BendFilm Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Announces full line-up of events counting down to festival including February 7 screening of It’s a Disaster at McMenamin’s and March 14 Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines at the Tower.

Ten years ago this Fall, BendFilm was founded by Katie Merritt and a group of film lovers and culture enthusiasts in Bend. In the years since then the festival has grown to become a beloved regional happening, featuring over 80 films, four days of films and becoming known as a “gem of a small festival.”

To celebrate this important milestone BendFilm will launch a new marketing campaign being developed by tbd and stage a series of events in the months leading up to this year’s 10^th anniversary festival, to take place October 10-13, 2013.

Romy Mortensen, VP sales and marketing of BendFilm’s founding sponsor, Brooks Resources Corporation, said, “Brooks Resources is very proud to be celebrating BendFilm’s 10th anniversary with them.  Hard to believe that 10 years ago we all took a leap of faith in a creative, new arts and culture idea that has grown to be one of Bend‘s best attractions, if not amenities.”

Orit Schwartz, festival director, said, “Absolutely, it’s thanks in great part to our many sponsors, starting with Brooks Resources, who have helped BendFilm become a festival that has generated excitement in our area and garnered the respect of the festival community. With gratitude and thanks, we honor them.”

Current BendFilm Countdown to the 10th Anniversary celebration events include:

February 7 – It’s a Disaster – Screens at McMenamin’s at 6 pm, doors at 5 pm. Tickets $10 at www.bendfilm.org. This hilarious comedy, which won the 2012 BendFilm Best Screenplay Award, features America Ferrera, Julia Stiles and David Cross.

March 14 – Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines – Screens at The Tower Theater at 7 pm, doors at 6 pm. Tickets $12 at www.towertheatre.org or at the door. This film will be presented by BendFilm’s Independent WOMEN for Independent Film and the Tower Theatre Foundation. It won the BendFilm Best Director and Best Documentary Awards in 2012. Come early to sign up as an Inde Women member!

May 31 – BendFilm Bash – Held this year at the COCC Culinary Institute, this annual fundraiser has become the must-attend event of the spring and all proceeds go to support the festival. $50 per person, $90 per couple. Tickets at bendfilm.org.

Sponsors in addition to Brooks Resources include Starview Foundation, Caldera, Panavision, NorthWest Crossing, Old Mill District, BendBroadband, Smart Solutions, Dr. Andy Higgins, Hand in Hand Productions, tbd, Cascade Business News, The Source Weekly, Cascade A&E, CCI Tech, InFocus,  Tower Theatre, McMenamins, Regal Cinemas, The Oxford Hotel, Cascades Theatrical Company and Tin Pan Theater, Horizon Broadcasting Group, Oregon Spirit Distillers, Deschutes Brewery, Southern Wine Group,  Paul Scott Gallery, Oregon Film, G5, Central Oregon Magazine, Downtown Bend, Visit Bend, KOHD-TV, Central Oregon Visitors Association, Combined Communications, Bryant, Lovlien & Jarvis, The Nature of Words, Twist, Boneyard Beer, Barrio, Bigfoot Beverages, Joolz, C3 Events, Eco-Kidz, Pisano’s Pizza, and Sisbro Studios.

BendFilm’s Independent WOMEN for Independent Film

In 2012, Pamela Hulse Andrews, CEO/Founder of Cascade Publications Inc., inadvertently founded this passionate funding organization when she reached out to 10 of her closest friends to donate $100 each to fund a BendFilm cash award. Her contacts forwarded to their friends, and before long over $100 women had donated $100 each, resulting in an additional $10,000 for the festival. This year the Inde WOMEN are doubling their efforts and are hoping 200 women to donate, thus raising more money for more films. Donation checks may be made out to BendFilm and mailed to Pamela c/o Cascade Publications, 404 NE Norton Avenue, Bend, OR 97701. 541-388-5665.

BendFilm is a non-profit group inspired by the opportunity to open doors for artists and to cast Bend, Oregon as the cultural and economic beneficiary. The BendFilm Festival runs every October in downtown Bend at the historic Tower Theatre, McMenamins, Regal Cinemas, The Oxford Hotel, the Cascades Theatrical Company and Tin Pan Theater. Plan now to attend October 10-13, 2013 for a long weekend of films, lectures and parties as filmmakers compete for cash awards in Bend’s charismatic setting of mountains, rivers and screaming blue skies. Follow us on Facebook.

BendFilm Info:

Address: 2748 NW Crossing Drive, Bend, OR 97701.

For questions or more information: call 541.388.FEST, email info@bendfilm.org or visit www.bendfilm.org.