Dijecta, 116 NE Russell 335-6979 Sat Sept 21, 8 pm $5-10 suggested donation

While it often seems like every movie the Northwest Film Center screens came out 70 years ago (and you often can rent it from one of Portland's many video establishments), somehow it's more acceptable when Four Wall Cinema does the same thing. Maybe 'cause the Four Wall collective consists of local film fanatics who work their asses off to get the more experimental/fringe stuff for little to no profit?

And, while Four Wall mostly works under the "more geek, less freak" M.O., the fact that they get so many films that are rarely shown anywhere is a testament to their dedication to an increasingly marginalized art form. That's why you should go to their benefit show this Saturday, to help pay for rentals and artist fees.

Well, that's not the ONLY reason to go; there's also the fact that it's a party, starring a load of super musicians, and a bunch of real live, homegrown film installations by two bona fide members of Four Wall Cinema. Also witness a menagerie of local bands, whose music ranges from avant to earnest to just plain fun: Jackie-O Motherfucker, Sean Croghan, Telephone, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, and more!

And if you wish to partake in the actual Four Wall Cinema, their fall 2002 season kicks off this week with Shirley Clarke's Ornette: Made in America, which is a 16-mm ode to the brilliant jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. Made in 1986, Clarke pieced together footage of Coleman through 20 years of his career--even chronicling his son's progression as a drummer, from cutie tyke approximating free jazz to a bogglingly good, permanent member of his dad's band, Prime Time. Clarke loses none of the excitement of Coleman's performances; there are a couple cheesy, psychedelic parts involving flashing lights, but the '60s were a cheesy, psychedelic decade.

[You can see Ornette on Sept 24 and 25 at 7:30 pm. Four Wall Cinema is located in the Oak Street Building, 425 SE Third, studio 400.] JULIANNE SHEPHERD