Portland, Oregon Movie Reviews & Times - WWeek.com/Movies

A New Documentary Chronicles the Struggles and Successes of Minority Winemakers in Oregon

"There’s hardly any people of color in the wine industry. Because there’s only a handful, let’s enrich the story by sharing other people’s journeys.”

Bennett Campbell Ferguson
July 31, 2018

Your Weekly Roundup of New Movies

WW Staff February 13

A Portland Documentarian is up for an Academy Award with the Short Lifeboat

Skye Fitzgerald, whose documentary short Lifeboat has been nominated for an Academy Award, never set out for fame. The director grew up in rural Monument, Ore., without electricity or running water, earned an MFA at the University of Oregon and embarked on a career making films that highlight social injustice around the globe. His latest Oscar-contending movie depicts efforts to save desperate migrants from drowning off the coast of Libya.

Jay Horton February 12

Watch Aidy Bryant Play a Portland Version of Seattle Writer Lindy West in the First Trailer for Hulu’s “Shrill”

Instead of writing for Seattle’s The Stranger like the real-life West, Annie works at a fictional Portland alt-weekly The Weekly Thorn. The show was filmed in Portland last summer, and the Fremont Bridge makes a brief appearance in the show’s first trailer, which was released today.

Shannon Gormley February 11

Your Weekly Roundup of New Movies

Here’s what’s new in theaters this week.

WW Staff February 6

The 20th Animation Show of Shows Brings the Best New Short Works to Portland

Life cycles abound in the 15 short works comprising this year’s Animation Show of Shows, which comes to Cinema 21 this week. Whether for flightless green birds, grizzled sailors or amorphous blobs, the many existences portrayed in this curated lineup of animated shorts tend to loop, mirror each other or mutate into new existences altogether.

Chance Solem-Pfeifer February 5

Walking Through Nearly a Century of Locally Filmed Pet Projects, WW Selects Best in Show

Consider the following films the best of breed to enjoy with our Pet Issue.

Jay Horton January 30

A Documentary in the Works Tells the Exploding Hearts Story

Almost exactly 15½ years after the fatal car accident that claimed the lives of three young Portland musicians headed home from a tour following a string of sold-out shows and rising fame, the Exploding Hearts’ star has never shined brighter. A documentary on the former band is in production and surviving member Terry Six is participating.

Jay Horton January 23

The Filmed Fragments of Seemingly Trivial Daily Life Build to an Offhanded Social History

Extra Ordinary: Short Films & Videos About Everyday Life, shown as part of NW Film Center’s ongoing Northwest Tracking series, which highlights the work of regional independent filmmakers, exhibits the other half of Perini’s oeuvre. Before she focused her lens on the lives of fellow Oregonians, Perini aimed her camera the opposite direction: inward.

Lauren Yoshiko January 17

Movie Madness Offers Free Rentals to Furloughed Federal Workers

Movie Madness is offering free video rentals to government workers affected by the funding impasse that’s led to an estimated 800,000 people missing their first scheduled pay date Jan. 11. Anyone who’s interested in borrowing one of the films just needs to show proof of federal employment at checkout.

Andi Prewitt January 15