The Confluence

The powerful short film “Lifeboat” from #OregonMade filmmaker Skye Fitzgerald has made the Oscar shortlist for Short Form Documentary.

“Lifeboat” showcases the crisis of refugees desperate enough to risk their lives in rubber boats leaving Libya in the middle of the night and pushing off into the unknown, despite a high probability of drowning. With few resources, but certain that civil society must intervene, a team of global volunteers risks the waves of the Mediterranean to pluck refugees from sinking rafts.

If you haven’t caught it yet, you should. As a reminder, “Lifeboat” and Skye won the Special Short Film Jury Award at BendFilm this year.

Congrats Skye!

Tune in to TLC on Monday, December 17 to catch episode 9 of the new Season 5 of TLC’s “Long Lost Family” which features The Nunan House in Jacksonville.

“Long Lost Family” follows the touching stories of people who have suffered a lifetime of separation and are yearning to be reunited with their birthparents and biological families or find children they had to place for adoption long ago. It airs on TLC at 9pm.

You can also find the Nunan House in our Location Database as well as rent it for a vacation from AirBnB.

And…did you know that the 1990 drama “The Girl of the Limberlost” also shot in the Nunan House?

Love movie trivia? The Historic Oregon Film Trail, designed to showcase iconic set locations in the state, will be dedicated in January, at Alameda Park in Astoria. Signs marking the scenic spots will feature facts and anecdotes from the “The Goonies,” “Kindergarten Cop” and “Short Circuit” –
films shot on Oregon’s North Coast.

One sign in particular has been positioned at the East End Mooring Basin near the Astoria Riverfront Trail to give an alternative view of the “Goonies House” in an effort to eliminate trespassing on the hill of the privately owned residence. “Goonies” fans, it turns out, never say die, or no, to a photo opportunity. While the sign signifies a location for that viewpoint, the sign copy shares information about the nearby Astor Elementary School which was featured in Kindergarten Cop. The lesser-known Alameda Park offers a great viewpoint of the Astoria-Megler Bridge and it is the topic of the Short Circuit sign located there. The sign for The Goonies is located by the Oregon Film Museum and speaks to it and the Flavel House’s roles in that film.

One of the Historic Oregon Film Trail signs in Astoria. photo: Regina Wilkie, Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce.

“Historical markers are typically about famous people and events. Movies filmed here are also an important part of Oregon’s history and culture, so ours offer a twist on that convention. The new signs will provide an interesting insight into this history to passersby while acting as a beacon to visitors seeking out film locations and stories,” said Tim Williams. “Placed at photo-worthy locations, we hope the signs will encourage fans to learn more and share about our state’s film destinations.”
Oregon Film, in partnership with the OregonMade Creative Foundation, created the Historic Oregon Film Trail featuring signage located at strategic points around the state.  Showing Oregon’s unique and varied locations − from the coast to the desert − new markers will be rolled out one location at a time to reinforce the correlation between the film/TV industry, economic development, and tourism. Development of a Digital Trail Map is underway as well as web site.

The Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Oregon Film Office developed the initial concept and identified the Astoria movie locations in partnership with the Oregon Film Museum. Oregon Coast Visitors Association provided additional funding for the signs.

Read more here from the Daily Astorian’s story on the Trail.

About Oregon Made Creative Foundation:
The OMCF is a program of The Charitable Partnership Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
corporation. It was founded through the efforts of Oregon Film (a/k/a the Oregon
Governor’s Office of Film & Television) as a stand alone non-profit foundation focused
on providing opportunity and grants for #OregonMade creators through strategic
partnerships and creative connections. www.oregonmade.org

About Oregon Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce:
The Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce has served the local business
community since 1873. Today, with 570 businesses joining forces for common benefit, it
also provides visitor services and tourism promotion for the area. For more information,
call Astoria (800) 875-6807 or visit http://www.oldoregon.com.

About the Oregon Film Museum:
Ready for your 15 minutes of fame? Housed in the old Clatsop County Jail, the museum
celebrates the art and legacy of Oregon film and film making. Visitors learn about the
film industry and get to make their own Oregon movie on three “hot sets.” Opened in
2010 by the Clatsop County Historical Society, the museum has experienced stunning
growth in attendance. For more information, call 503-325-2203 or visit
www.oregonfilmmuseum.org.

