BendFilm recently announced 22 feature films comprising four competition categories which will screen at the 21st annual Bend Film Festival, presented in person October 10-13, across six venues in and around Bend. This year’s competition features were selected from a record-high 2,857 submissions, originating from 24 countries around the world.
“We’ve got some unforgettable films in this year’s competition categories,” said Selin Sevinç, BendFilm’s program director. “Throughout the program, we have films about resilience, creativity, physicality and the environment, approached with and told in innovative and fresh ways. These storytellers — our filmmakers — encourage audiences to open their hearts and minds to new ways of being in the world.”
The Festival’s four main Competition sections (Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Indigenous Features and Environmental/Outdoor Features) are a superb representation of BendFilm’s year round organizational cultural and environmental priorities, located in scenic Bend, on the traditional lands of the Wascoes, the Warm Springs, and the Paiutes, whose peoples still live in and around the Bend region and are recognized as The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. Many of the films have chosen Bend Film Festival for their film’s U.S., West Coast, Northwest, or Oregon premieres, and directors, producers, documentary subjects and other film talent will attend alongside industry executives and emerging filmmakers. Notably, a group of emerging filmmakers will join the Festival directly from the inaugural BendFilm: Basecamp, the nonprofit organization’s foray into residential filmmaker education and networking for emerging talent, which takes place October 7-10.
“We anticipate that the first class of Basecamp alumni will further invigorate this year’s festival along with attending directors, producers and more,” added BendFilm Executive Director Giancarlo Gatto, “It’s exciting to see so much of this year-round work and community engagement coming to fruition all over the Bend region, where we’ll be convening panels and events between screenings and Q&As for a growing audience of locals and visitors. ”
These panels and events will be announced in the coming weeks, alongside a full roster of short film programs, Spotlight feature films, and awards and honorees including the 2024 Indie Filmmaker of the Year. Bend Film Festival is recognized by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as Oscar qualifying for narrative, animated and indigenous short films.
BendFilm will continue its filmmaker-focused efforts to award over $9,000 in prizes directly to independent filmmakers in these competition categories including $1,500 each for Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary Feature. These awards and others, determined by jury deliberation or audience balloting, will be presented at a dedicated Awards Show on the evening of Saturday, October 12, 2024.
Passes, which offer various levels of advance and exclusive access and benefits, are on sale now. Individual tickets go on sale for BendFilm members on September 12. Next, passholders get dedicated access (All Access, September 18; Full Film, September 19), and the general public can purchase tickets starting September 20.
Narrative Features Competition
The Narrative Features Competition section comprises seven outstanding fiction films, which present deeply personal stories with unique directorial vision.
4PM
Dir. Jay Song
South Korea | West Coast Premiere
Presented in Korean with English subtitles (S)
Jung In, a professor of western psychology, decides to take a break from teaching and moves to his new house in the countryside with his wife. They go to say hello to their neighbor and when there is nobody at home, they leave a note. The next day the neighbor comes to visit at 4pm.
Adult Best Friends
Dir. Delaney Buffett
USA | West Coast Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
Nothing holds a mirror up to your life more than the examination of a friend from childhood. While Katie should be celebrating her engagement to John, she can’t help but fret over what her best friend, Delaney, will think. Driftless and unambitious, her opinions and feelings matter most to Katie. In an effort to reconnect and break the news gently, she plans a girls’ trip to assuage her codependent friend, setting the stage for a hilarious buddy comedy.
Goodbye Julia
Dir. Mohamed Kordofani
Sudan | Central Oregon Premiere
Presented in Arabic with English subtitles
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
Set in Sudan just before the secession of South Sudan, Mona, an upper middle class retired singer from the north, accidentally hits a Southern child with her car and drives away. Burdened by guilt and depression, she covertly searches for a way to offer compensation and finds Julia, the mother of the child. Mona offers her a job to work for her as a housemaid. Julia accepts the offer and moves in with her son to work for the Northern couple. Mona finds herself forced to make hard decisions to keep everyone around her in the dark.
