The 43rd Northwest Filmmakers' Festival - Nov 2016 schedule

NOVEMBER 10–15 2016

Northwest Filmmakers' Summit SHORTS I: Known or Unknown (Or Unknowable) SHORTS II: Visions of Reality FEATURE Screenings Fresh Film Northwest NW Episodic Showcase DON’T MISS...

WATCH. LEARN. MAKE. CELEBRATING 45 YEARS AFTER PARTY & TRAILER-MANIA WITH GREG HAMILTON WARHOL GOES BOOM program descriptions at nwfilm.org

NW Episodic Showcase

As modes of distribution and shifts in the culture of viewing have emerged with the success of Netflix, Hulu, and other online streaming sites, what used to be referred to as miniseries or webisodes have started to fall under the banner of Episodic. Part television, part internet, part feature film, the content of these programs are broken into smaller segments and presented in a way that allows fluidity in where and how they are seen. This program takes a look at new work made in the Northwest that embraces this emerging genre. Co-presented with Members Media. (88 mins.)

Dark Dungeons, Seattle, WA, 2016 dir. Gabriel Gonda (18 mins.)

Two young college students investigate the realm of role playing games with the goal of uncovering an evil agenda behind the RPG community. Episode 1 and 2.

Two Kates, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Zach Schultz (6 mins.)

When Kate clones herself, it seems like a great idea for getting things done, but sometimes having a second self can be more problematic.

Episode 4.

M Squad, Missoula, MT, 2016 dir. Austin Valley (5 mins.)

A team of mismatched heroes take on a variety of villains with cartoonish zest.

Episode 1.

SPECIAL EVENTS Thursday, November 10, 7:30 pm Kridel Grand Ballroom, Portland Art Museum (1119 SW Park Ave.)

The Drunk Series, Portland, OR, 2015 dir. Chris R. Wilson (5 mins.)

A series in which all scripts are written and acted in by drunk people. Episode 5.

Manic Pixie Dream Wife,

Seattle, WA, 2015 dir. M. Elizabeth Eller, Sarah Macaron (12 mins.)

A man’s free-spirited wife unintentionally turns his life upside down. Episode 1 and 2.

Basics, Portland, OR, 2016

dir. Brian Butterfield & Yusuf Word (6 mins.)

dir. Matt Schulte (80 mins., InteractiveExperimental)

Hot Bikini Beans, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Jon Meyer, Rachel Meyer (4 mins.)

Two baristas deal with everyday oddities while working at a drive up coffee shack called Hot Bikini Beans. Episode 3.

OR, 2016 dir. Alicia J. Rose (32 mins.)

A woman and man with no sexual chemistry for one another manage to still tackle sex, drugs and the quest for love. Episodes 1, 2, and 3.

Created by award-winning filmmaker/writer Diane Bell (Obselidia, Bleeding Heart), the Rebel Heart Workshop is about empowering filmmakers with the real-life knowledge needed to make a successful indie film, from developing ideas and fundraising, to finding the right collaborators, stretching a budget, and developing effective promotion, publicity, festival, and distribution strategies. Rebel Heart Alumni Alicia J. Rose, creator of the acclaimed web series The Benefits of Gusbandry will provide practical tools and help participants find the strength and courage to realize their dreams. Tuition $25. Additional workshop information and enrollment at nwfilm.org.

Tuesday, November 15, 7:30 pm, Skype Live Studio Warhol Goes Boom

The powers are peer pressure are great for young teenagers when faced with looking cool. Episode 4.

The Benefits of Gusbandry, Portland,

Saturday, November 12, 12-5 pm, Northwest Film Center (934 SW Salmon St.) Rebel Heart Workship with Alicia J. Rose

Friday, November 11, 9 pm – 11 pm, Northwest Film Center (934 SW Salmon St.) After Party & Trailer-mania with Greg Hamilton

Stop by the Northwest Film Center after the screenings for a lively program featuring some of the best sci-fi, horror, and exploitation film trailers from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. Portland film archivist Greg Hamilton will project (on 16mm) a selection culled from his collection of over 2,000 film trailers. A delight for any film lover and maker. Beer, wine, and snacks–oh my!

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests, silent black and white 16mm film shots of New York scene makers, Portland filmmaker Matt Schulte has created a version featuring local luminaries.

