Touchy-Feely Cinema

This year, Cinema Pacific packs quite an international punch, with a focus on films from Chile and Taiwan and a slew of interactive events, EW spoke to Festival Director Richard Herskowitz to find out what not to miss. Here are some of the highlights:

Chile’s Crackerjack Playwright

Cinema Pacific brings Chilean playwright and screenwriter Guillermo Calderón to Bijou Art Cinemas Thursday, April 24, for a screening of Violeta Went to Heaven. A biopic about renowned musician and folklorist Violeta Parra, the film brought home the World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance in 2012. “Gueillermo Calderón is considered the preeminent playwright in Chile,” Herskowitz says. Calderón will be there not only for the screening but also for a preceding staged reading of Villa by three Portland actors. “Three women get together to find out what to do with this villa used as a torture barracks during Pinochet,” Herskovitz says of the play. The aftermath of atrocities and political legacies are central themes in Calderón’s work. The premiere of Villa was originally staged at Villa Grimaldi, near Santiago, Chile, where thousands of people were held prisoner, tortured or “disappeared” during the reign of dictator Augusto Pinochet. Los Angeles Times theater critic Margaret Gray says of Villa: “Calderón’s stark lyricism and dreamlike imagery recall the magical realism of Nabokov.”

Godzilla on the Fringe

On the eve of Friday, April 25, the first floor of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art will transform into the Fringe Festival, screening an interactive remix and “map” of the 1958 Taiwanese classic Brother Wang and Brother Liu Tour Taiwan, created by UO digital artist John Park (known for his work with local art collective Harmonic Laboratory). Developers from local video game company Pipeworks will also be in tow to present the world premiere of Godzilla Smash 3, which will be released to the public in May with the new Godzilla film. “It’s going to be huge,” Herskowitz says of Pipeworks’ new offering. “In the museum people are going to be able to play with the video game. It will be the first time people will be able to get their hands on it.”

Wolf Blitz

Herskowitz says Saturday, April 26, at the Jordan Schnitzer will be “the greatest night in Cinema Pacific history.” There will be two back-to-back live performances (starting at 6:30 pm) meditating on the subject of wolves: “Wolf” by Illinois-based video performance artist Deke Weaver, and “Hope and Prey” by punk-rock Oregon video artist Vanessa Renwick and Portland musician Daniel Menche. “Wolf” is the third chapter in Weaver’s lifelong passion project The Unreliable Beastiary, in which he explores the lives of animals and man’s relationship to them. “Hope and Prey” features Renwick’s “adrenaline-pumping” nature cinematography projecting panoramically across three screens and set to an original score by Menche; Renwick’s video installation exhibits, Hunting Requires Optimism and Medusa Smack, will also be on display at the JSMA. “It’s not your typical movie theatrical experience,” Herskowitz says. “We define cinema in the broadest sense — it includes video games, it includes interactive digital media.”

Cinema Pacific runs April 23-27 at several locations: the UO campus, Bijou Art Cinemas, Portland Art Museum and Portland’s George S. Turnbull Center. To see the full lineup of film screenings and events, visit cinemapacific.uoregon.edu.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!