OREGON INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL© is the fastest growing cinema event in the Pacific Northwest. Fans of true independent filmmaking know this annual event is one of the not-to-be-missed, mid-sized film fests in North America, and home to the best new film discoveries from around the world.
The Oregon Independent Film Festival presents hundreds of public film screenings recognizing and honoring the best independent cinema of the past year; showcasing new films from legendary directors, alongside new cinema discoveries from emerging filmmakers, while hosting major studio film premieres, all as part of our statewide film festival, held annually in early fall (when Oregon weather is its most beautiful).
Festival screenings are presented in a variety of classic cinemas and historic theaters located across the majestic state of Oregon, and concluding in Portland with a week of film premieres, as well as our legendary Award Ceremony and even more special events, all being held once again in Portland, Oregon for our upcoming season!
Oregon Independent Film Festival premieres have featured Hollywood stars, including: Nicole Kidman, Keanu Reeves, Laura Linney, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Nicolas Cage, Cheech Marin, Ashley Judd, Ethan Hawke, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, and many more...
Oregon Independent Film Festival screening premieres have included:
- 'Longlegs' (Dir. Osgood Perkins, feat. Nicolas Cage)
- 'Asteroid City' (Dir. Wes Anderson, feat. Scarlett Johansson)
- 'Beau is Afraid' (Dir. Ari Aster, starring Joaquin Phoenix)
- 'Master Gardener' (Dir. Paul Schrader, starring Joel Edgerton)
- 'Slide' (Dir. Bill Plympton)
- 'Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man' (Dir. Leslie Buchbinder, feat. Ed Harris)
- 'The Northman' (Dir. Robert Eggers, feat. Alexander Skarsgård & Björk)
- 'The Sparks Brothers' (Dir. Edgar Wright)
- 'Hundreds of Beavers' (Dir. Mike Cheslik)
- 'The Last Blockbuster' (Dir. Taylor Morden)
- 'Booksmart' (Dir. Olivia Wilde)
- 'Together Together' (Dir. Nikole Beckwith)
- 'A Quiet Place' (Emily Blunt & John Krasinski)
- 'First Reformed' (Dir. Paul Schrader w/ Ethan Hawke & Amanda Seyfried)
- 'The Big Sick' (Dir. Michael Showalter, starring Kumail Nanjiani)
- 'It Comes At Night' (Dir. Trey Edward Shults, feat. Joel Edgerton)
- 'Death of Stalin' (featuring Steve Buscemi & Michael Palin)
- 'Dean' (Dir. Demetri Martin, starring Gillian Jacobs, Kevin Kline)
- 'The Neon Demon' (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn. feat. Elle Fanning)
- 'DePalma' (Dir. Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow)
- 'The One I Love' (Mark Duplass & Elisabeth Moss)
- 'Love & Mercy' (John Cusack, Elizabeth Banks, Paul Dano)
- 'Mad Max: Fury Road Chrome Edition' (w/ Charlize Theron & Tom Hardy)
The Oregon Independent Film Festival is proud to have debuted Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial effort 'One-Armed Man', as well as also unveiling 'Myst' & 'Riven' video game creator Robyn Miller's first film 'The Immortal Augustus Gladstone'.
DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMMING:
Oregon Independent Film Festival's world-renowned Festival Documentary Program has premiered many films that have gone on to achieve widespread acclaim and popularity.
'Won't You Be My Neighbor?', 'The Resurrection of Jake The Snake', and the Sean Penn production of 'The Human Experiment' (all currently on Netflix), local film The Last Blockbuster', and activist feature 'As Goes Janesville' (picked up by PBS), as well as the Aretha Franklin concert film 'Amazing Grace' (released in theaters worldwide) being just a few OIFF documentary success stories.
The festival has become home to many acclaimed musical documentary premieres, including films about and starring: Quiet Riot, The Flaming Lips, NOFX, Twisted Sister, and Bob Marley.
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING:
New movie releases from dozens of countries across the globe are curated to be part of the festival each year. Featuring an annual slate of international feature film premieres that have included 'The Commune' from director Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark), and 'Shinjuku Swan 2' from director Sion Sono (Japan), as well as our retrospective on the experimental films of Jordan Baseman (U.K.). With all these events premiering alongside annual festival showcases of the best new works from emerging filmmakers from across the globe.
DISTRIBUTION OPPORTUNITIES:
Oregon Independent Film Festival's many past Award Winners have received distribution and/or greater screening opportunities from festival exposure; including the award-winning 'Neil Stryker and the Tyrant of Time' - picked up for distribution by Freestyle Releasing at their OIFF festival screening, and the underground horror sensation 'Toad Road' acquired by Elijah Wood's SpectreVision after winning Best Picture at the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
Australian horror hit 'The Dead Room' premiered at the Oregon Independent Film Festival before being screened across the USA, and Oregon Independent Film Festival Screenplay Contest Winner 'Zilla & Zoe" was honored as a finalist at Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest.
OREGON FILM SOCIETY
The Oregon Independent Film Festival is curated and staffed by the 40+ volunteers of the Oregon Film Society, and spans across Oregon state, visiting several Oregon cities each season before culminating with a week of film screenings, celebrations, events, and parties at our festival's home city of Portland, Oregon.
With Portland-based festivities that include our annual Award Ceremony honoring the best independent filmmakers and screenwriters of the past year with 20 Awards of Achievement and Cinema Honors that recognize a variety of filmmaking and screenwriting categories.
Thank you for considering the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
The Oregon Independent Film Festival invites you to join our growing film community, by submitting your project to us today via FilmFreeway!
FESTIVAL HONORS, AWARDS, & PRIZES
FESTIVAL CINEMA HONORS
Oregon Independent Film Festival's Cinema Honors spotlight the best in independent filmmaking across the globe.
Discovering and nurturing filmmaking is the core of our festival's mission, and the Oregon Independent Film Festival celebrates the best cinema work of the year with multiple categories of CINEMA HONORS for Feature Length Narrative Films and Short Films, with winners celebrated at the conclusion of the festival at the OIFF Award Ceremony held in Portland, Oregon.
Submissions to OIFF General Submission categories are eligible for most of the Oregon Independent Film Festival Awards and Honors. Consider more genre-specific Submission Entry Categories for additional eligibility for additional genre-specific awards and genre-specific programming / scheduling considerations.
UNPUBLISHED SCREENPLAY CONTEST
Unpublished Screenplay Contest - 1st Place Winner: Receives $2,000.00
DOCUMENTARY HONORS
Home to a globally-known Documentary Program, the Oregon Independent Film Festival hosts a wide selection of documentary films, and offers multiple categories of awards to promote them.
ADDITIONAL HONORS
OIFF also has a Screenplay Contest with categories for Unpublished Screenplays and Teleplays, as well as now offering recognition to Web Content and Web Series projects.