Special Free Screening: Disfluency

Presented by Eastern Oregon Film Festival and Community Partners with a Q&A with Writer/Director Anna Baumgarten

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Eastern Oregon Film Festival has partnered with Soroptimist International of La Grande, the Eastern Oregon University Foundation and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences along with EOU SAGE/Mountain Queers, the EOU Club Cinema, and Shelter From The Storm to host a powerful evening of film and conversation. On Friday, April 25 at 7:00 PM, join us at the Schwarz Theater in Inlow Hall on the Eastern Oregon University campus for a free screening of Disfluency, followed by a Q&A with writer/director Anna Baumgarten.

Disfluency is a deeply personal and resonant film inspired by events in Baumgarten’s own life. Through this story, she is using her voice and platform as a filmmaker to shed light on the traumatic and complex realities of sexual assault—particularly how it manifests, disrupts, and lingers in the lives of survivors. By bringing Disfluency to communities and campuses across the country, Baumgarten is working to create space for dialogue, validation, and collective healing.

The film follows Jane, a high-achieving college student who unexpectedly fails her final class and retreats to her family’s lake house in her Michigan hometown. As Jane reconnects with her parents, sister, childhood friends, and a former crush, what first appears to be a chance for rest and reset slowly unravels. Jane throws herself into helping others—especially Amber, a single mother struggling to connect with her nonverbal toddler—and even uses her background in linguistics and American Sign Language to make a difference. Yet beneath the surface, Jane is battling the silence surrounding her own trauma. Grappling with impostor syndrome and PTSD, her internal world begins to spill out. With the support of her community, Jane begins the messy, nonlinear process of healing.

Disfluency was an official selection and winner of Best Narrative Feature at EOFF in 2022, and Anna Baumgarten returned to La Grande the following year as a 2023 Filmmaker-in-Residence, contributing her voice and experience to the region’s creative landscape. Her return for this event offers an opportunity to not only witness her film, but to take part in a meaningful discussion with the filmmaker herself.

This screening is open to the public, and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, visit eofimfest.com or email director@eofilmfest.com