portland filmmakers

Inspired By Displacement in Portland, “Black Genius” Looks for Alternatives to Gentrification in Memphis

Abioto’s film is full of people who want to do something different. Rapper and high school football coach Jason “Da Hater” Harris wants the city’s musicians to get more national attention. Singer and actress Cequita Monique talks about growing literal and intellectual gardens. In the beginning of the film, Abioto talks to Aaron Snowden, an Air Force veteran who bought a house in south Memphis to host artists’ residencies and community gatherings. The day before Abioto interviewed Snowden, he also opened a neighborhood dog park. “That’s a milestone, believe it or not,” he says as he looks away from the camera with a slight smile.

“The Texture of Falling” is a Poetic Journey Through Portland Landmarks and BDSM

In the pantheon of movies about the ecstasy and torment of being addicted to another human being, Allred’s film is closer to Terrence Malik’s fluid Days of Heaven than (500) Days of Summer—it prefers symbolic images to straightforward scenes. Louisa’s eventual emergence from Luke’s toxic influence, for instance, is evoked not through dialogue, but through a shot of her smiling confidently while the skyscrapers of Portland tower behind her, serving as a potent visual metaphor for her newfound internal strength.

“High Lakes” Depicts Working-Class Desperation At An Oregon Resort

Minty’s desire to create High Lakes was rooted in a desire to highlight under valued corridors of American society. Minty perceived a link between the monotonous work undertaken by the resort’s staff with the barriers facing women directors.

A Portland Filmmaker’s New Movie Finds Hope In A Dark, Near Future

Set in a grim 2023, the dystopian sci-fi shows the high stakes, illegal attempts of Regina (Sidony O’Neal) to get her friend Abigail (Paige Moreland) to a doctor who can perform an abortion.

Portland Director Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck” Asserts That Feel-Good Movies Deserve To Be Taken Seriously

Even though the movie’s point of view can be distilled to a single sentence, Wonderstruck brings the sentiment to life with such imaginative detail that it hardly seems heavy-handed.

Portland-Raised James Blue Helped Pave the Way For Independent Filmmaking, But His Large Legacy Is Little Known

Outside of academic circles, James Blue’s name and legacy aren’t exactly well known. Daniel Miller is trying to change that. His new film “Citizen Blue: The Life and Art of Cinema Master James Blue,” seeks to illuminate the life and career of an underappreciated innovator of cinema.

The First Feature-Length Film By A Prolific Portland Animator Is A Trippy Symphony of Images

Priestley doesn’t operate within the ordinary. The Portland animator has been making films since 1983, when she used rubber stamps to create a seven-minute moving canvas. Since then, her vow to make a film a year helped her create a huge portfolio of 27 films.

The Work of A Niche But Imaginative Portland Filmmaker Is Getting A Retrospective

Calling Colin Manning’s work “tough to describe” is a bit of an understatement. Instead of a film in the traditional sense, Manning’s work is more like amorphous forms of color and sound. The Portland-based artist’s films are essentially collages: disparate films, patterns and advertisements projected on top of each other.

Todd Haynes, One of Portland’s Most Acclaimed Directors, Is Making A Velvet Underground Documentary

The untitled Velvet Underground project will be the independent filmmaker’s first documentary in earnest, complete with new interviews of the surviving band members and archival footage.

A Portland Filmmaker Takes An Acid-Tinged Journey Into Saharan Folklore

Like any good hallucinatory experience, it takes Zerzura a bit of time to kick in. But when it does, what begins as a relatively straightforward hero’s quest suddenly transforms into a striking, surreal and utterly gorgeous symphony of bizarre, cerebral imagery.

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