August 17-20, 2023

DoubleTree by Hilton, 1000 NE Multnomah St., Portland, Oregon

Pacific Northwest Multicultural Readers Series & Film Festival

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WHY ATTEND PNMC FESTIVAL Join us at the Pacific Northwest Multi Cultural Readers Series & Film Festival

Celebrating Our Differences Together

The Rose City

Portland has diverse cultural offerings, beautiful scenery, award-winning food, tax-free shopping, and more!

1

Multi Cultural Films & Readings

Be the first to screen carefully curated new films and experience powerful play readings. Join in this unique multi cultural forum.

3

New People

Javon Johnson, Bobby Yan...meet and mix with celebrities, experts, fellow artists, and aficionados. Make connections and save contacts.

2

Master Classes

Learn more on your craft from nationwide experts. Classes are presented in small groups.

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CELEBRATING OUR DIFFERENCES TOGETHER 2023 PNMC Festival Leadership

Javon Johnson

PNMC Festival Co-Chair. Playwright, director, producer, actor The Oval, Daddy's Little Girls, Boo! A Medea Halloween

Bobby Yan

PNMC Festival Co-Chair. Playwright, six-time Emmy Award winning director, Stalker, K-Love.

Jerry Foster

PNMC Festival Executive Producer

Leasharn M Hopkins

PNMC Festival Curator

August Bullock

PNMC Festival Readings Curator

Kathryn Mobley

PNMC Festival Film Curator

GET EXPERIENCE

Celebrating Our Differences Together

The PNMC Festival is presented by PassinArt: A Theatre Company, Oregon’s longest producing Black theater company.

SCHEDULE DETAILS Celebrating Our Differences Together

The PNMC Festival is celebrating its second year with an in-person festival in the City of Roses, Portland, Oregon. Click on the circle of the day you'd like to view.

9 AM - 2 PM

Festival Registration

Pickup passes purchased online or purchase passes in the Fest Office.

9:30 AM

Festival Opening & Press Conference

Opening remarks/press conference in the Roosevelt Room.

speaker-1

Javon Johnson

speaker-2

Jerry Foster

speaker-3

Leasharn M Hopkins

10:00 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Washington

10:00 AM

FILM SHORT: OnBoard

(40 min.; Mini-Doc)

Washington

Filmmakers: Shannon Nash,  Merline Saintil & Deborah Riley Draper   

OnBoard follows the evolution of board diversity from Patricia Roberts Harris in 1971 to the present day, as seen through the eyes of Black women who are making a positive difference in global corporate spaces.

10:30 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Hamilton

Film Short:  FANNIE (10 min.; Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Abeni Bloodworth

Sharecropper turned social justice advocate, Fannie Lou Hamer publicly highlights the scare tactics used in Mississippi to prevent Black residents from voting.  Hammer forces this country to examine itself with one question, “Is this America?

 

Film Short:  Q.U.E.E.N(13 min.; Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Brittany "B.Monét"

Q.U.E.E.N. tells the story of a teenage girl who uses Rap and Hip Hop to give voice to all the things she's afraid to speak. Through self-discovery and a little bit of courage, Imani faces her biggest fear at a Rap Battle.

11:00 AM

CELEBRITY CONVERSATION: Javon Johnson

Roosevelt

The festival is presenting a special session, Conversation with Stage, Film, and Television Actor Javon Johnson. This conversation will focus on the 2023 PNMC Festival Co-Chair Javon’s career and lived experience in the industry and ways artists of color can thrive in theatre and film.  Javon currently co-stars in the television series Tyler Perry’s The Oval.  The award-winning artist is also a writer, producer, and acting coach.

Moderator:  Ken Boddie, Morning Anchor/Reporter KOIN TV

speaker-1

Javon Johnson

speaker-2

Ken Boddie

11:15 AM

FILM SHORTS: The Leijend, Contact Man

Film Short:  The Leijend  (25 min.; Sci-Fi)

Washington

Filmmaker: Javon Johnson

A psychological thriller that pits a man against his greatest fear, himself. Who will win this life and death battle.

 

Film Short: Contact Man (6 min.; Sci-Fi)

Washington

Filmmaker: Christina Bachelor

After the murder of his sister, a super human in hiding seeks to avenge her death. Through the use of his detective skills and teleportation powers, he searches for his purpose and revenge.

