Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POWFest) Announces 2012 Program Highlights

Portland, Oregon – February 15, 2012 – The Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (a.k.a. POWFest) is excited to announce the programming highlights of our upcoming 5th Anniversary festival scheduled to take place March 8 – 11, 2012 at the Hollywood Theatre.

As the only film festival in Portland exclusively dedicated to showcasing films directed by women and encouraging women to take on the director’s chair; we are one of only a handful of festivals in the U.S. dedicated to women-directed film.  With each year, the festival has continued to grow.  Attendance has more than doubled and ticket sales have increased by 75%, exposing more works by women to the film-going community.

Jurying submissions of over 400 films from female filmmakers around the world, POWFest organizers strive to include a broad collection of films by a range of filmmakers that include first-timers to veterans who have been working in cinema for many years.  Over 30 directors will be in attendance this year!

For a complete list of programming and schedule details, visit www.powfest.com.

Opening Night – Thursday, March 8th, 2012, 7:00pm, Hollywood Theatre

  • Join us for a Shorts I: Locals Showcase,  featuring short films by Portland directors, including “Stella’s Flight,” a dramedy about a woman trapped in a life that even her dog finds boring, written and directed by OPB Live Wire host, Courtenay Hameister.  Immediately following the screening, make your way to the festival’s 5-Year Birthday Boogie- hosted by @Large Films located at 807 NE Couch St., Portland, and sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Company. This Opening Night Party will include a “Boogie Wonderland” set with DJ Brandon.  Free with your ticket stub or POWFest Pass or $5-$10 suggested donation at the door.

 

Friday, March 9th, 2012

  • In partnership with the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA), POWFest will present the Northwest Film Financing Symposium on Friday & Saturday of the festival. Day 1: Finance & Feature Distribution will be held at The Hotel deLuxe (729 SW 15th Ave, Portland) from 9 a.m- 12 p.m. and will feature a variety of speakers including Stephanie Slack of Mar Vista Entertainment and Vince Porter of the Governor’s Office of Film and Television. The series will continue on Saturday with a discussion on digital distribution and marketing at the Hollywood Theatre.
  • MY BEST DAY (7 p.m.): Narrative feature by Erin Greenwell, who presented a film at POWFest 2008, is wowing Sundance audiences with her latest film.  This witty, wacky multi-character comedy features a rural milieu that’s authentically American: a place where people don’t have health care, run out of gas, get places by walking the train tracks, and don’t even envy each other either. It’s about being different, and the film’s message is how people cope with it.
  • POWFest Classic Screening (9:15 p.m.) FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH by director Amy Heckerling. One of the classic comedies of the 1980s, this seminal teen film provided a look into the awkwardness, pressures and high jinks of a group of high school students, featuring an all-star cast including Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates and Judge Reinhold.

 

Saturday, March 10th, 2012, Starting at 9 a.m. – The Hollywood Theatre

  • Northwest Film Financing Symposium, Day 2: Digital Distribution & Marketing. (9 am)
  • POWFest Classic Screening (12 p.m.) SHUT UP AND SING: Documentary that follows country superstars the Dixie Chicks in the wake of singer Natalie Maines’ controversial comments in 2003 about George W. Bush, by Oscar Award winner Barbara Kopple
  • Animation/Experimental Shorts Showcase (12:30 p.m.)
  • Documentary Showcase (2:30 p.m.): “Ordinary People/Extraordinary Lives” featuring three short documentaries that highlight some incredible yet ordinary people.
  • Documentary Showcase (3 p.m.): EI VOOR LATER & ANGEL FOR HIRE (3 p.m.), two films that focus on alternative ways to conceive children
  • STEALING ROSES (5 p.m.):  Walter (JOHN HEARD), a middle-aged man, down on his luck with no money, feels his back is against a wall with few options when his wife, Rose (CINDY WILLIAMS), develops throat cancer. Without adequate funds for medical treatments- too poor for health insurance, too young for Medicare and too “rich” for Medicaid – Walter resorts to drastic measures and decides to rob a bank with help from his eccentric friends – while his son, a cop, tries to stop him. By local director, Megan Johnson.
  • Shorts III: International Showcase (5:15 p.m.): Featuring films from: Australia, Bulgaria, Spain, India, Canada and the UK
  • LUNA Mixer and LUNAFEST (7 p.m.): A traveling film festival of award-winning short films by, for and about women comes to POWFest for a second year. This program of nine films – filled with stories of reflection, hope and humor – will travel to over 150 cities and screen in front of 20,000 people raising funds to benefit The Breast Cancer Fund.  Reception to follow.
  • Shorts IV: Mature Themes (10 p.m.) A collection of films of a more adult nature.

