I began making films in Portland over three decades ago. My works have been shown in movie theaters, museums, schools, churches and broadcast over television stations throughout the world. I have won many national and international film festival awards including an Emmy. Oregon has a rich history of local film artists who have produced an amazing array of thought-provoking and meaningful works. I have been fortunate to have worked with many Oregon greats: Will Vinton, Jim Blashfield, Jim Swenson. Richard Blakeslee, Tom Chamberlin, Susan Shadburne, Joan Grantz, Craig Bartlett, Webster Colcord, Mike McLeod, John Campbell, John Ripper, Robert Richter, James Blue, Derek Muirden, Dan Biggs, Eric Edwards, Don Gronquist, Homer Groening, Lew Cook, Aaron Walker, Thomas Vaughn, and Esther Podemski, to name only a few. Some of these collaborative projects have been shown on Oregon Public Broadcasting but unfortunately only a few. Many of our works have been shown on public television throughout the United States but have yet to see the light of day on OPB. I will give you two examples:

Jim Swenson's amazing documentary, Honi Coles - the Class Act of Tap, a one hour documentrary on the legendary tap dancer, Charles "Honi" Coles, has been shown on countless public television stations across the country but never on Oregon Public Broadcasting. Even though much of the film was shot in Portland by Portland director Jim Swenson, beautifully photographed by Portland cinematographer Eric Edwards, and editied by myself, the film has never been presented on OPB. This is indeed a tragedy. Honi was a great American who won the Presidential Medal of Honor late in his life and taught thousands of students the joy of dance. Many of his students were taught right here in Portalnd. It was offered to Channel 10 but rejected. It has played in New York City many times including one memorable night on New Year's Eve 1998. It played Pittsburgh (Honi's home town,) Los Angeles and San Francisco, to name a few public television stations, but never Portland. Thousands of people that have seen Honi Coles - The Class Act of Tap have agreed it is one of America's finest documentary films.

The second example of a project that I was personally involved with is Esther Podemski's 1999 documentary House of the World. It was produced and directed by Portland artist Esther Podemski with cinematography by Portlanders John Campbell and Marc Greenfield with editing and sound design by Portlander George Hood. The one hour-long film traces her family involvement in Poland during World War II and immerses the viewer in a mystery involving family photographs, memories and the Jewish Holocaust. This stunning new film had its world premiere at the Jewish International Film Festival at Lincoln Center, New York City, in January of this year and has thus far played the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London and Edinborough, along with a two-day, nearly sold out exhibition at the Northwest Film Center last month. Esther offered the film to OPB but it was rejected.

Both Honi Coles and House of the World are films that need to be shown on our public television. They are technically superb, deeply felt, highly entertaining works of art that deserve a spot on Oregon Public Broadcasting - and only two of the countless Oregon produced film and video projects that are worthy of air time on OPB.

If OPB won't do it, who will?

Sincerely, George Hood