Eastern Oregon Film Festival Celebrates 16 Years of Independent Film, Music, and Community
October 15–18, 2025 | La Grande, Oregon
The Eastern Oregon Film Festival (#EOFF2025) returns for its sixteenth annual celebration of independent cinema, community, and culture. From October 16–18, 2025, La Grande will transform into a hub for film and music lovers, with screenings and events hosted at McKenzie Theater and Schwarz Theater on the Eastern Oregon University campus, The Liberty Theatre, HQ, and a TBD partner venue for late-night showcases.
Festivities begin on Wednesday, October 15 with a special staged reading of Bad Day for Bigfoot at Schwarz Theater, setting the stage for a dynamic weekend of screenings, panels, and parties.
🎥 THE FESTIVAL FLOW
#EOFF2025 opens with a powerful slate of feature narratives and documentaries.
Thursday night begins with check-in at the box office and a VIP kick-off at HQ, followed by the Opening Night Double Feature at EOU’s McKenzie Theater: hitoláayca (Going Upriver) and Burrowing Owls: A Love Story — two poetic films in conversation, one tracing heritage and myth upriver, the other observing fragile lives on the brink.
The celebration continues with an after-party at HQ, featuring James Dean Kindle and His Country Combo, then moves to a late-night special screening of The World Drops Dead and When the Moon Returns, at The Liberty Theater with a Q&A with visiting filmmaker Brandon Colvin to follow.
Friday morning invites festival-goers to explore the beauty of the Grande Ronde Valley before diving into a day of cinematic storytelling. Starting at 10:00am, audiences can choose from three exciting short film programs across downtown venues:
- Party Shorts (McKenzie Theatre) – A lively mix of bold party-set narratives with stylistic experimentation, featuring Aloha Means I Love You, Patina, Centaur Baby, Wrecking Party, Endzgiving, & Chasers. Expect humor, heart, and plenty of surprises.
- Oregon Comedy (Schwarz Theater, EOU) – Spotlighting Northwest wit and comedic voices with AstroVan, The Ogre, & My Friend, Chevy. This block highlights the quirky, heartfelt humor of Oregon filmmakers.
- Drama Shorts (Liberty Theatre) – Emotional storytelling takes center stage in this collection, showing: Flightpaths, Quaker, American Teenager, Shell, Comets, NANI, & The Last Wish — films that tug at the heartstrings and explore human connection in all its complexity.
With something for everyone, these morning blocks set the tone for a full day of discovery at #EOFF2025.
At 1:00pm, McKenzie Theater presents A Walk to the Fire’s Edge and A Forest in Flames, two striking shorts centering indigenous voices that set the stage for the feature documentary Firebreak.
Directed with grit and compassion, Firebreak follows Brandon and Royal — two men who, after serving time and training as firefighters while incarcerated, forged careers in the field against the odds. Determined to open doors for others, they founded their own nonprofit and fire department, offering a second chance to a new generation of trainees. The film captures their tough but transformative program, exploring themes of resilience, redemption, and the fight for meaningful opportunity.
This powerful program examines fire and its human impact from strikingly different perspectives, culminating in a Q&A with visiting filmmakers following Firebreak.
Alternatively, at 1:00pm you can head downtown to the Historic Liberty Theatre for the WTF Shorts Block — a wild mix of eccentric, queer, and boundary-pushing films, featuring Got Your Nose, Baby Tooth, Cockroach, The Release, Chicken Salad, Softboy, Anniversary_6, Emilycore, and MEOW!
At 4:00pm, festival-goers can choose between two very different but equally engaging programs:
- McKenzie Theater (EOU) – A dynamic pairing of The Protagonist Gene and American Comic. This double feature blends sharp narrative invention with thoughtful reflection on humor and identity, showcasing the creative breadth of independent cinema.
- Schwarz Theater (EOU) – The Horror/Thriller Shorts Block, a chilling lineup featuring Rash, Private Moments, Astray, The Camcorder, Séance For The ’Gram, Mondegreen, and The Knock Knock Game. Expect a rollercoaster of tension, dark wit, and spine-tingling craft.
Friday night closes with a rich mix of cinema and celebration. At 7:00pm, the McKenzie Theater hosts the walloping one-two punch of Tandem and Trash Baby — an intimate student short from Poland alongside a tender, full-length coming-of-age feature that has already captured hearts on the festival circuit.
As the evening deepens, audiences can drift downtown where HQ comes alive at 9:00pm for After Party 2, featuring the dreamy, synth-laced sounds of Night Heron.
