Films & Schedules - All

(EXP) Ernie Heaton is one of the last two survivors from the transport ship USAT Dorchester. He tells his chilling experience after being torpedoed during WWII.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Ernie Heaton is one of the last two survivors from the transport ship USAT Dorchester. He tells his chilling experience after being torpedoed during WWII.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(EXP) With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     5 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) A woman receives a telephone call from her long-lost brother—reconnecting with the central, though neglected, emotional anchor in her life. Over the span of real-time phone conversation, the two siblings test the strength of a deep, if challenged love. “BUOY is a powerful, deeply engrossing meditation on family, middle class alienation, and love. What begins as a minimalist nod to MY DINNER WITH ANDRE and JEANNE DIELMAN results in a dramatic, emotionally gripping excavation of contemporary life, exquisitely controlled and grounded in its pitch-perfect performances, writing, and direction.”—Todd Haynes (SAFE, FAR FROM HEAVEN, I’M NOT THERE)

(NAR) A woman receives a telephone call from her long-lost brother—reconnecting with the central, though neglected, emotional anchor in her life. Over the span of real-time phone conversation, the two siblings test the strength of a deep, if challenged love. “BUOY is a powerful, deeply engrossing meditation on family, middle class alienation, and love. What begins as a minimalist nod to MY DINNER WITH ANDRE and JEANNE DIELMAN results in a dramatic, emotionally gripping excavation of contemporary life, exquisitely controlled and grounded in its pitch-perfect performances, writing, and direction.”—Todd Haynes (SAFE, FAR FROM HEAVEN, I’M NOT THERE)

Whitsell Auditorium     85 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(DOC) Faced with the threat of encroaching urban development, a fourth generation farming family reflects on its past and confronts an uncertain future.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

 

(DOC) Faced with the threat of encroaching urban development, a fourth generation farming family reflects on its past and confronts an uncertain future.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

 

Whitsell Auditorium     11 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(EXP) A popular tongue twister is set in a sort of cathedral.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(EXP) A popular tongue twister is set in a sort of cathedral.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     1 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(DOC) COAST MODERN features lush and fluid camerawork through some spectacular West Coast modernist homes, as well as insight from some of the most respected names in architecture, including James Steele, Barbara Lamprecht, Ray Kappe, Hernik Bull, Pierluigi Serraino, Michael Folonis, Dion Neutra, Douglas Coupland, John Cava, Barbara Bestor, and legendary photographer Julius Shulman. In the words of architect Arthur Erikson: ‘Honesty was the rallying cry of early modernists and they reduced everything to absolute essentials.’ The film traces the emergence of the modernist movement from its first incarnations in 1922 through to the current day. Featuring interviews with architects...

(DOC) COAST MODERN features lush and fluid camerawork through some spectacular West Coast modernist homes, as well as insight from some of the most respected names in architecture, including James Steele, Barbara Lamprecht, Ray Kappe, Hernik Bull, Pierluigi Serraino, Michael Folonis, Dion Neutra, Douglas Coupland, John Cava, Barbara Bestor, and legendary photographer Julius Shulman. In the words of architect Arthur Erikson: ‘Honesty was the rallying cry of early modernists and they reduced everything to absolute essentials.’ The film traces the emergence of the modernist movement from its first incarnations in 1922 through to the current day. Featuring interviews with architects and cultural critics, including a memorable turn from Douglas Coupland, COAST MODERN pays particularly sharp attention to cultural values embodied in architectural form.”— DOXA Film

Whitsell Auditorium     55 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(EXP) Doupé’s film explores the power structure within a failing Japanese glass factory. Two parallel storylines involving the investigation of a suspected employee and that of a stolen painting converge to reveal an exposition on gender and desire. “A deliberately artificial-looking computer-animated feature set mainly in a Japanese office and filled with hilarious non sequiturs (‘I made miniature versions of giant sandwiches; they are the same size as regular sandwiches’), it sometimes suggests an Adult Swim program in its warped sensibility. But Doupé’s dialogue is much headier than anything on TV, with considerations of gender inequality, modern art, and existentialism...

(EXP) Doupé’s film explores the power structure within a failing Japanese glass factory. Two parallel storylines involving the investigation of a suspected employee and that of a stolen painting converge to reveal an exposition on gender and desire. “A deliberately artificial-looking computer-animated feature set mainly in a Japanese office and filled with hilarious non sequiturs (‘I made miniature versions of giant sandwiches; they are the same size as regular sandwiches’), it sometimes suggests an Adult Swim program in its warped sensibility. But Doupé’s dialogue is much headier than anything on TV, with considerations of gender inequality, modern art, and existentialism peeking through the strange humor. The movie also concludes, daringly, with a 45-minute sex scene during which one of the characters (a strong-willed secretary and art thief named Leena) delivers a stream-of-conscious monologue about everything and nothing.”—Chicago Reader

Whitsell Auditorium     119 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental.

