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Festival director Josh Leake has said he wants the Portland Film Festival to be the Rose City's Sundance.
Looking at its newly-announced lineup—with features like "a quirky comedy about following your dreams" and "a musical journey into the forgotten corners of Jamaican reggae,"---PDXFF at least got the indie art-house vibe down pat.
Not to be confused with the Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) in February, the Portland Film Festival is a week of 214 screenings, afterparties and artists workshops Sept. 1-7 at venues around the city. So what makes it so Portland-y? Katie Holmes as a lusty manic depressive? A cancer patient who just wants to be Batman? A woman who sources sperm from her late wife's brother? Like last year, the opening night features and many of the festival's shorts are set or shot here.
But what really makes PDXFF so definitively Portland? It includes a lot of beer.
Drink while you watch:
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Ten films to celebrate the best of independent cinema.
6 Angry Women - U.S. (Director: Sridhar Reddy) A young, unarmed black teenager is shot by a white neighborhood watchman, and it is up to a jury of six women to determine if the man is guilty of murder.
Aimy in a Cage - U.S. (Director: Hooroo Jackson) A creative teenage girl is placed into a mind-altering procedure to civilize her, while news of a virus epidemic spreads throughout the world.
As Good as You - U.S. (Director: Heather de Michele) A woman chases her dream to start a family by asking her late wife's brother to be her sperm donor and craziness ensues.
Divine Access - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Steven Chester Prince) Jack Harriman becomes a spiritual celebrity after debunking an evangelical host of a local public-access TV show.
Drama - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Sophie Mathisen) Life is a difficult script to learn.
For Love & Broken Bones - South Africa (Director: Tebogo Malope) When a lonely and isolated debt collector falls in love with his latest assignment, he must choose to follow his heart.
The Makings of You - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Matt Amato) Frank Wallis and Judy Meadows are comfortably numb to their lives, but when a chance encounter brings them together, their love for each other reignites life's sweet, unimagined possibilities.
Odd Brodsky - U.S. (Director: Cindy Baer) A quirky comedy about following your dreams.
Oloibiri - South Africa (Director: Curtis Graham) Based on true events, a story about the first oil well drilled in Nigeria and how the impact affects a small Nigerian delta village and the lives of those involved.
Touched with Fire - U.S. (Director: Paul Dalio) Two manic depressives meet in a psychiatric hospital and begin a romance that brings out all of the beauty and horror of their condition. Cast: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby, Griffin Dunne, Bruce Altman, Christine Lahti.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Ten new films from around the world.
Audition - U.S. (Director: Matt Herron) A romance is portrayed by 100 actors who compete for two lead roles and a chance to perform the final terrifying scene.
Business of Amateurs - U.S. (Director: Bob DeMars) An ex-athlete turned filmmaker seeks answers regarding student-athlete rights and discovers uncorrected injustices.
Congo Beat the Drum - Israel, Jamaica (Director: Ariel Tagar) A musical journey into the forgotten corners of Jamaican reggae and its past champions.
Generation Maidan - Ukraine (Director: Andrew Tkach) A group of Ukrainian filmmakers capture history in the making.
I Am Thalente - South Africa, U.S. (Director: Natalie Johns) A homeless teenager from South Africa attracts international attention with his effortless style on a skateboard and is invited to travel to the U.S. to skate with the pros.
Kings of Kallstadt - Germany, U.S. (Director: Simone Wendel) A humorous documentary about German small village life and its famous American relatives: Donald Trump and Heinz Ketchup.
Lost and Found - Japan, U.S., Canada (Directors: Nicolina Lanni, John Choi) One year after Japan's largest earthquake, beachcombers along the Pacific Northwest coastline started finding Japanese items washing ashore.
Made in Japan - Japan, U.S. (Director: Josh Bishop) A journey through music, marriage and the impact of the corporate world on the dreams of one woman.
Sweet Micky for President - Haiti, U.S. (Director: Ben Patterson) Musician Pras Michel of the group the Fugees goes up against the corrupt government of Haiti by mobilizing a presidential campaign for controversial pop star Sweet Mickey.
Tyke: Killer Elephant - Australia (Directors: Susan Lambert and Stefan Moore) Tyke the circus elephant breaks free in front of thousands of onlookers.
