Our Film Festival Guru
Marylhurst Messenger
February, 2009

By Jonnie Martin

When Marylhurst Provost David Plotkin dreamed of an Oregon film festival, with a student film competition, he had the right organizational talent at hand:  long-time film archivist Dennis Nyback. In 2007, Nyback formed a three-year partnership with Marylhurst and moved his extensive film collection on campus.  Since then, he has taught and lectured, and on May 1, he launches a 10-day film festival at Marylhurst.

For those of us students who attended Nyback’s 2008 “Bad Bugs Bunny” cartoon lecture or enrolled in one of his classes, or have met him as he flits about campus, there is no doubt about either his love for films or his deep knowledge. Nyback is a walking-talking encyclopedia, carrying reels of film in hand, and immediately launching into interesting details — about the film’s genre, its historical impact, or even the celluloid medium.

A few films from his thirty-year collection, which number in the thousands, will be shown at the Oregon 150 Film Fest opening on campus May 1 with a screening of a James Ivory film and an on-stage conversation between Ivory and Gus Van Sant.  Both award-winning directors have strong connections to Oregon.  Portland native, animator Bill Plympton, is scheduled May 3.

Each night of the festival will feature films and lectures with an Oregon orientation, with the closing night celebrating short-shorts and featuring student films.  The audience will select the Gold Coyote winner, while two more awards will be announced by film judges.  Details can be found on the Marylhurst web page, under Arts & Events.

While Nyback has lectured all across the U.S. and at numerous European festivals, both he and wife Anne Richardson are northwesterners.  The pair have partnered on film projects “The Portland That Was” and the “Oregon Cartoon Institute” and are acting as co-curators and organizers for the Marylhurst festival.  

This close partnership between Nyback and Marylhurst will take a new turn in the fall of 2009, when he matriculates as a graduate student, pursuing a Master’s Degree that will support his continued interest in film and its intricate relationship to history, a subject explored in many of his lectures.  Fellow students can track Nyback through his website, dennisnybackfilms.com.