(EXP) Super-8 footage illustrates a mother’s longing words to her grown son.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Super-8 footage illustrates a mother’s longing words to her grown son.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman recognizes her own need to be saved in this mid-century style short.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

 

(NAR) While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman recognizes her own need to be saved in this mid-century style short.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

 

Whitsell Auditorium     7 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(DOC) On October 11, 1923, Ray, Roy, and Hugh d’Autremont held up Train #13 of the Southern Pacific Railroad just outside of Ashland, Ore. Four trainmen were murdered. The brothers were found four years later and sentenced to life in prison, the neo-Old West story capturing the imagination of a public that followed every chapter. Olsen’s detailing of this “last great American train robbery” is told through the eyes of the lawyer who fought for their parole and another documentary filmmaker who struggled to make his own film in 1973.

(DOC) On October 11, 1923, Ray, Roy, and Hugh d’Autremont held up Train #13 of the Southern Pacific Railroad just outside of Ashland, Ore. Four trainmen were murdered. The brothers were found four years later and sentenced to life in prison, the neo-Old West story capturing the imagination of a public that followed every chapter. Olsen’s detailing of this “last great American train robbery” is told through the eyes of the lawyer who fought for their parole and another documentary filmmaker who struggled to make his own film in 1973.

Whitsell Auditorium     55 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(EXP) Orland’s latest open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Orland’s latest open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(EXP) A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(EXP) A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(ANI) This open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet is written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali with wry animation from Priestley.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(ANI) This open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet is written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali with wry animation from Priestley.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(NAR) “Bourges documents the daily routine of a typical pharmacy in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where most clients are on treatments that require taking daily doses of methadone witnessed by the pharmacist. The architecture of the space is as much a character as the population that passes through it, with borders of glass between the street and the pharmacy and again between the pharmacist and her clients. The tension of the situation and the struggles on both sides of the glass are punctuated with moments of good humor and camaraderie.”—Images Festival (47 mins.)

WITH

MEET THE BEETLE
DIRECTOR: BOAZ FRANKEL /...

(NAR) “Bourges documents the daily routine of a typical pharmacy in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where most clients are on treatments that require taking daily doses of methadone witnessed by the pharmacist. The architecture of the space is as much a character as the population that passes through it, with borders of glass between the street and the pharmacy and again between the pharmacist and her clients. The tension of the situation and the struggles on both sides of the glass are punctuated with moments of good humor and camaraderie.”—Images Festival (47 mins.)

WITH

MEET THE BEETLE
DIRECTOR: BOAZ FRANKEL / PORTLAND, OR
(DOC) Down to only three populations in Lincoln, Neb., the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle seems like it’s surely disappearing. Loss of habitat is to blame and developers continue to eye the last remaining pieces of saline wetland. How do you go about saving a tiny insect that we barely understand, and why does it matter? Injected with surprising musical sequences from a children’s theater group, this documentary explores the importance of one almost extinct beetle and its place in the world. (25 mins.)

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Documentary, Narrative.

(EXP) Found footage of Venice is systematically erased while two people who may or may not be Marco Polo and Kublai Khan speak of cities, dreams, and the fragility of memory. Based on text from Italo Calvino’s "Invisible Cities."

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Found footage of Venice is systematically erased while two people who may or may not be Marco Polo and Kublai Khan speak of cities, dreams, and the fragility of memory. Based on text from Italo Calvino’s "Invisible Cities."

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     12 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) At 20 years old, the time has come for RJ to leave his family, his girl, and his home for his two-year mission for the Mormon Church. He travels to a small town in Oregon where he meets Elder Chris Merrill, his assigned constant companion who acclimates him to the rituals and lifestyle of the white shirts, the bicycles, and the street corner proselytizing. Elder Merrill proves a valuable mentor and the two quickly grow close, unleashing jealousies and tension that soon have RJ questioning his religion and finding a truth worth fighting for.

(NAR) At 20 years old, the time has come for RJ to leave his family, his girl, and his home for his two-year mission for the Mormon Church. He travels to a small town in Oregon where he meets Elder Chris Merrill, his assigned constant companion who acclimates him to the rituals and lifestyle of the white shirts, the bicycles, and the street corner proselytizing. Elder Merrill proves a valuable mentor and the two quickly grow close, unleashing jealousies and tension that soon have RJ questioning his religion and finding a truth worth fighting for.

Whitsell Auditorium     115 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(DOC) “In a Ukrainian village, big-hearted, formidable Olga Nenya singlehandedly raises 23 foster children. Sixteen are the biracial offspring of visiting African students and Ukrainian women, who, living in a country of blue-eyed blondes that’s racked with endemic racism, often see no choice but to abandon their babies. Olga reveals herself to be loving and protective but also narrow-minded and controlling. A product of Communist ideology, she favors collective duty over individual freedom. It’s this philosophy that gives the orphans the rich sense of belonging they ache for, as well as cause for rebellion and distrust, in this lyrical, sometimes...

