The Oregon Documentary Film Festival is a theatrical screening event on the Film Festival Circuit that screens  international independent documentary films in Portland. This event was founded by author and retired filmmaker Mikel Fair who worked on location in the Film and Television industry from 1999-2015. Multiple short films are screened in a "back to back" format in HD 1080p. Are you inspired by interesting people, historical events, political awareness, behind-the-scenes insights and thought provoking events? Do you enjoy watching films that tell a story? Are you a documentary enthusiast, docuseries binge watcher or story teller? If so, you'll meet a great community of documentary film supporters at our next event in Portland.

Awards & Prizes

16 Award Categories For Documentary Submissions

1) Best Cinematography Award
2) Best Director Award
3) Best Editing Award
4) Best Experimental Film Award
5) Best Experimental Micro Film Award
6) Best International Director Award
7) Best International Film Award
8) Best International Micro Film Award
9) Best Micro Film Award
10) Best Oregon Film Award
11) Best Oregon Micro Film Award
12) Best Original Music Award
13) Best Picture Award
14) Best Series Episode
15) Best Series Micro Episode
16) Most Inspirational Film Award

Rules & Terms

All films are eligible, regardless if they have distribution or not. All films are eligible even if they have been accepted to other film festivals. All films and videos are eligible, regardless of when or where they were produced. Even if your film or documentary series is publicly available on YouTube or Vimeo, it is still eligible for submission. For exhibition purposes. all films are expected to provide a download link, so that we can compile and project them in HD 1080p. 23.976, 24, 25 or 30 frame rates are accepted for projection. Please do not submit 720p or Standard Definition films to this festival.

The submission fee does not include an event ticket fee if selected. Submission fees and event ticket fees are separate. The cost of attending this event is $37.50 per car for the entire day at the Sunshine Mill Drive-in Theater. Every vehicle must have a ticket. There are no filmmaker passes.
47 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Lisa Bell Roden

    My experience with the Oregon Documentary Film Festival was extremely positive. They were communicative throughout the process, clearly asking for materials, apprising participants on dates, and also being present and supportive in social media. I was also delighted at the end, when they sent me an image of my film being shown at the festival. No other festival I was involved with this year did that. It meant a lot to me. I highly recommend this festival and am very proud I was selected to be shown. Thanks, Mikel and all of the other folks involved in making it happen.

    January 2022
    Helpful
  • Patrick A Riviere

    Just AMAZING! From our "official selection" through the weeks leading up to the festival, Mikel and the team at Oregon Documentary Film Festival were incredible. As this was our our first festival and the world premiere for our film, we didn't know what to expect. It's hard to imagine any festival being more professional, thoughtful and timely with communications and just a true support throughout. While we had planned to attend in person health issues plagued our team and we weren't able to make it from the East Coast. Even then, when Mikel and the staff were in the thick of final preparations for the festival, they were communicating with us and worried about our well-being. How often does that happen? The final icing on the cake was winning Best Picture! As a first time filmmaker I am grateful for the attention to details and the amount of quality documentary films selected from a variety of genres. ODFF is the real deal! I would urge any filmmaker wanting to experience a collaborative and supportive festival to submit. What a pleasure!

    January 2022
    Helpful
  • Line Beaumier

    Merci d'avoir présenté Silent Swing à votre beau festival. Un festival tellement bien organisé, communication, preview des films sur les réseaux sociaux, nominations, résultats, tout y était.

    January 2022
    Helpful
  • Anup Kulkarni

    This festival is 100% worth the entry fee. We had a short Documentary and couldn't attend due to covid but these folks really take care of their filmmakers. Mikel is wonderful! Communication was efficient and friendly, questions were always answered, they promote all their projects online non-stop. It was a highlight festival experience for us and we can't wait to attend in person someday.

    Thank you, ODFF for the great experience!

    August 2021
    Helpful
  • Amber Rose McNeill

    I didn’t make the event due to COVID but the communication leading up to the event was great. Very well organised & a good selection of films. Very professional.

    July 2021
    Helpful