BendFilm Festival 2022 will spotlight Indigenous film, 'rogue characters,' women's stories, and more - Here is Oregon

The documentary feature, "The Pez Outlaw," is the opening night film for the 19th annual BendFilm Festival. (Photo: Courtesy BendFilm Festival) (Courtesy BendFilm Festival)

With a program that includes works by an eclectic group of filmmakers, the 19th Annual BendFilm Festival is gearing up to welcome movie lovers to Central Oregon to watch in person, listen to directors, debate what’s award-worthy, and generally soak up independent cinema.

Though the 2022 event will continue to feature both in-person and virtual screenings, a pivot that the pandemic has forced many organizations to adopt, this year’s festival will present more than 33 feature films, 80 short films, eight music videos, five panels, live performances and more.

This also marks the second year that short films chosen as winners by jurors in three categories – narrative, animated and Indigenous – are eligible for Oscar nominations. Following the short film jurors’ decision, BendFilm will submit the winning shorts in the three qualifying categories to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, to be considered for Oscar nominations.

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“The excitement is, I feel, really high moving into the festival this year,” says Todd Looby, BendFilm executive director. “Filmmakers are going to be so excited to be back in person, showing their movies to live audiences. The quality of the work is some of the best we’ve ever put on.”

The 2022 festival, which has the theme of “connection,” will run in-person from Oct. 6-9. The virtual festival runs from Oct. 10-23.

In compiling the 2022 schedule, Selin Sevinc, head of programming for the festival, says this year’s event includes films about different subjects, but one common thread are characters who “go against the grain of what we see so often,” and still succeed.

“I call these rogue characters,” Sevinc says. “They’re very daring, and brave, and do things differently.”

The 2022 festival also includes many “woman-centric films, either made by, or about women.” Even when the subject matter may be grim, as with the documentary, “With This Breath I Fly,” which focuses on two women fighting for their freedom after being imprisoned for “moral crimes” in Afghanistan, the film is more than “a run-of-the-mill sob story about how women suffer,” as Sevinc says. “It’s about the dynamics that create this problem, including the Western influence. It’s a very subtle, understated documentary.”

In programming the festival, Sevinc says, “It’s important for me to have a balance that touches on human emotions” as well as topical issues.

Other highlights include the opening night film, “The Pez Outlaw,” a documentary feature set in the 1990s, about a Michigan man who travels to Eastern Europe with a plan to smuggle Pez dispensers, and make a killling.

The closing night film, “Catherine Called Birdy,” a comedy set in Medieval times, is about a teenager (played by Bella Ramsey) who uses her wits to try and escape unsuitable arranged marriages intended to pour money into her family’s coffers.

Special guests include Tatanka Means and Gary Farmer, Indigenous Filmmaking Honorees who will participate in events including free screenings of the critically acclaimed FX series, “Reservation Dogs,” in which Farmer costars, an Indigenous filmmaking showcase in Madras, and a student workshop for K-8 students in Warm Springs.

Director Tamara Jenkins is also being honored as 2022 IndieWoman of the Year, with two of her films, “Slums of Beverly Hills” and “Private Life,” scheduled to screen. Jenkins will also participate in a question-and-answer session moderated by John Cooper, former director of the Sundance Film Festival.

A selection of “Spotlight Films,” which have shown at other festivals, are also featured, including “Love Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Charlie Trotter”; “Let There By Drums”; “Navalny”; “We Are As Gods”; “Karaoke”; and “Corsage.”

For details about in-person and virtual schedules, ticket information and more, go to: https://www.bendfilm.org/2022-bendfilm-festival/

— Kristi Turnquist

503-221-8227; kturnquist@oregonian.com; @Kristiturnquist

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