February 15 – March 1, 2018
Since 1977, the Portland International Film Festival has been the Northwest Film Center’s annual showcase of new world cinema. Over two weeks in February, through the exhibition of nearly 90 feature films and 40+ short films, PIFF audiences across the City of Portland travel the globe in theater seats through our celebration of the world’s filmmakers and cinephiles.
You have one last chance to catch some of the audience favorites from PIFF 41. Check out our Encore Screenings, March 2-4 at the Whitsell Auditorium.
Please use the filters below to sort our film selections by country, language, section and screening date.

101 Seconds
Directed by Skye Fitzgerald
On December 11th, 2012, a shooter entered Clackamas Town Center Mall near Portland and opened fire with an STAG-15 assault-style …

12 Days
Directed by Raymond Depardon
In France over 90,000 people a year are placed under psychiatric care without their consent. These people must appear before …

24 Frames
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Three years in the making and Kiarostami’s final film before his death in 2016, each segment in 24 Frames offers …

6.9 On the Richter Scale
Directed by Nae Caranfil
When an earthquake hits Bucharest, Tony, an actor, and his wife are shaken out of their sleep, amplifying Tony’s anxiety …

A Ciambra
Directed by Jonas Carpignano
Pio, 14, lives in an impoverished Romani community in Calabria in southern Italy. Determined to live up to the outlaw …

A Gentle Creature
Directed by Sergey Loznitsa
Inspired by the Dostoevsky short story, A Gentle Creature follows a stoic Russian woman trying to get a care package …

A Season in France
Directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Focusing on the precarious plight of undocumented asylum seekers, Haroun’s soul-searching film portrays the daunting challenges of overcoming a vast …

A Taxi Driver
Directed by Hun Jang
A Taxi Driver begins as a comic, period road movie before taking a serious turn to reflect on a critical …

Angels Wear White
Directed by Vivian Qu
In a small seaside town, two schoolgirls are assaulted by a middle-aged man in a motel. The only witness is …

Ava
Directed by Sadaf Foroughi
Ava’s life is dictated by rules. Coming of age in Iran, she faces pressure to conform to the expectations of …

Bad Genius
Directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya
Playing on the Thai obsession with academic achievement and test taking, Bad Genius is a comedic heist thriller that plays …

Beauty and the Dogs
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
Unfolding in nine chapters over the course of one night, Ben Hania’s timely drama follows a young woman’s search for …

Big Fish and Begonia
Directed by Xuan Liang, Chun Zhan
This beautifully crafted animated adventure, inspired by Chinese myths, takes place in a hidden world ruled by celestial beings. One …

Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
Directed by Alberto Vazquez, Pedro Rivero
Adapted from his graphic novel, Alberto Vázquez’s debut feature, co-directed with Pedro Rivero, tackles themes of climate change, ecological disaster, …

Bodied
Directed by Joseph Kahn
A UC Berkeley grad student whose thesis explores the use of racial slurs in rap battles finds himself drawn into …

Claire’s Camera
Directed by Hong Sang-soo
One of three films by Hong Sang-soo in this year’s festival, Claire’s Camera was shot during the Cannes Film Festival …

Cocote
Directed by Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias
“Evangelical Christian Alberto works as a gardener on a wealthy estate in Santo Domingo. When his father is murdered, he …

Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?
Directed by Travis Wilkerson
“An audacious meditation on conscience and responsibility, on race in the American South, as well as a highly personal exhumation …

Eating Animals
Directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn
America’s desire for cheaper, more convenient food fueled the demise of traditional agriculture and the birth of the grim reality …

El Mar La Mar
Directed by Joshua Bonnetta, J. P. Sniadecki
The Sonoran desert, on the Mexico–US border, is one of the most brutal and hotly contested areasof land on the …

Félicité
Directed by Alain Gomis
Winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Gomis’s film portrays a life lived on …

Five Fingers for Marseilles
Directed by Michael Matthews
A recent parolee returns to his hometown, vowing to turn his back on his criminal ways. Before long he finds …

For Ahkeem
Directed by Jeremy S. Levine, Landon Van Soest
Daje Shelton, a 17-year- old girl from St. Louis, wants to do the right thing. But growing up in a …

Foxtrot
Directed by Samuel Maoz
Michael and Daphna experience gut-wrenching grief when army officials inform them of the death of their son. Unable to find …

Gemini
Directed by Aaron Katz
A heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant and her Hollywood starlet boss. As the assistant …

Good Luck
Directed by Ben Russell
“Shot on Super16mm, Good Luck is a bifurcated portrait of two mining communities operating on opposite sides of a hostile …

Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse
Directed by Lukas Feigelfeld
In a small Austrian mountain village in the 15th century, a single mother is ostracized by the other residents, who …

Her Love Boils Bathwater
Directed by Ryôta Nakano
After her husband disappears with another woman, Futaba, now a single mother, is forced to close the family bathhouse business. …

