This summer I am doing a series of interviews with filmmakers whose work will be screened at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology – also known as PFCAT , happening August 18th through 23rd at OMSI in Portland. At PFCAT you’ll experience 170 indie films from 30 countries, filmmaker Q&As, educational panels and networking events. It’s 6 days of events that brings our local community together through visionary film and animation. Find the full schedule and tickets at pdxfestofcinema.com.

This episode features Therese Gietler (producer) and Andy Batt (Director). Their short documentary - My Burning Pianist – has been nominated for an award and will be screening on Friday, August 21st at 6:00pm

“When music meets flame, anything can happen. This blazing episode follows the creation of My Burning Pianist, a jaw-dropping performance piece where piano keys trigger 33-foot fire bursts and sound waves dance as flames—staged by clowns, artists, and chaos.”

SHOW NOTES:

Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology Website

PFCAT Tickets

Tickets for the Portland Documentary Shorts block

PFCAT Creator Expo

Saturday, August 22 at OMSI

11am-2pm

FREE with registration here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pfcat-creator-expo-tickets-1987246003291

Therese, Andy and their work:

Sparking Creativity

Therese Gietler

Andy Batt or Andy Batt art

My Burning Pianist website

Follow on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sparkingcreativity.art/

https://www.instagram.com/twistymaurice/

https://www.instagram.com/andybattportfolio/

https://www.instagram.com/theaskaproducer/

This summer I am doing a series of interviews with filmmakers whose work will be screened at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology – also known as PFCAT, happening August 18th through 23rd at OMSI in Portland.

At PFCAT you’ll experience 170 indie films from 30 countries, filmmaker Q&As, educational panels and networking events. It’s 6 days of events that brings our local community together through visionary film and animation.

Find the full schedule and tickets at pdxfestofcinema.com

Today’s guest is the first in this series:

Erika Bolstad is a journalist, author, and documentarian. Her short documentary The Elk will be screening during the opening night at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation and Technology.

The subject of her 30 minute documentary is Portland’s Thompson Elk Statue and the unfolding fate of the elk and other monuments, telling the story of a nation divided over who and what belongs on a pedestal.

Erika shares how this project came to be and her other projects, as well as her experience in the recent Sundance Collab and traveling around the country researching monuments, their effect on communities, and the stories they tell.

If you are watching this interview you’ll notice the t-shirt Erika is wearing with artwork of The Elk – you can get your own t-shirt and support Erika’s film at MakingMonumental.com

SHOW NOTES:

Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology WebsitePFCAT TicketsTickets for the Portland Documentary Shorts block

Erika's WebsiteMaking MonumentalPurchase The Elk t-shirtErika Bolsted on InstagramErika Bolsted on FacebookErika Bolstad on Linkedin

Elena and Simon King, founders of the Lake Oswego Film Festival sit down for a conversation with Oregon Indie Film as they embark on their first year of the festival. We talk about how the idea developed and the plans they have not only for this first year but their hopes for the growth of the festival. We also chat about Simon’s career as a screenwriter and filmmaker, working in Oregon and their plans for filming in Europe.

SHOW NOTES:

Festival website

The Lake Oswego Film Festival on Facebook

The Lake Oswego Film Festival on Instagram

Film Freeway – to enter your short film https://filmfreeway.com/LakeOswegoFilmFestival

Clearstream Entertainment Website

Clearstream Entertainment on Facebook

Clearstream Entertainment on Instagram

Silver Falls Film Festival – Mike Turner

Michael Turner is an independent filmmaker and the creator of the award-winning autobiographical documentaries The Way We Talk (2016) and Monument (2023), which have screened around the world in many languages. He is a past Oregon Media Arts Fellow and has worked with The Immigrant Story, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, and many other impactful organizations. He is currently with Silverton Arts Association.

Mike is producing the 4th Annual Silver Falls Film Festival at the Palace Theater in Silverton, Oregon on August 20th, 2026

The festival is open now for submissions via Film Freeway Showcasing short films and providing opportunity to network and enjoy the small community of Silverton, Oregon.

We chat about how the festival began, the growth it has experienced over the last four years, and thoughts on the festival’s future.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mike Turner.

LINKS: Mike Turner Real Light Films

The Palace Theater Film Freeway – to enter Silver Falls Film FestivalSilverton Arts AssociationCollective Eye Films

Silverton Arts Associationhttps://www.silvertonarts.org/Collective Eye Filmshttps://www.collectiveeye.org/

On this episode I chat with Oregon Filmmaker Eric Delehoy, a writer, cultural organizer, and powerful advocate for LGBTQ+ representation—on the page, in politics, and beyond. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing, Fiction, from Antioch University Los Angeles.We chat about his latest project, the feature film Winters Nebraska. This film will be screening on June 24th at the Tomorrow Theater in Portland, Oregon.Find out what it was like to pack up Portland locals and film on location in Nebraska. We also talk about Eric's filmmaking journey, his previous award winning short films, the distribution plan for Winters Nebraska, and how Eric's work lies at the intersection of art and activism. I hope you enjoy this episode.SHOW NOTES:Tickets for the Portland screening of Winters Nebraska are available here.Connect with Eric Delehoy through his production company, Harriet Productions Where you can learn more about Winters Nebraska and his other films.

