Portland, OR. The regular NBA season doesn’t end until April 10th, but the Trail Blazers have already hit enough three-point shots to earn over 14,000 trees to plant. The Blazers are teaming again with Daimler Trucks North America and Friends of Trees to plant three trees for every three point field goal made during the 2018-19 regular season. Last season, the “3’s for Trees” program helped plant over 15,000 trees. (Photo credit, Justin Tucker)
Christa Stout, Vice President of Social Responsibility for the Portland Trail Blazers explains, “Planting over 15,000 trees is an incredible milestone, and it has been amazing to see the transformation of the Sandy River Delta over the past four seasons. We are proud to partner with these two amazing organizations that continue to make a positive impact on our environment.”
Scott Fogarty, Executive Director of Friends of Trees; Eileen Frack, Daimler’s General Manager of Human Resources; and Christa Stout celebrated the program at the Blazers 2018-19 season opener.
Trail Blazers and Daimler volunteers helped plant the “3’s for Trees” saplings last spring.
Daimler Trucks North America helped Friends of Trees plant the 15,000th tree in the Sandy River Delta. Thanks to the reforestation of this area, native wildlife has returned to the Delta to live and breed for the first time in many years. After the regular season, volunteers will be out planting again. You can join a Friends of Trees planting event to help plant all these trees. Learn more at friendsoftrees.org.
From Friends of Trees:
Friends of Trees was founded in 1989 by a community member who loved trees and started planting them in Portland neighborhoods. Today, Friends of Trees is a nationally recognized, regional leader in improving the urban tree canopy and restoring sensitive natural areas—through programs delivered by thousands of volunteers. Friends of Trees greens our region while growing community.
Since our founding Friends of Trees has planted 750,000+ trees and native plants with thousands and thousands and thousands of volunteers in 120+ neighborhoods in six counties across two states.
Whether it’s a forest created from our canopy of urban trees or the forest to come from our restoration plantings in sensitive natural areas, there is no doubt that the trees planted by Friends of Trees play a vital role our region’s livability. Given rising temperatures and all that we know about the cooling and cleansing effects of trees, it’s easy to see how our work improves our natural environment. But what’s really something else is the people-power: the trees we plant are actually planted by 6,000+ volunteers every planting season.
Portland, OR. Eight hundred guests gathered for the 35th Annual Classic Wines Auction and raised $3 million dollars for five nonprofit partners. This brings the total raised, over 35 years, to nearly $50 million. The benefit was at the Oregon Convention Center on March 2nd. The nonprofit beneficiaries this year were: Metropolitan Family Service, New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children – Portland, YWCA Clark County, and Unity Center for Behavioral Health. (Photo credit, John Valls)
Ryan Smith, Jason Zidell and William Oben
Tom Gerrie of Cristom with Tricia and Mark Cooper
Jim and Cathy Rudd with Karen Hinsdale
Heather Martin, Drew Carney and Fritz Hatton
Rick Hawkins, Judy Strand and Larry Black
Wally Rhines and Roger Hinshaw
The Super Silent Auction
Reception Chef, Sara Hauman
Supporters from the Mercedes Benz Table
Entertainers from “Love Bomb Go Go”
KR Rombauer and David Duncan from Silver Oak
Woodward Canyon was represented by Jordan, Darcey, and Rick Small
Wine Ambassadors for CWA19 included representatives from Rombauer, Woodward Canyon, Domaines Ott, Becky Wasserman Co., Cristom and Silver Oak
Chris and Kathryn Hermann
John Goodwin takes a selfie with his guest.
Cindy and Duncan Campbell
A sommelier shows a bottle to Drew and Maura Bledsoe
DJ Wilson
800 strong, guest enjoyed enjoy a gourmet array of food prepared by Portland chefs, including a multi-course dinner paired with wines selected by Honorary Wine Ambassadors from around the globe.
There were over twenty CWA Sommeliers.
