Filmmaking With Braaains

[September 10th, 2008]

Jordan Ariel, Amy Mae Garrett and Jordan Hanley haven’t personally experienced the brain-numbing drudgery of life in a cubicle farm. They are, after all, still in high school. But they know a good idea when they hear it. So last fall, when they and seven other students discussed what kind of movie to shoot as part of the NW Film Center’s Young Filmmakers Program, they struck upon a gem of a satirical concept: Zombie Office. As the students took turns directing, editing and acting, they cast Garrett as a temp in a peculiar workplace. “This new job, there’s just zombies everywhere,” Ariel explains. The finished Zombie Office will be featured at this weekend’s 32nd Annual Young People’s Film and Video Festival, alongside 15 other selected works crafted by kid auteurs from across the Northwest. If they keep this up, they may never need a desk job.

JORDAN HANLEY
Age: 17. School: Centennial Learning Center. Favorite part of filmmaking: “ I would say the filming itself. It seems like everybody has a good time and is a little loose.” Hardest part: “Acting. I had to do a little bit. In general, I can’t do it. I was one of the zombies, and they had me wait in this closet for hours. It was literally 99 degrees in there, and they were outside drinking cold water.” Coolest thing he did this summer: “ I just did another film—Fatman, about an overweight superhero.” Has seen The Dark Knight: Seven times.

JORDAN ARIEL
Age: 16. School: Wilson. Favorite part of filmmaking: “I like editing it all together into one long piece you can just watch and that’s your movie.” Hardest part: “Just coming up with ideas.” Coolest thing he did this summer: “We built a gazebo, just me and my brother, in the forest. It’s, like, a legit gazebo.” Has seen The Dark Knight: Twice.

AMY MAE GARRETT
Age: 17. School: NW Academy. Favorite part of filmmaking: “I really like pre-production. Everyone’s just sitting around, kind of pissed at each other, just shouting out ideas. It’s a little tedious, but it’s fun.” Hardest part: Editing. “It’s hard for me to sit in front of a computer screen for hours.” Coolest thing she did this summer: “I went to Hawaii. A free trip to Hawaii. My boyfriend’s family took me.” Has seen The Dark Knight: Twice. “I saw it opening night at midnight, if that counts for anything.”

^Headout picks

THURSDAY SEPT. 11
[PERFORMANCE] MIKE DAISEY

Known for his high-energy stage shows, Daisey chooses for his TBA Fest topic everybody’s favorite shady government agency: the Department of Homeland Security. Winningstad Theatre, PCPA, 1111 SW Broadway, 248-4335. 6:30 pm Thursday-Sunday Sept. 11-14. $15 for members, $20 non-members. All ages.

[WORDS] STEVEN WAX

Lawyer and author Steven Wax (Kafka Comes to America) explains how the greatest victim of 9/11 was the Bill of Rights. Congregation Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave., 475-1182. 7:30 pm. Free. All ages.

FRIDAY SEPT. 12
[DISH] NW CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

Finally, somebody created a festival devoted to the great culinary equalizer: chocolate. Ecotrust, 721 NW 9th Ave. $20 for a three-day pass. Friday, Sept. 12-Sunday, Sept. 14. Visit nwchocolatefestival.com. See page 29.

[MUSIC] FLYING LOTUS

Witness the dark, brooding sounds of L.A.’s Flying Lotus: The beats—big, monstrous things of pure beauty—blow just about every other laptop maestro out of the water. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 239-7639. 9 pm. $9. 21+.

SATURDAY SEPT. 13
[TITTIES] BEST OF OUR BURLESQUE

The second annual B.O.O.B.S., a tittirrific showcase of Northwest burlesque performers, benefits local breast-cancer aid org Breast Friends. Berbati’s Pan, 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579. 9 pm. $10-$12.

[MUSIC] ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO

After flying under the radar for far too long, Alejandro Escovedo’s big attention-grabbing performance at the DNC should bring in a host of new fans to his kind of rootsy, kind of folky tunes. When the Boss showers someone with adoration, you don’t take it lightly. Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave., 233-1994. 8 pm. $20. All ages.

SUNDAY SEPT. 14
[MUSIC] CITY DANCE

Third Angle musicians perform adventurous music to local choreography in architect Lawrence Halprin’s iconic PDX parks. Ira Keller Fountain Park, Southwest 3rd Avenue and Clay Street. 1 and 4 pm. Free.

MONDAY SEPT. 15
[MUSIC] SPIRITUALIZED

J. Spaceman and Spiritualized usually headline big theaters. We’re floating in space and just thinking about how freaking amazingly intimate and momentous this is. Berbati’s, 231 SW Ankeny St., 248-4579. 9 pm. $22 in advance, $25 at the door. 21+.