Hochelaga, Land of Souls
Directed by François Girard
On a summer night a sinkhole opens during a game in a downtown Montreal stadium, revealing long-buried artifacts. Mohawk archeologist …

Housewife
Directed by Can Evrenol
A woman who experienced a tragic loss as a child comes under the spell of a mysterious and charismatic cult …

I Am Not a Witch
Directed by Rungano Nyoni
Following an incident in her Zambian village, nine-year-old Shula is denounced as a witch and exiled to a state-run witch …

Ice Mother
Directed by Bohdan Sláma
Sláma’s charming, romantic drama centers on themes of familial conflict and the possibility of rebirth at any age. After her …

Jeannette, The Childhood of Joan of Arc
Directed by Bruno Dumont
France, 1425. In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, 8-year-old Jeannette looks after her sheep in the small village …

Le fort des fous
Directed by Narimane Mari
In a film that walks a thin line between fact and fiction, Mari’s disparately linked narratives grapple with the legacy …

Lean on Pete
Directed by Andrew Haigh
Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson (Charlie Plummer) wants some stability: a home, food on the table, and a high school he can …

Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
Directed by Thomas Riedelsheimer
British sculptor, photographer, and environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy, whose site-specific sculptures and land art redeploy nature’s resources in startling and harmonious …

Let the Corpses Tan
Directed by Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
A gang of ne'er-do-wells rob an armored truck, getting away with the gold bars. Hiding out, trouble ensues when unexpected …

Let the Sun Shine In
Directed by Claire Denis
Living alone in Paris, Isabelle (Juliette Binoche), a divorced artist in her 50s, hopes that romantic hope springs eternal. But …

Lots of Kids, A Monkey and A Castle
Directed by Gustavo Salmerón
Julita Salmerón wanted three things in life: to have lots of children, to own a monkey, and to live in …

Lover for a Day
Directed by Philippe Garrel
Crashing at her philosophy professor father’s apartment in the wake of a painful break-up, 23-year-old Jeanne discovers that he has …

Lu Over the Wall
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Winner of the top prize at this year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, Lu Over the Wall is a visually ravishing …

Mad World
Directed by Chun Wong
This year’s Hong Kong submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Mad World thoughtfully attempts to de-stigmatize mental illness …

Makala
Directed by Emmanuel Gras
Winner of the Critic’s Week Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival, Makala is a riveting piece of documentary observation and …

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
Directed by Mouly Surya
The bad guys come to rape, pillage, and murder, but they are not prepared for the calm wrath of Marlina. …

Milla
Directed by Valérie Massadian
Milla (Séverine Jonckeere) and Léo (Luc Chessel), 17 years old and in love, set off to the north of France …

Miss Kiet’s Children
Directed by Peter Lataster, Petra Lataster-Czisch
Miss Kiet teaches children of asylum seekers in a Dutch elementary school. Coming from countries like Syria and Iraq, her …

Napping Princess
Directed by Kenji Kamayama
In the year 2020, high school senior Kokone is stuck between reality and her own dream world full of fantastic …

Newton
Directed by Amit Masurkar
As the world’s largest democracy prepares for a national election, idealistic civil service newcomer Newton Kumar must ensure free and …

Occidental
Directed by Neïl Beloufa
The stylish, side-splitting Occidental packs all of a broadly rendered Europe into a kitschy, cheap hotel while rioting on the …

Oh Lucy!
Directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi
Setsuko (Shinobu Terajima), an aging and depressed office drone in Tokyo, doesn’t have much to look forward to until her …

On Body and Soul
Directed by Ildikó Enyedi
Unfolding in a slaughterhouse in Budapest, Ildikó Enyedi’s eccentric and beautiful love story strikingly mixes realism and dreams. The introverted …

On the Beach at Night Alone
Directed by Hong Sang-soo
“Hong Sang-soo’s movies have always invited autobiographical readings, and this is perhaps his most achingly personal film yet, a steel-nerved, …

Our Time Will Come
Directed by Ann Hui
Inspired by the exploits of the Hong Kong resistance during World War II, Our Time Will Come tells the story …

Polina
Directed by Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj
Bursting with dazzling dance sequences, this arresting tale of self-discovery charts a young woman’s journey to find her place in …

Scaffolding
Directed by Matan Yair
Seventeen-year-old Asher always has been an impulsive troublemaker at school. Although his strict, Sephardic father sees his strapping son as …

Science Fair
Directed by Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster
Every year, over 1,700 students from 75 countries compete in the annual International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), a highly …

Shorts 8: Chaplin Classics
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin’s singular blend of slapstick, pathos, and social satire made him one of the cinema’s great artists and his …

Soufra
Directed by Thomas A. Morgan
After spending her entire life in the Burj el-Barajneh refugee camp near Beirut, Mariam Shaar decided to change her life. …