Chris Hermann from 00 Wines
Charissa Caldwell and Andrew Plummer from Mercedes Portland
CWA Board Member Brian Garish
Here’s a list of the top Live Auction items:
Mercedes-Benz 550 (donated by Mercedes-Benz of Portland and Mercedes-Benz of Beaverton): $157,500
Trip to Rome and Tuscany with Modern Adventure: $70,000
Trip to Monaco for Formula 1 Grand Prix: $70,000
Northern Lights adventure in Finland: $58,000 (sold twice)
35 Magnums of wine to celebrate 35 years of Classic Wines Auction: $13,000 (top-selling wine lot)
Trip to Sonoma with Matt & Jasmin Felton: $100,000
Cruising Paradise with Rombauer Vineyards: $16,000
Bordeaux Wine Cruise with Woodward Canyon: $13,000
Elevated Willamette Valley Chardonnay Experience with 00 Wines: $11,000
California: Rombauer Vineyards & Silver Oak Cellars
France: Becky Wasserman & Co., Domaines Ott
Award Winners:
VINI Award: Greg & Michele Goodwin Each year since 1992, the Classic Wines Auction has presented the VINI Award to individuals that have used their enthusiasm and support of viticulture and passion for the community to increase the success of Classic Wines Auction events. Their knowledge and experience have created new standards of excellence for the auction and related events.
ORVI Award: Véronique DrouhinEach year since 2002, the ORVI Award has been awarded to individuals who have demonstrated significant achievements in building the Oregon wine industry and establishing its worldwide reputation. The ORVI award is presented to individuals that have not only elevated the status of Oregon wines, but have also provided generous support to the Classic Wines Auction. These individuals are leaders in the Oregon wine industry and are recognized and respected for their professionalism and philanthropy.
35th Anniversary Leadership Award: Bank of America / Roger Hinshaw. This special 35th Anniversary award is presented to Bank of America for more than 20 years of generous support for Classic Wines Auction. Their contributions have totaled more than $1 million dollars. We are grateful for the many ways they work wonders in the community.
Koerner Rombauer Award for Service: George Hosfield. The Koerner Rombauer Award for Service was created in 2007 to recognize individuals, like Koerner Rombauer, that have consistently served, funded, and supported the Classic Wines Auction and its benefiting nonprofit partners.
From Classic Wines Auction:
Working with multiple nonprofit partners to spread the wealth and maximize our impact in the community.
Classic Wines Auction supports the work of Oregon and Southwest Washington organizations by providing funds to pre-selected nonprofit partners benefiting children and families. This year, we are honored to partner with Metropolitan Family Service (MFS), New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children – Portland, YWCA Clark County and Unity Center for Behavioral Health.
Portland, OR. Over 300 supporters joined SMART (Start Making A Reader Today) for the organization’s Alphabet Ball fundraiser at The Nines. The event on February 8th raised $502,000 which will help support over 11,000 children in the SMART program this year with one-on-one reading support and books to keep. Alphabet Ball guests David and Thuy Blair and Triston and Jazmine Dallas joined SMART Board Member Joe Mueller and his wife, Holly Mueller.
SMART volunteers Kent Lewis, Michelle Cheek, SMART volunteer Erica Lewis, Renata Morris, SMART Board member Adam Morris, Vanessa Dichari, and Tabitha Lovett enjoying the cocktail reception.
Generous guests raise their paddles to support SMART.
Guests celebrated winning the Book Pack Frenzy, a competition to donate the most book packs for SMART students, with the gift of Carson Ellis’ book, Home. From front left, clockwise: Sarah Gates, Brenda Fox, Corbett Fox, Stephanie Gates, Stephen Dudley, Bud Borja, Nancy Dudley, SMART program alum Marissa Paulson, and Phoebe Peterson.
SMART Executive Director, Chris Otis (far left), and SMART Board Chair, Terri Browning (far right), celebrate SMART’s regional and statewide Volunteers of the Year. Volunteers from left: Judith Pearson; North Coast Area winner; Heidi Gaither, South Central Area winner; Julie Ehlers, Metro Area winner; Karen Brkich, Rogue Valley Area and Statewide winner; and Jim Linker, Central Area winner.
