Great Sponsors, Granting Successes, Donations, & Participation = How we make it happen!

The Eastern Oregon Film Festival would not be possible without the growing support of local businesses, organizations, The City of La Grande, and festival participants (cinephiles and band-buff’s alike), Eastern Oregon University, and the great energy emanating in the Grande Ronde Valley.

Volunteers: It takes an awful lot of energy to bring something like this to pass. The, dare I say, thousands of hours put in by community members to make this this happen is nothing to shake a stick at. The Eastern Oregon Film Festival is run by community volunteers who are dedicated to enriching this community & region through film and music. The EOU Film Club, Jeremiah Marshal, and Scott Nearing, for their efforts to rally a student base that creates the backbone to the event should all be commended for their commitment to this exciting project.

Festival Sponsors: Cold Coffee Media and La Grande Life has been an instrumental piece of the festival.  An incredible amount of donated services and volunteer time from these guys make this entire festival manifest. Additionally, media sponsors who donated gobs of great radio and advertising options include: Pacific Radio Empire, Capps Broadcasting, The Observer, Union County Chamber of Commerce, and more. Without the press – no-one would know!

Big Cash Sponsors need a shout out – the capital has helped secure insurance, 501 c3 status, screening fees, band fees, thai food, and more.  John J. Howard and Associates,  Blue Mountain Associates & Grande Ronde Recovery, Bella, La Grande Main Street, ArtsEast, Horizon Wind, Jeff D. Clark, and Candy Bowman should be recognized as supporters of arts and cultural event and cultivation in our valley.  Additional sponsors who stepped up to the plate: Blue Mountain Pathology, Chiller City, Eastern Oregon University, EOU Media Arts & Communications, Mindandmusicle.net, Mountain Valley Therapy, OMPA, Oregon Film, Oregon Rural Action, Oregon Wireless, Praise Photography, Taylinn Signs, USANA Health Sciences, Candy Bowman, Realtor, Edward Jones, Jeff D. Clark, Realtor, Kim Kenney, Marketing Consultant , Looking Glass Books, and Stuart Jones Designs.

Successful Grants
Wildhorse Foundation assisted in this year’s efforts by funding the fest $4K to purchase production package to document this year’s festival.  Already being put to use documenting our great annual fundraiser EOFF looks forward to preparing a short documentary of the 3 day event.  As inline with the education / resource goals for EOFF the package will become an available resource for budding filmmakers and creative project in the area.  More information on future use of the equipment will be available after this year’s festival. A special thanks to EOU faculty member Nancy Knowles for her assistance on the project.

The City of La Grande also awarded a grant in the amount of $1000.00 to be used for marketing purposes. Special thanks to the city and to Union County Chamber of Commerce for encouraging the event and we hope that we can grow this relationship and develop some sustainable support through our community leadership.

Thank you all.

The 2011 Eastern Oregon Film Festival is starting the countdown.  Festival passes are now available, sponsoring opportunities are being finalized, submissions are closed and the programmers are smiling.  Check out the offerings and information below – get your pass (they will go fast) and stay tuned as the music line-up starts spilling out.

FESTIVAL FRIENDS: HERE’S YOUR OPPORTUNITY!

Festival Passes are a way of supporting the Eastern Oregon Film Festival (EOFF) while taking advantage of great offers from local businesses and all-access admission to exciting activities. The first chance to obtain the coveted festival pass is to become a FESTIVAL FRIEND. As a friend you will receive your all-access festival pass(s), official 2011 EOFF apparel, recognition on our website / program, and more. Additional information and online purchasing is available at the website: http://www.eofilmfest.com

From 2010's event: Photo by Ian Clark

SAVE THE DATE:

Festival dates for 2011 are October 20, 21, & 22 in downtown La Grande, Oregon. All films are screened at the Granada Theatre and after parties, for all 3 nights, will be held at various downtown venues.

SPONSORS ARE STEPPING UP: EOFF launched their 2011 Sponsor webpage on July 1 to start acknowledging the great businesses and organizations that are supporting our 3rd year of the Eastern Oregon Film Festival. Visit the sponsors’ page to see for yourself. http://eofilmfest.com/2011-sponsors/

EOFF is still seeking additional sponsors to assist both financially and with in-kind services for this year’s event. To see how your business or organization can help, visit our sponsorship opportunities page listed above.

2011 EOFF MUSIC LINE-UP RELEASE: Eastern Oregon Film Festival will release our full list of 2011 official music selections shortly. Keep an eye on the website and our various social streams for updates.

2011 OFFICIAL MUSIC SELECTION:
HILLFOLK NOIR

Hillfolk Noir (Boise, ID) will again be in the house for the 2011 Eastern Oregon Film Festival.  In 2010 the band set the tone for what was to become the “best 3 days for film and music in downtown La Grande”.  More on the band and performace times as the festival rolls out the Official Music Line-Up. (Press your ear hard!)

“Hillfolk Noir -  modern day old time wonderment.”

