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Few Portland artists are as adept at spreading joy as Mike Bennett, the playful visionary behind Dinolandia and Wonderwood Springs. Bennett’s latest project: designing awards for the upcoming Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology.
“Our team has loved Mike Bennett’s work since the day we saw it,” PFCAT co-founder and co-directed Peter Isaac Alexander said in a statement. “When we decided to have an artist create awards for the festival, he was our No. 1 pick.”
Mike Bennett Studios is an official sponsor of the festival, which takes place Aug. 3-6 at OMSI. It will feature screenings of 119 films, including 110 world or regional premieres and 68 animated projects from 22 countries (plus panel discussions and parties).
As for the awards, films will be honored in 28 categories, including Outstanding Sci-Fi World Building and Best Use of Unreal Engine, a 3D creation tool memorably used by filmmaker Lana Wachowski for a fight scene in The Matrix Resurrections.
The actual awards, meanwhile, feature a design that should please fans of Bennett’s ebullient sensibility: a stag wearing a metallic gold spacesuit.
“We looked for a way to blend the festival’s focus on animation and technology with imagery that shouts out Portland,” Alexander said. “We think this design embodies the future-forward and fun outlook of the festival.”
The schedule of screenings and special events can be found at pdxfestofcinema.com. Tickets are available at tickets.omsi.edu/events/pfcat.