The Women (and Men) Behind the Portland Women’s Film Festival

The Portland Women’s Film Festival (a.k.a. POW Fest) is an annual exhibition international independent films made by women, and is a produced by Sour Apple Productions in partnership with Film Action Oregon. With its original inception in 2002, POW Fest garnered critical praise for showcasing bold, original, and uncompromising films by women who are redefining not only their role in the industry, but the art of film itself. Following is a summary list of the people and organizations involved in the 2008 edition of the festival:

Sour Apple Productions
Sour Apple Productions is a Portland-based production company whose mission is to develop and foster original independent film and to create thought-provoking movies with images and ideas that stay with the viewer long after they leave the theater. In accordance to this mission, the three principal arms of the company include community education, festival exhibition, and original production. The company has co-produced several successful Portland film festivals in years past, including the Portland International Short Short Film Festival and the 2007 10 or Less Fest, and offered instructional services to the young filmmaker programs, Project Youth Doc and St. Mary’s Academy department of film. Currently the company is producing or co-producing two original feature films, On the Eve of War and Home Videos. www.sourappleproductions.com

Film Action Oregon
Film Action Oregon engages in any activities designed to foster the growth and development of film and video in the state of Oregon; to enhance the artistic, cultural and educational development and understanding of Oregonians; and to engage in relevant, related community development. Film Action Oregon educates emerging artists about filmmaking, partners with independent filmmakers indigenous to Oregon to produce new works, and engages diverse audiences by exhibiting independent, foreign and classic films at the Hollywood Theatre.

Tara Johnson-Medinger, Executive Director
With over fifteen years of experience in the film and television industry, Tara Johnson Medinger has produced programs for a diverse range of clients, from national news corporations to independent underground short films. Tara's films have been featured on the Independent Film Channel, as well as selected for film festivals. Her most recent documentary/, Military Families Speak Out - Oregon/, has been applauded for telling the story of people who have relatives or loved ones in the military, but are opposed to the continued occupation of Iraq. In the past few years, along with co-founding Sour Apple and producing the company's first feature film, On the Eve of War, she has also overseen management of the 10 or Less Film Festival and POW Fest, the Portland Women's Film Festival. Equally at home in the corridors of FOX Broadcasting Headquarters—where she was manager of affiliate promotion for six years—as she is at peace vigils and on military bases, Tara is an approachable and unflappable presence on set. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband Chris and their two children, Avery and Quinlan.

John Denlinger, Managing Director
John Denlinger studied Industrial and Management Systems Engineering at the University of South Florida and spent several years working as a process engineer before shifting his career to media and film production. He has since worked as a freelance writer, producer, and camera operator since 2004 and joined Sour Apple Productions in 2006. He also served as Managing Director of the 2006 Portland International Short Short Film Festival and Lead Programmer for the 2007 10 or Less Film Festival. He also associate-produced the feature film, Felix & Alexandra.

Allison Anders, 2008 POW Fest Guest of Honor
Allison Anders is a Los Angeles-based independent filmmaker. In 1995 she was the recipient of a MacArthur "genius grant" and in 2002 she won a George Foster Peabody Award for distinguished achievement and meritorious service for her semi-autobiographical film "Things Behind the Sun". From the release of her acclaimed first feature, "Border Radio" (1989; co-written and co-directed with Kurt Voss) through the recent critical and popular success of “Things Behind the Sun”, Anders has established a body of work that is innovative in its visual and sound style and marked by ensemble acting and strong women characters. Her films as writer-director also include "Gas Food Lodging" (1992), "Mi Vida Loca" (1993), "Grace of My Heart" (1996), and "Sugar Town" (1999; co-directed with Kurt Voss). Anders' films have premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival and at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, and retrospectives of her work have been held in Thessaloniki, Greece; Sheffield, England; and at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic. She is a distinguished professor at University Of California, Santa Barbara where she teaches film one quarter a year. Anders has also directed episodes of the TV Shows "Sex In The City", "Cold Case", "The L-Word", "Men In Trees", "What About Brian".

Advisory Committee:

Richard Beer
Richard Beer has spent more than 20 years working in various arenas of the film exhibition and distribution business. Since 1997 Richard has been the Artistic Director of Film Action Oregon (previously the Oregon Film & Video Foundation) where he sets the tone and direction for all of Film Action Oregon’s exhibition and education programs, including the transformation of the historic Hollywood Theatre from a decaying second-run movie theater into a thriving multi-faceted venue.

Sue Haley
Susan Haley is a University of Oregon graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She has been at the Film Office since July 2000 and currently serves as the Marketing and Administrative Manager. Her focus is on operations, administration of the incentive programs, and outreach to the Oregon independent filmmaker community. She has served as a Legislative Aide in the Oregon House, volunteered as a member of the Film Action Oregon Board, served as Chair of the North Clackamas Park’s Dept. Budget Advisory Board, and as an Area Rep for the North Clackamas Citizen’s Association. She is also an acting member of the Portland Women’s Film Festival advisory board.

Jackie Weissman
Originally from New York, Jackie Weissman lives in Portland, Oregon where she works as a documentary filmmaker, freelance director and Avid editor. Jackie received her MFA in film and video production from Columbia College-Chicago. Jackie has been an adjunct professor at The Art Institute of Portland and Columbia College-Chicago. She is currently in production on the feature documentary Rock ‘N Roll Mamas. Sue Haley Susan Haley is a University of Oregon graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. She has been at the Film Office since July 2000 and currently serves as the Marketing and Administrative Manager. Her focus is on operations, administration of the incentive programs, and outreach to the Oregon independent filmmaker community.

Tony Fuentes
Tony Fuentes is the creator of the inaugural 2002 Portland Women’s Film Festival. Since then he has also produced La Femme Filmposium, the Itisness Cinemathon, the Fox Chase Children’s Film Festival, and – most notably or infamously - the Portland International Short Short Film Festival (better known as the PISS Fest!). As a filmmaker, Mr. Fuentes has produced experimental short films for fun and training films for commercial clients. In 2004, Tony and his wife Jennifer opened Milagros, a Boutique for little Miracles and their Mamas.

David Walker
David Walker is a professional journalist, filmmaker, comic book writer, and the creator of the pop culture magazine BadAzz MoFo. For over six years he was the screen editor and lead film critic for Willamette Week, in Portland, Oregon. During his time at Willamette Week, Walker also created and programmed the Longbaugh Film Festival, an international showcase for independent film. He has also directed four films and is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on blaxploitation films of the 1970s.

Janet McIntyre
Janet McIntyre is an award-winning director, writer and producer. She is the Director of the Digital Film Department at the Art Institute of Portland and currently in production on her feature documentary, FADED: ADOLESCENT GIRLS & BINGE DRINKING. She received her MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in Film. .

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