I saw the documentary Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon at SIFF the other day and would recommend it for people interested in Northwesty stuff—Philomath is a small town near Corvallis. One resident made his fortune in logging and established a college scholarship for the town. All a student had to do to qualify was graduate from the high school. Now there is a fierce conflict between the teachers/administrators in the school system and the descendents that run the scholarship foundation.

It is fascinating to see this battle of conservative versus liberal values played out in this small town—unfortunately at the expense of the town’s kids.

I saw the director, Peter Richardson, speak at the screening. He is from Philomath and benefited from the scholarship himself, he had even more weird stories to tell about the crazy goings-on in that town.

See The Stranger review here.

Clear Cut plays today, June 1, at Broadway Performance Hall at 4:30 p.m.