"Extraordinary! If there's an independent cinema, this is it, and if there's a new director, here he is."—Richard Brody, The New Yorker

UPDATE: After Friday night's screening of Putty Hill, director Matt Porterfield will be joined in conversation with Adam Elliott and Beth Murphy from the Columbus band, Times New Viking. They'll talk about the film, making art on a minuscule budget, and will field your questions before the screening of Hamilton. Saturday evening, Columbus Dispatch movie critic Nick Chordas will join Porterfield for another post-film discussion and Q & A.

The talented Matt Porterfield is revealing himself as a major new American filmmaker. Here's your chance to see two of the films that have made his name. Porterfield introduces the films to start each evening and answers questions between them.

The story of Putty Hill, Porterfield's second feature, couldn't be simpler: A young man's untimely death unites a fractured family and their struggling Baltimore community through shared memory and loss. But, by creating an exquisite, delicate tone through its combination of documentary, fiction, and improvisation, the film itself couldn't be a more rich and moving viewing experience. Full of stunning visual beauty, Putty Hill also shows rare tenderness towards its characters. (91 mins., video)

Porterfield's debut film, Hamilton, is another assured, memorable portrait of quiet Baltimore lives. A young mother searches for the father of her child before he leaves town and, through her quest, we are introduced to her family, friends, and neighborhood. No less of a Baltimore expert than John Waters called the film, "astonishing in its simple beauty. The real thing." And the New Yorker praised it as "one of the most original, moving, and accomplished American independent films in recent years." Featuring music by Animal Collective. (65 mins., 16mm)

Putty Hill