The Confluence

Los Angeles-based filmmaker Moriah Doepken, a 2020 graduate of SOU’s Digital Cinema program, returns to Ashland this year as guest director with the Digital Cinema program’s innovative “Crew Experience” course.

The Crew Experience production intensive is taught by Digital Cinema Professor Nora Zubizarreta, a filmmaker with professional experience in Los Angeles and New York City, and producer of the film Umama, which won gold at the Student Academy Awards.

Doepken graduated in 2024 from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University with an M.F.A.

In partnership with Travel Portland, the Office of Events & Film at Prosper Portland is excited to offer a grant opportunity for Portland-based independent film productions to support and offset the cost of the post-production process. Grant applications open on Thursday, March 26.

Funding is designed to encourage the completion of local feature-length films and position local producers to build toward larger, more resourced productions. This year, grants of $7,500 each will be awarded.

Want to learn more about the Post-Production Grant?

If you needed a reminder that you are the one who can make your film dreams come true, here it is. We are in search of the next short narrative the world needs to see, and you might just be the keeper of that story. Time to write!

All applicants receive script feedback from our panel of professionals. The winner will receive a large grant along with in-kind donations, and massive production support.

Script to Screen is free and you must be a member to apply, so join the Collective now if you haven’t already.

The nonprofit organization Unseen Films Oregon announced today the reading of its first
feature film, “Hold My Hand,” a gothic horror drama written by and starring local producer Rose
Harwood. “Hold My Hand” is scheduled to enter production this fall and represents a significant
milestone for the Ashland-based nonprofit organization.

“We’re building something exciting, and we’re inviting our vibrant local community to help
bring it to life,” said producer-actor-writer Rose Harwood. Rose most recently associate-
produced Bruce Campbell and Ida Gearon’s Ernie & Emma and has been a working actor and
producer for two decades.

Deadline announced recently that Daytime Emmy-nominated actress Vannessa Vasquez (Say A Little Prayer) is leading the Jon Garcia directed crime noir Motives opposite Efren Ramirez (Napoleon Dynamite) and Michael Raymond James (Godfather of Harlem).

The project reps Garcia’s 13th independent feature. Motives centers around Detective Izzy Morgan (Vasquez), a relentless investigator pulled into a dark and intricate case that exposes the hidden violence beneath wealth and privilege.

As Izzy and her partner, Detective Mark Navarro (Ramirez), dig deeper into a disturbing murder tied to the city’s elite youth, they uncover a sinister underbelly that challenges their moral limits.

The new festival is a project by Sports Bra founder and CEO Jenny Nguyen.

The Sports Bra famously broadcasts only women’s sports on its televisions. Starting this spring, the Northeast Portland bar will turn its attention to the big screen.

The inaugural International Women’s Sports Film Festival will be held at the Judy Kafoury Center for Youth Arts in downtown Portland on May 1–3. The festival will be dedicated entirely to films about women and nonbinary athletes.

The film festival has four women behind it.

KATU recently ran a story, in conjunction with their coverage around the Oscars, that featured artist Nick Stokes and the massive, magnificent mural he created that celebrates 100 years of Oregon Filmmaking. The mural contains more than 100 “easter eggs” that call out specific titles to many #OregonMade films.

Watch the video here:

The Portland shot, Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman starring feature, “Wishful Thinking” has had a successful festival opening at Austin’s SXSW.

Reviewer Angie Han wrote in the Hollywood Reporter: “Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman Conjure Fireworks in a Sharp and Playful High-Concept Romance.

Graham Parkes’ directorial debut, premiering at SXSW, centers on a bickering couple whose karmic energy has the ability to trigger storms, stock market bounces and more.”

Read the full review here.

Portland Panorama returns for its second year at Cinema 21 and The Hollywood Theatre in Portland.

Built by artists for artists, we serve as a dynamic international hub for filmmaking, bridging global voices with Portland’s creative community to foster exchange, build connections, and showcase our city’s legacy as a premier destination for innovative art.

In addition to a celebration of the arts, our core focus is a two-part film festival. Portland Panorama begins by showcasing significant international cinema, then shifts mid-week to celebrate the work of filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest.

Cinema Unbound Awards, Friday, May 29, 2026

Today we’re releasing a limited number of Early Tickets exclusively for PAM CUT fans.

This is your chance to be first in the untamed, most cinematic night of the year!

GET EARLY TICKETS TODAY

Each year, the Cinema Unbound Awards brings together filmmakers, artists, performers, and creatives of every stripe for one unforgettable evening celebrating bold storytelling, visual wonder, and all things cinematic. It is part awards ceremony, part creative playground, and entirely unlike any night you’ve ever experienced in Portland.