Films & Schedules - Documentary

(DOC) Seven B.C. filmmakers take on a dozen B.C. artists with visual flair and imagination. Writer Douglas Coupland discusses his career as a visual artist interrupted. Carl Newman discloses his fears as he works on the next New Pornographers album. David Burdeny travels the world taking photographs of iconic cityscapes. Shane Koyczan still can’t find love. Also included are profiles of dancers 605 Collective and Noam Gagnon, classical musicians National Broadcast Orchestra, visual artists Reece Terris and Roy Henry Vickers, author/artist Nick Bantock, architect Omer Arbel, and design studio Organelle. (29 mins.)

FOLLOWED BY

FREEDOM ON THE FENCE

(DOC) Seven B.C. filmmakers take on a dozen B.C. artists with visual flair and imagination. Writer Douglas Coupland discusses his career as a visual artist interrupted. Carl Newman discloses his fears as he works on the next New Pornographers album. David Burdeny travels the world taking photographs of iconic cityscapes. Shane Koyczan still can’t find love. Also included are profiles of dancers 605 Collective and Noam Gagnon, classical musicians National Broadcast Orchestra, visual artists Reece Terris and Roy Henry Vickers, author/artist Nick Bantock, architect Omer Arbel, and design studio Organelle. (29 mins.)

FOLLOWED BY

FREEDOM ON THE FENCE
DIRECTOR: ANDREA MARKS / CORVALLIS, OR
(DOC) From World War II through the fall of Communism, the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities were blanketed with posters announcing opera, theater, film, and other cultural events. The imaginative metaphors, brilliant colors, and powerful visuals put Poland in the forefront of poster art. Inspiring and rich with wondrous images, FREEDOM ON THE FENCE details the evolution of this art form by revealing the unique role posters played in the social, political, and cultural life of Poland, including rare footage of Henryk Tomaszewksi, the undisputed master of the Polish poster. (40 mins.)

Sponsored by the Polish Library Building Association.

Whitsell Auditorium     69 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) From the age of three, Austin knew that his female anatomy did not fit him. In middle school, he changed his name and began to dress as a boy. Today, Austin identifies as a straight man and a member of the Portland queer ASL community. AUSTIN UNBOUND documents this deaf man’s choice to get a double mastectomy, following his journey from Portland to San Francisco for the surgery, his life in his local queer ASL community, and his interactions with family members.

Screening with HEART BREAKS OPEN.

(DOC) From the age of three, Austin knew that his female anatomy did not fit him. In middle school, he changed his name and began to dress as a boy. Today, Austin identifies as a straight man and a member of the Portland queer ASL community. AUSTIN UNBOUND documents this deaf man’s choice to get a double mastectomy, following his journey from Portland to San Francisco for the surgery, his life in his local queer ASL community, and his interactions with family members.

Screening with HEART BREAKS OPEN.

A certified interpreter will be on hand for the introduction and Q&A session.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     43 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) “Images of the once pristine landscape of northern Alberta scarred by industrial development compels us to take environmental action.”—AG

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(DOC) “Images of the once pristine landscape of northern Alberta scarred by industrial development compels us to take environmental action.”—AG

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

LEARN MORE

Whitsell Auditorium     8 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(DOC) Ethan Rose conducts a live performance through synchronized iPods, each providing a performer with a set of distinct instructions that guide their vocalizations and movements through the rooms, stairwells, and alcoves of Portland City Hall. (17 mins.)

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FOLLOWED BY

DRILL
DIRECTOR: JEFFREY RICHARDSON / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) DRILL interweaves two best friends’ journey with a group of Oregon National Guard soldiers during their training for a deployment to Afghanistan. It asks the question: can one prepare for war? As the soldiers train one weekend per month, Bobby and Tony brace for a future just...

(DOC) Ethan Rose conducts a live performance through synchronized iPods, each providing a performer with a set of distinct instructions that guide their vocalizations and movements through the rooms, stairwells, and alcoves of Portland City Hall. (17 mins.)

