Portland Dance Film Fest

Portland Dance Film Fest Portland Dance Film Fest is an adjudicated film festival bringing dance films from around the world to the greater Portland, OR area.

Portland Dance Film Fest is about supporting and sharing what we think is the increasingly important work of dance for film. It is no secret that the current technology age has changed, and is continually changing, the way we go thru life. Who and what we are aware of and privy to is infinite and what this means for us a society and as a global people can feel like a rope slipping thru our fingers as we try and understand the implications and impact. Our shifting realities of self are mirrored back at us from the wormhole of the web, and in some ways is adding to our discontent and disconnection to ourselves and our communities. And, as with everything, there is a brilliant side. The beauty of technology is endless as well. We are dancers in Portland Dance Film Fest so naturally we are excited to uplift and bare witness to one of the most ancient and sacred art forms while utilizing the brilliance of technology by providing a screen and an audience for artists who are making dance for film. As Portland is a hub for creation and the spirit of Yes we are inspired by our local dancemakers, musicians, and filmmakers and keen on showcasing them alongside their peers from all over the globe. In the terms of technology’s progression, Film is not a new form so much, but we have watched dance for film have more and more of an audience over the last several years. When words feel limiting, we can find recognition of ourselves or something bigger than ourselves in the visual and audio arts.

Get ’em 🎟️Tickets are officially on sale! Come celebrate 10 years of Portland Dance Film Fest with us and explore all fo...
09/18/2026

Get ’em 🎟️

Tickets are officially on sale! Come celebrate 10 years of Portland Dance Film Fest with us and explore all four of this year’s screenings.

🎟️ Tickets + full program info → portlanddancefilmfest.com

October 2–4 at the Tomorrow Theater ❤️

🎥 ✨️ Live Dance Film Creation ✨️🎥Our Live Dance Film Creation is one of our favorite PDFF traditions. Artists come toget...
09/17/2026

🎥 ✨️ Live Dance Film Creation ✨️🎥

Our Live Dance Film Creation is one of our favorite PDFF traditions. Artists come together during the festival to create a dance film from the ground up. Over the course of several hours, they shoot it, edit it, and premiere it!

Looking back at all four creations from 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2024, each LDFC is a little snapshot of the people, energy, and creative spirit that have made PDFF what it is over the years. 💫

All four Live Dance Film Creations will screen as part of the Oregon Artist Retrospective at the Tomorrow Theater, Friday, October 2nd at 7pm.
🧡
2017: ,
2018: , ,
2019: .cady , ,
2024: ,
🙏

09/16/2026

Vestiges // Canada 👁️‍🗨️

Featuring eleven Ballet BC company artists, Vestiges introduces original choreography and movement direction by Medhi Walerski in close collaboration with the dancers, brought to life through Marcus Eriksson’s striking cinematic vision and original score. Shot in a vast, storied space in the Pacific Northwest, the project explores memory and connection through a series of cinematic chapters.

Director: Marcus Eriksson
Creative/Artistic Director & Movement Direction: Medhi Walerski
Dancers/Key Cast: Sidney Chuckas , Emanuel Dostine , Eduardo Jiménez Cabrera , Joziah German , Orlando Harbutt , Kiana Jung , Kelsey Lewis , Benjamin Peralta , Vivian Ruiz , Kaylin Sturtevant , Jacalyn Tatro
Director of Photography: Devin Karringten
Producer: Sean Frith
Steadicam: Mic Krizaj
Camera Operator: Evan West .west
1st AC: Luke Strahm
2nd AC: Sydney Bunning , Damien Surprenant .surprenant
Snorricam: Mike Decker
DIT: Filip Smola
Gaffer: Steve DeZewart
LX: Greg Milton
Key Grip: Shai Vera
Grip: Dean Wadella
Stylist: Leila Bani
Stylist Assistants: Mahsa Pazhouh , Rosemary Fisher-Lang
Makeup: Maria Walton
Hair: Erin Klassen
SPFX: Ole Vezina , Chris Lawson
Digital Tech: Rich Amies
Camera Assistant: Michaela Stachova
BTS: Ted Spenceley , Jackson Howell
PA: Dannick Turmel , Shamus Cochlin
First Aid/Craft Service: Sheila Cassels
Special Thanks: Sasha Plavsic , ILIA Beauty , Simons , MBS Equipment , UCOO Photography Rentals

Screening during Festival Picks at the Tomorrow Theater on Saturday, Oct. 3rd @ 7pm.

🖤

09/15/2026

Still Moving | When Suzanne Chi turned 40 during the pandemic, she was forced to confront the question all professional dancers eventually face: should I be done dancing?

This documentary follows Suzanne and her castmates, five dancers aged 42-65, as they rehearse and perform a new evening-length choreography. In navigating the challenges of aging in an industry that valorizes youth, these dancers offer their own perspectives on how and why they are still moving.

Directed by Suzanne Chi .ch.chia8, Carla Mann, & Robert Uelin.

