Please note that we are currently accepting films completed on or after January 1, 2024 for consideration for our 2025 festival season, which will feature in-person screenings at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon from March through June of 2025.

Currently in its eleventh year, The Portland EcoFilm Festival is the premier environmental film festival in the US Pacific Northwest, showcasing some of the world’s best new films about nature and ecology, environmental justice, frontline communities, conservation, and outdoor pursuits. Our mission is to utilize the art of cinema to create a more inspired, active, empowered, diverse, and connected community of environmental advocates.

We support filmmakers by building support for their films as they are being released into public view, and to connect our audiences to films that inspire environmental advocacy and appreciation. Our festival connects films with supportive audiences, conservation organizations and environmental advocates.

We pay honoraria to filmmakers and cash prizes to award winners based on ticket sales for the season in which their films are featured.

Hosted in the US’s greenest city, Portland, Oregon, our festival is supported by the kinds of people and organizations who are interested in your film! The festival is a program of the Hollywood Theatre, a restored 1926 film art-house movie palace featuring state-of-the-art projection and sound. Our theater regularly wins local awards as Portland's favorite film venue.

During the summer of 2021, the Portland EcoFilm Festival turned to a festival season model. This means that instead of a concentrated festival for several days every year, we screen films in person at the Hollywood Theatre for several months every year. This helps to expose a wider audience to our official selections of global ecological films.

Our festival season includes many of the things you might expect to find at a concentrated film festival, such as Q&A's, community conversations, workshops, performances, and celebrations. This allows for our festival to be more thoroughly integrated into the programming of the Hollywood Theatre (a renowned cultural institution) and to invite viewers who might not feel compelled to attend a condensed ecological/environmental film festival.

Submissions made through this site from July 1-December 1, 2023 are being considered for in-person screenings during our 2024 festival season, which will run from March through June, 2024. We will begin accepting submissions to our 2025 festival (films completed AFTER December 1, 2023) on March 1, 2023.

Waivers and discounts are granted based on scheduling needs, jury capacity, and budgetary requirements.

BIPOC filmmakers are encouraged to contact us for a discounted entry fee.

BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Pronounced “bye-pock,” this is a term specific to the United States, intended to center the experiences of Black and Indigenous groups and demonstrate solidarity between communities of color.

The term “BIPOC” is more descriptive than people of color or POC. It acknowledges that people of color face varying types of discrimination and prejudice. Additionally, it emphasizes that systemic racism continues to oppress, invalidate, and deeply affect the lives of Black and Indigenous people in ways other people of color may not necessarily experience. Lastly and significantly, Black and Indigenous individuals and communities still bear the impact of slavery and genocide.

BIPOC aims to bring to center stage the specific violence, cultural erasure, and discrimination experienced by Black and Indigenous people. It reinforces the fact that not all people of color have the same experience, particularly when it comes to legislation and systemic oppression.

Our festival was created by filmmakers – so we understand the importance of your film's festival release - and want to help you get the biggest audience and impact possible.

1. Building support for your film: Where scheduling allows, we pair films with local community partners, conservation groups and advocates to help publicize your screenings and increase attendance and outreach.

2. Connecting to your audience: post-film Q & A sessions and panels help you connect with audiences and promote your film's goals. Our post-film panels regularly feature filmmakers, local conservation organizations, activists and experts to further discuss your film and engage your audience. We provide tabling space in our theater lobby, so you can promote your film's campaign, sell copies/raise distribution funds for your film, and add interested people to your email list.

3. Supporting films featuring environmental advocacy campaigns: If an advocacy campaign is part of your film’s goals, we offer ways to help you reach your goals through our social media, during our screenings and by connecting you to groups and community members who can help your campaign gain traction before and after your screening date.

4. ALL films accepted into the festival are considered "in competition" and eligible for awards! (See "Awards & Prizes" section.)

5. Connecting your film to media coverage: We aim to bring media coverage not just to our festival, but also to a number of the films we feature in our prime festival screening slots. Films at our fest have received media coverage from numerous local publications and national publications including MovieMaker Magazine and Indiewire.

6. We support your film's distribution after your festival screening date with us has passed! We love using the reach of our social media to let the public know when your film is available for online viewing, or receives a nationwide theatrical run.

7. While we do not pay screening films per se, we pay honoraria to all filmmakers whose films are selected for our festival. Amounts depend on several variables including ticket sales and length of film. Honoraria are paid at the end of each festival season.

