Wednesday April 9, 2008

08:00 PM : Matt McCormick at Northwest Film Center

Movie/Film/TV Flyered by Matt McCormick

what: an evening with Matt McCormick
when: April 9, 2008 8:00pm
where: The Northwest Film Center / Whitsell Auditorium (Portland Art Museum)

On the precipice of shooting his first feature length film, Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick talks about and screens a collection of his recent short films and music videos at the Northwest Film Center.
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This summer, local filmmaker Matt McCormick will begin production on his first feature-length film Some Days are Better than Others; a story that follows an awkward web of characters who have a difficult time navigating typical forms of communication. But in the meantime, he will be presenting a collection of recent short works, including the local premiere of The Problem with Machines that Communicate (2008, 13 minutes) and a clip from his on-going installation project Future So Bright.

The Problem with Machines that Communicate, which made it’s world premiere at the 2008 South x Southwest Film Festival, is an experimental narrative that examines three lonely characters interacting with technology in a world that otherwise doesn’t seem to notice them. Don is a custodian who is never taken seriously, George is a very old man exploring the vivid detail of the world around him, and Hazel is an office worker who is desperate to engage in real conversation. But while each struggle with traditional forms of communication, the inadvertent by-products of their loneliness produces entirely new, abstract forms of communication. Features Marty Crandall, Elyse Sewell, and George Andrus.

Future So Bright is an art project mapping and cataloging the abandoned relics of American western expansion. First exhibited at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery and recently included in the curated portion of Art Basil Miami Beach, it is a series of film installations that detail and document abandoned structures in the American west. Captured on 16mm film and then transferred to digital video, the images create a visual time capsule of forgotten and disregarded spaces, many of which are quickly being reclaimed by nature or new development. Future So Bright examines the disposable mentality of American Western expansion and creates a catalog of the forgotten spaces and abandoned relics that are quickly disappearing.

Also included will be recent music videos for bands such as The Shins, YACHT, and Sleater-Kinney, his brand-new short Sea Foam Blue, as well as other random and miscellaneous tidbits such as PSAs made for MTV and some interactive video performance art!

for more info visit www.rodeofilmco.com