For those looking to end the night on screen rather than the dance floor, the late slot offers End of Trip, Sahara at 9:40pm at the Liberty Theater — a meditative journey literally pulled from a half-century ago, whisking you across stunning desert landscapes and long-forgotten memory – the perfect close to a full festival day.
Saturday morning at 10:00am offers audiences a chance to revisit some of #EOFF2025’s most inventive short programs. Across three venues, festival-goers can choose from the WTF Shorts Block at McKenzie Theater, the Drama Shorts Block at the Liberty Theatre, or the Horror/Thriller Shorts Block at Schwarz Theater.
These reprises provide another opportunity to catch the energy, artistry, and bold voices that defined Friday’s screenings.
At 1:00pm, EOU offers two distinct experiences:
- McKenzie – Opening with Te Seguiré A La Oscuridad, a charming short about a determined high schooler who pushes herself to learn Spanish in hopes of landing in her crush’s class, the program leads into The Prospect. Directed by Robert Schultz and Dana Donnelly, this 93-minute comedy follows small-town senior Jerry Vanetti as he attempts to scam his way into college by posing as a star baseball recruit—despite never having played a sport in his life. Clever, fast-paced, and filled with outrageous schemes, The Prospect delivers both laughs and heart.
- Schwarz – A lively return engagement of festival favorites, reprising the collection of Party Shorts brings audiences back into the energetic spirit of short-form storytelling, mixing humor, creativity, and bold experimentation.
At 4:00pm, audiences can head to the McKenzie Theater for Surrender to the Sound followed by The Opener, directed by Jeff Toye. This inspiring documentary tells the story of a street performer who, in the depths of the pandemic, wrote 30 songs in 30 days to process grief and isolation. His music struck a chord with millions — and eventually with Grammy-winner Jason Mraz, who invited him on tour and gave him the chance to prove himself on the big stage. The Opener is a feel-great reminder of resilience, creativity, and the transformative power of music.
Meanwhile, the Schwarz Theater reprises the Oregon Comedy Shorts Block, spotlighting Northwest humor with a fresh round of laughs for those who may have missed it earlier in the festival.
Closing Night – Saturday, October 18
At 7:00pm, the McKenzie Theater hosts EOFF2025’s closing night program with the cracklingly-vulnerable experimental short It’s Only Love leading into the deeply personal documentary Into the Unknown: My Cancer Story. Directed by Matthew Thomas Ross, this powerful film traces his own journey through a rare Stage 4 appendix cancer diagnosis in his 30s. Through a collage of childhood home videos, candid interviews, and raw present-day footage, Ross offers an unflinching yet hopeful exploration of vulnerability, resilience, and creativity in the face of uncertainty. The filmmaker will be in attendance for a post-screening conversation, making this a profound and unforgettable finale on the big screen.
The celebration then shifts to HQ at 9:00pm for After Party 3, where festival-goers can close out #EOFF2025 with the swagger-soaked rock and grooves of Thrown-out Bones.
With film, music, and community, EOFF’s sixteenth year concludes in true festival spirit — bold, heartfelt, and unforgettable.
The full catalog of films can be found here: https://www.eofilmfest.com/2025-films/
The full schedule of events can be found here: https://www.eofilmfest.com/festival-schedule/
🎟 Box Office
Passes are available to purchase online at https://www.eofilmfest.com/tickets/
- Festival Pass – Full access to all screenings, parties, and special events.
- Single Tickets – Available for individual screenings beginning September 25 and will be available online via the schedule..
- Discounts – Student and community pricing ensures EOFF remains accessible to all.
Box office opens Wednesday, October 15 at 4pm at EOU or Saturday’s at 9am-Noon in front of The Liberty Theater.
Ticketing and Pass questions can be directed to director@eofilmfest.com
Virtual Offerings (Watch Online Festival Weekend)
Beginning at 7:00 PM on Thursday, October 16, Eastern Oregon Film Festival’s official selections will be available to audiences everywhere through our virtual cinema platform at watch.eventive.org/eofilmfest. Virtual passes and individual tickets will be on sale, with select screenings subject to geo-restrictions.
Viewers will have three days to unlock films and, once unlocked, 24 hours to watch. This expanded online program is designed to make the festival more accessible and to connect rural audiences with outstanding independent cinema. Whether near or far, tune in to experience and support the festival from wherever you are.
About the Festival
Founded in 2009, the Eastern Oregon Film Festival has grown into one of the region’s most anticipated cultural events. Now celebrating 16 years, EOFF continues to amplify bold voices in independent film, provide platforms for emerging artists, and strengthen community through the arts. This event is supported by Oregon Film, Eastern Oregon University, Roundhouse Foundation, and many other local and regional contributors. Press Contact > Eastern Oregon Film Festival > director@eofilmfest.com
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