These include legendary dancer Fred Nemo, Portlandia producer David Cress, local actress Sharae Foxie, founder of Cavity Search Records Denny Swofford, and many more. Schulte will project his screen tests while creating a live ‘ambient’ score using microphones placed around the theater. A nod to one of the great artists of the 20th century that combines the not-so-distant past with the current interest in Time Based Art.

1219 SW PARK AVE. PORTLAND, OR 97205

Sunday, November 13, 2:15 pm Skype Live Studio

PORTLAND, OR PERMIT NO. 664

PAID NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

Thursday, November 10, 7 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Saturday November 12, 8 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema

Friday, November 11, 7:35 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Sunday, November 13, 3 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema

SHORTS I: Known and Unknown (Or Unknowable)

SHORTS II: Visions of Reality

The observable universe–isotropic in orientation– does not conform to all observers equally. As perspectives shift, that which is known and unknown (as well as knowable and unknowable) shifts accordingly. It fails to remain the same in all directions.

Secret I, Portland, OR, 2016

Would not be called a secret for a reason.

Copper Perforation Loop Triptych

Antipodes Rising, Seattle, WA, 2015

dir. Georg Koszulinski (3 mins., Experimental)

Travelling through a tunnel on a mountain road in Alaska becomes a portal for an alternate vision of the Pacific Northwest.

Modern Dark, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Josh Lunden (6 mins., Narrative)

A young man living in the inner city attempts to see the stars through his childhood telescope. An Outer-Space Reality Award.

Outer Darkness, Portland, OR, 2015

dir. Hannah Piper Burns (11 mins., Experimental)

What happens when the monotony of “reality” television becomes quite real for one of its subjects and thus its audience as well. The Real Unreality Award.

Blue Discord, Fairview, OR, 2016

WELCOME The 43rd Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival The 43rd Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival is pleased to make your acquaintance. We are glad to once again be showcasing new work by some of the very best film talent our region has to offer, capturing a snapshot of the creative community that surrounds us. With this annual event, the Northwest Film Center affirms its mission to nurture the growth and success of filmmakers who are pushing their voices and dreams forward in new and engaging work.

This year we’re adding two new venues to the Festival to accommodate the bounty. Portland State University’s 5th Avenue Cinema and Skype Live Studio, both near the Whitsell Auditorium, creating a campus of access and conversation. Most programs screen twice and we hope enable the chance to see more of the great films in this year’s program. In addition to the films, this year’s Festival features an opening day Filmmaker Summit–an opportunity to discuss current topics, trends, and technologies in the filmmaking world.

The Northwest Film Center owes many thanks to individuals and organizations that helped us produce this year’s event. First of all, a hearty salute to Festival judge Jonathan Marlow for his generous work in shaping the two shorts programs and for singling out works deserving of special recognition. We hope his perspective adds to your enjoyment of the selections.

Many thanks to our poster designer Ron Mason Gassaway, and to Alex Morris, who created the Festival trailer. The Festival also appreciates the longtime support of the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, LAIKA, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Regional Arts & Culture Council, and the Citizens of Portland through the Arts Access and Education Fund.

All these friends, and many more recognized in the program, have helped fashion a Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival that we hope will make you celebrate the power or our region’s makers.

Ben Popp, Festival Manager Bill Foster, Director, Northwest Film Center

Canadian Pacific, Vancouver, B.C., 1974 dir. David Rimmer (9 mins., Documentary)

A stationary journey (and everything that follows). Rimmer’s classic film, a Festival winner from the past, seems a fitting way to set the program.

dir. Matt McCormick (15 secs., Documentary)

Primal Flux

A visit to a room, dark-adapted; an opportunity to leave-without-traveling. Please remain seated.

These are our momentary intersections of place and time.

dir. Arianna Gazca (6 mins., Animation)

A synesthetic take on the desire for hope, shrouded in a blanket of madness. Only-Apparently-Reality Award.

Olympia, WA, 2016 dir. Ruth Hayes (3 mins., Experimental)

Direct animated film made from a five-inch diameter disc of perforated copper scratching away at black leader.

Canned Fit, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Woodruff Laputka (8 mins., Documentary)

Sound artist Christine Shorkhuber uses an array of “nontraditional” instruments to create minimalist melodies meant to bring us a little closer to our surroundings.

Here Nor There, Vancouver, B.C., 2016 dir. Julia Hutchings (15 mins., Narrative)

Nothing is as what it seems as a private investigator arrives at a funeral to speak with the family of a woman whose body he supposedly found.