(DOC) “In a Ukrainian village, big-hearted, formidable Olga Nenya singlehandedly raises 23 foster children. Sixteen are the biracial offspring of visiting African students and Ukrainian women, who, living in a country of blue-eyed blondes that’s racked with endemic racism, often see no choice but to abandon their babies. Olga reveals herself to be loving and protective but also narrow-minded and controlling. A product of Communist ideology, she favors collective duty over individual freedom. It’s this philosophy that gives the orphans the rich sense of belonging they ache for, as well as cause for rebellion and distrust, in this lyrical, sometimes gut-wrenching tale about the meaning of ‘Mama,’ ‘family,’ and ‘nation.’”—Sundance Institute

Whitsell Auditorium     85 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(DOC) A quietly powerful journey to the heartland of America, FIELD WORK tells the story of the Swansons, family farmers who stay small in an era of mega-farms. In the last 60 years, technology and economics have reshaped America’s agricultural landscape: the quest for ever-higher yields and the flight of the younger generation have resulted in bigger and bigger farms. FIELD WORK follows Judy and Charlie Swanson and their three grown children through the economic meltdown as they pursue a dream of farming together as one extended family. When son Jeremy purchases his first 80 acres, he plants a stake...

(DOC) A quietly powerful journey to the heartland of America, FIELD WORK tells the story of the Swansons, family farmers who stay small in an era of mega-farms. In the last 60 years, technology and economics have reshaped America’s agricultural landscape: the quest for ever-higher yields and the flight of the younger generation have resulted in bigger and bigger farms. FIELD WORK follows Judy and Charlie Swanson and their three grown children through the economic meltdown as they pursue a dream of farming together as one extended family. When son Jeremy purchases his first 80 acres, he plants a stake in the ground, the likes of which few of his generation will know. Following the family through several seasons, filmmaker John Helde encounters a cast of determined and individualistic characters as he tries to unravel where that American icon—the family farm—is headed in the 21st century.

Whitsell Auditorium     96 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

Watch all of the 2012 Fresh Film winners on our Vimeo channel

Watch all of the 2012 Fresh Film winners on our Vimeo channel

Whitsell Auditorium     100 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, Shorts, Youth.

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A SKETCHY REALITY

DIRECTOR: SYDNEY PALMER & HANNAH SPITZER - (BEAVERTON, OR)

(EXP) Horses, drawing, music, and filmmaking magically combine.

4 Minutes    

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ABDUCTED

DIRECTOR: MICAH MAHAFFEY - (BEND, OR)

(NAR) A couple suddenly find themselves abducted.

3 Minutes    

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DO YOU BELIEVE?

DIRECTOR: ZACHARY MILLIKEN & NICKY LENZEN - (PORTLAND YOUTH DOCUMENTARY CAMP, HOLLYWOOD THEATRE, PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) Experts weigh in on the topic of extraterrestrial life.

7 Minutes    

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LOVE AT FIRST BITE

DIRECTOR: ISAIAH HOBAN HALVORSEN - (911 MEDIA ARTS CENTER, SEATTLE, WA)

(NAR) What happens when a young zombie finds the girl of his dreams.

4 Minutes    

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MY LITTLE BRONY

DIRECTOR: VANN FULFS - (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL, SEATTLE, WA)

(DOC) Inside the burgeoning alternative community of men who love “My Little Pony.”

6 Minutes    

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CELILO FALLS: BENEATH THE SURFACE

DIRECTOR: CASEY HOLZMAN, ADAL MARTINEZ-GUZMAN, KEENAN COLLINS, ZOE HOPKINS, FENN PAIDER, REBECCA JOHNSTON, JORDAN CHARISTON, OMAR LACHINA, BRYNN SEARCY, LUIGI HERNANDEZ, ADRIAN RAMIREZ, RILEY BAUER, & SOPHIA MARBLE - (COLUMBIA CENTER FOR THE ARTS, HOOD RIVER, OR)

(DOC) A Native American perspective as told through animation.

5 Minutes    

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DEEP DOWN

DIRECTOR: ISAIAH HOBAN HALVORSEN, KAILA LAFFERTY, & OONA LOWE - (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL, SEATTLE, WA)

(DOC) Trapped in an ice cave and rescue ensues.

7 Minutes    

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EPILOGUE

DIRECTOR: ALEX FORTMAN - (LAKE OSWEGO, OR)

(NAR) A filmic reinterpretation of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.

2 Minutes    

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TURN ON THE DARK

DIRECTOR: ALEX ANDERSON, ARIEL KAMM-STONE, & BEULAH RANGER - (NORTHWEST DOCUMENTARY EXPLORERS CAMP + OMSI, PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) How light pollution affects animals and human beings alike.

6 Minutes    

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DON’T THROW TRASH IN THE BAY

DIRECTOR: BRANSON LASZLO - (WHEELER, OR)

(PSA) The dangers of littering our bodies of water.

