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The Portland Film Festival returns with another year that offers plenty to see alongside one of its most exciting films ever—the Oregon premiere of Kristen Stewart’s adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s acclaimed memoir The Chronology of Water.
PFF organizer Josh Leake says presale tickets end on Thursday, Sept. 25. Moviegoers can purchase full passes, VIP experiences and individual tickets for any screening they want to see at the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation’s Center for Native Arts & Cultures in the Buckman neighborhood—three tickets for any three movies, for instance—or for The Chronology of Water’s showings at the Mission Theater. He clarified over the phone that tickets will be first come, first serve, so anyone attending a highly anticipated showing should arrive a minimum of 10 minutes early to guarantee seating. The Chronology of Water’s showtimes and other festival details will be finalized on Sept. 25 at PFF’s website, which also offers details on discounts for seniors, students, tribal members and union members.
The following recommendations, local indie gems and a duo of documentaries, offer a distinct look at Portland and the people who call it home. The following showings are among those not to be missed:
Saints and Warriors (2025), dir. Patrick Shannon
Kicking things off is Saints and Warriors, an already solid sports documentary that profiles a group of talented Indigenous basketball players and their broader community of Skidegate, British Columbia. It’s an exciting sports story that follows them preparing for the All Native Basketball Tournament, while also reflecting on the way the region’s history still echoes in the present. As compassionate and patient as it is compelling in the final stretch, Saints and Warriors is the type of incisive documentary that finds its greatest impact in telling marginalized peoples’ stories. Even as the players hit nothing but net, it’s everything that takes place off the court that proves to be the greatest slam dunk. Center for Native Arts & Cultures, 800 SE 10th Ave., 503-388-3443. 6:45 pm Thursday, Oct. 2.
Death’s Door (2025), dirs. Cara Ehlenfeldt, Ben Edwards
Screening as part of the Coming of Age Shorts Block, this silly and sweet little family-friendly film is a charming demonstration of local filmmaking talent. Death’s Door focuses on a lonely young teen Kaylee (Charlie Fogarty) who becomes best friends with Death (Alexandria McKinley-Prom). They play video games together and roast each other, seemingly without a care in the world, but life soon has other plans for them both. While this sounds like it could be something more heavy and horrifying, parents needn’t fret that this is too scary for kids. Death is voiced with less of a terrifying boom than a more kidlike tone just as the pair must frequently disguise themselves in clever quick cuts, giving the film a more lighthearted sense of humor. As the plot progresses from relatably awkward school projects to mature reflections on mortality and connection, Death’s Door settles into a gentle groove that, even with its budgetary limitations, wins you over in the end. Its stellar final shot may even make you wish you could go back to that age when all you had to do to leave the many perils of the world behind was to take a jump on a lonely trampoline. Center for Native Arts & Cultures. 8:30 pm Thursday and 3:30 pm Friday, Oct. 2 and 3.
Trash Baby (2025), dir. Jacy Mairs
This coming-of-age feature is a frequently painful one that still taps into plenty of more transcendent truths along the way. Twelve-year-old Stevie (Esther Harrison) tries to look out for herself and her little brother at a trailer park where she lives with her single mom, but she discovers adulthood is approaching faster than she realizes. While there is always a risk of falling into exploitation when portraying those living in precarity, local filmmaker Jacy Mairs brings a refreshing humanity to her film, just as she doesn’t shy away from the many challenges that her characters face. The result is a story that’s honest and heartbreaking in equal measure, with one complementing the other to create what just may be an essential new regional film. Center for Native Arts & Cultures. 3:30 pm Friday and 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4.
Karaoke From Hell (2025), dirs. Chip Mabry, Ben Mercer
Music documentaries are a dime a dozen, but there’s something truly original about the killer Karaoke From Hell. Even as it’s built around a band that performs covers of songs you’ve heard before, every detail it uncovers makes it a low-key, one-of-a-kind wonder. Telling the story of the Karaoke From Hell Band, the world’s first live karaoke band, it takes us from the Portland of the ’90s to the modern day to understand how this little group became a city staple. Where other music documentaries focus on big acts’ rise and fall from fame, this nuanced portrait is about something much more niche. It finds something more delicate and intriguing from the many eclectic characters we meet along the way. If you’ve ever listened to bad karaoke at a bar, it’s a healing balm for the soul. McMenamins Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St., 503-223-4527. 4 pm Sunday, Oct. 5.
The Chronology of Water (2025), dir. Kristen Stewart
An astounding adaptation of an already astounding memoir, The Chronology of Water is the type of film that knocks you flat just as it gently lifts you up when it counts. Played by a never-better Imogen Poots, Lidia Yuknavitch goes from leaving behind an abusive home in San Francisco to being a competitive swimmer in Texas, then a writer in Oregon working with Ken Kesey. It’s a film that doesn’t hold your hand as it challenges cinematic form. Never relying on establishing shots, and instead bringing us in for extreme close-up after extreme close-up, it’s a film that feels like a tight embrace you can’t get free of. Yet even as it’s often suffocating, you wouldn’t dare let go for fear of missing one moment of a flooring film that’s one of the year’s best. McMenamins Mission Theater. Multiple showtimes Sunday, Oct. 5.
SEE IT: Portland Film Festival, multiple locations, portlandfilm.org. See website for showtimes and ticket prices. Wednesday–Sunday, Oct. 1–5.