Comcast Gears Up for Fifth Year as Presenting Sponsor and Technology Provider of Portland Film Festival

Watchwith Interactive Livestreaming to Enable Virtual Festival on X1 and Flex

Comcast Oregon/SW Washington is once again stepping up as the presenting sponsor of this year’s Portland Film Festival, with our cutting-edge technology enabling an exceptional cinematic experience, pandemic or not.

The Portland Film Festival, which will kick off on October 6^th, will once again offer a wide and diverse array of independent films, with content tracks highlighting films made by Black directors, Women directors, Asian and LatinX directors, and Indigenous directors.

“Comcast is deeply committed to providing platforms for independent voices to be heard,” said Amy Keiter, who has led the Film Festival partnership for the past five years.  “This event – whether in ‘real life’ or virtual, gives filmmakers a fantastic outlet for their cinematic expressions.  And it places Comcast at the nexus of entertainment and technology.”

Comcast customers will again be able to watch many of the Festival’s films for free on their X1 or Flex devices, simply by saying, “Portland Film Festival” into their voice remotes.  And filmmakers and film buffs alike will be able to participate in the many daily workshops and celebratory events virtually through the Xfinity Watchwith interactive livestreaming app.

“Comcast has been an exemplary partner for the Portland Film Festival,” said Josh Leake, Executive Director of the Portland Film Festival.  “They have brought us so many opportunities to grow our offerings audiences, and content, from the “Future Filmmakers” partnership with the local Boys and Girls Clubs, to films and talent from Universal Studios.  And like last year, we’re breaking new gound in how to produce a virtual festival with interactivity and livestreaming”

“The Portland Film Festival is an ideal partner for experimentation with new interactive livestreaming features like audience voting, social media integration, and “virtual meet and greets,” said Zane Vella, Vice President Audience Development & Innovation at Xfinity. “We’re looking forward to another exciting festival.”

Tickets for the Portland Film Festival are now available at www.portlandfilm.org