February 4, 2015
The
Portland Observer Black
Arts &
History Month
Page 17
Entertainment
Portland’s Storm Large stars in ‘The Punishing Business,’ one
of the ‘Short Cuts 2: Made in Oregon’ selections which will
screen Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Portland International Film Festival.
Made in Oregon Short Cuts
‘The Japanese Dog,’ from Romania tells the story of an elderly man in the countryside whose recent
loss brings him back in touch with an estranged son who returns home for a visit with his Japanese
wife and small son. It’s scheduled for three screenings at the Portland International Film Festival.
Savoring Cultures and Perspectives
continued
from page 13
the older of two key roles (having
built her career on the younger char-
acter); “The Tribe,” a Ukrainian film
that won prizes at the Cannes Film
Festival and is presented only in
sign language with no translation;
“Hotel Nueva Isla,” a documentary
about a formerly luxurious old Ha-
vana hotel that now houses people
living on the fringes of Cuban soci-
ety; “Underdog,” about a young
Swedish immigrant working as a
domestic in Norway; “Phoenix,” a
German film about a concentration
camp survivor returning to Berlin to
find the husband she still loves who
may have betrayed her to the Nazis;
and “The Duke of Burgundy,” an
erotic melodrama from the United
Kingdom.
I’ve got an ambitious goal of see-
ing about 50 feature-length films this
year; who knows if I’ll make that goal
but there is no doubt I’ll savor the
opportunity to sample so many dif-
ferent cultures and perspectives.
Many of the PIFF films, even some of
the best, never get a theatrical re-
lease. So it pays to take a risk and find
an evening or two (or 10) to stretch
beyond the usual multiplex fare.
Films will play all over the city
and you can buy advance tickets on
the
festival’s
website,
festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38, by
phone at 503-276-4310 or at the box
office at the Mark Building, Port-
land Art Museum, 1119 S.W. Park
Ave. Paper copies of the schedule
are also available all over the city. I
advise arriving 30 minutes ahead of
each film, as many films screen to
full houses and they will only hold
seats until 10 minutes before the film
begins. The festival website has
links to previews of most of the films
to help you choose, and I’ll be post-
ing reviews of upcoming films next
week.
Darleen Ortega is a judge on the
Oregon Court of Appeals and the
first woman of color to serve in that
capacity. Her movie review column
Opinionated Judge appears regu-
larly in The Portland Observer. You
can find her movie blog at
opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
The Northwest Film Center’s
commitment to highlighting cin-
ematic works produced in the
Northwest is explicitly expressed
in this year’s Portland Interna-
tional Film Festival’s “Short Cuts
2: Made in Oregon” short pro-
gram.
Oregon-based filmmakers, in-
cluding films by festival favor-
ites like Joanna Priestley and
Vanessa Renwick, but also work
by emerging talents like Austin
Will, Jessica Baclesse, and Lara
Gallagher, will be featured. Also
showing is the latest work by
Portland-based director Heather
Harlow, The Punishing Business,
starring Portland’s own Storm
Large.
Short Cuts 2: Made in Oregon
will run Sunday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. at
the Northwest Film Center, lo-
cated at 934 S.W. Salmon St. For
tickets or more information, visit
festivals.nwfilm.org/piff38.