Sunday, February 1, 2015

PDX Motorcycle Film Festival

I have really wanted to see the movie "Out of Nothing" ever since seeing the trailer a little over a year ago. I was particularly interested as the subjects of the film are also local to the Seattle area. Being aware of this, my wife decided to see if she could find it playing anywhere or if it was available for purchase as a DVD/Blue Ray as a Christmas gift. It was this search that made her aware of the PDX Motorcycle Film Festival.  She bought me tickets to fulfill that gift pretty much the minute they became available. I did our course finally get to see "Out of Nothing" as a result. I'll put together another post specifically about the film some time soon. In the meantime it's safe to say I liked it.

The primary goal of the PDX Motorcycle Film Festival is to raise funds for much needed motorcycle safety equipment for Portland International Raceway.  Like many road racing courses PIR's bread and butter is car racing. A lot of the safety controls are designed to protect those drivers. Cars fair much much better than motorcyclists when hit tire walls or concrete retaining barriers. One best ways of addressing the problem is a special barrier called Air-Fence. These bales cost about $2000 a piece so the OMRRA needs any help they can get to fund them.

The actual film festival is hosted at a wonderful old theater in Portland Oregon. The Hollywood Theater was originally built in 1925.

The following is a partial list of the films shown across the two evenings.

Out of Nothing
Speed Mud and Glory
Somewhere Else Tomorrow
Ride Report
Driven to Ride

I can genuinely say I really enjoyed them all but I did have a clear favorite. I don't identify with adventure riding as much as some people do so I wouldn't guessed it would a favorite before seeing it. If Ride Report appeals to you at all I'd absolutely encourage you to check it out. 

My brother, his wife, my wife and myself all went down as a group. I was worried it would be more motorcycle crap than our wives could bear. I was surprised how well all the movies stood on their own merits even without having a total motorcycle obsession. I'm confident all four of us will be there again next year!

I can't thank my wife enough for buying the tickets. I had more fun this weekend than I've had in a long time (even factoring in the Seahawk's Super Bowl XLIX loss).

1 comment:

Flathead45 said...

I just wanted to add that I thought it was a fantastic event, and definitely have it marked on my calendar for next year. Check it out!

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