We serve as a dynamic international hub for filmmaking, bridging global voices with Portland’s creative community to foster exchange, build connections, and establish our city as a premier destination for innovative and diverse creative talent.
Schedule of Events:
1:00 PM - Standing Above the Clouds
Standing Above the Clouds highlights the movement to protect Mauna Kea through the intergenerational stories of women from three Native Hawaiian families as they stand for the sacred mountain. The film follows teacher and community organizer Pua Case and her two daughters — artist-activists Hāwane Rios and Kapulei Flores — who have been called to stop the telescope since 2010. Their lives quickly become consumed with frontline actions and court proceedings and immersed in ceremonies and cultural practices. As they face opposition and arrests, they are joined by a community who have dedicated their lives to protecting Mauna Kea.
The film is an intimate journey through the women’s lives both on and off the mountain, and explores the physical and emotional toll of sustaining a grassroots movement. After nine months of living on the mountain and establishing a frontline camp, Standing Above The Clouds shows their journey to heal once they return to their homes in March 2020. In the face of challenges and tragedy, the mountain gifts each woman with hope and strength and the understanding that victory is in standing in unity for sacred places and that healing occurs through the sisterhood they have created along the way.
4:00pm - Skye Fitzgerald Trilogy Showcase
Screening together for the first time, this trilogy of films by renowned filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald each takes an empathetic look at the global refugee crisis.
The first, 50 FEET FROM SYRIA, focused on doctors working on the Syrian border and was voted onto the Oscar shortlist. The second, LIFEBOAT, documents Search and Rescue operations off the coast of Libya and was nominated for an Academy Award and national Emmy. The third, HUNGER WARD, explores the impact of the war and famine in Yemen on children, families, and healthcare workers and was nominated for an Academy Award.
His latest film, CHASING ROO, voted onto the Oscar shortlist and will have its US premiere at Portland Panorama on Saturday, April 19th at 12:00pm in the ENVIRONMENTAL SHORTS program.
As a Fulbright Research Scholar Fitzgerald directed the film BOMBHUNTERS and has worked with organizations as varied as the Sundance Institute, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and Mountainfilm. Fitzgerald is an honorary member of SAMS (Syrian American Medical Society) for his work with Syrian refugees and a Distinguished Alumnus at his alma mater EOU for documentary work.
7:30 PM - The Queen of My Dreams
Azra is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined; from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming- of-age in rural Canada.
