Portland International Film Festival

Being from Portland, I'll use any excuse I can to return home.  I was fortunate enough to get my new feature "Cheatin'" invited to the prestigious Portland International Film Festival.

The festival is sponsored by the Northwest Film Center.  In fact, in a way it was their fault that I got into animation in the first place.  Back in 1983, I was hired to create a short film called "Boomtown" and about halfway through, we ran out of money.  While I was in Portland for the summer, the people at the Film Center suggested that we hold a fund raiser.

"Why not?" I said, not having any clue how to hold one.  But the folks at the Northwest Film Center really came through.  We had a big crowd, showed an early clip of the film, I talked about the interesting aspects of the short and we were able to raise enough money to finish the cartoon.  And because of the success of "Boomtown", I was encouraged to make a small film called "Your Face" - maybe you've heard of it?

In any case, we had another good crowd last week for "Cheatin'" at the famed Cinema 21, and they all loved the film.  Lots of great comments, sustained applause - I loved it!  Also, the reviews of the film were stellar.  So, if you're looking for a great festival in Portlandia, check out the Portland International Film Festival.

I give it a B+.

And if you want to find out whether "Cheatin'" will be playing in a film festival near you, please visit the film's web-site here:

http://cheatinmovie.com/screening-list/


--Bill

                              signing autographs for fans at Portland International Film Festival