The Confluence

Tim Williams, Executive Director, Oregon Film, chats to Good Day Oregon on the revitalization of Oregon production as our state starts to open up, watch here.

#OregonMade.

In honor of Juneteenth—a holiday commemorating the freeing of slaves in 1865—OMPA is dedicating the space of our homepage to celebrating Black creators. From June 19-26, our homepage will be a vibrant mosaic of projects and stories from our Black community members. We’ll be promoting the takeover to the community at large, encouraging them to go explore.

Now, we invite Black members of the Oregon production community to submit a photo, video (e.g. reel, trailer), or other visual along with a few sentences that highlight your story/your work. This is your platform to use how you like!

Submit your work here by Tuesday, June 15.

A current OMPA membership is not required.

Ashland, Oregon – The Ashland Independent Film Festival is excited to announce the full selection of musical and cinematic events scheduled for its live & outdoor festival running June 24-28 at venues in Ashland and Medford.

At Scienceworks Hands-On Museum, viewers will watch films projected on a large outdoor screen in the field facing the building. At the Walkabout Brewing Company in Medford, viewers will fill the spacious backyard, facing the big screen and stage. Each screening at these two venues will be accompanied by live musical performers, food carts and beverages. Media art will be on view at the Schneider Museum of Art, where AIFF is co-presenting the Collecting Cuba: Selections from the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art exhibition, and at the downtown AIFF Film Center, where animator/musician Jeremy Rourke will create and perform his animated films and songs in the Film Center window.

The five-day festival will kick off with a bang – the Rogue Valley Symphony premiering two new fanfares written especially for the occasion of the festival’s twentieth anniversary. A new short film about the Symphony’s performances for first responders during the pandemic, Traveling Fanfares, directed by AIFF2021 Lee Fuchsmann Award winner Laney D’Aquino, will follow. Filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart will introduce Fanny: The Right to Rock recounting the incredible, untold story of three Filipina American teens who self-founded a garage band in the 1960s that morphed into the ferocious California rock group Fanny. Finally, Brie Howard-Darling, a founding member of Fanny, will perform live with Dave Darling on the festival stage.

The festival ends with a closing night “CineMasque” — an open-air party with live music, film, and costumes celebrating the 20th anniversary of both AIFF and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The screening of Hedwig will be preceded by an introduction from the film’s producer, AIFF2021 Rogue Award Winner Christine Vachon. Guests are encouraged to “Glam it Up” for a costume competition: best costume inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Eddie Lopez, a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival acting company for eight seasons, will host the festivities in the role of Hedwig, perform songs from the musical accompanied by guitarist Dan Sherrill, and introduce songs by the drag performer Bettie Wood. Lopez as Hedwig will also conduct a live Skype interview with Hedwig’s creator John Cameron Mitchell, who is currently shooting a film in Australia.

“These five days of live events fully celebrate our 20th anniversary and our festival’s tradition of reaching beyond film to celebrate all the arts.  Everyone who joins us in this amazing line-up of films, music, and visual art will have rich memories of shared experiences,” says Richard Herskowitz, artistic director of the Ashland Independent Film Festival.

On June 24-25, San Francisco-based animator/musician Jeremy Rourke will bring his mobile animation workspace to the AIFF Film Center window gallery from 11am-4pm each day, creating and animating paper puppets and engaging with passersby.  A self-taught animator eschewing digital effects for hands-on techniques, his animation table is full of paper ephemera, photo-puppets, clay, paint, pencils, lights and flora. On June 26-27, Rourke will offer 20-minute window performances of his songs and animations on the hour from 11am-4:30pm. First come-first served seating will be provided on the sidewalk outside the window gallery.

The Festival will also host a Talkback, The Independent Animator (June 25, 4pm, AIFF Film Center) with Jeremy Rourke, Geoff Hecht, and Deanna Morse. These three animators in the AIFF2021 program will present samples of their work and discuss their careers as independent film animators. This indoor TalkBack is free, with a capacity of 20 fully vaccinated people.

As part of the festival’s ongoing Screening Cuba theme, the festival will present The Mali-Cuba Connection/Africa Mia, a story of ten young musicians from Mali sent to Cuba during the Cold War, who invented a new genre: Afro-Cuban Music. To set the mood, Son de Cuba, a Portland-based group of musicians from Chile, Mexico, USA and Cuba will perform, and dancing is encouraged. The band plays different genres from Salsa, Timba, Son, Merengue, Boleros, Cumbia, Bachata, and Latin to Jazz.

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We are finally seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel for many of us. This doesn’t mean the work is done or there won’t be challenges and changes going forward, but it does mean that we are starting to see more opportunity and more creativity in all areas of our industry here in Oregon.

We’ve highlighted several stories about our community’s resilience through “The New Normal” series from local companies like Talented Animals, Ravenous Studios, Limbo Films, The Art of Make-up School, PDXpendables, Cast Iron Studios, Koerner Camera and Picture This. KGW8 also did a story on this.

