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Since 2017, the best way to kill time at Portland International Airport has been the Hollywood Theatre’s “microcinema” on Concourse C. Now there’s a new crop of nine films screening this fall in the free, 22-seat theater. It’s an eclectic mix of documentaries, animation, music videos and more, including:
-Portlanders: Preserving Black History with Albina Music Trust by better. for Travel Portland. Using archival footage and new interviews, this documentary looks at the jazz scene in the Albina neighborhood’s heyday and features drummer Mel Brown, Paul Knauls Sr. (founder of the Cotton Club and “mayor of Albina”), guitarist Norman Sylvester and vocalist Renn Woods.
-The Pinto Variety Hour by R.J. Sullivan. An animated series about a bean named Pinto struggles to get the respect he wants as the host of a surreal variety show and the father of two teenagers.
-How the World’s Smallest Park Ended Up in Portland by The Oregonian. A documentary that focuses on the 452-square-inch Mill Ends Park in downtown Portland.
-Two films with connections to the country band Jenny Don’t and The Spurs: the music video Broken Hearted Blue by Omar Cervantes and a homage to the sounds of 1968 called The Worst Thing I Ever Did Was Ever Loving You (Federale Featuring Jenny Don’t) by Joe Bowden.
Hollywood Theatre spokesperson Randall Rego is partial to the film featuring the band Federale.
“It’s beautiful and I love their music, so of course that’s my favorite of the list,” Rego says. “But, always, it’s about everyone’s personal relationship to the movies. You make a connection.”
The Hollywood Theatre is looking for submissions for the next group of shorts to screen at the airport. They change the lineup every quarter or so. Films must be 10 minutes or shorter in length, appropriate for a general audience, and either made by a Pacific Northwest artist or feature issues relating to Oregon or the region.
Note that the Hollywood Theatre microcinema is located past security, so theatergoers will need an airplane ticket to get in.
