Matt McCormick

A collection of 190-second short films created in response to COVID-19, commissioned by filmmakers Usama Alshaibi and Adam Sekuler.

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While the space and arms races are Cold War common knowledge, few know about the United States and Soviet Union's race to dig the deepest hole. This is particularly surprising since Hell may have been inadvertently discovered in the process.

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Buzz One Four chronicles the ill-fated flight of a Cold War B-52 Stratofortress loaded with two 3-4-megaton nuclear bombs that crashed 90 miles from Washington DC in 1961. Information suggests that detonation came closer than official reports indicated. The full details of the crash have remained classified and otherwise repressed by the Air Force, but the filmmaker, Portlander Matt McCormick, grew up with this story because the pilot was his grandfather. As McCormick recounts the history of the era, aspects of this crash, and other little-know nuclear-weapons accidents, he leaves us wondering if the U.S. was in greater danger of nuking itself than of being attacked by the Russians.

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The Great Northwest is a documentary film based on the re-creation of a 3,200 mile road-trip made in 1958 by four Seattle women who thoroughly documented their journey in an elaborate scrapbook. Fifty years later, Portland artist Matt McCormick found that scrapbook in a thrift store, and in 2010 set out on the road, following their route as precisely as possible and searching out every stop in which the ladies had documented. Patiently shot with an observational, cinema-vérité approach, The Great Northwest is a lyrical time- capsule that explores how the landscape, architecture, and culture of the Pacific Northwest has changed over the past fifty years.

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Some Days are Better Than Others is a poetic, character-driven film that asks why the good times slip by so fast while the difficult times seem so sticky. The film explores ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment while observing an interweaving web of awkward characters who maintain hope by inventing their own forms of communication and self-fulfillment.

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FUTURE SO BRIGHT is a documentation and mapping project that creatively catalogs abandoned spaces in the American West.

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A short film about color identification.

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A compilation disc in two parts. The first is a collection of 70s television ads called "What The 70s Really Looked Like", curated by Matt McCormick and Morgan Currie. The second part is called "70s Remix" (curated by Craig Baldwin and Noel Lawrence) which features a selection of art films that all make interventions on found footage from the 70s. These films include Matt McCormick's "The Vyrotonin Decision", Thad Povey's "Thine Inward-Looking Eyes", Tony Gault's "Not Too Much Remember", Damon Packard's "Toast 'ems", People Like Us's "We Edit Life" and Animal Charm's "Mark Roth".

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Here's a media-archaeological treasure trove of 16mm commercials, PSAs, and TV ephemera from that delirious decade of polyester and smiley faces. From the classic iconography of the Marlboro Man to the absurd pitches for Jack LaLanne's "Glamour Stretchers," this outrageously retro review of candy-colored clips offers more than campy fun. In fact, it allows us precious insight into a lost, impossibly innocent world of fondly remembered looks, styles, and attitudes, from way back in the good ol' 20th Century.

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Nutria are a large, odd looking rodent from Argentina that were imported to the United States. This is a short documentary about them.

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An experimental documentary about tugboats.

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Heavy industry and urban wildlife.

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Graffiti removal: the act of removing tags and graffiti by painting over them. Subconscious art: a product of artistic merit that was created without conscious artistic intentions. It is no coincidence that funding for "anti-graffiti" campaigns often outweighs funding for the arts. Graffiti removal has subverted the common obstacles blocking creative expression and become one of the more intriguing and important art movements of our time.

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This music video for The Shins takes inspiration from the ’80s classic A-Team television series and features the members of the band liberating a bunch of balloons from the dreary tethers of a used car lot.

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An oceanic exploration of sound and beauty.

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A seven minute disaster epic created from early 70's scrap television commercials.

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Appropriated news clips from the 1960’s combine with hand-painted film to tackle the momentous issue of how polar bears cope with heartbreak and rejection.

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Soon to be a father, Mark feels the pressure of domestic responsibility closing in, so he is more than happy to accept when his old friend Kurt proposes a camping trip in the Oregon wilderness. During their time together, the men come to grips with the changes in their lives and the effect on their relationship.

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Three college students debate the validity of Santa Claus.

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While the space and arms races are Cold War common knowledge, few know about the United States and Soviet Union's race to dig the deepest hole. This is particularly surprising since Hell may have been inadvertently discovered in the process.

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Buzz One Four chronicles the ill-fated flight of a Cold War B-52 Stratofortress loaded with two 3-4-megaton nuclear bombs that crashed 90 miles from Washington DC in 1961. Information suggests that detonation came closer than official reports indicated. The full details of the crash have remained classified and otherwise repressed by the Air Force, but the filmmaker, Portlander Matt McCormick, grew up with this story because the pilot was his grandfather. As McCormick recounts the history of the era, aspects of this crash, and other little-know nuclear-weapons accidents, he leaves us wondering if the U.S. was in greater danger of nuking itself than of being attacked by the Russians.

Open details →

Some Days are Better Than Others is a poetic, character-driven film that asks why the good times slip by so fast while the difficult times seem so sticky. The film explores ideas of abundance, emptiness, human connection and abandonment while observing an interweaving web of awkward characters who maintain hope by inventing their own forms of communication and self-fulfillment.

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A short film about color identification.

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