Films & Schedules - OREGON

(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) 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.

(NAR) Abandoned by his mother at a young age, 24-year-old Presley French has grown up immersed in his father’s small town militia group called the Lodge, a secret fraternal organization founded in response to the murder of a girl whose killer went unpunished. Lodge members quietly right local wrongs as they see fit. But when Presley’s uncle takes over as the Lodge’s new leader and forms ties with a radical national militia with an extreme political agenda, things are headed in violent new directions. For Presley, tough family and moral choices are at hand. Set in the deep Northwest woods,...

(NAR) Abandoned by his mother at a young age, 24-year-old Presley French has grown up immersed in his father’s small town militia group called the Lodge, a secret fraternal organization founded in response to the murder of a girl whose killer went unpunished. Lodge members quietly right local wrongs as they see fit. But when Presley’s uncle takes over as the Lodge’s new leader and forms ties with a radical national militia with an extreme political agenda, things are headed in violent new directions. For Presley, tough family and moral choices are at hand. Set in the deep Northwest woods, White’s first feature film is a meditation on the unraveling of the social fabric. The strong cast of new and veteran actors includes one of the film’s executive producers, Tom Berenger.

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Whitsell Auditorium     104 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(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) 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.

(EXP) EMPTY QUARTER is a film about the region of Southeastern Oregon, an area populated by ranching and farming communities in Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties. The region is roughly one-third of Oregon’s landmass yet holds less than two percent of the state’s population. Through a series of stationary shots, recording open landscapes and the activities of local residents, Portland filmmakers LeTourneau and Minty reflect on the character of the region as viewed through its natural areas, industry, various labor processes, resource management, and recreation. The voices of local residents describe the history of pioneer settlement, the social life of...

(EXP) EMPTY QUARTER is a film about the region of Southeastern Oregon, an area populated by ranching and farming communities in Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties. The region is roughly one-third of Oregon’s landmass yet holds less than two percent of the state’s population. Through a series of stationary shots, recording open landscapes and the activities of local residents, Portland filmmakers LeTourneau and Minty reflect on the character of the region as viewed through its natural areas, industry, various labor processes, resource management, and recreation. The voices of local residents describe the history of pioneer settlement, the social life of rural communities, and the struggles of small town economies.

Co-presented with Cinema Project.

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     70 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(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.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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Whitsell Auditorium     2 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) “Joe Haege (31 Knots frontman and part-time Menomena member) stars as preacher Edmund Creffield in Davee’s ambitious debut feature about the turn-of-the-20th-century Corvallis-based cult Bride of Christ Church. Shot on Super-16mm film for a mere $50,000, HOW THE FIRE FELL nails the necessary subtleties of period detail—it never feels like Davee rallied his buddies for a weekend of dress-up—and sustains a vibe of creeping dread throughout, thanks in large part to Scott Ballard’s crepuscular black-and-white photography and a plangent score by Haege and John Askew that recalls the apocalypse aperitifs of A Silver Mt. Zion.”—Willlamette Week

(NAR) “Joe Haege (31 Knots frontman and part-time Menomena member) stars as preacher Edmund Creffield in Davee’s ambitious debut feature about the turn-of-the-20th-century Corvallis-based cult Bride of Christ Church. Shot on Super-16mm film for a mere $50,000, HOW THE FIRE FELL nails the necessary subtleties of period detail—it never feels like Davee rallied his buddies for a weekend of dress-up—and sustains a vibe of creeping dread throughout, thanks in large part to Scott Ballard’s crepuscular black-and-white photography and a plangent score by Haege and John Askew that recalls the apocalypse aperitifs of A Silver Mt. Zion.”—Willlamette Week

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     90 Minutes    

Interests: 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.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     15 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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Whitsell Auditorium     9 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     10 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(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.

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, 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.

(NAR) Enoch (Henry Hopper) is a young man who likes going to strangers’ funerals. Eccentrically morbid and numbed to real engagement, his only friend is Hiroshi (Ryo Kase)—the ghost of a WWII kamikaze pilot—until he meets the beautiful Annabel (Mia Wasikowska). Although a terminal cancer patient, she is a smart, independent spirit and student of nature, and the two misfits form an instant bond. Each, in their own idiosyncratic ways, is coming to terms with the complexities of life, love, and death and must find their own rules. “Annabel and Enoch’s complex and moving journey culminates in their acceptance of...

(NAR) Enoch (Henry Hopper) is a young man who likes going to strangers’ funerals. Eccentrically morbid and numbed to real engagement, his only friend is Hiroshi (Ryo Kase)—the ghost of a WWII kamikaze pilot—until he meets the beautiful Annabel (Mia Wasikowska). Although a terminal cancer patient, she is a smart, independent spirit and student of nature, and the two misfits form an instant bond. Each, in their own idiosyncratic ways, is coming to terms with the complexities of life, love, and death and must find their own rules. “Annabel and Enoch’s complex and moving journey culminates in their acceptance of themselves. The relationships they share with their friends, families, and each other teach them their greatest lessons of all—that every end begets its own kind of rebirth, and love is deathless.”—Cannes Film Festival

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     94 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(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.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(NAR) “Delicately weaving together the lives of three lonely strangers, the story explores the elusiveness of personal fulfillment as McCormick’s characters bump up against the discarded and are forced to confront their own impermanence and need for human connection. Subtle, convincing performances by musicians James Mercer (The Shins) and Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) and lyrical cinematography reveal McCormick’s finely tuned directorial eye. As a silent main character, the city of Portland is the common thread—a reminder that, as bleak as things may seem, in small, unexpected moments around unlikely corners, the possibility for hope and beauty remains. McCormick establishes himself as...

(NAR) “Delicately weaving together the lives of three lonely strangers, the story explores the elusiveness of personal fulfillment as McCormick’s characters bump up against the discarded and are forced to confront their own impermanence and need for human connection. Subtle, convincing performances by musicians James Mercer (The Shins) and Carrie Brownstein (Sleater-Kinney) and lyrical cinematography reveal McCormick’s finely tuned directorial eye. As a silent main character, the city of Portland is the common thread—a reminder that, as bleak as things may seem, in small, unexpected moments around unlikely corners, the possibility for hope and beauty remains. McCormick establishes himself as an insightful storyteller and a bright new talent.”—AFI Film Festival

FILM REVIEW

Whitsell Auditorium     93 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(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...

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(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.

(NAR) Portland front woman (Kleveland) and filmmaker Stephanie Smith charts the fortunes of Portland bartender/rocker Tommy Harrington on a solo, mid-career bid for stardom. With only the vaguest itinerary, few hard bookings, and a just-revealed pregnant ex-girlfriend, Harrington sets out to live the life. “While the shows lived up to the wacky hype imagined—with Tommy playing in cowboy bars, storage lockers, even a party for Mormon missionaries—a different story began to unfold that was becoming more Shakespeare than SPINAL TAP. It became a story about family, identity, and what happens when you really go for your dream.”—Stephanie Smith

(NAR) Portland front woman (Kleveland) and filmmaker Stephanie Smith charts the fortunes of Portland bartender/rocker Tommy Harrington on a solo, mid-career bid for stardom. With only the vaguest itinerary, few hard bookings, and a just-revealed pregnant ex-girlfriend, Harrington sets out to live the life. “While the shows lived up to the wacky hype imagined—with Tommy playing in cowboy bars, storage lockers, even a party for Mormon missionaries—a different story began to unfold that was becoming more Shakespeare than SPINAL TAP. It became a story about family, identity, and what happens when you really go for your dream.”—Stephanie Smith

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Whitsell Auditorium     87 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

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Whitsell Auditorium     17 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.