From SMART:
Learning to read is one of the most important steps in a child’s life, laying the vital foundation for future knowledge and education. Research proves that shared book reading and access to books in the home during a child’s first, formative years are the strongest predictors of early literacy skills. At SMART, this is what we do.
Founded in 1992, SMART’s proven model engages community volunteers across Oregon to read one-on-one with PreK through third-grade children for one hour per week during the school year. SMART volunteers model reading aloud and ignite a love of reading in children, helping build reading skills, motivation and self-confidence. SMART students also receive up to 14 new books to take home and keep each year.
Portland, OR. The Oregon Humane Society honored heroic people and pets at the annual Diamond Collar Awards luncheon on February 28th. Recipients were recognized for their kindness, diplomacy, resiliency and courage. Their inspiring stories represent OHS’s vision of a more humane society. At the benefit, KGW Chief Meteorologist Matt Zaffino, Dr. Kris Otteman from OHS, Diamond Collar winner Rojo, Shannon Joy and Lori Gregory from Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas & Alpacas posed for a photo. Award recipients include a compassionate veterinarian from Klamath County; a dog whose road to recovery saved a young girl’s life; a canine social media superstar and a horse rescue powerhouse.
Dr. Kris Otteman from OHS, Diamond Collar winner Shannon Priem, Anne Christofferson and Diane Young
Dr. Kris Otteman, Mikee Smith, Sticky the kitty, Diamond Collar winner Chuck Hawley and KGW Chief Meteorologist Matt Zaffino
Dr. Kris Otteman, Denise Emmerling-Baker, Diamond Collar winner Jackie Chan, and Matt Zaffino
Matt Zaffino and Dr.Otteman
The Diamond Collar Awards are also one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for the Oregon Humane Society. Wentworth SubaruCity and Subaru of America were the presenting sponsors of the event and have offered to match donations, up to $10,000, to OHS through Sunday, March 4. Here’s a link to donate.
“The OHS Diamond Collar Awards are a wonderful way to honor the people and pets who are making a difference in our community,” said Sharon Harmon, OHS President and CEO. Harmon hosted the awards with KGW chief meteorologist Matt Zaffino.
OHS put together videos of their winners:
Picasso: The dog with a twisted snout who became a social media superstar and taught the world that it’s ok to look different. There’s a video about Picasso.
Jackie Chan: This little dog is helping one woman overcome trauma and has opened a dialogue about mental health and the healing power of pets. There’s a video about Jackie Chan.
Chuck Hawley: After rescuing an abused kitten he named Sticky, Chuck used his newfound fame to promote kindness and fight bullying. There’s a video about Chuck Hawley.
Rojo: Nicknamed the world’s most beloved llama, Rojo spreads joy and happiness wherever he goes. There’s a video about Rojo.
From Oregon Humane Society:
The Oregon Humane Society is the Northwest’s oldest and largest humane society, with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. OHS receives no government funds for its adoption, education, medical and behavior programs. Visit oregonhumane.org for more information.
Portland, OR. Special Olympics Oregon organizers are thanking participants, including law enforcement officials, who took part in the 2019 Polar Plunge. The Special Olympics Oregon team is still totaling donations from all 5 Polar Plunge for Special Olympics Oregon events. (So far the Portland Plunge alone has raised $198,116.) The organization is still working to get back on sound financial footing after overspending on events left the group $2.5 million in debt. That debt prompted some hard decisions. Summer, fall and winter statewide games were canceled. Well-known fundraisers, like Bite of Oregon and the Governors’ Gold Awards, were called off as well. However, at the 2019 Portland Polar Plunge, spirits were high. Organizers are hoping fundraisers like the Plunge can help turn things around. Here are some of the photos from the event: (Photos credit Peter Van HoutenPeter Van Houten Photography)
From Special Olympics Oregon:
The heart and soul of Special Olympics Oregon begins in the hometowns of our athletes. While SOOR is rebuilding a sustainable organization that will provide Olympic-type year-round sports and athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities for decades to come, we had to make the difficult, but responsible decision to temporarily suspend regional and state competitions.
