Filmed by Bike is this weekend and there are over
40 bike movies showing at the Clinton Street Theater. Each day there are three showings of different movies and Friday features its own special program of movies most suitable for the raucous Friday crowd.

Buy an unlimited entry festival pass and see them all!

No shows will sell out before doors open.

We have a limited number of ADVANCE tickets available for sale online and more tickets are for sale at the door. We recommend you come at least a half hour prior to showtime to ensure you get a ticket. If you are trying to get tickets for the 7:00 or 9:00 shows on Friday night, we recommend you come at 5:30 when the box office opens and tickets go on sale. Those popular shows will sell out quickly.

See the full program here >>

Professor Dave Shapiro is a longtime contributor to Filmed by Bike, and returns once again this year with his film “The Boy Who Cried ‘Mechanical’.” This stop-motion photography-animated short continues Dave’s series of Aesop Fables with bikes as the main stars. Dave brainstorms ideas for his movies while biking to work – an hour and a half each way. “I have lots of time to make stuff up,” he says. “I got to the point where the script was pared down to the minimum; then I wrote it out, and shot the film.” The subject matter is fitting; Professor Dave, as he’s known by friends and students, is a philosophy instructor, hence the draw to re-telling Aesop’s Fables.

Professor Dave spends about one day shooting his films with his daughter and her friend as assistants. He says it generally takes him about three days to edit and finalize the pieces. Dave plans to make more bike-themed films, “I have a few more Aesop’s fables I’d like to try; then, at some point, I want to do an animated version of Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ using bikes as the main characters.”

Professor Dave and his daughter will be on stage after the Saturday 5pm screening as a part of our Filmmaker Q+A series.

The Boy Who Cried “Mechanical” plays in the Friday Program and the Need for Speed” Program of shorts B.

Filmed by Bike audiences will have the rare opportunity to see the last bike movie shot on Kodachrome film. Kodachrome debuted in 1935 and was an instant hit as the first film to effectively, and later extremely vibrantly, render color.

The very last Kodachrome processing machine was shut down in at the end of 2010, and filmmaker Lars C. Larsen, a veteran Filmed by Bike participant, managed to get one last film made before processing was no longer available. The result is “Cyclocross on Kodachrome 40″, a gritty, gorgeous cyclocross portrait set to a killer soundtrack (as Larsen’s films always are).

“Cyclocross on Kodachrome 40″ plays during all screenings of the Friday Night Program and in the Need for Speed Program of Shorts B.

Crash is a charming comedy short in which two friends get into bike accidents amid lusty desires. The piece is produced by filmmaker and Sexbot band leader Ilima Considine. Ilima says her storytelling background stems from making music videos for her band and drawing comic books as a kid. She says she got the idea for Crash after learning of a mutual lust, “‘Oh yeah, those greasy fingers.’ This comment, from a straight Mormon, made me realize that I’m not the only one with a thing for bike mechanics.”

Crash has a bold set of actors (including Ilima herself) that would normally be hard to come by, but to cast the film she simply wrote a bulletin on Facebook titled “Who is willing to ride their bike straight into a tree for me?” and drafted anyone interested. The cast and crew toughed out the hurdles they encountered while filming, including Portland’s nasty weather. Although the story is set in the summer, it was shot in 30 degree weather. “In one scene, you can actually see my lips turning blue,” Ilima explains. Ilima worked to find interesting indoor locations on a budget, including some that had to be shot quickly, before the crew could be thrown out.

In the future Ilima is releasing another music video for The Sexbots, “It’s basically a 3-minute action film where I am kidnapped, tortured by dominatrices, and end up shooting my kidnapper in the head. It’s going to be awesome.” You can check out her band’s work on their website.

Crash premiers in the Bike Love: Program of Shorts C.

Our Filmmaker Q+A sessions are powerful nights in the theater, an opportunity to get to know the creative minds behind some of Filmed by Bike’s favorite movies.

When the LCD Soundsystem remade the video for their song Drunk Girls, they chose to film it with a cadre of Portland bikers. The result is a gritty party video. Producer Kevin Sullivan will be on stage to discuss this piece, why they chose Portland, how they found the actors and how they developed the rough-and-tumble concept of an underground tall bike jousting bout.

Saturday, after the 5:00pm show:

Merritt Raitt, Kevin Sullivan (Producer), Professor Dave and his daughter, Heath Korvola

Sunday, after the 7:00pm show:

Joe Biel and Steve Bozzone, Ilima Considine, Chad Berkley

We work hard to bring you an incredible film festival jam-packed with stunning bike movies from around the world. But just because we’re hard-working doesn’t mean we’re hard asses. In fact, when this very late submission form arrived in the mail, we didn’t furrow our brow, we celebrated. Loved it so much, we’re sharing it with you.

Carl Larson, if there were an award for the best submission form, you’d definitely win it. Especially if that bribe comes through….

(click for a larger view)

Our jury is gearing up to sit though a weekend of screening movies to determine which submissions make the cut for our 2011 festival. We like to reward them with delicious food and plenty of booze. And then there are the bribes…. It’s okay if you want to try to bribe the jury. They like booze and snacks. We’ll be sure to tell them the bribe is from you.

So, even if you’ve already submitted your movie, it’s not too late to bribe the jury. Bribes can be dropped off at our headquarters (1158 NE Morton Street) on the door step any time before 2pm on Saturday. We look forward to seeing what you bring. Oh, and this picture is of the bribes we got last night.

Click to view a larger version – and that awesome sticker.

>>> YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN PROCESSED

Depending on where you live and how busy we are at the headquarters, your DVD should arrive in 1-4 weeks. Those of you in remote areas outside the US, have patience.

IN THE MEANTIME… we suggest you take some time to spread the word about Filmed by Bike? Point some of your favorite bike enthusiasts to our website. Become our Facebook friend or win free DVDs and other giveaways by following us on Twitter. Spread the bike love

DVD sales help fund our festival and keep bike movies on the silver screen.
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Today we received one of our very last submissions to the festival, and the last bike movie shot on Kodachrome film. Kodachrome debuted in 1935 and was an instant hit as the first film to effectively, and later extremely vibrantly, render color.

The very last Kodachrome processing machine was shut down in at the end of 2010, and filmmaker Lars C. Larsen, a veteran Filmed by Bike participant, managed to get one last film made before processing was no longer available. The result is a gritty, gorgeous cyclocross portrait set to a killer soundtrack (as Larsen’s films always are).