The 6th Annual Portland Motorcycle Film Festival

For the sixth-year in a row the PDX MCFF returns to the Northwest this weekend to screen another great collection of films exploring various forms of life on two-wheels.

Tomorrow Portland, Oregon’s Hollywood Theatre will host the sixth-annual Portland Motorcycle Film Festival — aka the PDX Moto Film Fest (or PDX MCFF). The two-day event kicks into gear the evening of Friday, January 25^th, with the second night commencing the following day (the 26^th). Broken up over two nights, the moto-centric film fest will screen a total of four feature length movies and over half-a-dozen short films — all of which, as the event’s moniker suggests, focus entirely on motorcycle-related activities and pursuits.

Keeping It Short & Sweet

Starting with the short film selection, there are 7 minis screening over the weekend, which will be played over the course of both nights. So, let’s get into them…

The Big Escape

By Hermes Mangialardo, Italy

Synopsis: A thief flees the big city.

The Race

By Lucas Guerineau, Argentina

Synopsis: N/A

Highest Village in the World

By Carlos Costa, Spain

Synopsis: Two friends travel to Peru to reach a remote village 5,100 meters above sea level.

Bottled Up

By David Ashton, USA

Synopsis: A motorcycle music video.

Blue Mountains in the Arctic

By Emil Duvander, Sweden

Synopsis: A journey to the Barents Sea above the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia.

I Hate Ladies

By Sofia Wikelid, Vanja Hamm, and Agness Wentzel Blank, Uganda

Synopsis: A look at the only female motorcycle taxi driver in Uganda.

The ESR Angle

Oh yeah! There’s one more short film we should fill you in on…A Little while back EatSleepRIDE had director Cam Elkins produce a short film called “Faster”, starring Alicia “The MotoLady” Elfving. You may remember seeing the five-and-a-half-minute video making its way around online in Spring of 2017, however this little film of ours — which was one of five we released leading up to EatSleepRIDE’s SyncRide — has now been selected to be screened at the 2019 PDX Motorcycle Film Fest!

The Feature Lengths

For 2019 the PDX MCFF has selected four full-length feature film (two aired each night) covering everything from long-distance travel on two-wheels, to the highs and lows of race competition. Let’s dive in…

3 Wheeling (2018)

Synopsis: “Experience the spectacular sport of sidecar racing at the world’s most challenging road race, the Isle of Man TT.  From race preparation to the paddock, pit lane, and the track, follow the riders, passengers and team mangers as they push themselves and their custom built machines to the limit.”

Director: Nathan Russell-Raby

Producers: Chris Beauman

Country: Isle of Man

Watch the TRAILER

A Thousand Miles Behind (2018)

Synopsis: A grieving man sets out on a solo trip across California after a motorcycle mysteriously turns up on his doorstep.  Can speed, distance, and the lonely road help heal him?

Director: Nathan Wetherington

Producers: Nathan Wetherington, Caroline Diani

Country: United States

Watch the TRAILER

Whatever May Come (2018)

Synopsis: “Christian Vogel gave up the lease on his apartment and his job to ride around the world on a motorcycle. 333 days and 50,000 KM through the US, Canada, Russia, China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Nepal and Iran, he finds adventure, danger, perspective and connection.”

Director: Christian Vogel

Producers: Christian Vogel, Simon Busch, Christian Frank

Country: Germany

Watch the TRAILER!

Never Ride Alone (2018)

Synopsis: “Entrepreneur, dirt bike explorer and expat Scott Englund tackles the challenge of documenting his solo attempt at being the first rider to cross a daunting region of the Peruvian Andes.The territory is stunningly beautiful, and the trails are ancient footpaths or nothing at all.”

Director: Scott Englund

Producer: Scott Englund

Country: Peru

Watch the TRAILER!

The Judges:

What’s a film fest without awarding some movies? For this reason the PDX MCFF has put together yet another crack team of big moto names to serve as the 2019 judges. This year judging the films will be…

Tom Parker – Board Chair of NW Documentary, lifelong motorcyclist, filmmaker, ’95 Paris Dakar BMW owner.  Is our favorite wizard.

Mark Gardiner – Motorcycle journalist (we’ve actually written for two of the same outfits) , author, and retired racer. Mark once quit a perfectly good job to enter the Isle of Man, and has been providing insights into motorcycle history, culture, and industry ever since.  Likes caffeine, talks politics, pokes fun. 

Drat Diestler - Owner Ever True Tattoo, Ducati racer, scooterist, Rutger Hauer doppelgänger, punk, daredevil.  Drat drives an Avanti...of course.

Damon Sullivan - Over 15 years as art director, production designer and producer.  CEO of Thug Design.  Damon likes bikes his own age, which he tells us is 24.  It's a lie. That Montesa is a '75.  He spends much of his free time riding single track in the Pacific Northwest, and can still be convinced to enter a vintage MX race if the weather is just right.

Larry Wright - Rider, racer, restorer, 17 years in the film industry including 14 features and over 400 commercials.  Proved us all wrong and got that '48 Velocette to run! Nice job.  A gentleman.  Likes dirt.

Patricia Gardner - Owner A57 Design, long-distance 2-wheel traveler, road racer, flat tracker, cook.  Appreciates rap, GSXRs, the color black.

A Good Time For A Good Cause

First completed in 1926, Portland’s iconic Hollywood Theatre has undergone an extensive restoration and now boasts a 50-foot screen complimented by digital projection and sound. On top of the screenings themselves, the two-day event also features a preparty and Q&A on Saturday at 4:00PM. According to organizers said party will boast “Special guests and other surprises”. Weekend passes are also good for VIP access to the aforementioned preparty.

All the proceeds from the two-night moto-film extravaganza will be used for Air Fence protective barriers and other track-related safety equipment for the local circuit; the Portland International Raceway. However, even if you can’t attend the event donations can still be made directly to the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association Air Fence Fund via PayPal at airfence@omrra.com. Since beginning fundraising for this cause in 2014, the PDX MCFF has collectively raised more than $60,000.

Pricing, Tickets, & Times

Friday, January 25, at 6:30 PM - $15
Saturday, January 26, at 6:00 PM - $15
Both nights, plus Saturday VIP pre-party - $50

Click here to get tickets, or click here to get weekend passes. For more info or to view each night’s lineup you can checkout the Portland Motorcycle Film Festival website.

Sponsors & Backers

Title Sponsor: BMW Motorcycles of Western Oregon

Host: The Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association

Additional Supporters

Velomacchi

CycleTune

Northwest Documentary