Portland Rose Festival - International Festivals & Events Association
Portland Rose Festival - International Festivals & Events Association
Portland Rose Festival - International Festivals & Events Association
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A <strong>Portland</strong>-based silent film competition brings young filmmakers work to...<br />
http://blog.oregonlive.com/living_impact/print.html?entry=/2012/05/a_por...<br />
4 of 4 7/13/2012 12:52 AM<br />
Thanhouser, of Thanhouser Film Preservation, teamed up with Palanuk in the festival's second year to lend a hand<br />
to the behind-the-scenes work such as technical support, building databases and judging.<br />
Movies -- make that silent movies -- literally run through Thanhouser's blood: his paternal grandparents were<br />
pioneers of the medium, creating more than 1,000 films in their day, films Thanhouser has spent 25 years scouring<br />
the globe to find and archive.<br />
"This was in my wheelhouse, if you will," Thanhouser says, adding he was amazed at the level of talent he saw in the<br />
filmmakers.<br />
A jury of 15 business and community leaders view all the films submitted and choose -- through a scoring process --<br />
the top 45. They then select the top 10 films, which are shipped to a pool of celebrity jurors who pick their top three<br />
winners. This year, those jurors include "X-Men" producer Tom DeSanto, director Gus Van Sant, television and<br />
screen actress Meredith Monroe and Kerry O'Quinn, writer, producer, and publisher of Starlog and Fangoria<br />
magazines.<br />
"For the kids to know that adults in the industry are taking the time to look at their work -- some are taking the time<br />
to write notes with feedback -- that's a wonderful thing," Palanuk says.<br />
The 45 finalists' films will be shown in batches of 15 over the course of three nights at the Northeast <strong>Portland</strong><br />
landmark theater.<br />
Each night Palanuk and Avakian, who plays each film score live on the organ, call the young filmmakers to the stage.<br />
"They come up, hunched over and shy and we talk about what it was for them to achieve this. ... We ask the<br />
audience to congratulate them and you see them stand up taller and their confidence is built. ... For the rest of the<br />
evening, we, the adults are watching and they are the celebrities. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful, motivating<br />
experience for a child. That's why I love it," Palanuk says.<br />
Palanuk says that when he asks the kids what their biggest motivation was for taking part in the festival, they all say<br />
it was to see their film on the big screen and have it shown to an audience.<br />
"If you think about it: what a thrill. I get choked up every time we have the festival," Palanuk says.<br />
-- Bridget A. Otto<br />
© 2012 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.
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