Portland International Film Festival unveiled the films in the 2021 Future/future competition highlighting boundary-pushing new cinema from emerging filmmakers and represents some of the most exciting new voices in global cinema.
Serving on the jury this year will be Ali Khechen, the Workshops & Labs Manager at Doha Film Institute; Natalie Difford of Cinereach; and David Cress (Portlandia, Shrill, Documentary Now!), an Oregon-based media producer.
Portland International Film Festival 2021 Future/future Competition
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff
Directed by Alicia J. Rose
United States | Drama, Musical, Fantasy | 2021
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff tells the story of Madoff and the system that allowed him to function for decades through the eyes of musician/poet Alicia Jo Rabins, who watches the financial crash from her 9th floor studio in an abandoned office building on Wall Street.
A Machine to Live In
Directed by Yoni Goldstein, Meredith Zielke
Brazil, United States | Documentary, Sci-fi | 2020
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A Machine to Live In is a hybrid documentary linking the cosmic power structures of the state to the mystical architecture of cults and utopian cities in the remote hinterlands of Brazil.
A Rifle and A Bag
Directed by Cristina Hanes, Isabella Rinaldi, and Arya Rothe
90 min | Italy, Romania, India, Qatar | Documentary | 2020
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A young Indian couple of surrendered communist rebels (Naxalites) is fighting for their children’s future.
A Son
Directed by Mehdi M. Barsaoui
France, Lebanon, Tunisia, Qatar | Drama | 2019
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A couple’s world collapses when their son is shot, and the father discovers he’s not the boy’s biological parent.
American Thief
Directed by Miguel Silveira
United States | Thriller, Drama | 2020
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A teen hacker seeking revenge for his father’s murder becomes a pawn in a plot to derail the 2016 presidential elections.
Everything in the End
Directed by Mylissa Fitzsimmons
76 min | United States | Drama | 2021
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
Stranded in a small Icelandic village during Earth’s final days, a man seeks solace in the brief human connections he encounters.
Identifying Features
Directed by Fernanda Valadez
100 min | Mexico | Mystery, Drama, Thriller | 2020
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
A mother travels across Mexico in search of her son who authorities say died while trying to cross the border into the United States.
Sugar Daddy
Directed by Wendy Morgan
Canada | Drama, Comedy | 2021
Screening PIFF dates: March 5-14
When a struggling musician can’t afford to follow her dreams, she signs up to a sugar daddy website where rich older men pay to go on dates with younger women.