Founded in 2003, BendFilm is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating independent cinema’s unique power to enrich lives, promote diversity and inspire change through vibrant educational programs and film festival experiences across Central Oregon.
BendFilm’s signature event is the annual Bend Film Festival, named in 2019 as one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Coolest Festivals in the World and one of only 27 Academy-qualifying film festivals in the United States. Festival award-winners in the Indigenous Short, Narrative Short, and Animated Short programs are eligible for Oscar nominations. With more than 6,000 attendees, the festival showcases more than 130 professional independent and student films and hosts a variety of public educational panels and post-screening talks with visiting filmmakers and award jurors.