We’ve also been excited to see that our friends at Picture This have brought the new tool of “Virtual Production” to Oregon. As you might already know this is a production method that was used to great effect in series like Disney’s “The Mandalorian.”

And we’ve seen production return to the state. 

Virtual Production in action

The first season of “Chad” was interrupted by the pandemic shutdown, but it finished its shoot late last year and come out this Spring. The third season of “Shrill” also made the choice to shoot through the pandemic and found its way to Hulu in May. David Oyelowo’s magical feature film “The Water Man” premiered at Ashland Independent Film Festival in April and came out in May. The second season of CryptTV’s “The Birch” took in many locations in Columbia County in 2020 and then was released in April of this year. And, finally, “Top Chef” spread the word that Oregon is open for business and our food scene is second to none. “Top Chef” based itself in Portland but it highlighted locations from the Gorge to the Coast and from Salem to Cascade Locks. 

Production Work on the Southern Oregon Coast (Photo: CDavid Cottrill)

In addition, other projects found their way into production during the height of the pandemic including the Netflix feature film “Metal Lords” and a large feature film from Sony that found its main locations in Curry and Coos counties and spent three weeks working out of Gold Beach.

There were also several locally produced films that have found audiences during this unusual time for distribution. Projects like “A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff,” “Who’s on Top?,” “See Me” (short), “La Tienda” (short), “Lorelei,” “Kin” (short), “Hunger Ward” (Oscar-nominated short doc), “Jean” (short), “Love in Dangerous Times,” and “Barbie’s Kenny” were all screened at the Portland International Film Festival at the Northwest Film Center earlier this year. Other locally producer features like “Young Hearts,” “Contactee,” “Sophie Jones” and “Hello From Nowhere” have found or will find their way out to audiences this year while “Claydream” the documentary about Will Vinton and his massive legacy in our animation community will premiere at Tribeca FF.

On the awards side – Skye Fitzgerald’s third installment of his amazing trilogy of short docs, “Hunger Ward,” was nominated for an Academy Award. The second season of “Trinkets” was nominated for seven Emmy awards, all of which tracked directly back to the work of local #OregonMade crews.

Our animation community continues to lead the world in the stop-motion art form. Three feature films are in production here in Oregon utilizing this unique storytelling medium while a fourth feature, done in a more “traditional” manner is also in production. These include work from Laika, Deep Sky, Henry Selick, Jordan Peele, and Keegan Michael Key, and Guillermo del Toro.

The Oregon interactive community created amazing titles like “Rival Peak,” “Cat Lady,” “Floppy Knights,” “Garden Story,” “Madden NFL,” “Super Fight,” “Soccerdie” and “Redwall,” from local companies like Rose City Games, Pipeworks in Eugene and Soma Games in Newberg.

And, not to be outdone, our VFX community also contributed to a growing number of projects. These include “Legion” for Netflix and “For All Mankind” for AppleTV.

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#OregonMade “Trinkets“, received 7 Day Time Emmy nominations and 5 of those are for local Oregon Crews and individual crew members.

This Netflix series season portrayed a grieving teen who, “finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school after they all land in the same Shoplifters Anonymous group.”

“Trinkets” won two Emmys for the first season for “Outstanding Young Adult Program” and “Outstanding Writing for a Children’s or Young Adult Program” – Writers: Amy Andelson, Stephanie Coggins, Linda Gase, Emily Meyer, Jess Meyer, Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith, Matt Shire.

The series, based on Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith‘s young adult novel, starring; Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool, Tragedy Girls), Kiana Madeira (The Flash, Sacred Lies), and Quintessa Swindell and shot two seasons entirely on location in and around Clackamas and Portland. Congratulations!

The nominations:

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A DRAMA OR DAYTIME FICTION PROGRAM – Gaffer/Chief Lighting Technician: Michael Vukas

July 29-August 1, 2021. Now in its 52nd year, the Willamette Writers Annual Conference returns online this summer, helping writers connect with their community, develop their craft, and expand their careers!

Take workshops and Q&A sessions in the craft and business of writing for TV and film with established industry writers, Joel Anderson Thompson and Grant Rosenberg. Pitch your TV show ideas to literary managers, Brent Paxton from Kreativ Artists, and Angelina Chen from Energy Entertainment. We are also offering Advanced Manuscript Critiques, where Brent will review the first 15 pages of your script and provide extensive feedback to you at the conference.

Immerse yourself in learning this summer, and become part of a community dedicated to supporting writers of all levels and genres in Oregon. Share your excitement using #wilwrite21

Register at: https://www.willamettewritersconference.org

Industry Day goes virtual this year as we flood legislators’ inboxes with photos and personal stories from our industry all week long. Please join us in celebrating what our local production industry means to Oregon!

1. Find Your Legislators

Enter your home address to find your legislators’ email addresses. You will email your Oregon House and Senate representatives (not Congress).

2. Take your photo

Make a sign that says “Oregon Creates” and fill in with a word or phrase related to your role in the industry. What does Oregon have because of our local industry—because of you? Then, take a selfie with your sign! Group shots and on-set photos are great, too.

