nwFilmCenter

Platform Animation Film Festival

The Northwest Film Center is pleased to co-present a rich sampling of vintage and contemporary animation with the Platform International Animation Festival. Platform is a new independent event, conceived for the 21st century, reflecting the rapid rate of development and change in the media and animation worlds. Along with traditional theatrical screenings happening at the Film Center and Performing Arts Center, the Festival will showcase animation on many different platforms, from television installations to mobile devices, to zoetropes and outdoor projections on buildings. With the generous support of Cartoon Network, Platform promises to be an animating force internationally as well as in Portland, a community with a rich animation tradition. We invite you to explore the full range of events unfolding June 25-30 by visiting www.platformfestival.com

Tue, Jun 26, 2007 at 2 PM	The Eyes of Another DIRECTOR: VARIOUS VARIOUS Traditional animation collides with artistsâ€™ film in this programme which proposes a journey of sorts through work which reappropriates found source material. Collage work such as Frank Mourisâ€™ mile-a-minute, Academy Award-winning Frank Film rubs shoulders with found footage work, including the remarkable malevolent, stuttering re-edit Passage a lâ€™Acte by Austrian master Martin Arnold and Matthias MÃ¼llerâ€™s affectionate reduction of Hollywood melodramas, Home Stories. The journey concludes with films whose â€˜foundâ€™ status is more tangential, as with Home Road Movies, which deals more with recalled memories than found objects themselves. This programme is a reworked version of â€˜Foundâ€™, which ran as part of last yearâ€™s Norwich International Animation Festival (now AURORA). Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Tue, Jun 26, 2007 at 4 PM	DESIGN DAZE: A CELEBRATION OF FIFTIES CARTOON STYLE DIRECTOR: VARIOUS VARIOUS The 1950s was a revolutionary decade in Hollywood animation, a time when artists began to exploit the potent graphic possibilities of the art form and when animation storytelling matured beyond exploding ducks and anvil-dropping mice. Cartoon Modern: Style and Design in Fifties Animation author Amid Amidi has compiled a high-energy program that highlights the exciting explorations of the era, ranging from groundbreaking industrial films such as John Hubley's MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE to shorts like Ernie Pintoff's FLEBUS and Al Kouzel's THE JUGGLER OF OUR LADY as well as TV commercials by Saul Bass and Emery Hawkins. ( 90 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Tue, Jun 26, 2007 at 7 PM	VIVA CUBA DIRECTOR: VARIOUS CUBA As in many Communist countries, animation in Cuba is funded by the state, creating a vibrant environment for animators to create films unencumbered by financial pressure. Three months after Fidel Castro came to power, the Cuban Institute of the Art and Industry of Cinema (ICAIC) was created. This retrospective represents almost a half century of Cuban animation, beginning with the first film produced by the ICAIC in 1960, Jesus de Amras' UPA-influenced LA MANA. Cuba's greatest animators will also be represented, including Juan Padron (ELPIDO VALDEZ, FILIMUTOS) and Mario Rives (EL BOHIO, Y PURO COMO). ( 75 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Tue, Jun 26, 2007 at 9 PM	AURALLY/VISUAL I: RECENT MUSIC VIDEO AND ANIMATION DIRECTOR: VARIOUS VARIOUS Animation and music have a symbiotic relationship that goes back to the beginnings of the art form. Aurally Visual is not a historic overview but a snapshot sampler, a look at the past decade of the marriage of music, animation and motion graphics. From Joel Trussell's Heavy Metal Pirates Flash animation masterpiece WAR PHOTOGRAPHER (music by Jason Forest) to Steve Woloshen's HENDRIX meets McLaren in BIRTH: THE CURSE OF THE VOODO CHILD, to Mark Kausler's retro, hand drawn, hand painted (no digital tools used here) IT'S THE CAT, an eye-popping mix sure to entertain. ( 75 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 7 PM	AURALLY/VISUAL II: MUSIC VIDEOS DIRECTOR: VARIOUS VARIOUS More extraordinary music videos including Jason Forest`s WAR PHOTOGRAPHER by Joel Trussell; the Kid Koala/Monkmus collaboration, BASIN STREET BLUES; Gotye's HEART'S A MESS by Brenden Cook; Whitest Boy