ALL films accepted into the festival are considered "in competition" and eligible for awards! Based on submissions, awards may include:

-Best Feature Film Award - chosen from film submissions in the feature film category
-Visionary Film Award - chosen from all all film submission categories. This award honors an outstanding cinematic creation.
-Best Short Film Award - chosen from film submissions in the short film category
-Best Conservation Film, Branded Content Award - chosen from film submissions in the Conservation Film, Branded Content category
-Best Youth-made Film Award - chosen from film submissions in Youth-Made category
-EcoHero Award - given to a filmmaker or film subject who has made a valuable contribution to the environment. All films submitted to the festival are eligible for our EcoHero Award.

Submissions made through this site between July 1 and December 1, 2023 are in consideration for inclusion in our 2024 festival season, which will feature theatrical screenings from March through June, 2024.

Festival Rules, Terms and Conditions:

The festival only accepts films for consideration via online submission through FilmFreeway.

Only films completed on or after January 1, 2024 are being considered for selection for our 2025 festival season. Works in progress will be not be considered. This includes rough cuts.

The filmmaker/film submitter agrees that:

The film they are submitting was completed on or after January 1, 2024.

If film is selected for the festival, an exhibition copy of the film, in the format of DCP, BluRay, high resolution digital file - plus a backup exhibition copy in the form of DCP, Blu-Ray or high resolution digital file is required to arrive at festival office before Jan. 1, 2025.

Any non-English language films must have English onscreen subtitles and/or closed captioning language translations. We greatly appreciate films that include English language closed captioning as well.

All insurance costs and coverage that covers the shipping of film exhibition and backup copies to and from the festival are the responsibility of the filmmaker/film submitter.

All shipping costs covering shipping of the film exhibition copy to the festival are the responsibility of the filmmaker/film submitter. The festival will pay for return shipping costs (but not insurance coverage.)

Films entered into the festival for consideration must have previously obtained all legal copyright clearances, licenses and permissions for materials contained within the films (picture and audio). By submitting a film to the festival, the submitter certifies that they are the copyright owner of the film, or authorized by the copyright owner to submit the film and that it has been legally cleared for the festival's use. Youth filmmakers submitting films will need to have a legal, adult guardian sign our release form stating that the film has obtained all legal copyright clearances, licenses and permissions for us to screen it online and in our theatrical setting. The release form will be provided to youth-made films invited to screen at the festival.

**Film submitter agrees to grant festival the right to exhibit the film at our festival - and agrees to a theatrical screening .**

Film submitter agrees to let our festival use up to (10) seconds of footage excepted from the film for our festival trailer and/or advertising.

Filmmaker agrees to provide press kit materials if these are available, including a downloadable film trailer, on or before January 7, 2025.

If a legal claim arises in connection with the submitted film, the filmmaker/person/company submitting the film for entry agrees to bear all costs incurred by festival in defense of the claim, including full payment of all damages, due royalties and reimbursement of all incurred attorney fees and travel fees.

Submission to the festival is a Declaration of Ownership of copyright of the film, by the owner or authorized representative of owner.

By entering a film submission, you are indicating that you understand, comply with and agree to the festival's General Rules, Terms and Conditions and the submissions, eligibility and exhibition copies' requirements.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Joaquin Ritter

    What a wonderful experience! Thank you very much to all the team and the people supporting this Film Festival. I felt very welcome and had a great time in Portland.

    August 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Joaquin, it was such a pleasure visiting with you in Portland and screening your excellent short film, La Ultima Manzana. We look forward to seeing what's next from you, and thanks again for sharing your film and presence with us.

  • Ivana Horvat

    This festival was wonderful! Rozzell, the festival director, was super responsive with all my questions and made special accommodations for us. We put on a speaker panel together and it was the highlight of the weekend! Also, the Hollywood Theatre was a really fun venue. Highly recommend this fest!

    July 2023
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind words, Ivana, and for bringing FOLLOW THE WATER to the festival for a sold out show full of good people and positive energy! It was our pleasure.

  • Matthieu Lietaert

    We are so pleased that THE ILLUSION OF ABUNDANCE got awarded Best Feature Film in 2023, with a screening in a Portland's historic cinema. Thanks to the team. We'll be back ;)

    July 2023
  • Leo Horrigan

    Dawn Smallman is an excellent interviewer and really does her homework. Despite being virtual only, the festival still felt welcoming in all of its communications, and was very professional managed.

    February 2021
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind words, Leo! We really enjoyed sharing GROWING SOLUTIONS: SOIL, WATER, FARMERS, SEEDS, ROOTS with our audience - and appreciate the wonderful post-film discussion you shared with us about your film! Thank you for educating us on the many positive aspects and solutions that regenerative agriculture holds for our future.

  • Ran Levy-Yamamori

    It is not easy during Covid-19 times to run a Festival.

    November 2020
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for allowing us to show two of your wonderful films during our last two festivals, Ran! You are a visionary filmmaker and we appreciate the way you portray the power of the human heart in healing our environmental challenges. Looking forward to seeing more of your films as you create them!