Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology takes place at OMSI, Aug. 21-25

Published 12:30 pm Wednesday, August 21, 2024

One of the most interesting film festivals in Portland takes place Aug. 21-25 at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, 1945 S.E. Water Ave.

The Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology (PFCAT) includes screenings, panel discussions, parties, and special events in the Empirical Theater, Theory, the Kendall Planetarium, and OMSI’s auditorium.

There’ll be more than 120 films by visionary filmmakers including over a dozen Portland-based filmmakers and animators. Innovation will also be displayed in the screening methods utilized at the festival.

Individual screenings are $12 adults, $11 seniors, and $10 youth with $2 off for OMSI members. All-access passes are $48 adults, $46 seniors, and $44 youth with $3 off for OMSI members. More: pdxfestofcinema.com and omsi.edu.

Festival highlights include:

• On Sunday, Aug. 25, the festival will present screenings of virtual reality films with the assistance of Worlds Beyond VR.
• There’ll be a retrospective and talk by acclaimed Portland animator Joanna Priestley, who is widely known as the “queen of indie animation.” Priestley will present a selection of her work ranging from the 1980’s until today.
• The Oregon premiere of Bill Plympton’s new feature animation “Slide,” followed by a reception where attendees can receive autographs and drawings from Plympton.
• The West Coast premiere of newly restored 4K cartoons created by Max Fleischer, who is responsible for characters including Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman. Fleischer was also an inventor who brought to life technological innovations including rotoscope animation and the stereoptical process.
• Panel discussion and reception in conjunction with Women in Animation Portland, sponsored by the Portland Film and Events Office and Prosper Portland. This panel discussion entitled “Breaking into Animation” will be followed by a special festival reception.
• Other animated feature film screenings include those created for all-ages including the Oregon premiere of “Pigsy” (Taiwan), the U.S. premiere of “The Sloth Lane” (Australia), and the Oregon premiere of “The Concierge” (Japan).
• Documentary features include “Downwind” from Portland director Mark Shapiro that features Michael Douglas and narrator Martin Sheen; the Oregon premiere of “The Kindness Within,” which follows bestselling author and host of the Netflix and Discovery+ series “The Kindness Diaries”; the Oregon premiere of “The Faraway, Nearby,” which tells the story of Joe Weber, the first scientist to explore the detection of gravitational waves; and “History, Mystery & Odyssey,” which explores the work and lives of six legendary Portland animators.