Alive's GOLDEN CAGE by Geoff McFetridge; The Real Tuesday Weld BATHTIME IN CLERKENWELL by Alex Budovsky; Bonobo Flutter, Chris Rule and Ben White; and They Might Be Giants' BASTARD WANTS TO HIT ME, by Aaron Sorenson and Courtney Booker. ( 75 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 9 PM	PORTLAND ANIMATION SHOWCASE DIRECTOR: VARIOUS PORTLAND Portland is internationally known as a hotbed of animation creativity. This out-of-competition showcase of recent films covers the full range from commercials and promos to independent and experimental animation. The program includes recent spots from Laika including Mark Gustafson's ESPN: BELIEVE, as well as Gustafson's independent new media film A MOVING OBSERVATION, and Mike Wellins' hilarious BIGG ASS WORLD OF SCIENCE plus Henry Selick`s incomparable MOONGIRL; and recent Laika recruit Chris Choy`s Cal Arts graduation film POSSUM. Bent Image Lab is represented in Chel White ads and promos ncluding Rob Shaw's MOODBOT, and Ray Di Carlo and Jim Clark's FLEA CIRCUS. The independent scene is alive and kicking in Zachary Margolis` atmospheric MOONBABIES, Joanna Priestley's A STREETCAR NAMED PERSPIRE, and Amy and Andy Collin's FOR ANNIE. ( 75 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Thu, Jun 28, 2007 at 4 PM	ANIMATE! I: EXTENDING THE IMAGINATION DIRECTOR: VARIOUS UK A unique British project, the longest running creative collaboration between a broadcaster and national arts agency in the world, Animate! has commissioned 90 innovative artists' animation for television screening in its 17 years. In the first of two programs, visions of childhood, light and dark, and childlike dreams of how things might be, run through an award-winning selection that includes Anne Course and Paul Clark's ROTTING ARTIST, Chris Shepherd and David Shrigley's WHO I AM AND WHAT I WANT, Run Wrake's RABBIT and Tim Hope's MINEMA CINEMA. ( 75 min ) Screenings dedicated to the memory of Dick Arnall, animation producer and director of animate! from 2000-2002. Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Fri, Jun 29, 2007 at 2 PM	SITA SINGS THE BLUES DIRECTOR: NINA PALEY US What's it like to animate a feature film all by yourself? What do religious fundamentalists and the record industry have in common? How awesome can Flash look on 35mm film? Find out when Nina Paley screens over 40 minutes of SITA SINGS THE BLUES, an animated feature-in-progress that mashes up the ancient Indian epic Ramayana with 1920's American jazz. Paley combines Ramayana, the 1920's blues vocals of Annette Hanshaw, and classically informed but modern animation to fashion an epic tale of heartbreak. ( 80 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Fri, Jun 29, 2007 at 4 PM	ANIMATE! II: EXTENDING THE IMAGINATION The second Animate! program hits the ground running with Gary Carpenter's sensational surface trawl, MILES FROM NOWHERE, continues the motion with Jonathan Hodgson's hyper-sensitive city centre stroll, FEELING MY WAY, enters the dreamscape of celebrity unpicked with AL + AL'S INTERSTELLAR STELLA and hypnotizes heart and mind with Tim Webb's 15TH FEBRUARY and Run Wrake's JUKEBOX. ( 75 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Fri, Jun 29, 2007 at 9 PM	Princess Iron Fan DIRECTOR: WAN GUCHAN AND WAN LAIMING CHINA The first full-length animated film made in China. Princess Iron Fan was produced in Shanghai in 1941, two years after the release of Snow White by Walt Disney Studios. The animation was the work of twin brothers Wan Lai- ming and Wan Ku-chan. Laboring under adverse financial and technical conditions, the brothers developed an original style based on the use of clay and human models to trace movements and action. Princess Iron Fan's plot is adapted freely from Chapters 59-61 of Journey to the West, an epic romance of the 16th century that relates the hardships and adventures of the Tang Dynasty monk Tripitaka and his disciples on their travels in search of Buddhist scriptures. Made during China's war with Japan, Princess Iron Fan contains a hidden political allegory: only by coming together as one (note the uneasy cooperation between Monkey and his fellow disciples) will China's people emerge victorious over the Japanese occupiers, symbolized by the fire-breathing Diabolical Ox King. Ironically enough, the film was produced by the Japanese-sponsored studio