Science & wonder
Curiosity is not the enemy of wonder. It is how wonder becomes understanding.
Portland, OR2010—2015Digital archive
Films for
curious
minds.
Science, reason and deeply human stories on the big screen — the complete archive of the Portland Humanist Film Festival, restored and readable.
Editions03
Films screened, 201117
Format35mm
Final program2015
Closer to realityScienceReasonFree inquiryRightsConnection
Why it matteredA screen can open
A screen can open
a wider world.
PHFF welcomed humanists, atheists, agnostics, skeptics, freethinkers and the simply curious. Its films made difficult ideas approachable—and made room for conversation after the credits.
Reason & doubt
Evidence, honest disagreement and the freedom to revise a belief are part of public life.
Rights & dignity
Human stories make questions of liberty, equality and justice impossible to keep abstract.
Art & connection
Cinema brings emotion and argument together, creating a common experience before discussion begins.
Three editions, one idea
The festival timeline
01
The first edition
2010
October 8–10 · Portland, Oregon
A free, volunteer-built weekend that opened an accessible window onto existence, morality, history, science and philosophy through film.
02
The conversation grows
2011
November 11–13 · Portland, Oregon
Seventeen films, guest speakers and independent-film awards brought together audiences interested in science, freethought, civil liberties and human rights.
03
Reason on the big screen
2012
October 26–28 · Portland, Oregon
The third edition focused on critical thinking, evidence, belief and the social questions that make cinema a place for public conversation.
The screenings continued.
A later series at Portland’s Lucky Labrador Beer Hall included Here Be Dragons, Watermark, The Unbelievers and Religulous.
One more day of inquiry.
The final documented program paired Solving for X, Kidnapped for Christ, Letting Go of God and The Theory of Everything.
A 2012 program highlight
12 Angry Men
A jury room becomes a lesson in practical skepticism: slow down, examine the evidence and give doubt the attention it deserves.
See the documented program
Built from the surviving record
See what was preserved
Old routes. New clarity.
The original case-sensitive /PHFF/… pages have been restored as readable, mobile-friendly archive pages. Later unrelated content is intentionally excluded so the domain once again reflects its real cultural history.