Films & Schedules - Shorts

For 34 years, the Northwest Film Center's annual Young People's Film Festival has celebrated the next generation of regional filmmakers—children and teens in grades K-12 from throughout the Northwest—by showcasing their work and circulating it around the region. This year we've divided the winners into two programs, today's focused on the work of teens ages 13-19. Please join us for this fun and entertaining program of shorts, animation, and documentaries selected for their originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and conviction in investigation of subject matter.

For 34 years, the Northwest Film Center's annual Young People's Film Festival has celebrated the next generation of regional filmmakers—children and teens in grades K-12 from throughout the Northwest—by showcasing their work and circulating it around the region. This year we've divided the winners into two programs, today's focused on the work of teens ages 13-19. Please join us for this fun and entertaining program of shorts, animation, and documentaries selected for their originality, artistic merit, technical achievement, and conviction in investigation of subject matter.

Generous thanks to this year’s jury panel of professionals, Lori Damiano, Janet McIntyre, and Tom Olsen, Jr., who will be present at the screening and at the panel discussion and reception following the program.

FREE

Whitsell Auditorium     90 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Documentary, Narrative, Shorts.

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THE RETURN OF THE NOSE

DIRECTOR: MONICA KAMIN (ARTS AND COMMUNICATION MAGNET ACADEMY) - (BEAVERTON)

(ANI) How the Sphinx finds its nose.

4 Minutes    

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HENRY

DIRECTOR: AMELIA ELIZALDE, SHERIDAN KOEHLER, LEVI FRIEDMAN, SEAN HENDRICKS (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(DOC) An uncensored disagreement between art and critique.

7 Minutes    

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SPACESHIP: THE MOVIE

DIRECTOR: CORBIN COLEMAN (ARTS AND COMMUNICATION MAGNET ACADEMY) - (BEAVERTON)

(ANI) An alien conspiracy makes use of trap doors and marshmallows.

4 Minutes    

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REFLECTION

DIRECTOR: BLAIR SCOTT, SHERIDAN KOEHLER (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(NAR) A Hitchcockian exploration of the space between dreams where morality confronts human nature.

6 Minutes    

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MOHAWK MOE

DIRECTOR: AXEL KOZBER, AIDEN COWNE - (BEAVERTON)

(ANI) A lo-fi epic drama with pyrotechnics!

5 Minutes    

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ANTI-SMOKING PSA

DIRECTOR: HUNTER SMITH, GIORDAN BOMANO (WHITMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(PSA) The lungs do the talking in this punch at nicotine.

1 Minutes    

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SIGNS

DIRECTOR: RIKKE HEINECKE, TONY MEYER, ELIZABETH O’LAUGHLIN (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(NAR) Hope is delivered in serendipity, buoyed by random acts of strangers.

5 Minutes    

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BAR INK

DIRECTOR: SPENCER MILLER, GEORGIA PECK, JUSTIN SMITH-MERCADO, ROBYN COCHRANE (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(DOC) A family story of delinquency, tattoos, and redemption.

6 Minutes    

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SLEEPING LESSONS

DIRECTOR: KEVIN GILGAN, GRANT LEWIS, ZACHARY JONES (THE CENTER FOR ADVANCED LEARNING) - (GRESHAM)

(MV) Classic mad scientist meets cardboard and a tin can.

4 Minutes    

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SMELL THE ROSES

DIRECTOR: NATHANIAL SOLUM, BRADLY TUCKER (WHITMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL) - (SEATTLE)

(NAR) A meditation on going without, and taking time to smell the roses.

1 Minutes    

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THE MILLION-DOLLAR WATCH

DIRECTOR: JOSEPH YAO, JOSHUA YAO, JONATHAN YAO, ELAINE YAO - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) The story of a thief, a henchman, and a young girl, and about the time they went to the zoo.

6 Minutes    

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BECOMING CEPHALOPOD

DIRECTOR: KATHERINE NILSEN, REBECCA RAMSEY, ARIEL AMAN (REEL GRRLS) - (SEATTLE)

(NAR) Becoming oneself, in spite of everything.

6 Minutes    

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BORDERLESS SKY

DIRECTOR: GWYN MARTIN-MORRIS, SAHAR SHAKERI, EMMA MARMOR, CAITLIN GAYLORD (REEL GRRLS) - (SEATTLE)

(DOC) A glimpse into the struggles living within three individual journeys from Iran to the USA.

8 Minutes    

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PULP

DIRECTOR: MICHAEL LIPTON - (LAKE OSWEGO)

(ANI) Questioning violence and the culture of boxing.

1 Minutes    

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STICKS

DIRECTOR: DENNIS NOACK, LINCOLN WEBB - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) Raymond Chandler meets The Coen Brothers.

8 Minutes    

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BIOGRAPHY OF A RUNAWAY (HONORABLE MENTION)

DIRECTOR: NATE OLIVER, JAKE MATOS - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) When things look bad, but only for a moment.

Preceding tonight’s screening, the 2011 Oregon Media Arts Fellowship will be awarded.

Preceding tonight’s screening, the 2011 Oregon Media Arts Fellowship will be awarded.

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Animation, Music, Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, Shorts.

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FROG

DIRECTOR: AUSTIN ANDREWS - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) A relationship comes into focus and then back out again all in one long take. “Just how the Prince became a Frog."—GD.

15 Minutes    

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POINT NO POINT

DIRECTOR: JENNIFER CAMPBELL - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(EXP) The artist trudges into the Pacific Ocean to become a human lighthouse. “A movie for waders lost in darkness at land’s end.”—GD.

4 Minutes    

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SHUT UP AND RIDE

DIRECTOR: MICHAEL WARD - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) The time has come for two friends to sell their tandem bike. Braking up is hard to do.

