THE 34th PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, AN END

twenty-three films. not as many as last year, but not a single festival day skipped, thanks in large part to a commitment to looking good in pants. and so, in wrap up and summary, the best of the 34th portland international film festival.

critic's favorites

1. "heartbeats" (day 4)
2. "silent souls" (day 2)
3. "the white meadows" (day 3)
4. "the arbor" (day 10)
5. "the housemaid" (day 9)

popularity by country of origin

1. spain (three films: "flamenco, flamenco," "black bread," "the last circus")
2. canada (two films: "heartbeats," "the whistleblower")
3. russia (two films: "silent souls," "how i ended this summer")
4. united states (two films: "cameraman," "cold weather")
5. france (two films: "potiche," "certified copy")

post popularity by pageviews (not scaled for time at site)

1. day 9 ("the whistleblower" and "the housemaid")
2. day 4 ("behind blue skies" and "heartbeats")
3. day 1 ("potiche")
4. day 8 ("last report on anna")
5. day 12 ("all that i love")

popularity of films (reviewed here) by search topic

1. "the whistleblower" (day 9)
2. "heartbeats" (day 4)
3. "come undone" (day 7)
4. "steam of life" (day 6)
5. "potiche" (day 1)

you'll have to read somewhere else on the films that got nods for the festival's audience awards. of the fifteen narrative and documentary features included, only two of the twenty-three discussed here made the not so illustrious cut. i didn't stick around to hear the awards announced at the closing party. that blog photographer was there again.