However, our mission continues to live in communities across the state as our athletes train and engage with their friends and teammates, which is being funded through locally-raised dollars. Your participation and fundraising for Polar Plunge directly impacts athlete experiences at this local level, as $25 from every plunger goes directly to the Local Program in the plunger’s community!
The Polar Plunge is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations, and businesses to support Special Olympics Oregon athletes by jumping, walking or slowly crawling into the frigid and icy Oregon waters. The event is open to the public, and all spectators are welcome free of charge.
For more information about the 2020 event, please contact Special Olympics Oregon at 503-248-0600, [email protected].
Portland, OR. The Red Lion Jantzen Beach Hotel, was packed with over 600 supporters on February 23rd for the IMAGINE Dinner & Auction. The 10th annual event raised $460,000. IMAGINE is the theme because Northwest Association for Blind Athletes imagines life-changing opportunities through sports and physical activities for all children, youth, and adults who are blind or visually impaired. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus)
Speakers included Billy Henry (Founder & Executive Director), Erik Selden (Board President), C.S. & Angela Sheffield (Presenting Sponsor), as well as many NWABA athletes, like Octavio, and his family, who shared their personal stories and experiences. The evening was co-hosted by Mark Matthias and Kim Capeloto, along with assistance from local NWABA Athletes, Jovany and Gabe.
Board President, Erik Selden, thanks the community for coming out to celebrate and support NWABA.
In front: Dr. Robin Virgin, Jim Virgin, Harrison Lynch, Billy Henry, Ashlyn Salzman, Carly Lowder, and Mason O’Lennick. In back: Kimberly Woodside, Jeff Woodside, Monica Gilberg, Jay Gilberg, and Marty Forsmann
A sea of supporters hold up bid cards high to win trips to Paris, Edinburgh, and Iceland!
Stacey Gibbins, Gabe, and Jovany. In back: Ella, Anita, Rick, Elwin, Logan, and Lillian.
Our Mission: To provide life-changing opportunities through sports and physical activity to individuals who are blind and visually impaired.
Our Vision: To be the national leader in transforming the quality of life for all individuals who are blind and visually impaired through participation in sports and physical activity.
Portland, OR. The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon (FCCO) is kicking off a countdown to its 100,000th spay/neuter surgery. Every cat which comes to the clinic between now and the 100,000th cat will be entered into a drawing to win $1,398. The number is intentional because according to the feral cat equation, one unaltered female and her offspring, can produce 1.398 million cats over the span of 10 years. To schedule an appointment with FCCO and enter the drawing, please call 503-797-2606 or go to feralcats.com.
Organizers say the drawing is a way for the nonprofit to say “Thank You” and bring awareness to how quickly cats can multiply.
Having spayed and neutered more than 97,000 cats since the program was established by local veterinarians in 1995, FCCO is encouraging the community to help spay/neuter feral, stray and pet cats as a simple, humane and effective way to curb pet overpopulation and reduce the number of homeless pets in Oregon and SW Washington.
“Our goal has always been to make spay/neuter clinics accessible and affordable to caregivers of feral and stray cats, and more recently pet owners that struggle financially. We are very proud to be reaching this incredible milestone with the help of so many people who care so deeply about cats,” said Karen Kraus, Executive Director of the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon. “As a community, we’re actively working together to combat pet overpopulation, ultimately reducing the number of homeless cats that come into our shelters, or are getting by on our streets.
About the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon:
The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, a 501c3 organization supported solely through donations, is a unique spay/neuter program with a state-of-the-art clinic for feral, stray, and pet cats serving over 22 counties in Oregon and SW Washington. Our mission is to improve the welfare and reduce the population of feral and stray cats through spay/neuter programs and education. Holding 4 clinics per week, spaying over 6,000 cats per year, enables us to prevent litters and reduce the number of animals for whom resources are not available. Our unique program offers feral and stray cat services to caregivers at no charge. Low-cost services are available for pet cats. For more information please visit feralcats.com.
Portland, OR. Local cinema fans are gearing up for the 42nd Portland International Film Festival which will run from March 7th through March 21st. The Northwest Film Center is revealing the 42nd Portland International Film Festival (PIFF 42) lineup.
