Oregon Documentary Film Festival

I am not the kind of person who writes negative reviews but there were just too many red flags about this festival not to. I think this festival may be a money making scheme. Other than charging filmmakers to come to their own screenings, and to create an necessary DCP for the screening (as far as I know, The Clinton Theater has never required a DCP in the past), the "networking event" was non-existent and picking up an envelope award certificate from the floor of a stage felt entirely illegitimate. Oh, and the only people in the audience were the other filmmakers who had work screening at the festival. I would caution folks from applying and wasting their time and money!

On the positive side: I really appreciate the communication with Mikel and his team. They created an excellent and (for me) an unexpected podcast review of my submission that was professionally done and fun to listen to and share. I also appreciate the festival's valuing of my music video and choosing it as the winner in this category. That is an honor. Thank you!

On the negative side, the organization of the in-person screening in Portland was poor. Besides starting an hour late, the organizer, who was quite articulate and could have been a helpful ongoing presence at the screenings, spoke to us a total of maybe 7 minutes. The "award ceremony" consisted of placing envelopes on the floor of the stage for all of us present to pick up. The "networking opportunities" consisted of whatever individual efforts the individuals present took to walk up to others attending to introduce themselves. I would note that the photographer from the festival was friendly and professional. She was the only one from the festival who engaged with us individually.

Thanks so much to Mikel and the crew at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival. We attended the January 26th screening in person and it was wonderful to meet some of the other filmmakers in attendance. To be clear, this is a great place to network with other creators and is not designed to cater to big crowds. The Clinton theatre is an intimate, nicely-refurbished venue in a great part of Portland. We were ecstatic that "Voices for Madidi" received Best Cinematography. Thank you again for a great experience!

It was a great first experience submitting to a film festival. Zeami and Mikel are fantastic.

The online interview was seamless and having the opportunity to create a movie poster was fantastic as well. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend however, there is the chance to view the event photos and even print your own certificate with the pdfs provided.

A big thank you to the entire team at Oregon Documentary Film Festival.

It has indeed been an honor. The entire production team was ecstatic. Thank you so much and keep up the excellent work!!!