Weird and Wonderful: The Satirical Films of Tim Smith [In-Person Only]
$14 General Admission
$10 Student/Child/Senior
$7 NWFF Member
Discussion
** Matthew Cowan, Moving Image Archivist at the Oregon Historical Society, will be in attendance to introduce the program **
About
(Tim Smith, US, 1968-1982, TRT ~80 min, in English, DCP)
This program showcases the inventive, off-beat humor of local Portland filmmaker Tim Smith. Smith started making films in 1968, using his father’s 16mm Bolex camera, and relied on a cast and crew that included family members and friends, including future Simpsons creator Matt Groening. These satirical films are rooted in a love and appreciation for all things media. As such, Smith’s films were often send-ups of popular genres of the time, from the cautionary tale of gang recruitment in Salmon Street Saga to the unforgettable anti-drug yarn of Drugs: Killers or Dillers? to the crime drama reimagined in The Case of the Kitchen Killer.
Co-presented with the Oregon Historical Society and Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPoPS)!
These films are conserved and digitally captured at 2K with support from the Al Larvick Conservation Fund.
Ticketing, concessions, cinemas, restrooms, and our public edit lab are located on Northwest Film Forum’s ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. All doors in Northwest Film Forum are non-motorized, and may require staff assistance to open. Our upstairs workshop room is not wheelchair accessible.
The majority of seats in our main cinema are 21″ wide from armrest to armrest; some seats are 19″ wide. We are working on creating the option of removable armrests!
We have a limited number of assistive listening devices available for programs hosted in our larger theater, Cinema 1. These devices are maintained by the Technical Director, and can be requested at the ticketing and concessions counter. Also available at the front desk is a Sensory Kit you can borrow, which includes a Communication Card, noise-reducing headphones, and fidget toys.
The Forum does NOT have assistive devices for the visually impaired, and is not (yet) a scent-free venue. Our commitment to increasing access for our audiences is ongoing, and we welcome all public input on the subject!
If you have additional specific questions about accessibility at our venue, please contact our Patron Services Manager at maria@nwfilmforum.org. Our phone number (206-329-2629) is voicemail-only, but we check it often.
Made possible due to a grant from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Sensory Access, our Sensory Access document presents a visual and descriptive walk-through of the NWFF space. View it in advance of attending an in-person event at bit.ly/nwffsocialnarrativepdf, in order to prepare yourself for the experience.
NWFF patrons will be required to wear masks that cover both nose and mouth while in the building. Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them. We are not currently checking vaccination cards. Recent variants of COVID-19 readily infect and spread between individuals regardless of vaccination status.
Read more about NWFF’s policies regarding cleaning, masks, and capacity limitations here.
This showcase will include screenings of:
The Orange
(1968, 4 min, originally 16mm)
A young boy attempts to eat an orange.
Salmon Street Saga
(1970, 6 min, originally 16mm)
A cautionary tale of gang recruitment, Salmon Street Saga boasts a cast including Simpsons creator Matt Groening and a soundtrack featuring Dick Dale & His Del-Tones and The Cheers.
This is Portland
(1971, 6.5 min, originally 16mm)
A take on the travelogue series, Don and Bettina, this film features Smith’s brother Duncan Smith.
Drugs: Killers or Dillers?
(1972, 9.5 min [abridged version], originally 16mm)
This unforgettable anti-drug yarn, inspired by the educational films screened in high school health class.
The Case of the Kitchen Killer
(1976, 21 min, originally 16mm)
A re-imagining of the crime drama drawn from a story performed by actor/comedian Pat McCormick, the cast of this film includes Tim Smith and his father, Dr. Lendon H. Smith.
Infernal Voyage
(1980, 15 min, originally 16mm)
This film is an homage to Jacques Tati, with a cast including Smith’s father, Dr. Lendon H. Smith.
Hyperactivity: The Facts
(1982, 13 min, originally 16mm)
Dr. Lendon H. Smith appears once again in this film about the evils of sugar-heavy diets.
About Al Larvick Conservation Fund:
The mission of the Al Larvick Conservation Fund is to preserve historical and cultural heritage through conservation, education and the public accessibility of American analog home movie, amateur cinema and community recording collections. allarvickfund.org
About Oregon Historical Society:
The Oregon Historical Society is dedicated to making Oregon’s long, rich history visible and accessible to all. For more than a century, the Oregon Historical Society has served as the state’s collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials, books, films, and oral histories. Our research library, museum, digital platform, educational programming, and historical journal make Oregon’s history open and accessible to all. We exist because history is powerful, and because a history as deep and rich as Oregon’s cannot be contained within a single story or point of view. ohs.org
About MIPoPS:
MIPoPS is a nonprofit whose mission is to assist archives, libraries, and other organizations with the conversion of analog video recordings to digital formats according to archival best practices.
Featuring a variety of material and topics, their Moving History series curates a quarterly set of archival videotape clips that document diverse Seattle histories of the arts, politics, and community.
Find out more about MIPoPS at mipops.org
Watch past screenings on their YouTube Channel
Browse hundreds of videos they’ve digitized on their Internet Archive collection
Connect with MIPoPS on social media:
Twitter @mipops_seattle
Facebook & Instagram @mipopsseattle