[October 09, 2018]

2018 Portland Film Festival, Presented by Comcast NBCUniversal, Announces Film Program

The annual Portland Film Festival, presented by Comcast (News - Alert) NBCUniversal, brings more than 200 independent and mass audience films to the city October 22-28, 2018. Featuring films, workshops, educational panels, networking events and parties, the Portland Film Festival is one of Oregon's largest film festivals and was named "one of the coolest film festivals in the world," by MovieMaker Magazine.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181009005973/en/

Kids from the Portland Boys and Girls Clubs shoot short monster movies through the "Future Filmmakers" program with assistance from industry professionals. (Photo: Business Wire)

"We're proud to once again sponsor the Portland Film Festival," said Rodrigo Lopez, Regional Senior Vice-President of Comcast Oregon/SW Washington. "Comcast is at the nexus of connectivity and entertainment, and it's important to us to help the voices of independent filmmakers be heard, as well as support our local community."

The Portland Film Festival hub and film screenings will be located at Custom Blocks, the new, for-lease creative office space located in the heart of the Central Eastside at SE 10^th and Main St. During the festival, the property will be temporarily transformed into a unique theater and event venue.

Festival program and passes are available at portlandfilm.org. Pass-holders will get access to films before individual tickets go on sale on October 10. Tickets, general info and merchandise will also be available throughout the festival at Custom Blocks. Attendees can also enjoy The Comcast Lounge featuring a gallery of rarely seen images from historic monster movies.

"As a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing filmmakers and celebrating the power of a good story, we are proud to bring a robust and diverse community of independent voices to the festival this year," said Josh Leake, Portland Film Festival Founder and Executive Director. "ebuting this year - thanks to Comcast's support - is our LATINX programming that features stories and movies from the Latino community."

2018 PORTLAND FILM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS & KEY DATES

Monday, October 22

Filmmaker Welcome Reception and Champagne Toast at Gearhead Production Rentals located at 4720 SE 26th Ave. from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Kick off the festival with local industry filmmakers and influencers with hors d'oeuvres and champagne. This event is free and open to the public for adults 21 and older.

Tuesday, October 23: Opening night film screenings and party at Custom Blocks.

Wednesday, October 24 - Sunday, October 28

• Screenings of more than 200 independent and mass audience films - with more than half directed by women and more than 35 from Portland area filmmakers - as well as workshops, panels, film industry events and parties.
• Talks with NBCUniversal Archivist, Jeff Pirtle, and monster movies screened daily, including a historic screening of Spanish Dracula as well as digitally restored horror films like Bride of Frankenstein, The Mummy's Hand, Dracula's Daughter, and Creature from the Black Lagoon, among others.
• New LATINX program features a selection of films, workshops and classes held in Spanish - including the opening night film The Chunta by Portland filmmaker Genevieve Roundané about a small town in Mexico where men transform into women once a year. The festival will also host a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on October 24 with DJ collective Noche Libre.
• New Indigenous Voices program features a selection of films about issues facing indigenous communities.
• Daily Director Chats from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Powell's City of Books where attendees can listen to film directors from around the world discuss their movies the day they premiere at the festival while enjoying a complimentary lunch. Hear behind-the-scenes stories and get the inside scoop on everything that went right (and wrong) in making their movie. Special guests (to be announced) will moderate the daily director chats. Past guests include Jason Momoa, Haley Joel Osment and Eli Roth.

Saturday, October 27

• Future Filmmakers Movie Premiere Event: kids from the Boys and Girls Club, alongside film industry professionals, will premiere their monster-themed short films on the big screen.
• Closing Night Monster Bash & Awards Ceremony: honor the festival's film competition winners and bring a close to the festival while celebrating the 200^th anniversary of Frankenstein.

The complete festival lineup and passes will be available at www.portlandfilmfestival.com. Early festival passes are already on sale.

About Presenting Sponsor Comcast NBCUniversal

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the XFINITY brand. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

About Custom Blocks, The Hub of the Portland Film Festival

Custom Blocks, the Central Eastside Industrial District's newest creative office space, is located at SE Madison and Salmon streets, and SE 9^th and 10^th Avenues. Developer-owners Capstone (News - Alert) Partners and Premium Property USA acquired the property in early 2017 and transformed eight separate buildings into a 72,000 square foot high-end creative office space.

About the Portland Film Festival

The Portland Film Festival is one of Oregon's largest film festivals, and was named "one of the coolest film festivals in the world," by MovieMaker Magazine in 2014. It is a non-profit, year round organization dedicated to nurturing filmmakers and audiences, and to celebrating the power of a good story. The festival focuses on the people, ideas, technology, skills and artistry behind filmmaking, and provides both entertaining and educational opportunities for the public.

Supporting sponsors in addition to the festival's presenting sponsor, Comcast NBCUniversal, include CustomBlocks, Capstone Partners, Koerner Camera, Mark Spencer (News - Alert) Hotel, Gearhead Production Rentals, SAG-AFTRA, ABI Insurance, Crank PDX, The Plum Tree Mortgage, Pro Photo Supply, Powell's City of Books, Pepsi and others.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181009005973/en/

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