The Opening Night selection is Amateurs from director Gabriela Pichler (Sweden, 2018). Here’s a description: In Pichler’s side-splitting and astute sophomore effort, the lightly fictional small town of Lafors, Sweden is potentially due for a big upgrade as the German megamart chain Superbilly picks their newest location. The Lafors city council, in direct competition with a neighboring town, seeks to differentiate themselves and lure in Superbilly by making a promotional video extolling the quaint hamlet’s virtues. But when local government employee Musse (Fredrik Dahl) has the brilliant idea to enlist local teens to make the video, two young immigrant students, Aida (Zahraa Aldoujaili) and Dana (Yara Ebrahim Eliadotter), take it upon themselves to film their reality and uncover the real Lafors, warts and all. A touching cross-generational comedy, Amateurs gently skewers the provincialism and nationalism running through today’s Europe. (102 mins.) In Swedish, English, Arabic, Tamil, Kurdish, and Bosnian with English subtitles.
Here’s more information about the Film Festival’s opening night and other special screenings:
Amateurs will screen simultaneously on Opening Night at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park Ave) and at Regal Fox Tower 10 (846 SW Park Ave). Here’s a trailer for the film:
Opening Night Screening times:
March 7 – Thursday 7:30 p.m. (Whitsell Auditorium)
The Northwest Film Center and Regal Cinemas invite you to join us for our Opening Night screening of Gabriela Pichler’s Amateurs at Regal Fox Tower or the Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium followed by our Opening Night party in the Portland Art Museum’s Fred and Suzanne Fields Ballroom. Celebrate this year’s festival with Sponsored by Bulleit Bourbon, Ketel One Botanical and Tanqueray London Dry Gin. Co-hosts Elk Cove Winery Adelsheim Vineyard, Pike Road Wines, Rogue Brewery, World Foods, CHEFSTABLE Catering, and XRAY.fm.
Opening Night Film & Party tickets: $25 General Admission. The evening, and all other PIFF and regularly-priced, year-round Film Center screenings—nearly 500 annually— are free for Silver Screen Director, Producer, and Premiere Circle members.
ADDITIONAL FESTIVAL DETAILS
Following Opening Night, PIFF retains a sizable presence downtown and throughout the city with screenings at the Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, located inside the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park Avenue), Cinema 21 (616 NW 21st Avenue), Regal Fox Tower (846 SW Park Avenue), the Empirical Theater at OMSI (1945 SE Water Ave.), and Cinemagic (2021 SE Hawthorne Blvd.).
Over the past 41 years, the Festival has populated its schedule with diverse and innovative films for an audience of more than 40,000 annually from throughout the Northwest. As Oregon’s largest, most culturally diverse film event, the Portland International Film Festival pulls together a multi-faceted experience with over 130 films (88 features and 48 shorts) and special events presenting a full spectrum of features, documentaries, and shorts – featuring works by both returning masters and emerging talents.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
ASH IS PUREST WHITE
Dir. Jia Zhangke
China | France | Japan, 2018
Jia’s 11th feature is a piercing tale of lost love, following Qiao (Zhao Tao, in one of the year’s fiercest and most heartbreaking performances) and her mob-boss boyfriend Bin (Liao Fan), rulers of the Datong underworld at the turn of the 21st century. When a rival gang threatens Bin’s life, Qiao acts in defense, setting off a series of life-changing events that see her traveling hand-to-mouth across the country—and notably through Jia’s familiar Three Gorges Dam region—in search of Bin and the life she left behind. Spanning decades and moving across vast swaths of China’s diverse physical and psychic landscape as seen through the eyes of one woman scorned, Ash is Purest White is “Zhao’s finest showcase to date—for the way she uses grace, intelligence, and humor with a dexterity that’s perfectly suited for the register of Jia’s aesthetically and thematically diverse film.”—Sam C. Mac, Slant Magazine. (137 mins.) In Mandarin with English subtitles. Trailer: https://youtu.be/SOCpXuHQAZQ
MAYA
Dir. Mia Hansen-Løve
France | Germany, 2018
In this gently-plucked-from-the-headlines, warmly intimate film, war reporter Gabriele (Roman Kolinka) returns to France, along with his colleague Frédéric (ever-reliable Alex Descas), after being released from a hostage situation in Syria. Unable to resettle comfortably after his harrowing experience, he travels to India, meeting with family friends including Maya (Aarshi Banerjee in a winning, breakout performance), a young woman searching for her next step in life. Gabriele’s family has a history in Goa, including their dilapidated rural home where he settles, while his estranged mother lives in a seaside town; past and present meet in the search for his future. Shot on luminous 35mm by star cinematographer Hélène Louvart, Hansen-Løve’s latest is a tender ode to life’s chance meetings and the ways they affect our future selves in unexpected and invigorating ways. “Beguiling…sinks deep under your skin because of how adamantly it refuses to get stuck in place.”—David Erhlich, Indiewire. (107 mins.) In French and English with English subtitles.
