A Place Called Home:

TOM CHAMBERLIN
Documentary Filmmaker

DENNIS NYBACK
Historian • Film Archivist

TOM ROBINSON
Archivist • Writer • Photographer

Join us on Sunday, June 24th, for the fourth and last installment of A Place Called Home: Lectures on Filmmaking in Portland, a monthly lecture series focused on the history of movie-making in the city, at the Whitsell Auditorium, with guests Tom Chamberlin, Dennis Nyback and Tom Robinson (co-presented with the Northwest Film Center).

TOM CHAMBERLIN will address the community of 16mm filmmakers who worked in Portland between 1969-1979 and their extraordinary level of cooperation and mutual support. He’ll also discuss his approach to making documentaries, and the opportunities and challenges facing documentary makers. Chamberlin began making film in the mid-1960s, made commercial work for Encyclopedia Britannica and Lucas Films in the ’70s and ’80s, before spending most of the 1990s doing community-based documentary video projects for nonprofits and social justice groups.

DENNIS NYBACK will give a short lecture “Filmed in Portland Before Sound,” on Jesse Sill, Lewis Moomaw, Lew Cook and others. Nyback will explore the wild film scene in Portland in the Teens and Twenties before “sound entered the picture and screwed things up”. Nyback houses his archive of thousands of rare short films at Marylhurst University. He has been a featured guest at film festivals around the world, and has taught at PSU, NW Film Center and Marylhurst.

TOM ROBINSON will talk about the relationship of home movies to documentary, drawing from his collection of historic Oregon home movies. Robinson is an archivist, writer, photographer and master photographic printer. Robinson’s library of original film and glass negatives and transparencies is the largest collection of Oregon original film negatives in the world.

ABOUT THIS SERIES
A Place Called Home is a monthly presentation series examining the history of filmmaking in Portland. Held at roving venues on last Sundays at 1PM, lectures aim to orient recent transplants and residents to the city’s rich lineage of film and how it informs our sense of place.

HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets are just $5/ members; $10/ general. Purchase tickets online here.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM
This program is made possible by a grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Additional support provided by Pro Photo Supply, Willamette Week, Oregon Humanities, In the Can Productions and Oregon Media Production Association.

A Place Called Home:

Sunday, May 27, 1PM
Clinton Street Theater
2522 Southeast Clinton St
$5/ members, $10/ general
(not a member? click here)

JIM BLASHFIELD
Shorts and music videomaker for Michael Jackson, Talking Heads etc.

BROOKE JACOBSON
Co-founder, NW Film Center • Assistant Professor, Film Studies, PSU

MATT McCORMICK
Fimmaker, Some Days are Better Than Others, The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal

Join us on Sunday, May 27th, for the third installment of A Place Called Home: Lectures on Filmmaking in Portland, a monthly lecture series focused on the history of movie-making in the city, at the Clinton Street Theater with guests Jim Blashfield, Brooke Jacobson and Matt McCormick.

JIM BLASHFIELD will talk about his work, as well as the work of his peers in Portland, dating back to the 1960s. Blashfield, a filmmaker, director and media artist who works in live-action and animation, is the recipient of a Grammy, a Cannes Golden Lion and several MTV awards for his groundbreaking music videos for Talking Heads, Michael Jackson and others. His recently completed work includes the found-footage films “Vanity” and “Suctionmaster: Triumph of Science” and the multiple-screen installations “Circulator ” and “Conveyor”.

BROOKE JACOBSON will discuss her involvement as an arts organizer in the Portland filmmaking community. In the late 1960s, Jacobson co-founded the NW Film Study Center (now NW Film Center) and prior to that she was chair of the student film committee at Portland State University. In 1974, she co-founded the The Media Project, a nonprofit that distributed regional independent film and video. She will also screen her short work “Lair Hill,” which captures a neighborhood on the brink of being lost to urban renewal.

MATT McCORMICK will speak about his experimental films and his work to nurture opportunities for local filmmakers. McCormick’s work crosses mediums and defies genre distinctions to fashion witty, abstract observations of contemporary culture and the urban landscape. His work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, MoMA, Seattle Art Museum and numerous others, and his credits include music videos for the Shins, Sleater-Kinney and YACHT. McCormick was founder of the PDX Fest (2004-2009), and Peripheral Produce, a DVD label for experimental and documentary makers.

ABOUT THIS SERIES
A Place Called Home is a monthly presentation series examining the history of filmmaking in Portland. Held at roving venues on last Sundays at 1PM, lectures aim to orient recent transplants and residents to the city’s rich lineage of film and how it informs our sense of place.

HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets are just $5/ members; $10/ general. Purchase tickets online here.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM
This program is made possible by a grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Additional support provided by Pro Photo Supply, Willamette Week, Oregon Humanities, In the Can Productions and Oregon Media Production Association.

