History, Mystery & Odyssey: Six Portland Animators

The Day Called X

1957

Portentously portrays the evacuation of Portland, Oregon, when threatened by a nuclear attack on its state-of-the-art civil defense system.

The OGRE

2025

OGRE, a pre-crash bunker wave earth tone noxious metal rubber tone mathscape grass-fed conglomerate bass post-ego brown noise premeditated deathcore punk rock jazz band from Portland, Oregon takes on their biggest show yet.

Popular Science J-0-1

1940

A disaster truck, which is equipped to meet practically any emergency that arises in the community; In Oklahoma a breeder of under-slung cattle, making possible smaller grazing areas for milk herds; a deburping machine, of all things.

Pickles, Pickles, Pickles

2025 · ★ 10

The Portland Pickles are upending the entertainment world without compromising the essence of America’s pastime. As the #1 attended collegiate wood bat team in America, they draw fans from all walks of life with a bold embrace of local culture and community spirit. Experience the beauty, excitement, and passion of local summer baseball with the next wave of MLB stars.

Liyana

2017 · ★ 9

A talented group of orphaned children in Swaziland create a fictional heroine and send her on a dangerous quest.

No Place to Grow Old

2024

No Place to Grow Old is the first documentary to capture a growing crisis unfolding quietly across America: older adults aging into homelessness. Set in Portland, Oregon, this film follows the lives of three older adults navigating the harsh realities of life without a home. Through their stories of hardship and resilience, the film offers an intimate portrayal of their challenges while illuminating the systemic issues contributing to their plight. Featuring insights from local and national experts, No Place to Grow Old is a powerful call to action that emphasizes dignity and hope, envisioning a future where everyone, regardless of age, has a safe and secure place to call home.

Remember

This short documentary produced by the University of Oregon Multimedia Journalism graduate program explores memories of Portland's Japantown – Nihonmachi – and the thriving Japanese American community in Oregon prior to World War II. The film features Chisao Hata, an artist, teacher and activist, and Jean Matsumoto, who was incarcerated at the Portland Assembly Center and in the Minidoka concentration camp as a child.

Where We Goin?: The Power of Place

2025

Devin Boss is on a quest. And he wants you to join him as he explores this simple question: Where We Goin? A millennial Black filmmaker and artist raised in the heart of the whitest city in America, Portland, OR, Boss ventures out to uncover the deeper truths that have shaped not just his city — but his very identity. Boss invites us all along for the ride as he explores the work of Black creatives, cultural stewards and changemakers - past and present - snatching the narratives back, about community resilience and innovation as he examines his roots, to dream of what’s next for him, and all the future ancestors.

Welcome to Bridgetown

Upcoming documentary directed by Adam Smith focusing on Portland Oregon's annual Bridgetown Comedy Festival and the Portland stand-up comedy scene.

Fast Break

1978 · ★ 10

Evoking a cinema verite feel not found in most sports documentaries, Fast Break examines the 1977 Portland Trailblazers basketball team in a surprisingly personal and compelling fashion. Inter-cutting excerpts from the 1977 playoff / championship season, the film steps outside of the basketball court, and into the everyday lives of the Trailblazers, as well as their coach Jack Ramsey. Whether it’s biking the Oregon coast with star center Bill Walton, hosting a kids basketball camp with Dave Twardzik, or joking with Maurice Lucas at the pool – Fast Break lets the players speak for themselves: about basketball, life and playing in Portland. Fast Break, a film documentary about Bill Walton and the Portland Trail Blazers winning the 1976-77 NBA title and the aftermath of their accomplishment, is the greatest movie I have ever seen on the subject of professional team sports, basketball as a metaphor for life, and the perfect practice of Zen Buddhism in American society.

Rodez

2017 · ★ 10

An exploration of Rodez Cathedral and its stained glass windows: praying figures and scientific imagery. A study on color, repetition and flickering consisting of 292 photographs.

Messengers

2025

A poetic exploration of three subterranean telescopes in remote regions of Canada, Japan, and Antarctica that reveal a new way of perceiving the universe from within. Underground, we are dreaming into the earth.