I recently was invited to join the board of the BendFilm Festival. Here’s how I feel about that—(!!! ** (insert happy leaping around) ** !!!).
BendFilm is my very favorite event in the whole entire world. I could now, as a freshly minted board member, proceed to tell all of you how much I love love love BendFilm.
But, umm, I already have. This might be the first time I’ve had the opportunity to quote myself.
Here’s what I wrote about BendFilm in my recently-released travel book, “Day Trips From Portland, Oregon: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler.”
“My very favorite festival by far is the BendFilm Fest, held the first weekend of October each year in Bend, Oregon. Four days of independent films, parties, workshops, lectures and the camaraderie of festival become more than the sum of their parts. This event brings people together to talk about the things great film can urge us to consider—the mysteries and joys of life, pain and joy and happiness, and the ways we are all alike and yet unique. Like all forms of great art, independent films can make us see anew the beauty and connection that is around us already. See www.bendfilm.org for more information on the BendFilm Fest.”
And here’s the blog post I put up after the 2009 Fest:
BendFilm: The Portal to Blissville
And here’s the Travel Oregon blog post I put up before the 2010 Fest:
And here’s a profile I wrote for Central Oregon Magazine of local filmmaker Tim Cash, who edited the documentary “Back to the Garden,” which screened at the 2009 Fest:
I have been screening films these last two months in the documentary category and am already excited about this year’s festival, to be held October 6 – 9, 2011. I know in advance that the weekend will involve so many of my favorite c-words—cinema, connection, conversation, contemplation and cocktails.
C you there!