The Lift, Vancouver, B.C., 2016 dir. Manny Mahal (7 mins., Narrative)

Pushing oneself to the limit can be a challenging thing, add in an immense amount of weight and the challenge becomes an event.

Voice of the Hi-Line, Missoula, MT, 2016

Secret II, Portland, OR, 2016

dir. Matt McCormick (15 secs., Documentary) Well now!

(Censored), Seattle, WA, 2016

dir. Isaiah Corey (8 mins., Narrative)

A man’s life is forever changed when his roommate introduces him to a producer he never knew he needed.

The Surreal Award.

Plena Stellarum, Boise, ID, 2015 dir. Matthew Wade (12 mins., Animation)

Perhaps a vision of a realm beyond the life of a video game; perhaps a video game itself. The Unreal Realilty Award.

dir. Doug Hawes-Davis (14 mins., Documentary)

Profile of KGVA in Fort Belknap, Montana which is among a growing number of Native American run radio stations in the U.S. and Canada.

Primal Flux, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Joan Gratz (3 mins., Animation)

Colors and shapes shift and change as images emerge and disperse in a play on the nature of conscious and unconscious communication.

Me is Being Great, Missoula, MT, 2016 dir. Marshall Granger (21 mins., Narrative)

Shared Grief, Seattle, WA, 2016

Sometimes when relationships end amongst the confusions of growing up, one just might be able to re-connect with their own identity and be set free. The All-Too-Real Award.

Present day communication and sharing are examined as ways of connectivity during times of heartache and pain.

Night Walk, Bellevue, WA, 2016

Ranger, Vancouver, B.C., 2016

An impressionistic view of a couple living in New York set to the music of Benjamin Verdouse. An Inner-Space Reality Award.

dir. Adam Sekuler (20 mins., Documentary)

dir. Sandra Ignagni, Trevor Meier (8 mins., Documentary)

A portrait of the Canadian vessel M.V. Northern Ranger which has traversed the narrow straits and unpredictable weather along the remote Labrador coastline for the last 30 years. The Vitally Real Award.

dir. Neely Goniodsky (4 mins., Animation)

FILM DESCRIPTIONS AND TRAILERS AT NWFILM.ORG

Outer Darkness—The Real Unreality Award

Judge’s Statement As someone born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I approached an invitation to curate the shorts in this year’s Festival with trepidation. I disappeared from the area long ago. What would I know of regional filmmaking now? But it seems that I still have a special affinity for regional storytelling after all. As the saying goes, “You can take the magician out of the theatre but you cannot take the theatre out of the magician.” There isn’t such a saying? There should be.

Storytelling remains as relevant to my five-year-old daughter as it is for my over-one-hundredyear-old grandmother-in-law. Evidently, it is relatively essential to you as well. The shorts programs present an ideal opportunity for call-and-response. Narrative or non-fictional material addressed in one way is revisited elsewhere in another context. At least that was the intention. In these stories, the outcome depends on the decisions that you–the viewer–make and the directions that you take.

Think carefully about your choices as they will affect your response to each program as it ends. In any event, consider that these words (and images) will continue to exist forever until they cease to be read (or seen) by anyone. So shall it be.

Me is Being Great—The All-Too-Real Award Night Walk—An Inner-Space Reality Award

(Censored)—The Surreal Award

Thanks to our Sponsors Jonathan Marlow

James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation

Judge’s Bio Jonathan Marlow is a film curator, critic, cinematographer, and occasional producer with numerous shorts to his credit. His eclectic arts and business career includes serving as director of the San Francisco Cinematheque, stints at Amazon and VUDU, and co-founding the subscription film service and social-sharing platform FANDOR—experiences which have put him at center of an expanding technology-centric distribution world as a knowledgeable champion of independent film. Most recently, Marlow has joined San Francisco-based Kanopy, the leading on-demand streaming video service for higher educational institutions, as Chief Strategy Officer.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies, Panasonic, Portland Film Office, Gales Creek Entertainment, Fujifilm / Fujinon, @ Large Films Inc., Carl Zeiss SBE, Canon, Pro Video and Tape, Oregon Media Production Association, Henry Higgins Bagels, Regional Arts & Culture Council, and The Citizens of Portland through the Arts Access and Education Fund.

