Films such as “Amélie” from France, “Hero” from China and “Whale Rider” from New Zealand are just a few examples of the amazing cinema from around the world that are celebrated in America. This year at the 28th annual Portland International Film Festival, presented by The Northwest Film Center, outstanding films from Japan, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Argentina, Iran and Angora, among others, can be seen through Feb. 26.
From Swedish comedies to documentaries from Croatia, and even an Academy Award nominee from Germany, the Film Festival has more than 75 films for viewers to enjoy.
Most of these movies come to America for festivals but don’t get released into mainstream theaters, Northwest Film Center spokesman Thomas Phillipson said.
“(You might see) the films that have bigger distribution companies get put into nation-wide theaters, but a lot of them probably never will be able to be seen outside of the festivals,” he said.
Each year, the audience has grown along with the amount of movies shown.
“It started small and grew into about a 30,000-people audience in the past few years,” Phillipson said. “We have 160 screenings, which is more than we’ve ever had. That’s about 80 feature films — not counting shorts — from over 30 countries.”
Phillipson said it would be physically impossible to see all of the movies, but that doesn’t stop many from trying.
“Our hard-core group of audience members, who are members of the Silver Screen Club, will see around 60 films,” he said.
The Silver Screen Club was formed to support the Northwest Film Center, which was founded to “encourage the study, appreciation and utilization of the moving-image arts, (and) foster their artistic and professional excellence,” according to the Film Center’s Web site.
Everyone is encouraged to enjoy the plethora of cinematic showings. General admission for each film is $8, and a list of scheduled events can be found at www.nwfilm.org.
“It’s basically a great way to see a lot of films that normally wouldn’t make it to Portland, and it’s nice to bring interesting films and give Portland and
surrounding regions a taste of cinema from foreign countries and cultures that they may not otherwise be familiar with,” Phillipson said.
“Come up for the weekend and dive into the whole thing. You can see a lot of great films in a short amount of time.”

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