Cinema Unbound Awards 2026

Overview

On Friday, May 29, 2026, PAM CUT // Center for an Untold Tomorrow will host the seventh annual Cinema Unbound Awards in Portland, Oregon, amplifying Portland’s growing importance as an international hub for multi-faceted artists, filmmakers, animation leaders, and unbound storytellers. This West Coast cultural highlight celebrates visionary creators who redefine cinematic storytelling and media arts.

The 2026 honorees include artist and filmmaker Titus Kaphar, actress and comedian Maria Bamford, and Wildfang’s CEO and activist Emma McIlroy.  Culinary artists Tom & Mariah Pisha-Duffly, whose restaurant, Gado Gado is a 2026 James Beard Award–finalist restaurant, will host the culinary takeover of the night alongside live performances and creative interludes.

In addition to the awards, the now five-day celebration amplifies Portland’s growing importance as an international hub for unbound artists, filmmakers, and storytellers. Featuring local and global innovators in art, film, fashion, music, comedy, sports, pop culture, culinary, and literary artists, this West Coast cultural highlight invites audiences not content to be contained to a single art form or medium to meet and experience visionary creators redefining what art and cinema can be.  

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About the honorees

Titus Kaphar — Artistic Polymath

Painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and installation artist Titus Kaphar confronts history by dismantling classical structures and styles of Western art, as well as draws deeply from his own life. Themes of family and intergenerational reconciliation are also explored in his filmmaking, including 2023 narrative feature film, Exhibiting Forgiveness. Kaphar presented and discussed Exhibiting Forgiveness in an extraordinary Carte Blanche event at PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater in 2024, where the artist visited Portland for the first time to discuss how his new filmmaking practice extended and deepened his work as a world-renowned polymath creative and activist.

Beyond his personal practice, Kaphar is a co-founder of NXTHVN (Next Haven), a nonprofit arts hub in New Haven, Connecticut. NXTHVN nurtures creative talent through fellowships and residencies for artists and curators, housing exhibition spaces and studios in repurposed factory buildings. Kaphar is represented by Gagosian.

Maria Bamford — Creative Original

Maria Bamford is revered for her deeply personal and experimental comedy about mental illness. She’s the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult and is the star of four hour-long standup specials and the surreal, semi-autobiographical Netflix comedy series Lady Dynamite, about a comedian who suffers a nervous breakdown. Maria was the first female comic to have two half-hour Comedy Central Presents specials and starred alongside Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis and Brian Posehn in The Comedians of Comedy. She also created and starred in the cult hit web series The Maria Bamford Show, in which she plays all the characters, and has a new feature film Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story, which premiered at Sundance 2026 and is screening May 30 at PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater, followed by a conversation with Bamford and director Neil Berkeley.Her interview series What’s Your Ailment? deals with the various mental struggles of celebrities and is available on the Topic streaming service. Her Audible Original You Are (A Comedy) Special is a semi-mock instructional book for both standup and life.

Emma McIlroy — The Groundbreaker

Emma McIlroy is a Northern Irish entrepreneur, activist, and the co-founder and CEO of Wildfang, the Portland-based fashion brand known for reimagining menswear-inspired fashion for women and challenging outdated ideas about how women should look and dress. Under her leadership, Wildfang has grown into a multi-million-dollar fashion brand known for blending style with cultural commentary. The company has donated over $1 million to organizations supporting LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive justice, racial justice, and immigrant rights, and has launched high-profile collaborations with partners including Nordstrom, TOMS, Taco Bell, LAIKA Studios, Debbie Harry, Vivian Jenna Wilson, and Peanuts.

In 2023, McIlroy co-produced Drag-a-Thon, a 48-hour drag performance in Portland, OR that set a Guinness World Record for the world’s longest drag show and raised over $300,000 for The Trevor Project. Her TED Talk, “Yeah Maybe,” has been viewed more than 100,000 times.

She has been recognized by Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Gaingels 100, the Portland Business Journal Executive of the Year, and the Aspen Institute, where she was selected as a Henry Crown Fellow.

Culinary Collaboration 

Mariah Pisha-Duffly

Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway, Owner & Captain

Mariah Pisha-Duffly’s career in hospitality started in her hometown of Boston, Massachusetts, where she developed a deep appreciation for the unique community and camaraderie found within bars and restaurants. In Portland, Maine, Mariah served as the front of house manager for James Beard Award-winning Duckfat before opening The Honey Paw, a noodle bar where she and husband Thomas Pisha-Duffly served as General Manager and Executive Chef, respectively. It was during their time in Maine when the couple also launched their first-ever pop-up, Family Feast. This creative venture allowed them to explore a range of concepts and garner a devoted following, laying the groundwork for their future endeavors. Mariah is now the Owner & Captain of 2026 James Beard Award finalist restaurant Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway in Portland, Oregon. Mariah’s passion for arts and crafts, coupled with her love for creative self-expression, plays a significant role in her approach to creating a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere in her restaurants.

Thomas Pisha-Duffly

Gado Gado and Oma’s Hideaway, Owner & Executive Chef

Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Thomas Pisha-Duffly’s culinary path began with humble teenage roles before flourishing during his studies at the University of Vermont. His career gained momentum in Boston at the renowned East Coast Grill, leading to a pivotal role at the James Beard Award-winning Hugo’s in Maine, where he mastered the art of charcuterie.

A transformative trip to Indonesia inspired Tom to reconnect with his heritage, resulting in the launch of Gado Gado. Originally a pop-up, the celebrated restaurant features a menu deeply influenced by his grandmother’s recipes and Southeast Asian flavors. Tom’s approach blends tradition with innovation, focusing on dishes that tell a meaningful story. Beyond the kitchen, he is a dedicated father and an avid cyclist who supports the community through initiatives like Chef’s Cycle for No Kid Hungry. Throughout his journey, Tom remains committed to culinary excellence and fostering a supportive environment for his team.

The Event

The Cinema Unbound Awards is PAM CUT’s biggest party and fundraising event, benefiting PAM CUT’s year-round unbound programming, including over 350 one-night-only screenings and happenings at the Tomorrow Theater, 100 film screenings at PAM CUT @ The Whitsell, the PLUS PLUS Festival of Tomorrow, 30-plus, year-round youth programs, as well as ongoing artist services, XR programs, and exhibitions. 

This year, the Cinema Unbound Awards will also celebrate the next generation of LAIKA artists who began as interns and have gone on to contribute to the artistic achievements of the Portland-based animation studio’s next theatrical release, Wildwood, a sweeping, darkly magical adventure about a young girl who ventures into a dangerous hidden forest to rescue her brother—an odyssey shaped by love, power, and the courage to confront the unknown. Their journeys reflect the depth and diversity of the studio’s creative community.

Past honorees at PAM CUT’s Cinema Unbound Awards include multifaceted artists, filmmakers, actors, creatives,and innovators including multi-media storytellers Sterlin Harjo, Phil Lord & Chris Miller, Todd Haynes, and Garrett Bradley; artists Mickalene Thomas, Steve McQueen, and Shirin Neshat, as well as shapeshifting performers and creators such as John Cameron Mitchell, Tessa Thompson, Sarah Sherman, Carrie Brownstein & Fred Armisen, and chef Gregory Gourdet. Presenters have included Academy Award Best Picture winners Bong Joon-ho and Chloé Zhao, as well as artists Celine Dion, Isabella Rossellini, Charles Burnett, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alessandro Michele, and Justin Vivian Bond. 

Visionary sponsors