The Independent Film Scene in Eugene, Oregon
The small, but active Independent film scene in Eugene, OR seems to be growing at the same pace as the bustling city itself. Even with a population of fewer than 150,000, Eugene is no stranger to the movies. The block buster comedy “Animal House” was shot at the University of Oregon campus, the Eugene celebration has just started the Best Film Festival to help showcase Oregon’s film industry, and the Bijou Art Cinemas continues to play fresh creative films on a daily basis. More activity is on the way.
The Oregon Screenwriters Group calls Eugene their home and meets at Eweb every month to share creative film works and help each other. Many of their members are film and television industry professionals who can offer invaluable help to newcomers. Their membership is free and open to anyone from writers, actors, actresses, filmmakers, producer, directors, camera folk, grips, to “Shakespeare’s ghost”. They are even working on organizing another Eugene Film Festival. Meetings are held the last Sunday of each month from 6-8pm and always at EWEB address: 500 East 4th Avenue Eugene. The Eugene Film Festival planning meetings are every other Thursday at 8:30 at EWEB, beginning Sept. 8th. Get involved!
The Eugene Celebration in 2005 will kick off the first annual Best of the Best Film Festival at the McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St., in downtown Eugene. It’s goal is to showcase Oregon’s booming independent film industry and shed light on other exciting Oregon film festivals. Many different film genres and styles from animated shorts to full length features will be presented. The website to check out to stay up on all the latest happenings in independent film throughout Eugene would be the Eugene Indie. Other publication which would include festival information and screening would include the Eugene weekly, See the resources section for their websites and contact information.
If you want see the latest independent films all year round check out the Bijou Art Cinemas, an independent movie theater located between Mill and Ferry Streets, four blocks west of the University of Oregon campus. The “Spanish Mission” style building has been around since 1925, when it was designed by the first dean of of the U of O school of architecture. Besides showing film daily the Bijous is available for private movie screenings or celebrations. It has also been known to support local productions.
