BendFilm celebrates the brave voice of independent cinema through films, lectures, and education.
Festival dates: October 11-14, 2007.
One of MovieMaker magazine's 20 FILM FESTIVALS WORTH THE ENTRY FEE (Spring '07), BendFilm puts its focus on filmmakers first, with unheard of hospitality and more than $30,000 in cash awards. All competitive entries, regardless of length or category, compete for the $10,000 “Best of Show†prize. Additional cash awards are presented for Best Feature ($2,500), Best Documentary ($2,500), Best Short ($2,500), Best Student Film ($3,000), Best Screenplay ($1,500) the Conservation Award ($2,500), and the Faerie Godmother Award ($4,000) for excellence in filmmaking by a female director. To top it all off, the Audience Award winner receives a percentage of the festival’s gross ticket sales (the 2006 prize was $4,776). Hooray!
About to commence its 5th year, the BendFilm Festival, set for October 9-12, 2008, transforms Bend, Oregon from a recreational haven into a town possessed by the soul of independent filmmaking. With venues located throughout the heart of Bend, the festival offers attendees intimate access to all the action, including dynamic panels and a full slate of parties and receptions with esteemed jurors and industry veterans. Downtown theaters, lecture sites, music rooms and party venues spark with the energy of new, fresh cinema.
The event runs deeper than the marathon film-watching that fills guests’ schedules from dawn until, well, dawn. Everyone you see on the sidewalks, in the restaurants and bars makes, cares, or has an opinion about film. It is the serendipitous encounters and ensuing discussions with the filmmakers and fellow passholders that makes the weekend so inspiring, affecting, and infectious.
Central Oregon is breathtakingly beautiful in October, and the opportunities for activities other than movie watching are endless, should attendees find some reason to disengage from the festival for a few hours. Bend is at the base of Mount Bachelor, the Three Sisters and Broken Top. The surroundings create stunning views, hiking, and mountain biking. The Deschutes River runs through town which again provides both beauty and recreation. Downtown Bend is charming and stocked with enough great stores that some travel here for the shopping alone. And with the more than $30,000 offered in festival prizes, a shopping spree may be just what is in store for several filmmakers by the end of the weekend.
For more information about BendFilm, visit bendfilm.org .
