No matter the evidence of your calendar, garden, rheumatism or allergist: summer, or at least the Hollywood summer movie season, begins in a mere two weeks. But that doesn't mean April will go out like a wimp. Not only is there a rich variety of big movies, art films and local products on tap this week, but there is also my absolute favorite Portland movie event of them all: the PDX Film Fest.

Curated by Matt McCormick, the PDXFF is the most Portlandy of all our local film fests, with an emphasis on DIY aesthetics, experimental art- and life-styles, and a puckish sense of adventure and fun that is almost completely absent from higher-profile (and higher-budget) events.

For five days the Guild Theatre becomes ground zero for Portland's -- and, indeed, the world's -- experimental film community. There are premieres and showcases of some important locally connected films such as the Sundance hit "Old Joy," written by Jonathan Raymond and directed by Kelly Reichardt, and "Who Is Bozo Texino?" by sometime Portlander Bill Daniel, who rode the rails and slept in hobo jungles to film it. There are several showcases of short documentaries, features and avant-garde films from around the world. There are surveys of the works of individual artists of international reputation.

And there is the Invitational.

How to explain the glory of the Invitational without sounding like I write for "Tiger Beat"?

Well, it's simply the single most fun night of the Portland movie year, bar none. How's that?