Films & Schedules - UNITED STATES

On September 17, 2006, James Chasse, a shy and gentle man with schizophrenia, was tackled by three police officers in front of dozens of eyewitnesses on a downtown street corner in Northwest Portland. He was not suspected of a crime, nor had he committed one, but nonetheless he suffered 17 broken ribs, a separated shoulder, a punctured lung, and numerous bruises and contusions—before dying. Chasse’s death and treatment shocked the city, asking profound questions about how we treat those with mental illness and what kind of a police force we want. Lindstrom’s moving film, six years in the making, provides...

On September 17, 2006, James Chasse, a shy and gentle man with schizophrenia, was tackled by three police officers in front of dozens of eyewitnesses on a downtown street corner in Northwest Portland. He was not suspected of a crime, nor had he committed one, but nonetheless he suffered 17 broken ribs, a separated shoulder, a punctured lung, and numerous bruises and contusions—before dying. Chasse’s death and treatment shocked the city, asking profound questions about how we treat those with mental illness and what kind of a police force we want. Lindstrom’s moving film, six years in the making, provides both a detailed chronicle of Chasse’s tragic final hours and a deep look at the arc of his life from suburban childhood to trying to live as an independent adult with mental illness in a society ill-equipped to recognize his needs. (91 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Finding Normal (07)

Sponsored by Chipotle.

Interests: Documentary.

Five years into the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, American Winter presents a telling snapshot of the state of our society as it exists for millions of American families across the country. Shot over the course of the winter months of 2011–2012, the film follows eight Portland families—found through their calls to 211info, a referral service that steers thousands of families in crisis to available social services—as they were battling to keep their heads above water while facing overwhelming financial challenges and a shrinking social safety net. The devastating effects of the mortgage lending crisis, soaring unemployment, a broken...

Five years into the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, American Winter presents a telling snapshot of the state of our society as it exists for millions of American families across the country. Shot over the course of the winter months of 2011–2012, the film follows eight Portland families—found through their calls to 211info, a referral service that steers thousands of families in crisis to available social services—as they were battling to keep their heads above water while facing overwhelming financial challenges and a shrinking social safety net. The devastating effects of the mortgage lending crisis, soaring unemployment, a broken healthcare system, and the budget cuts to the social services are presented through the eyes of these families, all falling into poverty for the first time and struggling to keep their kids fed, clothed, and with a roof over their heads. (90 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Couples Arguing (88), Sex with Strangers (02), Taxicab Confessions (10), The Defenders (11)

Sponsored by OPB.

Interests: Documentary.

With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll. (6 mins.)

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With music by David Lynch and Chrysta Bell, a spider-like Vietnamese sorcerer coaxes a beautiful chanteuse to perform like a living doll. (6 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

No more boring films! Everything you need to know about the godfather of conceptual art. Narrated by Tom Waits. (6 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

No more boring films! Everything you need to know about the godfather of conceptual art. Narrated by Tom Waits. (6 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

A young man finds a microcosm and possibilities in transit. (8 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

A young man finds a microcosm and possibilities in transit. (8 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

An aging fisherman develops an intimate relationship with a lobster as he struggles to find closure with his lost wife. (14 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS II: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

An aging fisherman develops an intimate relationship with a lobster as he struggles to find closure with his lost wife. (14 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS II: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Eating chicken takes on new meaning for four-year-old Zoe as she observes her first slaughter. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS I: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Eating chicken takes on new meaning for four-year-old Zoe as she observes her first slaughter. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS I: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

The filmmaker examines the artifacts of an ended love affair. (3 mins.)

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The filmmaker examines the artifacts of an ended love affair. (3 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman faces her own need to be saved. (7 min.)

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While watching lifeguards perform rescue drills at a neighborhood pool, a woman faces her own need to be saved. (7 min.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Orland’s open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context. (4 mins.)

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Orland’s open letter to Peter concerns a steaming pile of woodchips, Mt. Fuji, and the concept of context. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves. (4 mins.)

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A continuation of the correspondence in which Orland’s relationship to the woodchips evolves. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

An open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet, written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali and wryly animated by Priestley. (4 mins.)

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An open letter to the celestial body formerly known as a planet, written and performed by slam poet Taylor Mali and wryly animated by Priestley. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

A stream-of-consciousness tribute to our own often ridiculous, rambling inner monologues. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

A stream-of-consciousness tribute to our own often ridiculous, rambling inner monologues. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

One of the great social movements of the 20th century, environmentalism continues as an urgent force in the 21st. Kitchell’s passionate film charts the advent of the modern environmental movement, from the early conservation causes of John Muir to the formation of landmark organizations like the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, to the creation of events like Earth Day and the continuing evolution of public conversation about the growing threats of pollution, climate change, overharvesting, and their effects on both our ecology and society. An essential primer for anyone interested in a broad overview of a remarkable era of global activism...

One of the great social movements of the 20th century, environmentalism continues as an urgent force in the 21st. Kitchell’s passionate film charts the advent of the modern environmental movement, from the early conservation causes of John Muir to the formation of landmark organizations like the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, to the creation of events like Earth Day and the continuing evolution of public conversation about the growing threats of pollution, climate change, overharvesting, and their effects on both our ecology and society. An essential primer for anyone interested in a broad overview of a remarkable era of global activism or anyone who might agree with one advocate’s observation: “There’s no Hispanic air. There’s no African-American air. There’s air! And if you breathe air—and most people I know do breathe air—then I would consider you an environmentalist.” (114 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Berkeley in the Sixties (90)

Sponsored by Chipotle.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Documentary.