FEATURES Friday, November 11, 5:20 pm, Skype Live Studio Saturday November 12, 2:30 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Finding Bosnia, Portland, OR, 2016

dir. Ivana Horvat, Adrian Hopffgarten (90 mins., Documentary)

Friday, November 11, 7:45 pm, Skype Live Studio Tuesday, November 15, 5 pm, Whitsell Auditorium A Morning Light, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Ian Clark (82 mins., Narrative)

A young couple reunites while on a summer excursion into the forest. An otherwise peaceful experience becomes jolted, however, by a strange presence making itself known through sounds and lights. Might this be another entity or something more sinister? Ian Clark’s film holds “a serene steadfastness that seems to run underneath the other cinematic tributaries, guiding and influencing not only the narrative components of the film, but also the presentation of imagery and its audio accompaniment.”—Film Pulse.

The early 1990s saw tragic war take place in the crumbling former Yugoslavia. Director Ivana Horvat’s family fled when she was just two years old after a close sniper attack. Having returned to her family’s homeland in what is now BosniaHerzegovina, Ivana and Adrian take us on a journey in the great city of Sarajevo, discovering roots, culture, and people who are still very much torn apart from a war that pitted neighbor against neighbor.

Thursday, November 10, 10 am – 5 pm

Northwest Filmmakers' Summit

Join for us for a day of guest speakers, panels, and the latest equipment as we kick off the 43rd Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival. The Summit’s aim is to provide information and discussion of issues and trends in independent filmmaking with a focus on regional opportunities and resources. Location: Fields Ballroom 1119 SW Park Avenue.

presenters 10:30 am Juliana Lukasik of @Large Films

Gender Balance and Media: What's at Stake?

11:30 am Panel: Achieving Equity in Filmmaking

Friday, November 11, 5 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema Saturday, November 12 5:20 pm, Skype Live Studio Finding October, Seattle, WA, 2016

How can the film community better encourage and engage more diverse voices.

Enie Vaisburd, faculty, Pacific University Alicia J. Rose, Portland filmmaker Dawn Jones Redstone, Portland filmmaker Audrey Goldfarb, Portland filmmaker and grip Elijah Hasan, Portland filmmaker

1 pm Katy Davidson and Madeline Dowling of music licensing company Marmoset Fostering creativity between the local film and musician community.

2 pm Panel: The Episodic

Making new work for new modes of distribution.

Drew Beard, faculty, Portland State University Robert Benjamin, founder of Members Media Alicia J. Rose, Portland filmmaker and workshop instructor Zach Schultz, Portland filmmaker Beth Harrington, Portland filmmaker

3:30 pm Festival Judge Jonathan Marlow in Conversation with filmmaker Hannah Piper Burns On-site Vendors include: Carl Zeiss SBE Fujifilm / Fujinon Gales Creek Entertainment & Philadelphia Insurance Co.s NW School of Make Up

Oregon Media Production Association Panasonic Pro Photo Supply Pro Video and Tape

dir. Nick Terry (77 mins., Narrative)

Monday, November 14, 7:15 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Beware the Slenderman, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Irene Taylor Brodsky (115 mins., Documentary)

In 2014, two young girls in Waukesha, Wisconsin committed an atrocious act compelled by the calling of a fictional internet character. Brodsky’s film, the product of 18 months of digging, explores the backstory leading up to the event, how the internet created boogeyman came to be, and more importantly, explores how much can we hold our children responsible for what they discover in the vast voids of the web? Weaving together internet footage, home movies, videotaped confessions, and insights from experts, Beware the Slenderman chronicles a chilling crime while questioning what our clicks online might say about who we really are.

Thanks to HBO Films.

Road trips can be for work or pleasure, but either way they usually end up memorable. Russell and Ben are on a journey across the Northwest so Russell can ask his girlfriend’s hand in marriage. Ben tags along for the ride as a budding filmmaker (and the director of the film) to document the trip. Along the route they pick up Emma, a musician with a past of her own. As the three venture down the highway, truths, questions, and the end of innocence percolate to the surface along the rainy blacktop.

