((L-R) Film stills from spotlight films Folktales (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady), Snail Hunters (Jim Aikman), It Was Just An Accident (Jafar Panahi), Love + War (Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin) | Stills courtesy of BendFilm)
Spotlight Films are Announced!
After a full year of scouting the many other festivals we love, we’re excited to announce our lineup of curated spotlight films to round out this year’s programming. Presented alongside an impressive competition slate, these narrative and documentary spotlights are highly recommended films that found their way onto our favorites list this year. In addition, we’re building on last year’s Oregon Spotlight by presenting four films in a ‘PNW’ spotlight category.
See All the Spotlights
Volunteering at the Fest? Shifts Are Coming!
You’ll receive an email when shifts are live.
Make sure you’ve signed up for a Shiftboard account to receive notification emails for when shifts go live.
More info about volunteering is here.
Want to Be Part of the 2025 Festival Crew?
We’re looking for venue and stage managers to help run this year’s festival.
These positions help host each screening venue during the fest, managing the logistics, audience, and vibes to ensure things run smoothly and audiences feel taken care of.
Venue Manager Position
Stage Manager Position
Bend Film Fest Kickoff Party
Dogwood at the Pine Shed
Wednesday, September 24 // 7pm-close