1 Minutes    

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DREAM HOUSE

DIRECTOR: ANA KRAFCHICK - (BALLARD HIGH SCHOOL, SEATTLE, WA)

(NAR) A little girl searches for a more perfect her.

3 Minutes    

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WHO DO I SEE?

DIRECTOR: ASHLEA FRISON - (CALDERA, PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) Searching the many layers of self-identity.

5 Minutes    

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HEART’S LABYRINTH

DIRECTOR: SHANIA KEATING - (CALDERA, REDMOND, OR)

(EXP) A personal history is revealed in poetic terms.

3 Minutes    

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WE KNOW WHERE WE CAME FROM

DIRECTOR: LINDSEY NORDIN, CAELAN HENSLEY, & BROOKE REICHERT - (NORTHWEST DOCUMENTARY + LEWIS & CLARK NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, ASTORIA, OR)

(DOC) The Clatsop-Nehalem-Tillamook people live on.

5 Minutes    

(EXP) Against a backdrop of electrocution, dominance, and scientific precision, curtains blow in open windows, wasps nest in an abandoned refrigerator, eyelashes flutter, and queers congregate.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Against a backdrop of electrocution, dominance, and scientific precision, curtains blow in open windows, wasps nest in an abandoned refrigerator, eyelashes flutter, and queers congregate.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     12 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick’s new film is inspired by—and recreates—a 3,200-mile road trip made in 1958 by four Seattle women who recorded their journey in an elaborate scrapbook of photos, postcards, brochures, and receipts. Fifty years later, McCormick found the scrapbook in a thrift store and, charmed, set out to retrace their route, searching out every stop that the ladies had so lovingly documented five decades earlier. The resulting film juxtaposes the land and landmarks then and now, a double portrait capturing the eternal and the new. “Like McCormick’s other quasi-documentary film projects, THE GREAT NORTHWEST is notable for...

(NAR) Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick’s new film is inspired by—and recreates—a 3,200-mile road trip made in 1958 by four Seattle women who recorded their journey in an elaborate scrapbook of photos, postcards, brochures, and receipts. Fifty years later, McCormick found the scrapbook in a thrift store and, charmed, set out to retrace their route, searching out every stop that the ladies had so lovingly documented five decades earlier. The resulting film juxtaposes the land and landmarks then and now, a double portrait capturing the eternal and the new. “Like McCormick’s other quasi-documentary film projects, THE GREAT NORTHWEST is notable for the sheer visual pleasure that it offers viewers.”—Megan Driscoll, Portlandart.net

Whitsell Auditorium     70 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(DOC) Dr. Linda Hazzard practiced in early 1900s Seattle and watched as more than 40 of her patients starved to death.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

 

(DOC) Dr. Linda Hazzard practiced in early 1900s Seattle and watched as more than 40 of her patients starved to death.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

 

Whitsell Auditorium     8 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(NAR) “Rich Winthrop is a likable if slightly neurotic high school student whose mom is engaged to an effete and personality-deficient man with the last name Licker. Realizing that his life is about to be scarred by rebranding with the name ‘Dick Licker,’ he enlists his smart-aleck friend Chad to devise a plot sabotaging his mother’s marriage. Writer/director Brady Hall takes potty mouth to an Aaron Sorkin-esque level as Rich and Chad exchange barbs slathered in dizzyingly complex references to human anatomy and derogatory putdowns. In the course of executing their despicable plot, they enlist the help of a psychotic...

(NAR) “Rich Winthrop is a likable if slightly neurotic high school student whose mom is engaged to an effete and personality-deficient man with the last name Licker. Realizing that his life is about to be scarred by rebranding with the name ‘Dick Licker,’ he enlists his smart-aleck friend Chad to devise a plot sabotaging his mother’s marriage. Writer/director Brady Hall takes potty mouth to an Aaron Sorkin-esque level as Rich and Chad exchange barbs slathered in dizzyingly complex references to human anatomy and derogatory putdowns. In the course of executing their despicable plot, they enlist the help of a psychotic ex-Special Forces vet and a reprobate lawyer. Embracing and lampooning the archetypal high school teen movie, Hall crafts a laugh-out-loud comedy with a memorable name.”—Local Sightings (75 mins.)

WITH

SEARCHING FOR YELLOW
DIRECTOR: IAN CLARK / LA GRANDE, OR
(NAR) Voted one of Filmmaker Magazine’s Top 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Clark’s latest is “the story of a graffiti artist going through a breakup who uses spray cans to literally paint flowers, making nature his canvas. (Clark was also inspired by the story of Antonioni painting trees white while shooting RED DESERT.) In the ultra-restrained, pared-down YELLOW, Clark’s quiet, lingering shots of Oregon’s sleepy towns and countryside are resonantly, hauntingly lovely, simultaneously intimate and expansive.”—Nick Dawson, Filmmaker Magazine (25 mins.)