Friday, November 11, 7:15 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema Monday November 14, 5:15 pm, Skype Live Studio If There’s a Hell Below, Portland, OR, 2016 dir. Nathan Williams (94 mins., Narrative)

Saturday, November 12, 7:30 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Sunday, November 13, 5 pm, Skype Live Studio Brides to Be, Seattle, WA, 2016 dir. Kris Boustedt, Lindy Boustedt (82 mins., Narrative)

Robin and Jenna are getting married. What should be an incredibly happy day is marred by feelings of anxiety, self consciousness, panic attacks, and of course, a house that does not particularly want anyone to be in it unless they will remain forever. Mixing genres of love story and psychological thriller, directors Kris and Lindy Boustedt have created a film that goes beyond your conventional haunted house story to take a closer look at eternal commitment.

“We wanted to create a film that inspired dread, of course, but that was rooted in the emotional realities of our characters and dealt with universal questions of the human question.”

In a perilous age of cyber attacks, domestic spying, and political intrigue, the trading of classified information has not been this intense since the Cold War. Here, a journalist who is receiving secrets meets with a shadowy figure who understands full well the consequences of leaking high-level information. The problem: the naïve reporter takes their wide-open surroundings in Eastern Washington to mean the two are all alone. Building tangible tension through the use of the landscape and the tight confines of the vehicle in which these two conspirators meet, If There’s a Hell Below embodies “existential elements in the likes of North

by Northwest and No Country for Old Men.”—Hollywood Reporter.

dir. Jonathan Holbrook (133 mins., Narrative)

We go to work, we chat with our co-workers, we go home, and then we get up and do it all again. Such is the life for our simple main character Terrance. That is, until he receives a mysterious black credit card in the mail. However, as we all know, one should read the small print to know what one might be getting themselves into. Thus begins Terrence’s date with what can only be described as creditors from hell.

With a nod to Lynch and Kubrick, Holbrook’s direction is both calm, funny, and unnerving.

Sunday, November 13, 1:15 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Monday, November 14, 7:30 pm, Skype Live Studio Three Days Drowning, Portland, OR, 2016

There is something deeply sacred about one’s personal faith and religious beliefs. To have those shaken is not something to take lightly. The Devout follows a devout Christian school teacher living in a small town whose daughter is terminally ill. While on the edge of mortality, the daughter professes to have had a previous life. As frustration mounts over her illness, her father begins to investigate her claims, which leads to deep fractures in his family’s–and the community’s– foundational beliefs. The Devout was nominated for 14 British Columbia’s Film and Television Industry LEO awards and won 7, including best actor, actress, and best picture..

Artist and graphic novelist Mark Andres has adapted his unique storytelling method to the screen with a series of feature films depicting science fiction and traditional horror stories. Departing in theme, Three Days Drowning tells the story of an artist commissioned by a wealthy couple to paint their portrait. As the painting progresses over several days, the artist begins to learn more about his mysterious subjects and to question his own motives and past. We begin to discover that both subject and artist are not as honest as they appear to be. Created using a particular mix of drawings and minimal movement, director Mark Andres has begun to breach territory between moving image, idea and conceptualization.

dir. Connor Gaston (100 mins., Narrative)

Saturday, November 12, 5 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Sunday, November 13, 5:30 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema The Pearl, Portland, OR, 2016

dir. Mark Andres (72 mins., Animation)

dir. Christopher LaMarca, Jessica Dimmock (93 mins., Documentary)

We seldom hear from those who have had to conceal their true identities their entire lives. The Pearl follows four women in the early stages of coming out as they navigate their lives against a backdrop of post-industrial logging towns in the Pacific Northwest. We begin to understand, as Krystal says, “the only thing transgender people want to do is live their lives.” Patient and observational, LaMarca and Dimmock offer “a different kind of close-up at trans identity.

The camera is up tight in the women’s lives—cooking at home, dancing in a bedroom on vacation—in a way most films rarely have the patience to do.” —Los Angeles Times.

Saturday, November 12, 3 pm, Skype Live Studio Sunday, November 13, 8:25 pm, Whitsell Auditorium What Separates Us, Helena, MT, 2016 dir. Bryan Ferriter (90 mins., Narrative)

There are tales that are timeless for a reason. One such theme is the story of fated lovers from different sides of the tracks. What Separates Us is just that. Danny (director Bryan Ferriter) grew up drinking and fighting in the town that everyone he knows will also live and die in. When he meets Parker, who goes to the local University and is studying painting, all he has known is thrown into confusion. As his past regrets and hopes come creeping back under the spell of love, the pull to get out of the town that has kept him down turns powerful.

