Second Run Portland

Hello, reader. I am once again requesting you go to the movies, and here’s why: This month, we’ve got Soviet sci-fi, eerie animation, and some of the 20th century’s directorial greats represented (Robert Altman, Akira Kurosawa, Abbas Kiarostami, and the list goes onnnn). Also, have you read Suzette Smith’s picks for the upcoming Portland Panorama […]

I’m certain I don’t need to tell you this, but: Shit sucks. Are you taking care of yourself right now? One reliable method is through the poetry and dissociative capacity of good cinema. This month, options abound with screenings of Picnic at Hanging Rock (romance is cryptic), You’ve Got Mail (romance is online), and In the […]

Some claim that January is a cultural dead zone for events, and on days when the sun seems to clock out at noon, it’s hard to argue. But while much of the city hibernates, one institution keeps the lights on. Thanks, independent movie theaters!! This month’s screenings come through with interesting takes on class critique […]

Lindsay Costello

Unlike some months, the repertory movie screenings of November lack a natural theme. But our indie cinemas have still formed a united front, choosing films that ask their audiences to hang tight with a little more focus and faith than usual. Surreal and nonlinear selections like The Double Life of Véronique, The Color of Pomegranates, […]

Yes, it’s October, and yes, that means it’s time to watch something that leaves you a little unsettled. But that doesn’t mean settling for the same old slashers. (Okay… some slashers can stay. More on that below.) This month, indie theaters dig a little deeper, offering less-screened but much-loved options like Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s slow-burn detective […]

This month, Portland venues will close out summer with a psychedelic swirl of films merging myth and magical adolescence. Teen girls time-travel and chat with dolphins; cosmic heroes emerge from horse goddesses. Meanwhile, here on earth, a sex worker undertakes her own journey from a donut shop to a laundromat in Los Angeles.  Screenings are […]

Portland’s late-summer screenings feel especially thoughtful, turbulent, and aliiiive! This month, we’ve got fresh restorations and poetic takes on youth, class, and artistic longing on the docket. A coming-of-age sparkler by Japanese director Shinji Sōmai gets its due, and two vérité documentaries paint radically human portraits of small-town America. Plus, Ethan Hawke has a well-deserved […]

It’s no secret that Portland is a film town. We’re lucky to have a constellation of independent cinemas and DIY programmers keeping the big screens weird, smart, and surprising. But too often, the most interesting films disappear beneath a steaming pile of streaming services and endless reboots. Second Run Portland is a new film column […]