Dive into the Portland International Film Festival each February for a cozy trip of over 100 global films, where cinema buffs and casual viewers alike enjoy the cultural vibe of this vibrant city.
"Movies in the Rain—Portland International Film Fest Every year, tens of thousands of locals and visitors interrupt their hibernation for a mid-winter trip to the movies. Over 100 movies, not to be exact. It's the first week in February and the days don't seem to be getting any longer, just wetter. Why not spend a week in the warm, dark recesses of a movie theater featuring work from all over the planet? Why wouldn't PDX not have a world-class film festival? A center for cinema is something we think we are. Take that, LA and Vancouver, BC. It's hard being the middle child. The festivals truly get better each year. The producers go to great lengths attracting fresh, novel approaches to film from more than 70 countries. A film connoisseur's dream sequence. In 2012, twenty foreign film premieres in PDX were submitted for best foreign film Oscar nominations. We had 25 films from new directors screened during the week-long cavalcade. All showing up in the dead of winter to shed some projector light on the state of filmmaking worldwide. Even if you're not the world's foremost film freak, you could catch a couple of showings in between beers at any of our 60 or so breweries. Or bring your boards and make some turns up on Mt. Hood in 10+ feet of white. But do come. Besides the screenings, there are always sideshows with producers, writers, directors, cinematographers—all happy to talk about their craft. They were all very polite the last time I stopped in for a listen. Don't forget popcorn."
"Movies in the Rain—Portland International Film Fest Every year, tens of thousands of locals and visitors interrupt their hibernation for a mid-winter trip to the movies. Over 100 movies, not to be exact. It's the first week in February and the days don't seem to be getting any longer, just wetter. Why not spend a week in the warm, dark recesses of a movie theater featuring work from all over the planet? Why wouldn't PDX not have a world-class film festival? A center for cinema is something we think we are. Take that, LA and Vancouver, BC. It's hard being the middle child. The festivals truly get better each year. The producers go to great lengths attracting fresh, novel approaches to film from more than 70 countries. A film connoisseur's dream sequence. In 2012, twenty foreign film premieres in PDX were submitted for best foreign film Oscar nominations. We had 25 films from new directors screened during the week-long cavalcade. All showing up in the dead of winter to shed some projector light on the state of filmmaking worldwide. Even if you're not the world's foremost film freak, you could catch a couple of showings in between beers at any of our 60 or so breweries. Or bring your boards and make some turns up on Mt. Hood in 10+ feet of white. But do come. Besides the screenings, there are always sideshows with producers, writers, directors, cinematographers—all happy to talk about their craft. They were all very polite the last time I stopped in for a listen. Don't forget popcorn."
NW Film Center IS AMAZING! I took a few film production classes here while I was living in Portland for awhile when I took academic leave from Hampshire College back east in Massachusetts in between my second and third years there. A friend (and frequent collaborator during my time in Portland) also lived in the apartment building across the street from NW Film Center so we'd do a lot of screening/editing dailies in her place out of convenience.
I ❤️'d Oregon, and Portland is a VERY nice, beautiful and clean city (or at least it WAS back then in the mid-90's) and it was VERY culturally vibrant for such a small city. I fell SO MUCH in ❤️ with Portland that I STRONGLY considered transferring from Hampshire to Reed.
I'm sure I would have continued studying and working with NW Film Center as well if I'd ended up attending Reed to finish my degree; in fact I'd planned on it. That was one of the MAJOR detractions about Reed versus Hampshire actually: the film program.
Hampshire has one based on campus with full production facilities, Reed doesn't. However, at Reed you can still study "Cinema", BUT, you have to find production opportunities within the city itself (which was fine with me) such as at NW Film Center.
Their screening theater in the basement of the Portland Art Museum was REALLY COOL though. PIFF was an amazing event too, and rivaled the film festivals I'd grown up with in NYC.
Aaron Kelly
Google
Ridiculously overpriced? Perhaps. A scam run by the art museum. Also perhaps. Some great teachers and interesting classes? Definitely. I don't have the money to take classes here anymore, and I already took the ones that interest me. If you want to take one, though, take one from Roger Margolis.
Kathleen Anson
Google
The theater is in the basement of the Portland Art Museum. Large, comfy seats, and a large screen make for a wonderful movie-going experience. Major drawback, though, is no food or drink.
Kevin Koehlner
Google
This is such a great community resource. Not only do they provide classes, they also have some of the best options for viewing rare and vintage films.
Amber Case
Google
I took an amazing class here with Julie Perini! It was such a good way to learn, and a comfortable environment to learn in.
Patrick Lee
Google
Great staff, great films and great mission. The Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) is one of the jewels of the NWFC
Chris Stone
Google
The place is a bit pricey to catch a movie. However, it is a non-profit and brings in movies you would not be able to catch elsewhere.
Leslie Gong
Google
Call to cancel the summer camp two weeks ahead of time, and got only 50% refund.