David Poulshock is a Northwest filmmaker and musician whose projects have won over 90 awards, including 9 national Telly Awards. He is also an Oregon Music Hall of Fame Inductee.

David's film Space: A Meditation on the Meaning of Art is having it's Portland Premiere at the Tomorrow Theater on June 12th, 2026.

It was supposed to be a simple feature documentary about a local landlord’s quest to convert the run-down industrial complex NW Marine Iron Works into a thriving art scene. But the eccentric artist Tim Stapleton moved in to one of the new studios — on his own quest to paint until his dying breath as ALS took over his body — and everything changed.

As the buildings transform into over 100 artist studios called NW Marine Art Works, the film explores the existential question, "Why make art?"

SHOW NOTES:

The premiere is nearly sold out. David notes in the episode that there will be another upcoming screening. Follow David Poulshock or watch his website for updates.

Tickets to the Portland Premiere: https://tomorrowtheater.org/movies/space-a-meditation-on-the-meaning-of-art/Website: https://davidpoulshock.com/Substack: https://substack.com/@crazypoulshockInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/dpoulshock/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpoulshock/

My guest on this episode is Nisha Burton. A filmmaker, speaker, and creative director, Nisha has a skilled cinematic eye, blending animation, digital effects, emerging technology and cinematography. Nisha has made many films about Oregon history. Her documentaries are based on social and human issues. We’ll talk about her film – Over the Kitchen Table – A Short Film that is close to her heart as it shares the story of her mother Norma Burton, and her role as a founder of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s first women’s shelter in 1975.

SHOW NOTES:

Website

https://nishaburton.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nisha_creating/

https://shrine13.org/

https://www.instagram.com/shrine13/

Pour the Water as I Leave will screen on June 20th at the PAM Whitsell Auditorium in celebration of World Refugee Day. There is a full schedule of events in downtown Portland.

Daniela Repas has made several winning films that incorporate animation and live action and experiment with the confluence of narrative and non-fiction. This one is close to the heart as Daniela’s first feature film, it includes interviews with her mother, aunt and extended family and friends. All are Bosnians who survived the Bosnian War of the 1990’s and rebuilt beautiful lives here in the States.

Daniela Repas

Pour the Water as I Leave

IG: https://www.instagram.com/pour_thefilm/

https://www.instagram.com/repasdaniela/

Shrine13

https://www.instagram.com/shrine13/

Screening

Tickets

June 20th Schedule

* 10 a.m. World Refugee Day Walk starting at Salmon St. Springs

* 1:30 p.m. Masterclass Animation Workshop with Daniela Repas and Co: Lab at Finley Studio

* 3 p.m. Screening of Pour the Water as I Leave with Q&A Featuring PRSG in Whitsell Auditorium

This episode features Kaden Waldbauer and Elliot McClafferty, a young duo who have made several feature films since graduating from Vancouver School of Arts and Academics in 2022.

We talk about their latest film, My Friend Named Silence, their path to filmmaking, and their future filmmaking plans.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Kaden and Elliot.

Links:

A.Meltingmind on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/a.meltingmind/

Kaden Waldbauer on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kj_waldbauer/

Elliot McClafferty on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elliotmcclafferty/

The Northwest Book Fair and Media Fest, June 27th at Clark College https://northwestbookfair.com/

This episode was filmed and recorded at The Sound Stage in downtown Vancouver, Washington https://www.thesoundstagenw.com/

This episode features Mark Hoffman, an award-winning filmmaker working across commercial directing, viral campaigns, and narrative cinema. Trained in biology, then film and design in Germany, He is the writer and director of the feature film A Simple Machine.

And Alyssa Roehrenbeck, Producer of A Simple Machine. Alyssa is just off a big win at South by Southwest where another film she produced and filmed in Oregon with writer director, Graham Parkes, titled Wishful Thinking, won Best Narrative Feature.

A simple machine screened to a sold out audience at Portland Panorama on April 16th. Mark shares his inspiration for A Simple Machine, the challenges of adapting a novel to a screenplay and then filming it. They also share ideas for filming on an indie film budget, finding cast and crew, and perfect locations.

We also talk about funding an indie film, the benefits of filming in Oregon, and film distribution.S

HOW NOTES:

Mark's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuff4mark/

A Simple Machine website: https://www.asimplemachinethemovie.com/

A Simple Machine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asimplemachfilm/

Alyssa Roehrenbeck Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pdxalyssa/

Leave a review for A Simple Machine on Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/film/a-simple-machine

Watch the interview on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kIHYZE8nK8U