Portland Monthly Highlights the Film Center in the Greater Portland Film Family

If you’ve ever wondered just how far a reach the NW Film Center has in the local film community, Portland Monthly has done a fine job of substantiating it in their November issue.  Not to toot our own horn or anything, but their Portland Film Family Tree centerfold spread locates the NWFC alongside many of the movers and shakers in the PDX film scene.  In addition to the usual suspects, like Gus Van Sant, Todd Haynes, and Kelly Reichardt, the constellation of filmmakers includes many creatives who have taught at (Will Vinton, Matt McCormick), attended classes at (James Westby), or exhibited their work (most everyone featured, including Chel White, Joanna Priestley, Westby, and producer David Cress who all have work featured in this month’s 39th Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival) at the Film Center.

Obviously, we’re proud to have had such an intrinsic role in nurturing and sustaining the continually growing local scene, since the regional film world is a large part of what we’re all about at the Film Center.  If you’d like to take a gander at the family tree or its accompanying write-up, the piece is viewable here on the Portland Monthly website.

40th Anniversary Gala Preview: 1940s Fashion Overview Part Two

The fashion industry took its time to develop new trends after the end of World War II. There were still clothing rations and fabric restrictions that influenced style, but as the economy began to climb, certain changes began to take shape. Significant during this time was America’s exposure to the tropical prints of exotic locales, which featured leaf and floral patterns such as palm fronds and hibiscus blooms. The styles of Mexico and Latin America brought new colors like terra-cotta and turquoise to women who craved brightness and fun, inspired by the popular artist Frida Kahlo.

[Read more...]

40th Anniversary Gala Preview: 1940s Slang

In anticipation of the 1940s Classic Hollywood themed Gala, which will take place on Saturday May 12th, the NW Film Center thought you might like a little exposure to the relevant slang and phrases of the time. So here they are, in no particular order:

  • Take a powder – to leave
  • Eager beaver – enthusiastic helper
  • In cahoots with – conspiring with
  • Doll dizzy – girl crazy
  • Ducky shincracker - a good dancer
  • Above my pay grade – don’t ask me
  • Cook with gas – to do something right
  • Killer-diller – good stuff
  • Stompers – shoes
  • Flip your wig – to lose control of yourself
  • Pennies from heaven – easy money
  • Gas - either a good time or something that was really funny
  • Grandstand – to show off
  • What’s buzzin’, cousin? – how’s it going?
  • Hi-de-ho - hello
  • Applesauce – an expletive; same as horsefeathers, As in “Ah applesauce!
  • Broad- a woman
  • Carry a Torch – to have a crush on someone
  • Cat’s Meow – something splendid or stylish; The best or greatest, wonderful
  • Dame- a woman
  • Gams – a woman’s legs
  • Hard Boiled – a tough, strong guy
  • Hooch – bootleg liquor
  • Hoofer – dancer
  • Horsefeathers – an expletive; same usage as applesauce
  • Hotsy-Totsy – pleasing
  • Jalopy – old car
  • Joint – a club, usually selling alcohol

  • Keen – attractive or appealing
  • Kisser – mouth
  • Line – insincere flattery
  • Moll – a gangster’s girl
  • Pushover – a person easily convinced or seduced
  • Ritzy – elegant (reference to the Ritz hotel)
  • Scram – ask someone to leave immediately
  • Soitently- sure!
  • Speakeasy – an illicit bar selling bootleg liquor
  • Spiffy – an elegant appearance
  • Spread Out!- Get out of the way! Give me some room! Stop crowding me!
  • Stuck On – having a crush on
  • Swanky – ritzy
  • Swell- wonderful
  • Wise guy- a smart ass
  • Whoopee – to have a good time

Taking place on Saturday May 12th, the 1940s Classic Hollywood themed Gala will be an evening of film-related auction items, delicious food and drink, phenomenal music, and A-list company. For more information and tickets to the event, please visit the NW FIlm Center’s website. For further discussion of 1940s slang, check out the online essay From Hep Cats to Full Birds: Slang of the 1940s by Michelle Carr, courtesy of the North Carolina Museum of History.

40th Anniversary Gala Preview: Firesteed Winery

“And wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile.”          -Alexander Pope

We know you’ve been wondering- what delicious beverages will we be drinking on this momentous occasion, the long-awaited celebration of 40 years of fantastic films and fabulous filmmakers? On this note, the Northwest Film Center is extremely pleased to announce another major sponsor of the upcoming 40th Anniversary Gala: Firesteed Winery.

Since the early 1990s, Howard Rossbach of Firesteed Winery has been carefully sourcing the best fruit that the wine countries of the Pacific Northwest, and select international regions, and producing consistently well-made and enjoyable wines. Firesteed has produced wines from all of the major viticultural appellations in Oregon, including: the Willamette Valley, the Umpqua Valley, the Rogue Valley of western Oregon and the Walla Walla Valley in eastern Oregon.

For the first decade of business, Rossbach ran a “virtual winery, without his own vineyards. However, since 2003, Firesteed has been producing wine from the 90 acres surrounding their popular tasting room and retail shop in the Eola Hills appellation. In 2006, Rossbach began work on another 200-acre plot, lovingly dubbed the “Erratic Oaks” property.


Firesteed commands a dedicated following throughout the entire Pacific Northwest and beyond. Two decades of fine wine making, dedication to sourcing the highest quality of grapes, and a commitment to showcasing the best that the Oregon wine countries have to offer, are but a few of the reasons we are thrilled to have them on board for the Gala.

Stay tuned for more wine and food details- coming soon! Tickets and more information about the 40th Anniversary Gala can be found here.

40th Anniversary Gala: Lights, Camera, Action!

Over the last four decades, the Northwest Film Center’s myriad exhibition, education, and artist service programs have become a vital part of Oregon’s cultural fabric. The Film Center’s 40th Anniversary Season provides an opportunity to look back at its founding and celebrate the fostering of a media arts community internationally recognized for its vibrant talents, enthusiastic audiences, and creative collaborations.

40th Anniversary Gala Preview: Film Nostalgia Auction Items

Though the ultra stylish, 1940s inspired 40th Anniversary Gala is still seven weeks away, the Northwest Film Center is thrilled to have already procured a long list of incredible items for both the silent and live auctions to be held at the Gala on Saturday May 12, 2012. Below, you’ll find a sneak peek at the film nostalgia auction items. Stay tuned to the NWFC newsroom to catch a glimpse of what else will be available at the Gala’s auctions. [Read more...]

40th Anniversary Gala Preview: Gus Van Sant

The NW Film Center is proud to announce that Gus Van Sant will be the honorary chair for this year’s Gala, which will take place on Saturday May 12th. For those of you who don’t know as much as you should about Van Sant, here’s a quick briefing:

He began studying painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1970, but changed his major to cinema when he became aware of avant-garde directors like Stan Brakhage, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol. He went to Los Angeles in 1976, and was a production assistant to writer/director Ken Shapiro. It was in L.A. that he took an interest in Hollywood Boulevard’s marginalized population, which has since become one of his cinematic themes. His first feature, Mala Noche (1985), dealt with existence on society’s fringe.

[Read more...]

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