NORTHWEST TRACKING
BLACK DOG TRILOGY
DIRECTOR: SCOTT RAY BECKER / PORTLAND
This revealing cinematic essay in three parts is a poetic glance into filmmaker Scott Ray Becker’s (GRIDLOCKER’S PARADOX) recovery from clinical depression (“the Black Dog”) through his relationship with his ailing father, an old dog, and a San Francisco artist with developmental disabilities. Conceived, written, and principally shot by Becker over seven years, the films follow his recovery after undergoing electro-convulsive shock therapy. The recovery process found Becker entering his first 100-mile ultra-marathon in 2005, and though he didn’t finish the grueling feat of endurance, he credits long-distance running with leading him back toward a balanced, peaceful self. BLACK DOG TRILOGY shines an authentic light into an interior state of mind that affects millions of Americans. The trilogy includes: LIFE IS REAL (12 mins.), ONE RAN OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (20 mins.), and BLACK DOG RUNNING (34 mins.). With director Scott Ray Becker in attendance.
PRECEDED BY
OLD TOWN DIARY
DIRECTOR: BRIAN LINDSTROM / PORTLAND
“OLD TOWN DIARY is Lindstrom’s stately, hope-filled short about Portlanders struggling with mental illness and addiction. A true collaboration with its subjects, DIARY intersperses real-life testimonials with a dramatic narrative of a composite character (played with authenticity by Everclear’s Art Alexakis, a recovering addict) created by participants in a local community engagement program.”—Stan Hall, The Oregonian. (15 mins.) With director Brian Lindstrom in attendance.