Saturday, November 12, 7:30 pm, Skype Live Studio Sunday, November 13, 3:10 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Woodsrider, Portland, OR, 2016

Sunday, November 13, 7 pm, Skype Live Studio Monday, November 14, 5 pm, Whitsell Auditorium RiverBlue, Vancouver, B.C., 2016 dir. David McIlvride, Roger Williams (90 mins., Documentary)

Saturday, November 12, 5 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema Tuesday, November 15, 7:15 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Customer 152, Lake Stevens, WA, 2016

Saturday, November 12, 2:30 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema Sunday, November 13, 6 pm, Whitsell Auditorium The Devout, Victoria, B.C., 2015

Among the many environmental threats to the planet and human survival is the challenge of clean water, especially in parts of the world where soaring populations are squeezed into smaller geographical locations. There are many reasons rivers get polluted in such environments, but sometimes you, the consumer, can make a difference simply by your choice in clothes. Take a journey to China, Indonesia, and the Philippines to see just what impact the textile and fashion industry has had on the environment and meet some forward-thinkers who are seeing a path to economic and environmental sustainability. There is hope, but it might begin in your closet.

dir. Cambria Matlow (94 mins., Documentary)

Friday, November 11, 5:10 pm, Whitsell Auditorium Sunday, November 13, 8 pm, 5th Avenue Cinema The Village of Middlevale, Tacoma, WA, 2015 dir. Amber Celletti, Nathan Blanchard (100 mins., Narrative)

Dennis decides to leave the hustle and bustle behind to start his own village in the forest. Dennis’s village, however, is not a modern one, but rather straight out of the middle ages and populated with a knight, bar wench, town fool, wizard, and more. Who else wishes to leave city life behind for the good old days? Enter the larger cast of The Village of Middlevale who hilariously accept these roles with vigor and pride as they embark on a quest to see their village succeed, even if it means taking on the modern town’s ren-fair troupe.

Small budget but big laughs.

Tucked in the trees of Mt. Hood, a young snowboarder camps alone. Meet 19-year-old Sadie Ford, an introspective young rider who spends the winter season living with her dog Scooter on the slopes above Government Camp in the simple pursuit of coasting down the hill on her board. Much like surfers who roam the world searching for the perfect wave, Sadie has her own simple pleasures, which Matlow reveals with a quiet eye and calm flow like that of snow falling. House parties and brief interactions with family are the only break in solo quest tempered by melancholy when the winter season grows shorter. preceded by

1850 LBS, Portland, OR, 2016

dir. Pete Gibson, Jin Ryu (7 mins., Documentary)

Portrait of 23 year old Jessie Marvin and his attempt to become one of the strongest men in the world.

MISSION. The Northwest Film Center is a regional media arts resource and service organization founded to encourage the study, appreciation and utilization of the moving image arts; to foster their artistic and professional excellence; and to help build a climate in which they flourish.

WATCH. Through year-round exhibition programs surveying LEARN. Individuals find and cultivate their personal voices as MAKE. Regional filmmakers are supported as artists, cinema past and present, audiences and filmmakers come together storytellers through education programs and innovative collaborations educators, mentors, connectors, and leaders, strengthening cinema's to explore our region and the world through the moving image arts. which advance media literacy and engage the next generation. place in the creative, social and economic sectors of the community.

The Northwest Film Center is funded in part by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Regional Arts & Culture Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Oregon Arts Commission, The Ted R. Gamble Film Fund, the Citizens of Portland through the Arts and Education Access Fund, and the support of numerous sponsors, members, and friends.

NWFILM.ORG

NOVEMBER 10–15, 2016

The 43rd Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival

THURSDAY

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10 am – 5 pm @ Fields Ballroom Northwest Filmmakers' Summit 10:30 am Juliana Lukasik of @Large Films 11:30 am Panel: Achieving Equity in Filmmaking 1 pm Katy Davidson and Madeline Dowling of Marmoset 2 pm Panel: The Episodic 3:30 pm Festival Judge Jonathan Marlow in Conversation with filmmaker Hannah Piper Burns 7 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Shorts I: Known or Unknown (Or Unknowable) 7:30 pm @ Kridel Grand Ballroom Watch, Learn, Make Party

5 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema Finding October 5:10 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium The Village of Middlevale 5:20 pm @ Skype Live Studio Finding Bosnia 7:15 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema If There’s a Hell Below 7:35 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Shorts II: Visions of Reality 7:45 pm @ Skype Live Studio A Morning Light 9–11 pm @ Northwest Film Center After Party & Trailer-mania with Greg Hamilton—FREE

