The Flickering Truth: An Imprecise Survey of Avant-Garde Film Workshop Session 2/4
2026-01-12 19:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Register Here
Co-Presented with Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Instructor: Greg Pierce
Join Greg Pierce (custodian of The Orgone Archive / ex-Director of Film and Video at The Andy Warhol Museum) for four in-person screening / discussion sessions on avant-garde, experimental, underground, personal, etc. filmmaking. A media mash-up awaits you as Pierce serves up an eclectic mix of moving image material from the past and present showcasing just a small sampling of the material, movement, colors, ideas, and attention to detail that visual artists working outside the mainstream have committed to celluloid. Films by Arnold, Brakhage, Duchamp, Henson, Kren, Lowder, McLeod, Tscherkassky, and many others will be shown and pondered. It is our sincere hope that the films and accompanying chit chat will excite, enlighten, aggravate, confuse, and inspire all attending makers and onlookers. If you do not attend you will miss out

The Flickering Truth: An Imprecise Survey of Avant-Garde Film Workshop Session 3/4
2026-01-19 19:30 - 21:30 | Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States

The Flickering Truth: An Imprecise Survey of Avant-Garde Film Workshop Session 4/4
2026-01-26 19:30 - 21:30 | Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Register Here
Co-Presented with Pittsburgh Cultural Trust
Instructor: Greg Pierce
Join Greg Pierce (custodian of The Orgone Archive / ex-Director of Film and Video at The Andy Warhol Museum) for four in-person screening / discussion sessions on avant-garde, experimental, underground, personal, etc. filmmaking. A media mash-up awaits you as Pierce serves up an eclectic mix of moving image material from the past and present showcasing just a small sampling of the material, movement, colors, ideas, and attention to detail that visual artists working outside the mainstream have committed to celluloid. Films by Arnold, Brakhage, Duchamp, Henson, Kren, Lowder, McLeod, Tscherkassky, and many others will be shown and pondered. It is our sincere hope that the films and accompanying chit chat will excite, enlighten, aggravate, confuse, and inspire all attending makers and onlookers. If you do not attend you will miss out.

Film Kitchen Presents: Keylight
2026-02-11 18:00 - 21:00 | The Parkway Theater & Film Lounge, 644 Broadway Ave, McKee's Rocks, PA, 15236, United States
Join us for a special evening of short films hand selected by the members of Keylight, Christopher Smalley, Brady Lewis, Ross Nugent, and the regular host of Film Kitchen, Matthew Day. In addition, each of them will show a short film made by them.
Show up at 6:00 and have a buffet style dinner provided by Safari Eats (included in ticket price).

Film Processing Party Workshop
2026-02-20 18:00 - 21:00 | Analog Liberation, 115 Sedgewick St, Pittsburgh, 15209, United States
Register Here
Co-Presented with Analog Liberation
Black & White Photochemical Processing Workshop for Motion Picture & Still Film. 18+
Instructor: Ross Nugent
BYOB/W (& BYOB)! This hands-on workshop will provide a basic overview of photochemical processing for black-and-white film, followed by guided instruction while developing it. Participants are encouraged to bring exposed black-and-white film of almost any type (Super-8, 16mm, still 35mm, still 120mm) to process in the darkroom at Analog Liberation. As needed, exposed film can be provided for participants who need footage for the demonstration.
*Note: Small-gauge motion picture film will be processed to a negative using the “bucket method.” Artifacts and scratching to the film is expected.
Still photography rolls will be processed in traditional developing tanks.
Feel free to bring your own snacks and drinks (beer is allowed if over 21) to enjoy while learning

A Hands-On Introduction To Color Grading session 1/2
2026-03-24 18:00 - 21:00 | Trace Brewing (Bloomfield) – Coolship Room, 4312 Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, United States
Register Here
Two 3-hour sessions where you learn the basics of color-grading
Instructor: Patrick Francart
Trace Brewing (Bloomfield) Coolship Room
Learn how to make your cameraman look good using Davinci Resolve. We’ll talk a little bit about history and photochemistry and a lot about light, contrast, histograms, color, and curves. We will cover issues involved in maintaining consistent whites and blacks, contrast, tone, and saturation within a scene. We will discuss establishing and maintaining a “look,” and the limitations of “looks.” This is a hands-on class and students will need to bring their own laptop to each session. Each student should download DaVinci Resolve (free version) prior to the first class. Rather than being a software tutorial, this workshop will familiarize participants with the key concepts and steps involved in color grading, regardless of the software being used (Resolve, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or others).
*Participants should bring a laptop capable of running DaVinci Resolve (free version) and have the program installed from this website. Mac users should be running IOS 12 (Monterey) or newer; Windows users should be running Windows 10/11 or newer (64 bit). A minimum of 8GB of RAM is required for either system. Ample storage space is recommended and a dedicated external solid state drive (SSD) would be ideal.

