Editor

The Northwest Film Centers 35th annual Northwest Film & Video Festival, November 7-15, audiences voted Vancouver, BC filmmaker A.J. Bonds HIRSUTE about a time travelling twinas their favorite short film, and Portlands filmmaker Ilana Sols ON PAPER WINGS, a documentary about American attack by Japanese paper bombs during World War IIas their favorite feature. This years Festival showcased 46 films from throughout the region32 shorts and 14 feature-length worksselected from over 300 entries.

This years Festival enjoyed attracted nearly 3,000 people to 15 different programs and spirited participation from over 100 filmmakers at the first ever Bar Camp NW Film Un-Conference. This experiment in anarchic self-conferencing proved wildly successful with filmmakers of the region pitching topics and presenting them on everything from pre-production tips to DIY marketing.

The Festival has also selected 12 short films for inclusion in the Best of the 35th Northwest Film & Video Festival Tour, which will circulate to presenting venues throughout the region in 2009. Through screenings at such organizations as Out North in Anchorage, Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Diva Center in Eugene and numerous others, the Tour provides artists the opportunity to reach audiences in five states. This years Touring Program is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and LAIKA.

THE BEST OF THE 35TH NORTHWEST & VIDEO FESTIVAL TOURING PROGRAM

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN POETRY
Andrew Smith, Courtney Saunders / Missoula, MT
Pity the poor poet working in the dumbed-down world of modern marketing. (19 mins.)

NOVEMBER'S LIGHT
Cheryl Lohrmann / Portland, OR
This elegiac poem to a least favorite time of year reminds us that summer always ends. (2 mins.)

PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN 1947-2007
Margot Quan Knight / Seattle, WA
A woman, well documented by home snapshotsKodachrome to digitalages before out eyes. (2 mins.) JUDGES AWARD

WE THREE
Laura di Trapani / Portland, OR
An animated Busby Berkley leg show set in a Dali-esque dreamscape.
(3 mins.)

SMILE
Julia Kwan / Vancouver, BC
A Chinese family in 1980s Vancouver prepares to take a family photo.
(18 mins.) JUDGES AWARD

TOREMEMBERTHAT OUR SKIES ARE THE SAME SKIES
Chris Lael Larson / Portland, OR
Exquisite, state of the art motion graphics poetically render the universality of humanity. (3 mins.)

THE PULL
Andrew Blubaugh / Portland, OR
Before Andy and John made the transition from friends to boyfriends, they decided the exact date they would break up. (8 mins.)

COOKIES FOR SALE
Wes Kim / Seattle, WA
Playing like a Warner Brothers Looney Tune, this live action cartoon pits a persistent Girl Scout against a grumpy tightwad. (4 mins.)

HOLLERINGS/THREE STORIES IN WOOD
Lara Gallagher, Andrew Ellmaker / Portland, OR
Three stories of the quiet revelations and anxieties that inhabit a faceless, motionless world. (5 mins.)

NICKEL AND DIMIN' IT WITH BUDDY
Tomas Soderberg / Portland, OR
Buddy is a homeless man in Portland who makes his living returning cans and bottles. (7 mins.) JUDGES AWARD

HIRSUTE
A.J. Bond / Vancouver, BC
A time traveler is visited by an arrogant and hairless future version of himself. (14 mins.) AUDIENCE AWARD, BEST SHORT FILM

WIND
Chel White / Portland, OR
This allegorical perspective on climate change offers a haunting and ultimately empowering view of our planet. Narrated by Alec Baldwin with piano accompaniment by Thomas Lauderdale. (5 mins.)

Total Running Time: 90 mins.