I’ve seen enough locally made documentaries over the years to know that “heartfelt” and “homegrown” don’t automatically make a movie great. But a couple of Oregon-made nonfiction flicks stood out in 2017, each of them viewing a national issue through a Northwest lens. No Man’s Land was shot during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon in early 2016, which proved to be only the prelude to a spasm of right-wing white rage that has transformed America. Director David Byars manages to present a human portrait of the occupiers without making any excuses for their behavior. A bit closer to home, Cornelius Swart’s Priced Out takes a scathing look at the consequences of gentrification in North and Northeast Portland, a topic he first covered in the 2002 film Northeast Passage: The Inner City and the American Dream. Spoiler alert: Things have changed a lot. (No Man’s Land: dir. David Byars; available digitally. Priced Out: dir. Cornelius Swart; check the Mercury’s film listings for future screenings)

The Portland Mercury's Super Cinema Strikeforce™ had a bunch of other favorite movies in 2017, too! Check them all out here.