Portland's dance film festival turns 10 Oct. 2–4, bringing 35 films from 13 countries to Southeast Division Street.
The Portland Dance Film Fest (PDFF) runs Friday, Oct. 2, through Sunday, Oct. 4, at PAM CUT's Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St. Four programs span the weekend, mixing a decade of Oregon-made dance films with new international work and a documentary premiere.
Kailee McMurran, the festival's founder and director, started PDFF in 2016 with fellow SubRosa Dance Collective members Tia Palomino and Jess Evans. The first annual festival followed in 2017. It began without grants, funding, or nonprofit status, as first reported by Oregon ArtsWatch.
"Our audience continues to grow! We have learned so much about event organizing," Evans, the festival's director of communications, told Oregon ArtsWatch. "Every season we have to adjust and find out what the festival wants to be, based on the films we have to select from."
The festival opens Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. with the Oregon Artist Retrospective, a 75-minute screening of 14 Oregon-made and Oregon-connected dance films followed by a Q&A. The program includes live-made experimental works from past festivals and short films by Portland-area artists including Heather Hindes, Heidi Duckler and Robert Uehlin.
Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m., Festival Picks presents 11 new international films drawn from nine countries, including Colombia, Norway, France, South Korea and Argentina.
Sunday, Oct. 4, brings two programs. At 4 p.m., the festival premieres "Still Moving: Dancing Across A Lifetime," a 39-minute documentary directed by Suzanne Chi, Carla Mann and Robert Uehlin. The film follows five dancers between the ages of 42 and 65 as they rehearse and perform new choreography, examining what it means to age in a field that often prizes youth. A 20-minute panel discussion follows.
The festival closes at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, with Directors' Picks: A Decade of PDFF, a set of nine films from the festival's history selected from nine countries.
Evans told Oregon ArtsWatch that submissions this year skewed toward horror elements and heavier tones. The festival has grown from showcasing mostly local, independent voices to attracting larger dance organizations experimenting with filmmaking.
Tickets and the full schedule are available at portlanddancefilmfest.com.
Portland Dance Film Fest schedule:
- Friday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m. — Oregon Artist Retrospective (Tomorrow Theater)
- Saturday, Oct. 3, 7 p.m. — Festival Picks (Tomorrow Theater)
- Sunday, Oct. 4, 4 p.m. — "Still Moving" documentary premiere + panel (Tomorrow Theater)
- Sunday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. — Directors' Picks: A Decade of PDFF (Tomorrow Theater)
