(L-R: I Will Make You Mine, Chuck Berry, Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story | Photos courtesy of BendFilm)

BendFilm announced 18 new films to the lineup for the 17th annual BendFilm Festival running virtually and at drive-in screenings October 8-25, 2020. The films are available to browse in the BendFilm Drive-In Schedule and the Virtual Festival Cinema.  BendFilm announced previously: the films in competition; Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Andrew Bujalski as First Features Honorees; and an open call for a womxn BIPOC Filmmaker Grant. 

Erik Jambor, BendFilm Head of Festival Programming, said, “Drive-in screenings are a perfect addition to this year’s Festival and we are thrilled to present a wide variety of crowd-pleasers, documentaries, comedies and late-night favorites to watch with your friends out under the stars.  The line-up as a whole showcases a diverse set of stories that will spark conversation and provide audiences a much-needed opportunity to connect, explore and escape.”

CLOSING NIGHT FILM:
Coming Clean (USA) | directed by Ondi Timoner
An examination of America’s opioid crisis through the eyes of the recovering addicts and political leaders on the frontlines.

OPENING NIGHT FILM(S) AND PARTY:
Celebrate the opening night of our reimagined and most unconventional festival yet live at the BendFilm Drive-In or choose between selections in the Virtual Festival Cinema available to stream from home. Whether you watch this new rock ‘n’ roll documentary in your car at the drive-in or tune in from the couch, make plans to dance in your living room starting at 10pm PST when DJ G Money spins up some smooth grooves at our Opening Night After Party!

Chuck Berry (USA) | directed by Jon Brewer
Central Oregon Premiere
Chuck Berry, the absolute instigator of Rock ‘n’ Roll, is truly revealed with exclusive access to his family, friends, famous fans and music icons he inspired, including John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Keith Richards.

LOCAL FOCUS FEATURE:
The film in this category was written and directed by Eliab Rice who is a Central Oregon Community College student and Prineville resident. He began filming at the age of 18 with his friends in Prineville and surrounding Central Oregon locations. 

The Younger and the Last of the Vengeants (USA) | directed by Eliab Rice
World Premiere
A group of aspiring wizards try to save their town from an inter-dimensional vampire.

SPOTLIGHT FEATURE FILMS:
After Selma (USA) | directed by Loki Mulholland
Northwest Premiere
A dive into the history of voter suppression and the need for us to challenge it in order to preserve our democracy and equality for all.

Ahead of the Curve (USA) | directed by Jen Rainin
Oregon Premiere
A look at the power of lesbian visibility and community from the early ‘90s to the present day through the story of Franco Stevens’s founding of Curve, the best-selling lesbian magazine.

American Reject (USA) | directed by Marlo Hunter
Oregon Premiere|
The most recent reject from America’s hottest singing competition, Pop Star Now!, is sent back to her hometown to move back in with her mother and the simple life she left behind. 

I Will Make You Mine (USA) | directed by Lynn Chen
Northwest Premiere
Three women wrestle with life’s difficulties while confronting their past relationships with the same man.

Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story (USA) | directed by Kevin S. Bright & Jeff Consiglio
Northwest Premiere
After three decades as the colorful bandleader on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, master trumpeter Doc Severinsen defies nature with a relentless schedule of touring, teaching and performing into his 90s. 

Playing For Keeps (USA) | directed by James Redford
Northwest Premiere
An examination of the importance of play and downtime for all of us — children, adults, seniors and animals.

DRIVE-IN FILMS: 

Billie (USA) | directed by James Erskine
Oregon Premiere|
Crafted from extraordinary unheard interviews, and restoring key performances into color for the first time, Billie is the story of the singer who changed the face of American music, and the journalist who died trying to tell it.

Collective (Romania) | directed by dir. Alexander Nanau
Central Oregon Premiere
A crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.

The Donut King (USA) | directed by Alice Gu
Oregon Premiere
The rags-to-riches story of a refugee escaping Cambodia, arriving in America in 1975, and building an unlikely multi-million dollar empire baking America’s favorite pastry: the donut.

Chuck Berry (USA) | directed by Jon Brewer
Central Oregon Premiere
Chuck Berry, the absolute instigator of Rock ‘n’ Roll, is truly revealed with exclusive access to his family, friends, famous fans and music icons he inspired, including John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen and Keith Richards. Closing Night Film

Dead (New Zealand) | directed by Hayden J. Weal
Oregon Premiere
A critical ghost cop and a directionless stoner battle their differences while working together to solve a mystery that will save lives… and deaths.

Golden Arm (USA) | directed by Maureen Bharoocha
West Coast Premiere
A wimpy baker gets roped into the world of ladies arm wrestling by her truck-driving best friend.

Jimmy Carter: Rock ‘n’ Roll President (USA) | directed by Mary Wharton
Oregon Premiere
The mostly forgotten story of how Jimmy Carter, a lover of all types of music, forged a tight bond with musicians Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan and others. Low on campaign funds and lacking in name recognition, Carter relied on support from these artists to give him a crucial boost in the Democratic primaries.

MST3K – Manos: The Hands of Fate (USA) | directed by Harold P. Warren
In this 1966 classic Mystery Science Theatre 3000 episode, widely considered one of the series’ best, the crew watches as a family gets lost on the road and stumbles upon a hidden, underground, devil-worshiping cult led by the fearsome Master and his servant Torgo.

The Planters (USA) | directed by Alexandra Kotcheff & Hannah Leder
Oregon Premiere
Awkward telemarketer Martha Plant lives a lonely existence burying treasure and eating split pea soup. When she takes in a vagrant with multiple personalities, she discovers having three friends in one may be more than she can handle.

Some Kind of Heaven (USA) | directed by Lance Oppenheim
Oregon Premiere
Behind the gates of a palm tree-lined fantasyland, four residents of America’s largest retirement community, The Villages, FL, strive to find solace and meaning.

The Younger and the Last of the Vengeants (USA) directed by Eliab Rice
World Premiere
In this LOCAL FOCUS feature, a group of aspiring wizards tries to save their town from an inter-dimensional vampire. 

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