La Cocina
Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios
Mexico, USA | Northwest Premiere
Presented in English and Spanish with English subtitles
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
It’s the lunch rush at The Grill in Manhattan, and money has gone missing from the till. The undocumented cooks are being investigated, and Pedro is the prime suspect. He’s a dreamer, a troublemaker, and in love with Julia, an American waitress who cannot commit. A shocking revelation compels Pedro to spiral into an act that will stop the production line of one of the city’s busiest kitchens.
Mamifera
Dir. Liliana Torres
Spain | West Coast Premiere
Presented in Catalan with English subtitles
Lola enjoys a happy life with her partner, Bruno, until an unexpected pregnancy revolutionizes all her plans. Although Lola has always been clear that being a mother is not for her, she now feels challenged by social expectations and faces her inner fears. During the three days they have to wait until her appointment at the clinic, Lola approaches her friends and family with the intention of reaffirming her decision. Bruno had never imagined himself as a father either. Until now.
Rent Free
Dir. Fernando Andrés
USA | Northwest Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
After hitting emotional and financial rock bottom, two down-on-their-luck Gen Z best friends come up with a scheme to spend an entire year living “rent free” with the help of friends, family and strangers alike in a rapidly changing Austin.
To Kill A Wolf
Dir. Kelsey Taylor
USA | Northwest Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
A modern re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood as a troubling exploration of trauma and redemption as a social pariah, dealing with his own demons, discovers a teenage girl alone in the Oregon forest and does his best to help her find a way home. We like to think of this film as a book of fairy tales found in a seedy roadside motel.
Documentary Feature Competition
The 2024 Documentary Feature Competition section comprises bold nonfiction films which present their subjects in unflinching detail and formal innovation.
Bye Bye Tiberias
Dir. Lina Soualem
France, Palestine, Belgium, Qatar | Central Oregon Premiere
Presented in French, Palestinian, and Arabic with English subtitles (S)
Years after leaving her Palestinian village to pursue an acting career in France, Emmy-nominated Hiam Abbass (Succession; Ramy; Blade Runner) returns home with her daughter, in this intimate documentary about four generations of women and their shared legacy of separation.
Firebreak
Dir. Kenzie Bruce
73 min | USA | Northwest Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
Brandon and Royal change lives through firefighting. The two men met fighting wildfires while imprisoned in California’s penal system. Now, despite institutional barriers, personal financial pressure, and mounting environmental dangers, they are training other formerly incarcerated firefighters to become professionals and join their new, self-owned department.
Helen and the Bear
Dir. Alix Blair
81 min | USA | Northwest Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
A rebellious young woman marries a prominent Republican politician twenty-six years older than her. Four decades later, as they anticipate his death, she wrestles with their marriage, her sexuality, and what’s been lost and won through a life by his side.
Join the Club
Directed by Chris O’Connell and Kip Andersen
USA | West Coast Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
After losing his lover to AIDS, rebel activist Dennis Peron launches the first public cannabis dispensary in the nation, skirting the law in pursuit of true justice—the legalization of medical marijuana.
Mediha
Dir. Hasan Oswald
90 min | USA | Northwest Premiere
Presented in Arabic, English, Kurdish, Turkish with English subtitles
Executive produced by Emma Thompson, the film follows the story of Mediha, a teenage Yazidi girl who has recently returned from ISIS captivity, as she turns her camera on herself to process her trauma while rescuers search for her missing family members.
Public Defender
Directed by Andrea Kalin
USA | Northwest Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
Heather Shaner, a feisty, blue-haired public defender in Washington, DC, has spent her career representing people who can’t afford a lawyer. But her empathy is tested when a violent mob supporting President Trump storms the U.S. Capitol. Amidst a growing political divide, when trust is lost, the unlikely bonds between Heather and her clients reveal how people can rise above the fray to find each other’s humanity.