CW from top-left: Lana Veenker, Paul Bright, Julie Nhem, Ashley Mellinger.

3. Send your email

We put together a template to email your story and photo to your representatives. You can use the subject line “My #OregonCreates Story.” Please be sure to copy [email protected] on your email to help us track engagement.

4. Celebrate on social

Share and tag: @ompa_org #OregonCreates #orpol #orleg and your representatives. (See a list of Twitter handles for Oregon legislators.)

• • •

Questions? Contact Christian Berk at 908-787-3353 or at [email protected]

OMPA is a membership organization that advocates for production-friendly policies, supports a statewide professional network, and showcases local work on our platforms. ompa.org

Crunchy  Pictures is currently wrapping up post-production on their new musical comedy thriller, HELLO FROM NOWHERE. The project is directed by Anthony Orkin, and stars Summer Rain Menkee, John Armour, Denah Angel, G. Scott Brown, and Sean Paul Ross. It will be released in late 2021. 

HELLO FROM NOWHERE is set in the woods of Oregon, filmed at the beautiful Camp Baldwin, a Boy Scout camp on the eastern slope of Mt. Hood. Set to the jaunty melodies of an imaginary Gilbert & Sullivan musical, the film follows two couples who embark on a camping trip and meet a stranger who says he’s hiking to Canada. But the truth is more complicated. Desperate for companionship, the mysterious Jason tries to peel someone – anyone – off the group, to join him in the woods…forever.

Anthony is a Portland-based filmmaker. HELLO FROM NOWHERE is his second feature. His first feature, PERSONAL SERGEANT, starring Victor Argo, was distributed by Marvista Entertainment. His short films, such as SAMMY’S MEASLE, THE NEIGHBOR HOOD and STARGAZER, have screened at a number of festivals. In addition to features, Anthony has edited TV shows, music videos, and commercials.

Stay on the trail with HELLO FROM NOWHERE on Instagram or Facebook.

Who’s on Top? is a feature-length documentary that shines a spotlight on a diverse group of the LGBTQ+ community to challenge stereotypes about gender and sexuality in outdoor recreation.
Historically excluded and ostracized as not belonging to the adventurer community, the climbers tackle not only a mountain but assumptions about who they are and how they belong to the world of outdoor sports.

The film portrays a journey like no other, a never-before-told story about what makes LGBTQ+ folks both distinct and connected, facing physical, mental, and societal obstacles. It is narrated by George Takei. It will be available nationwide on DVD and streaming channels beginning May 18.

Who’s on Top? was directed by Portland-based Devin Fei-Fan Tau, who was inspired to make the film after his time as a gay ski instructor in what felt like the very straight world of outdoor sports.

Devin is a gay, Asian-American filmmaker whose storytelling speaks out against the imposed silence he experienced from both his native and adopted cultures since immigrating to the United States as a child four decades ago. Devin received his BS at the University of California at Berkeley (Business), and an AAS Portland Community College (Video Production).

He’s currently on his 3rd career, having first developed his financial and analytic skills in the corporate world, and then explored his eye for fashion and aesthetics in apparel merchandising.

Devin is currently directing and producing a feature thriller, Half Sisters, and a commissioned feature documentary, The Road Home, both set to release in late 2022. Through his film production company, No Sunrise Wasted, he and his team also direct and produce corporate and other branded content. Who’s on Top? is his first feature film.

James Graham and Matthew Weintraub (City of Oregon City) unveil the newest Oregon Film Trail sign.

A brand new Oregon Film Trail sign has been installed and was unveiled today in Oregon City, honoring the town’s starring role as a location in the popular teen drama, “Twilight.” It sits along the McLoughlin Promenade, overlooking the former Blue Heron Paper Mill where scenes from the iconic vampire movie were shot. The Mill has also been featured in “The Hunted” and “Grimm.” The Works Progress Administration-era Promenade has itself been featured in scenes from “The Librarians” and “Trinkets.”

The current pandemic situation didn’t allow for a large public dedication but instead, local government representatives a few local film advocates attended a photo opportunity with the sign at the dedication. Oregon Film was there to help celebrate and welcome the 27th sign to the Oregon Film Trail.

The sign was placed along the Promenade’s walking path, with an extraordinary view of the Mill, Downtown Oregon City, and the Willamette River. The Downtown has itself been used in the filming of movies that include “Bandits” and “Homer and Eddie.”

Dating back to 1909, Oregon has a rich and interesting film history with well over 500 feature films & television shows that have utilized thousands of locations around the state for a wide variety of production backdrops. Today, Oregon continues to be a destination for creative media producers from around the world. From Emmy winning television productions, to Oscar-nominated feature films; world-class animated films to award-winning interactive games – Oregon is a brand unto itself.

Oregon Film, in partnership with the Oregon Made Creative Foundation, created the Oregon Film Trail featuring signage located at strategic points around the state. The creation of the Trail aims to strengthen the correlation between the film/TV industry, economic development, and tourism as well as celebrating unique Oregon locations that are iconic in their own right. The sign was paid for in part by a grant from Travel Oregon.