The first time I walked into Tin Pan Theater, I knew I wanted to make it my life. I was hosting trivia at Goodlife Brewing and was looking for prizes to give away. Tin Pan had been open for two weeks, and after Google Maps incorrectly led me to Gasoline Alley, I found my way […]
BendFilm
BendFilm Buying Tin Pan Theater
BendFilm is expanding its outlets and ways to spread film throughout the community with the announced purchase of the Tin Pan Theater in downtown Bend.
Meet Todd Looby, Executive Director of BendFilm and Dad Extraordinaire
What is the single best thing you’ve learned from running a film festival? The assumptions I had previously about the importance of film as a forum to unite, excite and inspire are much truer than I thought. Festivals, when done right, work in the vast majority of communities, but having experienced festivals all over the […]
Weekend Warrior: January 11-13
There’s a lot going on this weekendโwhich is awesome! That is, until you can’t make a decision on what to do… If you need some help, here are some of the top notch options for what’s happening: Friday: BendFilm Presents: The Dawn Wall Rock climbing is pretty crazy when you think about it, and after […]
Speaking to the Artist’s Heart
It may seem strange to tell you about films that played last weekend at BendFilm, but these three films speak deeply to the artist’s experience of commerce, inspiration and the changing role artists play in the world. Plus, you can still access them. “The Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin,” a documentary from first-time filmmaker […]
Q&A with BendFilm
The 14th annual BendFilm festival is almost here! Ahead of the fest, Source Editor Nicole Vulcan sat down with BendFilm Director Todd Looby and Festival Programmer Erik Jambor to talk about what they’re looking forward to (everything, of course!), films that speak to a Central Oregon audience (all of them, duh!) and other stuff. Here’s an excerpt of […]
2016 BendFilm Festival Winners
BendFilm has come to a close and the winners are all quite varied and wonderful. Some world class features, documentaries and shorts played this year and, with John Sayles and Maggie Renzi in attendence, it was one for the record books. Festival Director Todd Looby had this to say about the 2016 BendFilm Festival: “This […]
Limbo
I am not adding a single ounce of hyperbole when I say that John Sayles is one of the finest filmmakers in history. He, along with life partner Maggie Renzi, a handful of my all-time favorite movies, and each one of them feels like a completely separate entity. He bounces between genres with ease, taking […]
BendFilm: “Voyagers Without Trace”
“Voyagers Without Trace” is a gorgeous and life affirming documentary that is, on its surface, about two kayaking adventures several decades apart. Filmmaker Ian McCluskey came across a historic marker in Southwest Wyoming. It told the story of Genevieve and Bernard de Colmont and their friend, Antoine de Seynes, who, in 1938, came from France […]
Sitting Down with BendFilm’s Todd Looby
Todd Looby has been with BendFilm for a few years now, and with his team of programmers, workers and volunteers, has crafted a festival that Bend can be proud of. Here Todd takes a few minutes to talk about his favorite movie, the culture of film and what he’s looking forward to in this year’s […]

