Bend Film Festival

08/27/2026

🎥 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Shorts Block — Moment of Grace

Whether it’s through the power of art, love of constant movement, or the right to experience nature against all odds, these characters demand space for themselves and their stories.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers! Grab your festival passes at the link in our bio and join us to watch these and many more shorts at this year’s festival Oct 7-11.

08/26/2026

🎥 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Shorts Block — Challengers

We love self-possessed characters that look straight into the eye of what’s considered ‘normal’ and dare to subvert those expectations.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers! Grab your festival passes at the link in our bio and join us to watch these and many more shorts at this year’s festival Oct 7-11.

08/26/2026

🎥 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Shorts Block — High Stakes

Whether personal, political, or life & death, these characters grapple with decisions and actions that come at a high cost.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers! Grab your festival passes at the link in our bio and join us to watch these and many more shorts at this year’s festival Oct 7-11.

08/25/2026

We’re less than 4 weeks away from ticket drops!

Whether you’re enjoying the Fest ticket-by-ticket, or going all-in as a Passholder, be sure to mark your calendar and be the first to reserve your seats. 🎟️

🗓️ Remember! The ticket price is included for passholders, but admittance is contingent on capacity. To guarantee you’ll have a spot at the films you want to see, be sure to reserve your tickets ahead of time.

’tWait

08/21/2026

🎬 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Indigenous Features Competition 🎬

By carrying memories and culture, stories also carry us forward. This year’s Indigenous Features Competition program invites us to look closer, listen, and consider the stories held within the land and the people who have cared for it across generations.

While each has a very different perspective, this year’s three striking films explore the complicated relationships among land, history, identity, power, and community.

Congrats to all the filmmakers—we can’t wait to share these films with Bend! 🙌

Which film speaks to you most? Tell us below. 👇

🎟️ Festival passes are available now — link in bio.

08/20/2026

🎬 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Environmental/Outdoor Features Competition 🎬

This year’s Environmental/Outdoor Features Competition explores a wide variety of places we call home on this planet and what it means to protect them: from corporate greed's grip on the rainforest, to the fight to save a vanishing lake, to the wonders hiding beneath the ocean's surface.

These films ask big questions about our relationship with nature, the choices we make, and what we stand to lose.

Congrats to all the filmmakers—we can’t wait to share these films with Bend! 🙌

Which one are you most excited to see? 🌎👇

🎟️ Festival passes are available now — link in bio.

08/20/2026

🎬 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Documentary Features Competition 🎥

This year’s Documentary Features Competition brings together 8 compelling true stories that take us from the deeply personal to the profoundly political, and everywhere in between.

From a wild crime caper to a portrait of one of the most fascinating intellectuals of our time, these films will make you laugh, squirm, gasp, and think. These are films made to be experienced together.

Congrats to all the filmmakers—we can’t wait to share these films with Bend! 🙌

Help spread the word about these films and @ mention a doc film lover you know in the comments👇

🎟️ Festival passes are on sale now—link in bio.

08/19/2026

🎬 2026 BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Narrative Features Competition 🎬

Across 8 bold original films, these filmmakers invite us to look closer and step into lives and experiences different from our own. From quiet, intimate character studies to unexpected road trips, there’s a lot here to feel, question, and have a conversation about. This is the power of narrative film.

Congrats to all the filmmakers—we can’t wait to share these films with Bend! 🙌

Which one are you most curious to see? Tell us below. 👇

🎟️ Festival passes are on sale now—link in bio.

08/18/2026

Congrats, Marisa!!

Congratulations to Portland filmmaker Marisa Woo Grattan on her $2,000 Career Opportunity Grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. The award supports Portland-based post-production, color grading and delivery for her documentary short "To Be Separated / ho'oka'awale / 疏离 (shūlí)."

In the roughly 20-minute film, Marisa returns to the Honolulu landscapes of her childhood to navigate the emotional distance between herself, her estranged father and her Chinese American family's history in Hawai'i. It's a meditative exploration of separation, intergenerational memory and the lifelong search for belonging.

The project is also supported by Kartemquin Films, Women In Film Portland and Bend Film Festival.

We're proud to help bring this deeply personal work to the finish line.

https://bit.ly/4wVxMtL

Image credit: Marisa Woo Grattan

08/18/2026

📣 LET THE 23rd ANNUAL BEND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENTS BEGIN! 📣

We’re thrilled to finally be able to share this year’s lineup of films with you! The first announcements drop tomorrow, and we’ll be lighting up your feed after that.

Mark your calendars for 9/18, when tickets can be reserved (or even earlier if you’re a passholder or BendFilm member!). Passes and more info can be found at the link in our bio.