Peripheral Produce PDX

by MovieMaker Staff | Published December 3, 2006

Peripheral Produce: It’s the kind of phrase that makes you think twice. The alliteration allows it to flow easily enough the first time around, but leads to a careful re-reading of each letter in each word. Now it’s time to figure out what this idiosyncratic phrase has to do with movies. Matt McCormick, the company’s founder and a moviemaker in his own right, likens his experimental distribution label to a farmers’ market, “except our produce is experimental cinema.” Take from that what you will, because individual interpretation is the engine that makes most experimental cinema run in the first place.

In 2001, the company began the first Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival (PDX). What began as a type of guerilla showcase for local video artists (such as Naomi Uman and Miranda July)—where movies were screened in art galleries instead of theaters—is now including international moviemakers and looking to continue its unconventional venue choices. Bringing the movies out of the traditional setting “redefines the ideas of space and how cinema is to be experienced, and helps to discourage preconceptions,” McCormick explains. It also supplies a lot of fun.

This year screenings and workshops are only part of what festival-goers have to look forward to: As in previous years, PDX will embrace the intermarriage of film with other visual arts through an elaborate installation. Spectators will be able to move through an exhibit showcasing “loop-based film and video works that have a sculptural element to them,” taking festival attendees away from the traditional formula of screenings and discussion panels. With so many festivals relying on the standard structure and fare, look to Peripheral Produce for a fresh perspective on what a fest can be.

Visit www.peripheralproduce.com for more information.

Sound Off: What makes a festival truly experimental? Is it programming? Is it the venue?  Or is it simply an attitude? Weigh in in the comments section!

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