OPENING NIGHT FILM (DOCUMENTARY)
GRU-PDX - Brazil, U.S. (Director: Daniel Barosa) Set amidst the rich contemporary music scene of Portland, Oregon, Brazilian indie band Quarto Negro journeys to the city to record its second album. During a six-month stay, it discovers the highs and lows of musical life in Portland, and that recording its new album isn't a task for the faint of heart. WORLD PREMIERE
OPENING NIGHT FILM (NARRATIVE)
Birds of Neptune - U.S. (Director: Daniel Steven Richter) Two sisters live alone in their Portland childhood house trying to keep memories of a mysterious past intact. When a man enters their world and starts to pull at the fragile threads holding everything in place, they find themselves facing harsh truths about their past. Cast: Britt Harris, Molly Elizabeth Parker, Kurt Conroyd. NORTHWEST PREMIERE
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around The World - U.S. (Director: Dana Nachman) The Make-A-Wish Foundation and the city of San Francisco join forces to grant a 5-year-old boy's wish to become Batman for a day, drawing worldwide attention. PORTLAND PREMIERE
MUSIC MAVERICKS
Documentaries honoring musicians, music and culture.
Congo Beat the Drum - Israel, Jamaica (Director: Ariel Tagar) A musical journey into the forgotten corners of Jamaican reggae and its past champions.
The Glamour & the Squalor - U.S. (Director: Marq Evans) The story of Marco Collins, a legendary Seattle DJ who played the music that defines the '90s grunge generation. Featuring: Carrie Brownstein, Shirley Manson, Macklemore, Mike McCready, Ben Gibbard, Kurt Cobain.
Morphine: Journey of Dreams - U.S., Italy (Director: Mark Shuman) The in-depth tale of the âlow-rockâ '90s Boston band who blazed like a comet across the global music scene.
The Whole Gritty City - U.S. (Director: Richard Barber) An immersion into the world of three New Orleans school marching bands.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Unique one-time film events, marquee names and highlights of modern film.
Bereave - U.S. (Directors: Evangelos Giovanis, George Giovanis) Garvey thinks he has figured out how to die alone. When his beloved wife goes missing; he must live to save her.
The Frontier - U.S. (Director: Oren Shai) A desperate young woman discovers a violent gang of thieves at a desert motel and hatches a plan to steal their loot.
Like Me - U.S. (Director: Michael Kuell) A documentary about NYC comedian and actor Micah Sherman attempts to overcome his lack of boundaries and social anxiety.
The Makings of You - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Matt Amato) Frank Wallis and Judy Meadows are comfortably numb to their lives, but a chance encounter brings them together in love.
The Resurrection of Jake the Snake - U.S. (Director: Steve Yu) A documentary portrait of legendary wrestler Jake âThe Snakeâ Roberts.
This is Happening - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Ryan Jaffe) Two estranged siblings. Five pounds of pot. One runaway grandmother.
We are Twisted F@&*ING SISTER - Germany, U.S. (Director: Andrew Horn) A documentary about the history of the iconic '80s metal band Twisted Sister.
Yosemite - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Gabrielle Demeestere) Set in 1985, intertwining tales of three fifth-grade friends unfold as the threat of a mountain lion looms over Palo Alto.
MIDNIGHT SPOTLIGHT
After dark movies full of weird, provocative, and comedic new cinema.
Dude Bro Party Massacre III - U.S. (Directors: Tomm Jacobsen, Michael Rousselet, Jon Salmon) A hysterical and bloody twist on '80s slasher flicks.
Mega Summer Hit: A Slam Dunkumentary - U.S. (Director: Ryan Max O'Meila) A mockumentary about a social media contest that sends its makers into the deepest corners of their minds.
Space Program - U.S. (Director: Van Neistat) Two female astronauts go to Mars in a handmade space program.
NORTHWEST
Films made in the Northwest area and by Northwest filmmakers.
The Black Sea - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Brian Padian) Five friends arrive at a beach house on the Oregon Coast for a holiday weekend, where one of them mysteriously disappears overnight.
Deep Dark - U.S. (Director, Screenwriter: Michael Medaglia) A failed sculptor is about to end it all until he finds a strange, talking hole in the wall.
Vintage Tomorrows - U.S. (Director: Byrd McDonald) A documentary about the steampunk movement
GO: PDXFF is Sept. 1-7 at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave,, and other Portland venues. $49-$199. portlandfilmfestival.com for passes.
WWeek 2015