The Confluence

Love Is King will host a private advance screening of UNSEEN on June 22 at its Portland office, gathering the veterans, sponsors, board members, and volunteers who supported the film before it reaches a wider audience this summer.

UNSEEN, written and directed by Chad Brown, follows five U.S. veterans on a 200-mile bikepacking expedition through Oregon’s backcountry, where they confront trauma, build resilience, and claim the right to roam freely outdoors.

All updates, future screenings, and showings near you will be posted at: roamunseen.org

#OregonMade “A Simple Machine” released a full length trailer and announced upcoming screening dates.

A coming-of-age story about the cost of wanting less in a world built on wanting more, “A Simple Machine” is written and directed by Mark Alan Hoffman. Inspired by the novel from Evan P. Schneider.

Starring Richard Blackmon, Gabriela Bloomgarden, and Brad Carter.

Original score by Mark Orton (The Holdovers, Nebraska) and John Hancock.

Cinematography by Kevin Fletcher (It’s What’s Inside, Paradise Records)

Winner of 3 Audience Awards – Cleveland International Film Festival, Heartland International Film Festival, Lighthouse International Film Festival.

Chris Elliott (Scary Movie franchise), Michael Ian Black (Wet Hot American Summer), Sara Tomko (Resident Alien), Oliver Cooper (Project X) and James Duval (Donnie Darko!) have entered production on Bad Day for Bigfoot, the sophomore feature from Zach Green and Devin O’Rourke on the heels of their cult comedy Foil.

The film follows a Bigfoot hoax that goes horribly wrong in the middle of an actual Sasquatch hot spot, leading to a chaotic struggle between the hoaxers, investigators, and a supernatural force that defies explanation.

PFCAT (Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology) today announced the first programming highlights for its 14th annual festival, taking place August 18–23, 2026 at OMSI. Now in its fourth year in Portland, the festival has expanded to six days in response to record film submissions. This annual event will bring together animators, filmmakers, and audiences for screenings, presentations, and networking events celebrating visionary filmmaking and animation.

Festival programming will take place throughout OMSI, utilizing the Empirical Theater, Kendall Planetarium, Auditorium, and Theory spaces.

A Work-in-Progress Screening of “Sea Rose Ashes”

Join us in celebrating and supporting the continued journey of “Sea Rose Ashes.” Experience an early look at the documentary, hear from the creative team behind it, and connect with others who are passionate about storytelling and independent film.

Friday, June 27th at Desert Island Studios
Doors at 7:00PM
Program at 7:30PM

The event will be produced and emceed by Jessica Daugherty and co-produced by Olivia Bayer.

The evening will feature two screenings:

• A special episode of Oregon Art Beat highlighting filmmaker Vu Pham and the making of Sea Rose Ashes
  An exclusive sneak peek of Vu Pham’s forthcoming docufiction, Sea Rose Ashes
• Following the screenings, Vu will be joined by special guest Jacob Pander, OPB producer and creator of the recent Oregon Art Beat segment on the project.

Oregon Film’s Director of Strategic Initiatives and Community, Jane Ridley recently wrote an guest post for the Oregon Heritage Exchange about her work with creating an Oral History collection as part of the Oregon Film Trail.

She says: “Last year, while participating in MentorCorps, I began shaping an idea that had been on my mind for some time: creating an oral history collection tied to the Oregon Film Trail and Oregon’s rich film history.”

Read the whole article here.

The Portland Events and Film Office at Prosper Portland, in partnership with Travel Portland, is excited to celebrate this year’s Post-Production Grant recipients. Four feature films have been selected to receive funding aimed at supporting the completion of locally made projects and empowering Portland filmmakers to grow toward larger, more resourced productions.

From a competitive pool of more than 30 applicants, four projects were selected to each receive $7,500 in post-production funding: “Dragathon: Meeting Hate with Joy,” “Sansei Sensibility,” “Albina Music Trust: Echoes of Albina,” and “Are We Cool.”

Famed IndieWire reporter Dana Harris-Bridson spent the last weekend in May in Portland witnessing for herself the Criterion Mobile Closet in Portland, the Tomorrow Theater and the Cinema Unbound Awards.

She notes: “Cinema Unbound honorees ranged from the James Beard-nominated chefs who catered the extraordinary Indonesian dinner to comedian Maria Bamford. Each table had themed objects aligned with the honorees. From the clappy hands to pom-poms and friendship bracelets, everything was cheap, cheerful, and interactive.

Energy was so high that when the fundraising portion arrived, Dotson started by asking who could give $25,000; four could.

Portland filmmaker Vu Pham has long been known for his work in the arena of narrative fiction.

During a 2020 trip to Juneau, Alaska, which coincided with the start of COVID-19 lockdowns in the U.S., Pham began to formulate the idea for his foray into feature-length documentary.

Oregon Art Beat highlights Vu’s journey and the project, “Sea Rose Ashes,” which explores Pham’s family history, including he and his mother’s escape from communist Vietnam and his mother’s murder in 1983.

“There was sort of the wellspring of a motivation to somehow seize control and regain agency of my life,” Pham said.