2007 PDX Film Festival: Official Lineup
Portland, OR’s experimental film festival, PDX, which is run by the Peripheral Produce distribution label, will roll out the end of this month: April 25-29 at the Hollywood Theatre. This is five days of great shorts and features, as well as a couple of workshops, art installations, new work by visiting artists and the world famous Peripheral Produce Invitational, a filmmaking throwdown of epic proportions.
April 25
7:00 p.m.
“Charged in the Name of Terror.” These are four short documentary portraits of folks caught up in terrorism hype.
Untitled Video on Lynne Stewart and Her Conviction, The Law and Poetry, dir. Paul Chan. Stewart is an American lawyer accused of providing help to terrorists, chiefly Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, whom she was defending.
Steve Kurtz Waiting, dirs. Jim Fetterley and Angie Waller. An artist who creates works to educate people about biotechnology, Kurtz was investigated by the FBI after his wife died and they discovered biologic samples in his home.
For the Least, dir. Susan Youssef. Following the march of Catholic Workers to Guantanamo prison.
Mohamed Yousry: A Life Stands Still, dirs. Mary Billyou and Annelisse Fifi. Yousry was arrested by the FBI and sent to prison under strange circumstances on Sept. 13, 2001.
Preceded by two other short films: Portrait #2: Trojan, dir. Vanessa Renwick; and NYC Weights and Measures, dir. Jem Cohen.
April 26
4:30 p.m.: “Shorts Program #1: Eye of the Beholder: Experimental Portraiture”
Hattenhorst, dir. Ove Sander
The Magician’s House, dir. Deborah Stratman (Read the Review)
Astika, dir. Ben Rivers
Kieu, dir. Kevin T. Allen
My Person in the Water, dir. Leighton Pierce
Der Gruß von Meiner Mutter (The Greeting from my Mother), dir. Katja Straub
Walk, dir. Meg Knowles
Wood, dir. David Fenster
6:30 p.m.:
“From the Outside In: New Videos by Jacqueline Goss and Lynne Sachs“
Stranger Comes to Town, dir. Jacqueline Goss. An animated film about six immigrants that combines Homeland Security animations, World of WarCraft video game imagery and Google Earth maps.
States of UnBelonging, dir. Lynne Sachs (in collaboration with Nir Zats). A documentary portrait of Revital Ohayon, an female Israeli filmmaker who was killed in a terrorist attack.
Preceded by the short Lost, dirs. Jeanne C. Finley and John Muse.
9:00 p.m.:
“Sublime Frequencies: From the Archives”
My Friend Rain, dirs. Robert Millis, Hisham Mayet, and Alan Bishop. A collage of musical scenes from Sublime Frequencies, a group of explorers who collect unique, random sights and sounds from around the globe.
Palace of the Winds, dir. Hisham Mayet. Exposing the music and culture from the Saharawis, inhabitants of the Western Sahara territories.
April 27
5:30 p.m.: “Shorts Program #2: Eye See Different: Experimental & Underground Shorts”
Orbit, dir. Kerry Laitala
Where You Are Is Not Where You Are Going, dir. Jennifer Hardacker
Mannequins Harlequin, dir. Jodie Mack
Mundane Expositions, dir. Manuel Abady
Bloodlines, dir. Vanara Taing
Hwang Sa Shield Us From the Sun, dir. olivia ciummo
Welcome to Normal: A Seven Minute Exercise, dir. Marianna Ellenberg
The Mountain Where Everything Is Upside Down, dir. Shana Moulton
For a Blonde… For a Brunette… For Someone… For Her… For You…, dir. Mike Olenick
Untitled (Silver), dir. Takeshi Murata
Filthy Food, dir. T. Arthur Cottam
Throws, dir. David Dunn
Whirr, dir. Timo Katz
It Will Die Out In the Mind, dir. Deborah Stratman (Read the Underground Film Journal movie review)
8:00 p.m.:
Strange Culture, dir. Lynn Hershman Leeson. Another re-interpretation of the case of Steve Kurtz, accused of being a terrorist for his art. Kurtz’s story is told through re-enactments, news stories, animation and interpretations by Tilda Swinton and Peter Coyote.
Preceded by Flagged, dirs. Jefferson Goolsby and The JiRCs; and Patriotic, dirs. Pascal Lievre and Benny Nemeofsky Ramsay.