LEARN MORE

FOLLOWED BY

DRILL
DIRECTOR: JEFFREY RICHARDSON / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) DRILL interweaves two best friends’ journey with a group of Oregon National Guard soldiers during their training for a deployment to Afghanistan. It asks the question: can one prepare for war? As the soldiers train one weekend per month, Bobby and Tony brace for a future just as unimaginable. (31 mins.)

FOLLOWED BY

TREEVERSE
DIRECTOR: JOHN WALLER / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) On March 23, 2011, Brian French and Will Koonijian set off on an unprecedented one-kilometer canopy trek through an old growth Oregon white oak forest. Their journey would involve packing all their equipment and belongings with them, traveling unsupported, and never touching the ground. On a five-day journey marked by predictably unpredictable weather, fatigue, and seemingly impossible gaps between trees, success depended on teamwork, innovation, and a fair bit of luck. (26 mins.)

Whitsell Auditorium     74 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) “This documentary touched my soft spot for another endangered species: the independent bookseller.”—AG

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(DOC) “This documentary touched my soft spot for another endangered species: the independent bookseller.”—AG

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     6 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(DOC) The valley communities of Lewiston and Clarkston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers—where Lewis and Clark camped on their westward journey—used to be, as one resident says, the kind of place where you’d never worry about your kids spending the night out back in sleeping bags. That all changed in 1979 when Kristina White disappeared. Her body was later found butchered and bagged, and that was just the beginning. In less than four years, three young women and one man disappeared. Only two bodies were found, and despite all the cases having one suspect in common,...

(DOC) The valley communities of Lewiston and Clarkston, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers—where Lewis and Clark camped on their westward journey—used to be, as one resident says, the kind of place where you’d never worry about your kids spending the night out back in sleeping bags. That all changed in 1979 when Kristina White disappeared. Her body was later found butchered and bagged, and that was just the beginning. In less than four years, three young women and one man disappeared. Only two bodies were found, and despite all the cases having one suspect in common, the cases have never been solved. This riveting true crime thriller by husband/wife filmmakers Vernon Lott and Jennifer Anderson masterfully unfolds with unexpected, suspenseful twists, as well as with honest and heartbreaking reflections from the family members of the victims.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     53 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) DRILL interweaves two best friends’ journey with a group of Oregon National Guard soldiers during their training for a deployment to Afghanistan. It asks the question: can one prepare for war? As the soldiers train one weekend per month, Bobby and Tony brace for a future just as unimaginable.

Screening follows BETWEEN ROOMS AND VOICES.

(DOC) DRILL interweaves two best friends’ journey with a group of Oregon National Guard soldiers during their training for a deployment to Afghanistan. It asks the question: can one prepare for war? As the soldiers train one weekend per month, Bobby and Tony brace for a future just as unimaginable.

Screening follows BETWEEN ROOMS AND VOICES.

Whitsell Auditorium     31 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) Raw and unflinching, FADED: GIRLS profiles the heartbreak and struggles of four young women battling the allure and grip of binge drinking. Holly skates with the Rose City Rollers, a semi-pro girls’ skating team. She plays hard and parties harder, bouncing from one job to another, including a stint at an X-rated bakery that ended when she broke in after-hours to decorate her friend’s ass—a rather spectacular Barbie doll-themed creation in pink and white icing. Other stories are more serious, such as that of Cassidy, a drama major and honor student, who has vowed to stop drinking after a...

(DOC) Raw and unflinching, FADED: GIRLS profiles the heartbreak and struggles of four young women battling the allure and grip of binge drinking. Holly skates with the Rose City Rollers, a semi-pro girls’ skating team. She plays hard and parties harder, bouncing from one job to another, including a stint at an X-rated bakery that ended when she broke in after-hours to decorate her friend’s ass—a rather spectacular Barbie doll-themed creation in pink and white icing. Other stories are more serious, such as that of Cassidy, a drama major and honor student, who has vowed to stop drinking after a girlfriend is date-raped at a party. (58 mins.)