🎤 Followed by a Panel Discussion on Aging in the Performing Body with Kiri Maasen, Candace Bouchard, Tiffany Mills, and Erin Boberg Doughton / Moderated by Suzanne and Carla.

🪩 ✨️

Screening at the Tomorrow Theater, Sunday, Oct. 4th @ 4pm.

09/15/2026

Más Glow // Colombia 💅

Acrylic nails, pink everything, and the faint sound of a bolero. Más Glow is a dance film that speaks to the preconceived notions of beauty, the rules imposed on the female body, and the power in taking up space. As gestures unravel inside a nail salon and the dance shifts towards monstrous movement, four women break the rules of how they should behave.

Director: Laura Steiner
Dancers & Choreographers: Arci , Lucy Cobaleda , Valentina Ávila , Valentina Hadad
Director of Photography: Santiago Cortés
Editing: Ana Alvarado
Music/Sound: Martín Vélez (Original Music); Molo Díaz (Sound Design & Mixing); Maravilla_Media (Voice Recording & Audio Post-Production)
Production & Production Design: Juana Fernández
Production Assistant: Dulce Mercado
Photography Assistant: Juan David Valenzuela
Colour Correction: Álvaro Calero / Thriller.color
Makeup Design: Wilii Ríos
Hairstyling: eugeanmakeup
Nail Design: Karolin Brigith Mendoza
Extras: Juana Fernández, Dulce Mercado, Karolin Brigith Mendoza
Catering: Felipe Valencia
Location: Glam Spa
Special Thanks: Sala de Belleza La Francesa, Jorge Montesdeoca, Populardelujo, Laura de Irisarri, Camila Vélez, El Quinto Pulgar

Screening during Festival Picks at the Tomorrow Theater on Saturday, Oct. 3rd @ 7pm!

🩷

🎬️ Directors' Picks: A Decade of PDFF 🎬️Join us for a long-awaited screening of some of our favorite films from the past...
09/14/2026

🎬️ Directors' Picks: A Decade of PDFF 🎬️

Join us for a long-awaited screening of some of our favorite films from the past decade of PDFF. Come for the movement, stay for the moments that linger. An evening of striking dance, beautiful cinematography, and films we’ve carried with us over the years.

9 standout films. 10 years of PDFF. One night only.

You are not going to want to miss this!!!

🔸 Old Man at the Corner Store | What I Know So Far | Table for One, Please | Dive | Second Seed | TWINS “You must be related!” | Your Approval is Not Essential | Aura | It Cries Too Loudly 🔸

Screening at the Tomorrow Theater, Oct. 4th @ 7pm.

09/14/2026

LIMBES // France 🏔️

An expressionist dance film opening a window into the dreams and nightmares of a young man. Between paralysis and release, shadow and light, it reflects on our collective fears and traumas and the winding paths toward healing.

Director: Karl Cannone
Actor/Dancer: Casper Tveteraas Hauge
Director of Photography: Hugo Ghnassia
Music/Sound: Samuel Marot Saferis (Composer)
Producers: Romuald Sintes , Joseph Perrette

Screening during Festival Picks at the Tomorrow Theater on Saturday, Oct. 3rd @ 7pm!

💙

09/12/2026

✦ Directors' Picks ✦ We’ve watched a lot of dance films. For this tenth anniversary, we wanted to revisit a few of the films that have stayed with us.

Directors’ Picks: A Decade of PDFF is a cohort of nine films from the festival’s history that have remained especially meaningful to us. They come from nine countries and span a remarkable range of voices, styles, and stories. Together, these films offer a glimpse into the array of work that has excited and moved us over the years.

Screening at the Tomorrow Theater, Sunday, Oct. 4th @ 7pm!

💚

09/12/2026

◦ Festival Picks ◦ brings together eleven films from nine countries that show just how many ways dance can tell a story and where dance film is now. What ties these films together isn't a single style or theme, it's the exploration that movement can express something words can't. Each filmmaker has a different voice, and that's what makes watching them together so rewarding.

This year's collection travels from Colombia, Norway, South Korea, France, Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, Argentina, and the USA, inviting us into eleven distinct worlds, all connected through the universal language of dance.

Screening at the Tomorrow Theater, Saturday, Oct. 3rd @ 7pm!

💛

09/12/2026

🌲💌Oregon Artist Retrospective💌🌲
For ten years, Portland Dance Film Fest has been lucky enough to grow alongside an extraordinary community of Oregon artists. This program is a love letter to that community and the artists who have helped create this festival.
This screening opens our 10th festival and looks back at where we’ve come from as a dance film community. Woven throughout are the Live Dance Film Creations made during the festivals, works born in just a few hours, with artists making, filming, editing, and sharing something together in real time.

Screening at the Tomorrow Theater, Friday, Oct. 2nd @ 7pm!

🫶

Address

Portland, OR
97214

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Portland Dance Film Fest posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Portland Dance Film Fest:

Shortcuts

Share

Category