Short Films With 3 Filmmakers
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:30 | Botany Hall at Phipps Conservatory, 1 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, United States
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Followed by Q&A with filmmakers
A screening of works by independent filmmakers who have experimented with form and worked outside of the mainstream. All three will be in attendance to show several of their own short films and discuss their work with the audience. Notably, while Adam is known for never showing any of his films more than once, these experimental 16mm films are getting a second screening over a decade since they’ve last shown; while Tony will be screening several of his more experimental shorts, they are still integral to his documentation of Braddock and labor issues; and Brady will show a group of shorts that are part of an unfinished series of films dealing with divergent approaches to narrative.

A Hands-On Introduction To Color Grading session 2/2
2026-03-31 18:00 - 21:00 | Trace Brewing (Bloomfield) – Coolship Room, 4312 Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15224, United States

Open Projector Night
2026-04-17 19:30 - 21:30 | Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, United States
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Co-Presented with Film Pittsburgh, Screenshot Asian Film Festival, University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center
Come one, come all to see your short film on the big screen! Anyone is welcome to submit or come to watch what others have made. We will accept submissions until we hit approximately 90 min. runtime. What you’ll see is anyone’s guess at this short film program that’s open to anyone! Come out and see what the community is making.
The Guidelines:

Length: 10 min or under
Genre: Any
Originality: Must be your own work!
Selection Process: First Registered, First Screened
Accepted formats: Digital Files, DVD, Blu-ray, Super-8 film (silent), 16mm film

Register by emailing csmalley@jumpcuttheater.org with your film’s title and runtime. To ensure a smooth screening and avoid technical difficulties, please include a download link if possible (this applies only if you are showing a digital file). If you are screening, you and a guest are admitted for free.

Documentary Deconstruction
2026-05-09 13:00 - 16:00 | Studio Avery, 502 Avery Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212, United States
REGISTER HERE
If you’ve ever wanted to know exactly how a documentary is made with a skeleton crew, this one-afternoon workshop is for you!
Join filmmaker Bill Holman (owner, WolfGoat Media), along with the co-owners of Pittsburgh-based production company Orionvega—Chris Delp (editor/colorist) and Joe Serkoch (commercial, television, and documentary producer)—for an in-depth look at the making of the documentary short Spanuth Armada: A Redemption Story.
This workshop explores the complete filmmaking process—from the first spark of inspiration to the final cut. Participants will learn about the challenges of filming a demanding climbing story in the field, as well as the practical realities of production, including camera rigs, equipment choices, and shooting techniques. The editorial and sound design process will be broken down, and the project timeline will be examined to demonstrate how scenes were structured and refined in the edit, as well as how footage from multiple cameras was balanced through color work. Along the way, the team will reflect on how the film gradually found its final form through collaboration and fresh perspectives. Attendees will get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the physical and creative decisions that shape a project.
The session, perfect for both beginning filmmakers and those with documentary experience, will be interactive and discussion-driven, encouraging attendees to share ideas, ask questions, and explore how these lessons might apply to their own films.

The Nowhere Inn (w/Weird Mothers DJ set)
2026-06-01 20:30 - 23:00 | The Government Center, 715 East St., Pittsburgh, 15212, United States
Tickets
Presented with Women In Film & Media Pgh, Feat. Weird Mothers by DJ ActionAlpha
The Government Center
Celebrate St. Vincent Eve! See her on the big screen before you see her on stage.
From real-life friends Annie Clark (St. Vincent) & Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney) comes the metafictional account of two creative forces banding together to make a documentary about music, touring life, and on-stage persona. But they quickly discover unpredictable forces lurking within subject and filmmaker that threaten to derail the friendship, the project, and the duo’s creative lives.

The Guatemalan Handshake (on 35mm, Q&A w/director: Todd Rohal)
2026-07-11 20:00 - 22:00 | Harris Theater, 809 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Tickets coming soon!
Harris Theater, downtown
Q&A by writer/director: Todd Rohal
Showing on 35mm Film!
2006, 98 min, starring Will Oldham
In the confusion following a massive power outage, an awkward demolition derby driver vanishes, setting in motion a series of events affecting his pregnant girlfriend, his helplessly car-less father, a pack of wild boy scouts, a lactose intolerant roller rink employee, an elderly woman in search of her lost dog, and his best friend—a ten-year-old girl named Turkeylegs.
“One of the coolest and most original indies of the last year.” -Scott Macaulay, Filmmakers Magazine (2006)
