The Confluence – Page 24 – The Oregon film community's official blog.

OPB: SOU Student Looking to Advance Indigenous Representation in Film

Trekking through the woods by her apartment in late March, Southern Oregon Digital Media student Kazsia Connelly reminisced about making a zombie short film a few years prior, using this very forest as a backdrop for the movie, which a classmate wrote and directed and Connelly starred in for a media production class in high school.

Connelly, 18, grew up in Willamina, Oregon, a small town of under 2,500, just minutes down the road from Grand Ronde. In January, she started at Southern Oregon University in Ashland and plans to pursue a degree in digital cinema.

#OregonMade “Horsegirls” & “Paradise Records” to Screen at Tribeca

The #OregonMade feature film “Horsegirls” which shot last summer in Portland has just been announced as being a part of the US Narrative Competition screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival while the St. Helens shot feature film “Paradise Records” will be part of the Spotlight Narrative section of the festival.

Both projects utilized hundreds of local crew and talent as well as buying and renting from local Oregon companies for their production work. We congratulate all of the #OregonMade talent that help make these projects come to life.

#OregonMade “Finding Groovopolis” to be Released on April 22

#OregonMade “Finding Groovopolis” is being released nationally via Freestyle Digital Media. To mark the occasion, the jacket filmmaker Wil Kristin’s dad wore in both The Terminator and Finding Groovopolis is up on long-term display at Portland’s iconic Movie Madness, timed with the screening at the inaugural Portland Panorama Film Festival.

In the documentary Finding Groovopolis filmmaker Wil Kristin seeks fatherly advice through the lens of Groovopolis, a never-produced comedic screenplay written by his late father. While coming to terms with his dad’s death, Kristin discovered the original script for Groovopolis, which follows a music programmer who falls overboard at a work party, encounters a group of wild, dancing island inhabitants, and inadvertently records their music before being rescued and spreading the sounds as an antidote to dull and monotonous consumer culture.

Stage 32 Certification Offers Professional Training At A Discount

If you are ready to to get the training you need to work in film & TV production from wherever you are at any time then Stage 32 Certification is for you.

About Stage 32 Certification:

Stage 32 Certification has partnered with over 40 film commissions, guilds, and studios across the United States and the world. These partnerships include international collaborations in Costa Rica, Poland, Croatia, South Africa, Uganda, and Austria, as well as domestic initiatives in Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Florida, Georgia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, and Nevada.

Destination Oregon: The Oregon Film Trail

Oregon has been Hollywood’s backlot when it comes to movies and television projects. That includes Central Oregon — “Rooster Cogburn,” “The Postman and “Wild,” to name a few. Central Oregon Daily‘s “Destination Oregon” took a trip on the Oregon Film Trail. Visiting sites where movies and television shows were filmed is a huge tourism industry called Set Jetting.

“Right now, we believe it’s about $151 million a year that’s coming into Oregon through film set jetting,” said Tim Williams, the executive director of the Oregon Film Office.

New Round of Screenwriting Workshops Start May 5

Hi all.

Wrapping up a great session right now.

I’ll be teaching two courses starting in early May.

I’m offering Essential Screenwriting and Feature Writing + Development.

Both are remote. All are welcome!

Send me an email to claim a spot: [email protected]

Find out more here: https://www.jeffsrutherford.com/workshops

“The Mastermind” from Portland Based filmscience Goes to Cannes

Kelly Reichardt’s latest film “The Mastermind” has been announced as part of the main competition titles at the Cannes Film festival in May. Although shot in Ohio, the film was produced by Oregon based Neil Kopp and Anish Savjani (alongside partner Vincent Savino) and their filmscience label.

The film centers on an audacious art heist amidst the backdrop of the Vietnam War.

Many of Reichardt’s and filmscience’s previous films have been shot in Oregon.

See the whole Cannes line up here and more info on “The Mastermind” here.

Catalyst “Script to Screen” Grant Launches

Script to Screen, Catalyst Film Collective’s signature program that includes a $10,000 grant, wrap around production support, in-kind donations, and a whole collective of filmmakers ready to crew, is now open for submissions.

Submissions Open 4/4/25; Deadline 5/31/25

Get writing those scripts, and check out our website for all the fine print, and answers to all your FAQs. This grant is open to CFC members only, so make sure to join the Collective or update your membership if you haven’t yet.

“Splitsville” – Written & Starring McMinnville Resident – will Debut at Cannes

McMinnville resident, Kyle Marvin, has written and stars in the feature film “Splitsville” which will debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The film also stars Nicholas Braun and Dakota Johnson and is directed by Michael Covino. Marvin also directed “80 for Brady” and wrote and produced “The Climb” which also screened at Cannes.

See the full Cannes line up here.

Oregon Film Impact Grants for Short Films

The Oregon Film Impact Grants are designed to support filmmakers and projects that have the potential to make a positive and lasting impact on Oregon’s film industry.

There will be two submission phases for these grants. The first will be for short film projects (running time less than 40 mins) while the second will be for feature length projects. The first phase, short films, will open on April 16. The feature length project submission period will be later in the summer of 2025.

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