~ Rick Stuart, Roots and Fusion Radio of Pure Radio, UK

2011 Official Selection Hillfolk Noir (photo from 2011 Ranch Fest, by Christopher Jennings)

Festival Backstory

Eastern Oregon Film Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a cinematic experience in Eastern Oregon that promotes discovery, entertainment, and education via artistic exhibition and viewership. Through the mediums of independent film and music we aim to expand the cultural experience within our region.

Eastern Oregon Film Festival had a tremendous 2010 year screening 20 films, showcasing 4 bands, and having a heck of a lot of fun.  The festival reached out to filmmakers across the globe and was blessed by the participation of such filmmakers as Matthew Porterfield (Putty Hill), Jessica Oreck (Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo), Kentucker Audley (Open Five) and many more.

Portland, Oregon’s “Yeah Great Fine”, and Boise’s “Finn Riggins” & “Hillfolk Noir” blessed last year’s stages and were accompanied by local musicians Shaun Daniel and Sons of Guns for 3 nights of after hour gatherings.

For Immediate Release:
[La Grande, Oregon] Eastern Oregon Film Festival (EOFF) is excited to work with La Grande Main Street and area businesses to offer an opportunity to reach a regional audience and to introduce themselves as supportive of new and exciting arts and cultural driven tourism activity in La Grande and Eastern Oregon.

The film festival offers an all-access “Festival Pass” as a way to purchase access ahead of time to all of the films and after party activities. 150 festival passes will be available this year for pre-purchase. EOFF invites you to apply a specific discount or promotion to our pass and get a great opportunity to reach this year’s festival-goers.

There is no cost to participate. EOFF asks that participating businesses prominently display a poster during the festival that informs festival pass holders that a promotion is available. This graphic will be designed by EOFF and delivered to participants at least a week before the festival.

To take advantage of this opportunity you can sign up and post your promotion by CLICKING HERE, emailing EOFF (director@eofilmfest,com), or stopping by EOFF headquarters located at 209 Depot Street – La Grande, Oregon 97850).

Eastern Oregon Film Festival is grateful for all of the community support and looks forward to growth and sustainability. Eastern Oregon Film Festival hopes that local businesses and organizations can participate and assist in increasing tourism and spending in La Grande’s downtown and the surrounding area.

If you are interested in taking advantage of additional marketing options and supporting the festival further, consider becoming an official 2011 sponsor. Information on sponsorship and relevant marketing advantages can be found at http://eofilmfest.com/participate/sponsorship-opportunities/

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Now is the time to show your support of this year’s Eastern Oregon Film Festival by contributing and becoming an official 2011 festival sponsor. We will begin promoting our sponsors officially on July 1.

A 2011 Sponsors page will be added to the website and we will begin added sponsor logos as they arrive.

Our newest sponsor for 2011's Event. Thanks LGMS!

A big thanks to those who have already committed – and we are stoked to start displaying your identity as a supporter of our event.

A majority of print campaign exposure will begin in August and run heavily through the festival. Additional avenues of promotion will be social networking sites (facebook / twitter) on and other online sources.  Additionally for those who sponsor at a Platinum Level or Above will begin getting the radio exposure as we near the festival.

All sponsors will be displayed during the festival on screen slides before each block of films. For a complete list of sponsor perks download the form below.

Again – visit here for sponsor information and to download / print / return to assist in the development of this year’s festivities.

Download and View the 2011 Eastern Oregon Film Festival Sponsor Information (PDF)

Eastern Oregon Film Festival (EOFF) is sponsoring a satellite screening of Quality of Life. This award-winning narrative feature film will play at the OK Theater in Enterprise Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7pm. Director Benjamin Morgan will be present for Q&A after the screening.

About the Film

Winner of a prestigious jury award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Quality of Life is a narrative feature film that tells the gripping and authentic story of Michael “Heir” Rosario and Curtis “Vain” Smith, the most prolific and talented graffiti writers in the Mission District in San Francisco. Heir and Vain live a life of dreary dead-end day jobs and illicit late night graffiti, hitting up spots across the dark walls and lost tunnels of San Francisco. One unlucky evening, the boys are busted for painting and everything changes. Faced with restitution and the prospect of serving hard time, Heir and Vain struggle to keep their heads above water. The paths they choose threaten to unravel their lifelong friendship and, ultimately, their lives.

The film stars Lane Garrison in his feature film debut. Garrison co-starred on the hit TV series Prison Break. Directed by Benjamin Morgan and co-written/co-starring former Mission District graffiti writer Brian Burnam, Quality of Life has been widely praised for its raw and authentic look at the graffiti subculture. The film was shot in San Francisco’s gritty bohemian Mission District, far from the tourist-friendly cable cars and Golden Gate Bridge. The Mission (as it is called) has a renowned graffiti history, incubating many world-class graffiti writers and street artists, some of whom make cameo appearances in the film despite having outstanding warrants at the time of production. One actor was facing 18-21 months in state prison for graffiti-related charges.

For more information about the film festival, please visit the website: http://eofilmfest.com/