This Week in the Mercury

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. D-7.

Film

Clear Eyes. Full Hearts. D-7.

Battleship's Boring, Soulless Cash Grab


A Bit of a Drag

Books

A Bit of a Drag

Sexual Variations in John Irving's In One Person



  |  

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Film / Portland So... Who Went to PIFF?

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 4:12 PM

1be9/1235604029-goodbyesolo.png

Every year, the Mercury gets varying amounts of shit for whatever we write about the Portland International Film Festival, an event that's beloved by some and ignored by others.

PIFF wrapped up its 32nd annual festival on Sunday, and this time around, they showed some really solid stuff (my personal favorite out of the films I caught was Goodbye Solo, pictured above, which will be playing again in town starting May 15). And thanks to PIFF's red-carpet premiere of Coraline, the festival enjoyed its highest profile in years. According to Jessica Lyness, the public relations and marketing manager for the Northwest Film Center, PIFF's total attendance this year was 31,000—a number that's been "holding steady" over the past few festivals, she adds, and didn't even falter this year, despite the economy.

That's a whole lotta people—but what always surprises me is that I know so few people who actually attend the festival, and that I hear so few people discussing it around town when it's going on. You'd better believe that if there was any other event in Portland that 31,000 people were attending over the course of a few weeks, you'd hear about it—but instead of being the talk of the town, PIFF seems to float by, largely unacknowledged.

So here's my question: How many of you went to the festival this year? Are any of those 31,000 PIFF attendees also Blogtown readers? Vote below, and obviously, feel free to use the comments to jump in if you have anything to add about PIFF's popularity or reputation—whether it's about the festival in general, or this year in particular.

PIFF 2009: Did You Go?

 

Comments (6) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Nice poll.
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 25, 2009 at 4:33 PM · Report
2
(possibly more helpfully: yesterday's sam-gate poll is showing up)
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 25, 2009 at 5:04 PM · Report
3
This was my third year volunteering for PIFF and it was great. I saw about 15 films and, although there were a few duds, all of them provided me with SOMEthing memorable. Goodbye Solo will definitely stick with me and so will Gomorrah, The Window, Worlds Apart, and a few of the shorts. I can't wait 'til next year.
Posted by Carl on February 25, 2009 at 5:48 PM · Report
4
poll fixed.
Posted by A CAT, probably on February 25, 2009 at 6:28 PM · Report
5
"I wanted to go, but I just kinda never got around to it." describes a lot of events I read about in the Mercury.
Posted by Matthew D on February 25, 2009 at 10:30 PM · Report
6
Can they put the films online? Sorry, I don't go to theaters anymore.
Posted by NIG GER on February 26, 2009 at 12:25 PM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use