11:30 AM

READING: El Nido

(Writer: Raul Garza)

Jackson

When a long-forgotten Vietnamese soldier appears unexpectedly in 2018, he shakes the comfortable lives of Vietnam War veteran Pablo and his wife, Adriana.

speaker-1

Raul Garza

11:30 AM

FILM SHORT: The Bridge that Brought Us Through

(37 min.; Mini-doc)

Filmmaker: Tom Lassiter                                 

Hamilton

In the Jim Crow era, Black and White South Carolinians built nearly 500 Rosenwald Schools for African American students. Today, only a small percentage survive. They are witnesses to an important time, regardless of race. And why so many Rosenwald Schools have disappeared in the Palmetto State is a uniquely South Carolina story.

12:30 PM

FILM SHORTS: Birthday Cake; I Play Loser

Film Short:  Birthday Cake  (11 min.; Drama)

Washington

Filmmaker: Thomas Bauer         

It's Donnie's Birthday. A good reason for his wife to bake his favorite chocolate cake and reflect on the time spent with a loved one.

 

Film Short:  I Play Loser (15 min.; Drama)

Washington

Filmmaker: Jezer Serafica

Boog is a talented, fierce competitor in the Fighting Game community. Having never achieved 1st place, the young man becomes obsessed with knocking down his friends after struggling with a new video challenge.

12:30 PM

READING: I Have to Pray

Grant

Writer: Lisa Collins

A Black woman educator struggles with the depth of white supremacy as it shows itself in Oregon school systems. Based on the research of a Black woman educator, I Have to Pray demonstrates the complexity of race, gender, class, and power and the need for healing and survival in educational systems for Black educators.

12:30 PM

FILM SHORTS: Toni. Mamie. Connie.; The Dragonfly Tale

Film Short: Toni. Mamie. Connie. (5 min.; Historical, Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Ashleigh Curry

Set in the 1950's, it centers around three African American women playing their last game with an African American men's baseball team. Witness some of the hurdles they overcome to become front runners in a game that has no place for them.

 

Film Short: The Dragonfly Tale (30 min.; Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Lorey Hayes

A story about faith and trust in God to heal lives. Laced with laughter and light-hearted moments, join a Black family navigating racial and economic hurdles in 1964 Texas. Together they journey through victimization, public scrutiny and personal accountability.

9 AM - 2 PM

Festival Registration

Pick up passes purchased online or purchase passes in the Fest Office.

9:00 AM

MASTER CLASS: Creating Characters Your Audience Will Love…Or Hate!

Madison

Instructor:  Jeanette Hill; 90 minutes                 

The suspension of disbelief. You’re familiar with the term. Just so you know, if your audience can’t connect with your characters, they won’t connect with your story. Through exercises and activities, learn how to develop three-dimensional characters-their appearances, traits, and voices unique to each one.  Create characters your audience will want to know.

speaker-1

Jeanette Hill

9:15 AM

MASTER CLASS: Directing for Film and Television

Jackson

Instructor: Bobby Yan, PNMC Celebrity Co-Chair

An advanced primer on the craft of directing from script to screen.

speaker-1

Bobby Yan

9:30 AM

MASTER CLASS: Master the Audition Rhavynn Drummer

Roosevelt

Instructor:  Rhavynn Drummer

Students will receive the opportunity to get in-depth information about auditioning characters for television and film projects.  Not only will this information delve into techniques and common mistakes in an audition room, but actors will get the chance to perform a mock audition AND receive feedback on their performance.

speaker-1

Rhavynn Drummer

10:00 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Washington

10:00 AM

FILM SHORT: OnBoard

(40 min.; Mini-Doc)

Washington

Filmmakers: Shannon Nash,  Merline Saintil & Deborah Riley Draper   

OnBoard follows the evolution of board diversity from Patricia Roberts Harris in 1971 to the present day, as seen through the eyes of Black women who are making a positive difference in global corporate spaces.               

10:30 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Hamilton

10:30 AM

FILM SHORTS:  FANNIE, Q.U.E.E.N.

Film Short:  FANNIE  (10 min.; Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Abeni Bloodworth                          

Sharecropper turned social justice advocate, Fannie Lou Hamer publicly highlights the scare tactics used in Mississippi to prevent Black Americans from voting.  Hammer forces this country to examine itself with one question, “Is this America?