Your Fat Friend
Directed by Jeanie Finlay
USA, UK | Central Oregon Premiere
Made over 6 years, acclaimed director Jeanie Finlay charts the rise of writer and activist Aubrey Gordon from anonymous blogger to NYTimes best selling author and beloved podcaster. Her aim? A paradigm shift in the way we see fat people and the fat on our own bodies. Her life changing work has brought her an ardent, international audience but also threats to her life. One of her biggest challenges is getting her parents to listen.
Indigenous Features Competition
The 2024 Indigenous Features Competition comprises three features centered on Indigenous and Native perspectives and stories from North America.
Missing From Fire Trail Road
Dir. Sabrina Van Tassel
USA | Oregon Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
A riveting documentary detailing the case of Mary Ellen Johnson-Davis, a Native American woman who disappeared in 2020. Her story exposes how hundreds of Indigenous women continue to go missing in the USA, perpetuating trans-generational trauma on Indian reservations.
Singing Back the Buffalo
Dir. Tasha Hubbard
Canada | Oregon Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
Richly visualized and deeply uplifting, Singing Back the Buffalo is an epic reimagining of North America through the lens of buffalo consciousness and a potent dream of what is within our grasp.
Sugarcane
Dir. Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie
Canada | Oregon Premiere
Presented in English and Secwepemctsín with English subtitles
A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning.
Environmental/Outdoor Features Competition
The 2024 Environmental/Outdoor Features Competition comprises four films centered on the relationships between humans and nature — by turns adversarial, exploitative, mutually beneficial and endlessly evolving.
!AITSA
Dir. Dane Dodds
South Africa, Denmark | Oregon Premiere
Presented in English, Afrikaans and Nama with English subtitles
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
!AITSA is a transcendental film that explores ancient spiritual knowledge and modern science in the Great Karoo desert of South Africa, where humans seek meaning in the infinite darkness surrounding us all. From the Square Kilometre Array to the Blombos cave, voices ranging from scientists to local clergy and spiritual leaders are heard in this expansive film about existential questions and the many paths towards answers that will always remain slightly out of reach.
399: Queen of the Tetons
Dir. Elizabeth Leiter
USA | Oregon Premiere
Known only by her research number, Grizzly 399 has captivated photographers since 2007, becoming the most famous—and photographed—mother bear in the world. The film follows 399 as she struggles to raise an unusually large litter in the face of human encroachment, a rapidly changing climate, and disputes over her Endangered Species protections.
The Cigarette Surfboard
Dir. Ben Judkins
USA | Oregon Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
An impassioned surfer creates a surfboard with 10,000 littered cigarette butts collected from California beaches. The Cigarette Surfboards become a platform to spark ocean stewardship and the symbol of a campaign to hold Big Tobacco accountable for their toxic, plastic waste.
The Wonder and the Worry
Dir. David Baker
USA | Oregon Premiere
Filmmaker scheduled to attend
This lyrical exploration of family, photography and the power of visual storytelling to create change follows the careers of former National Geographic Editor in Chief, Chris Johns, and his daughter Louise, a young freelance photographer. It’s an examination of the soul of journalism and its role in saving the planet.
About BendFilm:
BendFilm hosts an annual independent film festival, year-round film exhibitions and programs, and is the proud owner of the Tin Pan Theater — a boutique arthouse cinema located in downtown Bend’s Tin Pan Alley. The organization is designed to support and nourish filmmakers and enrich the cultural life of Central Oregon while also providing an economic benefit to the region. Celebrating its 21st year, BendFilm is proud to bring diverse voices and visions to the Bend community. The Bend Film Festival runs every October in Bend, Oregon. Make plans to join us October 10-13 for in-person cinema plus filmmaker workshops, panels and more. Bend is a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts, foodies, beer lovers and stunning natural scenery, and is also located on the traditional lands of the Wascoes, the Warm Springs, and the Paiutes, whose peoples still live in and around the Bend region and are recognized as The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. BendFilm is a 501(c)3 organization whose activities are made possible by a dedicated crew of volunteers and generous donors, members and sponsors, including The Regal Old Mill, Brooks Resources and more.
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