Oregon ArtsWatch Chooses PSU Film Showcase as Streaming Pick

STREAMING PICK: Portland State University’s School of Film posted its 2022 Spring Showcase online a few weeks back, and it’s an impressive array of student work.

The first-prize winner was Seamus Coyle and Olivia Lee’s Harper’s World, a clever satire about a former child star who enrolls at PSU and immediately sets about trying to reclaim her former glory. My personal favorite was the second-place winner, Elias Lunsford and Jordan Rasmussen’s Seirina, a moody, haunting fable in the vein of Vertigo and The Portrait of Dorian Gray.

But, frankly, there’s something to be impressed by in nearly all of these efforts, which range from two-minute exercises in montage to ten-minute mini-narratives to a documentary about Angora rabbit breeders. Naturally, there are some rough edges, but generally the production value and professionalism is pleasantly surprising.

For the true film nerds out there, the site also includes the winner of the school’s film analysis contest, Brian Berry’s essay on the 1948 Italian film Bitter Rice and its relationship to film noir. (The PSU School of Film Spring Showcase can be viewed at https://www.psufilmspringshowcase.com/films.)