The 2013 Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival welcomes director Penelope Spheeris (WAYNE’S WORLD, BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, SUBURBIA) as this year’s Guest of Honor.
Often referred to as a Rock ‘n Roll anthropologist, Spheeris worked as a film editor and cinematographer before forming her own company in 1974. ROCK ‘N REEL was the first Los Angeles production company specializing in music videos. She produced, directed, and edited videos for major bands through the Seventies and Eighties, concluding her music video work with the Grammy nominated, “Bohemian Rhapsody” video for WAYNE’S WORLD.
She has enjoyed two distinct careers in film – one where she does mainstream Hollywood films such as WAYNE’S WORLD, and the other where she does independent music themed documentaries such as the DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION films.
A student of both psychobiology and film, Spheeris has said, “I think about myself as someone who studies human behavior and is trying to figure out what the hell is going on in our current society. If I can leave any film that helps define a certain time after I’m dead then that’s great.”
Traveling to Portland to support women filmmakers, film enthusiasts and the public at large are encouraged to attend this unique opportunity to hear from Spheeris about her filmmaking experiences firsthand. The screenings of her films are at 2 p.m, 7pm and 9pm. Q&A’s with movie historian David Walker will take place after DUDES and in between SUBURBIA and DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION III. Movie goers will have an opportunity to hear from Ms. Spheeris as well as individuals whose lives were chronicled in DECLINE III.
Suburbia { 94 MIN / USA } DIR: Penelope Spheeris
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart. 7:00pm
Decline of Western Civilization III { 86 MIN / USA } DIR: Penelope Spheeris
Director Penelope Spheeris completes her trilogy documenting the Los Angeles music scene with this look at the homeless teens who roamed the streets in the late 1990s, and lived the punk lifestyle. Spheeris maintains a tender attitude toward her young subjects, who honor, respect, and admire the culture that began before they were born. 9:00pm
Q&A with Director Penelope Spheeris to follow!
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