 

Sunday, March 11th, 2012, Starting at 12 p.m. – Hollywood Theatre

  • Documentary Showcase: THE SILENT TRUTH & SISTERS IN ARMS featuring two films about women in the Military (12 p.m.)
  • FADED: Girls and Binge Drinking (2:30 p.m.):  by Mount Hood Community College Dean of Integrated Media, Janet McIntyre. This 60-minute documentary film profiles young girls as they battle varying degrees of binge drinking and alcoholism. By presenting girls from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, each story is unique. Raw and unflinching in its honesty, the film presents the heartbreak and struggles of young women growing up under the allure of a booze culture.
  • Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Short Film Showcase celebrating International Women’s Day (12:30 p.m.)
  • Documentary Showcase: THE 90TH MINUTE, NERVES OF STEEL & THE EIGHTH PARALLEL, (3 p.m.):  Three short films focused on Women’s Soccer, the Oregon Ballet Theater and Women in Extreme Sports.
  • Basic Rights Oregon Benefit (Reception at 4:30 p.m., screening at 5 p.m.):  Special Screening of AUSTIN UNBOUND, the first documentary about a man that is deaf and transgender by local director Eliza Greenwood , and MARRIED IN SPANDEX, a documentary about  one same-sex couple that wants their wedding to be about their family and not a statement about so-called family values. Told simply, despite the complicated questions its story raises, Married in Spandex is part road movie, part political documentary, part performance art and, utterly and unquestionably, all love story. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Basic Rights Oregon Education Fund (www.basicrights.org)
  • POWFest Classic Screening and Closing Night Feature: SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (7:30 p.m.) directed by Nora Ephron. Fate and a tenacious 8-year-old boy conspire to unite lovelorn widower Sam (Tom Hanks) and unhappily engaged Annie (Meg Ryan) in Nora Ephron’s beloved (and Oscar-nominated) romantic comedy, inspired by the 1957 classic film An Affair to Remember.

 

POWFest is especially grateful to have been awarded a Project Grant by the Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) for the second year in a row for the 2012 festival, and appreciates our sponsors: LUNA, New Belgium Brewing Company, ADi, KZME, The Hotel DeLuxe, @Large, The Faerie Godmother Fund, Yelp, Baby Wit, WIF-PDX, OMPA, FARM, REX, Pay Dogs, Poster Child, ¼ Orange and Milagros.

 

ABOUT POW FEST

POWFest showcases the art and cinematic contribution of women filmmakers from around the world and seeks to present films that have been directed or co-directed by women; of any length, style, or genre.  By providing a platform to exhibit the work of today’s top women directors, POWFest is helping to create opportunities for women working in all areas of the film industry.   By honoring female pioneers in film, we provide the support and recognition necessary for the next generation of leading women filmmakers.  In the past five years POWFest has hosted four prominent and very accomplished women directors: Allison Anders, Irene Taylor-Brodsky, Kathryn Bigelow and Gillian Armstrong.

 

Contact

Tara Johnson-Medinger
Executive Director, The Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival
[email protected]
www.powfest.com
503.267.1126

POWFest is produced by Sour Apple Productions in partnership with the Hollywood Theatre

 

 

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2 thoughts on “Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POWFest) Announces 2012 Program Highlights

  1. Dear POW,

    My name is Willow Jon Collamer. I’m a film maker/world traveler/musician and I’m attending a 10 day documentary film camp this summer in Twisp, WA. I just wanted to share this with you and your community of like minded film makers.

    Learn this and more at Wild Mind Film Camp. This 10-day camp in the beautiful mountains of WA, teaches seasoned filmmakers to adapt and overcome the unique challenges of documentary filmmaking. Taught by a hand-picked team of award-winning filmmakers whose credits include Oscars, Emmy’s and Sundance selections. Apply by May 15th, 2012 @ WildMindFilmCamp.com. Food & Board Included.

    Thank you for your time.
    Willow Jon Collamer

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