United China Motion Picture Corporation. ( 73 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 9:30 AM	Creature Comforts DIRECTOR: AARDMAN ANIMATIONS BRITAIN A chance to preview an episode of the hit British television series based on the original Academy Award-winning short film of the same name created by Nick Park and Aardman Animations, Ltd. The half-hour stop-motion animated series employs a unique format that culls excerpts from real person interviews and places them in the mouths of a wide variety of animated animals to produce humorous, charming and insightful commentaries on everyday life. Executive Producers Kit Boss and Peter Lord will be on hand to also show behind-the-scenes footage, and answer questions. Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 11:30 AM	AARDMAN ANIMATIONS: SOFT CLAY, HARD WORK AND LUCKY BREAKS DIRECTOR: VARIOUS UK Peter Lord, co-founder and co-owner of Aardman (WALLACE AND GROMIT, CREATURE COMFORTS and much more) presents a portrait of this uniquely British animation studio. "We [Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton] started out as two teenagers who played around with animation as a hobby. Today we find to our amazement that Aardman has evolved to become a major player in the international industry. Yet still the things that first attracted us to animation seem the most important: the craft, the storytelling, the playfulness—and the people you meet. In this talk, I'll look behind the scenes and celebrate the work of some of the artists and craftspeople, as well as the great directors who work with us. ( 90 min ) Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $8 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 2 PM	Walt Disney Animation Studio's Shorts DIRECTOR: VARIOUS US Walt Disneyâ€™s career began with animated shorts and he never stopped making them. They were the life-blood of the studio in the early days, with over 160 shorts produced before SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS alone. Disney shorts were extremely popular in movie houses across the country and in addition to Mickey, they introduced us to characters like Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto. Even as he moved into feature length animated films, Walt and his team continued to produce animated shorts to push the boundaries of artistry, storytelling, and technology in animation. Last year Walt Disney Animation Studios officially re-launched their shorts program with new vigor and focus. The shorts created at Walt Disney Animation Studios today continue Waltâ€™s spirit of innovation. In addition to entertaining our audiences and giving them something extra with each of our films, the shorts program is used as a proving ground for new artists and new techniques, as we develop the next generation of great animation filmmakers. Join us for an hour-long presentation presentation of the Shorts Program including film clips, artwork and discussion of how Disney looked to its past to develop a fresh take on its future. Chuck Williams, the producer in charge of Disneyâ€™s shorts program, will host the hour. Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Sat, Jun 30, 2007 at 4 PM	A TRIBUTE TO HANNA BARBERA DIRECTOR: VARIOUS US A screening and panel celebrating the partnership which rescued the animation industry from the doldrums left behind by when the Hollywood movie business abandoned the cartoon form in the 1950s. By creating a new style of `limited` animation William Hanna and Joseph Barbera made cartoons into a viable form for television production, thereby creating such iconic television characters as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and animated sitcoms The Flintstones and the Jetsons. We will show a round up of Hanna Barbera favorites, followed by a panel discussion hosted by Jerry Beck, author of a forthcoming book on Hanna Barbera. Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top
Sun, Jul 1, 2007 at 11 AM	BEST OF THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR: VARIOUS VARIOUS A chance to see a selection of the prizewinners from Platform's juried competition screenings held at the Newmark Theater in the Performing Arts Center. Platform Special Admission: $10 general; $5 Silver Screen and PAM members and students. Regular NWFC comp tickets are not valid for these programs. ^ Top