Whitsell Auditorium    

Interests: Narrative.

(EXP) Stop-motion and experimental animation techniques explore the themes of evolution, creation, and primal forms of life.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Stop-motion and experimental animation techniques explore the themes of evolution, creation, and primal forms of life.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(NAR) An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     6 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(NAR) Protective of her son and hindered by the language barrier, an Afghan immigrant to Canada is interrogated by the police about a fire her son mistakenly started.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(NAR) Protective of her son and hindered by the language barrier, an Afghan immigrant to Canada is interrogated by the police about a fire her son mistakenly started.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     9 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(DOC) Down to only three populations in Lincoln, Neb., the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle seems like it’s surely disappearing. Loss of habitat is to blame and developers continue to eye the last remaining pieces of saline wetland. How do you go about saving a tiny insect that we barely understand, and why does it matter? Injected with surprising musical sequences from a children’s theater group, this documentary explores the importance of one almost extinct beetle and its place in the world.

Screening with EAST HASTINGS PHARMACY.

(DOC) Down to only three populations in Lincoln, Neb., the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle seems like it’s surely disappearing. Loss of habitat is to blame and developers continue to eye the last remaining pieces of saline wetland. How do you go about saving a tiny insect that we barely understand, and why does it matter? Injected with surprising musical sequences from a children’s theater group, this documentary explores the importance of one almost extinct beetle and its place in the world.

Screening with EAST HASTINGS PHARMACY.

Whitsell Auditorium     25 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

(EXP) A businessman uses a cumbersome, custom walking machine to complete basic tasks.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) A businessman uses a cumbersome, custom walking machine to complete basic tasks.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(DOC) Ms. Pat offers a modern finishing school for urban kids.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(DOC) Ms. Pat offers a modern finishing school for urban kids.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     13 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(NAR) From the near silence and invisibility of late motherhood, a resolute woman attempts to help a young stranger who also finds herself at the fringe of existence.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(NAR) From the near silence and invisibility of late motherhood, a resolute woman attempts to help a young stranger who also finds herself at the fringe of existence.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     12 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(NAR) Two sisters roam the inner-city streets of their neighborhood as they try to escape another stint in the foster care system.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(NAR) Two sisters roam the inner-city streets of their neighborhood as they try to escape another stint in the foster care system.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     15 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(DOC) On November 14, 1962, KGW-TV broadcast the latest in a long line of award-winning public affairs documentaries it produced (Tom Dargan) examining issues central to the region. POLLUTION IN PARADISE, primarily written and narrated (with Richard Ross) by then-broadcast journalist Tom McCall, was a clarion call to arrest the runaway, man-made pollution that was threatening Oregon’s pristine air, rivers, fields, and quality of life held dear. The film was not only a key starting point of the modern environmental movement in Oregon but the beginning of what would later be the hallmark of McCall’s 1967-1975 term as governor: a...

(DOC) On November 14, 1962, KGW-TV broadcast the latest in a long line of award-winning public affairs documentaries it produced (Tom Dargan) examining issues central to the region. POLLUTION IN PARADISE, primarily written and narrated (with Richard Ross) by then-broadcast journalist Tom McCall, was a clarion call to arrest the runaway, man-made pollution that was threatening Oregon’s pristine air, rivers, fields, and quality of life held dear. The film was not only a key starting point of the modern environmental movement in Oregon but the beginning of what would later be the hallmark of McCall’s 1967-1975 term as governor: a deep concern for our physical and social environment manifested in energy awareness and policy, recycling (the Bottle Bill), preservation of public beaches, concern for migrant workers, and collective social responsibility. This statewide look at life in Oregon 50 years ago reveals how much has been accomplished and the critical importance of continuing focus on the preservation of our natural world.

Introduced by Bill Bradbury, council member, Northwest Power & Conservation Council, and former Oregon Secretary of State.

FREE ADMISSION

Whitsell Auditorium     49 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary.

The Cultural Revolution was among the most catastrophic and least understood events of the 20th century. Mao Zedong’s call to “make revolution” was answered by millions of Chinese and one American, Sidney Rittenberg. Arriving as a GI interpreter at the end of World War II, Rittenberg became an active participant in the Chinese Communist Revolution. An intimate of the Party’s leadership, he gained unprecedented power in the government before being betrayed twice and serving a total of 16 years in solitary confinement. This film is an uncompromising account of events all but removed from China’s official history and unknown to most Americans, told by an American who was there. Compelling and starkly honest in his recounting of years in China as an active member of the Communist Party, Rittenberg tells an insider’s story of Maoist China, from the early days of the revolution through to Mao’s death and the imprisonment of the Gang of Four.

