nwFilmCenter

United States

Fri, Feb 8, 2008 at 9 PM Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 6:30 PM	THEN SHE FOUND ME DIRECTOR: HELEN HUNT UNITED STATES "Helen Hunt both stars in and makes her debut in very funny and deeply moving story about the way we create families both by blood and by choice. April Epner (Hunt) is 39 years old. Her biological clock is not so much ticking as sounding an alarm; her charming but immature husband, Ben (Matthew Broderick), decides their recent marriage is a mistake; and her ailing adoptive mother, whom April has been nursing through her illness, dies. As if this weren't enough to deal with, a brassy, overbearing local talk-show host named Bernice Graves (Bette Midler) shows up out of the blue, announcing herself as April's biological mother. And she has incredible news: April is the result of a one-night stand Bernice had with Steve McQueen nearly forty years ago."—Toronto Film Festival. Print courtesy of Thinkfilm Company. ( 100 min ) First Feature Film. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Sat, Feb 9, 2008 at 3 PM Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 6:45 PM	GATES DIRECTOR: ANTONIO FERRERA, ALBERT MAYSLES UNITED STATES In 1979, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude proposed one of the largest public art installations in history: a "golden river" of 7,500 fabric-paneled gates in Central Park. Transcending much controversy, it was finally completed in 2005. Renowned documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles and long-time collaborator Antonio Ferrera chronicle the artists' 26-year commitment to transform the winter darkness of the park into a glorious garden of light, color, and movement. "If some of our works are symphonies, then wrapped walkways are chamber music."—Christo. Print courtesy of Maysles Films. ( 100 min ) Maysles Selected Filmography: Salesman (68), Gimme Shelter (70), Grey Gardens (76), Christo in Paris (90), Lalee's Kin (01). Ferrera Filmograhy: This Is An Adventure (01). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Sat, Feb 9, 2008 at 5 PM Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 3 PM	TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE DIRECTOR: ALEX GIBNEY UNITED STATES In December of 2002 a Kabul taxi driver named Dilawar took three passengers for a ride, and never returned home. Four days later, he arrived at a U.S. military detention center. Five days later he was dead. This riveting murder mystery explores how and why this Afghan civilian died while in American custody. The details emerge through diverse documentation and exhaustive interviews with family and friends, current and former military personnel, a former Guantanamo detainee, lawyers for both detainees and the U.S. military, and a slew of journalists and experts. This unflinching and eye-opening look at the torture business not only provides a detailed report of what actually happens to a detainee, but also includes interviews from the personnel who interrogated Dilawar and inflicted the injuries that ultimately caused his death. Print courtesy of Thinkfilm. ( 106 min ) Filmography: Enron, The Smartest Guys in the Room (05). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 1:45 PM Mon, Feb 11, 2008 at 8:45 PM	CHICAGO 10 DIRECTOR: BRETT MORGEN UNITED STATES Brett Morgen's documentary fuses a wealth of unseen archival footage, interviews, and striking, brightly colored motion-capture animation to recount the anti-war demonstrations (and their repercussions) that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Fifty million people watched as the protestors clashed with police, bringing the city to a standstill and eight men—including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale—to a famed Chicago Conspiracy Trial and media circus that brought America's cultural divide to a head. As it freshly recaps this watershed moment in American history, the film operates, in Morgen's words, as "a metaphor for people protesting an oppressive government. I wanted to make it work whether it was happening in 1968 or 2006 or 2036." Print courtesy of Roadside Attractions. ( 103 min ) Filmography: Ollie's Army (86), On the Ropes (99), The Kid Stays in the Picture (02). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Tue, Feb 12, 2008 at 6:45 PM Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 7 PM Wed, Feb 13, 2008 at 9:15 PM	CHOP SHOP DIRECTOR: RAMIN BAHRANI UNITED STATES Bahrani sets his story of a 12-year-old Latino boy and his older sister in the no-man's-land that is Willet's Point, Queens, a 20-block stretch of junkyards and chop shops where stolen cars are dismantled for parts. Overshadowed by Shea Stadium's giant billboard: "Make Dreams Happen," Chop Shop suggests that for many, New York City is closer to a third world country than a glittering jewel in the crown of a land of infinite opportunity. "Miraculous! Now we have an American film with the raw power of City of God or Pixote, a film that does something unexpected, and inspired, and brave."—Roger Ebert. Print courtesy of Koch Lorber Films. ( 85 min ) Filmography: Push Cart Man (05). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Sat, Feb 16, 2008 at 12 PM Mon, Feb 18, 2008 at 5 PM Tue, Feb 19, 2008 at 9:30 PM	OFF THE GRID: LIFE ON THE MESA DIRECTOR: JEREMY STULBERG, RANDY STULBERG UNITED STATES Disillusioned by the U.S. presidential elections and mourning the death of their father, sibling filmmakers Jeremy and Randy Stulberg decided to get away from it all, setting off on a trek into the New Mexican desert. There they stumbled upon a makeshift community that had rejected mainstream America to form its own unique melting pot of war veterans, eco-pioneers, teenaged runaways, outlaws and other dissidents. What the Stulbergs find in this fringe enclave is the postmodern equivalent of the Wild West, a place where anarchy and anonymity find curious comfort with old-fashioned ideals of justice, democracy and patriotism. Framed by the stark beauty of the Southwestern landscape, Off the Grid depicts in stirring detail the stark vagaries of living underground in America. Print courtesy of the filmmakers. ( 70 min ) First Feature Film. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Sun, Feb 17, 2008 at 2:15 PM	CHIHULY IN THE HOTSHOP DIRECTOR: PETER WEST UNITED STATES This fascinating documentary focuses on Dale Chihuly, whose work in the field of glassblowing has revolutionized the medium and made him one of the artistic stars of the contemporary world. The camera follows Chihuly and his team in the hotshop at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma during a weeklong residency last year. Capturing the creative chaos and collaborative working style of Chihuly's last 30 years, this special occasion focused on the production of new works based on all the various series—Cylinders, Blankets, Seaforms, Maccia, Venetians, Putti, Fiiori, Floats—that have made his work both famous and thrilling. Print courtesy of Portland Press. ( 90 min ) Selected Filmography: Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem (00), Chihuly at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (05). Director Peter West will be on-hand to introduce the film. Sponsored by Alaska Airlines. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Mon, Feb 18, 2008 at 6:30 PM	PARANOID PARK DIRECTOR: GUS VAN SANT UNITED STATES "At once a dreamlike portrait of teen alienation and a boldly experimental work of film narrative, Paranoid Park finds Gus Van Sant at the height of his powers. A withdrawn high-school skateboarder (Gabe Nevins) in Portland struggles to make sense of his involvement in an accidental death: He recalls past events across tides of memory, and expresses his feelings in a diary that is, in fact, the movie we are watching. The extraordinary skating scenes, filmed by cinematographers Christopher Doyle and Rain Kathy Li in a lyrical mixture of Super 8 and 35mm, depict their subjects soaring in space, momentarily free of the earthly troubles of adolescence."—New York Film Festival. Awarded the 60th Anniversary Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for Best Film and Best Director at this year's Independent Spirit Awards. Print courtesy of IFC Films. ( 85 min ) Selected Filmography: Drugstore Cowboy (89), My Own Private Idaho (91), To Die For (95), Gerry (02), Elephant (03), Last Days (05). Special benefit screening admission: $12 - Film Only. $20 Film & Reception tickets are sold out. $20 tickets to the film include a reception following the screening with Gus Van Sant (as schedule permits) at Hotel deLuxe. $12 tickets include the film only. Proceeds from both tickets to benefit Outside In and the Film Festival. This is ticketed-only screening. No passes will be allowed. Co-presented with Outside In. Sponsored by Hotel deLuxe. