The lineup of the 34th NW Film and Video Festival is a true
hodge-podge of filmmaking ranging from stories of baseball and nuclear
power plants to famous nudes and zombies, from all regions of the
Northwest. There’s no overarching theme to the collection, just a group
of films housed under the fuzzy slogan “Dedicated to the Dedicated.”
And while I wasn’t dedicated enough to watch over 40 films (check out
Film Shorts on pg. 44), what I did see was an uneven collection, with
the following exceptions.
The gems of the fest: The Shorts I program (playing on Friday,
November 9 and Thursday, November 15) is full of shorts about
gravediggers, an old man coming out of the closet, and a surprisingly
funny take on New Wave French cinema (By Modern Measure). But
the two that are not to be missed are by Canadian wunderkind Jamie
Travis: Patterns II and Patterns III are visually
stunning works of musical, stop-motion magic. The professional
standards of Travis’ films are, bar-none, the best work you’ll see at
the NW Film and Video Fest.
Also definitely worth seeing is Seattle-based filmmakers Lainey
Bagwell and Lacey Leavitt’s Blood on the Flat Track (screening
Friday, November 16), which showcases the rise of the Rat City
Rollergirls. It’s a fast-paced meet-and-greet documentary about
Seattle’s roller derby league that’s sure to get a lot of interest in
derby-obsessed Portland.
So while the focus mostly feels obscure at the NW Film and Video
Festival, there’s some clarity, at least, when it comes to picking out
the best bits. For more info, hit nwfilm.org.