Assayas’ (Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria) latest is perhaps best explained by its original French title, which roughly translates to “double lives.” Set in the book publishing world, this funny, insightful film follows Alain (Guillaume Canet), a publisher broadly past his prime, and his wife Selena (the ever-charming Juliette Binoche), a well-known film and television actress, as they navigate changing methods of the public’s artistic consumption. An almost-washed-up novelist (Vincent Macaigne) wants to publish his latest book with Alain, but larger forces intervene in many ways, causing the two men to reexamine both their places in the world and the necessity of storytelling in an increasingly fragmented artistic landscape. Finely tuned to the dynamics of change, Assayas crafts a warm, empathetic film about the anxiety of the unknown. (108 mins.) In French with English subtitles.
Turkey | Republic of Macedonia | France | Germany | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Sweden, 2018
Continuing in the long-take, deeply intimate and conversational vein of much of his previous work, Ceylan’s latest is one of the year’s most beautifully-shot films. Sinan (Dogu Demirkol), an aspiring writer fresh out of college, returns to his childhood village in search of inspiration, grounding, and funds as he tries to write and publish his first novel. But returning home unearths a complex web of emotion, as Sinan’s addict father (Murat Cemcir) coaxes forth the personal struggle between familial responsibility and creative freedom—plus the hard work that goes along with both, even when telling your own story. A deeply perceptive and engaging film, with The Wild Pear Tree “Ceylan delivers what might be his funniest, most politically poignant work yet. It also happens to be achingly personal.”—Bilge Ebiri, The Village Voice. Turkey’s foreign-language Oscar submission. (188 mins.) In Turkish with English subtitles.
Adapted from Anna Seghers’ 1944 masterpiece novel, with Transit Petzold transports the story of those fleeing the Nazis during WWII to modern-day Marseille—with a crucial twist. Franz Rogowski turns in a career-making performance as Georg, an average man trying to escape France. Asked to deliver papers to a subversive author, Georg instead becomes caught in an existential cat-and-mouse game, taking on the identity of a presumed-dead doctor and becoming involved with the doctor’s mysterious lover Marie (Paula Beer), who also longs to escape the increasingly claustrophobic confines of wartime France. Petzold, the unofficial leader of the “Berlin school” of filmmaking, delivers perhaps his finest work to date with the taut, crystallineTransit. “White-hot…lean, rigorous filmmaking.”—Steve Macfarlane, Slant Magazine. (101 mins.) In German, French, and French Sign Language with English subtitles.
Hamaguchi’s feature filmmaking career started with a bang with 2015’s incredible Happy Hour, but his latest is no sophomore slump; rather, it’s full of invention. Asako I & II follows the titular 21-year-old Osaka woman (Erika Karata) who falls in love with the charmingly vacant Baku (Masahiro Higashide). One day, Baku mysteriously vanishes, but when, two years later, Asako meets what appears to be his look-alike in Tokyo, her world is thrown upside-down. Crisply shot and beautifully acted, Asako I & II plays like a strange kind of contemporary ghost story, one in which ghosts of the recent past appear in the most unexpected of ways. “Intoxicating. Hamaguchi’s mastery is making you hang on every moment to see how he undercuts or develops on his thesis. It’s thrilling to try and guess where he’ll take the story next.”—Davey Jenkins, Little White Lies. (119 mins.) In Japanese with English subtitles.
