Bryan Boyce and Chris Freeman – hosts/curators of Boathouse Microcinema
We can’t wait to see you at our free screenings of experimental film this fall!
portland oregon usa
Bryan Boyce and Chris Freeman – hosts/curators of Boathouse Microcinema
We can’t wait to see you at our free screenings of experimental film this fall!
2025 Fall Screenings:
Upcoming:
Sun, Oct 12 – Pure Abstraction: Brent Coughenour, Arianna Gazca, Matthew Nash
Thu, Oct 16 – Briar Levit – Graphic Means
Part of Portland Design Month
Advance tickets required for entry
Mon, Oct 20 – Cambria Matlow – Why Dig When You Can Pluck?
Mon, Nov 24 – Getting to Know You(Tube)
Past:
Sun, Sep 7 – Both Sides Now 10: Video Works from the UK and Hong Kong
Fri, Sep 12 – DePave Hosts String and Shadow Puppet Show – Outside Behind The Boathouse
Mon, Sep 29 – Kurtis Matthew Russell – Epidemic of Loneliness
View the complete archive of past events here.
Screenings will now be free!
Doors at 7:30, show at 8:00 unless noted otherwise.
Boathouse Microcinema is a screening series of local filmmakers in Portland, Oregon. Screenings take place at The Boathouse, a long-running art studio space in a converted fire boat station on the banks of Willamette River. It was originally conceived of by Matt McCormick, who asked Chris Freeman to join. Originally meant as a 10-week project, its initial success after launching in the spring of 2017 led them to continue hosting screenings. In 2018, Chris Freeman continued the series with new collaborators Amy Epperson and Shannon Neale. These two brought a renewed energy and focus on centering queer and minority voices. The covid-19 pandemic ended screenings until Chris Freeman and Bryan Boyce revived the microcinema in 2025.
Boathouse Microcinema is proud to program artists of underrepresented identities, including promoting the work and voices of women, people of color, and sexual minorities. We acknowledge that our screenings take place on the stolen and colonized lands of the Multnomah, Clackamas, and Chinook people. And that our location in Portland’s Eliot neighborhood is a historically Black community that is continually gentrifying.
Unfortunately the building is not ADA accessible. There are stairs leading to the front entrance, narrow hallways, and no grab bars in the bathroom. Please contact us for any accessibility questions.
Oregon ArtsWatch, Apr 2025 – “Filmmaker-Exhibitor Matt McCormick: Back at the Boathouse”
Willamette Week, Feb 2025 – “Boathouse Microcinema Returns for Another Season of Experimental Films”
The Digital Divide on KBOO, Oct 2018 – Interview with Chris Freeman
Willamette Week, Apr 2018 – “Film Compliation Portland 90 Exhumes Old Portland Without Nostalgia”
Other Zine, Spring 2017 – “Boathouse Microcinema in Portland: Interview with Matt McCormick”
Boathouse Microcinema’s first season was supported in part by The Precipice Fund, Calligram Foundation, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Special thanks is also due to PICA.