Growing out of San Francisco's Sick Puppy Film Festival—in which curator Seth Sonstein sought out hardcore underground cinema—the Portland Underground Film Festival (PUFF) is now in its fourth year. Sonstein, who now owns the Clinton St. Theater, has a similar ethos when it comes to finding films for PUFF.

"We try to champion films that're really good films, that otherwise might not get seen," Sonstein says. "There's a ton of good stuff out there that doesn't get played."

This year's lineup includes new films from local filmmaker Todd E. Freeman (Come Hell or Highwater); a shorts program featuring everything from a "self-righteous crusader" slayer in Vampire Hunter Hank to a music video for Olympia duo Scream Club; Under the Skin, a doc about underground Japanese tattooing; and Bike Porn 2.0, the popular "program of sexy bike shorts from a variety of artists on the theme 'bikesploitation.'"

In addition to a weekend of "hardcore, independent, underground" cinema, Sonstein promises that "a who's who of low-budget filmmakers will turn up for [PUFF's] screenings."

For the Mercury's take on a few of PUFF's films, see Film Shorts on pg. 59. For more info on PUFF, hit clintonsttheater.com.