Chile | Brazil | Argentina | Netherlands | Qatar, 2018
In this angular, sun-faded coming-of-age drama, Sotomayor Castillo excavates a certain feeling of youth in a teenage girl on the verge of adulthood: too old for naivete, too young for the hurt that comes with fledgling romance just outside the bounds of playground love. At a gathering of families seeking utopian, communal living in the mountains outside Santiago, 16-year-old Sofia (newcomer Demian Hernández) undergoes profound changes—her father increasingly distant, her mother nowhere in sight, and her slightly older love interest just out of firm grasp—scaffolding into a familiar feeling of tender malaise. As the harshness of the Pinochet regime began to fade from view in the early 1990s, Sofia—and so many like her—became an adult. Winner, Golden Leopard for Best Director, 2018 Locarno Film Festival. (110 mins.) In Spanish with English subtitles.
Under General Francisco Franco’s fascist military dictatorship in Spain, lasting from 1939 until his death in 1975, the Spanish people endured unspeakable atrocities, with dissidents regularly tortured and killed and the country held in the thrall of state violence. Over six years of painstaking work, Bahar and Carracedo focus on the victims of this violent history, following groundbreaking legal proceedings in Argentinian courts geared toward bringing some of Franco’s most notorious lieutenants—many of whom still have streets and other public spaces named after them—to final justice. A film by turns an excavation, a deeply emotional journey to justice, and a vital portrait of a country coming to grips with its fascist past, The Silence of Others is a necessary affirmation of the will to live and the fight for lives free from violence. (96 mins.) In Spanish with English subtitles.
The question posed by the title of Astra Taylor’s (Examined Life, Zizek!) latest documentary is undoubtedly a huge one with massive implications for contemporary global society—but this piercingly forthright and wide-ranging film is surely up to the task. Shot over several years, What is Democracy? seeks to answer some of civilization’s most pressing questions, using illuminating interviews with such luminaries as Silvia Federici, Wendy Brown, Cornel West, and many others to expand our knowledge of this well-spread political system and give us some sense of its future in the age of Trump and Brexit. Beyond the experts, however, Taylor’s focus expands to the immigration crisis currently gripping Europe and the US, fashioning a brilliant film that will leave your mind churning with ideas. What is Democracy? “serves as a sharp reminder to pay attention to politics and to remember that the personal and the local are political.”—Charlie Phillips,The Guardian. (117 mins.) In English.
Dir. Santiago Caicedo | Paola Gaviria (Power Paola)
Colombia | Ecuador, 2017
Based on beloved Colombian-Ecuadorian artist Power Paola’s graphic novel of the same name, Virus Tropicalis a brilliantly line-drawn, gorgeous black-and-white film covering roughly twenty years in the life of Paola, born to an average middle-class Bogotá family. Paola is a mischievous, spirited girl, blossoming into a headstrong young woman who’s something of an outsider. The filmmakers beautifully capture Paola’s—and her family’s—travails including new children, domestic dramas, upheavals, and the normal stuff of life, crafting a film of subtle power and nuanced emotional intelligence. “An amazing look at a life that feels both familiar and exotic, and if we look inward, perhaps all of our own adventures have the potential to fascinate in the same way.”—Josh Hurtado, Screen Anarchy. Winner, Audience Award, 2018 SXSW Film Festival. Ages 16+. (97 mins.) In Spanish with English subtitles.