A Place Called Home: Lectures on Filmmaking in Portland continues on Sunday, May 27th with a program on experimental filmmaking at the Clinton Street Theater, with guest speakers Jim Blashfield, Brooke Jacobson and Matt McCormick. It should be excellent. Get the full info (and your tickets) here.

For more information, visit their site.

Jonathan Combs, Marketing Manager at Pro Photo Supply

A HUGE HEARTFELT THANKS goes out to Jonathan Combs and all at Pro Photo Supply, who today donated a Nikon D3200 SLR digital camera to the Dill Pickle Club. The camera will be a great asset for us, allowing us to document our lectures, tours and workshops, as well as produce short videos for the web. DPC is truly blessed to work with such caring and supportive local businesses.

Whether you need to purchase or rent photo equipment, Pro Photo has you covered! Since 1983, they’ve been the source for the latest and greatest gear, as well as a good selection of used equipment. Next time you’re in need of photo supplies, please support the people who support us. Once again, thanks Pro Photo; we appreciate all you do for Portland’s arts community!

Oh BTW Pro Photo is also a sponsor of our A Place Called Home lecture series; for more info, click here.

The Dill Pickle is honored to have been asked to speak at Research Club’s event International Waters, happening Tuesday, May 15th at Valentine’s. The night celebrates their project, PDX Passport, a “system that makes it easier to find new communities that matter to you and to gain new, enthusiastic members for your own community.” DPC Director Marc Moscato and Development Coordinator Pollyanne Birge will screen a few short videos produced for the organization, as well as offer personal reflections on the last three years of programs.

The night features talk by several informal humanities-minded organizations, with a few performances. From their site:

Enjoy performances, presentations, and demonstrations from a wide variety of Portland’s talent, and benefit from the magic of mixing audiences and ideas. Feast your brain on a series of talks featuring the greatest hits of Research Club, the Dill Pickle Club, Curiosity Club, Ignite and CHAD Chats! Marvel at the drumming skills of John Niekracz (of Why I Must Be Careful), and feast on the songs of Ciara Carruthers. And there’s more! Learn to fold an origami sailor hat and wear it while watching some of Portland’s best avant-garde dancers perform.

A $5 Admission includes a travel chart, paper making activity and calendar of events. More info on Research Club’s website.

The third installment of our A Place Called Home lecture series, with Jim Blashfield, Brooke Jacobsen and Matt McCormick takes place Sunday, May 27 at the Clinton Street Theater. Get the details (and tickets) here.

A Place Called Home:

Sunday, April 29, 1PM
Hollywood Theater
4122 Northeast Sandy Blvd
$5/ members, $10/ general
(not a member? click here)

ROSE BOND
Chair, Animated Arts, PNCA

JOAN GRATZ
Producer, Director and Animator, Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase (Academy Award, 1992)

JOANNA PRIESTLEY
Award-winning Independent Filmmaker

Join us on Sunday, April 29th, for the second installment of A Place Called Home: Lectures on Filmmaking in Portland, a monthly lecture series focused on the history of movie-making in the city, at the Hollywood Theater with guests Rose Bond, Joan Gratz and Joanna Priestley.

ROSE BOND will talk about how her recent work takes animation out of the traditional movie house and into the streets with a series of public animated installations that engage architecture, cinema and urban space. Bond has been honored with numerous awards and fellowships from such prestigious agencies as the American Film Institute, The Princess Grace Foundation, Bloomberg L.P. and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is currently researching a proposed media installation for the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building.

JOAN GRATZ will speak about her work as an independent animator in Portland. Gratz is an accomplished director, artist and animator, known for pioneering the animation technique known as claypainting. In 1992, she won an Academy Award for her film Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase. She has worked on many commercial films and shorts, including Return to Oz, Rip Van Winkle and The Creation. She is represented by LAIKA.

JOANNA PRIESTLEY will discuss the rewards and challenges of being an independent filmmaker. Priestley has directed, produced and animated 24 films that explore abstraction, botany, landscape, aging and human rights. She has received fellowships from Creative Capital, National Endowment for the Arts, American Film Institute, MacDowell Colony, Fundación Valparaíso and Millay Colony. Priestley teaches animation workshops worldwide, was founding president of ASIFA Northwest and has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1992.

ABOUT THIS SERIES
A Place Called Home is a monthly presentation series examining the history of filmmaking in Portland. Held at roving venues on last Sundays at 1PM, lectures aim to orient recent transplants and residents to the city’s rich lineage of film and how it informs our sense of place.

HOW TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets are just $5/ members; $10/ general. Purchase tickets online here.

FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM
This program is made possible by a grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Additional support provided by Willamette Week, Oregon Humanities, In the Can Productions and Oregon Media Production Association.