Sondland-Durant Supports Oregon Media Arts Fellowships

Making It (Film, That Is) In Oregon

By Lisa Radon, Oregon Arts Commission, January 3, 2011

When most people think about filmmaking in Oregon, they'll think of star directors Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes. Dig a little deeper and maybe Oregonians of a certain age will recall the kids' film, The Goonies, made in Astoria or the fact that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was based on the Ken Kesey novel.

But there is a thriving independent film scene in the state, and the recent award of the 2010 Oregon Media Arts Fellowships says much about the state's commitment to independent filmmakers, the fertile ground it provides to filmmakers, and the ways these non-Hollywood directors make it work in the Northwest. At the opening night screening of the NW Film Center's Northwest Film and Video Festival in November, the Fellowships—cash awards along with in-kind services—were awarded to Matt McCormick, Nick Peterson, and Elijah Hasan. Supported by the Oregon Arts Commission, the Gordon D. Sondland and Katherine J. Durant Foundation, and Oregon Public Broadcasting as well as the Oregon Governor's Office of Film & Television and Chambers Communications, the awards were made by a jury including Bernadette Spear, Producer at Wieden + Kennedy; Dr. Mark L. Berrettini, Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the School of Fine and Performing Arts; and past Fellow, filmmaker Sue Arbuthnot.

Read more here.

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