If organizers have their way the Eugene Film Festival will no longer be a secret when it hits various Eugene venues Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The festival will feature local, national and international feature, short and animation films.
The film festival, in its debut, is distinctive because organizers did not hold films to genre or time production restrictions, said Kaethlyn Elliott, film fest executive director.
“We wanted to discover what the personality of the film festival was,” Elliott said.
Festival planning began last year when members of the Oregon Screenwriters group brainstormed the festival, and by November the festival earned a nonprofit status.
Lane County awarded the festival a tourism grant, an award that has been given to arts groups such as the Oregon Bach Festival and the Asian Celebration.
“That reassured us that we’re able to get the same type of grant as some of the big arts organizations,” fellow organizer and University graduate Jeff Koenig said.
The festival received 318 film submissions thanks to advertising through word-of-mouth, a Eugene Film Festival Web site, and Withoutabox, a film festival directory Web site where filmmakers submit their films to various festivals.
Eugene’s strong reputation also helped draw submissions, Elliott said.
“One of the very first things people say is, ‘A Eugene film festival? It’s about time,’” Elliott said.
Koenig added that filmmakers see Eugene, along with the University, as a “literary, artsy demographic.” People were excited to show their films in the Willamette Valley, he said.
Organizers narrowed the submissions down to 62 films, selecting roughly 26 hours of screen time to showcase at the festival.
“We got to about 40 hours, and we thought, ‘How are we going to do this?’ We didn’t have any trouble getting quality films,” Elliott said.
Festival organizers have the first-time jitters, but they are confident the Eugene community will react strongly to the festival.
“With any event, you get down to the wire, and you think, ‘Is anyone going to come?’ We’ve sold some passes, but of course you want more to sell. It’s horrible to perform either on stage or on film to an empty audience,” Elliott said.
However, Elliott and Koenig are confident the festival will continue next year.
“I feel like right now we’re having to go to a lot of people and ask for favors for sponsorship. Next year I’m thinking more people will be coming to us,” Elliott said.
The festival will be handing out award money that totals $2,850 in nine categories, including two awards going to a Pacific Northwest filmmaker, according to the festival Web site. The festival audience will choose two awards.
Events held at the University, including a workshop hosted by Mark Verheiden of “Battlestar Galactica,” will be free.
“As a U of O grad, that’s one of the big things I pushed for,” Koenig said on bringing events to the University.
Other festival workshops include “Set Direction for the Big Screen” presented by Susan Emshwiller and a sound workshop hosted by Academy Award winner Chris Newman and boom operator Marc-Jon Sullivan in which participants will work on a live set.
“We’re bringing people into the area. If as a byproduct of that, people in Eugene start making more films, that’s even better,” Koenig said.
For more information, including ticket pricing and a festival program, those interested can visit www.eugenefilmfest.org.