 

Film Short:  Q.U.E.E.N. (13 min.; Drama)

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Brittany "B.Monét"   

Q.U.E.E.N. tells the story of a teenage girl with a troubled past who uses writing as her muse to say all the things she is too afraid to say. Through self-discovery and a little bit of courage, Imani faces her biggest fear at a rap battle.

11:00 AM

READING: On the Train

Reading: On the Train                                                

Grant

Writer: Lisa Price

Shortly after the overturning of Roe, political correspondent Nia Anderson, has a brief confrontation with Senator Chad Fox the ‘face of morality’. When she confronts him about the pending increase in African-American maternity and infant mortality and mortality rate, his insult leads to the damaging of her career.

speaker-1

Lisa Price

11:15 AM

FILM SHORTS: The Leijend, Contact Man

Film Short:  The Leijend (25 min.; Sci-Fi)

Washington

Filmmaker: Javon Johnson

A psychological thriller that pits a man against his greatest fear, himself. Who will win this life and death battle.

 

Film Short:  Contact Man (6 min.; Sci-Fi)

Washington

Filmmaker: Christina Bachelor

After the murder of his sister, a super human in hiding seeks to avenge her death. Through the use of his detective skills and teleportation powers, he searches for his purpose and revenge.

11:30 AM

MASTER CLASS: Freeing Your Creative Voice and Industry Talk

Instructor:  Javon Johnson

Roosevelt

In this Master Class Javon Johnson will instruct on the following:  Writing from an organic space; Writing for stage versus television/film; Seeking agent representation; Learning how to get from the page to production; Learning the development process (ie. drafting, revising, and editing); and the proper format and structure.

speaker-1

Javon Johnson

11:30 AM

FILM SHORT: The Bridge That Brought Us Through

(37 min.; Mini-doc)    

Filmmaker: Tom Lassiter                                    

Hamilton      

South Carolinians built nearly 500 Rosenwald Schools for African American students in the Jim Crow era. But just a small percentage survive today. They are witnesses to an era important to all South Carolinians, regardless of race. And why so many Rosenwald Schools have disappeared in the Palmetto State is a uniquely South Carolina story.

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Festival Registration

Pick up passes purchases online or purchase passes in the Fest office.

9:00 AM

MASTER CLASS: Original Scripts from Workshop to Production

Madison

Instructor:  Don Wilson Glenn; 45 minutes                  

Starting with creation, the process of pen to paper, discussing the standard industry formatting; copyright and ownership; submission, commission and soliciting; and finally the playwright’s expectation from workshop to full production.

speaker-1

Don Wilson Glenn

9:15 AM

MASTER CLASS: Theatre Producing 101: My Script is Done, Now What?

Grant

Instructor:  Kaypri

Checklist on how to know if your script is ready for production including the essential workshop process.  Additional information on the following:

  • You are a producer already! Mining the skills you already have
  • Hiring a crew must do’s and need to knows
  • Why PR is your most important investment and key to a successful production
  • Finding your audience beyond your inner circle
  • Finding opportunities to share your work beyond where you live and work

speaker-1

Kaypri

9:30 AM

MASTER CLASS: A Technique for Working on a Monologue

Roosevelt

Instructor:  Professor Vera J. Katz

Attendee should bring a prepared monologue with a copy for instructor.  If necessary, the instructor will provide a monologue for you.

speaker-1

Vera J Katz

10:00 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Washington

Film screenings in the Washington room.

10:00 AM

FILM SHORTS - Indigenous Resistance: Now and Then; I Play Loser

Film Short: Indigenous Resistance: Now and Then (15 min.; Mini-Doc)       

Filmmaker: ‘Wáats’asdíyei Joe Yates                         

Washington

Witness how Indigenous people endure psychological, emotional and economic trauma at the hands of their Caucasian conquers. Statehood, blood quantum, ANCSA, boarding schools, denied the freedom to speak their language and perform their cultural dances. Yet through it all—their ancestral traditions bind them—making them resilient and fueling them with hope.

 

Film Short:  I Play Loser (15 min.; Drama)

Washington

Filmmaker: Jezer Serafica

Boog is a talented, fierce competitor in the Fighting Game community. Having never achieved 1st place, the young man becomes obsessed with knocking down his friends after struggling with a new video challenge.