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PRECEDED BY

TEENS IN DRUG TREATMENT
DIRECTOR: BRIAN LINDSTROM / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) This cinéma vérité documentary follows teens in drug treatment in Laredo, Texas and Pinellas Park, Fla., over the course of a year. (26 mins.)

Whitsell Auditorium     84 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) From World War II through the fall of Communism, the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities were blanketed with posters announcing opera, theater, film, and other cultural events. The imaginative metaphors, brilliant colors, and powerful visuals put Poland in the forefront of poster art. Inspiring and rich with wondrous images, FREEDOM ON THE FENCE details the evolution of this art form by revealing the unique role posters played in the social, political, and cultural life of Poland, including rare footage of Henryk Tomaszewksi, the undisputed master of the Polish poster.

Screening follows 12 TAKES.

(DOC) From World War II through the fall of Communism, the streets of Warsaw and other Polish cities were blanketed with posters announcing opera, theater, film, and other cultural events. The imaginative metaphors, brilliant colors, and powerful visuals put Poland in the forefront of poster art. Inspiring and rich with wondrous images, FREEDOM ON THE FENCE details the evolution of this art form by revealing the unique role posters played in the social, political, and cultural life of Poland, including rare footage of Henryk Tomaszewksi, the undisputed master of the Polish poster.

Screening follows 12 TAKES.

Sponsored by the Polish Library Building Association.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     40 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(NAR) A model queer activist and poet, Jesus (Maximillian Davis) prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on his long-time partner Johnny (Samonte Cruz). Jesus’ world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters), a drag nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery. “A triumph for the...

(NAR) A model queer activist and poet, Jesus (Maximillian Davis) prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on his long-time partner Johnny (Samonte Cruz). Jesus’ world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters), a drag nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery. “A triumph for the LGBT community as it combines prevailing elements of responsibility, intervention, accountability, and heartbreak with an underlying but indubitable message of love.”—Los Angeles Asian Film Festival (81 mins.)

PRECEDED BY

AUSTIN UNBOUND
DIRECTORS: ELIZA GREENWOOD, SELENA STALEY / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) From the age of three, Austin knew that his female anatomy did not fit him. In middle school, he changed his name and began to dress as a boy. Today, Austin identifies as a straight man and a member of the Portland queer ASL community. AUSTIN UNBOUND documents this deaf man’s choice to get a double mastectomy, following his journey from Portland to San Francisco for the surgery, his life in his local queer ASL community, and his interactions with family members. (43 mins.)

Whitsell Auditorium     124 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Narrative.

(DOC) “In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands. Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose, examining both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die...

(DOC) “In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands. Richardson gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose, examining both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.”—Sundance Film Festival

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     107 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) “A lovely story of a man and his airplane home, with striking compositions of fuselage in the forest.”—AG

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(DOC) “A lovely story of a man and his airplane home, with striking compositions of fuselage in the forest.”—AG

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(DOC) In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, scientist, philosopher, and social innovator, predicted that in 80 to 100 years, honeybees would collapse. His prediction has come true with Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees are disappearing in mass numbers from their hives with no clear single explanation. QUEEN OF THE SUN examines the dire global bee crisis through the eyes of biodynamic beekeepers, scientists, farmers, and philosophers. On a pilgrimage around the world, the film unveils 10,000 years of beekeeping, highlighting how our historic and sacred relationship with bees has been lost due to highly mechanized industrial practices.

