The From Below Microcinema is a DIY, domestic microcinema located in Northeast Portland, Oregon, which opened its doors at the beginning of 2024. This space seats 16 people comfortably (with risers built by our friends) and features a digital projection and 5.1 surround sound system.

Our main programming is a weekly free screening series of films thoughtfully selected from across traditions and across the globe. This space and exhibition series has been an extremely rewarding project in community building, with a growing group of regulars and visitors that come together on a regular basis to view films, discuss them, and socialize. The From Below is a part of a burgeoning DIY film scene here in Portland that has really collected itself in the years since the pandemic brought some of the pre-existing cinematic institutions around town to an end.

Our screenings are, due to the small size of the space, RSVP only. If you would like to join our email list, which is the best way to get our weekly screening RSVP emails, you can follow this link.

You can also follow us on instagram.

Personally, the From Below is also a great laboratory for me to test and refine my artistic and design skills alongside my curatorial practice. As the primary graphic designer for the Microcinema, I have made most of the poster graphics for our weekly screenings, as well as shirts, posters, stickers, logos, and other printed and digital material. I’ve also been the primary video editor for our shorts programs. All of these aspects work as great exercises and sprints to test out ideas and keep me actively making on a relatively tight turnaround. As such, you can peruse the digital archive of posters I’ve made for our programming below. These range from bespoke, handmade illustrations and collages incorporating fabric art and other media, to quick flips of existing poster and publicity materials, and everything in-between—some took multiple weeks to develop and some were made in less than 15 minutes on Photoshop, all depending on time constraints and inspirations and the juggling of other projects. Looking back at these materials, I see the development of my practice and confidence in image-making, an ever-evolving skillset, and it’s helpful to revisit both posters that I think turned out decently well and ones that I would love another crack at.