About the Oregon Coast Visitor’s Association: (OCVA) is the official Regional
Destination Management Organization (RDMO) and promotional entity for the Oregon
Coast, as designated by the Oregon Tourism Commission, DBA Travel Oregon. Our
association is comprised of Chambers of Commerce, Visitors Centers/Bureau, resource
management entities and 100+ (approx) private tourism businesses along Oregon’s 363
miles of coastline. We advocate on behalf of the coastal tourism industry by facilitating

The second annual Outdoor Adventure Film Grant – “Oregon’s Outdoors Are For Everyone” opens for applications today!

The Grant is being provided by the #OregonMade Creative Foundation in conjunction with Travel Oregon. This grant will provide $20,000 in funding to enable the selected applicant to create a short film that specifically showcases the diversity of people, spirit, passion, and excitement of the outdoor-adventure, or, action sports film genres in the state of Oregon. This program specifically looks to support and encourage diversity of filmmaker and/or the subject matter, in front of and/or behind the camera.

“Oregon’s Outdoors are for Everyone”

Oregon’s open spaces and related pursuits are for all Americans and visitors, yet there is a well documented inequity in America that is deeply rooted in our shared cultural history, and as a whole, our outdoor spaces are not equally utilized for a multitude of historical, social and cultural reasons. The OAFG19 – Oregon’s Outdoors are for Everyone Grant – is aiming to help open up an unfolding and evolving conversation about the future of inclusion in storytelling, both in front of and behind the camera, utilizing Oregon’s outdoor spaces as a backdrop.  This Grant will make it possible for an established or emerging filmmaker with an interest in specializing their career in the outdoor-adventure or action sports film genres to champion inclusivity and representation in their finished film.

The OAFG19 – “Oregon’s Outdoors Are For Everyone” – is looking for an experienced filmmaker candidate who is able to demonstrate a compelling short film pitch that promises to portray the excitement and rigor of an outdoor-adventure, action sport, or pursuit that has the potential to inspire others.  The finished film can be told from a first or third person POV but the filmmaker should be a part of the experience in some way. It should not be scripted or formally cast but, rather, something more personal; both to the subject and the filmmaker. The successful short film will equally illustrate the inspiration of adventure, the triumph of the human spirit, and the distinct possibility that outdoor pursuits can mobilize and empower people to get outside and make their own stories in the great Oregon outdoors.

This Grant program is open to all individual filmmakers and filmmaking teams of no more than 3. Filmmakers of color, LGBTQ+, women filmmakers, and candidates from socio-economically diverse backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.

Timeline:

• Applications open 9AM PST, December 11th, 2018
• Deadline for applications: 5PM PST, January 31st, 2019
• Aiming to notify the winner by the end of February 2019
• Delivery date: Q3 or Q4 2019,  TBD with the winning team

The L.A. Film Critic Association (LAFCA) awarded Debra Granik with Best Director for her #OregnMade film, “Leave No Trace.”  The winners will be awarded their honors at the January 12th gala in Century City.  Congrats Debra!

#OregonMade, “The Clean Escape” makes the state shine in the new Rivian elecric pickup truck commercial.  From the Astoria-Megler bridge to the Pearl in downtown Portland, Mount Hood, the Rowena curves, and back out to the beach – just some of the locations covered in this one.  The Rivian is billed as the “Worlds First Electric Adventure Vehicle”. When asked about working on the shoot, Location Scout and Manager, Beth Melnick responded,  “It was inspiring to work on a commercial promoting clean technology that supports our number one pass-time here in Oregon, exploring the out of doors. I loved meeting some of the innovative people who put their hearts into the development of the product.”

Bravo!

Portland, Oregon – December 3, 2018 – The much anticipated short film, WORKING LUNCH, by Portland-based Director and Producer, Shilpa Sunthankar, is set to have the Portland Premiere on Wednesday, December 12, 2018 at The Whitsell Auditorium. Director Shilpa Sunthankar will be in attendance.The film previously had a successful world premiere at the 19th Annual Filmi: Toronto’s South Asian Film Festival and was selected as part of the 2018 Fall Screening Series by New Filmmakers, New York.

Statement by Shilpa Sunthankar: “At its heart WORKING LUNCH is a portrayal of our current national conflict, in miniature, via a tiny Indian restaurant. When hearts and wants are so disparate across the aisle and across cultures, I feel it’s important, now more than ever, to relay stories about the connections which make us the country that we are together, and stand against hate.”

