Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology

Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology (PFCAT) embraces cutting-edge technology and its role in modern filmmaking. We are looking for amazing live action films and animated works and the visionary voices behind them. The event takes place at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), home to the Empirical Theater, which is a 300 seat IMAX. OMSI was recognized as the #1 Science Museum by Newsweek Readers Choice.

In addition to 170+ film screenings in two theaters and our annual award ceremony, the festival includes various parties, networking events, panel discussions, and dome film screenings in the Kendall Planetarium.

PFCAT is open to a wide variety of films and animated projects. In fact, many of our official selections and award winners do not have technology as a main point of focus. The “technology” part of the festival's name also refers to the cutting-edge tech we incorporate in festival screenings and at the event itself, such as virtual reality and augmented reality. For example, audience members can vote on the audience choice awards using a custom augmented reality app designed for the festival.

Jury members and panelists include many of today’s top industry professionals including numerous Academy Award Winners and nominees, and Emmy Award Winners. Attendees frequently note that PFCAT is excellent for networking with many filmmakers returning year after year.

"Prominent local film festivals include the constantly innovating Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology.” -MovieMaker Magazine's "Best Places to Live and Work as MovieMaker in 2025"
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Networking Opportunities

We believe that meeting other people is a key part of the festival experience and that’s why we host parties, informative panels, and special events. PFCAT events are attended by entertainment industry people including animation and visual effects professionals from companies like Disney, LAIKA, Industrial Light and Magic, Pixar, and Shadowmachine. These festival networking events are designed to help participating filmmakers meet interesting people in a fun and memorable way.

One of the annual PFCAT festival networking events is held at an immersive art gallery with over 23,000 square feet of interactive installations that are designed to stimulate auditory, visual and sensory perceptions.

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Jury and Awards

Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology carefully selects jury members to ensure festival participants get their work in front of industry experts. Members of our jury include Eric Adkins, DP of Annie Recipient and Oscar®-nominated film Marcel the Shell with Shoes On; Ernie Altbacker, writer of numerous animated features such as Batman: Hush, Justice League Dark, Injustice and more; Michael Cordova, Compositing Supervisor at LAIKA whose work include the Oscar®-nominated and BAFTA® Award-winning Kubo and the Two Strings, Golden Globe®-winning Missing Link, and LAIKA’s upcoming animated feature Wildwood;Paul Harrod, Production Designer and Director whose 30+ years of credits includes Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, Wendell and Wild, Shape Island and more. Leslie Hope, Director of A Small Light, Lost in Space, Snowpiercer, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Rick Mischel, Executive Producer at Sony Pictures Animation; Jon Stewart, Screenwriter best known for Pixar / Disney’s Cars 3, Smallfoot, and Angry Birds 2; Joanna Priestley, dubbed “the queen of independent animation” by Bill Plympton, Priestly has made 32 award winning shorts and has had numerous retrospectives including Museum of Modern Art in New York and British Film Institute.

PFCAT jury members have received recognition for their work on Oscar and Annie nominated films, are Guggenheim Fellows and have directed for many of the entertainment industry’s largest players from 20th Century Fox, HBO, and MGM to Netflix and more.

Our one-of-a-kind awards are created by one of Portland's favorite local artists. Many of our award winning filmmakers have commented that their PFCAT award is the best award they have ever received.
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Portland is the "Second Hollywood of Animation"

At the 2023 and 2024 festival events, PFCAT hosted the legendary animator and 2X Oscar nominee Bill Plympton. Portland, Oregon is home to some of the world’s top animation companies and animators. During one of his appearances at Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology, Plympton noted that Portland is the “second Hollywood of animation.”
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Additional Curated Events

In addition to the main festival in August, PFCAT also includes local screenings and educational events throughout the year. In 2025, Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology presented three-days of special presentations as part of the Portland Winter Light Festival, which attracts over 270,000 visitors a year.

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Festival History

Previously a touring festival (International Festival of Cinema and Technology), the festival rebranded in 2022 to reflect our home in Portland, Oregon.

Since its inception, the festival has screened 1800+ films including hundreds of World Premieres and Regional Premieres. And we’ve had the pleasure to host hundreds of judges and filmmakers from around the globe. PFCAT has proudly been a stop for some of the very best independent shorts, features, animations, documentaries and other projects during their festival runs. Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure to screen works that range from microbudget projects to those created by the most accomplished filmmakers, featuring some of the world’s favorite actors.

Past Cities: Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney, Toronto, Paris, Quezon City, London, Sheffield, Burlington, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, Portland, OR, Seattle, and Washington D.C.

Our 22 Past Venues Include: Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, CN Tower-Maple Leaf Theater, The Canadian Broadcast Centre, The Sony Theatre Culver City-LA, Fox Studios in Sydney, CNIT (Centre National des Industries et Techniques) Paris, Tribeca Grand Scene-NYC, The Ontario Science Center, Federation Square Melbourne, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Northwest Film Forum, Seattle, The Horse Hospital-London, Metro Arts, Brisbane, and Universal Citywalk Orlando.