Bend, OR – BendFilm, Inc. has been approved for a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This award will go toward projects supporting the 18th Annual Film Festival, October 7 – 17, 2021.

“We are extremely grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts for their recognition and generous support of BendFilm. This funding will allow us to further invest in bringing powerful independent film and educational programs to Bend,” said Todd Looby, BendFilm Executive Director. “We look forward  to growing the Festival’s platform for first-time, emerging and veteran storytellers alike.”

BendFilm is among 1,073 arts projects across America that were selected in the NEA’s Grants for Arts Projects category during the fiscal year 2021 – totaling nearly $25 million. Including BendFilm, 16 Oregon-based organizations were approved to receive federal funding in this first round of awards. The others are: 

        • Southern Oregon University Foundation of Ashland, $10,000 for a music project.
        • Lane Arts Council of Eugene, $20,000 for a local arts agency project.
        • University of Oregon of Eugene, $30,000 for a folk & traditional arts project.
        • All Classical Public Media, Inc of Portland, $20,000 for a presenting and multidisciplinary arts project.
        • deFreese, Allison A. of Portland, $12,500 for a literary arts project.
        • Miracle Theatre Group of Portland, $15,000 for a theater project.
        • Oregon Ballet Theatre of Portland, $10,000 for a dance project.
        • Oregon Symphony Association of Portland, $25,000 for a music project.
        • Oregon Symphony Association of Salem, $10,000 for a music project.
        • Portland Center Stage, $20,000 for a theater project.
        • Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, $30,000 presenting and multidisciplinary arts project.
        • Portland Playhouse, $10,000 for a theater project.
        • Portland State University, $20,000 for a museum project.
        • Western Alliance of Arts Administrators Foundations of Portland, $50,000 for a presenting and multidisciplinary arts project.
        • Works Young Audiences of Oregon, Inc. of Portland, $35,000 for an arts education project.

For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.