Whitsell Auditorium     92 Minutes    

“When newlyweds Meris (Katie O’Grady) and Mitch (John Keyser) move to Portland, Meris does her best to fit in with her new hubby’s old high school clique. The harder she tries, the more painfully obvious it is that Meris just doesn’t belong. But it’s not until the gang succeeds in rekindling an old flame between Mitch and his perfect, upbeat first love (Storm Large) that Meris—tactfully put—loses it. Her life trashed, Meris settles for a job as a candy store clerk in town. There she finds a real friend in rocker Trudy (Oriannna Herrman), who introduces her to the virtues...

“When newlyweds Meris (Katie O’Grady) and Mitch (John Keyser) move to Portland, Meris does her best to fit in with her new hubby’s old high school clique. The harder she tries, the more painfully obvious it is that Meris just doesn’t belong. But it’s not until the gang succeeds in rekindling an old flame between Mitch and his perfect, upbeat first love (Storm Large) that Meris—tactfully put—loses it. Her life trashed, Meris settles for a job as a candy store clerk in town. There she finds a real friend in rocker Trudy (Oriannna Herrman), who introduces her to the virtues of thick black eyeliner and the grimy underworld of the Northwest punk scene. Self-discovery and 1960s Cambodian rock lie just around the bend. O’Grady charmingly inhabits the inner workings of one woman’s quest to be herself even when she’s on track to becoming someone else. At the forefront of low-budget, high-energy regional American indies, Westby pairs subversive cinematic language with a lively soundtrack and imaginative visual compositions to create a black comedy of embarrassments about sticking up for yourself no matter how messy.”—Tribeca Film Festival

Whitsell Auditorium     90 Minutes    

(DOC) Behold the national championship match of Ireland’s oldest and quirkiest sport: road bowling.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(DOC) Behold the national championship match of Ireland’s oldest and quirkiest sport: road bowling.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     10 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(DOC) Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, amateur piano player, and sandwich maker to the homeless, but his true passion is talking about blowjobs.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(DOC) Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, amateur piano player, and sandwich maker to the homeless, but his true passion is talking about blowjobs.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     10 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(NAR) Voted one of Filmmaker Magazine’s Top 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Clark’s latest is “the story of a graffiti artist going through a breakup who uses spray cans to literally paint flowers, making nature his canvas. (Clark was also inspired by the story of Antonioni painting trees white while shooting RED DESERT.) In the ultra-restrained, pared-down YELLOW, Clark’s quiet, lingering shots of Oregon’s sleepy towns and countryside are resonantly, hauntingly lovely, simultaneously intimate and expansive.”—Nick Dawson, Filmmaker Magazine

Screening with HELLO, MY NAME IS DICK LICKER.

(NAR) Voted one of Filmmaker Magazine’s Top 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Clark’s latest is “the story of a graffiti artist going through a breakup who uses spray cans to literally paint flowers, making nature his canvas. (Clark was also inspired by the story of Antonioni painting trees white while shooting RED DESERT.) In the ultra-restrained, pared-down YELLOW, Clark’s quiet, lingering shots of Oregon’s sleepy towns and countryside are resonantly, hauntingly lovely, simultaneously intimate and expansive.”—Nick Dawson, Filmmaker Magazine

Screening with HELLO, MY NAME IS DICK LICKER.

Whitsell Auditorium     25 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

Whitsell Auditorium     78 Minutes    

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

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A TAX ON BUNNY RABBITS

DIRECTOR: NATHANIEL AKIN - (POWELL RIVER, BC)

(ANI) Rabbits are calm; birds are calm; robots are not. When an unfriendly robot shows up on the territory of bunny rabbits, what are the rabbits to do?

2 Minutes    

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PARKDALE

DIRECTOR: LISA JACKSON - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) Two sisters roam the inner-city streets of their neighborhood as they try to escape another stint in the foster care system.

15 Minutes    

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THE SANDWICH NAZI

DIRECTOR: LEWIS BENNETT - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(DOC) Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, amateur piano player, and sandwich maker to the homeless, but his true passion is talking about blowjobs.

10 Minutes    

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DEAR PETER, WOODCHIPS I

DIRECTOR: ORLAND NUTT - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) Orland’s latest open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context.

3 Minutes    

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GOLD MOON, SHARP ARROW

DIRECTOR: MALIC AMALYA, MAX GARNET - (SEATTLE, WA)

(EXP) Against a backdrop of electrocution, dominance, and scientific precision, curtains blow in open windows, wasps nest in an abandoned refrigerator, eyelashes flutter, and queers congregate.

12 Minutes    

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HAZZARD

DIRECTOR: RUTH GREGORY - (LYNNWOOD, WA)

(DOC) Dr. Linda Hazzard practiced in early 1900s Seattle and watched as more than 40 of her patients starved to death.

8 Minutes    

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DEAR PLUTO

DIRECTOR: JOANNA PRIESTLEY - (PORTLAND, OR)

(ANI) This open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet is written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali with wry animation from Priestley.

