5th Avenue Cinema

Join us in a live horror game marathon as we play through scary games like Until Dawn, Witch's House, and Damned on the big screen! This will also conclude the Portland Indie Game Squad's funding drive for the year, so we'll be streaming and counting new pledges to the nonprofit as we edge through the night. Be ready to show your fear ;D

Pizza and PBR (for those of us over 21) will be provided. Attendees are expected to follow the PIGSquad Code of Conduct: http://pigsquad.com/code-of-conduct/ Some games are rated M for Mature!

Program A: Friday, January 15 Maximon: Saint or Devil (Guatemala) 66 min. This film is a documentary about a controversial Maya deity who personifies good and evil simultaneously. Maximon, also known as a San Simon, or the drinking and smoking saint of Guatemala, is a mixture of ancient Maya beliefs and Christianity. The movie concentrates on the people who surround Maximon with their strong personalities, opinions and faith. Maximon is honored and loved because he performs miracles, but he is also feared and despised because he is used to cast curses that can result in death. Giving us a rare view into the rituals and fiestas honoring Maximon, the documentary leads us on a journey that is both joyous and terrifying. Ultimately Maximon transcends the duality of good and evil, reflecting the Maya cosmovision in which everything in the universe co-exists. (Honorable Mention in Audience Favorite competition)

Talking Stone: Rock Art of the Cosos (USA) 54 min. Hidden away in the canyons of a top-secret military base on the edge of the Mojave Desert is the largest concentration of rock art in North America, perhaps in the world. Created thousands of years ago by a now-vanished culture, it represents the oldest art in California. Talking Stone explores these remote canyons and the mysteries surrounding these indelible images. Who created these rock art images? Why did they create these images? What does that say about their culture in the grand scheme of humanity? All of these questions are examined in further detail.

Program B: Saturday, January 16 The Mahouts of Kerala (Germany) 50 min. In the midst of bustling traffic, wiry men can be seen leisurely weaving their elephants between cars and motorized rickshaws. Unperturbed by the noise and crowds around them, the mahouts ride atop their bulky creatures as they wander majestically through the city. For Hindus, elephants symbolize the highly revered god Ganesha, who is responsible for happiness and fortune. Over 5000 mahouts live in the state of Kerala in southwestern India. The men look after the elephants of temples and wealthy private citizens. The elephants are the highlight of every religious ceremony and festival in countless Hindu temples throughout the country. The Mahouts of Kerala is a window into the exotic world of the elephant-loving Princess Lakshmi and the mahout Kuttan, whose family has been caring for the Maharaja’s elephants for generations. (Honorable Mention in Audience Favorite competition )

On the Trail of the Far Fur Country (Canada) 81 min. The Romance of the Far Fur Country was released in 1920, two years before the legendary film Nanook of the North. Upon rediscovering the documentary in a British archive, another film crew begins a journey to bring this lost film back to life, taking it to the northern communities where the film was originally shot. As people watch the footage from 1919, something special happens. Images come to life; people recognize their family members, their landscapes and their lost traditions. Contrasting then and now, On the Trail of the Far Fur Country is an intimate portrait of Canada and its Aboriginal people and a chronicle of how life in the North has changed in the last century. (Honorable Mention by Jury for Public Education Value; Honorable Mention by Jury for Inspiration; Honorable Mention by Jury in Best Film competition; Honorable Mention in Audience Favorite competition; Special Mention by Jury for best archival footage)

Program C: Friday, January 22 Roman Engineering: Aqueducts (Spain) 58 min. This documentary relives the moment in history when the decision was taken to build the aqueduct of Nemausus (modern Nimes in France). An engineer is commissioned to decide where to build the town and to provide it with an aqueduct to guarantee a water supply. Isaac Moreno allows the viewer to see all this through the eyes of that engineer. By means of precise and elaborate computer simulations, combined with superb pictures taken from the air and land, he helps us understand the structures and engineering needed to turn the Nimes aqueduct into a reality. Armed with that knowledge, he then takes us on a dizzying journey across the whole Roman Empire, where other breathtaking structures were built and challenges met with amazing technical solutions. (Best Animation & Effects by Jury; Honorable Mention by Jury for Public Education Value; Honorable Mention by Jury for Script; Honorable Mention by Jury for Inspiration)

Saving Mes Aynak (USA) 63 min. Follow Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in Afghanistan from imminent demolition. A Chinese state-owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site, eager to harvest $100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins. Only 10 percent of Mes Aynak has been excavated, though, and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of Afghanistan and the history of Buddhism itself. Qadir Temori and his fellow Afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the Chinese, the Taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure. (Best Public Education Value by Jury; Honorable Mention by Jury for Inspiration; Best Film by Jury)

Program D: Saturday, January 23 Abu Haraz (Poland) 73 min. Abu Haraz is a small village in the middle of the desert in North Sudan. The construction of a huge dam on the Nile has interfered with the age-old, natural rhythm of the lives of its residents. The film makers have spent several years with them, observing their vain attempts to turn back fate and stop the construction of the dam in order to continue their way of life. Struggle, loss, pain, sacrifice, perseverance, and dedication to their natural lifestyle are all evident in this film. (Honorable Mention by Jury for Cinematography; Special Mention by Jury for best documentation of cultural change)

Agave Is Life (USA) 60 min. Texas-based archaeologists Meredith Dreiss and David Brown take the viewer on a 10,000 year visual exploration of the symbiotic relationship between agave and the humans who have depended upon it. Agave Is Life, narrated by Edward James Olmos, delves into the ceremonial and sacred importance of this multi-purpose plant, native to the Americas. From the ancient past to the present we learn how agave became embedded in myth, religion and cultural identity. The film ends with a look to the future as today’s scientists worry about the loss of species and related human folkways—emblematic of planet-wide concerns about sustainability and our environment. (Best Narration by Jury; Honorable Mention by Jury for Animation & Effects; Honorable Mention by Jury for Public Education Value; Best Script by Jury; Honorable Mention by Jury for Cinematography; Honorable Mention by Jury for Music; Honorable Mention by Jury in Best Film competition; Audience Favorite)

TAC Festival 2016 to be screened in the Recital Hall at The Shedd Institute

ALI announces the next edition of The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival, May 11-15, 2015, in the Recital Hall at The Shedd Institute, 868 High Street (for film screenings, May 12-15), and at the Hilton Eugene and Conference Center, 66 East 6th Avenue (for our Conference on Cultural Heritage Film, May 11-15), in downtown Eugene, Oregon. TAC Festival will bring to Oregon the world’s best films on archaeology, ancient cultures, and indigenous peoples as well as people from far and wide to discuss and network about cultural heritage media. Please join us in welcoming to Eugene the people of the world for this cinematic celebration of the human cultural heritage. Details at http://bit.ly/1hYf3Wv.

Join Pixel Arts Game Education in a celebration of its volunteers, milestones, and community!

We will be hosting a free screening of Indie Game: The Movie, followed by a short intermission and tournaments for Samurai Gunn, Super Hexagon, and BLOODBALL. Winners in each of these indie game tournaments will receive prizes!

This event is free, all ages, and open to the public. Film and games are not rated.

"Pixel Arts is a non-profit association that open sources social change through videogames. By creating safe environments and resources for youth and adults invested in maker culture and videogames, we serve the belief that shared creation and education provides value to our community."

We will be announcing our first game camp for July 2013 at Portland Youth Builders and our maker program map to build STEM partnerships with educators, researchers, and community partners.

For more information about Pixel Arts and its services, community, and volunteer opportunities, visit http://pixelartspdx.wikispaces.com/!