PNW artists to hold anti-election festival, screen documentary of 2020 Portland protests

Are you feeling less than excited about the upcoming elections? Are you weary from the electioneering and anxious about whether our votes will actually make a difference? You’re not alone! Local activists and artists working with the Risk/Reward performing arts collective are coming together to put on a festival that will be “three days of theater, film, and mayhem anti-celebrating the upcoming presidential election”: the Election Anti-Party!

This week, starting Thursday, Sept. 26, and continuing Friday and Saturday, the festival will hold performances by artists from around the Pacific Northwest.

On Friday, Sept. 27, the Election Anti-Party will show the documentary Tipping Point: What the Portland Protests Tell Us About the State of America. As summarized by film’s website:

In May 2020, following the death of George Floyd, Portland, Oregon, became the focus of media attention for its protests and demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. Tipping Point is a documentary film about the largest recent civil rights protest in U.S. history, and how Portland emerged as its epicenter. Told through the individual stories of Portlanders on the ground, Tipping Point humanizes the struggle while allowing Portland’s story to serve as a mirror for all of America – the past that brought us here and the future we must choose.

In addition to exploring a critical moment in local and national history, the documentary will be preceded by a dance performance and followed by a panel discussion. The Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater will be performing the piece “Uprising,” a celebration and reflection on Black joy, protest and movement. Following the screening, a discussion will be held featuring artists, filmmakers, the activist/artist Emily Squires and the civil rights attorney Ashlee Albies.

The screening will be held at Portland Center Stage, on 128 NW 11th Ave, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 27. For more information, and to buy tickets for the screening or other Election Anti-Party events, check out Risk/Reward’s website here.