Two years ago, in the thick of winter, Mischa Webley filmed the first episode of what would become “Hasaan Hates Portland,” an eight-episode web series starring Hasaan Thomas as its titular character. The show premiered Oct. 3 and has since garnered hundreds of thousands of views across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
The series is Webley’s first venture into comedy, a genre choice that felt necessary given the material, he said.
Race, Thomas said, is an issue inundated with shame, guilt and negativity, truths that make open conversation difficult. Continue reading... ““Hasaan Hates Portland” Garners Accolades”
A local production team led by New York University graduate-turned-Ashland-based screenwriter Monica Lynn Cortez is shooting a film placing Ashland’s sister city of Guanajuato, Mexico, at center stage. The project also has help from SOU’s Digital Cinema students and a star-studded local cast featuring Oregon Shakespeare Festival actors.
Filming started Friday morning at the Lithia Park pickleball courts, continuing Saturday, including at Hannon Library, with plans to shoot at SOU’s Digital Media Center over the weekend. Filming is slated to wrap up by mid-November. Continue reading... “Short Film Shooting in Ashland”
The Portland shot thriller “Cellar Door” is out now in select theaters and on streaming platforms. In this suspenseful thriller, a city-dwelling couple (Jordana Brewster, Scott Speedman) is looking to relocate to the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. While visiting the grandiose home of Emmett (Laurence Fishburne), a mysterious man with a talent for pairing the right property with the right people, the couple is suddenly gifted the house of their dreams with one nonnegotiable condition — they must never open the cellar door. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “Cellar Door” Out Now”
Congratulations to the Women in Film Portland 2024 Vision Grant Finalists. This year the Vision Grant will include two post-production grants – one for short docs and one for short narratives.
The finalists for the documentaries are:
Nisha Burton and Jessica Daughtery with “Over the Kitchen Table”
Jean Herbold with “The Pumpkin Lady of Fond du Lac”
Carrie Lederer with “Wild Horses at the Door”
The short narrative finalists are:
Fuschia Lin with “Future Cosmos Flow”
Eva Moss with “Controlling the Narrative”
Evlana Vergara with “Orgullo”
Finalists will be pitching their projects to the WIF PDX community panel and the winners will be announced at the WIF PDX Holiday Party & Fundraiser on November 15. Continue reading... “Women in Film Portland Announce Vision Grant Finalists”
On November 21 PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater presents a screening and an event featuring Portland-based environmental activist, documentarian, and non-profit founder, Chad Brown and the Portland premiere of his gorgeous short film Inward about renowned painter and explorer Michi Meko, who will be in attendance for this special screening.
A self-described explorer, cartographer, and abstractionist, Michi’s work seeks to capture the wild beauty of nature through the eyes of a “lone black man reporting back from the new world.” There will be a post-film discussion with Chad and Michi moderated by a special guest. Continue reading... ““Inward” w/ Michi Meko & Chad Brown”
“Home” transcends mere walls and roofs. Two short films explore the changing landscape of “home” through the eyes of Black Portlanders with the premiere of episode 2 of the award-winning series Where We Goin’ and the continuation of our Elder Anthologies series which features a moving letter from past Portland NAACP president Sharon Gary-Smith to the youth of the Rose City.
Where We Goin’ Episode II: The Power of Place follows art producer Intisar Abioto (Black Portlanders, Black Artists of Oregon) and Winta Yohannes of Albina Vision Trust the largest restorative redevelopment project in the country, we journey into the heart of neighborhoods once vibrant and thriving, now shadowed by a history of displacement and loss. Continue reading... ““Black Friday” Returns to The Hollywood Theatre on November 8”
House Special’s epic stop motion short film “Brim Broome Boulevard” is hitting the festival circuit! Watch this space to find out more about this delightful short film they produced with Elizabeth Kline Murphy and kArLy Richter for innovative Director PJ Magerko Liquorice. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “Brim Broome Boulevard” is Hitting the Fests”
OPB’s “Evergreen” podcast recently explored all about Oregon’s award-winning animation scene. Just think of “Coraline,” “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” and Will Vinton Studio’s California Raisins ad from 1986.
OPB’s Oregon Art Beat producer Eric Slade helped make a documentary about that state’s animation industry, and he’s here to break down how creators have established the state as a reigning animation powerhouse that’s influencing the art form’s legacy and future.
Listen to the episode here.
Continue reading... “‘The Evergreen’: All about Oregon’s Animation Magic”
On Monday December 2nd, Oregon Film and the Hollywood Theatre present a special screening with Q&A of Eastern Oregon shot “Breakup Season.”
A young man brings his girlfriend to his rural Oregon hometown for Christmas and to meet his family, but upon arriving, things do not go as planned and an argument leads to a breakup. However, because of the winter weather, his newly minted ex is now stuck with him and his family for the rest of the holiday season. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “Breakup Season” Special Screening at The Hollywood Theatre”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year to break up.
In the new trailer for Eastern Oregon shot “Breakup Season,” a young man (Chandler Riggs) brings his girlfriend (Samantha Isler) back to his rural Oregon hometown to meet his family for the first time over Christmas. After a late night argument turns leads to them breaking up, winter weather strands his newly minted ex at his family home for the rest of the holiday season.
The indie holiday dramedy from writer-director H. Continue reading... “#OregonMade ‘Breakup Season’ Lands Distribution”