4 Minutes    

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STERLING HALLARD BRIGHT DRAKE

DIRECTOR: ROBERT SICKELS - (WALLA WALLA, WA)

(DOC) A tombstone appears in a cemetery in Walla Walla, Wash., sparking speculation about what happened to this promising but enigmatic lad who predicted he would die of loneliness.

15 Minutes    

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DEAR PETER, WOODCHIPS II

DIRECTOR: ORLAND NUTT - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves.

3 Minutes    

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LATER THAN USUAL

DIRECTOR: DAVID HOVAN - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end.

6 Minutes    

Whitsell Auditorium     71 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Narrative, Experimental, Shorts.

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BIRD OF FLAMES

DIRECTOR: CHEL WHITE - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll.

5 Minutes    

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COME BACK, LITTLE STAR

DIRECTOR: ANDREW CONNORS - (WHITEHORSE, YT)

(EXP) Super-8 footage illustrates a mother’s longing words to her grown son.

3 Minutes    

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CPR

DIRECTOR: KIMBERLY WARNER - (PORTLAND, OR)

(NAR) While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman recognizes her own need to be saved in this mid-century style short.

7 Minutes    

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ARCTIC CHRISTMAS

DIRECTOR: SAL STROM - (TIGARD, OR)

(EXP) Ernie Heaton is one of the last two survivors from the transport ship USAT Dorchester. He tells his chilling experience after being torpedoed during WWII.

3 Minutes    

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SOMEONE

DIRECTOR: JOSH LUNDEN - (PORTLAND, OR)

(NAR) On his way home from school, a boy discovers the body of a homeless man.

6 Minutes    

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THIRD FLOOR

DIRECTOR: ADAM SEKULER, SHANNON STEWART - (SEATTLE, WA)

(EXP) Shannon Stewart choreographed this experience through the empty rooms of a neglected historic Seattle hotel, exploring the notion that memory loss, as it is in people, is an essential part of dissociating identities in buildings.

11 Minutes    

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STILL

DIRECTOR: LOU KARSEN - (SEATTLE, WA)

(DOC) Filmed in the Yakima Nation, Karsen’s film provides both a modern and historic perspective on hunting.

7 Minutes    

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MOVES MANAGER

DIRECTOR: ERIK FAUSKE - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) A businessman uses a cumbersome, custom walking machine to complete basic tasks.

4 Minutes    

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ERASABLE CITIES

DIRECTOR: SALISE HUGHES - (SEATTLE, WA)

(EXP) Found footage of Venice is systematically erased while two people who may or may not be Marco Polo and Kublai Khan speak of cities, dreams, and the fragility of memory. Based on text from Italo Calvino’s "Invisible Cities."

12 Minutes    

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IN ALL FORMS

DIRECTOR: JAMES HEBERS - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(EXP) Stop-motion and experimental animation techniques explore the themes of evolution, creation, and primal forms of life.

4 Minutes    

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LINGO

DIRECTOR: BAHAR NOORIZADEH - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(NAR) Protective of her son and hindered by the language barrier, an Afghan immigrant to Canada is interrogated by the police about a fire her son mistakenly started.

9 Minutes    

Appropriate for all ages!

Appropriate for all ages!

Whitsell Auditorium     72 Minutes    

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

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THE WAY WE MELT

DIRECTOR: ROB TYLER - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) Frozen confections rapidly thaw in living color.

3 Minutes    

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THE NEW DEBUTANTES

DIRECTOR: JARRATT TAYLOR - (PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) Ms. Pat offers a modern finishing school for urban kids.

13 Minutes    

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SWIFT

DIRECTOR: KRISTEN CAMPBELL - (VANCOUVER, BC)

(ANI) Fin wants to transverse the forest, but it seems that everything is moving so much faster than she is.

5 Minutes    

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CENTURY FARM

DIRECTOR: MELISSA GREGORY RUE - (PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) Faced with the threat of encroaching urban development, a fourth generation farming family reflects on its past and confronts an uncertain future.

11 Minutes    

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CHUCK

DIRECTOR: MICHAEL PAULUS - (PORTLAND, OR)

(EXP) A popular tongue twister is set in a sort of cathedral.

1 Minutes    

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THE WHALE STORY

DIRECTOR: TESS MARTIN - (SEATTLE, WA)

(ANI) With the help of the passing public, animation on a 16-foot high wall in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park retells the story of a fisherman and a whale.

4 Minutes    

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THE ROAD BOWLERS

DIRECTOR: DUSTIN MORROW - (PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) Behold the national championship match of Ireland’s oldest and quirkiest sport: road bowling.

10 Minutes    

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OLYMPIA STORY

DIRECTOR: KANAKO POOKNYW - (OLYMPIA, WA)

(NAR) From the near silence and invisibility of late motherhood, a resolute woman attempts to help a young stranger who also finds herself at the fringe of existence.

12 Minutes    

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THE TITANIC OF SOUTHAMPTON

DIRECTOR: JUSTIN ZIMMERMAN - (PORTLAND, OR)

(DOC) Memories haunt the Titanic’s city of departure, home to much of the crew—most of whom perished that night.

