EUGENE, Ore. – (April 2, 2014) – The fifth annual University of Oregon Cinema Pacific film festival returns April 23 to April 27, with a wide array of films, exhibitions, receptions and performances in both Eugene and Portland.
This year’s featured guests include Taiwanese dancer, musician and filmmaker Wen-shing Ho, whose visit is part of a special focus on Taiwanese cinema. In addition, a focus section on Chile will include a live play reading and also a film by Guillermo Calderón, playwright and screenwriter, and a mini-retrospective of work by Alejandro Jodorowsky, the Chilean director. Other special guests include Korean-French comics and animation artist Jung, performance artist Deke Weaver, and Portland-based media artist Vanessa Renwick. Weaver and Renwick will deliver live multimedia performances, and Seattle band Tennis Pro will perform following the Eugene premiere of the new film in which they star, “Big in Japan.”
Cinema Pacific will also pay tribute to the work of James Blue, a University of Oregon alumnus and award-winning independent filmmaker renowned for his socially engaged documentaries and teaching. On April 23, an event will commemorate the archive donation from the James and Richard Blue Foundation to the UO.
Christina Kovac, supervisory motion picture preservation specialist at the National Archives, will discuss her work in preserving James Blue’s films made for the U.S. government. Also, ethnographic filmmaker and scholar David MacDougall will introduce and discuss “Kenya Boran,” the film he co-directed with James Blue in 1970.
In Portland, Cinema Pacific will join with the “What Is Documentary?” conference organized by the UO School of Journalism and Communication for a series of plenary talks, panels and screenings devoted to James Blue’s career and legacy. Cinema Pacific will also host screenings April 24 to April 26 at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, featuring guest artists David MacDougall and Jung.
Ticket information
Tickets for all Eugene shows are available online through April 21 at cinemapacific.uoregon.edu/schedule and through the UO Ticket Office, 541-346-4363, located in the Erb Memorial Union on campus. For Portland events at the NW Film Center, tickets are on sale at the door and online at nwfilm.org/screenings.
Matinees (before 6 p.m.), students and seniors: $6
General admission (after 6 p.m.): $8
Adrenaline Film Project and afterparty: students and seniors $7; general $10
Cinema Pacific is sponsored by the UO Arts and Administration Program and UO Academic Extension, with support from Academic Affairs, Cinema Studies, University Advancement and the School of Journalism and Communication. Cinema Pacific also receives major support from the Oregon Arts Commission and the Chambers Family Foundation.
For photos and more details, http://cinemapacific.uoregon.edu