After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. (10 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

After many years of marriage, Walter and Madge have grown apart: he lives on the floor and she lives on the ceiling. (10 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS III: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

In the cold of January, a mind drifts. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

In the cold of January, a mind drifts. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Every day, dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States and migrate through Mexico to Guatemala where they are repaired, repainted, and reborn as the brightly colored camionetas that bring most Guatemalans to work. Kendall’s lyrical film follows the migration of one Pennsylvania bus as well as the personal stories of five individuals whose lives become intertwined with its transformation. Like the bus that unites their stories, the choice between obsolescence and innovation defines their decisions, propelling them toward an increasingly uncertain future in a country where civil institutions and authorities are powerless to protect citizens from organized crime....

Every day, dozens of decommissioned school buses leave the United States and migrate through Mexico to Guatemala where they are repaired, repainted, and reborn as the brightly colored camionetas that bring most Guatemalans to work. Kendall’s lyrical film follows the migration of one Pennsylvania bus as well as the personal stories of five individuals whose lives become intertwined with its transformation. Like the bus that unites their stories, the choice between obsolescence and innovation defines their decisions, propelling them toward an increasingly uncertain future in a country where civil institutions and authorities are powerless to protect citizens from organized crime. What slowly emerges is a vivid and rich meditation on the universal quest for mobility—and survival. (71 mins.)

First Feature.

In Spanish with English subtitles.

Sponsored by KBOO.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: New Directors, Documentary.

An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end. (7 mins.)

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An elderly couple marks time toward a not-so-inevitable end. (7 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Set in the North Atlantic, Leviathan is an amazing film about men at sea and fish on boats. Creatively (to use an understatement) deploying numerous small digital cameras, the filmmakers capture the sensory experience of the labor, ecology, sound, light, and motion of one of man’s oldest activities. “The filmmakers have made the ne plus ultra of immersive documentaries. In this stunning and unparalleled masterpiece, they have discovered new forms of cinema. ... See, hear, and feel it for yourself. It’s a monster.”—Vancouver International Film Festival “The result is a hallucinatory sensory experience quite unlike any other. To paraphrase Francis...

Set in the North Atlantic, Leviathan is an amazing film about men at sea and fish on boats. Creatively (to use an understatement) deploying numerous small digital cameras, the filmmakers capture the sensory experience of the labor, ecology, sound, light, and motion of one of man’s oldest activities. “The filmmakers have made the ne plus ultra of immersive documentaries. In this stunning and unparalleled masterpiece, they have discovered new forms of cinema. ... See, hear, and feel it for yourself. It’s a monster.”—Vancouver International Film Festival “The result is a hallucinatory sensory experience quite unlike any other. To paraphrase Francis Ford Coppola describing his Apocalypse Now, Leviathan isn’t a movie about commercial fishing; it is commercial fishing.”—New York Film Festival (87 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Taylor—Sweetgrass (09); Paravel—Foreign Parts (10)

Sponsored by Chipotle.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Documentary.

Metamorphosed images with the appearance of sculpted wood and shifting sand summon memories of a life. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Metamorphosed images with the appearance of sculpted wood and shifting sand summon memories of a life. (4 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Marilyn Monroe may live as Hollywood’s most iconic sex symbol, but beneath the character she created and perfected was also one of the most self-possessed and ambitious artists in the industry. Drawing on Monroe’s never-before-revealed diaries and letters and never-before-seen footage and photographs, including materials from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates, Garbus presents a fresh, vivid portrait of a savvy, disciplined, intellectually curious woman who, for all her tragic personal complexities (recounted in poignant detail as well), was much more than her glamorous stereotype. Expanding the conventions of traditional documentary, Garbus weaves in readings of Monroe’s writings by...

Marilyn Monroe may live as Hollywood’s most iconic sex symbol, but beneath the character she created and perfected was also one of the most self-possessed and ambitious artists in the industry. Drawing on Monroe’s never-before-revealed diaries and letters and never-before-seen footage and photographs, including materials from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates, Garbus presents a fresh, vivid portrait of a savvy, disciplined, intellectually curious woman who, for all her tragic personal complexities (recounted in poignant detail as well), was much more than her glamorous stereotype. Expanding the conventions of traditional documentary, Garbus weaves in readings of Monroe’s writings by a surprising range of actresses and actors, emerging with an overall appreciation that will surprise even the most informed Monroe students. (105 mins.)

Selected Filmography: The Farm: Angola, USA (98), The Execution of Wanda Jean (02), Bobby Fisher Against the World (11)

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Documentary.

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Bruce Mertz is the kind of guy who lights up the lives of those around him—quite literally—when every holiday season he transforms his house into a beacon with 50,000 colorful lights and himself into Mr. Christmas. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS IV: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

After Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, discovers she’s pregnant, she must face a difficult decision. With nowhere to turn, she confronts the grim realities of her situation alone. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS II: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

After Tisha, a streetwise teenager from the Bronx, discovers she’s pregnant, she must face a difficult decision. With nowhere to turn, she confronts the grim realities of her situation alone. (15 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS II: INTERNATIONAL TIES to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

The city of Southampton feels the lasting and haunting effects of the Titanic disaster a century later. (13 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

The city of Southampton feels the lasting and haunting effects of the Titanic disaster a century later. (13 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

An accidental meeting recording the possible (last) thoughts of a bumblebee. (3 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

An accidental meeting recording the possible (last) thoughts of a bumblebee. (3 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.

Flip books made of memo pads and other found folios come to life. (7 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Flip books made of memo pads and other found folios come to life. (7 mins.)

See SHORT CUTS V: MADE IN OREGON to purchase tickets.

Interests: Short Cuts.