In addition to the Opening Night film, the festival will host a Focus on Lucrecia Martel. Lucrecia Martel is the most important woman director in Latin America and among the finest directors in contemporary world cinema. Her already-storied career consists of four features spanning 16 years and numerous short films mostly made in the 1990s and early 2000s. Her first three features—La Ciénaga (2001), The Holy Girl (2004), and The Headless Woman (2008)— are all set in her native Argentina within a middle-class milieu and concerned with alienation, desire, and trauma as they play out specifically for women in this culture which Martel knows intimately. Her most recent feature, Zama (2017), an adaptation of the Antonio Benedetto’s novel, concerns the travails of a mid-level colonial bureaucrat in 18th-century Paraguay, and has appeared
on myriad best-of-2018 lists. All four of Martel’s features have premiered at the
world’s most prestigious film festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, and Venice, and her precise, exacting use of cinematic framing, sound, and uncanny acting make her
work uniquely thrilling in the broader landscape of the festival circuit. Marked by inconsistent funding, perhaps owing to her unique stylistic concerns, Martel’s relatively scant output (in the wider scheme of film production trends) is illustrative of the hurdles women directors often face when getting their work made and presented on screen, at festivals, and in distribution. Despite this, Martel has become one of international cinema’s most important and treasured voices.
As in past years, the festival features an abundance of short films. This year’s lineup features over 50 memorable snapshots from around the world and here in Oregon.
include LAIKA, The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Travel Portland, The Oregonian, and many others.
The Northwest Film Center is a regional media arts organization offering a variety of exhibition, education programs, and artist services throughout the region. The Center presents a program of foreign, classic, experimental, and independent works year-round at the Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum. For more information, visit www.nwfilm.org.
Portland, OR. There’s a new exhibit at the Japanese Gardens and it features Suiseki, which is the Japanese art of stone appreciation. Formed over centuries by wind, water and erosion, viewing stones are valued for their distinct shape, color, and texture. Viewing stones take many forms including distant mountains, plunging cascades, and other natural wonders. Traditionally, they are placed on a fine bed of sand in shallow bronze or ceramic trays creating distillations of nature enjoyed indoors.
The Ice and Stone Suiseki Viewing Stone exhibition at Portland Japanese Garden (through March 24) features more than two dozen pieces from the Jim and Alice Greaves collection at the prestigious Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. The exhibition is curated by Huntington Cultural Curator, Robert Hori.“Since ancient time, people in Japan have found beauty in rocks and cherished them for their unique patterning. They evoke the grandeur of nature,” said Hori.
“Since ancient time, people in Japan have found beauty in rocks and cherished them for their unique patterning. They evoke the grandeur of nature,” said Hori.
To commemorate this year’s 60th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Portland and Sapporo, located on the island of Hokkaido, the stones are paired with black and white photography of rugged Hokkaido landscapes by Northwest photographer Michael Kenna. The commonalities of Portland and Sapporo remind us that the Pacific Ocean is not a barrier but a bridge between our two countries.
Ice and Stone is the first of four Art in the Garden exhibitions of 2019. It is included with Garden admission (adult $16.95) and is on display in both the Tanabe and Pavilion Galleries.
Portland Japanese Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Since opening year-round to visitors in 1967, the Garden has been immersing its guests in beautiful scenery while they experience the art and culture of Japan. Celebrated as one of the most authentic Japanese Gardens outside of Japan, the Portland Japanese Garden features eight separate garden styles on its 12-acre site.
Portland, OR. United Way partners with H&R Block to offer MyFreeTaxes.com, free online tax preparation and filing for anyone making less than $66,000 a year. Now in its 10th year, 1.1 million people have used MyFreeTaxes.com, bringing more than $1.4 billion in tax refunds back to local communities.
If your household earned less than $66,000 in 2018, you can file both your federal and state returns for free using MyFreeTaxes.com. This is the only free, national, online tax-filing product offered by a nonprofit. United Way has made it available to over 100 million U.S. taxpayers as part of its fight for the financial stability of every person in every community.
From United Way of Greater Portland:
United Way of Greater Portland, together with committed partners and donors, are working toward lasting large-scale change around our community’s shared vision, Thrive2027. We build powerful partnerships across our region and innovate the way people, organizations, and systems work together to improve education, financial stability, and health for every person in Greater Portland.
The collaborations we forge with community partners are powered by the collective community and led by United Way. Organizations and individuals come together around a common agenda – Thrive2027 – with shared goals, strategies, data, and guiding principles. We build on strategies that are known to achieve the best results, and we rigorously evaluate our progress. Working together, we are capable of achieving real and lasting population-level impact. This is the collective impact model.
Learn about our partners and how we all move towards the same clear goals.
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