BendFilm celebrates independent cinema’s unique power to enrich lives, amplify diverse voices, and inspire change while educating future storytellers and bringing vibrant festival experiences to communities across Central Oregon year round.
Check out the schedule and get your passes and tickets on BendFilm.org
Continue reading... “BendFilm Returns Oct 7-11”
The Official Selections have been announced for the Eastern Oregon Film Festival and the film guide is now available to browse! They’ll be adding some more trailers and details but start digging in to what is in store for October 14-17 in La Grande.
Browse the Guide. Continue reading... “EOFF’s Film Guide Released for 2026”
Amanda Warren (The Leftovers) and Evan Jonigkeit (The Hunting Wives) are currently shooting lead roles in Door, an indie sci-fi horror film also starring Akira Jackson (It Ends), River Blossom (Abbott Elementary), Johnny Sibilly (Hacks), and Henry Ian Cusick (Lost).
Marking the feature directorial debut of Sara Magness and Wil Magness, who also wrote the screenplay, and shooting in Portland, Oregon, Door tells the story of a family whose world is shattered after a father unknowingly opens a door that leads to realities shaped by the subconscious of whoever enters. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “Door” Announces Cast”
Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program made MovieMaker Magazine’s list of the “30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada” for the third year in a row.
According to the university, SOU Digital Cinema is the only program from Oregon, Washington or Idaho included in MovieMaker’s review. The Digital Cinema major launched in 2019 as part of SOU’s Communication, Media & Cinema Department and has grown steadily since then.
Students learn visual storytelling, creative problem-solving and professional collaboration using industry-standard production technologies. Continue reading... “SOU Makes MovieMaker’s “Best” List for Third Year in a Row”

Sonic Silents, a new festival curated by composer Mark Orton, brings four nights of newly commissioned scores for silent film to the Hollywood Theatre stage September 17-20. Each score will be performed live by the musicians who wrote it.
A SHARED CENTENNIAL
The inaugural festival pairs rare and canonical silent films with original music created expressly for Sonic Silents. The program culminates in a special dual-centennial presentation of Buster Keaton’s THE GENERAL, which was released in 1926, the same year The Hollywood Theatre opened as a Silent Film Palace. Continue reading... “Sonic Silents at the Hollywood Theatre Sept 17-20”
Getting Back is premiering on Saturday, September 26, 2026 at 2pm at Salem Cinema. Intertwining youthful fantasy with the unflinching reality of loss, Getting Back explores how children use imaginative play to cope with hardship, presenting adult struggles through the imagination of a child. It is a heartfelt commentary on how we find our way back to love during the darkest times in life.
Tickets can be purchased through Salem Cinema. Attendees will be able to watch the movie alongside cast and crew, as well as participate in a Q&A with key members of production! Continue reading... “Oregon Feature Film “Getting Back” to Premiere at Salem Cinema”
“Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron will star alongside “Yellowstone” actor Jefferson White in the upcoming independent feature film “In Our Own Sweet Way” from director, writer, and producer Jeff Rutherford.
The film recently wrapped and is being produced under Rutherford’s banner Fred Senior Films, in association with Stoner Ranch Productions, Echo & Add, and Fair Oaks Entertainment.
Read more here. Continue reading... “#OregonMade “In Our Own Sweet Way” Announces Cast”

Join filmmakers, actors, writers, creatives and film lovers from across the Pacific Northwest for another night of independent film and community.
• Independent short films and music videos
• Filmmaker Q&As
• Networking
• Red-carpet photos
All ages welcome
Tickets: $15 adults | $8 kids 12 and under
Thursday, September 10
McMenamins Kennedy School Theater
Doors open at 6 PM
Introduction and screenings begin at 7 PM
Continue reading... “Portland Indie Film Networking Returns Sept 10”
The second annual Manzanita Film Festival returns October 2–3 to the Pine Grove Community House in beautiful Manzanita, Oregon.
The festival kicks off Friday October 2 at 7pm with Friday Night Frights – a collection of offbeat short films: some scary, some funny, all terrific! On Saturday, October 3 from 12pm to 6pm, enjoy three programs – Live Action Shorts, Animated Shorts, and Documentary Shorts.
From comedic gems to tales of heartbreak, from stunning hand-drawn animation to breathtaking nature docs, the Manzanita Film Festival is a showcase of Pacific Northwest short films. Continue reading... “Manzanita Film Festival Returns October 2–3”
Fox12 recently caught with local film historian Ellen Thomas to find out more about the early silent movie studios that called Oregon home at the turn of the 20th Century.
From “The Goonies” to “Stand By Me,” a number of iconic movies have been filmed in Oregon, but did you know that the state’s film industry goes back more than a hundred years? That’s when a small studio in Beaverton named Premium Picture Productions began making movies that were seen across the country. Continue reading... “Local Historian Ellen Thomas Highlights Oregon’s Place in Cinematic History”