(DOC) In 1923, Rudolf Steiner, scientist, philosopher, and social innovator, predicted that in 80 to 100 years, honeybees would collapse. His prediction has come true with Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees are disappearing in mass numbers from their hives with no clear single explanation. QUEEN OF THE SUN examines the dire global bee crisis through the eyes of biodynamic beekeepers, scientists, farmers, and philosophers. On a pilgrimage around the world, the film unveils 10,000 years of beekeeping, highlighting how our historic and sacred relationship with bees has been lost due to highly mechanized industrial practices.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     82 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) Brodsky’s new film tells the gripping story of the rescue of pelican “LA 895”—one of the oiled bird victims of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill—by the Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Louisiana. Neither a story that compounds the horrors we already know about our nation’s worst oil disaster nor a treatise on oil production or consumption, SAVING PELICAN 895 is the tale of a single animal and the compassionate people deployed to save him, showing how the process of saving one life restored a degree of humanity for the rest of us.

Screening follows SPOIL.

(DOC) Brodsky’s new film tells the gripping story of the rescue of pelican “LA 895”—one of the oiled bird victims of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill—by the Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Louisiana. Neither a story that compounds the horrors we already know about our nation’s worst oil disaster nor a treatise on oil production or consumption, SAVING PELICAN 895 is the tale of a single animal and the compassionate people deployed to save him, showing how the process of saving one life restored a degree of humanity for the rest of us.

Screening follows SPOIL.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     40 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

TO PURCHASE ALL INCLUSIVE OPENING NIGHT FILM AND PARTY TICKETS, PLEASE SELECT THE $15 FILM AND PARTY OPTION IN THE TICKETING MENU.

TO PURCHASE ALL INCLUSIVE OPENING NIGHT FILM AND PARTY TICKETS, PLEASE SELECT THE $15 FILM AND PARTY OPTION IN THE TICKETING MENU.

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Animation, Documentary, Narrative, Experimental.

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META ABERRATIO

DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY FIRTH - (SEATTLE, WA)

(ANI) “This gorgeous black-and-white animation makes three typewriters and their guts come to life, calling to mind a century of stop-motion animation from Georges Méliès to the Brothers Quay.”—AG

12 Minutes    

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BASIN

DIRECTOR: DAVID GEISS - (VICTORIA, BC)

(DOC) “Images of the once pristine landscape of northern Alberta scarred by industrial development compels us to take environmental action.”—AG

8 Minutes    

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OLD-TIME FILM

DIRECTOR: BARBARA TETENBAUM, MARILYN ZORNADO - (PORTLAND, OR)

(ANI) “A fiddle and some antique engravings make for good times in this short toe-tapper.”—AG

3 Minutes    

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LASZLO LASSU

DIRECTOR: BEN POPP - (PORTLAND, OR)

(ANI) “This masterful cut-paper animation has an Eastern European folk art flare to its lines and narrative.”—AG

4 Minutes    

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MT. PARNASSUS

DIRECTOR: JESSE LARSON, KYLE PARKER - (WILSONVILLE, OR)

(DOC) “A lovely story of a man and his airplane home, with striking compositions of fuselage in the forest.”—AG

4 Minutes    

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WOMAN WAITING

DIRECTOR: ANTOINE BOURGES - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) “This powerful narrative uses minimal dialogue and long takes to depict a middle-aged woman on the edge of homelessness and invisibility.”—AG

15 Minutes    

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STRANDS, A MUSIC VIDEO

DIRECTOR: ROB TYLER - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “A visual celebration of the ghosts of mixtapes past.”—AG

4 Minutes    

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THE SWIMMER

DIRECTOR: SALISE HUGHES - (SEATTLE, WA)

(EXP) “Burt Lancaster from the 1968 film THE SWIMMER free-styling his way through a strange hand-painted landscape, peppered with synchronized swimmers.”—AG

4 Minutes    

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THE BIG SAYONARA

DIRECTOR: DON HAMILTON - (SPOKANE, WA)

(NAR) “Some of the funniest understated dialogue I’ve heard in a short independent film about a former Wall Street employee hitting rock bottom in rural Rosalia, Washington.”—AG

15 Minutes    

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Animation, Documentary, Experimental.

