74 Short Films are Announced to Play at the 22nd Annual Festival, Which Runs from October 8-12Stills from shorts selections at this year’s Bend Film Festival: Hatchlings (Connections), Frozen Frames: Murphy’s Yellowstone (Human + Nature), This Blows (Pre-Features), Home From Work (Fine Line)

BEND, OR — Building on their recently announced competition slate, BendFilm is proud to unveil the complete shorts program for the 22nd annual Bend Film Festival: 63 short films spanning narrative, documentary, animated, indigenous, and environmental categories, organized into eleven thematically curated blocks alongside 11 additional shorts screening with feature films.

The shorts program showcases films from 16 countries including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Portugal, Lebanon, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Spain, Guatemala, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and Germany, reflecting the Festival’s commitment to diverse global storytelling across its expanded five-day format. The shorts program includes both standalone screenings in curated blocks and shorts paired with feature films, offering audiences multiple ways to experience these compelling works, with topics ranging from environmental activism and Indigenous storytelling to coming-of-age narratives and genre-bending explorations.

“Our shorts program continues to demonstrate that a more constrained runtime is no limit to great storytelling,” said Director of Programming Selin Sevinç. “These filmmakers are pushing boundaries, exploring identity, confronting social issues, and celebrating the human experience in ways that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.”

Their Festival screenings will represent the first time that 22 of the shorts have been shown in the Northwest; a further 27 shorts will be making their Oregon premieres. Shorts block length varies, between 82-105 minutes. Complete screening schedules, filmmaker attendance information, and additional Festival details will be announced in the coming weeks. As previously announced, the Festival’s remaining categories and honored participants will be revealed soon. For details of each block’s component shorts, please visit BendFilm.org.

SHORTS BLOCKS

CONNECTIONS (96 min, 6 films) Between the lines, in unexpected places, under changing circumstances, these characters reach each other in life-affirming ways. Features include Songs of Black Folk, a powerful Juneteenth concert documentary, and Teddy, a verité portrait of a male birth doula.

CROSSROADS (87 min, 5 films) These characters find themselves in crossroads facing the gap between who they are and their social landscape. Highlights include MĀHŪ: A Trans-Pacific Love Letter, exploring Native Hawaiian transgender identity, and Breastmilk, following a Nigerian mother’s struggles.

ENCOUNTERS (97 min, 5 films) With grit, longing, ambition and passion, these characters dive deep into their need to reach personal realizations. Features Two People Exchanging Saliva, set in a farcical world where kissing is punishable by death.

FINE LINE (105 min, 5 films) Fine lines between where these characters are and where they used to be, want to be or will be. Includes All the Empty Rooms, a visual meditation on America’s gun violence epidemic, and Classroom 4, following a prison education program.

HUMAN + NATURE (93 min, 6 films) Whether in awe of the sky or a sea creature, these characters act in search of answers and in service of expressing nature’s beauty. Features Habbal et al, following scientists preparing for their twentieth solar eclipse observation.

DEFYING EXPECTATIONS (89 min, 5 films) Against all odds scenarios linger in these characters’ adventures and life-changing circumstances. Includes A Baffin Vacation, Love on Ice, an epic Arctic adventure documentary.

ON THE VERGE (82 min, 7 films) Characters walking the tightrope of life, on the verge of breaking out, closing in, getting caught, or reaching euphoria. Features Jane Austen’s Period Drama, a comedy set in 1813 England.

KIDS’ BLOCK (60 min, 5 films) These relatable, whimsical and heartwarming shorts are sure to inspire conversation and delight viewers big and small, with tales of lonely bears, mischievous children, and more.

LATE NIGHT (94 min, 7 films) An opportunity to move to the edge of your seat with something creepy, shocking and hilarious all at once. Includes Teen Mary, reimagining the nativity story, and Halfway Haunted, about a tenant who teams up with a ghost.

LOCAL FOCUS (68 min, 4 films) This year’s local shorts block gives us an opportunity to discuss local topics with those closely invested in them. An extended conversation with the filmmakers and doc participants will follow the screening.

MUSIC VIDEOS (41 min, 8 films) A multi-faceted shuffle of exceptional storytelling that brings together a vibrant intersection of film and music, across genres, styles and emotions.

SHORTS WITH FEATURES (11 films) Additional shorts will screen alongside feature films, where there’s a thematic connection between the two pieces and the two works complement each other in subject, style or tone.

 

About BendFilm
Founded in 2003, BendFilm is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that hosts an annual independent film festival, operates the Tin Pan Theater arthouse cinema, and delivers year-round screenings, artist development programs, and educational initiatives. Its mission is to support independent filmmakers and spark cultural conversations throughout Central Oregon and beyond. Located in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, Bend is a haven for outdoor lovers, artists, and foodies — and sits on the traditional lands of the Wascoes, the Warm Springs, and the Paiutes, known today as The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. For more information, visit bendfilm.org or follow @BendFilm on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.