10:00 p.m.: “Last Refuge for The Senses or Noise Hippies Against All War,” curated by Ben Russell.
Black and White Trypps Number Three, dir. Ben Russell (Watch online)
Paranoia Trilogy Part One: The Chemical Bath, dir. Xander Marro
Scream Tone, dir. Jo Dery
Echoes of Bats and Men, dir. Jo Dery (Watch online)
The Red and the Blue Gods, dir. Ben Russell
01/06, dirs. Matt Brinkman and Xander Marro
The Great Exodus, dir. Jo Dery
L’Eye, dir. Xander Marro
Third Annual Roggabogga Motion Picture, dir. Forcefield
April 28
1:00 p.m.: “Shorts Program #3: Friends & Neighbors”
Kinetoscopes for the 21st Century, dir. Mack McFarland
October of This Year, dir. Rob Tyler
Invitation, dir. Morgan Currie
Isi, dir. Chris Larson
Conquest Blues, dir. Gordon Nickel
Ring! Ring!, dir. Arman Bohn
A State, dir. Hanna Craig
Transit, dir. Melissa Gregory Rue
Steve Winwood Is Hungry for Breakfast, dir. Jesse England
I Love Your Music, dir. E*Rock/Wyld File
Dear Alphabet, dir. Marina Budovsky
Soft, dir. Morgan Hobart
Reading Non-Fiction, dir. Cheryl Lohrmann
Nora, dirs. Grace Carter and Holly Andres
3:15 p.m.:
“Lunchfilms.” Mike Plante presents the short films he’s collected from filmmakers after buying them a lunch. Directors included in the group are Cam Archer, Roger Beebe, James Benning, James Clauer, Jem Cohen, Ben Coonley, Bill Daniel, Kevin Jerome Everson, James Fotopoulos, Sharon Lockhart, Eileen Maxson, Carson Mell, Nina Menkes, Chris Peters, Elizabeth Skadden, Sebastian Wolf and the Zellner Brothers.
5:30 p.m.:
Growing Awareness, dir. Jade Ajani. A documentary profile of the concept and workings of Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) where people pay farmers directly via stock-like shares to receive fresh food all year round. Preceded by I Heart Edmars, dir. Camela Christopher.
8:00 p.m.:
“Great Garbage Patch Kids” is a mobile installation by Devon Damonte set up in front of the Hollywood Theatre.
9:00 p.m.:
“The Sixth Peripheral Produce Invitational” a.k.a. “the World Championship of Experimental Cinema” pits invited filmmakers in a head-to-head battle of cinematic proportions. Participating directors are: Vanessa Renwick (2001 Invitational Champion), Melody Owen, George Andrus, Stephen Slappe, Melinda Stone, Bryan Boyce, Hooliganship, Carl Diehl, Ben Russell, Jeremy Bird, Jesse England, David Borrengasser, Lynn Elliot, Carl Diehl, Brad Hutchinson and Paul VanDeCarr.
April 29
1:00 p.m.
“The Screen Grammar Cinema & Poetry Experiment.” Filmmaker David Gatten and artist Cat Tyc have joined with a group of poets and other filmmakers for an event of visions and words.
3:15 p.m.: “Shorts Program #4: The Cult of the Mustache and Other Cultural Phenomena”
Coconut, dir. Chris Hoag
I’m Keith Hernandez, dir. Rob Perri (Watch online)
No One Touches the Floor, dir. John Bacone
Valery’s Ankle, dir. Brett Kashmere
Spheres, dir. Jeremy Bird
Dear Bill Gates, dir. Sarah J. Christman
5:30 p.m.:
“Helen Hill Remembered” pays tribute to the New Orleans experimental filmmaker who was killed by a home intruder on January 4, 2007. Watch selections of her work as well as films by her contemporaries. Proceeds from this screening will go to a college fund set up for Helen’s two-year-old son, Francis Pop.
7:30 p.m.:
“Great Garbage Patch Kids.” Second chance to view the mobile installation.
8:00 p.m.:
Helvetica, dir. Gary Hustwit. A documentary tribute to the world’s most popular font, invented in 1957. Preceded by How to Draw Clouds, dir. Salise Hughes; and Nuero Economy, dir. Jill Kennedy.
For more info, please visit the PDX site at Peripheral Produce.