This Sunday, April 29 at 1pm, The Dill Pickle Club presents an animation-themed installment of A Place Called Home, their monthly lecture series on Portland’s film heritage. Held at roving venues the last Sunday of each month, these presentations aim to orient people to our city’s lineage of film and how it informs our sense of place. The April installment highlights the expertise of Portland-based animation legends Rose Bond, Joan Gratz, and Joanna Priestley, who will screen and talk about some of their work. Film historian and archivist Dennis Nyback, of the Oregon Cartoon Institute, speaks about the event here. It’s at the Hollywood Theater, with General Admission tickets running $10.

Sat, April 14th, come to our first zoo sketch outing of the year! Meet up near the ticket lines at 10:30 to get your special ASIFA members-only price of $5, then we’ll draw from 11-4 and meet up at the cafe at the end to share sketchbooks. Rain or shine, the zoo is great for drawing, so bring your umbrellas just in case.
On Sunday, February 12th, the Oregon Cartoon Institute is holding a public meeting at 5th Avenue Cinema. Starting at 2pm, the event’s centerpiece is a screening and discussion of the earliest Portland-made animation on record, The Little Baker, a stop-motion piece shot in the 1920s by Lewis Clark Cook. Cited as an inspiration by Will Vinton, this rarely-seen film gives a look into the early days of the medium. Included in the afternoon is Jim Blashfield’s ten-minute documentary profile of Cook. For more info, click here. The event is free.
On Saturday Feb. 4th at 7:00pm, the Academy Award-nominated, computer-eschewing independent animation icon Don Hertzfeldt brings his films and his generous Q&A skills to the Hollywood Theater. He’ll screen a selection of his work on 35mm, culminating in the exclusive regional premiere of It’s Such A Beautiful Day, the third and final chapter in a trilogy about a mysterious man named Bill. Not to be missed, the show is $12 unless you’re a member of the Hollywood Theater, which will save you two bucks. More info is here.
That last weekend in January is a busy one… On Saturday, January 28, the Northwest Film Center hosts an evening with Portland’s queen of independent animation, Joanna Priestley. Starting at 7pm at the Whitsell Auditorium, the program includes three world premieres, an interactive animation and three new short films. Joanna herself will be presenting an Exposé Slideshow and a few surprises.