October, and beyond.
It’s been a while! We sure hope you are well and that this crazy time that we find ourselves in has brought to you new insight, perspective, ideas, and TONS of online film. If you are like us, you’ve gone crossed-eyed with so much content. Many film festivals have creatively shifted their programming models – enabling them to deliver independent cinema to you, at home. We think this is RAD and a little SAD, because we miss gathering together around great film.
Here’s the update from our end:
Of course we will be delivering a sweet line-up of film and music again for our eleventh year. EOFF will be working with Vimeo and our selected filmmakers to provide this year’s program 100% online.
We will miss our local community screenings and gatherings dearly, and are crossing our fingers that we’ll find a safe way to party downtown in La Grande come October 22-24. However, as of right now it is impossible to plan for those types of gatherings. With those hopes in mind we are focusing on delivering a line-up of exceptional new cinema for you to devour. We will interact with guests via Zoom or Google Hangouts, share reaction to film via online commentary and party down with live streamed music performances for a special afterparty flavoring.
Filmmaker notifications will go out August 7. The program will be announced on August 30 September 1.
The Liberty Theatre
EOFF is eagerly anticipating the completion of our new Premiere venue, the Historic Liberty Theatre, in downtown La Grande. The Liberty Theatre Foundation has been working diligently to bring La Grande’s historic moviehouse and vaudeville Theater back to life. Through grants and donations, the Foundation has secured a significant portion of the funding necessary to complete the revitalization and modernization of the building. The Eastern Oregon Film Festival is dedicated to aiding in this process. The proceeds from memberships purchased for the 2020 festival will help us to land at the Liberty with two feet firmly on the ground.
We are looking forward to hearing more news about the build-out and timelines as it comes! EOFF volunteers recently lent a hand moving donated seats from Eastern Oregon University’s McKenzie Theater to a local warehouse – awaiting their future home in the Liberty. It is wonderful to see the community stepping up to help make this project a reality! Keep an eye out for updates on their Instagram (@libertytheatre), Facebook (@libertyonadams) and website http://libertyonadams.org/
Filmmaker Support Program
EOFF is dedicated to enriching local and regional filmmaking opportunities. The festival is now offering a production bundle grant for local film projects. The bundle includes 4K video cameras, wireless audio, and some fun tools to get those incredible shots you’ve been dreaming of!
Keep up to date on local projects like Out of Character (https://outofcharactermovie.com/), and if you’re looking to make a film in La Grande or Eastern Oregon make sure to connect with us! We’re happy to help in any way that we can.
Membership & Sponsorship Your membership will get you full access to this year’s online festival program, as well as a couple of special Members Only events. With the upcoming move to the Liberty Theatre, we NEED your support to keep the ball rolling. Aligning ourselves for 2021 is both exciting and expensive. With your continued support we will be able to make this jump and transition smoothly into our second decade of in-person programming. Become a member or sponsor and be a part of the next chapter in Eastern Oregon Film Festival’s #ruralrenaissance. Special thanks to our current sponsors: Eastern Oregon University, Oregon Film, Monocle Search Group, Cold Coffee Media, HQ, La Grande Life. Additional support provided by Oregon Community Foundation, Eastern Oregon Visitors Association. |