine human connection. Come for the grammar—stay for the humanity.

One fall day, Ellen Jovin set up a folding table on a Manhattan sidewalk with a homemade sign that said, “Grammar Table.” Right away, passersby began excitedly asking questions, telling stories, and filing complaints. What happened next is the stuff of grammar legend. Ellen and her filmmaker husband, Brandt Johnson, took the table on the road, visiting all 50 states as Brandt shot the grammar action. Media outlets across the country celebrated the adventures of the Grammar Table in over 100 print, radio, and television stories.

People from every imaginable background visited the table to share a laugh, settle disputes, and talk about their grammar insecurities. These conversations took place in small towns and big cities, by bookstores and coffee shops, on beaches and mountainsides. But this story transcends grammar. It’s the story of an epic quest to bring us all closer together. In a time of extreme social and political division, the Grammar Table is a place of unity and connection. The conversations at the table help answer the question “How can we all get along?”

Ellen’s book Rebel with a Clause: Tales and Tips from a Roving Grammarian (HarperCollins) was a national bestseller in 2022. The paperback came out in May 2025.

Brandt Johnson, Director
Brandt is the producer, director, cinematographer and editor of the new docu-comedy Rebel with a Clause, his feature film directorial debut. He has written, produced, and performed in three plays and a comedy web series. The New York Times praised his “sharp writing” and the New York Daily News raved that his web series “knocks it out of the park.” He is also the author of the book Practical Presentation Skills: Authenticity, Focus & Strength (Hachette, 2019). Brandt co-founded Syntaxis, a New York-based communication skills consulting and training firm. A former investment banker and speechwriter, Brandt has trained executives of major corporations around the world. He is a lifelong athlete and played professional basketball in Europe and on tour against the Harlem Globetrotters. He graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in mathematics and earned an M.B.A. in finance from the NYU Stern School of Business.

FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM GUIDE AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 15 AT FHFF.ORG AND IN PRINT AROUND THE ISLAND
The 2026 series wraps up this month. Come enjoy new films at the October 22-25 Friday Harbor Film Festival! Best with the Fest will begin again in January 2027, showing an extraordinary documentary each month. See you at the movies!

Rebel with a Clause is presented with support from the 2026 Best of the Fest In-kind Sponsor: The Journal of the San Juan Islands and 2026 Best of the Fest Series Presenting Media Sponsor: CascadePBS.