New film festival to launch in ‘Twin Peaks’ town
August 2018 will see the arrival of a brand new destination genre festival in the scenic town of North Bend, Washington, with a focus on standout vanguard programming. Best known as the original shooting location for cult-hit and recently rebirthed Twin Peaks, North Bend will be home to the North Bend Film Festival from August 23rd to the 26th. Using the town’s fantastical and mysterious energy that once inspired David Lynch, the festival will set out to fill the void of programming for the progressive audiences in the Pacific Northwest, and to provide a platform for emerging filmmakers. Working directly with the town of North Bend, NBFF will be an event for the local community, Northwest creatives, and national genre film industry to enjoy together.
The fest’s homebase will be the North Bend Theatre, the town’s beautiful art-deco cinema built in 1941, with additional events spread out to historic locations and the gorgeous natural outdoor spaces available in the area. Organisers are promising that residents of North Bend and the surrounding towns will be offered discounts, and local businesses will be embraced as a vital part of the festival. The first edition of the North Bend Film Festival will feature special screenings, filmmaker talks, a VR component, and interactive events in addition to a highly curated film program – submissions are now open via FilmFreeway and Withoutabox for the first edition of the North Bend Film Festival.
The festival is founded by Justin Timms and Jess Byers, who in 2016 launched the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Hugues Barbier, Founder and Creative Director of the Ithaca Fantastik and Acquisitions & Festival Manager for Raven Banner. Says Barbier:
We are very excited to be able to offer a platform for films that are navigating the genre and traditional film festival circuit, but do not adequately reflect either set of values. We’re seeing a growing number of filmmakers gravitating towards a space that North American’s call vanguard, but which stems from European surrealism or South American magic realism. These are the type of films we’re seeking for NBFF, and the town of North Bend, WA is the perfect location to harness that magic and share the cinematic experience with an audience.
North Bend Film Festival will also offer a filmmaker development program in addition to working with our advisory board to bring forward an additional program that highlights female talent – just check out some of the names on said board:
Todd Brown (XYZ Films), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Replace), Katie Kelly (Head of Marketing, Altspace VR), Bre Keveren (Special Events, City of North Bend), Tori Palmatier (Creative Producer, Ridley Scott & Associates), Ina Pira (Curator, Vimeo), Annick Mahnert (Screen Division), Charlie Sextro (Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival), Travis Stevens (Snowfort Pictures), Mara Webster (Panels Programming Director, Tribeca Film Festival), and Jenn Wexler (Director & Producer, Glass Eye Pix)!
For more information on the North Bend Film Festival, check out the following links: Official Website | Facebook | Twitter