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 8:45 PM Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 7 PM	OPERATION FILMMMAKER DIRECTOR: NINA DAVENPORT UNITED STATES After seeing a documentary about a 25-year-old Iraqi film student whose school was destroyed, Liev Schreiber decided to help. So he invited the student, Muthana Mohmed, to work on the production of his film Everything Is Illuminated in Prague. But getting coffee and making copies is not Mohmed's idea of learning how to direct. And that's only the beginning of the culture clashes, which seem to mirror American foreign policy. After the charismatic young Mohmed watches his homeland slide into civil war on the news, he declares his love for George Bush. The film crew is shocked, and tensions grow. Nina Davenport's study of good intentions gone horribly awry is poignant, uncomfortably funny and tragic. With his home in flames, Mohmed has nowhere to go. But how long will the American filmmakers support him? Davenport's ruefully funny political parable won the Docu-men-tary Prizes at the AFi, Rotterdam and Chicago Film festivals. Print courtesy First Run-Icarus Films. ( 92 min ) Filmography: Hello Photo (94), Always A Bridesmaid (00), Parallel Lines (04). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 6:30 PM	SNOW ANGELS DIRECTOR: DAVID GORDON GREEN UNITED STATES "Snow Angels reaches a pinnacle of atmospheric expression that stays with you long after the narrative details fade. A couple that have separated (Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale) are each attempting to pick up the threads of a future when they are dealt a further blow that leads to a dark conclusion. And a somewhat-nerdy young man in the throes of discovering a first romance must also deal with the separation and consequent strife of his parents' failed relationship. Green's accomplishments are not just in the realm of character study but in the intensity of the emotions he provokes. The lyricism of his storytelling belies his use of naturalism and invokes a beautifully constructed faux reality from which emotional truth flows. He is without question a filmmaker with a special gift."—Sundance Film Festival. Print courtesy of Warner Independent Picture. ( 106 min ) Selected Filmography: George Washington (00), All the Real Girls (03), Undertow (04). Director David Gordon Green will be in attendance. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 8:45 PM Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 1 PM	SHOTGUN STORIES DIRECTOR: JEFF NICHOLS UNITED STATES There are echoes of producer David Gordon Green (Snow Angels) in the Arkansas-set Shotgun Stories, about a rural family feud involving three brothers. Abandoned by their father in childhood, they don't even have proper names—they're called, in descending order of age, Son, Boy and Kid. Tinged with Southern Gothic, Nichols' eye captures the flat, empty landscapes and building tensions with keen precision. Michael Shannon, Douglas Ligon and Barlow Jacobs are superb as the three brothers, creating indelible characters out of half-comic losers. "The great discovery of this year's [Chicago Film] Festival. A film that never steps wrong and holds us in a vice of tightening revenge."—Roger Ebert. Print courtesy of International Film Circuit. ( 90 min ) First Feature Film. For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top
Fri, Feb 22, 2008 at 6:30 PM Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 5:30 PM	THE VISITOR DIRECTOR: TOM MCCARTHY UNITED STATES The Visitor is an illuminating film about the emotional rebirth of a lonely widower. Walter Vale, an economics professor from suburban Connecticut, has withdrawn from life since his wife died. When he must attend a conference on globalization in Manhattan, he goes home to his seldom-used apartment in the city and frightens a beautiful young couple who have been living there illegally: Tarek, a Lebanese man, and his wife Zainab, who is from Senegal. Seeing that the couple have nowhere else to go, Walter softens and invites them to stay until they sort something out, and a friendship blossoms. When Tarek is racially profiled and incarcerated, he faces deportation and possible death back in Lebanon. When Walter decides to assume responsibility for his new friends, he begins a journey of personal and emotional revival. McCarthy's powerful film tells a compelling story as it offers telling commentary on America's current war on terror. Print courtesy of Overture Films. ( 108 min ) Filmography: The Station Agent (03). For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live. ^ Top