12–5 pm @ Northwest Film Center Rebel Heart Workshop with Alicia J. Rose 12 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Fresh Film Northwest—FREE 2:30 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema The Devout 2:30 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Finding Bosnia 3 pm @ Skype Live Studio What Separates Us 5 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema Customer 152 5 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium The Pearl 5:20 pm @ Skype Live Studio Finding October 7:30 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Brides to Be 7:30 pm @ Skype Live Studio Woodsrider with 1850 LBS 8 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema Shorts I: Known or Unknown (Or Unknowable)

2:15 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Three Days Drowning 2:15 pm @ Skype Live Studio NW Episodic Showcase—FREE 3 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema Shorts II: Visions of Reality 3:10 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Woodsrider with 1850 LBS 5 pm @ Skype Live Studio Brides to Be 5:30 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema The Pearl 6 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium The Devout 7 pm @ Skype Live Studio RiverBlue 8 pm @ 5th Avenue Cinema The Village of Middlevale 8:25 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium What Separates Us

5 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium RiverBlue 5:15 pm @ Skype Live Studio If There’s a Hell Below 7:15 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Beware the Slenderman 7:30 pm @ Skype Live Studio Three Days Drowning

5 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium A Morning Light 7:15 pm @ Whitsell Auditorium Customer 152 7:30 pm @ Skype Live Studio Warhol Goes Boom—FREE

WELCOME Fresh Film Northwest is a juried survey of work by up-and-coming teen filmmakers living in Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Now in its 40th year, the Festival recognizes individual talent, showcases model examples of how film arts can be taught in schools, and engages all of us in helping to build the Northwest regional youth media community of 13- to 19-year-olds. Congratulations to these young filmmakers, whose work has been selected from nearly 130 entries, and to the high schools, community organizations, and mentors who supported their efforts.

May this glimpse into the heart and spirit of the next generation be a refreshing reminder that filmmaking is first and foremost about people encouraging each other, and showing the way.

Ellen Thomas, Education Director Mia Ferm, Education Programs Manager

Jurors’ Statement What a pleasure it was for us to view this year’s submissions to the 40th Annual Fresh Film NW Festival. From the moment the lights went down, entry after entry we were drawn into worlds of passion, inspiration, and deep thinking. On screen were compelling teen-eye-views of race, gender, and equality, and treatises on such tough issues as bullying, addiction, and sex trafficking. We witnessed robust and healthy representations of women from a range of backgrounds. Far from being awkward “first films,” the works demonstrated that, as a whole, today’s teen filmmakers are savvy and sophisticated (which is why we really, really, wanted to keep watching even when the last entry was over). This made our job both difficult and fun. The films that stood out for us created and followed through on elaborate stories and settings, taking risks with such creative elements as Foley and sound design. They peeled back layers of cultural cues to place characters and issues in the context of greater society. Does this mean that our favorites fully grasped the complex subtleties of storytelling? Maybe not quite yet, but as suggested by the selections and honorable mentions below, these young filmmakers are clearly on their way to finding their unique voices in our media universe.

Erin Boberg Doughton André Middleton Mark Shapiro Erin Boberg Doughton is the Performing Arts Program Director at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. André Middleton is Director of Equity and Digital Inclusion at Portland Community Media. Mark Shapiro is Head of Marketing and Brand Management at LAIKA. Eileen—Creative Expression Award

TICKETS & PASSES $50 Festival Pass

includes admission to all Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival screenings and the Filmmakers’ Summit.

$9 General Admission $8 PAM Members, Students, Seniors $6 Silver Screen Club Friends, Children

40th Annual Fresh Film Northwest–Ages 13-19 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS Budding Romance, Portland OR

Filmmakers: Elaina Albers, Katherine Bentz, Lucca Jenkins Law, Danielle LeBlanc, Evangeline Liu / POWGirls (3 mins., Narrative)

Love between a girl and her potted plant.

Eileen, Seattle, WA

Filmmakers: Brendan Hickey and Sam Cleary / Independent (6 mins., Narrative) A friendship forms outside the principal’s office.

Creative Self Expression Award

Saturday, November 12, 12 pm, Whitsell Auditorium—FREE

Lincolnshire Groove, Portland, OR Filmmaker: Jasper Thun / Independent (3 mins., Experimental) The secrets of the Cold War still linger…in miniature.