Speak Up
Directed by Stephane De Freitas
Every year, hundreds of college students from the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis face off in Eloquentia, a contest to crown …

Spell Reel
Directed by Filipa César
Amílcar Cabral, Guinea-Bissau’s liberation leader who was assassinated in 1973, left behind a major archive of film and audio work, …

Spoor
Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Drawing inspiration from local fairy tales, Spoor dissects political corruption and environmental activism in a small Polish town. Janina is …

Summer 1993
Directed by Carla Simón
Simón’s evocative autobiographical film won the Best First Feature prize at the Berlin Film Festival and is this year’s Spanish …

Sweet Country
Directed by Warwick Thornton
Combining elements of classic period Westerns and courtroom drama, Sweet Country is set in the Australian outback of the late …

Tehran Taboo
Directed by Ali Soozandeh
In Tehran, a city laden with restrictions and religious laws of patriarchy, modesty, and family honor, transgressions can lead to …

Tempestad
Directed by Tatiana Huezo
Tatiana Huezo’s poetic film is a meditation on the notion of “impunidad,” the unaccountability of those in power, whether the …

The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
Directed by Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert
Following up on the much-loved Ernest & Celestine, these warm, funny hand-drawn tales about life on an animal farm are …

The Charmer
Directed by Milad Alami
Milad Alami’s debut feature mixes psychological thriller and erotic drama in a complex tale of isolation, identity, and the desperate …

The China Hustle
Directed by Jed Rothstein
Executive produced by Alex Gibney and Mark Cuban, Rothstein’s investigative film explores the need for transparency in an increasingly deregulated …

The Day After
Directed by Hong Sang-soo
Once again plumbing affairs of the heart and the foibles of weak, confused men with his sly humor, Hong Sang-Soo’s …

The Death of Stalin
Directed by Armando Iannucci
The one-liners fly as fast as political fortunes fall in this uproarious, wickedly irreverent satire from Armando Iannucci. Moscow, 1953: …

The Endless
Directed by Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
After receiving a cryptic video in the mail, two brothers return to the Southern California cult they left a decade …

The Eternal Road
Directed by Antti-Jussi Annila
Based on Antti Tuuri's bestselling novel, The Eternal Road tells the untold story of the many thousands of Communist Americans …

The Great Buddha+
Directed by Hsin-yao Huang
Two working-class friends discover the dark secret of their millionaire boss in this black comedy about class status and corruption. …

The House By The Sea
Directed by Robert Guédiguian
In a little cove near Marseille, Angèle, Joseph, and Armand return to their elderly father’s picturesque villa. Angèle is an …

The Nothing Factory
Directed by Pedro Pinho
Based on the true story of Lisbon workers taking over an elevator factory threatened with closure, Pinho’s fiction debut is …

The Rape of Recy Taylor
Directed by Nancy Buirski
In September 1944, six young white men abducted and raped 24-year- old mother Recy Taylor in Abbeville, Alabama. Despite threats …

The Rider
Directed by Chloé Zhao
Zhao’s enthralling portrait of America’s cowboy culture provides an archetypal story of a man redefining his hopes and ambitions. Once …

The Third Murder
Directed by Hirokazu Kore-Eda
This moving story of a man struggling to find the truth while questioning his own faith in the law is …

Thoroughbreds
Directed by Cory Finley
“Two teenage girls reignite a childhood friendship to deliciously dark ends, in this witty contemporary noir. Lily and Amanda are …

Under the Tree
Directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson
Equal parts family drama, absurdist black comedy, and unconventional thriller, Under the Tree follows two warring households locked in a …

Vazante
Directed by Daniela Thomas
Upon returning to Brazil in 1821 from a trading expedition, Antonio discovers that his wife has died in labor. Confined …

Wajib
Directed by Annemarie Jacir
Shadi, an architect in Rome, returns to his paternal home for the first time in years to honor the Nazareth …

Western
Directed by Valeska Grisebach
In this tense, slow-burning thriller, a group of German construction workers start a tough job at a remote site in …

What Will People Say?
Directed by Iram Haq
Sixteen year-old Nisha lives a double life. At home with her family she is the perfect Pakistani daughter, but when …

White Sun
Directed by Deepak Rauniyar
This year’s Nepali submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar sensitively explores the damage done to the fabric of …

Winter Brothers
Directed by Hylnur Pálmason
Punctuated with bursts of surrealism and bouts of dark humor, Pálmason’s compelling feature dives into the frozen world and striking …

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Directed by Morgan Neville
“With his gentle voice and heartfelt words of wisdom, Fred Rogers served as a compassionate surrogate father for generations of …

Youth
Directed by Feng Xiaogang
Starting out in the 1970s, Feng Xiaogang’s film chronicles the joys and travails of a provincial military-arts troupe, People’s Liberation …

Zama
Directed by Lucrecia Martel
“Martel ventures into the realm of historical fiction and makes the genre entirely her own in this adaptation of Antonio …