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WATCH: Nightmarewave: Yugoslavian Animation
Yugoslavia was an unheralded fountain of creativity in the field of animation during the mid- to late 20th century, and while the dominant Zagreb Film Studio produced plenty of kiddie fare like the comparatively well-known Professor Balthazar, its most interesting work ventured into striking realms of violence and eroticism, blending folkloric imagery with techniques gleaned from modernist painting. “Nightmarewave” is Church of Film’s retrospective of some of the era’s gnarlier productions. Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 971-808-3331, cstpdx.com. 7 pm Wednesday, April 23. $10.
WATCH: In Heaven: A David Lynch Retrospective
“In Heaven” is Hollywood Theatre’s tribute to David Lynch, the great surrealist director who died this year, leaving behind one of the most striking and polarizing bodies of work in American cinema. Selections include Inland Empire, the frightening three-hour monolith that capped his career, and a low-key jewel of his filmography, The Straight Story, a PG-rated detour into luminous Americana that’s the only one of these films you should even begin to consider taking your kids to. Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd., 503-493-1128, hollywoodtheatre.org. Various showtimes Wednesday–Sunday, April 23–27. $10–$12 per screening.
WATCH: David Cronenberg’s The Shrouds
David Cronenberg has been making films for 50 years, yet between 2022’s Crimes of the Future and this year’s deeply personal The Shrouds, it’s clear the body-horror pioneer is at a new peak of his artistry. His work gets under the skin, not least The Shrouds, in which Vincent Cassel plays a grieving man who invents a technology by which clients can monitor the decaying bodies of their loved ones. It’s indubitably icky stuff, yet Cronenberg always directs with the suave confidence of an art-house master. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 503-223-4515, cinema21.com. Various showtimes April 24–May 1. $9–$11 per screening.
DRINK: Portland Spring Cider Fest
Though crisper and less bloating than beer—and more accessible owing to its lack of gluten—cider has long lived in the shadow of its belchier and foamier cousin. The Portland Spring Cider Fest places it front and center. Whether you’re an aficionado or know little about this storied beverage beyond “if it’s tangy and brown, you’re in cider town” (thank you, Ned Flanders), this three-day fest should have something for everyone, featuring over 40 ciders for sampling alongside Pine Street Market’s usual food vendors. Pine Street Market, 126 SW 2nd Ave., 971-347-3166, pinestreetpdx.com. Noon–8 pm Friday–Sunday, April 25–27.
HEAR: YHWH Nailgun
Even if all YHWH Nailgun had going for them was the best drummer in underground rock, they’d still be worth seeing just for Sam Pickard’s impossible paradiddles. Yet these young Queens, N.Y., punks make some of the most radical deconstructionist rock this half-expended decade has seen thus far, and frontman Zack Borzone’s feral contortions capture the imagination just as much as the madman behind the drums. Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison St., 503-239-7639, holocene.org. 7 pm Monday, April 28. $16.
SEE: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
The second play in August Wilson’s career-crowning Pittsburgh cycle, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is set at a boarding house in the 1910s, when many survivors of American slavery were still only in middle age. Though not the most famous of Wilson’s plays (likely owing to the fact that it has yet to be adapted to film, unlike Fences or Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), it’s one of his most haunting, evocative and spiritually complex works, and it opens at Portland Playhouse at the end of the month. Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St., 503-488-5822, portlandplayhouse.org. Previews 7:30 pm Wednesday–Friday, April 30–May 2. Opening night 7:30 pm Saturday. 7:30 pm Wednesday–Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday, 2 pm on Sunday, May 4–June 8. $59.95, $30 for previews.