This week marks the sixth annual PDX Fest, The Portland Documentary and Experimental (PDX) Film Festival put on by Peripheral Produce primarily at the Hollywood Theater. Every year PDX Fest compiles a schedule of short and full-length documentary, animation, experimentation, and this year you’ll find programs of film/poem intersection, “experimental portraiture,” and wisely, a show at Audio Cinema, Retinal Reverb, that bridges the gap between the theater and film/video in the visual art realm. And don’t forget The Peripheral Produce Invitational, the World Championship of Experimental Cinema!
Top of our required viewing list is “Helvetica,” Gary Hustwit’s documentary about the little font that could. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny the ubiquitous Helvetica’s import. It’s one of those cultural nodes that ends up being defining–faces that followed its 1957 debut are either influenced by or made in open rebellion against its widespread use. It will be at the Hollywood Theatre (4122 NE Sandy) Sunday, April 29 at 8 PM. You probably already know about this interview-based film that uses Helvetica as a launch point to talk about design with a capital-D with a cast of characters including David Carson, Experimental Jetset, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Erik Spiekermann.
Tags: art
Update from the PDX Fest World Headquarters: Filmmaker Gary Hustwit and graphic designer David Carson will be in attendance for a Q&A session after the screening of Helvetica. Tickets for all shows are available online at http://snipurl.com/1hrmb.