Over the last three decades, Gus Van Sant has created an extraordinary body of film work. His first long-form films of the late 1980s and early 1990s, known as the “Portland Trilogy”, feature rebellious characters on the fringes of mainstream society who yearned to form new communities. The films became instant cult classics, earning Van Sant acknowledgment as one of the most talented and imaginative filmmakers of the indie film renaissance. Over the next decade, he directed a number of films that brought him critical and commercial success (the hugely popular GOOD WILL HUNTING and his bold remake of Hitchcock’s PSYCHO), before embarking on a re-evaluation of his artistic process and a return to his early indie roots. This later remarkable group of films features innovative visual style and groundbreaking sound explorations. Along with this survey of his films, we offer an exciting selection of works by filmmakers that have influenced the Van Sant’s film practice, including works by Stanley Kubrick, Werner Herzog, and Béla Tarr.—Mario Falsetto. 

Mario Falsetto, Professor Emeritus in Film Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, and author of the just published “Conversations with Gus Van Sant,” is teaching “Essential Gus Van Sant,” an eight-session non-credit course April 25—June 20. See School of Film for registration information.

Nicholas Ray (1911-1979) was one of the most innovative and consistently entertaining filmmakers of the Hollywood studio era, remaining legendary for his intense personality, fierce individuality, and restless creative growth. Coming up through the left-wing Theater of Action in New York City followed by the Federal Theatre Project (alongside John Houseman and Elia Kazan), Ray was known as an “actor’s director” for his tendency to allow the actor to define their own role. Despite a relatively short career and working within myriad generic confines—Westerns, film noir, melodramas, and “social problem” pictures—at disparate studios, Ray managed to infuse his films with distinctive visual and thematic style and iconic results. His brash yet sensitive portrayals of American individuality and the collective in flux earned Ray his place among the great American filmmakers; devotee Jean-Luc Godard enthused, “There was theatre (Griffith), poetry (Murnau), painting (Rossellini), dance (Eisenstein), music (Renoir). Henceforward there is cinema. And the cinema is Nicholas Ray.”

Czech filmmakers have long been recognized for their innovative contributions to international cinema. The legacy of the Czech New Wave, the period of stylistic experimentation and social critique that accompanied political and social reforms in mid-1960s Czechoslovakia, still resonates in a new generation of voices offering skilled takes on diverse genres from comedy to gritty realist drama, from stylish period thrillers to animation, and more. They share, however, a deft eye for lyric beauty and absurdist humor even in the most mundane or difficult circumstances as they probe social and economic conditions and questions of Czech identity and culture. The Northwest Film Center presents this six-film selection of influential and emerging voices in Czech cinema in conjunction with the nationally touring program “Czech That Film,” organized by the Czech Center, New York; Embassy of the Czech Republic, Washington, D.C.; Consulate General of the Czech Republic, Los Angeles; Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic, Portland; and the Czech Society of Oregon. Special thanks to Michal Sedlacek, Consul General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, for making these films’ presentation in Portland possible.

Northwest Tracking highlights the work of independent filmmakers living and working in the Northwest— Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington—whose work reflects the vibrant cinematic culture of the region. Whether presenting single-artist retrospectives, new features, documentaries, or inspired collections of short works, this ongoing showcase offers testimony to the creativity and talent in our flourishing media arts community.