13 Minutes    

(NAR) On his way home from school, a boy discovers the body of a homeless man.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(NAR) On his way home from school, a boy discovers the body of a homeless man.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     6 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative, Shorts.

(DOC) A tombstone appears in a cemetery in Walla Walla, Wash., sparking speculation about what happened to this promising but enigmatic lad who predicted he would die of loneliness.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(DOC) A tombstone appears in a cemetery in Walla Walla, Wash., sparking speculation about what happened to this promising but enigmatic lad who predicted he would die of loneliness.

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     15 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(DOC) Filmed in the Yakima Nation, Karsen’s film provides both a modern and historic perspective on hunting.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

 

(DOC) Filmed in the Yakima Nation, Karsen’s film provides both a modern and historic perspective on hunting.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

 

Whitsell Auditorium     7 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(ANI) Fin wants to transverse the forest, but it seems that everything is moving so much faster than she is.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(ANI) Fin wants to transverse the forest, but it seems that everything is moving so much faster than she is.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     5 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(ANI) Rabbits are calm; birds are calm; robots are not. When an unfriendly robot shows up on the territory of bunny rabbits, what are the rabbits to do?

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

(ANI) Rabbits are calm; birds are calm; robots are not. When an unfriendly robot shows up on the territory of bunny rabbits, what are the rabbits to do?

See SHORTS I to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     2 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(EXP) Shannon Stewart choreographed this experience through the empty rooms of a neglected historic Seattle hotel, exploring the notion that memory loss, as it is in people, is an essential part of dissociating identities in buildings.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Shannon Stewart choreographed this experience through the empty rooms of a neglected historic Seattle hotel, exploring the notion that memory loss, as it is in people, is an essential part of dissociating identities in buildings.

See SHORTS II to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     11 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(NAR) Working with a treasure trove of public domain films with titles like FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, THE PHANTOM CREEPS, and TARZAN THE FEARLESS, Hammen has fashioned his own new sci-fi adventure tale harkening back to the matinees of 1940s Hollywood. This bustling good fun gives new life to expired stars like Buster Crabbe and Bela Lugosi in an authentically convoluted story of aliens, phantom planets, and robots running rampant.

(NAR) Working with a treasure trove of public domain films with titles like FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, THE PHANTOM CREEPS, and TARZAN THE FEARLESS, Hammen has fashioned his own new sci-fi adventure tale harkening back to the matinees of 1940s Hollywood. This bustling good fun gives new life to expired stars like Buster Crabbe and Bela Lugosi in an authentically convoluted story of aliens, phantom planets, and robots running rampant.

Mission Theatre     73 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.

(DOC) Memories haunt the Titanic’s city of departure, home to much of the crew—most of whom perished that night.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(DOC) Memories haunt the Titanic’s city of departure, home to much of the crew—most of whom perished that night.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     13 Minutes    

Interests: Documentary, Shorts.

(EXP) Frozen confections rapidly thaw in living color.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(EXP) Frozen confections rapidly thaw in living color.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     3 Minutes    

Interests: Experimental, Shorts.

(ANI) With the help of the passing public, animation on a 16-foot high wall in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park retells the story of a fisherman and a whale.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

(ANI) With the help of the passing public, animation on a 16-foot high wall in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park retells the story of a fisherman and a whale.

See SHORTS III to purchase tickets.

Whitsell Auditorium     4 Minutes    

Interests: Animation, Shorts.

(NAR) “Relationships are killers, and this tough, tender, deeply satisfying romantic comedy from writer-director Lynn Shelton (HUMPDAY) is also bruisingly funny. After his brother’s death, Jack (Mark Duplass) takes an offer from his platonic friend Iris (Emily Blunt) to chill at her family’s island cottage. Expecting solitude, Jack instead finds Iris’ older sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), nursing her own wounds after breaking up with her girlfriend of seven years. A tequila night ends with Jack and Hannah improbably in bed and Iris’ arrival the next morning as Jack and Hannah try to hide all evidence of their one-nighter. A trio...

(NAR) “Relationships are killers, and this tough, tender, deeply satisfying romantic comedy from writer-director Lynn Shelton (HUMPDAY) is also bruisingly funny. After his brother’s death, Jack (Mark Duplass) takes an offer from his platonic friend Iris (Emily Blunt) to chill at her family’s island cottage. Expecting solitude, Jack instead finds Iris’ older sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), nursing her own wounds after breaking up with her girlfriend of seven years. A tequila night ends with Jack and Hannah improbably in bed and Iris’ arrival the next morning as Jack and Hannah try to hide all evidence of their one-nighter. A trio of superb performances guides a plot that pivots on secrets and lies before they fester. YOUR SISTER’S SISTER works its way into your head until you can’t stop thinking about it.”—Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Whitsell Auditorium     90 Minutes    

Interests: Narrative.