The film tells the story of how a regular work day for an Indian-American, a queer professional, and a Trump voter is changed when they find someone has scrawled graffiti on their lunch restaurant. They come together to remove the message of hate themselves with a unique solution.

Shilpa Sunthankar is a screenwriter, director, and producer with an affinity for stories about different cultures in coexistence, thanks to her background as an Indian-American woman raised in the “cowboy country” of Colorado. Her experience has spanned the worlds of independent film, animation, and commercials, as well as creative agencies like Wieden + Kennedy and Ziba. She was awarded Best Director at the Los Angeles FirstGlance Film Festival for her short thriller, THE COMPANY OF THIEVES,  which was also licensed by the ShortsHD Channel and launched on IndieFlix. Her award-winning short, BIOGRAPHY OF AN AMERICAN HOSTESS, was licensed by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. Shilpa graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts after interning for BBC London, and attending the 35mm Filmmaking Master Class at FAMU in Prague. She now lives in Portland, Oregon and is working to direct her first feature, CONTINENTAL DIVIDE, an outdoor thriller taking place on the U.S.- Mexico border.

WORKING LUNCH
Portland Premiere
(Dis)/Connect: The Short Films of Shilpa Sunthankar
Wednesday December 12, 2018, 7:00pm
The Whitsell Auditorium
1219 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

The Portland Film Office, in partnership with the Oregon Made Creative Foundation, has announced the recipients of its first Portland Post Production Grant Program.  Selected from a pool of twenty applicants, four local filmmakers will receive $5,000 for their respective projects.

The grant program is intended to support the professional development of local Portland filmmakers by providing funds for such activities as sound, picture editing, color matching, color grading, closed caption, tech specs for distributors, and music clearances using local post-production houses. A total of $20,000 is being awarded in this inaugural round.

Brian Lord, manager of the Portland Film Office, said, “The quality of the projects submitted for this grant was very high, making the final choice a challenging one. We were encouraged to see applications for projects from communities of color, women, and young filmmakers, and I hope to find more in-kind opportunities to support more local work in the coming year.”

The selected projects are:

“Clementine”-  Lara Jean Gallagher (writer/director), Aimee Lynn Barneburg and Davis Priestley (producers). A heartbroken woman breaks into her ex’s lake house in the Pacific Northwest where she becomes entangled with a teenage girl.

“Native Wisdom” –  Wisdom of the Elders Inc, Rose High Bear (executive director).  A film series that highlights changes Native people are observing on lands where they hunt, fish and gather traditional First Foods and medicines. The series also explores the rich cultural heritage of Oregon Tribes as seen through the eyes of cultural leaders, including traditional and contemporary basket weavers, carvers, mask makers, storytellers and song carriers.

“Welcome to My Daydream” – Kevin Moyer (producer), Marq Evans (director). A feature documentary about the “father of Claymation,” Will Vinton, as told by two original animated characters (Randy & Lodge) living inside of Will’s head. These characters represent the juxtapositions between sides of Will’s brain that influenced his life and career – for better and worse. Vinton was a stop-motion pioneer, Oscar winner and spawned an #OregonMade industry unlike any other. He passed away in October of this year.

“At the Video Store” – James Westby (director/producer). A lament of the death of the American video store as it searches for the missing human element in today’s digital landscape.

The OregonMade Creative Foundation is a program of the Charitable Partnership Fund (CPF), a 501(C)(3) non-profit corporation. It exists to establish creative partnerships in order to provide opportunity and grants for #OregonMade content creators and artists.

Housed at and supported by Prosper Portland, the Portland Film Office is committed to the economic vitality of a Portland-centered production ecosystem and seeks to build the local supply chain and industry capacity.

Prosper Portland creates economic growth and opportunity for Portland. Our vision is to make Portland one of the most globally competitive, healthy, and equitable cities in the world by investing in job creation, encouraging broad economic prosperity, and fostering great places throughout the city. We aspire to be a workplace of choice with passionate staff excelling in an open and empowering environment and sharing a commitment to our collective success.

For more information on this and other programs at the Portland Film Office please contact Brian Lord at [email protected] or 503-823-3326.

Our Early Bird Deadline is THIS SATURDAY – December 1! Save $5 on your entry fee by submitting your film before end of day Saturday.

Visit http://mcminnvillefilmfest.org/Submit for more information and how to submit via FilmFreeway.

We look forward to showcasing YOUR film!