Living Honestly, Seattle, WA

Filmmakers: PJ Hase and Skala Leake / Ballard High School (7 mins., Documentary)

What it’s like to come out to families and friends.

Losing Alberta: Gentrification in Northeast Portland, Portland,

OR Filmmakers: Sawyer Montgomery, Filmmakers: Skala Leake, Cameron Joshua Webb, Mackie Mallison / Miller, Avery Davis, Aaron Miller Grant High School Magazine / Ballard High School (5 mins., (11 mins., Documentary) Narrative) How gentrification has changed a

Comeback, Seattle, WA

A young soccer star can’t run from a new reality.

Northeast Portland community.

Integrative Learning Award

Home, Vancouver, B.C.

Sticks and Stones, Portland, OR

Filmmakers: Joshua Costea, Raluca Ciobanu, Lettie Costea / Independent (8 mins., Narrative)

Abby’s strange powers help her find a world to call home.

Creative Self Expression Award

Filmmakers: Amanda Macready, Aya Dosla, Raine Shank, Christina Yu, Hannah Cumming / POWGirls (5 mins., Experimental)

Strings, Portland, OR

Filmmaker: Arden Butterfield / Independent (8 mins., Animation)

Alone in a world turned sideways, and holding on.

Creative Self Expression Award

Rectangles & Straight Lines,

Portland, OR Filmmaker: Courtenay McLeod / Northwest Film Center Summer Camp (3 mins., Experimental) A cityscape full of patterns, shapes, shadows, and movement.

Toccata, Vancouver, B.C.

Filmmakers: Claire Mackie, Daniel Ortiz, James Vancuren, Mutte Chen / Indie Filmmakers Lab (3 mins., Experimental)

Striving for perfection, piano practice turns to obsession.

What I Would Say, Portland, OR Filmmaker: Zulema Young-Toledo / Independent (6 mins., Narrative) True feelings are revealed in hypothetical terms.

Heart Award

Shakesburn, Portland, OR Filmmakers: Pablo Reese, Anna Smith, Annie Winner, Ethan Harmon, Mimi Smith / Canoofle Creative Camp (5 mins., Narrative) A stolen tri-cycle, fruit-cakes, and clever insults collide. about the awards

Integrative Learning for innovation in integrating media into academic content.

Creative Self Expression for outstanding achievement in cinematic storytelling.

Heart for authenticity and humane treatment of a subject.

Stopping the cycle of hurtful words.

Heart Award

Lincolnshire Groove

Home—Creative Expression Award

Shakesburn

HONORABLE MENTIONS Vlad the Unemployed,

Vancouver, B.C. Filmmakers: Ashley Kobayashi, Christopher Dietrich, Brian Darnell, Sean Kim, Andrea Nikolou / Indie Filmmakers Lab (Narrative)

The Girl He Wants, Vancouver, B.C. Filmmakers: Maya Rodrigo-Abdi and Shianne St. Goddard / Indie Filmmakers Lab (Experimental) Texture and poetry question patriarchal standards of beauty.

Vampire Vlad is on the hunt...for a job.

Always Read the Warning The N-Word: A Special Report, Label, Portland, OR Portland, OR Filmmakers: Mackie Mallison and Cassius Pettit / Grant High School Magazine (Narrative)

A frank discussion about the n-word.

Filmmaker: Claire Chasse / Northwest Film Center Summer Camp (Animation) Embrace what makes you different.

Posted on vimeo.com beginning November 14 Trapped, Renton, WA

Filmmaker: Long Tran / Independent (Documentary)

The body you were born into versus the body you feel.

Another Man, Seattle, WA Filmmaker: DJ McCoy / Independent (Narrative)

Looking back at life with regret and resolution.

Sweet Emotion, Portland, OR Filmmakers: Elias Besen, Sarah Bonilla, Celeste Caceu, Samuel Cassidy, Melody Diggs, Henry Earle, Riley Edwards, Lily Elsbrock, Nolan Lampson, Ian McGarigal, Mitch McGonegal, Abani Neferkara, Muriel Wilkinson, Adrien Wright / Northwest Film Center Summer Camp (Narrative) Getting in touch with your inner

Double Snap Dollars, Missoula, MT courage.

Filmmaker: Landon Heaton / Roxy Film Academy (Documentary) A local program encourages the purchase of healthy foods.

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