9 Minutes    

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CROSSINGS

DIRECTOR: BRIAN LIBBY - (PORTLAND)

(EXP) Frolicsome editing turns Portland’s Fremont Bridge into a roller coaster ride. “Celebrates something I do all the time, going and coming—and like doing, more coming than going.”—GD.

4 Minutes    

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LANDSCAPES

DIRECTOR: LAUREL DEGUTIS - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) “A hymn to the mundane things between people, the in-between times, the lovely lulls.”—GD.

7 Minutes    

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MUMBLES

DIRECTOR: RICK RAXLEN - (VICTORIA)

(ANI) Raxlen’s hand-drawn animation sits in with Oscar Peterson. “An abstract, heartfelt illustration of great music.”—GD.

2 Minutes    

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INTO DARKNESS

DIRECTOR: JOHN WALLER - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) Breathtakingly beautiful and surprisingly suspenseful, this voyage underground reveals the wonders just under the surface. “A compelling adventure that takes away the need to ever pursue such a pastime oneself.”—GD.

15 Minutes    

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DEAR PETER

DIRECTOR: ORLAND NUTT - (PORTLAND)

(EXP) This quick and beguiling tête-à-tête is offered as a musical biography of Peter MacArthur. “The Best of Frittering with a Vengeance Films.”—GD.

2 Minutes    

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THE TRUE BELIEVERS

DIRECTOR: NATHANIEL BENNETT - (MEDFORD)

(NAR) Lukas takes to the woods with his endearing and motley crew to prove the vast government conspiracy that is endangering the Bigfoot. “TRUE BELIEVERS makes you realize once and for all why poor Sasquatch must never be found.”—GD.

25 Minutes    

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Animation, Asian, Music, Queer, Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, Shorts.

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2ND HAND CINEMA

DIRECTOR: AARON BOURGET - (SEATTLE)

(DOC) This retelling of an American classic is a study in audience participation, modern mythology, and the oral tradition.

3 Minutes    

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SHI-SHI-ETKO

DIRECTOR: KATE KROLL - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) The policy of sending First Nation children away to residential school is brought home through a young girl treasuring her last days with her family.

12 Minutes    

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SAVAGE

DIRECTOR: LISA JACKSON - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) A musical take on the First Nation residential school experience. “A beautiful and surprising Ghost Dance.”—GD.

6 Minutes    

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BROOKE & PATTY TALK ABOUT LIFE: PART 7

DIRECTOR: JIM LOWRY - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) Middle-aged friends Brooke and Patty take a shopping break to discuss events regarding the war.

2 Minutes    

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WHO THE HELL IS ROBERT RONNIE BRANAMAN?

DIRECTOR: GUY BORGES, PATRICK ROSENKRANZ - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) Beat generation poet, painter, and film producer Bob Branaman comments on a life spent outrunning fame.

10 Minutes    

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TWO BEDS

DIRECTOR: KANAKO WYNKOOP - (OLYMPIA)

(NAR) A queer doppelganger couple fights the age-old battle of heteronormative monogamy or polyamorous adventure. “Demonstrates both how to survive your family and sit on your own face.”—GD.

8 Minutes    

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COINED

DIRECTOR: ELIJAH M. HASAN - (PORTLAND)

(EXP) The coins and currency of consumerism lead our subject to question his choices.

8 Minutes    

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ROBIER TALKS ABOUT LIFE: PART 28

DIRECTOR: JIM LOWRY - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) “ROBIER TALKS ABOUT LIFE ... in a memorable fashion while looking for someone like Beckett or Caver or Pinget to transcribe it.”—GD.

5 Minutes    

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A MOMENT’S REVERIE

DIRECTOR: TESS MARTIN - (SEATTLE)

(ANI) Letters in a book come alive on the page and trigger an imaginative journey.

10 Minutes    

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HOW EUNICE GOT HER BABY

DIRECTOR: ANA VALINE - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) Young Flo’s thermostat is “cranked up high,” leading her to the wild life that answers the title’s question.

16 Minutes    

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Animation, Middle Eastern, Music, Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, Shorts.

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FATHER SON HOLY SPIRIT

DIRECTOR: STEPHEN FRIEDERICK - (STEILACOOM)

(DOC) The filmmaker recounts the process of losing his religion.

10 Minutes    

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MY VOYAGE TO EGYPT

DIRECTOR: IAN BERRY - (PORTLAND)

A woman moves very slowly through Cairo. “A love letter in search of a ...” —GD.

3 Minutes    

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BEAUTY IN FUNCTION

DIRECTOR: NICOLAS ARMS - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) Luthier Douglas Cox explains the significance of appearance in the practice of traditional violin-making.

3 Minutes    

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THE THOMAS BEALE CIPHER

DIRECTOR: ANDREW S. ALLEN - (SEATTLE)

(ANI) Deliciously atmospheric animation embellishes this noir tale of ciphers and fortunes.

10 Minutes    

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10-YEAR-OLD PIZZA

DIRECTOR: ANDREW ELLMAKER - (PORTLAND)

(NAR) Making babies probably shouldn’t be an extended family affair.

14 Minutes    

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A BUMP WAS A PEARL

DIRECTOR: JOHANNA HIBBARD - (PORTLAND)

(EXP) A meditation on sons and mothers.

3 Minutes    

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OAKS

DIRECTOR: CHARLES WITTENMEIER - (PORTLAND)

(DOC) Musician Ethan Rose finds a new sound with Keith Fortune, organist at Portland’s venerable Oaks Park skating rink.

17 Minutes    

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BLANCO

DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY DAVID ORME - (BOISE)

(NAR) In the throes of caring for her dying mother, a young girl finds adolescence with a new friend.

11 Minutes