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MOSSGROVE

DIRECTOR: KURTIS HOUGH - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “Gorgeous images of slugs traversing a mossy Oregon landscape—looks like National Geographic on LSD.”—AG

10 Minutes    

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CAMERON’S BOOKS

DIRECTOR: JIN RYU, YI-FAN LU - (PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) “This documentary touched my soft spot for another endangered species: the independent bookseller.”—AG

6 Minutes    

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EYE LINER

DIRECTOR: JOANNA PRIESTLEY - (PORTLAND, OR)

(ANI) “Our capacity for facial recognition in the most basic forms is considered through this whimsical patterned animation.”—AG

4 Minutes    

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WITH YOU

DIRECTOR: JONATHAN MARRS, JOSH FERDASZEWSKI - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “A strange series of conceptual performances by two men in a domestic, suburban setting.”—AG

17 Minutes    

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I AM INTO YOUR FIRE

DIRECTOR: ORLAND NUTT - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “A mind-bending animation in which a coquettish woman pops in and out of a surreal landscape reciting staccato poetry by James Broughton.”—AG

3 Minutes    

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THE GR8 TASK REMAINING B4 US

DIRECTOR: KARL LIND - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “Do we know Abraham Lincoln in any other form than animatronic or wax figure? In this uncanny scenario, an animatronic Abe Lincoln recites the Gettysburg Address in a shopping mall which then folds in behind him.”—AG

2 Minutes    

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MIGHTY TACOMA

DIRECTOR: VANESSA RENWICK - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) “Shot in the active port city of Tacoma, this narration-free meditation complicates one’s feelings about humanity’s monumental feats of engineering and the impact on the natural coastline.”—AG

9 Minutes    

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KOSMOS

DIRECTOR: FANTAVIOUS FRITZ - (PORTLAND, OR)

(NAR) “This film has the playful energy of a surf journey film with exuberant experimental camera work.”—AG

15 Minutes    

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SEXY NOIR

DIRECTOR: BEN POPP - (PORTLAND, OR)

(ANI) “A highly stylized gritty twist on the film noir genre.”—AG

3 Minutes    

(DOC) SPOIL follows the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and the Gitga’at First Nation people of British Columbia in their search for the elusive spirit bear. All white but not albino and rarer than the panda, the spirit bear lives only in the Great Bear Rainforest on the north coast of British Columbia, a place at risk from a proposed oil pipeline. In an effort to oppose the pipeline, the ILCP’s mission is to create images of this rare bear and the unique ecosystem that it relies on. (44 mins.)

FILM REVIEW

FOLLOWED BY

SAVING PELICAN...

(DOC) This cinéma vérité documentary follows teens in drug treatment in Laredo, Texas and Pinellas Park, Fla., over the course of a year.

Screening with FADED: GIRLS + BINGE DRINKING.

(DOC) This cinéma vérité documentary follows teens in drug treatment in Laredo, Texas and Pinellas Park, Fla., over the course of a year.

Screening with FADED: GIRLS + BINGE DRINKING.

LEARN MORE

Whitsell Auditorium     26 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) On March 23, 2011, Brian French and Will Koonijian set off on an unprecedented one-kilometer canopy trek through an old growth Oregon white oak forest. Their journey would involve packing all their equipment and belongings with them, traveling unsupported, and never touching the ground. On a five-day journey marked by predictably unpredictable weather, fatigue, and seemingly impossible gaps between trees, success depended on teamwork, innovation, and a fair bit of luck.

Screening follows BETWEEN ROOMS AND VOICES.

(DOC) On March 23, 2011, Brian French and Will Koonijian set off on an unprecedented one-kilometer canopy trek through an old growth Oregon white oak forest. Their journey would involve packing all their equipment and belongings with them, traveling unsupported, and never touching the ground. On a five-day journey marked by predictably unpredictable weather, fatigue, and seemingly impossible gaps between trees, success depended on teamwork, innovation, and a fair bit of luck.

Screening follows BETWEEN ROOMS AND VOICES.

LEARN MORE

Whitsell Auditorium     26 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.