10:30 AM

Film Festival Opens in the Hamilton

Film Short:  3 Phases of Isa (17 min.; Drama)        

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Mildred Langford

In a marriage riddled with domestic violence, a woman confronts the younger versions of herself attempting to gain the freedom she desperately seeks.

 

Film Short:  XXVisible (12 min.; Drama)                  

Hamilton

Filmmaker: Bobby Yan    

It's 2020, COVID-19 has shut down the entire world. In the midst, a successful, young Asian American struggles to navigate life during the lock down. A series of events forces the man to confront issues of self-identity and racial politics, culminating into an aggressive Anti-Asian attack against his family.

speaker-1

Bobby Yan

11:00 AM

MASTER CLASS: Film Finance & Funding

Lincoln

Instructor:  William Andre Buchanan

Angel investor and Film Financier William Andre Buchanan will host a workshop on how to get your projects funded by sharing several techniques to secure funding for your projects.

speaker-1

William Andre Buchanan

11:15 AM

READING: The Knowledge of Good and Evil

Grant

Writer: Valerie Peterson                         

THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL is a story that takes a look into the lives of two African American brothers, as they are faced with difficult decisions that will challenge their shared upbringing, spirituality, and moral compass.

speaker-1

Valerie Yvette Peterson

11:15 AM

FILM SHORTS: The Dragonfly Tale; Birthday Cake

Film Short:  The Dragonfly Tale (30 min.; Drama)

Washington

Filmmaker: Lorey Hayes

A story about faith and trust in God to heal lives. Laced with laughter and light-hearted moments, join a Black family navigating racial and economic hurdles in 1964 Texas. Together they journey through victimization, public scrutiny and personal accountability.

 

Film Short:  Birthday Cake (11 min.; Drama)

Washington

Filmmaker: Thomas Bauer

It's Donnie's Birthday. A good reason for his wife to bake his favorite chocolate cake and reflect on the time spent with a loved one.

11:30 AM

READING: A Black Father’s Plea

Madison

Writer: Gregory Stallworth                      

A Black Father’s Plea is a stage performance of two acts that addresses the perils of a black father who is absent in his son’s life. During this absence, the son seeking male mentoring goes to the streets to seek encouragement and advisement only to be steered to a life on the streets that includes crime, drugs and gun violence.

speaker-1

Greg Stallworth

11:30 AM

PANEL DISCUSSION: Overcoming Barriers – Embracing our Culture and Differences in Theatre & Film

Description: Artists of Color (AOC) have dealt with racism, colorism, whitewashing, and stereotypes throughout vaudeville, theatre, film, and television. However, they have always found a way to publicly tell and celebrate their culture and differences.

This panel will discuss what was, what is, and what is to come for AOC in the entertainment industry.

In the Roosevelt room.

Panelists: 

Rose Bianco, actress, theatre, television, and film

Alicia Payne, Canadian multi-disciplinary storyteller (stage, film, television, and radio)

Jeannette Hill, award-winning playwright and creative activist, founder of JWHill Productions LLC and Sight  Ain’t Seeing Theatre Company.

Glenn Alan, award-winning playwright, director, stage producer, executive producer of DC Black Theatre Festival

Lorey Hayes, Multi-award winning writer, director, Stage, Film, Television

Moderator:  Jeannine Foster-McKelvia, playwright, director, and adjunct assisstant professor of theatre at the CUNY College of Technology and at Marymount Manhattan College

speaker-1

Rose Bianco

speaker-2

Alicia Payne

speaker-3

Jeanette Hill

speaker-4

Glenn Alan

speaker-5

Jeannine Foster-McKelvia

speaker-6

Lorey Hayes

10:00 AM

FESTIVAL BRUNCH

Enjoy a delicious brunch in the Ballroom with fellow guests and special guests. Included with purchase of festival pass.

Willamette Falls Buffet includes:

  • Sliced Seasonal Fruit
  • Assorted Cold Breakfast Cereals
  • Scrambled Eggs with Herbs & Tillamook Cheddar
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • Danish Pastries, Muffins, Croissants & Scones
  • Butter & Fruit Preserves
  • Choice of two: Country Smoked Bacon, Black Forest Ham, or Link Sausage

1:15 PM

CLOSING REMARKS

Closing remarks presented after brunch in the Ballroom.

PRICING PLANS Choose your Festival Pass

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